Cinematically Insane Posted by Will McKinley on December 10, 2012

Sex sells, the old saying goes. It also employs, or at least it did in movies made before enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code began in 1934. In the The Columbia Pictures Pre-Code Collection, a five-film DVD set from Turner Classic Movies and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, just about   read more

Cinematically Insane Posted by Will McKinley on December 3, 2012

1924 was a busy year for Peggy-Jean Montgomery: she starred in four feature films; headlined seven comedy short subjects; served as on-stage mascot for the Democratic National Convention at Madison Square Garden; and became one of the first merchandized celebrities, with her likeness immortalized on   read more

Cinematically Insane Posted by Will McKinley on November 30, 2012

This is my biggest frustration as a classic film fan: no matter how many old movies I watch, there will always be hundreds (thousands?) more I haven’t seen. Unless I buy every pre-1960 DVD ever released and lock myself in my apartment for the next five years (which actually doesn’t...   read more

Cinematically Insane Posted by Will McKinley on November 28, 2012

“What’s it like to live in a world without words,” Film Comment editor Gavin Smith asked the audience at the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Howard Gillman Theater last night, before a well-attended screening of François Truffaut’s FAHRENHEIT 451 (1966). The most recent installment of the Fil   read more

Cinematically Insane Posted by Will McKinley on November 26, 2012

While you were gorging yourself on turkey this Thanksgiving weekend, I was consuming a steady diet of rabbit. And duck, pig, and coyote. Thanks to the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s three-day Chuck Amuck series, saluting the centenary of Academy Award-winning animator Charles M. Jones, I got a chance t   read more

Cinematically Insane Posted by Will McKinley on November 21, 2012

Between 1947 and 1957, Ealing Studios produced a series of droll comedies that remain among the most beloved British films of all time. Robert Hamer’s KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS (1949), Charles Crichton’s THE LAVENDER HILL MOB (1951) and Alexander Mackendrick’s THE LADYKILLERS (1955) are perhaps   read more

Cinematically Insane Posted by Will McKinley on November 8, 2012

Tonight, the Film Society of Lincoln Center kicked off a nine-day, fifteen-film retrospective of the work of Japanese director Keisuke Kinoshita (1912-1998) with a screening of CARMEN COMES HOME (1951, aka KARMEN KYOKO NE KAERU) at the Howard Gilman Theater. The film has been digitally restored by t   read more

Cinematically Insane Posted by Will McKinley on November 4, 2012

People in old movies don’t seem to know how to kiss. Without a doubt, there are plenty of iconic lip locks from the films of the 1930s and ‘40s, often accompanied by lush orchestrations that infer burning passion. But characters rarely make out like they mean it. Classic film kisses tend...   read more

Cinematically Insane Posted by Will McKinley on November 1, 2012

Turner Classic Movies announced today that passes for the 2013 TCM Classic Film Festival  will go on sale to the public on November 15, 2012 at 12 p.m. (EST). The network also announced the first batch of films for the fourth annual festival, scheduled for April 25-28 in Hollywood. William...   read more

Cinematically Insane Posted by Will McKinley on October 31, 2012

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out / Change ) You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out / Change ) You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out / Change...   read more

Cinematically Insane Posted by Will McKinley on October 29, 2012

“Pretty good audience for Hurricane Sandy,” Repertory Director Bruce Goldstein said before Sunday’s screening of Harold Lloyd’s THE KID BROTHER (1927) at Film Forum – a theater on the outskirts of a New York City neighborhood about to be evacuated. It was a small but responsi   read more

Cinematically Insane Posted by Will McKinley on October 28, 2012

I saw William Castle’s HOMICIDAL (1961) at the Loews Jersey Theater in Jersey City on Friday night. To say it was the perfect way to kick off the “Pre-Halloween weekend” would be an understatement unworthy of the master of gimmicky cinematic hyperbole. I knew it was going to be a...   read more

Cinematically Insane Posted by Will McKinley on October 26, 2012

I saw James Whale’s FRANKENSTEIN (1931) and BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935) at the AMC 25 on 42nd Street in New York City on Wednesday night. And, while the experience of seeing two beloved classics with a room full of fans was ultimately a positive one, the screening was, at the...   read more

Cinematically Insane Posted by Will McKinley on October 23, 2012

I saw the German silent epic THE LOVES OF PHARAOH (1922) at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Harvey Theater on Saturday night with extremely high expectations. Unfortunately, while the film itself was stunning, the overall experience was not. Directed by Ernst Lubitsch before he emigrated to the U.S.   read more

Cinematically Insane Posted by Will McKinley on October 21, 2012

Today’s screening of SPEEDY (1928) at Film Forum was delightful, with a sold out house, lots of enthusiastic kids and some special guests. The program began with LOOK PLEASANT PLEASE (1918), a one-reel short recently “rediscovered” and restored by the The Harold Lloyd Trust. Follow   read more

Cinematically Insane Posted by Will McKinley on October 21, 2012

In the spring of 1992, the city of Scranton paid tribute to a kindly old musician who had relocated from Manhattan in the late 1950s. Sadly, it turned out to be a requiem. A few months later, Sammy Timberg was dead at the age of 89, and the accomplishments of...   read more

Cinematically Insane Posted by Will McKinley on October 21, 2012

When asked why he was making his first visit to New York City, Pierre Étaix smiled broadly. “It’s never too late,” the 83-year-old actor/director said, as the capacity crowd at Film Forum signaled their enthusiastic agreement. Still vibrant and playful, the French filmmaker appeared at the downtown   read more

Cinematically Insane Posted by Will McKinley on October 18, 2012

I’m a late – but tirelessly enthusiastic – convert to silent movies. Though I’ve always been familiar with Harold Lloyd’s bespectacled visage, my introduction to the films of the so-called “third genius” of silent comedy came just a few years ago. My first Lloyd feature   read more

Cinematically Insane Posted by Will McKinley on October 13, 2012

“Black & white movies are so boring and fake,” a co-worker once said to me, with an accompanying look of disgust usually afforded to those who belch audibly in public places. In my younger days, I might have taken the bait and tried to plead my case. But now that...   read more

Cinematically Insane Posted by Will McKinley on October 10, 2012

*Note: While this does not actually exist, if TCM manufactured one I know a bunch of people who would buy it. **Note #2: Photoshop art by the brilliant Brian Kirby from Shelf Life Clothing Company.  Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting...   read more