Death Line (1972)

The concept of this British 1970s horror movie, Death Line (1972) sounds better, more horrifying, than its execution, and is less lurid than some of its posters make it look like (particularly the ones under the alternative title Raw Meat). Set in the London underground rail system, the opening follows a posh English gentleman doing […]

Amarcord (1973)

I really became swept up in Amarcord’s (1973) approach to depicting a place, a time, a memory. Directed by Federico Fellini, and while not strictly autobiographical, the film is based on his memories growing up, set in the village of Borgo San Giulano during the 1930s and Benito Mussolini’s Fascism. Rather than having one character […]

Let’s Scare Jessica To Death (1971)

I do like the exchange between monthly Criterion Channel programming and people I follow on Letterboxd tending to watch the same stuff, like a slowly crawling communal experience. I’d heard the title Let’s Scare Jessica To Death (1971) but didn’t really have any idea what it was like, assuming it was a tongue in cheek […]

The Jericho Mile (1979)

Way before Thief and Heat, Michael Mann’s career-long interest in criminals began with first feature, The Jericho Mile (1979), a television movie made for ABC. Based and shot on location in Folsom Prison, with real life inmates as extras, this is both a prison drama and a sports drama. Focusing on Murphy (a taut, muscular […]

Thieves Like Us (1974)

About ten years ago, I purchased Thieves Like Us (1974) on DVD to be a completist on director Robert Altman’s career. After sitting in storage in my family garage inside a box of DVDS, it was finally reclaimed and rediscovered. Thieves Like Us isn’t as talked about in film circles, maybe it doesn’t have the […]