The Magician (1958)

I was inspired to watch Ingmar Bergman’s The Magician (1958; Ansiktet) by Tracy Letts and Carrie Coon including it in an article for The AV Club where they planned a 24 hour film festival line up. When I read about Bergman, this film doesn’t come up as much as a title and it feels like […]

The Basilisks (1963)

I’ve only seen one Lina Wertmuller movie and that was Love And Anarchy, which was great. Wertmuller’s debut film The Basilisks (1963; I basilischi aka The Lizards) was featured in the Mubi library in a remastered new edition. One sleepy Saturday morning, I decided to take a gamble on it and after the five minutes, […]

Faces (1968)

Carousing is one word I’d used to describe the events in Faces (1968), a key John Cassavetes film I’d always be meaning to see (ever since Scorsese referenced it in his Personal Journey Through American Cinema docu-series). Self-financed from acting jobs for other movies, and shot around his own house, Cassavetes explores marriages, love and […]

Orpheus (1950)

I knew little of Jean Cocteau (what a cultural barbarian I am!), mainly that he was a poet and an artist, and I’d always heard about his version of Beauty And The Beast with Jean Marais. When Mubi had Cocteau’s Orpheus (1950; aka Orphee) in their library as part of their French Cinema spotlight, also […]

Castle Keep (1969)

While the posters might make Castle Keep (1969) look like a World War II action movie, it’s actually a very strange, oddball experience. Right from the opening sequence where a jeep of tired soldiers travelling through a forest is cross-cut in the editing with two stately people – a Count (Jean-Pierre Aumont) and a Countess […]