The Long Riders (1980)

For some reason, I thought The Long Riders (1980) was later in director Walter Hill’s career, mid-1980s, rather than right in the middle between The Warriors and Southern Comfort. The most notable aspect about this western is the decision to cast acting brothers in the main roles concerning the outlaw Jesse James and his gang […]

Body Double (1984)

While it might not be the best Brian De Palma film, Body Double (1984) is certainly the quintessential Brian De Palma film, and it’s certainly the most notorious, and it’s become my favourite of his auteur thrillers. Publicised as the heir to Alfred Hitchcock in his continual homages to the ‘Master of Suspense’ across films […]

Blow Out (1981)

A biography of Quentin Tarantino that I owned when I was 15 informed me that Blow Out (1981) was Tarantino’s favourite performance by John Travolta, the film he cited to convince the actor to trust in his comeback with Pulp Fiction (1994). After so many years of hearing that it was great from critics (especially Pauline Kael’s loving review […]

Heaven’s Gate (1980)

I don’t have access to digital TV at home, so it was a delight to be in a hotel room in Wollongong, turn on the TV to SBS World Movies and see that Michael Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate (1980) was coming up shortly, which I’d always been meaning to see. I remember reading MAD magazines from […]

Creepshow (1982)

When I was a kid, I stayed up one night to watch Creepshow (1982) – director George A Romero and writer Stephen King’s tribute to old EC horror comics – and it spooked me even though I thought I could handle it. Rewatching it after Romero passed away, I loved it – it feels like […]