Movies
Suddenly, Last Summer Still Shocks
One of the first movies I saw ever saw in a film class was Tennessee Williams’ Suddenly, Last Summer. At the age of 18, a lot of the subject matter flew right over my head. Re-watching […]
Elizabeth Taylor
Movies
WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? AT 50
At first, the studio wanted Bette Davis. But no, that wouldn’t have worked; audiences could expect cruelty and hysteria from an actress who had proven herself both bitch and beauty queen. After seeing her sit […]
Books
God Bless Public Television: Joan Kramer and David Heeley’s IN THE COMPANY OF LEGENDS
God bless public television. The public funded, by-the-bootstraps programming of the ’80s and ’90s, produced a seemingly endless wonderland of high-caliber, star-studded productions that, oh-so-cleverly, had education, not mere entertainments, at its core. From that […]
Events
The Retro Set’s 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival Top Picks
It’s that time of year again, cinephiles! In just a few days, the 5th annual TCM Classic Film Festival kicks off here in Hollywood, and boasting a range of must see events — from celebrity […]
Opinion
All Bartenders Become Movie Stars: Sweet Bird of Youth (1962) and the South as Tennessee Williams Tells It
The great Tennessee Williams’ birthday is Wednesday, March 26th, and given the major impact his works have had on cinema, the Black Maria is dedicating this week to examining his film adaptations both big and […]
Opinion
History Fail: Hollywood’s Period Problem
A word of explanation: this started off as a simple review of the recent Blu-ray release of Sydney Pollack’s The Way We Were. That seminal ’70s sobber has enjoyed a terrific transfer from Twilight Time–one […]