From the Film Vault
Program Notes: Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986)
Students of French cinema will recognize Paul Mazursky's Down and Out in Beverly Hills as a remake of Jean Renoir’s Boudu Saved from Drowning. Both men exude an affection for their characters even as they examine their many foibles.
Guess the Movie!
Movies posters are iconic images that frequently make their way into popular consciousness right along with the movie itself. Can you guess the movie from the poster?
Program Notes: Raise the Titanic! (1980)
Raise the Titanic! begins with a montage of photos of the ocean liner under construction and setting out on her doomed voyage. After that modest nod to reality, the film quickly turns into a sort of James Bond fantasy.
New on DVD: War Horse (2011)
Steven Spielberg’s War Horse is big and gorgeous in ways that reminds of Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago. But while it often delighted my eye, it felt empty. Not even a deep cast of British actors could bring it to emotional life.
Program Notes: An Unmarried Woman (1978)
Few films have a firmer grasp on a time or location than Paul Mazursky’s An Unmarried Woman (1978), a movie that captures not only the look of New York City in the late ‘70s, but the intellectual/emotional feel of the place.
