What are your favorite Classic Movie Freakouts? In this video essay, MovieFanFare examines five unforgettable moments when movie characters lose control.
Read more →Articles by: George D. Allen
Frat House Controversies? Rush Animal House Again
Fraternity-related controversies exploded across the country in 2015. That makes it the perfect time for us to revisit John Landis’ legendary “slob comedy” and contemplate what’s funny about it…or what isn’t.
Read more →Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors
Set in 19th-century Ukraine, “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors” explores doomed love, the urgency of memory, and the culture of the Hutsul people. Check out this MovieFanFare contribution to the Russia in Classic Film blogathon!
Read more →First Monday in October
Rushed to release when Sandra Day O’Connor was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Reagan, “First Monday in October” was very much a film of its time. And guess what? It’s still relevant today.
Read more →Caught in Heavy Traffic with Ralph Bakshi
Have you ever seen the Ralph Bakshi animated film Heavy Traffic? This 1973 cult classic is a mad masterpiece of kaleidoscopic invention. Let’s take a stroll down (a crazy, grimy) memory lane and revisit this work of wildly irreverent art.
Read more →My Favorite Martin Scorsese Pictures
Martin Scorsese isn’t just one of my favorite movie directors; he’s one of my movie heroes. Here are five of his pictures that are never far from my mind.
Read more →What Music the Restored Dracula Soundtrack Makes
When I heard in 2012 that the soundtrack to the Lugosi classic would be tinkered with, I went nuts. Is the restored Dracula soundtrack historical revisionism, or simply clearing away the cobwebs so we can fully enjoy it as if it were first unspooling on a 1931 movie screen?
Read more →Damsels in Distress: Contrary to Popular Opinion
Remember when women were only good for batting their eyelashes or being tied to the railroad tracks? Here’s proof they weren’t all “damsels in distress,” and some questions about where women stand today in the world of moviemaking.
Read more →The First Great Movies of 2015
The great movies of 2014 are past; what are your first great movies of 2015? What did you see in the theater? Re-watch at home? Add to your video library? Here’s the first of my New Year’s viewings!
Read more →Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941): Better Than You Remember
Remember Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941)? The one starring Spencer Tracy? It’s better than its reputation. Let’s talk about why.
Read more →