Roman Holiday Roman Holiday
The blacklisted Dalton Trumbo wrote this romantic comedy about a queen who in Gregory Peck's arms would much rather be part of the working class--that's a Marxist message for you.
Jan 1, 2009 / Books & the Arts / Manny Farber
Grand Illusion Grand Illusion
The story may have been set in World War I, but it was the specter of fascism that loomed over Renoir's masterpiece.
Jan 1, 2009 / Books & the Arts / Richard Griffith
Metropolis Metropolis
Long before Orwell envisioned 1984, Fritz Lang depicted 2026 as a battleground between workers and capitalists beneath an Art Deco city
Jan 1, 2009 / Books & the Arts / Evelyn Gerstein
Crossfire Crossfire
Hollywood turns a novel about a gay murder into a call to action against anti-Semitism. Homophobia would have to wait.
Dec 29, 2008 / Books & the Arts / James Agee
Double Indemnity Double Indemnity
Before he was the perfect TV dad, Fred MacMurray was Billy Wilder's favorite movie heavy.
Dec 23, 2008 / Books & the Arts / James Agee
It Happened One Night It Happened One Night
What happened was Clark Gable doffed his shirt to reveal his bare chest, prompting the second great crash of the Depression: in undershirt sales.
Dec 23, 2008 / Books & the Arts / William Troy
For Whom the Bell Tolls For Whom the Bell Tolls
Some feared a film of Hemingway's novel about the Spanish Civil War would take too strong a stance against fascism. They didn't know Hollywood.
Dec 23, 2008 / Books & the Arts / James Agee
The Thin Blue Line The Thin Blue Line
Using innovative, slow-motion re-enactments, Errol Morris cast new light on the murder of a Dallas policeman. As a result, the man wrongly convicted of the crime went free.
Dec 23, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Fredric Paul Smoler
Fantasia Fantasia
When Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck gave way to Bach and Beethoven, the results were as far out as Pluto.
Dec 23, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Franz Hoellering
E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial
Steven Spielberg's imaginary childhood friend brought to life, voiced by an aging actress with a two-pack-a-day cigarette habit.
Dec 23, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Robert Hatch