In this wanna be historical epic, directed by Moustapha Akkad, Anthony Quinn plays Hamza, the uncle of the prophet Mohammad. To avoid pitfalls, the film doesn’t show Mohammad at all. Even so, the production stirred controversy within the Muslim community and was a big failure. The film reteams Quinn with Irene Papas, who appeared together […]
Oscar Movies: Molly Maguires–Martin Ritt Directs Sean Connery and Richard Harris
August 23, 2014 by
This historical drama from blacklisted director Martin Ritt and Walter Bernstein is loosely based on real-life events. Richard Harris stars as James McParlan, an operative for the Pinkerton Detective Agency in 1876. The Pinkertons have been hired by a major coal company to infiltrate and expose an underground terrorist organization, the “Molly Maguires,” operating within […]
Oscar Movies: Model and the Marriage Broker–Cukor Directs Jeanne Crain, Thelma Ritter and Zero Mostel
August 23, 2014 by
Minor movie in Cukor’s distinguished career, though well acted by Thelma Ritter and Zero Mostel
Oscar Movies: Mona Lisa (1986)–Starring Bob Hoskins
August 22, 2014 by
A major part of the story concerns Simone's search for her true love, Cathy (Kate Hardie), a teenage prostituite who had once worked for the same pimp. This subplot inevitably led critics to compare the film with Scorsese's Taxi Driver (De Niro rescuing Jodie Foster from Harvey Keitel and a life of prostitution) and Paul Schrader's "Hardcore," wit George C Scott as the concerned father of a young whore.
Oscar Movies: Mon Oncle D’Amerique (1980): Fable from Alain Resnais
August 22, 2014 by
Alain Resnais’s Mon Oncle D’Amerique is not a satire or spoof, as the title may suggest. The title My American Uncle is a slang phrase in French for good luck that one hopes for. The film unfolds as a “case history,” replete with the serious commentary of a narrator, played by real-life behavioral scientist Henri […]
