Almost There: Mia Farrow in "Broadway Danny Rose"

by Cláudio Alves

When presenting his list of new streaming titles for July, Nathaniel paid special attention to the 1984 Woody Allen comedy Broadway Danny Rose. It was the first Allen film he ever saw, and the first time Mia Farrow got serious Oscar buzz for her collaborations with the director. Previously, her closest brush with the Academy Awards had come with Rosemary's Baby, way back in 1968. But, of course, as we know, that buzz never materialized into an actual nomination, and Farrow remains Oscarless to this day, despite a filmography full of incredible performances. Indeed, this series could have an extensive miniseries dedicated exclusively to the actress, so vast is her number of "Almost There" cases.

That miniseries might happen one day, but, for now, let's focus only on Broadway Danny Rose and Mia Farrow's brilliant work in it…

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Klute, pt 2: Sleazy Pimps, Dead Ends, and Surprising Intimacy

by Ben Miller

In Part 1 of this Klute retrospective (and best shot appreciation) Nathaniel guided us through the introduction of a vague central mystery and soon to be classic film characters in sex worker Bree Daniels and the titular character, John Klute, who is investigating the disapperance of his best friend, who the police believe to be a former client of Bree's. In part two, I'll be guiding you through the middle act.

We pick back up as Bree keeps switching tactics, alternately trying to seduce Klute, turn the tables on him, or rage at him, rather than play dutifully along with his questioning. 

Obviously these retrospectives contain SPOILERS so if you've never seen this classic, head to HBOMax first before continuing...

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Cláudio's Best Shot Pick: Klute (1971)

The next episode in our series, 'Hit Me With Your Best Shot,' arrives Thursday night. This week we're celebrating Alan J. Pakula's seminal Klute with multiple posts. You still have time to participate! In the meantime, here's Cláudio's entry:

"I'm afraid of the dark, " says Bree Daniels, a New York sex worker trying to keep herself from becoming a serial killer's next victim. This confession happens relatively early in a film bearing the name of the taciturn Pennsylvania detective who comes to the Big Apple to investigate his friend's disappearance. He is the man to which she tells of this private fear, not necessarily a gesture of honesty but a weaponizing of her vulnerability. As ever, Bree wants control of the situation, and to bear herself naked is often the key to such dominance. Nakedness, of course, can come from truth rather than bared flesh. Watching Klute, one gets the sense that Bree is truly afraid of the dark, even though that very darkness is the poisonous womb within which she exists at all time, like an unborn babe striving for the light of birth while keeping itself smothered in the comfort of shadow…

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Best Shot Picks and Nathaniel's Choice from 'The Godfather'

by Nathaniel R

Our film title this week on Hit Me With Your Best Shot was in honor of the restoration of The Godfather (1972) for its 50th Anniversary. Here are the Best Shot choices from seven participants and my own towards the end of the post. Click on the images that follow to read the corresponding articles. I'll be "talking" inbetween the images about a film I've never written about before (!) as I select my own... 

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Claudio's Best Shot Pick: The Godfather (1972)

The next episode of our series, ‘Hit Me With Your Best Shot,’ arrives tomorrow night. It’s focused on The Godfather on the occasion of its new restoration. You still have time to participate. For now, as something of a preview, here’s Cláudio’s entry.

The Godfather is one of those canonized classics about which there is nothing new to say. Its themes and visual strategies have been overanalyzed ad nauseam across decades, from Coppola's Viscontian staging to Gordon Willis's shadowy cinematography. Choosing the best shot from such masterpiece and justifying that choice is thus a complicated exercise where one risks obsolescence, repetition, utter failure. Indeed, of this season's best shot challenges, this was the hardest...

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