Alan J. Pakula: The King of Paranoia

by Cláudio Alves

This summer, several of Warner Bros. classics have become available to stream on HBO Max. Among them are a good variety from the 1970s, including some of the best movies of New Hollywood's most underrated master of cinema. We're talking about Alan J. Pakula, a director whose pictures came to embody the mood of that decade, full of misanthropic discontentment and a sense that the world is diseased, people are out to get you and safety is unachievable. Alan J. Pakula was truly the king of cinematic paranoia…

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The Donald Sutherland essentials

by Cláudio Alves

I don't know about you, but I love to find which people share the same birthday as me. That's especially true of artists who I admire. It's not like sharing a birthday means a whole lot, but it's nice to know that there's something in common between you and one of your idols. In my case, birthday twins include the cinematic genius Wong Kar-Wai, the fabulously talented Diahann Carroll, the eternal gangster James Cagney, Weekend star Tom Cullen, Best Supporting Actress nominee Barbara O'Neil, Sibyl director Justine Triet, and, of course, this piece's focus, the great Donald Sutherland. Our special day was just yesterday. 

Despite never having been nominated for a competitive Oscar (he received an honorary in 2018), Donald Sutherland can be counted among Hollywood's most respected thespians. With a career spanning from the 1960s to now, full of memorable hits and influential classics, complex performances, and scene-stealing turns, Sutherland is an actorly institution all by himself. In honor of his 85th birthday yesterday, here goes a list of some of the movies anyone must watch if they're fans of the actor… 

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All hail The Prince of Darkness!

by Cláudio Alves

In the annals of American film history, you'll have difficulty finding a filmmaker as influential as Gordon Willis. He's one of the best cinematographers that's ever lived, a man who almost single-handedly invented the look we most quickly associate with the great cinema of the 70s. Low-lit and underexposed, his pictures were rich in shadow play and gloomy frames, a materialization of the decades' paranoia and moral ambiguities. Because of such a characteristic style, he gained the nickname 'prince of darkness,' though maybe we should have called him the king of cinematographers. Both titles feel correct…

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70s Fashion on Criterion

by Cláudio Alves

The relationship between fashion and cinema is a complex one, with influence going both ways. Sometimes, runway shows take their cues from the glory of the silver screen, while costume designers can find inspiration on the pages of Vogue. In cases such as the collaboration between Audrey Hepburn, Edith Head and Hubert de Givenchy, it's a multifaceted symbiosis where couture and cinema walk hand in hand to the benefit of both. These dynamics aren't exclusive to the Golden Age of Hollywood and the big studios, of course. Just look at the great style icons of the 70s moviedom...

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New Podcast: Desperately Seeking Smackdowns

Nathaniel welcomes our first all Los Angeles panel for this discussion of the 1985 film year. Comedian/Writer Louis Virtel (Billy on the Street), Producer/Writer Abdi Nazemian ("The Authentics"), Actress Nora Zehetner and Director/Writer Michelle Morgan (It Happened in L.A.). We just wrote about the Supporting Actress nominated performances of 1985 but now it's time to zoom out on the films and the film year itself when Oprah Winfrey and Madonna began their global takeovers, Anjelica Huston became a third generation Oscar favorite, and Out of Africa eventually won Best Picture.

Smackdown '85 Companion Podcast
(58 minutes)
00:01 Anjelica vs Oprah with a little Amy Madigan on the side
10:00 Our entire group has a Jane Fonda "problem" - shout-outs to Klute and lots of head-scratching over the plot of Agnes of God
20:00 Meg Tilly and Jennifer Tilly and Oscar trivia
22:00 Should they remake The Color Purple?
28:00 Syphilitic Out of Africa, Divisive Prizzi's Honor and their Oscar wins
35:30 Desperately Seeking Susan and Oscar's resistance to both Madonna and comedy

46:30 Twice in a Lifetime's weird messages and cathartic makeovers
49:40 Individual favorites from the year from each of us including (but not limited to): Clue, The Breakfast Club, The Goonies, Mask, The Legend of Billie Jean
55:00 Farewells and Credits

You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. Don't forget to read the smackdown and continue the conversations in the comments! 

Desperately Seeking Smackdown