1987: The Untouchable Sean Connery, a look at the late actor's Oscar-winning performance

by Josh Bierman

When I heard about our 1987 retrospective I wanted to choose a film that I had never seen. I’ve been striving to cover blindspots in my film viewing history since the start of quarantine. I looked at the list of movies released in that year and when I saw The Untouchables the choice became obvious. At my home film festival, Cinema Quarantino, I’ve fallen in love with Kevin Costner as if it was 1991. I’ve also been really drawn to the films of Brian De Palma. All of that fell by the wayside when I woke up on Saturday morning to the news of Sean Connery’s passing. 

We’re all friends here, so please don’t judge when I say in keeping with the theme of having serious blind spots, the only other Sean Connery movie I’d seen is Murder on the Orient Express. Connery released his last studio film just as I was becoming obsessed with movies around the age of ten, so he wasn’t someone who was on my radar. I mainly associated Connery with Darrell Hammond’s inimitable SNL impersonation on Celebrity Jeopardy as well as his later career interviews (we’d be remiss to forget his one worded declaration of the Best Supporting Actress winner of 2002, we know Kathy Bates hasn’t). As if I wasn’t eager enough to watch it already, I welcomed the opportunity to not only watch a bit of Connery’s filmography, but the movie that won him his Academy Award...

Click to read more ...

Best Supporting Actress 1987: Getting to know the nominees

by Cláudio Alves

The Supporting Actress Smackdown of 1987, the last episode of this season, is approaching. As we did with the '38 Oscar lineup, we invite you to peruse the biographies and careers of these stupendous actresses. The 60th Academy Awards may be one of the few times all of the contenders were single-nomination actresses, but that doesn't mean their legacies and stories aren't fascinating. These women make up an impressive lot that includes Argentinean acting royalty, a Presidential candidate's cousin, and one of Old Hollywood's queens of comedy…

Click to read more ...

Where to stream movies from 1987, our 'year of the month'

As we keep promising you, the Supporting Actress Smackdowns are much more fun if you play along at home. The final Smackdown of the year is on 1987 and it'll be a goodie because two of the movies (Moonstruck & Fatal Attraction) are already bonafide classics. We've already told you where to watch all five of those films but don't forget to send in your votes (1 to 5 hearts for each lady) by November 17th.  

If you REALLY wanna dive into the cinema of 1987 before the event, here is a list of movies that are currently streaming and where.

Far more titles (unlisted) are available through Hoopla if you have that through your local library but we don't have that in NYC so we can't look it up for you. Let us know in the comments which 1987 titles from this list (or otherwise) that you'd most like us to cover at TFE...

Click to read more ...

Sally Kirkland's legendary Oscar campaign

by Cláudio Alves

The next Supporting Actress Smackdown will focus on the contenders of 1987. Before that celebration of great acting at the margins, we'll be exploring the cinematic year, its glorious pictures, and memorable Oscar races. Speaking of which, one can't discuss 1987 in the context of awards, without mentioning and paying respect to one of the ballsiest campaigns ever made by an actress. Through her sheer will, impressive determination, and tireless ambition, Sally Kirkland managed to conquer a Best Actress Oscar nomination for Anna, a little-seen American indie about an aging performer.

First things first, before we delve into Kirkland's pursuit of little golden men, we should appreciate the work for which she was recognized. The movie is discussed nowadays to snicker at the thirsty campaign, but it's a masterclass of acting...

Click to read more ...

The Furniture: Wallpaper and Wet Wood in 'The Grey Fox'

"The Furniture," by Daniel Walber, is our weekly series on Production Design. You can click on the images to see them in magnified detail.

Yesterday would have been the 100th birthday of Richard Farnsworth. You might have seen some tributes on Twitter, most of them recalling Farnsworth’s Oscar-nominated performance in David Lynch’s The Straight Story - the actor’s last film. Today I’d like to turn to something earlier, a gorgeous Canadian Western called The Grey Fox. 

It’s the kind of movie that feels undiscovered even as you’re watching it - even now that it’s been beautifully restored and rereleased by Kino Lorber. It’s not that it was ignored upon release, really; Farnsworth got a Best Actor - Drama nomination at the Golden Globes and it swept the Genie Awards. But its quiet, slow, rainy charm lends it an air of the forgotten, as if it had been left on a shelf for a century. 

The subject helps: the last years of the last notorious stagecoach robber in the West, released into the 20th century like a ghost...

Click to read more ...