Wednesday, March 15, 2014
By MICHAEL WALSH
TOMMY — Recognizing the rock opera as a revolutionary opportunity, director Ken Russell turned The Who's concept album into a 1975 movie that reinvented the idea of the screen musical.(posted March 18)
THE COMMITMENTS — In adapting the first of Roddy Doyle's Barrytown novel's, director Alan Parker introduced "Dublin soul" to the musical playlist appropriate for a St. Patrick's Day celebration. (posted March 16)
THE PLAYER — Director Robert Altman's 1992 satire is a movie about movie-making that opens with an eight minute homage to Orson Welles and the cinema's most famous long take. (posted March 14)
THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE — Director Mary Harron's 2006 interpretive biography of the most influential photographers' model of the 1950s is the subject of a newly written review, exclusive to the Reeling Back website. (posted March 12)
THE ROCKETEER — Created by comics artist Dave Stevens as a tribute to the great pulp fiction heroes, an all-American icon came alive in director Joe Johnston's 1991 fantasy feature. (posted March 10)
STATE OF SIEGE — As protests continue on the streets of Venezuela, director Costa-Gavras's 1972 thriller reminds us that the U.S. has a history of meddling in Latin American affairs.(posted March 8)
REDS — With Ukraine in the news, we recall director Warren Beatty's 1981 epic telling the story of John Reed, an American reporter who covered the Russian Revolution. (posted March 6)
HERO — On the 40th anniversary of People Magazine, director Steven Frears' 1992 feature has much to tell us about the workings of celebrity culture.(posted March 4)
NORMA RAE — On the centenary of director Martin Ritt's birth, his 1979 drama of personal fulfillment and union organizing is more relevant than ever. The review is accompanied by an interview with the film's star, Academy Award winner SALLY FIELD. (both posted March 2
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