http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mi2Dusyg5A In a film career that spanned more than half a century, the late Peter Graves (1926-2010) was a dependable leading man, often at his best in non-leading roles, who worked memorably with Billy Wilder (Stalag 17), John Ford (The Long Gray Line), Roger Corman (It Conquered the World), Otto Preminger (The Court Martial of ... read more »

I just made the discovery today that one of my most treasured “classic” films, a relic from the deepest, most Oedipal-laced fluid of my childhood memory well, is finally getting a DVD release through Criterion’s ancillary Eclipse label: Alexander Korda’s The Private Life of Henry VIII. I doubt there’s a film buff who writes for ... read more »

At the L.A. Weekly, a story about the making and promotion of David Lynch’s Eraserhead, and about the musician, Peter Ivers, who composed the unforgettable song, “In Heaven,” lipsynched by the Lady in the Radiator (above). Again at the L.A. Weekly, a piece about neglected director Richard Quine, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, ... read more »