Classic Movie Reviews | Picturenose

Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)

Jun

2010

‘We will not walk in fear of one another’ It was around this time, 2005, that George Clooney really began to prove what he could achieve, both as an actor, director and, in the case of Good Night, and Good Luck., both at the same time. The year also saw the release of Stephen Gaghan’s ...

Kiss Me Deadly (1955)

Apr

2010

‘The great whatsit’ Definitely a film we should have reviewed a while ago – Robert Aldrich, who was one of the most subversive directors ever to come out of Hollywood, takes a run-of-the-mill Mickey Spillane-Mike Hammer yarn, and turns it into one of the most revered, referenced cult movies of all time. What’s in the ...

The Manchurian Candidate (1962) 2

Apr

2010

Far left, far right? Far out Take a trip back in time with the UK re-release of an eerily prescient Cold War paranoia thriller. Released just a year before the assassination of one John Fitzgerald Kennedy in 1963 (by a lone, crazy gunman with a grudge against the world and a Magic Bullet, remember?), and ...

Requiem for a Dream (2000) 11

Mar

2010

The drugs don’t work I am almost afraid to review this movie. Director Darren Aranofsky (Pi (1998), The Wrestler (2008), Black Swan (2010)), working with Hubert Selby Jr., adapts Selby Jr.’s own novel into one of the most nightmarish descents into personal hell ever committed to film.

Judgement at Nuremberg (1961)

Jan

2010

Let justice be done, though the heavens fall Following the recent return of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) to the big screen, Stanley Kramer’s masterful examination of war crimes, Judgement at Nuremberg (1961) is once again showing in cinemas, in a gleaming, remastered print.

Equus (1977) 2

Jan

2010

‘My God hath seen!’ Well, Picturenose’s faithful are now aware of my favourite movie (Sleuth (1972)) and what I consider to be the best film ever made (Chinatown (1974)) so now, you asked for it – why Sidney Lumet’s Equus (1977) is among the most profoundly affecting cinema that I have seen.

The Red Shoes (1948)

Dec

2009

Lords of the dance Once again, we’re into the arena of films that are perhaps impossible to overpraise, as a completely restored print of The Red Shoes (1948) by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger (‘The Archers’) begins its UK re-release. 2009 has been one of the best years in living memory for the opportunities it ...

Citizen Kane (1941) 3

Nov

2009

Kane scrutiny: Still able? An attempt to stand on the shoulders of giants – a look at Orson Welles’s Citizen Kane (1941), which is enjoying a return to UK cinemas. Here there be tygers – how to proceed with a ‘review’ of a film that has topped critics’ Top Ten lists virtually since its release, ...

The Godfather (1972)

Nov

2009

An offer you still can’t refuse… It’s ‘re-release city’ in the UK at the moment – Francis Ford Coppola’s seminal The Godfather (1972), an adaptation of Mario Puzo’s novel, has also returned to big screens in recent weeks.

Schindler’s List (1993)

Jun

2009

‘One more person. A person, Stern.’ There are some films that bypass critical carping and can lay claim to being perhaps the greatest ever made. Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List (1993) is one such work, and it is my privilege to talk to you about it. The legend began back in 1982, when Australian author Thomas ...

Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)

Apr

2009

Jack’s no lemon One of the best things about having a site where films are discussed is that you’re in a position to talk up your favourite movies. Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) is one of those, and I know my esteemed writing partner James agrees. This is a film that deserves to be watched – ...