Production Company(ies)
Bryna Productions,
 
Distributor
Criterion Collection, MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc., United Artists
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Schleißheim Palace, Oberschleißheim, Bavaria, Germany
 
MPAA / Certificate
Approved
 
Year of Release
1957
 

 
Genre(s)
War/Drama
 
Keyword(s)
War, Drama, Stanley Kubrick, Kirk Douglas, Adolphe Menjou, George Macready, Humphrey Cobb, Calder Willingham, Jim Thompson, Box Office, Budget, Critic Reviews, MPAA Rating, Criterion Collection, MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc., United Artists, Mono, Stereo, Flat, 35mm, Col Dax, Cpl Philip Paris, Gen George Broulard, Gen Paul Mireau, Lt Roget, Singing Man, Maj Saint-Auban, World War I, Court-Martial, Trench Warfare, Anti-War, Transcendent, Battle Sequences, Humanist, Satire, Radical, Black and White, Americanism, Disturbing, Masterpiece, Uncompromisingly Grim, French Colonel, Nuance, Layers, English, French Soldiers
 

Cast & Crew

Kirk Douglas

Ralph Meeker

Adolphe Menjou

George Macready

Wayne Morris

Col. Dax

Cpl. Philip Paris

Gen. George Broulard

Gen. Paul Mireau

Lt. Roget

Kirk Douglas – Col. Dax
Ralph Meeker – Cpl. Philip Paris
Adolphe Menjou – Gen. George Broulard
George Macready – Gen. Paul Mireau
Wayne Morris – Lt. Roget, Singing Man
Richard Anderson – Maj. Saint-Auban

 

Stanley Kubrick

Humphrey Cobb

Kirk Douglas

James B. Harris

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Stanley Kubrick
 
Writer(s)
Humphrey Cobb, Stanley Kubrick, Calder Willingham, Jim Thompson
 
Producer(s)
Kirk Douglas, James B. Harris

 

Film Festivals
Venice
 
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award
7 wins & 4 nominations total
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Kate Muir

Geoffrey Macnab

Peter Bradshaw

David Jenkins

David Mermelstein

Times

Independent

Guardian

Little White Lies

Wall Street Journal

PATHS OF GLORY
  All Critics (70) | Top Critics (20) | Fresh (67) | Rotten (3)
  Those who are used to 2001: A Space Odyssey or A Clockwork Orange will initially find this black-and-white First World War drama starring Kirk Douglas rather traditional, until its radical content is revealed.
 
  June 2, 2015 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Kate Muir
  Times (UK)
  TOP CRITIC
  A reminder both of [Kubrick’s] extraordinary formal virtuosity and his powers as a satirist.
 
  May 2, 2014 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Geoffrey Macnab
  Independent (UK)
  TOP CRITIC
  It is arguably the best film about the first world war, and still has a reasonable claim to being Stanley Kubrick’s best film.
 
  May 1, 2014 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Peter Bradshaw
  Guardian
  TOP CRITIC
  Some kind of corrupted masterpiece.
 
  May 1, 2014 | Rating: 3/5
 
  David Jenkins
  Little White Lies
  TOP CRITIC
  More than 20 years after Mr. Cobb’s novel was first published, Mr. Kubrick reminded us that human folly is rarely checked for long. A half-century on, he is still right.
 
  March 26, 2013
 
  David Mermelstein
  Wall Street Journal
  TOP CRITIC
  Kirk Douglas gives one of his finest performances as the intelligent and courageous Col. Dax.
 
  March 26, 2013
 
  Crosby Day
  Orlando Sentinel
  TOP CRITIC
  I can’t even begin to imagine how Kubrick made this movie. I was perplexed the entire time. An absolute masterpiece. [Full review in Spanish]
 
  July 7, 2022 | Rating: 10/10
 
  Victor Pineyro
  Seventh Art Studio
  The directors most humanist film.
 
  March 21, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Brian Eggert
  Deep Focus Review
  At any time, fashionable or not, it is a disturbing plea against the horror and senselessness of war.
 
  December 13, 2021
 
  Jonathan Baumbach
  Film Culture
  Paths of Glory is finally a captivating work, both weakened and reinforced by its Americanism — but a very diluted, Hollywood Americanism, at that, and therefore something of a positive force in the end.
 
  December 9, 2021
 
  André Bazin
  Esprit
  The subject matter is fictional, but it has been handled so realistically that one feels as if he is witnessing a real-life occurrence.
 
  November 17, 2021
 
  P.S. Harrison
  Harrison’s Reports
  Stanley Kubrick brings a controlled power to his direction of the uncompromisingly grim events, and Kirk Douglas, who produced the film, finds a most congenial role as an uncorrupted French colonel fighting for his men.
 
  November 17, 2021
 
  Moira Walsh
  America Magazine…

 

Plot
The futility and irony of the war in the trenches in WWI is shown as a unit commander in the French army must deal with the mutiny of his men and a glory-seeking general after part of his force falls back under fire in an impossible attack.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Kirk Douglas gives one of his finest performances as the intelligent and courageous Col. Dax.
 

 
Stanley-Kubrick.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Nero-Film AG,
 
Distributor
Universal Pictures, MCA/Universal Home Video, Ultra Pictures
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Universal Studios – 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
 
Year of Release
1957
 

 
Genre(s)
Sci-fi
 
Keyword(s)
starring Grant Williams, Randy Stuart, April Kent, Paul Langton, William Schallert, Billy Curtis, directed by Jack Arnold, written by Richard Matheson, sci-fi, Universal Monsters, radioactive cloud, shrinking, doctor, wife, cure, national sensation, oversized props, rear projection, split screen, models, survival, exploitation, gender role reversal, morality, B-movie, Cold War, universe, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Jean Yothers, Mae Tinee, Marjory Adams, Helen Bower, Jack Anderson, Myles Standish, James Kendrick, Matt Brunson, Florence Epstein, Janet Graves, Jay Carmody, P.S Harrison, produced by Universal Pictures, MCA/Universal Home Video, Ultra Pictures, MPAA rating: N/A
 

Cast & Crew

Grant Williams

Randy Stuart

April Kent

Paul Langton

William Schallert

Scott Carey

Louise Carey

Clarice

Charlie Carey

Doctor Arthur Bramson

Grant Williams – Scott Carey
Randy Stuart – Louise Carey
April Kent – Clarice
Paul Langton – Charlie Carey
William Schallert – Doctor Arthur Bramson
Billy Curtis – Midget

 

Jack Arnold

Richard Matheson

NA

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Jack Arnold
 
Writer(s)
Richard Matheson
 
Producer(s)
NA

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
3 wins & 1 nomination
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Jean Yothers

Mae Tinee

Marjory Adams

Helen Bower

Jack Anderson

Orlando Sentinel

Chicago Tribune

Boston Globe

Detroit Free Press

Miami Herald

THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN
 All Critics (49) | Top Critics (15) | Fresh (40) | Rotten (9)
 The film’s trick photography is pretty good. The acting, pretty poor. Regardless, it holds a horrible fascination.
 
 September 24, 2021
 
 Jean Yothers
 Orlando Sentinel
 TOP CRITIC
 Oversize sets and trick photography are extremely obvious and utterly unconvincing.
 
 September 24, 2021
 
 Mae Tinee
 Chicago Tribune
 TOP CRITIC
 It will be pleasant to see Williams and Miss Stuart again. They are far better theatrically than the usual run of players in this type of picture.
 
 September 24, 2021
 
 Marjory Adams
 Boston Globe
 TOP CRITIC
 It doesn’t matter that the cast has no “name” players. The strange story and the special effects, are the thing.
 
 September 24, 2021
 
 Helen Bower
 Detroit Free Press
 TOP CRITIC
 As a science-fiction effort it’s an interesting film and certainly great credit should go to U-I’s cameramen and other technicians for their ingenious film and scale model work.
 
 September 24, 2021
 
 Jack Anderson
 Miami Herald
 TOP CRITIC
 These sequences, done with great ingenuity and some good trick photography, are so gruesome as to be downright unpleasant.
 
 September 24, 2021
 
 Myles Standish
 St. Louis Post-Dispatch
 TOP CRITIC
 The fact that it succeeds so well in engaging us on the level of pure experience while also challenging the social norms and conventions of its era makes it a unique and compelling film, far outstripping its B-movie status.
 
 January 5, 2022 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
 James Kendrick
 Q Network Film Desk
 Resting on the same elevated plateau as The Day the Earth Stood Still and Invasion of the Body Snatchers as among the best of the science fiction films of the 1950s.
 
 November 7, 2021 | Rating: 4/4
 
 Matt Brunson
 Film Frenzy
 Ever see a man four inches tall? There he is, living in a doll’s house, until the cat puts him out. Two inches tall — he’s moved into a match box in the cellar and is fighting a spider for food in a duel to the death with a straight pin.
 
 September 24, 2021
 
 Florence Epstein
 Modern Screen
 The plot has no subtleties, but set designs and photography are so ingenious that the story is haunting.
 
 September 24, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
 
 Janet Graves
 Photoplay
 The moviegoer who is not a science-fiction addict might well come to the conclusion that he should disappear before the film’s hero does. Or, better still, not show up at all.
 
 September 24, 2021
 
 Jay Carmody
 Washington Star
 An unusual and fascinating horror melodrama.
 
 September 24, 2021
 
 P.S. Harrison
 Harrison’s Reports…

 

Plot
Scott Carey and his wife Louise are sunning themselves on their cabin cruiser, the small craft adrift on a calm sea. While his wife is below deck, a low mist passes over him. Scott, lying in the sun, is sprinkled with glittery particles that quickly evaporate. Later he is accidentally sprayed with an insecticide while driving and, in the next few days, he finds that he has begun to shrink. First just a few inches, so that his clothes no longer fit, then a little more. Soon he is only three feet tall, and a national curiosity. At six inches tall he can only live in a doll’s house and even that becomes impossible when his cat breaks in. Scott flees to the cellar, his wife thinks he has been eaten by the cat and the door to the cellar is closed, trapping him in the littered room where, menaced by a giant spider, he struggles to survive.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
The film stars Grant Williams as Scott Carey and Randy Stuart as his wife, Louise Carey.
 

 
Jack-Arnold.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Horizon Pictures,
 
Distributor
Columbia Pictures
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Ambepussa, Sri Lanka
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG for mild war violence
 
Year of Release
1957
 

 
Genre(s)
War/Drama
 
Keyword(s)
War, Drama, Alec Guinness, William Holden, Sessue Hayakawa, Jack Hawkins, Pierre Boulle, Michael Wilson, Carl Foreman, David Lean, Sam Spiegel, Box Office, Budget, PG, Columbia Pictures, Surround, Mono, Magnetic Stereo 6 Track, Stereo, Neptune Frost, 18 1/2, H.P Lovecraft’s Witch House, 11th Hour Cleaning, Sh*t Saves the World, Stay Prayed Up, Final Caller, Girl in the Picture, Hello, Goodbye, Everything in Between, Confessions from the Hart, The Prey: Legend of Karnoctus, The Sea Beast, Moon, 66 Questions, Dreaming Walls: Inside the Chelsea Hotel, The Road to Galena, Incantation, Dangerous Liaisons, Jewel, Warriors on the Field, Fair Play, On the Waterfront, Rebecca, The Right Stuff, From Here to Eternity, Foreign Correspondent, Reviewed by Helen Bower, Marjory Adams, Myles Standish, Mae Tinee, Elston Brooks, George Bourke, Matt Brunson, Allison Rose, Danielle Solzman, Brian Eggert, Donald Zec, Audience Score, Critic Reviews, Cast & Crew, Runtime, Distributor, Aspect Ratio, Sound Mix, Verified Purchase, Fresh Kernels
 

Cast & Crew

William Holden

Alec Guinness

Sessue Hayakawa

Jack Hawkins

James Donald

Commander

Major Shears

Colonel Nicholson

Colonel Saito

Major Warden

William Holden – Commander, Major Shears
Alec Guinness – Colonel Nicholson
Sessue Hayakawa – Colonel Saito
Jack Hawkins – Major Warden
James Donald – Major Clipton
Geoffrey Horne – Lieutenant Joyce

 

David Lean

Pierre Boulle

Sam Spiegel

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
David Lean
 
Writer(s)
Pierre Boulle, Michael Wilson, Carl Foreman
 
Producer(s)
Sam Spiegel

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Won 7 Oscars
30 wins & 8 nominations total
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Picture Winners, Oscar Winners
 

Top Reviews

Helen Bower

Marjory Adams

Myles Standish

Mae Tinee

Elston Brooks

Detroit Free Press

Boston Globe

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Chicago Tribune

Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com

THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI
  All Critics (98) | Top Critics (28) | Fresh (94) | Rotten (4)
  The madness of war has never been shown more graphically than in this Pierre Boulle screenplay from his own novel, set and filmed on location in Ceylon.
 
  November 17, 2021
 
  Helen Bower
  Detroit Free Press
  TOP CRITIC
  This is a picture of so many excellencies it is difficult to enumerate them, but audiences will discover the various beauties and virtues for themselves during the two hours and 40 minutes which the story runs.
 
  November 17, 2021
 
  Marjory Adams
  Boston Globe
  TOP CRITIC
  Not only is the portrayal of Guinness superb. The work of Hayakawa, Holden and Hawkins is also splendid and contributes strikingly to the impact of what is essentially a director’s triumph. This is one of the great pictures of movie history.
 
  November 17, 2021
 
  Myles Standish
  St. Louis Post-Dispatch
  TOP CRITIC
  For most of the footage, the film has an engrossing validity. Director David Lean proves once again that he’s a master of his art, and the photography takes the viewer into the heart of a teeming island in the jungle.
 
  November 17, 2021
 
  Mae Tinee
  Chicago Tribune
  TOP CRITIC
  An unabashed adventure tale done so professionally it emerges as a dramatic high point among motion pictures.
 
  November 17, 2021
 
  Elston Brooks
  Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
  TOP CRITIC
  The Bridge on the River Kwai will probably go down in history as a classic of its type of film — a gripping drama, teeming with physical conflict but in which the main dramatic clash is between the minds and the convictions of two men.
 
  November 17, 2021
 
  George Bourke
  Miami Herald
  TOP CRITIC
  The movie’s tense climax is a perfect marriage of editing and camerawork.
 
  June 12, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Matt Brunson
  Film Frenzy
  Director David Lean had a unique eye for aesthetics which served him well on the set.
 
  June 8, 2022 | Rating: 4.5/5
 
  Allison Rose
  FlickDirect
  Led by its star-studded cast, The Bridge on the River Kwai is a technical achievement in and of itself.
 
  June 7, 2022 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Danielle Solzman
  Solzy at the Movies
  It would become the first, and perhaps the greatest, of Lean’s signature late-career epics, in which he places involved relationships between a few complex characters within vistas of uncommon splendor.
 
  March 18, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Brian Eggert
  Deep Focus Review
  This film is great because it will hold your interest though all its two hours and forty-one electrifying minutes.
 
  February 17, 2022
 
  Donald Zec
  Daily Mirror (UK)
  Lean’s direction is masterly, with that unhurried sureness which results in the best kind of pace.
 
  December 16, 2021
 
  Stanley Kauffmann
  The Reporter…

 

Plot
During WW II, allied POWs in a Japanese internment camp are ordered to build a bridge to accommodate the Burma-Siam railway. Their instinct is to sabotage the bridge, but under the leadership of Colonel Nicholson they’re persuaded the bridge should be built to help morale, spirit. At first, the prisoners admire Nicholson when he bravely endures torture rather than compromise his principles for the benefit of Japanese Commandant Colonel Saito, but soon they realise it’s a monument to Nicholson, himself, as well as a form of collaboration with the enemy.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
The film features a career-defining performance from star Alec Guinness.
 

 
David-Lean.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios,
 
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
 
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
 
Filming Location(s)
Château de la reine blanche, Coye-la-Forêt, Oise, France
 
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
 
Year of Release
1957
 

 
Genre(s)
Comedy/Musical
 
Keyword(s)
starring Audrey Hepburn, Fred Astaire, Kay Thompson, Michel Auclair, Suzy Parker, Ruta Lee, directed by Stanley Donen, written by Leonard Gershe, comedy, musical, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Kate Muir, Geoffrey Macnab, Charlotte O’Sullivan, Peter Bradshaw, David Jenkins, David Parkinson, Frank J Avella, Matt Brunson, Mike Massie, Richard Whitehall, Clyde Gilmour, critic consensus, producer Roger Edens, MPAA rating, fashion photography, Paris, romance, dance sequences, Givenchy, Audrey Hepburn as Jo Stockton, Fred Astaire as Dick Avery, Kay Thompson as Maggie Prescott, Michel Auclair as Prof Emile Flostre, Suzy Parker as Specialty Dancer (Pink Number), Ruta Lee as Lettie, timeless, elegant, musical feast, vibrant performances, screen titans, hurdles, agile, witty, ingenious, Parisian backdrops, fashion industry, beatnik culture, self-reflexive photography, visual effects, springtime-in-Paris flavor, outstanding chemistry, iconic, lighthearted fun, revisionist thinking, poster-perfect, stunning agility, outstanding, catchy songs, solo dance numbers, schmaltzy, meandering, tiresome, silly, pat, overdosing on sugar
 

Cast & Crew

Audrey Hepburn

Fred Astaire

Kay Thompson

Michel Auclair

Suzy Parker

Jo Stockton

Dick Avery

Maggie Prescott

Prof. Emile Flostre

Specialty Dancer (Pink Number)

Audrey Hepburn – Jo Stockton
Fred Astaire – Dick Avery
Kay Thompson – Maggie Prescott
Michel Auclair – Prof. Emile Flostre
Suzy Parker – Specialty Dancer (Pink Number)
Ruta Lee – Lettie

 

Stanley Donen

Leonard Gershe

Roger Edens

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Stanley Donen
 
Writer(s)
Leonard Gershe
 
Producer(s)
Roger Edens

 

Film Festivals
Berlin
 
Awards & Nominations
NA
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Kate Muir

Geoffrey Macnab

Charlotte O’Sullivan

Peter Bradshaw

David Jenkins

Times

Independent

London Evening Standard

Guardian

Little White Lies

FUNNY FACE
 All Critics (40) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (35) | Rotten (5)
 The great photographer Richard Avedon curated the titles and exquisitely coloured stills of Hepburn in the latest collection from Givenchy, and each one is poster-perfect. The plot, such as it is, is full of lighthearted fun.
 
 January 2, 2018
 
 Kate Muir
 Times (UK)
 TOP CRITIC
 What is startling here is the eye-popping colour, the self-reflexive photography and visual effects, the dance sequences (Fred Astaire with his umbrella), and the witty and ingenious use of the Paris locations.
 
 February 28, 2014 | Rating: 5/5
 
 Geoffrey Macnab
 Independent (UK)
 TOP CRITIC
 If you’re prepared to do a bit of revisionist thinking, it all makes sense.
 
 February 28, 2014 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Charlotte O’Sullivan
 London Evening Standard
 TOP CRITIC
 Astaire could still dance up a storm, no doubt about it, and this has its moments.
 
 February 27, 2014 | Rating: 3/5
 
 Peter Bradshaw
 Guardian
 TOP CRITIC
 It’s an intermittently charming trifle with directorial style to burn in the place of any kind of satisfactory substance.
 
 February 27, 2014 | Rating: 3/5
 
 David Jenkins
 Little White Lies
 TOP CRITIC
 A timeless musical treat and the most fun you can have with really elegant clothes on.
 
 February 24, 2014 | Rating: 4/5
 
 David Parkinson
 Empire Magazine
 TOP CRITIC
 Set in Paris, the dazzling movie satirizes the fashion industry, as well as beatnik culture. The great Kay Thompson steals some scenes, but it’s Audrey by whom you’re mesmerized.
 
 January 21, 2022 | Rating: A-
 
 Frank J. Avella
 Edge Media Network
 This offers much more than just the usual thrill of watching Astaire hoofing it.
 
 October 23, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
 Matt Brunson
 Film Frenzy
 It doesn’t slack on showing exceptionally choreographed routines and highlighting the stunning agility of the stars.
 
 August 22, 2020 | Rating: 7/10
 
 Mike Massie
 Gone With The Twins
 The last great original screen musical.
 
 February 3, 2020
 
 Richard Whitehall
 Los Angeles Free Press
 There is an agreeable springtime-in-Paris flavor to this handsome Hollywood musical co-starring the aging but agile Fred Astaire as a society photographer and Audrey Hepburn as an intellectual chick from Greenwich Village.
 
 October 14, 2019
 
 Clyde Gilmour
 Maclean’s Magazine
 An iconic musical that hasn’t aged well, once you get past the (overlong) dance numbers Funny Face is like a great beauty with no personality.
 
 October 7, 2019 | Rating: 3/5
 
 Christopher Lloyd
 The Film Yap…

 

Plot
Maggie Prescott, the Editor-in-Chief of New York based Quality, a fashion magazine that sets trends i.e. leads instead of follows, has come up with her latest brainchild: to feature a model to be the Quality Woman, complete with successful Paris-based designer Paul Duval to devise a new collection inspired by her. The Quality Woman is not only to embody beauty, but also intellect. Against Maggie’s initial judgment, she relents to the vision of her head photographer Dick Avery in choosing Jo Stockton rather than one of their in-house models as the Quality Woman, Jo the clerk they met in an impromptu photo shoot they did against her will in the Greenwich Village bookstore where she works. The marks against Jo are not only that she isn’t a professional, but that she has what she even considers a funny looking face, something that Dick instead calls interesting. Jo, who abhors all that the world of fashion represents in she being an intellectual, ultimately agrees as the job would take her to Paris where she hopes to meet her idol, Professor Émile Flostre, the leading philosopher on the concept of empathicalism. But in Paris, the two worlds for Jo begin to collide in more ways than one, arguably the most important in she falling for Dick, his actions solely to get her to exude the emotions he wants for the photos.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
There is no goofy or funny or odd comment about the film Funny Face on Fresh Kernels.
 

 
Stanley-Donen.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Norma Productions, Curtleigh Productions, Hecht-Hill-Lancaster Productions,
 
Distributor
United Artists, MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc.
 
Release Type

 
Filming Location(s)
Brill Building – 1619 Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Approved
 
Year of Release
1957
 

 
Genre(s)
Drama
 
Keyword(s)
starring Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Martin Milner, Barbara Nichols, Susan Harrison, Sam Levene, Frank D’ Angelo, directed by Alexander Mackendrick, written by Ernest Lehman, Clifford Odets, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by New York Daily News Staff, Brandon Judell, Mae Tinee, Wendy Ide, Hank Sartin, Carol Rittgers, Brian Eggert, Ernesto Diezmartinez, Mike Massie, Jim Ross, Sean Axmaker, produced by James Hill, MPAA rating, United Artists, MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc., Mono, New York City, J.J Hunsecker, Broadway column, Susan Hunsecker, Steve Dallas, Sidney Falco, jazz, cinematography, noir crime thriller, corrupt, power, manipulation, betrayal, love, relationships, public opinion, publicist, ruthless, method, top-notch cast, sharp direction, atmospheric cinematography, jazzy score, best noir crime thrillers ever made
 

Cast & Crew

Burt Lancaster

J.J. Hunsecker

Tony Curtis

Sidney Falco

Martin Milner

J.J. Hunsecker

Sidney Falco

Steve Dallas

Rita

Susan Hunsecker

Burt Lancaster – J.J. Hunsecker
Tony Curtis – Sidney Falco
Martin Milner – Steve Dallas
Barbara Nichols – Rita
Susan Harrison – Susan Hunsecker
Sam Levene – Frank D’ Angelo

 

Alexander Mackendrick

Ernest Lehman

James Hill

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Alexander Mackendrick
 
Writer(s)
Ernest Lehman, Clifford Odets
 
Producer(s)
James Hill

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award
3 wins & 4 nominations total
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

New York Daily News Staff

Brandon Judell

Mae Tinee

Derek Prouse

Wendy Ide

New York Daily News

indieWire

Chicago Tribune

Sight & Sound

Times (UK)

SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS
  All Critics (57) | Top Critics (20) | Fresh (56) | Rotten (1)
  Despite some shrill overstatements that remind one that Clifford Odets had a hand in the screenplay, the film is a highly successful product of what might be called the “New York School” of filmmaking.
 
  November 17, 2021
 
  New York Daily News Staff
  New York Daily News
  TOP CRITIC
  That Clifford Odets co-wrote the screenplay explains the film’s continued ability to fascinate, but not why it was made into a current musical.
 
  June 15, 2021
 
  Brandon Judell
  indieWire
  TOP CRITIC
  It’s a tough tale about utterly amoral people. I thought the ending rather weak bet for most of the footage the film packs plenty of punch.
 
  August 10, 2020
 
  Mae Tinee
  Chicago Tribune
  TOP CRITIC
  It is beautifully shot in gleaming black and white (James Wong Howe) and written in a lucid, over-exposed one o’clock in the morning style by Clifford Odets and Ernest Lehman.
 
  March 31, 2020
 
  Derek Prouse
  Sight & Sound
  TOP CRITIC
  New York never looked as thrillingly sordid as it does in this scabrous masterpiece.
 
  April 9, 2015 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Wendy Ide
  Times (UK)
  TOP CRITIC
  November 17, 2011 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Hank Sartin
  Time Out
  TOP CRITIC
  Its sophistication, underscored by the subtle rhythms of progressive jazz, its frank acceptance of immoral motivations, and its sheer melodramatic excitement give it a fascinating surface that far nobler films lack.
 
  March 30, 2022
 
  Carol Rittgers
  Film Culture
  Sweet Smell of Success replaces shootouts with verbal ricochets, affirming, both on and offscreen, that when the words are dagger-sharp, the pen remains mightier than the sword.
 
  March 18, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Brian Eggert
  Deep Focus Review
  A movie that could have been made yesterday. The corruption that he portrays is still so rampant and perhaps it is worse because now these types of characters do not have the power they had.
 
  October 18, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Ernesto Diezmartinez
  Cine Vértigo
  The subject matter is incredibly mature, despite being shrouded by 1957-appropriate insinuation rather than graphic depiction.
 
  August 23, 2020 | Rating: 8/10
 
  Mike Massie
  Gone With The Twins
  … the razor-sharp wit of the script and the engaging lead performances will keep audiences coming back to Mackendrick’s classic satire.
 
  February 13, 2020
 
  Jim Ross
  TAKE ONE Magazine
  … one of the most lacerating and vicious visions of the predatory urban world in the American cinema, and one accomplished without a single murder, gunshot or pulled knife.
 
  March 2, 2018
 
  Sean Axmaker
  Stream on Demand…

 

Plot
J.J. Hunsecker, the most powerful newspaper columnist in New York, is determined to prevent his sister from marrying Steve Dallas, a jazz musician. He therefore covertly employs Sidney Falco, a sleazy and unscrupulous press agent, to break up the affair by any means possible.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Tony Curtis’ performance in Sweet Smell of Success is considered one of the best of his career.
 

 
Alexander-Mackendrick.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
The Weinstein Company, UK Film Council Momentum Pictures,
 
Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures
 
Release Type

 
Filming Location(s)
Oxbow Park – 3010 SE Oxbow Parkway, Gresham, Oregon, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for some sexual content and violent images
 
Year of Release
2001
 

 
Genre(s)
Fantasy/Drama
 
Keyword(s)

Cast & Crew

Steve Carell

Ryan Gosling

Christian Bale

Brad Pitt

Marisa Tomei

Steve Eisman

Greg Lippmann

Michael Burry

Ben Hockett

Cynthia Baum

Steve Carell – Steve Eisman
Ryan Gosling – Greg Lippmann
Christian Bale – Michael Burry
Brad Pitt – Ben Hockett
Marisa Tomei – Cynthia Baum
Hamish Linklater – Porter Collins

 

Steven Spielberg

Ian Watson

Kathleen Kennedy

Bonnie Curtis

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Steven Spielberg
 
Writer(s)
Ian Watson, Brian Aldiss, Steven Spielberg
 
Producer(s)
Kathleen Kennedy, Bonnie Curtis

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 2 Oscars
17 wins & 71 nominations total
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

William Goss

Nell Minow

Geoff Andrew

Steven D. Greydanus

Philip Strick

Film.com

Common Sense Media

Time Out

Decent Films

Sight & Sound

A.I.: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
 All Critics (197) | Top Critics (51) | Fresh (148) | Rotten (49)
 A confined domestic drama, a considerable morality tale, a fleeting futuristic noir, a persecution parable, an on-the-nose fairy tale adventure… and then it keeps going.
 
 April 21, 2011
 
 William Goss
 Film.com
 TOP CRITIC
 Provocative movie suitable for teens.
 
 September 2, 2010 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Nell Minow
 Common Sense Media
 TOP CRITIC
 At heart it’s a terribly anguished expression of rejection, loneliness and love. If only it knew when to stop.
 
 August 16, 2007
 
 Geoff Andrew
 Time Out
 TOP CRITIC
 What makes this world so compelling is that Spielberg shows us, as few others could have, how ordinary people like ourselves feel living in it.
 
 May 9, 2002 | Rating: B-
 
 Steven D. Greydanus
 Decent Films
 TOP CRITIC
 At least it restates HAL’s case with commendable vehemence and a kaleidoscopic ingenuity.
 
 March 3, 2002
 
 Philip Strick
 Sight & Sound
 TOP CRITIC
 Temperamentally, Spielberg and Kubrick are such polar opposites that A.I. has the moment-to-moment effect of being completely at odds with itself.
 
 October 29, 2001
 
 Peter Rainer
 New York Magazine/Vulture
 TOP CRITIC
 It’s a film whose humanity is kept at a distance so audiences might question how to define it, challenging us through its narrative to approach humanity from a human-less perspective.
 
 March 18, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
 
 Brian Eggert
 Deep Focus Review
 In addition to its study of love, A.I. examines the morality of creating something that can love, that must love, but whose deeply-felt affections may not always be returned.
 
 July 6, 2021
 
 Andrew Bloom
 The Spool
 It’s Spielberg’s distinct sensibility that makes the difference. Rejecting the cynical trickery some people prefer in drama, his A.I. is equal to Kubrick’s finest work.
 
 June 30, 2021
 
 Armond White
 New York Press
 A.I. Artificial Intelligence manages to honor its Kubrickian origin while Steven Spielberg adds his own touch.
 
 June 29, 2021
 
 Danielle Solzman
 Solzy at the Movies
 Aside from the conflicting ideas on artificiality and humankind and love (and the ill-defined boundaries of David’s capabilities), the visuals are spectacular.
 
 September 25, 2020 | Rating: 6/10
 
 Mike Massie
 Gone With The Twins
 Although [A.I.] falls short of answering the questions raised by the basic premise of the film, it nevertheless makes you take pause in showing the irony of robots who are actually more human, and definitely more humane, than the humans themselves.
 
 November 6, 2019
 
 Debbie Lynn Elias
 Behind The Lens…

 

Plot
In the not-so-far future the polar ice caps have melted and the resulting rise of the ocean waters has drowned all the coastal cities of the world. Withdrawn to the interior of the continents, the human race keeps advancing, reaching the point of creating realistic robots (called mechas) to serve them. One of the mecha-producing companies builds David, an artificial kid which is the first to have real feelings, especially a never-ending love for his “mother”, Monica. Monica is the woman who adopted him as a substitute for her real son, who remains in cryo-stasis, stricken by an incurable disease. David is living happily with Monica and her husband, but when their real son returns home after a cure is discovered, his life changes dramatically.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
NA
 

 
Steven-Spielberg.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Asghar Farhadi Productions, Dreamlab Films, MPAAPSA Academy Film Fund,
 
Distributor
NA
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
1227 Montgomery Street, Telegraph Hill, San Francisco, California, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
PG
 
Year of Release
1956
 

 
Genre(s)
Horror
 
Keyword(s)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers, horror, sci-fi, political allegory, efficient, chilling, Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter, Carolyn Jones, Larry Gates, King Donovan, Jean Willes, Don Siegel, Walter Wanger, Daniel Mainwaring, 98% Tomatometer, 85% audience score, 1h 20m runtime, Santa Mira, California, alien species, human duplicates, plant-like pods, genre, English, Feb 5, 1956 release date, Jun 23, 1998 streaming release date, Peeping Tom, A Fistful of Dollars, Soylent Green, Dracula, Ninja Scroll, box office performance, budget, Kimberly Pierce, Kevin Maher, Jonathan Romney, Peter Bradshaw, David Jenkins, Tim Robey, Eddie Harrison, Mike Massie, Matt Brunson, Sean Mulvihill, Felix Vasquez Jr., Raquel Stecher, critic reviews, audience reviews, Best Horror Movies, RT Podcasts, Most Anticipated Movies, Best Netflix Series, MCU Movies Ranked By Tomatometer, Renewed & Cancelled TV Shows 2022, Best 2022 Horror Movies Ranked By Tomatometer, TV Premiere Dates 2022, The Worst Horror Movies of All Time, Best Netflix Series & Shows
 

Cast & Crew

Kevin McCarthy

Dana Wynter

Carolyn Jones

Larry Gates

King Donovan

Dr. Miles J. Bennell

Becky Driscoll

Theodora “Teddy” Belicec

Dr. Dan “Danny” Kauffman

Jack Belicec

Kevin McCarthy – Dr. Miles J. Bennell
Dana Wynter – Becky Driscoll
Carolyn Jones – Theodora “Teddy” Belicec
Larry Gates – Dr. Dan “Danny” Kauffman
King Donovan – Jack Belicec
Jean Willes – Nurse Sally Withers

 

Don Siegel

Daniel Mainwaring

Walter Wanger

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Don Siegel
 
Writer(s)
Daniel Mainwaring
 
Producer(s)
Walter Wanger

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
3 wins & 10 nominations
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Kimberly Pierce

Kevin Maher

Jonathan Romney

Peter Bradshaw

David Jenkins

Ticklish Business

Times (UK)

Observer (UK)

Guardian

Little White Lies

INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS
  All Critics (59) | Top Critics (14) | Fresh (58) | Rotten (1)
  A dive into Invasion of the Body Snatchers shows how special this movie is… Whether it be though an examinations of the pods as a metaphor for communism, or… the downside of consumerism… this movie is a riveting example of timely 1950s cinema.
 
  May 1, 2022 | Rating: 4.5/5
 
  Kimberly Pierce
  Ticklish Business
  TOP CRITIC
  “You fools! You’re in danger! Can’t you see? They’re after you! They’re after all of us!” It’s one of the greatest lines in sci-fi movie history, from one of the greatest films, Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
 
  December 4, 2014 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Kevin Maher
  Times (UK)
  TOP CRITIC
  Watch it in the cinema and you’ll find yourself gazing warily at everyone else in your row.
 
  November 2, 2014 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Jonathan Romney
  Observer (UK)
  TOP CRITIC
  A movie that can claim kinship with Alberto Cavalcanti’s Went the Day Well? as well as The Matrix and Under the Skin.
 
  October 30, 2014 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Peter Bradshaw
  Guardian
  TOP CRITIC
  A film whose righteous anger is visible in its every frame.
 
  October 30, 2014 | Rating: 4/5
 
  David Jenkins
  Little White Lies
  TOP CRITIC
  Brilliantly placed, however unwittingly, to illustrate America’s political paranoia from both ends.
 
  October 30, 2014 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Tim Robey
  Daily Telegraph (UK)
  TOP CRITIC
  …the rising terror of the nightmare depicted here is very much in tune with 2021’s on-going state of fear and loathing between previously trusting neighbours…
 
  October 28, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Eddie Harrison
  film-authority.com
  A daring, tragic, influential, adventurous, utterly perfect blend of smart sci-fi and creeping dread.
 
  August 23, 2020 | Rating: 10/10
 
  Mike Massie
  Gone With The Twins
  This remains not only the best of the adaptations but also one of the best horror/sci-fi films ever made.
 
  March 14, 2019 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Matt Brunson
  Film Frenzy
  Don Siegel’s lean, efficient masterwork of paranoia has never looked better thanks to a gorgeous restoration that vividly brings the black and white terror to your home.
 
  December 6, 2018 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Sean Mulvihill
  FanboyNation.com
  Still the quintessential science fiction horror film…
 
  November 1, 2018
 
  Felix Vasquez Jr.
  Cinema Crazed
  gripping and suspenseful… perfectly paced.
 
  October 22, 2018
 
  Raquel Stecher
  Out of the Past…

 

Plot
The first remake of the paranoid infiltration classic moves the setting for the invasion from a small town to the city of San Francisco and starts as Matthew Bennell notices that several of his friends are complaining that their close relatives are in some way different. When questioned later they themselves seem changed as they deny everything or make lame excuses. As the invaders increase in number they become more open and Bennell, who has by now witnessed an attempted “replacement” realises that he and his friends must escape or suffer the same fate. But who can he trust to help him and who has already been snatched?
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
No goofy or funny or odd comments were found on Fresh Kernels for Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
 

 
Don-Siegel.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Art Matters Inc., BBC Television, Edelman Family Fund,
 
Distributor
Warner Bros., Warner Home Vídeo
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Monument Valley, Arizona, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Passed
 
Year of Release
1956
 

 
Genre(s)
Western
 
Keyword(s)
Western, John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Natalie Wood, Vera Miles, Ward Bond, John Qualen, directed by John Ford, produced by C.V Whitney, written by Alan Le May, Frank S Nugent, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Michael Wilmington, Jack Moffitt, Ronald Holloway, Dave Kehr, Derek Adams, Steven D Greydanus, Victor Pineyro, Francois Truffaut, Brian Eggert, Don Shanahan, MPAA rating, Ethan Edwards, Martin Pawley, Debbie Edwards, Laurie Jorgensen, Rev Capt Samuel Johnston Clayton, Lars Jorgensen
 

Cast & Crew

John Wayne

Jeffrey Hunter

Natalie Wood

Vera Miles

Ward Bond

Ethan Edwards

Martin Pawley

Debbie Edwards (older)

Laurie Jorgensen

Rev. Capt. Samuel Johnston Clayton

John Wayne – Ethan Edwards
Jeffrey Hunter – Martin Pawley
Natalie Wood – Debbie Edwards (older)
Vera Miles – Laurie Jorgensen
Ward Bond – Rev. Capt. Samuel Johnston Clayton
John Qualen – Lars Jorgensen

 

John Ford

Alan Le May

C.V. Whitney

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
John Ford
 
Writer(s)
Alan Le May, Frank S. Nugent
 
Producer(s)
C.V. Whitney

 

Film Festivals
Cannes
 
Awards & Nominations
3 wins & 3 nominations
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Michael Wilmington

Jack Moffitt

Ronald Holloway

Dave Kehr

Derek Adams

Chicago Tribune

Hollywood Reporter

Variety

Chicago Reader

Time Out

THE SEARCHERS
  All Critics (53) | Top Critics (12) | Fresh (50) | Rotten (3)
  [The Searchers is] Ford’s greatest western, with John Wayne as the relentless adventurer Ethan Edwards.
 
  February 5, 2019 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Michael Wilmington
  Chicago Tribune
  TOP CRITIC
  This C.V. Whitney production is undoubtedly one of the greatest Westerns ever made.
 
  March 19, 2018
 
  Jack Moffitt
  Hollywood Reporter
  TOP CRITIC
  Some fine vignettes of frontier life in the early southwest and a realistic presentation of the difficulties faced by the settlers in carving out a homestead in dangerous Indian country.
 
  June 27, 2007
 
  Ronald Holloway
  Variety
  TOP CRITIC
  Through the central image of the frontier, the meeting point of wilderness and civilization, Ford explores the divisions of our national character, with its search for order and its need for violence, its spirit of community and its quest for independence
 
  June 27, 2007
 
  Dave Kehr
  Chicago Reader
  TOP CRITIC
  There is perhaps some discrepancy in the play between Wayne’s heroic image and the pathological outsider he plays here (forever excluded from home, as the doorway shots at beginning and end suggest), but it hardly matters, given the film’s visual splendou
 
  February 9, 2006
 
  Derek Adams
  Time Out
  TOP CRITIC
  The Searchers’s reputation is so widely accepted that it’s a surprise to discover that the film, and Wayne’s character, are more complex than the reputation suggests.
 
  November 22, 2004 | Rating: A-
 
  Steven D. Greydanus
  Decent Films
  TOP CRITIC
  A road movie disguised as a western. Ford deals with revenge, redemption, love, violence and obsession in a beautifully shot film by veteran cinematographer William C. Hoch. Full review in Spanish
 
  April 7, 2022 | Rating: 8/10
 
  Victor Pineyro
  Seventh Art Studio
  John Ford symbolizes an age of Hollywood, the one when good health prevailed over intelligence, craftiness over sincerity. This age has gone; Elia Kazan’s and Nicholas Ray’s movies make more money than John Ford’s, poetry triumphs over entertainment.
 
  April 4, 2022
 
  Francois Truffaut
  Arts (France)
  The motion picture Ford considered his own masterpiece confronts prior standards, meets issues of revenge and discrimination within a ponderous text, and revises the director’s Western model forevermore.
 
  March 21, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Brian Eggert
  Deep Focus Review
  Gorgeous cinematography versus pushback politics.
 
  October 31, 2021
 
  Don Shanahan
  Cinephile Hissy Fit Podcast
  Entertaining, well-acted and directed, and beautiful to watch.
 
  May 11, 2021 | Rating: 9/10
 
  Bradley Gibson
  Film Threat
  Overall, I didn’t enjoy The Searchers very much. I respect Ford as a filmmaker and I think he did his best to show a realistic view of how settlers felt about the Native Americans but it is still a tough film to watch with modern eyes.
 
  March 24, 2021
 
  Sarah Brinks
  Battleship Pretension…

 

Plot
After a long three-year absence, the battle-scarred Confederate veteran of the American Civil War, Ethan Edwards turns up on the remote and dusty Texan homestead of his brother, Aaron. In high hopes of finding peace, instead, the taciturn former soldier will embark on a treacherous five-year odyssey of retribution, when the ruthless Chief Scar’s murderous Comanche raiding party massacres his family, burns the ranch to the ground, and abducts his nine-year-old niece, Debbie. Driven by hatred of Indians, Ethan and his young companion, Martin Pawley, ride through the unforgiving desert to track down their lost Debbie; however, is the woman they lost and the prisoner in Scar’s teepee still the same woman the searchers seek?
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
NA
 

 
John-Ford.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Diamond Docs Fish Films, Oceanic Preservation Society
 
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Ras Safsafa, South Sinai Governorate, Egypt
 
MPAA / Certificate
G
 
Year of Release
1956
 

 
Genre(s)
History/Drama
 
Keyword(s)

Cast & Crew

Charlton Heston

Yul Brynner

Edward G. Robinson

Anne Baxter

Yvonne De Carlo

Moses

Rameses

Dathan

Nefretiri

Sephora

Charlton Heston – Moses, Yul Brynner – Rameses, Edward G. Robinson – Dathan, Anne Baxter – Nefretiri, Yvonne De Carlo – Sephora, Debra Paget – Lilia. Directed by Cecil B. DeMille. Produced by Cecil B. DeMille. Written by Æneas MacKenzie, Jesse Lasky Jr., Fredric M Frank, Jack Gariss.

 

Cecil B. DeMille

Æneas MacKenzie

Cecil B. DeMille

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Cecil B. DeMille
 
Writer(s)
Æneas MacKenzie, Jesse Lasky Jr., Fredric M Frank, Jack Gariss
 
Producer(s)
Cecil B. DeMille

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
NA
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
 

Top Reviews

New York Daily News Staff

James Powers

Kate Cameron

Leonard Maltin

Roger Moore

New York Daily News

Hollywood Reporter

leonardmaltin.com

Orlando Sentinel

Chicago Reader

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
 All Critics (43) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (37) | Rotten (6)
 It is all a grandly unrestrained act of regression to the infantile days of the cinema, which DeMille seems never to have outgrown.
 
 November 17, 2021
 
 New York Daily News Staff
 New York Daily News
 TOP CRITIC
 There is no other picture like it. There will be none. If it could be summed up in a word, the word would be sublime. And the man responsible for that, when all is said and done is Cecil B. DeMille.
 
 April 7, 2015
 
 James Powers
 Hollywood Reporter
 TOP CRITIC
 DeMille’s direction of the action is superb and the various roles are played with feeling by a large and competent cast, headed by Charlton Heston.
 
 December 10, 2014 | Rating: 5/5
 
 Kate Cameron
 New York Daily News
 TOP CRITIC
 It seems as if some films are perpetually being restored, with each new version touted as better than the last. That said, I can assure you that the new DVD and Blu-ray edition of…
 
 April 21, 2011
 
 Leonard Maltin
 leonardmaltin.com
 TOP CRITIC
 May 13, 2009 | Rating: 2/5
 
 Roger Moore
 Orlando Sentinel
 TOP CRITIC
 With a running time of nearly four hours, Cecil B. De Mille’s last feature and most extravagant blockbuster is full of the absurdities and vulgarities one expects, but it isn’t boring for a minute.
 
 March 4, 2008
 
 Jonathan Rosenbaum
 Chicago Reader
 TOP CRITIC
 …De Mille places each actor and drapes each Edith Head gown with such fastidious pride it’s as if the hands of history, if not God himself, were responsible.
 
 March 3, 2022 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
 Bill Chambers
 Film Freak Central
 Whatever its dramatic and religious shortcomings, the film grapples — and often tellingly — with subject matter of great importance for this or any year.
 
 July 14, 2021
 
 Moira Walsh
 America Magazine
 Cecil B. DeMille set out not just to be entertaining but to do as much justice to the Moses saga as he could, with as much awe and pomp and grandeur as the Fifties studio system could muster. He succeeded spectacularly.
 
 April 5, 2021
 
 Kyle Smith
 National Review
 As The Ten Commandments hits its sixty-fifth anniversary, it is once again being celebrated and has been given a true makeover.
 
 March 29, 2021 | Rating: 4.5/5
 
 Allison Rose
 FlickDirect
 The Ten Commandments may have been impressive for its time but the film horribly fails in its attempt to recreate the story of the Exodus.
 
 May 28, 2020 | Rating: 3/5
 
 Danielle Solzman
 Solzy at the Movies
 Staggering as spectacle and inspirational as a Biblical tale, but it has to labor mighty hard to overcome the lamentable dialogue (“Oh, Moses, Moses, you stubborn, splendid, adorable fool!”) and the poor acting by virtually all of its leading players.
 
 March 14, 2020 | Rating: 2.5/4
 
 Matt Brunson
 Film Frenzy…

 

Plot
To escape the edict of Egypt’s Pharaoh Rameses I (Ian Keith), condemning all newborn Hebrew males, the infant Moses (Fraser C. Heston) is set adrift on the Nile in a reed basket. Saved by the pharaoh’s daughter Bithiah (Nina Foch), he is adopted by her and brought up in the court of her brother, Pharaoh Sethi (Sir Cedric Hardwicke). Moses (Charlton Heston) gains Sethi’s favor and the love of the throne Princess Nefretiri (Anne Baxter), as well as the hatred of Sethi’s son, Rameses II (Yul Brynner). When his Hebrew heritage is revealed, Moses is cast out of Egypt, and makes his way across the desert where he marries, has a son, and is commanded by God to return to Egypt to free the Hebrews from slavery. In Egypt, Moses’ fiercest enemy proves to be not Rameses II, but someone near to him who can “harden his heart”.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
NA
 

 
Cecil-B.-DeMille.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer,
 
Distributor
Warner Bros., Warner Home Vídeo, United Artists
 
Release Type

 
Filming Location(s)

 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG for some action and rude humor.
 
Year of Release
1956
 

 
Genre(s)
Comedy/Drama
 
Keyword(s)
starring David Niven, Cantinflas, Shirley MacLaine, Robert Newton, Charles Boyer, Joe E Brown, directed by Michael Anderson, written by Jules Verne, James Poe, John Farrow, genre: comedy, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Times (UK) Staff, James Berardinelli, TIME Staff, Variety Staff, Dave Kehr, Bosley Crowther, Robert Bingham, Mike Massie, Tim Brayton, Clyde Gilmour, Tim Evans, Isabel Quigly, produced by Michael Todd, MPAA rating: G, Victorian-era, Englishman, Phileas Fogg, gentleman’s club, circumnavigate the globe, 20,000 pounds, stalwart manservant, Passepartout, dogged Police Inspector, chicanery, adventure, cameos, celebrity cameos, exotic places, travelogue, music, end title credit sequence, cinematography, locations, Best Picture winner, horror movies, MCU movies, Netflix series, TV shows, streaming movies, critic reviews, audience reviews, Fresh Kernels
 

Cast & Crew

David Niven

Cantinflas

Shirley MacLaine

Robert Newton

Charles Boyer

Phileas Fogg

Passepartout

Princess Aouda

Mr. Fix

Monsieur Gasse

David Niven – Phileas Fogg
Cantinflas – Passepartout
Shirley MacLaine – Princess Aouda
Robert Newton – Mr. Fix
Charles Boyer – Monsieur Gasse, Travel Agent
Joe E. Brown – Stationmaster

 

Michael Anderson

Jules Verne

Michael Todd

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Michael Anderson
 
Writer(s)
Jules Verne, James Poe, John Farrow
 
Producer(s)
Michael Todd

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
NA
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

James Berardinelli

Times (UK) Staff

Variety Staff

Dave Kehr

Bosley Crowther

Times

ReelViews

TIME Magazine

Variety

Chicago Reader

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS
 All Critics (43) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (30) | Rotten (13)
 Outstanding in the long part of Mr. Fogg’s faithful valet, Passepartout, is Cantinflas, a sad-faced comedian with a delightful economy of gesture and expression, who adds just the right note of implausibility to the whole highly improbable affair.
 
 August 27, 2020
 
 Times (UK) Staff
 Times (UK)
 TOP CRITIC
 With its lazy, somnambulant pace and endless stream of cameos, Around the World in 80 Days seems to be unfolding in real time.
 
 October 2, 2018 | Rating: 2.5/4
 
 James Berardinelli
 ReelViews
 TOP CRITIC
 The wonder is that this Polyphemus of productions does not simply collapse of its own overweight; but, thanks principally to Showman Todd, the picture skips along with an amazing lightness.
 
 February 18, 2009
 
 TIME Staff
 TIME Magazine
 TOP CRITIC
 With a smash lineup of stars in major and minor parts, Todd has turned out a surefire hit.
 
 January 28, 2008
 
 Variety Staff
 Variety
 TOP CRITIC
 Proof that you can buy an Academy Award.
 
 December 12, 2006
 
 Dave Kehr
 Chicago Reader
 TOP CRITIC
 Is the whole thing too exhausting? It’s a question of how much you can take. We not only took it but found it most amusing.
 
 March 25, 2006
 
 Bosley Crowther
 New York Times
 TOP CRITIC
 It’s just about the most delightful way of spending three hours that I can think of offhand. At last the wide screen and full-color films have been used to make a picture that is worthy of them and appropriate to them.
 
 February 10, 2022
 
 Robert Bingham
 The Reporter
 The predictable conclusion, which brings the success of the odyssey down to the wire, still contains a hint of satisfaction.
 
 August 15, 2020 | Rating: 4/10
 
 Mike Massie
 Gone With The Twins
 You see every penny of its extremely generous budget onscreen. Even when you may not wish to.
 
 June 24, 2020 | Rating: 2.5/5
 
 Tim Brayton
 Alternate Ending
 Jules Verne’s comedy-adventure about a trip encircling the globe in 1872 has been turned into a richly entertaining three-ring circus of a movie…
 
 January 29, 2020
 
 Clyde Gilmour
 Maclean’s Magazine
 For an adventure yarn based on a story of intrepid adventurers circumnavigating the globe, this barely scrapes off the ground.
 
 February 20, 2019 | Rating: 2/5
 
 Tim Evans
 Sky Cinema
 The result… is a rollicking three hours.
 
 February 19, 2019
 
 Isabel Quigly
 The Spectator…

 

Plot
Victorian-era Englishman Phileas Fogg bets 20,000 pounds that he can circumnavigate the globe in 80 days with his manservant Passepartout, while being pursued by a police inspector who suspects him of cheating in the charmingly light-hearted comedy/drama, Around the World in 80 Days.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Cantinflas’ performance as Passepartout is described as “iconically charming” by one audience reviewer.
 

 
Michael-Anderson.jpg