Charlton Heston and Janet Leigh star in Orson Welles’ baroque border town murder mystery, a sleazy, grimy, jittery, and ultimately dazzling work of cinematic magic.
Tag: Marlene Dietrich
‘The Blue Angel’ – Marlene Dietrich’s breakthrough on Criterion Channel
The Blue Angel (1930) – American director Josef von Sternberg went to Germany to direct Emil Jannings in his transition from silent to sound cinema and returned to Hollywood with an international hit and a new star: Marlene Dietrich. Not exactly what Jannings had in mind, but then how could he know that his thick, […]
‘Witness for the Prosecution’ with Charles Laughton and Marlene Dietrich on Amazon Prime Video
Based on the stage play by Agatha Christie, Witness for the Prosecution (1957) isn’t opened up for the screen so much as it is perked up with witty dialogue and wily characterizations, two strengths of filmmaker Billy Wilder and writing and producing partner I.A.L. Diamond. Charles Laughton plays the legendary barrister who defies doctor’s order […]
Criterion Blu-ray: Dietrich & Von Sternberg in Hollywood
Dietrich & Von Sternberg in Hollywood (Criterion, Blu-ray, DVD) At the dawn of the sound era, as German movie star Emil Jannings left Hollywood to return to Germany, the actor invited Austrian-born/American-raised director Josef von Sternberg (who directed Jannings in The Last Command, 1928) to Universum Film A.G. to direct him in that studio’s first […]