——THE ESSENTIALS——
THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL (Vincente Minnelli)
Hollywood looks at itself once again, this time with great panache and very little whitewash. A well-mounted study of a heel (Kirk Douglas) who happens to be a movie producer and the people who have to deal with him. Juicy and insightful and immensely entertaining. It’s also quite credible. Also stars Lana Turner, Dick Powell and Walter Pidgeon. Gloria Grahame won a Supporting Actress Oscar with the least amount of screen time to date.
—–JEFF’S PICKS—–
THE FLAVOR OF GREEN TEA OVER RICE (Yasujiro Ozu)
Another treasure from Ozu, with more satiric notes than usual but with all the heart and social insight of all of his masterworks. Structured somewhat on the classic Hollywood rom-coms, FLAVOR nonetheless has a distinctive Japanese flavor all its own.
