Happy New Year, CS readers. Hope to see you around these parts often throughout 2022.
Arthur Miller was an important playwright of the 20th Century. I believe my first encounter with his work was the 1985 TV-movie version of Death of a Salesman starring Dustin Hoffman and John Malkovich, both of whom won Tony Awards for the 1984 Broadway revival, in a powerful story about the American Dream and the expectations and realities the accompany it. I don’t know when I became aware of The Crucible, but its take on the House Un-American Activities Committee viewed through the Salem witch trials is powerful and continues to resonate.
I didn’t know anything about All My Sons other than Miller wrote it when I went to go see it at the South Coast Repertory years ago. I was blown away by the plot, which was based on a true story, and by the performance in this post-WWII story that also explores the American Dream and those who strive for it.
Until Kino Lorber Studio Classics announced its release on Blu-ray, I didn’t know anything about this 1948 film starring Edward G. Robinson and Burt Lancaster as father and son. But knowing how good the story is and how good these actors are it is definitely my Pick of the Week.
Also out this week that looks interesting:
Black Friday: I am a sucker for Bruce Campbell and will see anything he’s in. In Todd Karella’s review, he called it “exactly the type of movie you’d expect of a B-rated flick involving zombies and alien parasites.
Rich and Strange: I don’t know some of the early films from Alfred Hitchcock’s career in Britain so this release will help. According to the Kino Lorner site, “When the Hills come into an inheritance from a wealthy uncle, Fred quits his mundane job and they embark on a world cruise to get a taste of the high life. But all does not go as planned as the couple’s voyage becomes fraught with treacherous romantic duplicities.”
Together: I am a fan of director Stephen Daldry and actor James McAvoy, but will a film set during the Covid-lockdown be too soon?
Antlers: I am not a big horror fan, but the trailer suggests there’s an interesting story told by Scott Cooper.
