Just some thoughts on current happenings:

Classic film screenings from around the world is returning this month in a limited capacity. Due to the Corona virus pandemic, please contact the theatre of choice regarding any restrictions including vaccination requirements, masks, social distancing, limited seating or last minute cancellations.

In Los Angeles, California Secret Movie Club is showing Husbands (1970, a 35mm print) Thursday, November 4 at The Secret Movie Club Theatre. They will also be presenting a double bill of The Night of the Hunter (1955, a 35mm print) and All That Jazz (1979, a 35mm print) on Saturday, November 13 at The Million Dollar Theater Movie Palace.

For more information on each of these special screenings, click on the above corresponding image. To discover other screenings organised by this group, click on the above theatre image.

In London, United Kingdom The Prince Charles Cinema will present a double bill of Robocop (1987, a 35mm print) and Starship Troopers (1997, a 35mm print) Friday, November 5, 12 Angry Men (1957, a 35mm print) Sunday, November 7, The Night of the Hunter (1955) Sunday, November 7 and Tuesday, November 9, No Country for Old Men (2007, a 35mm print) Sunday, November 7 and Monday, November 29, Dr. Strangelove (1964, a 35mm print) Thursday, November 11 and Sunday, November 21, Heat (1995, a 35mm print, as part of this film’s 25th Anniversary) Saturday, November 13, Duck Soup (1933) Saturday, November 20, The Best Years of Our Lives (1946, a rare 35mm print, as part of this film’s 75th Anniversary) Sunday, November 21, Pickpocket (1959, a 35mm print) Sunday, November 21, and Casablanca (1942, a 35mm print) on Sunday, November 28.

Click on the film’s respective image for more information. To see November’s complete programming, click on The Prince Charles Cinema banner above.

In Los Angeles, California The Beverly Cinema will present The China Syndrome (1979, a 35mm print) Friday, November 5 and Saturday, November 6, a double bill of Straight Time (1978, a 35mm print) and Thief (1981, a 35mm print) Friday, November 12, Saturday, November 13 and Sunday, November 14, Seven Samurai (1954, a 35mm print) Friday, November 19, Saturday, November 20 and Sunday, November 21, Meet Me in St. Louis (1944, a 35mm print) Thursday, November 25, Rosemary’s Baby (1968, a 35mm print) Saturday, November 27, and a double bill of Baby Face (1933, a 35mm print) and Night Nurse (1931, a 35mm print) on Monday, November 29 and Tuesday November 30.

Click on the film’s respective image for more information. To see the rest of November’s schedule, click on The Beverly Cinema banner above.

In Bergen, Norway The Cinemateket i Bergen will present Repulsion (1965) on Sunday, November 7.

For more information on this film’s showing, click on the movie’s image above. For more information on the other films showing at The Cinemateket, click on the banner image above.

In theatres across the U.S. Flashback Cinema is presenting Saving Private Ryan (1998) on Sunday, November 7 and Wednesday, November 10.

Click on the poster image for more information. To see the entire month’s programming, click on The Flashback Cinema banner above.

In Valencia, Spain, Culturarts Generalitat IVAC – La Filmoteca will be presenting Party Girl (1958, a 35mm print) Sunday, November 7 and Wednesday, November 10, and Odds Against Tomorrow (1959, a 35mm print) on Tuesday, November 9 and Wednesday, November 10.

Click on the respective film’s image for more information on each screening. To discover the entire month’s programming, click on the banner image above.

In theatres across the U.S., TCM and Fathom Events are presenting High Society (1956, as part of this film’s 65th Anniversary) Wednesday, November 10 and Sunday, November 14, and West Side Story (1961, as part of this film’s 60th Anniversary) on Sunday, November 28 and Wednesday, December 1.

Click on the respective poster image for more information. To see this month’s entire schedule, click on The Fathom Events banner above.

In New York City, New York, Film Forum is presenting a series entitled “Road Movies” from Friday, November 12 through to Thursday, December 2. Highlights include Il Sorpasso (1962), Gun Crazy (1949, a 35mm print), They Live by Night (1949, a 35mm print), Bonnie and Clyde (1967, a 35mm print), The Getaway (1972), Beggars of Life (1928, featuring Live Piano Accompaniment by Steve Sterner, along with an Introduction by Leonard Maltin via Zoom) Sullivan’s Travels (1942, a 35mm print, along with an Introduction by Leonard Maltin via Zoom), Wild Strawberries (1957), Duel (1971, a 4K DCP restoration), and Wild Boys of the Road (1933, a 35mm print).

For information on any of the films in this series, click on the “Road Movies” image above. For information on all of the films playing this month, click on the Film Forum banner above.

In San Francisco, California, the Roxie Theatre will host Mid-Century Production’s The French Had a Name For It ‘21 from November 12 - 14. This festival will feature many rare French film noir gems.

For more information, including other films playing this month at the Roxie theatre, click on the image above.

In Melbourne, Australia The Astor Theatre is presenting Taxi Driver (1976, a 35mm print) Saturday, November 20, The Straight Story (1999, a 35mm print) Sunday, November 21, and Citizen Kane (1941, a 35mm print, as part of this film’s 80th Anniversary) on Sunday, November 28.

Click on the respective image for more information. To see the rest of November’s schedule, click on The Astor Theatre banner above.

There are 19 recommended films to watch on Turner Classic Movies in the U.S. this month:

“Made it, Ma! Top of the world!”

A criminal's mother-fixated pathology and the undercover cop trying to catch him are the topics of an indisputable film noir White Heat, a previous recommendation here. TCM's screen will heat up Saturday, November 6 at 11 am PDT.

Dedicated readers of this column will be aware that TCM occasionally shows international cinema of an obscure nature. This next pair of films represent the extreme variety of that group and come highly recommended. They are the first two motion pictures directed by the supremely undervalued Hideo Gosha. In addition, both belong to the jidaigeki (a film or television show based on the Edo period of Japanese history) genre, more commonly referred to as “samurai” films. Gosha’s debut motion picture, 1964’s Three Outlaw Samurai aka Sanbiki no samurai , reviewed as a Blu-ray selection at the end of this column, will be presented on TCM Sunday, November 7 at 11 pm PDT. Immediately thereafter, 1965’s Sword of the Beast aka Kedamono no ken will air Monday, November 8 at 12:45 am PST. (Note the time change, necessitating U.S. viewers turn their clocks back 1 hour at midnight).

Make way for a rapturous Stanley Donen directed musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, reviewed here, Monday, November 8 at 7 pm PST.

Immediately following “Seven Brides… “ is the equally robust musical Guys and Dolls previously reviewed here. Both genders can be enjoyed on TCM Monday, November 8 at 9 pm PST.

One of the most prestigious American films ever made, is the subsuming anti-war drama Paths of Glory, previously reviewed as a Blu-ray recommendation here. Paths of Glory will be forged Thursday, November 11 at 3:15 pm PST.

Following Paths of Glory, TCM will show The Best Years of Our Lives, an incisive look into how each of three returning servicemen adapt to civilian life at home, after World War II. Previously, I highly praised The Best Years of Our Lives for its exceptional musical score composed by Hugo Friedhofer in the first part of a series entitled Top Ten: Motion Picture Music Treasures. This emotional tour de force will commence on TCM Thursday, November 11 at 5 pm PST.

Dana Andrews, holding the Mayo... Virginia Mayo that is

"And then I saw her - coming out of the sun. And I knew why Whit didn't care about that 40 grand."

Out of the Past, is one of film noir's finest and most highly recommended here. She will arrive Friday, November 12 at 10:30 am PST.

There’s another film noir, well worth seeing entitled The Lineup, directed by Don Siegel and reviewed here. This also happens to be the next stop in Eddie Muller’s Noir Alley Saturday, November 13 at 9:15 pm PST and again on Sunday, November 14 at 7 am PST.

Next is The Treasure of the Sierra Madre with Humphrey Bogart portraying perhaps his darkest and most psychologically troubled character. Watching his slow transformation from an honest and idealistic adventurer to a tormented, paranoid psychotic is one of the art's most stunning, dramatically forceful turnarounds perfectly matched to a magnificent and fatalistically ironic conclusion. My previous thoughts on this film are here. This "treasure" can be discovered Monday, November 15 at 1 pm PST and again on Saturday, November 27 at 2:45 pm PST.

(From left) Walter Huston, Humphrey Bogart, Tim Holt

TCM is presenting another film starring Humphrey Bogart. Despite its ridiculously hard to follow plot, this film's wildly entertaining detective yarn is worth waking up for.

Previously reviewed here, The Big Sleep will awaken Tuesday, November 16 at 10:30 am PST.

A most talented friend on Facebook, Leilani Roundtree, has graciously allowed me to post her own very special modernised trailer for The Big Sleep. This amazing work both spoofs contemporary coming attractions while paying homage to the early classic in a most delightful way! Enjoy!

Immediately following The Big Sleep is still another film starring Humphrey Bogart as well as being another film noir worth seeing, Dark Passage previously reviewed as a Blu-ray pick of the month here. Bogart’s treacherous passage will begin on TCM Tuesday, November 16 at 12:45 pm PST.

Those unfamiliar with filmmaker Gordon Parks' autobiographical debut film The Learning Tree do not want to miss this touching coming of age story. The film was previously lauded, along with its creator Parks, in an article entitled: Exploring the Artefacts #5: The Alchemist. Included are some clips of Parks' music compositions for The Learning Tree and Shaft's Big Score. The Learning Tree can be studied Tuesday, November 16 at 6 pm PST.

Next is Sam Peckinpah's Ride the High Country. The famous director's love for his characters and the Western frontier they inhabit greatly enriches this compelling tale (metaphorically suggested by the film's title) of moral redemption. The casting is inspired, not only of the actors but the technical crew as well. This is Top Ten Western #4 and has been previously reviewed here. It airs Saturday, November 20 at 11 am PST.

(From left) Randolph Scott, Ron Starr, Joel McCrea

"Why should the Falls drag me down here at 5 o'clock in the morning? To show me how big they are and how small I am? To remind me they can get along without any help? All right, so they've proved it. But why not? They've had ten thousand years to get independent. What's so wonderful about that? I suppose I could too, only it might take a little more time."

What exactly is film noir? Many enthusiasts and experts continue to debate the subject, with numerous examples of films that should, and just as many that should not, be included in the category. Some, who most likely feel that noir films rely on a certain look, dismiss any colour film as unworthy of being categorised as such. Others like myself, prone to distinguishing noir by its subject matter, are more inclined to include colour films produced during noir's classic time period that focus on crime and the psychologies of those involved. This brings me to my next TCM selection and a prior Blu-ray recommendation here, 1953's Niagara, one of the strongest arguments for colour noir that exists. See for yourself on Saturday, November 20 at 5 pm PST.

MGM's 1952 musical Singin' in the Rain was not adapted from a theatrical production, though the film was later turned into one, being first presented on stage in 1983. Its abundant creativity, innovation and driving energy place this film at the top of all cinematic musicals ever produced. Singin' in the Rain has been reviewed as a past Blu-ray selection here and will joyously dance its way onto TCM Monday, November 22 at 9:30 pm PST.

Many readers have taken me to task for my inclusion of Casablanca on a list of “All that Glitters… ”: The Overrated. I would simply ask that they read what I wrote about this revered classic before judging me too harshly. There is much to praise about the film contained in my review and the weaknesses I've discovered are, I feel, worthy of consideration. In any event, please indulge in this motion picture's magic and then let me know if my criticisms have value. The journey begins Wednesday, November 24 at 5 pm PST.

After experiencing the fallout from my Casablanca review, shared in some of the Facebook movie chat rooms, it might be nice to indulge in a light-hearted and charming Christmas holiday treat: Ernst Lubitsch's The Shop Around the Corner.

Beneath an inventive situation comedy veneer, however, lies a serious underlying message regarding relationships and how concepts often get in the way of a more fulfilling union based on care and concern for one another. The Shop Around the Corner, previously praised here, will open Friday, November 26 at 10:15 am PST.

For those who enjoy the best in creative romantic comedy, be sure to tune in for Pillow Talk (reviewed here) Sunday, November 28 at 5 pm PST.

My final TCM recommendation for the month, is another highly regarded romance film which also happens to be a previous Top Ten: “All that Glitters…” selection. Doctor Zhivago (reviewed here) does have enough discernible attributes to make this distinguished film’s viewing worthwhile and will air Tuesday, November 30 at 9:15 am PST. My hope is that one will see the film first before reading the review which is admittedly more analytical than the majority of my other TCM recommendations.

TCM's current monthly schedule can be confirmed by clicking on any of the above TCM related images. For those who live in parts of the U.S. other than the western region, the time zone can be adjusted in the upper right-hand corner of TCM's programme.

This month's Happy Birthday shout-out goes to the formidable stage, film and television actress Diane Ladd who turns 86 on November 29th.

She’s received much praise for her work in, and lent great distinction to, such notable films as The Wild Angels (1966, as Gaysh) The Reivers (1969, as Phoebe), Chinatown (1974, as Ida Sessions), Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974, as Flo), All Night Long (1981, as Helen Dupler), Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983, as Mrs. Nightshade), Sweetwater (1983, as Lucy), Wild at Heart (1990, as Marietta Fortune), Rambling Rose (1991, as Mother), Citizen Ruth (1996, as Ruth’s mother), Ghosts of Mississippi (1996, as Caroline Moore), Primary Colors (1998, as Mamma Stanton), 28 Days (2000, as Bobbie Jean), Charlie’s War (2003, as Jobie), The World’s Fastest Indian (2005, as Ada), Inland Empire (2006, as Marilyn Levens), Jake’s Corner (2008, as Fran), American Cowslip (2009, as Roe) and Joy (2015, as Mimi). Diane has been nominated for a Best Supporting Actress three times for Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, all three of which also starred her daughter Laura Dern.

The Soundtrack recommendation for the month is composer Angelo Badalamenti's haunting score to 1986's cult favourite Blue Velvet.

Blue Velvet was writer/director David Lynch’s first collaboration with his longtime composer/partner Angelo Badalamenti (later made famous with the pair’s TV series Twin Peaks), and as stated in my review of the film (seen here), the composer is one of Lynch’s collaborators who “… are clearly in service of his unique vision.” This is a newly released Deluxe Edition 2 CD set made available from Varese Sarabande via their CD Club featuring many cues of mood enhancement that greatly contribute to the film’s ambiance. More information on, and ordering, this limited release (only 3,000 units produced) can be obtained direct from the manufacturer by clicking on the soundtrack image.

November's Blu-ray selection is Three Outlaw Samurai (1964).

One would be unlikely to find the name Hideo Gosha appearing in almost all of the numerous books on Japanese cinema. Perhaps that is because Gosha, unlike most of his country’s better known filmmakers, started in television: a medium often ignored or snubbed by film academia due to its wrongly perceived low artistic status, as if this environment would preclude the ascendance of any true auteur. As many cinema enthusiasts and historians alike have come to learn in the U.S., however, through the works of Sidney Lumet and John Frankenheimer to name but a few, television can prove to be the right canvas for channeling the right artist’s passion. For the three aforementioned filmmakers, as well as many other notable craftspersons from yesteryear and today, television’s constraints provide the innate ability to transfuse an economic, concise and exceptional type of energy into the storytelling arts. Have a look at any of the old western TV series, for instance. At the very least, one can sense a desire to pack as much plot exposition and character revelation as possible into their shorter running time, to draw viewers in and keep them from switching channels.

Hideo Gosha’s first theatrical feature, Three Outlaw Samurai (a smashing debut acting as a prequel to the hit TV series), was co-scripted by the director, along with Keiichi Abe and an uncredited Gin’ichi Kishimoto and has a thread somewhat similar to Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 Seven Samurai, the latter of which was remade as the 1960 western, The Magnificent Seven. Like Seven Samurai, there are victimised peasants in Three Outlaw Samurai rebelling against their oppressors, only instead of just a bad bunch of bandits, the poor villagers in the latter film are desperately acting in opposition to a powerful magistrate and using morally suspect means to do so: blackmail by kidnapping and holding hostage his helpless daughter. Further ethical and class complications are introduced by having the first of the three titular samurai, Sakon Shiba (Tetsurō Tamba, best known to western audiences as the Japanese liaison to Sean Connery’s James Bond in You Only Live Twice) presented as a wandering ronin (like Kurosawa’s Yojimbo) looking out for numero uno and to, at least at first, align himself with what he perceives to be the “winning” side. His, along with the other two outlaws’ conscious raising awareness, will contribute to this film’s compelling nature, in addition to being an important theme running throughout Gosha’s more illustrative works to come. See Hidden Gem #8 for an example. Gosha’s characters typically maintain complex inner psychologies, who persistently question their circumstances and allegiances, often resulting in a wide assortment of engrossing narrative twists, changing loyalties and indifferent outcomes. In keeping with this director’s lean storytelling style, both cogent discourse and intense action often occur in confined spaces advancing further his storytelling’s extraordinarily compact, thoughtful and visceral spirit.

Three Outlaw Samurai has been issued on the Criterion label (North America Region A locked) and is available from Amazon.com by clicking on the image below.

A.G.

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