Columnist Chuck Ross of TV Week wrote a beautiful and challenging article last Thursday on the occasion of the death of director Arthur Penn. Penn cut his directing teeth in live television of the 1950s, and Ross has some challenging notions for the revival of TV drama, specifically the anthology form which was such an important artistic component of TV during that era.
As TV fans, you will really enjoy reading Ross' "A Death in the Family: The Importance of Arthur Penn's TV Roots and a Challenge to Leslie Moonves, Josh Sapan, Charlie Collier, Bonnie Hammer and Their Industry Colleagues".
For another great Arthur Penn article, check out this one from The Hollywood Interview website by Alex Simon and Terry Keefe, on the occasion of Penn's death last week. For another excellent look at his cinema output, you will enjoy Adam Bingham's essay on Arthur Penn on Senses of Cinema. You may also want to check out the previews of an amazing book entitled Arthur Penn: Interviews, compiled by Michael Chaiken and Paul Cronin. Incredible stuff!
This is a good time to remind you that tonight on TCM there's a mini-tribute to Penn, starting at 6:15p with the fascinating 1965 drama Mickey One, starring Warren Beatty, and then Penn's 1967 masterpiece Bonnie & Clyde at 8pm. My other favorite Penn works? The Miracle Worker and The Left Handed Gun.
I will leave you with one of the most stupendous scenes from any movie...