News

Over the past century, movie characters have captivated audiences in countless ways, whether through love, hate, admiration, fear, or a mix of emotions. Movie characters are what audiences can identify with, whether they relate to their own life or the lives of the people around them.

These character journeys are the heart of a story, allowing audiences to witness growth, struggle, and triumph. Through the seamless weaving of plot and development, these movies create a masterful experience where characters not only explore their own worlds but also leave a lasting impact on the viewers.

Michael Corleone Takes the Godfather Name by Any Means Necessary Michael Corleone from The Godfather (1972)

The Godfather (1972) Reviews

Rotten Tomatoes Score

IMDb Rating

Letterboxd Average Score

92%

9.7/10

4.5/5

Michael Corleone’s arc in The Godfather is one of the most compelling and tragic transformations in cinematic history. As an outsider to the family business, Michael is initially portrayed as a war hero,...

A superb thriller is now better than ever on 4K. We’ve always known why it rewards viewings: it’s both thrilling and funny. When Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam and Hector Elizondo hijack a subway train, Walter Matthau must scramble to collect a ransom while trying to figure out how they’ll make their escape. Peter Stone’s dialogue is delightful — the loud & mouthy ’70s New Yorkers are hilariously abrasive — and lovable. “Who wants to know?!!!” Includes a Blu-ray disc and a new commentary.

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three 4K

4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1974 / Color B&w / 2:35 widescreen / 104 min. / Street Date December 20, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 39.95

Starring Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam, Hector Elizondo, Earl Hindman, James Broderick, Dick O’Neill, Lee Wallace, Tom Pedi, Jerry Stiller, Rudy Bond, Kenneth McMillan, Doris Roberts, Julius Harris,Robert Weil.

Cinematography Owen Roizman

Original Music David Shire...

Rita Hayworth in 3-D, in a hot story that was acceptable for 1925 and 1932, but too racy for repressed 1953. On a tropical island, a prostitute cabaret singer battles a fiery preacher missionary inspector for her freedom. Hayworth is dynamite, and it takes all of her talent to keep the show afloat, with so much interference from the equally repressed censors. Miss Sadie Thompson 3-D 3-D Blu-ray Twilight Time 1953 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 91 min. / Street Date July 12, 2016 / Available from Twilight Time Movies Store29.95 Starring Rita Hayworth, José Ferrer, Aldo Ray, Russell Collins, Diosa Costello, Harry Bellaver, Wilton Graff, Peggy Converse, Henry Slate, Rudy Bond, Charles Bronson, Jo Ann Greer. Cinematography Charles Lawton Jr. Original Music George Duning, Morris Stoloff, Ned Washington, Lester Lee Written by Harry Kleiner from a story by W. Somerset Maugham Produced by Jerry Wald Directed by Curtis Bernhardt

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Yes!  3-D on Blu-ray shows no sign of going away,...

A special edition of this confirmed '70s crowd pleaser?  I'm there. Robert Shaw has big plans to hijack a New York subway car, and subway cop Walter Matthau is determined to stop him. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three 42nd Anniversary Special Edition Blu-ray Kl Studio Classics 1974 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 104 min. / Street Date July 5, 2016 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 1974 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 104 min. / Street Date November 1, 2011 / 19.99 Starring Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam, Hector Elizondo, Earl Hindman, James Broderick, Dick O'Neill, Lee Wallace, Tom Pedi, Jerry Stiller, Rudy Bond, Kenneth McMillan, Doris Roberts, Julius Harris. Cinematography Owen Roizman Original Music David Shire Written by Peter Stone from the novel by John Godey Produced by Gabriel Katzka, Edgar J. Sherick Directed by Joseph Sargent

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

I reviewed an MGM-Fox Blu-ray of United Artists' The Taking of Pelham One Two Three back in late 2011, and I can't...

Above: L.A. noir—Rudy Bond, a .45, Aldo Ray, and an oil derrick.

Jacques Tourneur, one of old Hollywood's last poets, seems forever known, when know at all, for pairing his nebulous, poetic clashes between rationality and irrationality with the inspired clouds of unease of producer Val Lewton's wartime productions in such films as Cat People (1942), The Leopard Man (1943), and I Walked With a Zombie (also 43), and for one of the most unsusal and foggy noirs—and canonical films—ever produced, Out of the Past (1947). In the 1950s Tourneur's products grew more erratic, though masterpieces were frequent—ranging frmo the beginning of the decade with the genuine warmth of his good-hearted Western, Stars in My Crown (1950), to the end, with a return to scientific-materialist horror in the British production Night of the Demon (1957)—and frequently uncanny and haunting in that way so specific to Tourneur, where memories of his...