Archive
JAY KELLY – Nicholas Britell
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
If there’s one thing Hollywood loves, it’s movies about Hollywood. From Singin’ in the Rain to The Artist, Sunset Boulevard to La-La Land, to recent TV shows like The Studio, any time a filmmaker makes a movie about Tinseltown itself, the industry tends to fall over itself to praise it. Such is the case with director Noah Baumbach’s new film Jay Kelly, which is a self-critical, satirical, but also warm-hearted and nostalgic look at the life of a major movie star suffering an existential crisis. George Clooney plays Kelly almost like a weird reflection of himself; a lantern-jawed ageing matinee idol who has had enormous success on the big screen, but has a difficult personal life – he is mostly estranged from his daughters, has no real friends, has unresolved issues and regrets in his past, and doesn’t see his assistants and managers as actual people with lives of their own, despite them mostly idolizing him. When he is asked to attend a film festival in Italy to receive a lifetime achievement award, Kelly takes the opportunity to try to reconnect with his family, rekindle his personal and professional life, and overcome his anxieties – but not everything will go to plan. Read more…
JOHNNY GUITAR – Victor Young
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
Novelist Roy Chanslor was a longtime admirer of actress Joan Crawford and so dedicated his 1954 novel Johnny Guitar to her. Crawford bought the film rights and submitted a script to Republic Pictures, which agreed to produce the film with the provision that Crawford would star and Nicolas Ray would direct. Herbert J. Yates was placed in charge of production with a $1.591 million budget, Ray was tasked with directing, and Philip Yordan and Ben Maddow were hired to write the screenplay. Joan Crawford would star as Vienna, joined by Sterling Hayden as Johnny Guitar, Mercedes McCambridge as Emma Small, Scott Brady as the Dancin’ Kid and Ernest Borgnine as Bard Lonegran. Read more…
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