List of the Reviewed Movies from A to Z

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Frances (1982)

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Though presented as a true account of the life of the actress Frances Farmer, Frances  has been proved in later years to be a largely fictionalized telling of her story, more based on the actress' inaccurate biography written by William Arnold rather than historical facts. Speaking for myself, I'm not particularly bothered by the lack of historical inaccuracy as long as it is not ridiculously and blatantly obvious and most importantly does not betray the nature of the person involved (a recent exemple is The Greatest Showman , in which P.T. Barnum, by all accounts an exploiter, is turned into a champion of diversity and human rights). The problems with Frances extend past its historical innacuracy: for instance, the movie's choppy editing results in a rather uneven pace and for every visually appealing frame there is one that feels even clumsily shot. Ultimately it is neither a great biopic nor a great film, but Jessica Lange's incendiary, showstopping performance ...
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Casque d'Or (1952)

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In an unspecified year in the era of the Belle Epòque, a lonesome carpenter is standing in an inn near Paris. He is raptured by the beauty of a blonde woman, who is dancing with another man. The two lock eyes: as she dances, she glances at him with a playful smile and he smiles back. This is the opening of Jacques Becker's Casque d'Or , a film bursting with erotic flame from start to finish.  Georges Manda, the carpenter, is an ex-convict who has decided to start his life over. He is played by Serge Reggiani in a sublime, largely silent portrayal of quiet strength, subtle warmth and profound dignity. Marie, the woman, is a prostitute under the protection of a local criminal named Roland (William Sabatier, effective at portraying his character's vile, pathetic nature). She is played by Simone Signoret, whose incandescent, rightfully iconic performance earned her a well-deserved BAFTA for Best Foreign Actress. Roland becomes jealous of the growing attraction between ...
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Crossfire (1947)

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Crossfire is an interesting movie for two reasons: the first one is that it is the first B movie to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Picture; the second one is that it is a social message film and a noir thriller at the same time. Nowadays, it's a rarely remembered movie but to be fair a certain importance should be acknowledged to it, because it is an example of how a relatively low-budget film can still be stylistically and aesthetically remarkable and also because of its attempt to treat a socially significant matter within the story of a murder mystery. That said, it's not a movie that achieves everything it sets out for itself and it's also one that has clearly suffered from the passing of the years. But its ambition is still worthy of praise and respect. The story begins with the beating and killing of Joseph Samuels (Sam Levene) at the hands of two men in his own apartment. Samuels, a discharged soldier, was a Jew. Police captain Finlay (Robert Young) is...
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