Christopher Saunders

LATEST ARTICLES ( 667 )

• Ohm Kruger

  

  "The belief in our cause is stronger than death!"Joseph Goebbels commissioned Ohm Kruger (1941) after watching Gone With the Wind, resolving to make his own... Read more

  Posted on 31 May 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Sergeant York

  

  "Them guns was killin' hundreds, maybe thousands, and there weren't nothin' anybody could do, but to stop them guns." Of all Hollywood's pre-WWII propaganda... Read more

  Posted on 30 May 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Coming Home

  

  (1978) came out the same year as The Deer Hunter and Go Tell the Spartans, showing Hollywood finally tackling the Vietnam War. Read more

  Posted on 29 May 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Sunset Boulevard

  

  "No one leaves a star. That's what makes one a star!"Hollywood loves showing itself as a soul-destroying wasteland, endless repeating the message in films... Read more

  Posted on 26 May 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Father (1966)

  

  "Only weaklings keep making up stories!"Istvan Szabo's second feature, Father (1966) established him as a leading light of Hungarian cinema. Read more

  Posted on 25 May 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Out Goes She: Local Film Project

  

  Recently, a friend asked me for help promoting their new film project. I don't ordinarily promote independent projects, but I'm happy to lend a hand for... Read more

  Posted on 23 May 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• All the Way

  

  "You don't bring nice to a knife fight."Bryan Cranston won a Tony playing Lyndon Johnson in Robert Schenkkan's All the Way. He reprises the role for HBO's new... Read more

  Posted on 22 May 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Fantastic Four (2015)

  

  In an era where even Ant-Man makes money, Fantastic Four (2015) flopped. Josh Trank managed a wretched production marred by on-set fighting, last minute reshoot... Read more

  Posted on 20 May 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• X-Men: Days of Future Past

  

  Bryan Singer returns to helm X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), a disappointing follow-up to First Class (2011). Having averted the Cuban Missile Crisis, any... Read more

  Posted on 19 May 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• X-Men: First Class

  

  Bryan Singer's X-Men films kick-started the 2000's superhero trend, only to crash with an abysmal third film and an abominable origins reboot. Read more

  Posted on 19 May 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Book Reviews: The Sad, Sorry World of Watergate Memoirs

  

  There is no literary subgenre sadder than Watergate memoirs. It was bad enough that Richard Nixon and his cronies inflicted Watergate and its ancillary crimes... Read more

  Posted on 16 May 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• The Hustler

  

  Robert Rossen's penultimate film, The Hustler (1961) makes an excellent drama. Featuring one of Paul Newman's best performances, it's a stone-cold classic. Read more

  Posted on 29 April 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• History Buffs: Lawrence of Arabia Review

  

  Last week, the History Buffs YouTube channel (devoted to analyzing historical accuracy of movies) uploaded a detailed and worthwhile review of Lawrence of... Read more

  Posted on 28 April 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• The Cincinnati Kid

  

  (1967) started as a Sam Peckinpah project, until that director's antics on Major Dundee led to his firing. Norman Jewison took over, helming this slick but... Read more

  Posted on 28 April 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Falling Down

  

  "Feels good to exercise your rights, doesn't it?"Joel Schumacher isn't associated with scintillating satire or trenchant commentary: see his tone-deaf racial... Read more

  Posted on 25 April 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• The Jungle Book (2016)

  

  Jon Favreau's The Jungle Book (2016) marks Disney's third stab at Rudyard Kipling's stories. The first was a 1967 animated effort, well-liked but rarely ranked... Read more

  Posted on 24 April 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• The Last American Hero

  

  (1973) started as a euphoric Tom Wolfe profile of NASCAR driver Junior Johnson. Lamont Johnson adapted it into a fine film, critically acclaimed but shunned by... Read more

  Posted on 23 April 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• History: Eugene McCarthy Versus The Democratic Party, 1968

  

  Eugene McCarthy (1916-2005) made an unlikely insurgent. An alumnus of St. John's University, he was a devout Catholic who'd considered becoming a priest. Read more

  Posted on 19 April 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• History: Spiro Agnew Grooves On

  

  Forty-three years after resigning, Spiro Agnew (1918-1996) remains one of America's most controversial Vice Presidents. He was Richard Nixon's point man for... Read more

  Posted on 18 April 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• History: George Wallace Stands Up For America, 1968

  

  History records George Wallace (1918-1998) as the villain of America's greatest morality play, the Civil Rights Movement. While Wallace earned his reputation... Read more

  Posted on 15 April 2016 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES