Christopher Saunders

LATEST ARTICLES ( 659 )

• This Sporting Life

  

  (1963) marks the apex of the British New Wave. Lindsay Anderson transcends the dour grubbiness associated with that movement, showing elements of the wild auteu... Read more

  Posted on 15 September 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• A Taste of Honey

  

  "My usual self is a very unusual self - and don't you forget it!"Shelagh Delaney's play A Taste of Honey (1958) is a feminine riposte to John Osborne and Alan... Read more

  Posted on 14 September 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Rogue Male

  

  Geoffrey Household's novel Rogue Male inspired Fritz Lang's Man Hunt (1941), whose anti-Nazi stance was controversial in still-neutral America. Read more

  Posted on 13 September 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Compulsion

  

  Notorious murderers Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb inspired numerous films, including Alfred Hitchcock's Rope (1948) and Tom Kalin's Swoon (1992). Read more

  Posted on 13 September 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Groggy's King of the Hill Blog

  

  Longtime Groggy readers can surmise that I'm a fan of King of the Hill. Right now it's the only TV show I regularly watch, thanks to a screwy cable package and... Read more

  Posted on 10 September 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Room at the Top

  

  (1959) is typical of Britain's Free Cinema movement, the struggles of working class Britons amidst postwar drudgery. Laurence Harvey earned an Oscar nod,... Read more

  Posted on 07 September 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Good Morning, Vietnam

  

  Robin Williams' greatest gift was versatility: he could instantly switch from humor to seriousness, fart jokes to heart-rending pathos. Read more

  Posted on 07 September 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

  

  Don Siegel's Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) stands as a genre classic. Remade three times and imitated innumerable others, it's one of science fiction's... Read more

  Posted on 05 September 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• RIP Andrew V. McLaglen

  

  Today brings news that director Andrew V. McLaglen passed away at age 94. Son of Victor McLaglen, protege of John Ford, one of John Wayne's best buddies,... Read more

  Posted on 04 September 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Spellbound

  

  (1945) is definitely problematic Alfred Hitchcock. Its reputation rests on the charming stars and incomparable style. Yet the story is a messy psychodrama that... Read more

  Posted on 01 September 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Marnie

  

  (1964) has long divided Alfred Hitchcock fans. Much discussion centers on Tippi Hedren's performance, but this movie has deeper problems. It's a grab bag of... Read more

  Posted on 30 August 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Advise and Consent

  

  Otto Preminger's Advise and Consent (1962) is better-remembered for its racy incidental content than its story. Too bad, since it's a well-tuned political... Read more

  Posted on 29 August 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Reflections in a Golden Eye

  

  Some movies are hard to swallow, but Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967) is truly indigestible. John Huston's overheated flop is Tennessee Williams by way of Pie... Read more

  Posted on 28 August 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• The Sergeant

  

  Rod Steiger is Classic Hollywood's most frustrating star. With the right role and capable direction, Steiger can be brilliant: On the Waterfront, Doctor Zhivago... Read more

  Posted on 26 August 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• RIP Richard Attenborough

  

  Today Richard Attenborough, legendary actor-director, died at age 90. A great loss to all of us cinephiles, whether we remember him as Big X, John Hammond or th... Read more

  Posted on 25 August 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Tea and Sympathy

  

  Let's mark Tea and Sympathy (1956) as Exhibit A of Hayes Code squeamishness. Robert Anderson's play wrestled frankly with sexual identity, a verboten subject... Read more

  Posted on 23 August 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• 12 Angry Men

  

  "Do you think you were born with a monopoly on the truth?"Sidney Lumet was a provocative filmmaker, mixing edgy artistry with liberal outrage. Read more

  Posted on 22 August 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison

  

  John Huston had a flare for dynamic pairings in unlikely locations. Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957) isn't one of his best films, but its beautiful scenery and... Read more

  Posted on 22 August 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• The Giver

  

  Lois Lowry's The Giver was a staple of childhood English classes and reading competition lists. With the recent glut of young adult films, it naturally... Read more

  Posted on 17 August 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Stalag 17

  

  "How do you expect to win the war with an army of clowns?"Billy Wilder's films often navigate a tightrope between comedy and drama. Stalag 17 (1953) is an... Read more

  Posted on 15 August 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES