Comedy’s Greatest Era – by James Agee
The appearance of “Comedy’s Greatest Era” in Life magazine, September 3, 1949, received one of the greatest responses in the magazine’s history. The surprising element was the reaction from people who could have seen few, if any, of the silent comedies, simply because they were too young. The article makes it possible for everyone to be nostalgic for something that perhaps they have never known.
Recent Articles
Come Now, Dr. Strangelove – Review by Andrew Sarris
The great merit of Dr. Strangelove is its bad taste. It is silly to argue that we have the right to say anything we want but that to exercise this right is the height of irresponsibility. Responsible art is dead art, and a sane (no pun intended) film on the bomb would have been a deadly bore.
Dr. Strangelove: Committed, Bitter, One of the Best – Review by Judith Crist
Dr. Strangelove, Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is one of the most cogent, comic, and cruel movies to come along in many a year, and one of the best.
Buster Keaton – by Penelope Gilliatt
Review of the Elgin Festival at the Elgin Theatre, where Keaton films are being shown. All ten of his full-length features and a lot of his rare two-reelers are included. Gilliatt tells about this Keaton's work and about an interview she had with him in 1964, when he was 69, two years before his death.
The Movies That Changed Us: Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Dr. Strangelove developed in us an embryonic skepticism for what was beginning to be called the "military establishment," and it fostered a growing skepticism about authority everywhere.
The General (1927) – Review by Bosley Crowther
The General, made in 1927, best combines the subtle character of Keaton with material that is perfect for his style.
Closely Watched Trains (1966) – Review by Bosley Crowther
by Bosley Crowther In discussing The Shop on Main Street, I spoke of the characteristic style of many of the Czechoslovakian films of the 1960s during the brilliant but brief renascence they enjoyed. This style was especially evident in the works of the younger men, directors such as Jiri Menzel, [...]
“Don’t settle believing, strive for knowledge”
– Carl Sagan
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