» I Spy

The Cinephiles’s Corner looks at skullduggery on trains, hearts and flowers on the Seine, glam in the U.K, and heartbreak in L.A.

Posted by Bob Westal (04/02/2012 @ 3:27 pm)

It’s time for another look at (relatively) recent Blu-Rays and DVDs aimed at the hardcore movie lover — though more casual viewers looking for something beyond Hollywood’s latest mass-market offerings are certainly allowed to kibitz at the Corner as well. Today’s selections are from Hollywood, off-Hollywood, England, and France and were made mostly in the 1930s or the 1970s, though we will be looking at one from 1998 — only yesterday!

And so we begin…(after the flip, that is.)

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Posted in: Action Movies, Actors, Actresses, Movie Dramas, Movie DVDs, Movies, Sci-Fi Movies

Tags: 1776, Alan Rudolph, Alfred Hitchcock, Basil Radford, Ben Hur, Bill Cosby, Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice, Brian Eno, Carol Reed, Carroll Baker, Charade, Charlton Heston, Charters and Caldicott, Choose Me, Christine Vachon, Citizen Kane, City on Fire, Crooks Tour, Dame May Whitty, David Bowie, Dead of Night, Dita Parlo, Elmer Gantry, Frank Launder, George Orwell, Geraldine Chaplin, Grant Lee Buffalo, Gregory Peck, Guys & Dolls, Harold and Kumar, Hector Elizondo, Hickey and Boggs, I Spy, Jaws, Jean Dasté, Jean Simmons, Jean Vigo, Jerry Stiller, Keith Carradine, KISS, L'Atalante, Lou Reed, Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, Michel Simon, Milton Caniff, Nashville, Naunton Wayne, Night Train to Munich, North by Northwest, Oscar Madison, Peter Stone, Phillip Dick, Pulp, Reservoir Dogs, Richard Baskin, Ringo Lam, Robert Altman, Robert Culp, Robert Shaw, Roman Holiday, Roxy Music, Sally Kellerman, Sidney Gilliat, Sissy Spacek, T-Rex, Terry and the Pirates, The 39 Steps, The Best Years of Our Lives, The Big Country, The Complete Jean Vigo, The Lady Vanishes, The Long Goodbye, The Man Who Knew Too Much, The Moderns, The Taking of Pelham 123, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, The Ten Commandments, The Third Man, Todd Haynes, Tony Roberts, Velvet Goldmine, Walter Matthau, Welcome to L.A., William Wyler, Woody Allen, Zero de Conduit

RIP Robert Culp

Posted by Bob Westal (03/24/2010 @ 10:29 pm)

He had his biggest success on television with Bill Cosby on “I Spy,” historic in its way as the first inter-racial buddy adventure program on TV or, for that matter, in any medium and the tongue-in-cheek superhero comedy, “The Greatest American Hero.” Nevertheless, Mr. Culp, who died unexpectedly today from a fall at age 79, also made a notable mark on films.

Costarring with his colleague and friend Cosby, he directed an attempt to translate their TV fame into movies with 1972’s “Hickey and Boggs.” The film, which was written by a young Walter Hill, tried to go in vastly different, far grittier and grimmer direction than the TV show and failed at the box office. Recently, however, it’s been rediscovered by some cinephiles and crime film fans.

Still, a few year before that Culp appeared in one of the real cultural break-out movies of the 1960s, “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice.” For better or worse, it helped popularized, or perhaps merely capitalized, on the idea of “swinging” and “free love” among the older, married set. I haven’t seen this one either and I have no excuse other than somewhat mixed-feelings about most of writer-director Paul Mazursky’s other movies. However, in her heartfelt farewell to Culp, Cinematical’s Monika Bartyzel was kind enough to provide the lengthy, terrific clip below. This scene with Natalie Wood really shows Culp’s way with both serious and light material as he experiences a pretty broad swath of emotions in a scene that starts out as something close to straight drama and gradually eases into some pretty delightful comedy. Now, I want to see this.