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REDISCOVERING ‘THREE GODFATHERS’ – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
There aren’t many stories that have been filmed five separate times—not counting homages and ripoffs—and even fewer that attracted the same A-list director on three occasions, but that is the case with Peter B. Kyne’s Three Godfathers. The director was John Ford, who first made it with his then-collaborator and star Harry Carey in 1916.…
WHAT’S NEW ON DVD/BLU-RAY/4K IN APRIL – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
The following article was written by my friend and colleague Alonso Duralde. You can learn more about him HERE. What’s New on DVD/Blu/4K in April: Mean Girls, Basket Case, Nancy Savoca, Lars von Trier, and More! NEW RELEASE WALL Mean Girls (2024) and Mean Girls (2004) (both Paramount Home Entertainment): Audiences who were teenagers when the…
SAYING GOODBYE TO FRIENDS – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
One of the perils of growing older is losing friends and colleagues. This past week or so has been tough, while the three people who died couldn’t have played more different roles in my life. Cari Beauchamp was a fellow film historian, Ned Comstock was a research librarian, and Richard Leibner was my agent for…
RARE CARTOONS NEW TO BLU-RAY: HOORAY! – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
One of the many frustrations for fans of vintage cartoons has been their spotty availability on home video. Companies that specialize in public-domain releases have offered bargain vhs cassettes and DVDs for years, but the picture quality is iffy at best. Some major studio collections have remained on the proverbial shelves at Columbia, Paramount and…
WOODY ALLEN’S COUP DE CHANCE – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
Woody Allen likes telling stories. It’s what made his stand-up comedy sets so distinctive. He didn’t simply recite a string of jokes (although he is a masterful joke writer); he told a story and punctuated it with hilarious one-liners. He clearly still enjoys the process of inventing characters and putting them through their paces. It…
MONKEY MAN: MAYHEM WITH A PURPOSE? – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
Actor Dev Patel, who won over audiences around the globe in Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, is flexing his muscles by co-writing, directing, and starring in Monkey Man. By diving into Indian culture, myths, and traditions he attempts to ground his brutal story in something more substantive than mere escapist entertainment. His title character is a wrestler who wears…
WHAT’S NEW ON DVD/BLU-RAY/4K IN MARCH – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
The following article was written by my friend and colleague Alonso Duralde. You can learn more about him HERE. What’s new on DVD/Blu-ray/4K in March: 'Poor Things', 'Aquaman', 'Ferrari' and More!NEW RELEASE WALL Poor Things (Searchlight Studios): My pick for the best film of 2023, this multiple Oscar-winner (including one for Emma Stone’s already-legendary lead performance)…
IO CAPITANO: ITALY’S OSCAR CONTENDER – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
I must admit I haven’t followed Matteo Garrone’s career closely since he burst onto the world stage with Gomorrah. This grueling but captivating film reaffirms his place in the front ranks of filmmakers, as he puts us in lockstep with its two protagonists: teenage cousins in Dakar who have a burning desire to go to Italy…
A BIT OF CRUMPET WITH MARK SEARBY – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
Leonard here. My colleague Mark Searby is going to be sharing columns with us highlighting British cinema past and present. Please enjoy A Bit of Crumpet. “Filmmaking is not a good job” says the enigmatic and eclectic filmmaker Werner Herzog in this documentary about his life. Maybe he’s right. Maybe it is a grind. Yet,…
WHAT’S NEW ON DVD/BLU-RAY/4K IN FEBRUARY – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
The following article was written by my friend and colleague Alonso Duralde. You can learn more about him HERE. What’s new on DVD/Blu-ray/4K in February: ‘Wonka,’ ‘Gay USA,’ Éric Rohmer, and More! NEW RELEASE WALL Wonka (Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment): Timothée Chalamet dons the top hat of the legendary chocolatier in this hit musical, but…
ORDINARY ANGELS: CYNICS BEWARE – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
Ordinary Angels is a true story and a remarkable one at that. Living with our two-year old granddaughter has made me especially vulnerable to dramas about young children in peril, and it didn’t take long for this one to open my tear ducts. Alan Ritchson (who stars on Reacher) plays a working stiff who lives in the…
THE PROMISED LAND: A SCANDINAVIAN SLEEPER – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
I’ve come to trust Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen—his good taste in movie roles is seasoned with a sense of daring, as we’ve seen in such outstanding imports as The Hunt and Another Round. I’m also an admirer of screenwriter Anders Thomas Jensen, whose many credits include Brothers and After the Wedding, in which Mikkelsen appeared. (Jensen also won an Oscar for his…
ACADEMY SPREADS THE LOVE AROUND – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
An honor roll that ranges from Barbie to Spider-man, that recognizes a German actress and an underappreciated African-American actor, can’t be called anything but inclusive. That’s what I like about this year’s Oscar nominees. As always, the Actors’ branch—by far the largest number of voting members—is always welcoming to newcomers like Sandra Hüller, who is so good in Anatomy…
WHAT’S NEW ON DVD/BLU-RAY/4K IN JANUARY – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
The following article was written by my friend and colleague Alonso Duralde. You can learn more about him HERE.What’s New on DVD/Blu-ray/4K in January: Eileen, Coffin Joe, Chantal Akerman, and More! NEW RELEASE WALL Eileen (Decal Neon): In director William Oldroyd’s follow-up to the acclaimed Lady Macbeth, Anne Hathaway and Thomasin McKenzie perform a complicated dance…
NEW LIFE FOR VINTAGE FILMS – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
Like many of you, I’ve been spending more time at home than I used to. Turner Classic Movies presents a nonstop array of films from the past, including some I’ve managed to miss across the years. And I’m always happy to discover, or revisit, an old short subject from Vitaphone or MGM. Call it a…
A MUST-SEE NEW DOCUMENTARY: VISHNIAC – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
I feel foolish admitting that I was unfamiliar with Roman Vishniac and the incredibly evocative photos he shot in Weimar Germany and its surrounding countries before they fell victim to Hitler and the Nazi party. Little did he dream that he was capturing the faces and attitudes of people who would vanish from the earth…
A BIT OF CRUMPET – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
Leonard here. My colleague Mark Searby is going to be sharing columns with us highlighting British cinema past and present. Please enjoy A Bit of Crumpet. I have a quote on my wall from writer/director Guillermo del Toro that reads: “I think that you go to the movies for the reason that when you’re a…
SOME 2023 SLEEPERS WORTH CATCHING – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
Every year some good movies fly under the radar (or slip through the cracks, if you prefer), despite the best efforts of distributors and drum-beating by critics who do their best to spread the good word. Here are a few that I think are worth your time. Jules is a quiet film of considerable charm. Ben…
FERRARI: WORTH WAITING FOR – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
Producer-director Michael Mann has been trying to get this movie made for thirty years. (His co-screenwriter Troy Kennedy Martin died in 2009!) But Ferrari has finally crossed the finish line in style. It’s exciting, intelligent, witty and elegant, with a central performance that’s a knockout. In some ways the delays have accrued to its benefit: CGI has…
WHAT’S NEW ON DVD/BLU-RAY/4K IN NOVEMBER – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
The following article was written by my friend and colleague Alonso Duralde. You can learn more about him HERE. What’s New on DVD/Blu-ray/4K in November: Oppenheimer, Barbarella, WandaVision and More NEW RELEASE WALL Oppenheimer (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment): Yes, it’s what the legendary persnickety Christopher Nolan always wanted – people watching his 70mm on their home…
WHAT’S NEW ON DVD/BLU-RAY/4K IN DECEMBER – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
The following article was written by my friend and colleague Alonso Duralde. You can learn more about him HERE. What’s New on DVD/Blu-ray/4K in December: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Clue, Columbo, and MoreNEW RELEASE WALL Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (The Criterion Collection): In recent years, we’ve seen filmmakers from Roberto Benigni to Robert Zemeckis try and…
MY FAVORITE FILMS OF THE YEAR – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
MY FAVORITE FILMS OF THE YEAR The Holdovers Maestro Killers of the Flower Moon Nyad Ferrari Are you There, God? It’s Me, Margaret Poor Things Fallen Leaves American Fiction Origin There is no objectivity in crafting “ten best” lists at the end of the year; it’s all a matter of opinion. I like to think…
NEW AND NOTABLE FILM BOOKS – DECEMBER 2023 – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
As usual, film books are coming out at a faster pace than I can read them, so I am unable to offer reviews or opinions of the following titles. Please consider this a survey of recently published books and my first impressions of them. Needless to say, any of them would make great gifts. MARCH…
‘AMERICAN FICTION’ HITS THE BULL’S-EYE – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
Satire is a rare commodity and always has been, but Cord Jefferson’s debut film American Fiction has restored my faith in its survival. What’s more, it offers the gifted Jeffrey Wright an exceptional leading role that he plays to perfection. (You can also see him in a cameo appearance as flamboyant New York City politician Adam Clayton…
‘POOR THINGS’ IS WILD AND CRAZY – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
On the face of it, I wouldn’t have bet that I would take to Yorgos Lanthimos’s latest film, but I am crazy about Poor Things. This high-flying feminist variation on the Frankenstein tale is as wacky and unpredictable as a Tex Avery cartoon. No other film in recent memory can match it for sheer ingenuity, both in…
‘ORIGIN’ IS A KNOCKOUT – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
Ava DuVernay has taken a big swing and hit a home run. Origin tells the story of how Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson pursued an idea that tied the notorious murder of Trayvon Martin to the existence of slavery in America, the Nazi attempt to exterminate Jews in Germany, and the treatment of Dilats in India. The key…
THE PATH TO PARADISE: A FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA STORY – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
THE PATH TO PARADISE: A FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA STORY by Sam Wasson (Harper)Having taken a “big picture” approach to the making of Breakfast at Tiffany's and Chinatown, Wasson focuses here on an individual rather than a film. This is not a conventional biography, but the saga of a man with the soul of an artist. He doesn’t play by the…
THE BEST NEW HOLIDAY DVDS, BLU-RAYS AND 4KS – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
The following article was written by my friend and colleague Alonso Duralde. You can learn more about him HERE. Whether you’re stuffing the stocking of a physical-media fan or just building up your own holiday home-video library, there’s an eclectic selection of media guaranteed to spice up your Christmas. Holiday Horrors and Thrillers The 4K…
NAPOLEON MEETS HIS WATERLOO – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
It’s a shame that this ambitious movie is a muddle, for director Ridley Scott has staged some of the most astonishing battle scenes ever put on film. Gigantic in scale and scope, they make the viewer feel like a participant, taking that overused word “immersive” to another level of meaning cinematically. However, some of the…
MAESTRO IS MAGNIFICENT – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
I don’t know where or how Bradley Cooper got the ambition to make this powerfully challenging film, or the fortitude to both direct and co-script it while playing the leading character, but it is clearly a labor of love. Many passion projects lose something on the way to the screen, but Maestro is an exception: a deeply felt, magisterial film that provides its leading man with…
MAY DECEMBER – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
Todd Haynes would seem an ideal choice to direct a story inspired by the real-life case of schoolteacher Mary Kay LeTourneau, who made headlines in the 1990s when she raped a 12-year-old student, then married him and raised a family. It’s still an eye-opener after all this time, and certainly ripe for adaptation as a…
FALLEN LEAVES: A QUIET GEM – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
I’m a relative latecomer to the charms of Aki Kaurismäki’s work, but I’ve become a proselytizer to make up for lost time. The Finnish writer-director who brought us Le Havre and The Other Side of Hope is backwith a thoroughly entertaining, completely unpredictable love story called Fallen Leaves. Kaurismäki’s sense of humor is infectious and unmistakably his own. Some people…
THE KILLER – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
David Fincher’s films are often cold-blooded and I was wary of him adapting the graphic novel The Killer. Sure enough, this cheerless bit of 21st century pop existentialism is schematically laid out, following an assassin as he performs one hit after another. Fincher is also a master craftsman, and the film is meticulously well-made, drawing on the…
NYAD: AN EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCE – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
Like many or most of you, I’ve watched Annette Bening and Jodie Foster give fine performances for years and years, but I got so wrapped up in NYAD –and their exceptional work—that I allowed myself to believe that they really were the women they were playing. That’s called suspension of disbelief, and it made viewing…
PRISCILLA: A MINIMALIST BIOPIC – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
I think I’ve just seen the first minimalist biopic ever made. Most movies about famous people’s lives come from the opposite direction, embellishing their feats, triumphs and failures. This one simply observes, almost without comment, the—uh—unusual relationship between Priscilla and Elvis Presley, from the time she was 14 years old to the day she walked…
THE HOLDOVERS: THE YEAR’S BEST MOVIE TO DATE – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
It’s a shame that Alexander Payne isn’t more prolific; six years have passed since his last film appeared on theater screens, the underappreciated Downsizing. All the more reason to cheer for and welcome The Holdovers, the most satisfying film I’ve seen all year. Inspired by an obscure Marcel Pagnol picture Merlusse, Payne enlisted David Hemingson to expand its premise, update it…
CHARLIE CHAPLIN VS. AMERICA: When Art, Sex and Politics Collided by Scott Eyman – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
CHARLIE CHAPLIN VS. AMERICA: When Art, Sex and Politics Collided by Scott Eyman (Simon & Schuster) At first glance this new book by premier film historian and biographer Eyman would seem to limit its coverage to the period of the 1940s—when Chaplin was burdened by a bogus paternity suit and accused of being a Communist—until…
MIRANDA’S VICTIM: AN IMPORTANT STORY – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
The term “Miranda Rights” will be familiar to anyone who watches police procedurals on TV. This film follows the sexual assault case that led to American citizens being read their “Miranda rights” when being arrested. The woman who bravely pressed charges against her assailant under the condition that her name never be revealed broke her…
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
The day after watching this important new film I read a fascinating interview with Martin Scorsese in The New Yorker. In it, he revealed that his original plan of faithfully adapting David Grann’s novel went aground after a first reading of the lengthy screenplay. Instead, he chose to emphasize the core relationship between two of its…
SHE CAME TO ME – Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
As a fan of such films as Personal Velocity and The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, I looked forward to the latest work by writer-director Rebecca Miller. But I can only describe She Came to Me as odd. A heavy-handed farce, it is acted to perfection by Peter Dinklage, Anne Hathaway and Marisa Tomei but they can’t forge this collection…