Perfect High

Nov 28, 2016 — PerformancesAny paean to noir seductress nonpareil Gloria Grahame—mine included—can’t hope to surpass this encomium from Boyd McDonald, one of her most ardent and articulate devotees. Saluting Grahame’s performance in In a Lonely Place (1950) in his essential 1985 compendium, Cruising...

Jun 24, 2013 — The most iconic gag of Harold Lloyd’s career—and one of the most indelible images of all of silent cinema—is the limber funnyman dangling from a clock on the side of a high building in Safety Last!. It is the centerpiece...

Aug 16, 2011 — “It is my best film. I always loved it. I always believed in it. It is real cinema, done for cinema—like art for art.” That was Roman Polanski’s view of Cul-de-sac in 1970, four years after its release and just...

Sep 17, 2018 — Once called “the great directorial genius of Hollywood” by Carole Lombard, Gregory La Cava struck comedy gold with this mix of madcap high jinks, irresistible romance, and social commentary.

May 10, 2018 — What goes into staging the perfect on-screen kiss? Director Sofia Coppola and actors Kirsten Dunst and Josh Hartnett look back on shooting a passionate make-out session in The Virgin Suicides.

Mar 15, 2016 — Set during the height of McCarthy-era paranoia and arriving in 1962, in the middle of the Cuban Missile Crisis, John Frankenheimer’s high-anxiety Communist conspiracy thriller tapped into the darkest fears of Cold War America.

Sep 24, 2014 — Roman Polanski’s dark vision is the perfect fit for Shakespeare’s grim tale of treachery and ambition.

Jun 9, 2023 — A rebel actress, a lost oeuvre, and a pornographic remake are among this week’s highlights.

Jul 3, 2020 — A new issue of Cinema Scope, a State of Cinema address from Olivier Assayas, and the Ultimate Summer Movie Showdown are among this week’s highlights.

Oct 4, 2018 — A “skeleton key” to an epic audiovisual essay by Godard and interviews with Anna Biller and Richard Linklater are among this week’s highlights.