How many films of Blake Edwards have you seen?

Background: This might be a bold statement for a director who’s not even listed in my college history of film text book, but I would like to make the case that Blake Edwards ruled the 60s or at least epitomized it.

This was very much a transitory decade as the studio system was collapsing and the new wave of American auteurs who would re-invigorate cinema would only arrive at the tail end of the decade and many of those directors would take a while to develop their style and gain the capital for their dream projects. There were a few masters at the top of their game like Stanley Kubrick and David Lean and some of the live TV generation like Sidney Lumet, Norman Jewison, and John Frankenheimer would hit the ground running.

When I look through my experiences with 60s films (that doesn’t include the early efforts of the new wave or the last remnants of those studio masters), I often think of this as the era of sophisticated comedy: If Lubitsch had a travel budget that let him shoot in Europe, fewer code restrictions and had the luxury of color, that’s the 60s. The color palate of films in this era ranging from West Side Story to Sweet Charity are rich and span the rainbow (in the case of Adam West’s “Batman” they were oversaturated but that’s the general idea). An inordinate number of films (Topkapi, Gambit, Charade, Marnie, The Thomas Crown Affair) I’ve seen involve art or jewel twists which reads as more sexy and sophisticated to movie audiences than it does gritty as far as crimes go. Even prostitution became sophisticated in the hands of Billy Wilder’s Irma la Douce which is so innocent, it’s family-friendly. This was the era where Europeans Gina Lollobrigida, Melina Mercouri, Claudia Cardinale, Sophia Loren, and Lila Kedrova became stars without having to subvert their identities to the Midwestern ideal. It was also the era of Bond which certainly would not have been popular if they went for an Atomic Blonde/Jason Bourne look.

All you need to know about how Edwards epitomized this finesse was to look at the poster to Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Audrey Hepburn (another exotic European) has a posh dress a mouth-wateringly opulent diamond necklace and a cigarette that doesn’t look like it was bought at a local pharmacy.

Blake Edwards’s films were visually polished and he was equally adept at black-and-white as he was with color. I also feel that when it comes to comedy auteurs, people point to Woody Allen and Mel Brooks but tend to leave Blake Edwards out. Is it because Peter Sellers gets more credit? At the same time, a film like Days of Wine and Roses showed a capacity for dramatic material with a Serksian flair.

Blake Edwards was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1922 and was a child of divorce. Edwards made his way to Hollywood through good old-fashioned nepotism. His stepfather was a mid-level producer at 20th Century Fox and his stepfather only got that job because Edwards’ step-grandfather was J. Gordon Edwards , a big-time silent director who was most famous for his work with Theda Bara. Edwards’s step-family got him extra work which led to small roles and eventually writing credits in the early days of TV. He married Julie Andrews and had no natural children of his own, instead adopting two and inheriting a stepchild, so way to go on population control. He was also the inaugural visiting scholar at Arizona State’s film school.

What Most People Agree are the Essentials: Days of Wine and Roses, Victor/Victoria, Pink Panther

Number I’ve seen: About 5 1/4: I’ve seen What did You do in the War Daddy?, Pink Panther, A Shot in the Dark, Revenge of the Pink Panther, The Great Race and some of Days of Wine and Roses (it was playing on TCM and I didn’t have the DVD).

Favorite: I’m pretty much writing this entry because of The Pink Panther which I think is one of the greatest comedic films ever made. There’s no better way to punctuate the cozy obliviousness of the jet set than to make them glaringly blind to the guilt of a debonair thief (David Niven) and unaware of just how incapable the bumbling detective (Peter Sellers) is who’s trailing him. The brilliance of Inspector Clouseau is that it’s not entirely far-fetched that he could have held onto his job after all those years through bureaucratic glitches, dumb luck, and persistence.  I’ve watched this film at multiple ages and it always holds up.

Underrated: The Great Race is like a cross between Around the World in 80 Days and Wile E. Coyote vs the Road Runner. One of the most glaring things about the film is a complete lack of character exposition. Two professors (Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis) have a rivalry that extends to destructive pranks and the film opens on their prank war without telling the audience the who and why of what we’re seeing. It’s a film that revels in cartoonish immaturity but also has a playful sweetness: Natalie Wood adds quite a bit to the film as an prim and proper reporter who plans to cover this around-the-world car race (again, this isn’t a film that makes logical sense) a la Nelly Bly and she serves as a love interest for Tony Curtis. Don’t feel bad for Jack Lemmon’s character: He has Peter Falk as a companion.

Overrated: There are no films of Edwards to date that I regret watching and that I wouldn’t recommend. Trail of the Pink Panther attempted to cobble together a film from left-over footage of the Peter Sellers post-mortem (reportedly in a manner that wasn’t cleared with Peter Sellers’ estate) and it’s rightfully panned so I can’t call it overrated. I will suggest A Shot in the Dark isn’t as good as the original. The element of surprise is hard to replicate in the original and the ironic ending that Clouseau is right after all is the perfect ending to his character arc.

Blind Spots: I really should try to find a copy of Days of Wine and Roses rather than waiting for it to come back on TCM to see the second half.  I remember turning it off at some point because I didn’t want to watch a darker film about alcoholism and I regret that. I can’t really speak about his expertise with drama if I haven’t seen anything of his in that field. Victor/Victoria, in which he collaborated with wife, Julie Andrews, could be another interesting take on gender politics and perhaps cover what Tootsie (which I critiqued last week) was missing. S.O.B. was nominated for a Golden Globe but its plot—a director decides to do a topless scene with his lead actress—doesn’t seem like much to make a movie about. There’s also an 80’s movie called Blind Date and in the same way that seeing Billy Wilder try to tailor his style to later times in his final films, it might be interesting to see Edwards navigate 80s mores (I imagine his film would be significantly more showing than dancing around in a Lubitschesque way).

Filmography as director (39 films):

Blake Edwards’ Son of the Pink Panther (1993)

Switch (1991)

Skin Deep (1989)

Peter Gunn (1989)

Justin Case (1988)

Sunset (1988)

Blind Date (1987)

That’s Life! (1986)

Fine Mess, A (1986)

Micki & Maude (1984)

Curse of the Pink Panther (1983)

Man Who Loved Women, The (1983)

Trail of the Pink Panther (1982)

Victor/Victoria (1982)

S.O.B. (1981)

10 (1979)

Revenge of The Pink Panther (1978)

The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976)

Return Of The Pink Panther, The (1975)

Tamarind Seed, The (1974)

The Carey Treatment (1972)

Wild Rovers (1971)

Darling Lili (1970)

The Party (1968)

Gunn (1967)

What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? (1966)

The Great Race (1965)

A Shot in the Dark (1964)

The Pink Panther (1964)

Experiment in Terror (1962)

Days of Wine and Roses (1962)

Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)

High Time (1960)

Operation Petticoat (1959)

The Perfect Furlough (1959)

This Happy Feeling (1958)

Mister Cory (1957)

He Laughed Last (1956)

Bring Your Smile Along (1955)

How Many Vincente Minnelli Films Have You Seen?

How Many Vincente Minnelli Films Have You Seen?

Overview: Growing up in the era before TCM without a humongous ambition to seek out old films until age 16, my introduction to the classics was mostly guided by my parents’ tastes. My mother loved Gene Kelly and so I watched nearly every musical of his as child. I didn’t even know who Fred Astaire was growing up and when I watched my first Astaire film I was prepared to knock it down as if anyone could dare top Kelly. What I didn’t know growing up was that Kelly was supported by a large studio system with a musical department that was run by producer Arthur Freed (I suspect the R.F.  in “Singin and the Rain”) and an array of directors: George Sidney (Showboat) and Charles Walters (Barkleys of Broadway, Summer Stock) were in the mix and Busby Berkley was hired a little but the three people who really made a mark were Gene Kelly himself, Stanley Donen (first paired with Kelly than achieving some entirely original films on his own), and Vincente Minnelli.

It’s a little difficult to separate Minnelli’s accomplishments from that of the studio but it’s not an exaggeration to say that he bought a strong sense of exoticness to his films. Whether it was the Parisian streetscapes of “An American in Paris”, the luscious Scottish hills of “Brigadoon”, the turn of the century Victorian-style American family home dripping with nostalgia in “Meet me in Saint Louis” or the romance of Arabian Night-era Baghdad in “Kismet”, Vincente Minnelli would take you to enchanted far off worlds. If there was a specific Oscar category that epitomized what Minnelli did best, in my opinion, it would be art direction/set design which makes sense because that’s where he got his start. If his biography was any indication, one of his big regrets was not being able to shoot on location as he wanted to do with Scotland in “Brigadoon” and Paris in “American in Paris.” Of course, some of the most unforgettable musical numbers of the era came through Vincente Minnelli such as Gene Kelly singing “I’ve Got Rhythm” with Parisian school kids, Lena Horne’s “Stormy Weather” or Gene Kelly whisking Cyd Charisse away on the Sottish landscapes to “Almost like Being in Love.” And of course, the decision to end “American in Paris” on a fantasy ballet that was mimicked in “La La Land.”

However, Minnelli’s career expanded beyond musicals. Somewhere in the realm of 14 films towards the back end of his filmography were not musicals, highlighted by “Some Came Running” “The Sandpiper” and “Lust for Life” (which must have been a treat for a man who was an aspiring artist). These films are described by IMDB as melodramas which might make sense that after so many years with musicals, he wanted to explore a darker (at the very least, less fluffy) side of human relationships. Leonard Maltin noted that Minnelli loved dream sequences and flights of fanc such as the berserk carnival in ”Some Came Running”, the “Halloween Sequence” (which, now that I think of it seems like an alligator-lipped moment as TV Tropes calls it) in Meet me in Saint Louis, and the Mythical Boar Hunt in “Home from the Hill” in addition to the ballet sequence mentioned above.

Biography:  Minnellli was born in 1903 (coincidentally, the same year his most famous musical, “Meet me in Saint Louis” begins) in Chicago to a theatrical family. His parents and uncle operated a tent show that toured the Midwest. His first job was painting show-window displays as a kid. He was then a costume director and set designer for the Balaban and Katz theater chain in Chicago. Minnelli then moved to New York in 1935 where he directed three Broadway plays: “At Home Abroad” “The Show is On” and “Hooray for What!”

He was recruited as a producer to Paramount Studios first but was unsuccessful there at advancing up the ranks so went to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer under Arthur Freed. According to his obituary, his contract for MGM was until 1966 so that would (as far as I know) be the dividing line between when he was a studio hand and an independent producer which means that many of his other non-musicals such as “Father of the Bride” and “Lust for Life” were under the studio.

Minnelli directed two Oscar-winning films: “American in Paris” and “Gigi” though he didn’t win the actual Best Director prize for the former and the latter just went to the studio (AFAIK).  Also, does anyone remember “Gigi”?

Minnelli also had a famous wife in Judy Garland who he met on the set of “Meet me in Saint Louis” and the pair produced another famous Hollywood triple threat in Liza Minnelli. In 2007 when AFI did a series of YouTube videos asking stars their favorite films, I thought Minnelli gave the best answer: “Meet me in St Louis because it’s where my mom met my dad so I owe my existence to it.” Minnelli had four marraiges but his three other wives weren’t famous and his other daughter isn’t famous, and I’m too lazy to look them up so we’ll skip that. He was also likely to be bisexual or veering significantly more gay than straight on the Kinsey scale. Lorna Luft (Garland’s daughter) speculated that Judy entered the marriage because “her mother was unable to distinguish between friendship and romantic relationships with her gay companions.” Either way, the marriage took a lot out of Minnelli who was married to Garland while she was going through the worst of her addictions.

Aside from that, Minnelli was known to have a lot of nervous tics and feel more socially awkward outside of his creative collaborators. He was also quite good with Gene Kelley’s psychotic perfectionism.

How Many Films Have I Seen:  7. Meet me in Saint Louis, The Pirate, American in Paris, Brigadoon, Kismet, Band Wagon, The Sandpiper

Favorite: American in Paris If musicals exemplify escapist entertainment, what’s more meta than a character who’s  escaping the aftermath of the war by staying in Paris (the ultimate tourist’s city) on an eternal vacation of sorts. Gene Kelly’s character of Jerry Mulligan is living the most quixotic of existences but American in Paris is a movie about him slowly getting sucked into reality once he gets invested in love with a person. The object of his affections, Leslie Caron’s Lise Bouvier, is on the wrong side of a love triangle. She’s indebted to a man who saved her from the war and it looks on the outside like love but it’s clear she never had much choice in it. There’s a tragedy in it and Mulligan really has no chance so the film ends in a ballet followed by an ending that I’m comfortable considering is just fantasy or possibly real.

Favorite Musical Number: I’ll add this bonus category. The Trolley Song in “Meet me in St Louis.” It’s not just an earworm but it’s got so much going for it. It works actual trolley bells into the music and has so much going for it orchestration-wise with strings and brass doing all sorts of riffs and counter melodies. I also like the interchange between chorus and the lead singer (Judy Garland doesn’t even start singing until 85 seconds into the song). But what I love most about this is that it’s not just singing and dancing but she’s expressing the emotion—in this case the excitement of seeing her crush board the train—of the song as she’s singing. It’s like a sing-acting I haven’t seen.

Underrated:  Brigadoon. Yes, the idea of a town thinking they’ll be safer (rather than run into a nuclear war or encroaching sprawl at the very least) by sleeping every 100 years is one of the most casually absurd movie plots in existence. But it is a very charming film and a sincere love story with a very solid chemistry between Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse. There’s also Van Johnson who is such a wonderful deadpan foil, he seems to be five decades ahead of his time (a spiritual godfather to Aubrey Plaza, perhaps). The film is set in Scotland but filmed entirely on sound stages that I personally found quite impressive (especially the musical number through the heathers in “Almost like Being in Love.” There’s also a lot of fun organic songs like “Go Home to Bonnie G.”

Overrated: Band Wagon Movies about show business stars attempting a comeback are part of an overstuffed genre and this seems like an entirely unimaginative entry considering so much of the output. I’m wondering if this film was meant to give Fred Astaire material that was a little more weighty (like, say Billy Crystal in “Mr Saturday Night”) but he doesn’t really treat the material (of a man facing a midlife crisis) any differently so by all standards he fails here. Nothing is particularly memorable about the music either.

Blind Spots: “Lust for Life” sounds like an interesting one. “Cabin in the Sky” the first all-black musical in MGM’s stable also seems interesting.  “Gigi” did win a Best Picture Oscar so that could potentially be worth it?

How many David Lean films have you seen?

Originally Published at The Solute

Towards the end of the century, the American Film Institute and the British Film Institute released lists of the top 100 films of the 20th Century. He’s the most honored director on the British Film Institute list with Brief Encounter at #2, Lawrence of Arabia at #3, Great Expectations at #5, Bridge on the River Kwai at #11, Doctor Zhivago at #27, Oliver Twist at #46, and In Which We Serve at #92. Additionally, he has three films on the American Film Institute’s Top 100 epics list with Doctor Zhivago, Lawrence of Arabia and Bridge on the River Kwai. 

It’s not surprising that astute British cinemaphiles might have missed some of Lean’s earlier films because to many Americans and casual movie goers, Lean is known for the glorious epics that he made over the latter half of his career. None of the six films he made from 1957 to 1984 clocks in at less than two hours and forty minutes. 

In a way, Lean is one of the most avant-garde directors I have watched because of the sheer length of his films. Although Lean appears to be a traditionalist in terms of narrative, there is something uncompromising about going to a studio and declaring “I’m going to make a film about a relatively obscure World War I general, it will have no women, and it will be three and a half hours long!” I watched Lawrence of Arabia as a high school freshman for a history assignment on Lawrence. I remember thinking “hmmm, shouldn’t this movie have ended by now?” but I certainly thought it was interesting. Perhaps, it was the novelty of seeing a different kind of film that was clearly a product of its period. The next year, our European History teacher decided to show the film in class over several periods and our reaction was, “yes it’s a pretty movie, but seriously, it’s this long?!”

A couple weeks ago, I was visiting my father at his swimming pool when he was conversing with some friends. I was reading a book review on the Russian Revolution from the Sunday newspaper and asked him what the Russian revolution was and his friends started telling me I should watch Doctor Zhivago. I mentioned that although I liked some of David Lean’s films, some of them like Lawrence of Arabia are excruciatingly long and one of them said “yes, but there’s not a wasted minute in it.”

This past week, I watched the first half of Doctor Zhivago (I plan on watching the second) and I have to agree with his assessment. The film isn’t bloated but narratively ambitious in a way that few are. Like his other epics, it’s a film that’s uninterested in telling a simple three-act narrative to get one to a happy ending: Lean is somewhat Altmanesque in weaving a tapestry but in a more linear fashion towards an end goal. It’s a film that meanders but it builds up story and character as it veers away from the main arc. The imagery in David Lean’s films are often striking and not simply in terms of cinematography. Watching Doctor Zhivago, I’m struck by the way Pasha (Tom Courtenay) is framed with his scarred face or of the scene in which Yevgraf (Alec Guiness ) trails the titular character through dark alleyways or the military march in which Pasha loses his gun or the image of Yuri being bombarded by peasants who have cordoned off his own home or…well, you get the point.
Additionally, Lean directed a whole slew of praised films before his epic phase that were largely adaptations of beloved literary works. His first three films he directed solo were adaptations of Noel Coward plays. He followed this by two Charles Dickens novels—Great Expectations and Oliver Twist—that are considered two of the best and most faithful cinematic adaptations of Dickens’ work.  Ironically, some critics would take issue with his later deviation from the source material in Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago.

Brief Biography:
Lean was born in Croydon, England in 1930. He was raised in a Quaker household where he was not allowed to see movies due to his religious upbringing. At Quaker School, Lean was a mediocre student but he displayed a passion for photography though his parents discouraged him from making a career out of it. After working for his father’s accounting firm, he was convinced by a friend to follow his passion to be a cinematographer and worked from Gaumont British Studios in 1927.  He eventually worked his way up a series of jobs to editor before Noel Coward himself invited him to co-direct and eventually direct solo his productions. He was known for being autocratic (closed off to outside input) on sets but not overly difficult on actors. Another Oscar-winning director. Kevin Costner, was inspired by his films in thinking that an epic was ideal.

In addition to directing, he was also the founder of the production company CineGuild with Roland Neame. In addition to 28 Academy Awards being awarded to his films, he was knighted in 1984 and received an AFI Lifetime Achievement Award a year before his death in 1991 at the age of 83. Another interesting distinction: In 1970, he was Hollywood’s all-time top directorial grosser (adding the money made from all his films; a title Spielberg holds today). He did plan an eventual retirement in Tuscany but he was working until the day he died on the unfinished film Nostromo. He asked for his ashes to be buried in the three places he loved most: Tahiti, Tuscany, and India.

Films I’ve Seen:
I’m making my way through my 5th. I’ve seen Summertime, Lawrence of Arabia, Passage to India, Bridge on the River Kwai, and Doctor Zhivago.

Favorite:
Bridge on the River Kwai – My favorite war film. It’s lush, it’s rich in story, and conveys the senseless tragedy of war with just one scene that has remained etched in my mind. It also has a quartet of indelible characters: William Holden pulls on the charisma as a soldier roped in for one last mission, Geoffrey Horne plays a green-eyed private with a palpable sense of fear and naiveté about killing another person; Alec Guinness is a morally complex man with an ironclad sense of integrity that leads him astray ever so gradually, and Sessue Hayakawa is a worthy sparring partner.

Underrated:
Passage to India – A story about the grandeur of India (circa 1928) and the racial prejudice, conflicts in national loyalty and sexual repression that lurks underneath. For a film that starts out centering around one character—a stuffy British magistrate played by Nigel Havers– almost entirely irrelevant by the end of the story, this is a film that’s extremely fluid and doesn’t feel draining time-wise.

Overrated:
I am ok with leaving this section blank if I don’t think anything’s overrated. I thought Summertime was uneventful and lackluster but I was assuming that film was panned. TCM.com classified  it as a hit, though, so yes, Summertime. It’s basically Katharine Hepburn having a Connecticut socialite’s version of a spring break experience in Venice with a hot local. The film has its moments and there’s something slightly interesting about just how unapologetic the film is at hewing so closely to the Latin lover archetype with the male lead.

Blind spots:
If Brief Encounter is the #2 all-time film according to the BFI, who am I to doubt them? One of David O Russell’s favorite films (or at least in in 2016) is Hobson’s Choice. Ryan’s Daughter is another epic but one that even the critics felt didn’t justify its long running time, so maybe?

Filmography as Director (17 films)

A Passage to India (1984)

Ryan’s Daughter (1970)

Doctor Zhivago (1965)

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

Summertime (1955)

Hobson’s Choice (1954)

The Sound Barrier (1952)

Madeleine (1950)

The Passionate Friends (1949)

Oliver Twist (1948)

Great Expectations (1946)

Blithe Spirit (1945)

Brief Encounter (1945)

This Happy Breed (1944)

In Which We Serve (1942)

Major Barbara (1941)

How Many Films of Sidney Lumet Have You Seen?

Originally posted on THE SOLUTE

Welcome to a new series called How Many Films of _____ Have You Seen, in which I pick a director each week, discuss him and my experiences with the director and list the films that I have seen of that director. Then you tell me how many and which films you’ve seen and from there we make recommendations, discuss and maybe dive into the auteur theory. This is a space where we can open up about the holes in our film viewing and not get beaten up by a million responses of “you haven’t seen ______? How dare you!”

This week I am posting about Sidney Lumet to promote a talk I’m co-leading about Sidney Lumet at DC Cinema Lounge this Monday at 7 PM in Washington DC. Teaism is located by Archives/Navy Memorial metro. Please come so we have people to discuss with. https://www.facebook.com/events/2095973147393902/

This week’s director Sidney Lumet.

Murder on the Orient Express

 Overview:

Sidney Lumet consistently made films that have stood the test of time from 1957 with a sensational debut in 12 Angry Men to his sleeper critical darling 50 years later in 2007. Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead. Unlike Francis Ford Coppola or William Friedkin (the 70s), Blake Edwards (60s), or Brian de Palma (70s/80s), or Clint Eastwood (00s) who were among the most critically praised over the course of a single decade, Lumet was never associated with the greats of any one decade even though they made films in other eras. A child of stalwarts in the Yiddish theater scene, Lumet worked as a child acting in Yiddish theater but also taking a keen interest in every department. When he returned from the war, he set his sights on putting those experiences into directing.
 
He cut his teeth in live TV which perhaps gave him the workmanlike quality of serving the project rather than trying to infuse his personal style into (in most cases) already-adapted material. Lumet was most comfortable in gritty urban settings (although many films such as The Hill or Murder on the Orient Express were exceptions) and had a great gift for suspense but if there was a singular trait, it was possibly his gravitation toward and handling of socially significant material. This quote is a good guide to Lumet’s work:

"While the goal of all movies is to entertain, the kind of film in which I believe goes on step further. It compels the spectator to examine one facet or another of their own conscience."

 What Most People Believe Are the Essentials:

12 Angry Men, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, Network, Verdict

2nd tier: Pawnbroker, Murder on the Orient Express, Fail Safe, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, Prince of the City.

My number: 8

12 Angry Men, Murder on the Orient Express, Dog Day Afternoon, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, The Verdict, Prince of the City. Pawnbroker (Additionally, I saw the Richard Dreyfus TV reproduction of Fail Safe)

My Favorite: Network is a masterpiece based on just how eerily prescient in its foreshadowing of the media’s influence in the present day, but it’s also a great stand-alone morality play. Like much of Lumet’s work there’s a theatrical quality with characters (particularly Ned Beatty in what might be the best one-scene appearance ever) going for mythological performances rather than naturalism. While Peter Finch’s Howard Beale has the quote “I’m mad as hell and I’m not gonna take it anymore”, nearly every character except William Holden’s Murrowesque executive is pretty much an epic lunatic. There’s also the cryptic romance between William Holden and Faye Dunaway’s characters that is so deliciously twisted.

Underrated: Murder on the Orient Express. The 2017 remake upped the thriller angle to it (perhaps wisely so), but the original has an aura of continental sophistication with an admirable adherence to the source material. Has a novel mystery ever been bought to life better? (I honestly don’t know, so correct me in the comments) It’s a fun mystery with one of the best ensembles ever assembled on screen. And no offense to Kenneth Branagh, but Albert Finney is the better Poirot: A big presence and idiosyncratic without being hammy.

Overrated: Prince in the City seemed bloated with characters who all made little mark on the story and felt static in terms of plot movement. I’ve never been able to get particularly invested in mole/informant-type plots because it lends itself to such easy plot twists that there’s little reason to be surprised.

What I might approach next: Serpico is the most high-profile film I haven’t seen, but after Prince in the City I am burned out on crooked cop stuff. Find me Guilty seemed like a flop. Because it has the great Rod Steiger and deals with the Holocaust in a curious way, I’m very curious about The Pawnbroker. The Fugitive Kid might be interesting because of the amusing anecdotes I read between Marlon Brando and Sidney Lumet in Lumet’s book Making Movies. I also would be interested in watching The Hill to compare and contrast it against other prison escape movies of that era.

If you need help remembering what he’s directed, here’s this handy-dandy list (credit to TCM):

1.Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead(2007)

2.Find Me Guilty(2006)

3.Strip Search(2004) as Director.

4.Gloria(1999) as Director.

5.Night Falls on Manhattan(1997) as Director.

6.Critical Care(1997) as Director.

7.Guilty As Sin(1993) as Director.

8.Stranger Among Us, A(1992) as Director.

9.Q&A(1990) as Director.

10.Family Business(1989) as Director.

11.Running on Empty(1988) as Director.

12.Morning After, The(1986) as Director.

13.Power(1986) as Director.

14.Garbo Talks(1984) as Director.

15.Daniel(1983) as Director.

16.Deathtrap(1982) as Director.

17.The Verdict (1982) as Director.

18.Prince of the City(1981) as Director.

19.Just Tell Me What You Want(1980) as Director.

20.The Wiz(1978) as Director.

21.Equus(1977) as Director.

22.Network(1976) as Director.

23.Dog Day Afternoon(1975) as Director.

24.Serpico(1974) as Director.

25.Lovin’ Molly(1974) as Director.

26.Murder on the Orient Express(1974) as Director.

27.The Offense(1973) as Director.

28.Child’s Play(1972) as Director.

29.The Anderson Tapes(1971) as Director.

30.The Last of the Mobile Hotshots(1970) as Director.

31.King: A Filmed Record … Montgomery to Memphis(1970) as Connecting seq dir.

32.The Appointment(1970) as Director.

33.The Sea Gull(1968) as Director.

34.Bye Bye Braverman(1968) as Director.

35.The Deadly Affair(1967)

36.The Group(1966) as Director.

37.The Hill(1965) as Director.

38.The Pawnbroker(1965) as Director.

39.Fail Safe(1964) as Director.

40.A View From the Bridge(1962) as Director.

41.Long Day’s Journey Into Night(1962) as Director.

42.The Fugitive Kind(1960) as Director.

43.That Kind of Woman(1959) as Director.

44.Stage Struck(1958) as Director.

45.12 Angry Men(1957) as Director.