Category: Home Viewing with Peter

The death of Heath Ledger on Oscar nomination day set a pall over the 80th annual Academy Awards, already suffering from uncertainty due to the Hollywood writers’ strike. It was just two years ago that the then 26-year-old actor was nominated for starring in the youth-to-middle-age story of conflicted gay cowboy Ennis Del Mar in…

Last week we took a look back at the Oscars of 25, 50 and 75 years ago. This week, with the release of the 40th Anniversary Edition of In the Heat of the Night and the forthcoming release of the 40th Anniversary Edition of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, it is a good time to…

With the nominations for the 80th Annual Academy Awards less than a week away, I thought it would be a good time to take a look back at the films Oscar liked 25, 50 and 75 years ago. Twenty-five years ago the Best Picture nominees were E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, Gandhi, Missing, Tootsie and The Verdict,…

Inexplicably lost among the summer blockbusters, Stardust rightfully won the Phoenix Film Critics Society Award as the most overlooked film of 2007. Judging its DVD sales numbers, it could also emerge as the most overlooked DVD of 2007-2008. Directed by Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake), this rollicking adventure is worth all the year’s blockbusters and sequels…

A traditional way to start the New Year is to review the prior year’s best, so without ado, here is my ten best list of DVD releases for 2007. 1. Ford at Fox. A massive 24-film set including: Pilgrimage, The Prisoner of Shark Island, Young Mr. Lincoln, Drums Along the Mohawk, The Grapes of Wrath,…

Merry Christmas to all! And to all a good movie on DVD! With the opening of Tim Burton’s film version of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd this past weekend, it’s time for my third and final dissertation on the evolution of the movie musical. I left off in 1978 with the dismal screen adaptation of another…

Finally! I now have my copy of the Ford at Fox box set. It is the DVD collection of the year, and well worth waiting for, but I have to caution that it is not for everyone. The casual collector will probably be satisfied with the previously available Young Mr. Lincoln, Drums Along the Mohawk,…

I still haven’t received my copy of the massive Ford at Fox collection so I’m unable to review the films that are included in the set, but I can tell you what’s in it and what’s not. Ford’s career at Fox took off with 1924’s The Iron Horse, a blockbuster about the westward expansion caused…

I had hoped to review the massive Ford at Fox collection this week. Unfortunately, I have been unable to get my grubby little hands on a copy of the collection that releases today. What I can tell you is that it contains 24 films including the documentary Becoming John Ford. I can also tell you…

John Waters’ 1988 film, Hairspray, was the director’s first mainstream film, albeit one with enough bizarre edges to appeal to his avant-garde following as well as the masses. A hilarious take on the TV dance show phenomenon of the early 1960s, the film catapulted Rikki Lake to stardom as forthright “fat” girl Tracy Turnblad and…

This week is Thanksgiving. Films built around the holiday are few and for the most part, far between. The most famous, of course, is 1947’s Miracle on 34th Street, which begins with Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, but is more about Christmas than Thanksgiving. I’ll have more about that later. It would be almost forty years…

Anyone who knows me knows I’m not a big fan of cartoon movies, but every once in a while one comes along that is so hyped up it’s hard to ignore. Ratatouille is one that is worthy of the hype. The film from Disney Pixar ( Toy Story, Cars) is beautifully lit, so much so…

Back in September, I mentioned With a Song in My Heart and I’ll Cry Tomorrow as part of my report on movie musicals from 1927 through 1955. Both, starring Susan Hayward, are finally being released on DVD. I’ll Cry Tomorrow, the musical biography of Lillian Roth, releases today as part of Warner Bros’. Leading Ladies…

It’s time to get caught up with new releases again. The 80th Anniversary Edition of The Jazz Singer is of more historical than entertainment value today. The film itself is a creaky tale of the Jewish cantor’s son who finds success beyond the synagogue to the disdain of his father. It is about 80% silent…

How many people do you know who watch scary movies on Halloween? I don’t watch them myself, nor do I know anyone who does, but in the days and weeks leading up the holiday there is no better way to get into the mood than to watch a few horror flicks back-to-back. Horror films have…