Hunter Allen
ROBIN HOOD2018Directed by Otto BathurstWritten by Ben Chandler and David James KellySpoilers: moderateIn the mid-10s, Hollywood had no fewer than three Robin Hoods in development, and that's mysterious to me, given that only a few years earlier, Ridley Scott's Robin Hood had posted losses measured...
Hunter Allen
ROBIN HOOD2010Directed by Ridley ScottWritten by Ethan Reiff, Cyrus Voris, and Brian HelgelandSpoilers: moderate, but higher than you'd think possible in a movie described as "the origin of Robin Hood"You can't say that the 2010 film bearing the simple title Robin Hood isn't doing something novel...
Earl MacDonald
Two of my UConn jazz students plan to enter the Herbie Hancock Institute International Jazz Vocals Competition. It’s a competition that has launched the careers of outstanding young musicians under the age of thirty, and the featured instrument changes from year to year. I told them something...
Peter Harmsen
The cinematic landscape of wartime Hollywood was shaped by propaganda, patriotism, and a pressing need to tell stories of global conflict. Amidst this turbulent era, the 1942 film Lady from Chungking stands out as a unique and historically significant artifact. Produced by the low-budget studio...
Peter Harmsen
If you picture the Japanese soldiers who fought in China and across the beaches of the Pacific, it is easy to imagine them as physically identical to modern Japanese people. In broad terms that is true. But recent research suggests the story is a little more nuanced and a lot more interesting....
Peter Harmsen
The photograph is quiet, almost unremarkable at first glance: a small group of men standing in the dust, horses waiting behind them, the light harsh and unforgiving. But at the far right stands a figure whose story would travel far beyond this moment—Canadian surgeon Dr. Norman Bethune. In...
Hunter Allen
More capsule or at least capsulish reviews as we finally finish cleaning up the movies of the previous year, three months and change into the new one. Herein we discuss Resurrection, House of Dynamite, Black Bag, and The Running Man.RESURRECTIONCan you guess the theme of these five graybles? I...
Peter Harmsen
As 1937 slipped into 1938, Nanjing was a city living through catastrophe. Only weeks earlier, Japanese forces had captured the Chinese capital, unleashing what would become known as the Nanjing Massacre. Tens of thousands were killed. Homes were burned. Women lived in constant fear of abduction...
Peter Harmsen
Three years ago I shared this excerpt from my book Darkest Christmas, about how the holiday was marked in wartime China in 1942. Many readers told me it was one of their favorite glimpses into the human side of the war, so I’m sharing it again this year. Below is the original piece: On...
Peter Harmsen
In the fall and winter of 1937, the young American sailor Earl Jackson Clanton was in Shanghai on board the USS Augusta, which was keeping a vigil in the port while Chinese and Japanese troops were engulfed in vicious fighting over the fate of the city. Clanton completed a fascinating journal,...
Peter Harmsen
In the fall of 1937, the young American sailor Earl Jackson Clanton was in Shanghai on board the USS Augusta, which was keeping a vigil in the port while Chinese and Japanese troops were engulfed in vicious fighting over the fate of the city. Clanton completed a fascinating journal, providing a...
Jon Danzig
Britain’s Children’s Newspaper – subtitled, ‘The Story of the World Today for the Men and Women of Tomorrow’ – was a remarkable and mature publication for youngsters.On 8 October 1938, with dark clouds of war looming, the newspaper ran a visionary editorial describing Europe as ‘one...
Justin Bowers
There is just something about Mr. Herzog that is just wildly appealing. I have watched his films, read his commentaries, and attended lectures where he talks about his process. His demeanor, poise, and language is uniquely him, and unmatched by anyone else out there. When I read that Mr. Herzog...