John Wilson

I’ve never encountered anyone else who had seen “Young & Innocent” (“The Girl Was Young”). We may be soul mates!

How lucky you are to have received a response from Ms. Miles, by the way. That must have been quite a kick.

Thoroughly well-written and most informative article. I have long held the belief that if a musical score in a movie is really good, then the audience won’t really remember it. But they will remember what it depicts. You hear the Bernard Hermann’s violent score for “Psycho” and you immediately picture Janet Leigh in a pool of blood in the shower. Ditto the ominous John Williams sound which suggests the approaching shark in “Jaws”. The images which are called to mind by that music are far more memorable than the music by itself.

I loved the “Hail, Caesar!” from beginning to end. Any film which manages to weave together lessons about morality and faith and still provide moments of high comedy is a winner in my books. The Coens’ films have always displayed their love of movies in one way or another, but in none of their previous films has it been quite as evident as it is here.

It probably helps to have a good background in classic film before you go to see this film. When I saw it I was in a theater filled with mostly twenty- and thirty-somethings like myself, and I was the only person in the room who laughed at the reference to Norman Taurog and the mention of the ‘Wallace Beery Conference Room’. A lot of the references would just go over your head completely if you don’t know a lot about old movies, and that’s where most of the humor in the film came from. So in that sense I can understand why some people were disappointed in it.

Great article. I have a great affinity for movie posters from the vintage of the ’30s through the ’60s. This was a period when movie posters had intrinsic artistic value.

This was a time when the latter-day notion that movie posters are primarily marketing tools to get people in the theatre was still unheard of.

Another Otto Preminger film you may all be interested in checking out is “Bonjour Tristesse” (1958). It stars David Niven, Deborah Kerr and the oft-vilified and rather polarizing Preminger protégé Jean Seberg. I had to revisit it after reading this wonderful article on “Anatomy of a Murder.” “Bonjour Tristesse” — the English translation is “Hello Sadness” — was the first movie I saw in which the aspect ratio of a film informed my understanding of it.

A very sound analysis of one of the most popular theatrical musicals of the twentieth century. While I happen to disagree with your contention that “Fiddler” qualifies as a tragedy under Aristotle’s definition, I concede that your basic points are very well argued.

This is a fine article which convinces me absolutely that I will never be a good film critic. I’m just nod discerning enough. I can find something to love in even the worst cinematic experiences available. This makes me appreciate the attention to detail and keen sense of observation all film critics must employ.

I don’t think Rita Hayworth gets enough credit for her musical abilities. Her singing in GILDA (’46) and YOU WERE NEVER LOVELIER (1942, with Fred Astaire) has an undeniably alluring and sexy quality which few of her peers could rival.