Ted Mahar

The play is hilarious, and Hawks enlivened it with his famous staccato direction. He gives no breaks for viewers to laugh without missing the next line. The brilliant dialogue comes so thick and fast that you almost have to tape the film to get it all. So, do. [31 Mar 2000]

This is still the one to see ...for Mifune's inimitable performance and Kurosawa's gorgeous black-and-white photography. [05 Jan 2001]

Here is another legendary case of actors following their characters' lead. [14 Feb 1997, p.36]

High and Low is more than a crime melodrama; it's a philosophical drama as well. [23 Nov 1988, p.D06]

Robert Redford makes a convincing member of the U.S. Olympic Ski Team in this exciting and thoughtful Michael Ritchie film about the sacrifices and compromises made -- or not made -- for a chance at a moment's glory. [26 Feb 1999]

The plot's very sparsity gives "Life" its own special suspense. It is rarely possible to guess where the film will be in the next 10 minutes, yet nothing in it is improbable. That is another reason why the upbeat finale works. For all of the film's quirks and absurdity, it never strains credulity. [27 Dec. 1991, p.13]

This film put Cassavetes on the cinematic map, even though at 90 minutes, it was 4.5 hours short of Cassavetes' intended version, which exists now only in published script form. [19 Sep 1997, p.36]

The big-screen reissue offers a rare chance to admire the marvelous production details. [2002 Director's Cut]

One False Move is a small, nearly flawless gem of a film noir, a suspense drama that never lets up until the final credits. [17 July 1992, p.17]

The historical details of costumes and settings are exemplary and the cast superb. Those best of times and worst of times must have looked much like this. [12 Jul 1996, p.39]

It's all done in perfect taste. Sturges' specialty was sophisticated films about largely unsophisticated characters, and his talent shines here. [28 Jul 1991, p.34]

Rita Hayworth plays her, doing good work as a Gay '90s gal finally revealed as shallow, conceited, greedy and mean. But that glorious hair distracts dentist James Cagney long enough to think he lost a lot when a rival got her. And that glorious hair is seen only in black and white. [13 Jun 1997, p.39]

John Huston's classic film noir, adapted from W.R. Burnett's novel, is a forerunner of dozens of heist movies, few of which surpass it. [26 Feb 1999]

Ladd's career had been declining and kept declining after Shane, but his minimalist, passive style was perfect for this character, a violent man who has grown thoughtful too late in life. This is his best work. [28 Apr 2000]

The characters and their situations, while perfectly credible and funny on the simplest literal level, surely add up to something like a subtly farcical apocalyptic satire. [18 April 1989, p.D4]

Garfield is customarily strong and energetic as a desperate guy on the edge. Famous for her work in tight sweaters and halters, Turner was no thespian. But the combination of Garfield and Garnett, or something, fired a performance from her that is, in its way, perfect. [05 Mar 1999]

Henry Fonda's perplexity is palpable. [26 Jan 2001]

With much dialogue coming from the Charles Portis novel, this is an exceptionally clever and eloquent Western with surprising levity among the mayhem. [01 Jun 2007, p.34]

This was the first major film to depict a benign extraterrestrial visiting Earth since the postwar flying saucer phenomenon began in June 1947. Few alien visitation films have surpassed it for suspense, narrative economy, acting and a just plain good story. [09 Apr 2004]

Lighting changes subtly from shot to shot within a scene to highlight a chin, a cheek, a profile, a shoulder -- whatever carries Von Sternberg's message. To sully this monochromatic beauty with electric colors would be a crime and a sin. [15 Aug 1990, p.E05]

The film is funny, odd and real. [18 Sept 1987, p.E18]

Languidly paced yet not at all slow, Chocolat is a last, lingering, affectionate look at a comfortable, convenient life that may have been more a mirage than a memory. [12 May 1989, p.I13]

This is one of the Duke's better Westerns. [14 Oct 2005, p.47]

Impressive and engrossing as it is, the reality alone is not what makes Salaam Bombay so compelling. Nair tells an interesting episodic story, and her leading lad is a natural actor. [05 Nov 1988, p.C06]

The sense of visual texture is vivid. The cast performs as openly and energetically as if they were making the film for a Western audience. [03 May 1991, p.21]

The length and delay of the project is evident from Brian Eno's participation. He composed and produced the subtle, evocative musical score for the film. [31 March 1990, p.C08]

The film and characters aren't really down on men. They're in a desert. Almost everything that's good or useful is somewhere else. What is in the desert in ``Gas Food'' is a fractured family that is a great experience for the viewer. [9 Oct 1992, p.AE15]

The action is fast, tough, energetic and extravagant. It is smoothly and stylishly made but more inscrutable than intended. [28 June 1989, p.D05