Author Archives: Laura

Theater Thursday: Kramer vs Kramer

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Won Academy Awards for Best Actor (Dustin Hoffman), Supporting Actress (Meryl Streep), Director, Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture. Nominations for Best Cinematography, Film Editing, Supporting Actor (Justin Henry) and Supporting Actress (Jane Alexander). KRAMER VS. KRAMER (1979) is a film everyone should see. I only recently watched it again recently and I was amazed at how relevant it still is. More than a film about divorce, this is a story about a man who falls in love with his son. He realizes that their relationship … Continue reading →

Theater Thursday: The Devil Wears Prada

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Because I cannot resist high fashion or a movie with my favorite actress, Meryl Streep, I gave The Devil Wears Prada a chance. I also read the book last summer. I found it to be very entertaining and true to life because I worked for many years in New York City for very demanding bosses, so I know the kind of stress the main character was feeling, as far as starting out young in a new career. The synopsis: The Devil Wears Prada is an … Continue reading →

Otto Preminger’s Exodus

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The Jacob Burns Film Center, March 29 at 12:15: A special Sunday afternoon screening with an intermission of Otto Preminger’s adaptation of the Leon Uris novel about the founding of modern Israel is a must-see on the big screen. With Paul Newman as a Jewish freedom fighter and a teeming cast led by Sal Mineo, David Opatoshu, Eva Marie Saint, and Jill Haworth, this extraordinarily moving epic remains the rousing account of the founding of Israel. Composer Ernest Gold won both the Oscar and the … Continue reading →

Jazz Sessions: The Greats on Camera

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On April 16, at 7:00, The Jacob Burns Film Centerwill be showing the classic film, “Paris Blues”. Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Sidney Poitier, and Diahann Carroll – romance blossoms on the screen (as it had in real life) when two American tourists meet a pair of expatriate jazz musicians eking out a living in the Left Bank’s club scene. Filmed in luscious black and white and set to Duke Ellington’s Oscar-nominated score, this rarely screened 1961 feature captures Louis Armstrong’s virtuosic trumpet in a thrilling … Continue reading →

Theater Thursday: Carnal Knowledge

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In January 1972, sheriff’s deputies arrived at the Broad Avenue Cinema in Albany, Georgia and seized Mike Nichols’ Carnal Knowledge, charging that the film violated local obscenity laws.  Within weeks, the theater’s owner was convicted of “distributing obscene material,” fined $750 and was sentenced to twelve months probation.  Although Carnal Knowledge had been hailed as an artistic triumph by critics and audiences alike, its frank, unflinching look at sex and relationships had sparked a national debate that would end in the chambers of the U.S. … Continue reading →

Theater Thursday 05/21/08: Swept Away

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I have not seen too many foreign films that I would recommend, but I did really enjoy this one. This is an Italian film with subtitles, and I normally don’t like films with subtitles, but the story and the acting were so good, that I decided to give the film a chance.. It was written and directed by Lina Wertmuller in 1974. This is the original version of the movie from Italy, not the lousy remake Madonna was in. She can sing, but she can … Continue reading →

Theater Thursday: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

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A Tree Grows In Brooklyn is a novel by BettySmith first published in 1943. It relates the coming-of-age story of its main character, Francie Nolan, and her Irish-American family struggling against poverty in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York City. The novel is set in the first and second decades of the 20th century. The book was an immense success, a nationwide best-seller that was distributed to servicemen overseas. It was also adapted into a popular motion picture, the first feature film directed by Elia Kazan,  starring … Continue reading →

Collected Stories by Donald Margulies

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A respected short story writer and teacher in her mid-fifties, Ruth Steiner (Linda Lavin), has carved out a comfortable life for herself in a Greenwich Village apartment she has occupied for decades. Lisa Morrison (Samantha Mathis), is a callow yet talented 26 year old graduate student and aspiring writer, a child of suburban privilege. Lisa Morrison arrives at Ruth’s apartment for her first tutorial as a gawky, gushing hero worshiper. When Ruth quips, “I had someone darker in mind,” she doesn’t realize the foreshadowing in … Continue reading →

The Planets by Gustav Holst

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I have never been interested in classical music. Most of it puts me to sleep. I find it boring even if the instruments sound beautiful. You could play it on the most sophisticated audio equipment known to man for me, but it just doesn’t do it for me. I could appreciate it, of course, but I could never really get into it. I don’t remember how I got a hold of a C/D called, The Planets by Gustav Holst. Maybe my sister, Sans Souci, gave … Continue reading →

Alfred Hitchcock’s Cure for Insomnia

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I never realized that Alfred Hitchcock had this cure for insomnia that he never shared with the public before…   Alfred Hitchcock’s Cameo Appearances One of my favorite film directors growing up was Alfred Hitchcock. He was more commonly known as the “Master of Suspense.” He also had a weekly television series in the sixties. You could probably get all the weekly episodes on DVD now. I know it’s probably silly, but one the the things I liked about his movies was that he always … Continue reading →