Category Archives: Reviews

Theater Thursday 04/07/08: East of Eden

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East of Eden is a 1955 film, directed by Elia Kazan, and loosely based on part of the 1952 novel of the same name by U.S. author John Steinbeck. It stars Julie Harris, James Dean (in his first major screen role), and Raymond Massey; it also features Burl Ives, Richard Davalos, and Jo Van Fleet, and was adapted by Paul Osborn and John Steinbeck. Although set in early twentieth century Monerey, California, much of the film was actually shot on location in Mendocino, California. Some … Continue reading →

Theater Thursday 04/10/08: Requiem for a Heavyweight

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Requiem for a Heavyweight was originally a 1956 American teleplay written by Rod Serling (creator of The Twilight Zone) and produced for the live television show Playhouse 90 on 11 October 1956, then was later filmed as a movie starring Anthony Quinn, Jackie Gleason, and Mickey Rooney in 1962. The teleplay won a Peabody Award, the first given to an individual script, and helped establish Serling’s reputation. The broadcast was directed by Ralph Nelson and is generally considered one of the most famous examples of … Continue reading →

Theater Thursday 03/24/08: The Three Faces of Eve 50th Anniversary

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The Three Faces of Eve is a 1957 book and film, loosely based on the true story of a woman (Chris Costner-Sizemore) who had dissociative identity disorder (Multiple Personality Disorder). The film stars Joanne Woodward, David Wayne, Lee J Cobb, Nancy Kulp, and Alistair Cooke. It was filmed at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, Georgia. Eve White is a quiet, self-effacing wife and mother who has headaches and occasional blackouts. Eventually she is sent to see psychiatrist Dr. Luther, and while under hypnosis … Continue reading →

Theater Thursday 03/27/08: Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

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Death of a Salesman is a 1949 play by Arthur Miller and is considered a classic of American theater. Viewed by many as a caustic attack on the American Dream of achieving wealth and success without regard for principle, Death of a Salesman made both Arthur Miller and the character Willy Loman household names. The play raises a counterexample to Aristotle’s characterization of tragedy as the downfall of a great man, whether through (depending on the translator) a flaw in his character or a mistake … Continue reading →

Theater Thursday: Broadcast News (1987)

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The film revolves around three characters who work in television news. Jane Craig (Holly Hunter) is a talented producer who tries to conceal how important it is for her to be found sexually attractive by a handsome man (William Hurt) who epitomizes everything about television news that appalls her. Jane’s best friend and frequent collaborator, Aaron Altman (Albert Brooks), is a gifted writer and reporter ambitious for on-camera exposure, who is secretly in love with Jane, and embittered by her rejection of him. Tom Grunick … Continue reading →

Theater Thursday 07/10/08: Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner ?

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Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner , directed by Stanley Kramer, is a 1967 comedy-drama film starring Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier, Katharine Hepburn, and Katherine Houghton. The movie concerns Joanna “Joey” Drayton, a young white American woman (Houghton) who has had a whirlwind romance with Dr. Prentice (Poitier), an African American man she met while on a holiday in Hawaii. Prentice plans to fly to New York later that night then on to an assignment in Switzerland. Joanna plans to join him there, soon to be … Continue reading →

Theater Thursday: Children of a Lesser God

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Children of a Lesser God is a love story about a speech teacher who falls for a beautiful yet distant deaf girl in a small New England school for the deaf, and the obstacles that they face due to their differences. William Hurt plays James Leeds, a renegade teacher with an unconventional approach to education and a resume that includes stints as a bartender and a disk jockey. Upon his arrival, he is warned by school administrator Dr. Franklin Philip Bosco not to get creative … Continue reading →

Theater Thursday 05/15/08: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

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All Neal Page (Steve Martin) wants to do is make it home from a business trip in New York City and spend Thanksgiving with his family in Chicago. Instead, he finds himself rerouted from New York’s La Guardia Airport to Wichita, Kansas. Stuck in Wichita, with no other options, Neal decides to share a room in a fleabag hotel with Del Griffith (John Candy), a shower-curtain-ring salesman and fellow stranded traveler. Although Neal finds Del to be an amusing companian, he just can’t seem to … Continue reading →

Theater Thursday: Philadelphia

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Philadelphia is an Academy Award-winning 1993 drama film revolving around HIV/AIDS. It was written by Ron Nyswaner and directed by Jonathan Demme. The film stars Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Joanne Woodward, Jason Robards, Antonio Banderas, Lisa Summerour, Chandra Wilson, and Mary Steenburgen. It was partly inspired by the story of Geoffrey Bowers, an attorney who in 1987 sued the law firm Baker & McKenzie for unfair dismissal in one of the first AIDS discrimination cases. Andrew Beckett is a young up-and-coming lawyer who has just … Continue reading →

Theater Thursday: 2001: A Space Odyssey

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The Dawn of Man At the dawn of man, a primitive tribe lives by hunting and gathering in a desert. The tribe discovers a black monolith, which they approach and examine. The implication is that the monolith is of extraterrestrial origin, and it imparts the knowledge of tools on members of the tribe. After the discovery, one of the tribe members scavenges a bone from a pile and uses it as a club, discovering the first tool. After the discovery, one of the tribe members … Continue reading →