Scarlett O'Hara's Best Looks

by Cláudio Alves

Since 1939, Gone with the Wind has been re-released countless times in American theaters. This year, it's enjoying another of those on April 7th, 8th, and 10th to celebrate the picture's 85th anniversary. While defined by gross politics and a nostalgic view of the Confederacy that was already cause for contestation by some in the 1930s, it endures as a symbol of Old Hollywood craftsmanship at its peak. Indeed, it's difficult to think of a production that better exemplifies the sheer ambition of the studio system, its grandeur, and stunning spectacle. Technical ingenuity abounds, as does an eye for powerful imagery. It's so beautiful that some of its shots endure as cultural artifacts, even when divorced from their origin.

Today, I want to celebrate one aspect of its splendor near and dear to my heart – the costumes by Walter Plunkett. Specifically, I've given Scarlett O'Hara the same treatment Bella Baxter got, and ranked her ten best looks…

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Tribeca 2022: David Lynch is The Man Behind the Curtain in "Lynch / Oz"

by Jason Adams

Like many of you I have deeply embedded childhood memories of watching The Wizard of Oz on television as a child. And probably also like many of you the film was presented to me as a generational hand-off, a passing of the cinematic baton. My mom was a lifelong fan, and now twas my turn to become the latest Friend of Dorothy (if she only knew). That yellow brick road stretches in one ear and out the other across eighty entire years of movie-lovers, mother to son to son to daughter and on to every Auntie Em adjacent, with something in there for everybody. I can trace my love of Horror Movies right to it – how many nightmares have those short-jacketed cater-waiter flying monkeys stormed through? Others, probably you, can trace your love of the Movie Musical from sepia-toned Kansas where Judy first regaled us of rainbows...

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Jean Harlow on Criterion

by Cláudio Alves

During the past years, the Criterion Channel has highlighted the careers of many Old Hollywood stars. After Carole Lombard, Mae West, Joan Crawford, Jean Arthur, Rita Hayworth, and many more, it's time to celebrate Jean Harlow. In this case, the selection of titles entices because of how encompassing it is. The Criterion Channel presents 14 films, every feature the starlet did while on contract with MGM, from 1932 to her untimely death in 1937. By watching these works, one can get a good sense of Harlow's meteoric rise, how her persona evolved, how it changed to accommodate personal and physical transformations, a transfiguration of industry ideals and popular tastes. Furthermore, the movies showcase other great stars and the work of such vital 1930s screenwriters as Anita Loos and Dorothy Parker. It's a perfect treasure trove of Old Hollywood moviemaking, history, and scandal…

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Almost There: Myrna Loy in "Test Pilot"

by Cláudio Alves

Myrna Loy's an interesting case as far as the Oscars are concerned. She was a great star, a charming performer with a magnetic screen presence, and even appeared in more than one Best Picture winner. It's easy to imagine that such a person would be a shoo-in for an Academy Award nomination at some point in their career, but Loy was never that lucky. Of the many times she came close, we're here to discuss Test Pilot. This Victor Fleming-directed romantic drama nabbed three nods back in 1938. Among them was a Best Picture citation, though no love was shown to the movie's actors…

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I Have Altered The Auteur, Pray I Do Not Alter It Further

by Salim Garami

What's good? This is opening weekend for Solo: A Star Wars Story, a Disney/Lucasfilm production that saw a bit of behind-the-scenes drama. It's hardly the first production of the space opera franchise to be so contentious: Rogue One had Tony Gilroy take over post-production in lieu of director Gareth Edwards and the still in-production Star Wars Episode IX interrupted its development when Colin Trevorrow stepped down as director to J.J. Abrams, returning from Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

After the jump, more on Solo and five films that had survived such a director change to a decent reception after the jump...

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