History ended in the 1990s, at least according to a famous essay by American political scientist Francis Fukuyama. Under his inflammatory headline, Fukuyama argues that the end of the Cold War and the establishment of the United States as the world’s sole global power pole meant that liberal democracies have become the ultimate form of government. As if to prove the argument correct, the US and the UK entered a period of governmental peace and capitalist expansion.
However, those of us who actually lived through the 90s know that the decade wasn’t nearly as rosy as some predicted (or recall). Against the picture of ascendancy painted by Bill Clinton and, eventually, Tony Blair, pop culture reflected the fragmented state of actual lives, and we ended up with some of the most controversial movies of all time.
In addition to the big breakthroughs of the decade, such as Quentin Tarantino...
However, those of us who actually lived through the 90s know that the decade wasn’t nearly as rosy as some predicted (or recall). Against the picture of ascendancy painted by Bill Clinton and, eventually, Tony Blair, pop culture reflected the fragmented state of actual lives, and we ended up with some of the most controversial movies of all time.
In addition to the big breakthroughs of the decade, such as Quentin Tarantino...
- 5/31/2023
- by Kirsten Howard
- Den of Geek
Craig here with Take Three. Today: Gloria Grahame.
Take One: The Big Heat (1953)
When you think of Film Noir, you think of hard-boiled anti-heroes in fedoras, smoking, permanently with gun. But in some noirs it’s ladies first. Fritz Lang’s dirty, masterful noir par excellence The Big Heat has a first-rate femme fatale in Grahame’s Debby Marsh. Thank 20th Century Fox for replacement pleasures then: Grahame stepped in when original pick Marilyn Monroe’s fee became too high, giving the the film an extra sprinkling of salty sass. She excelled in each moment, whether heartfelt or hardened; I can only hazard a guess that Monroe might have made Debby’s eventual desperation too pleading. Under Grahame’s control Debby’s desperate dilemma was frenetic and wrenching. Never has the rapid flush of devastation been so well conveyed on screen as when she runs to Glenn Ford’s apartment to beg for cover.
Take One: The Big Heat (1953)
When you think of Film Noir, you think of hard-boiled anti-heroes in fedoras, smoking, permanently with gun. But in some noirs it’s ladies first. Fritz Lang’s dirty, masterful noir par excellence The Big Heat has a first-rate femme fatale in Grahame’s Debby Marsh. Thank 20th Century Fox for replacement pleasures then: Grahame stepped in when original pick Marilyn Monroe’s fee became too high, giving the the film an extra sprinkling of salty sass. She excelled in each moment, whether heartfelt or hardened; I can only hazard a guess that Monroe might have made Debby’s eventual desperation too pleading. Under Grahame’s control Debby’s desperate dilemma was frenetic and wrenching. Never has the rapid flush of devastation been so well conveyed on screen as when she runs to Glenn Ford’s apartment to beg for cover.
- 3/20/2011
- by Craig Bloomfield
- FilmExperience
Craig here with a new Take Three
Today: Anjelica Huston
Anjelica Huston's played so many memorable roles that I wish I'd called this series Take Ten.
The Witches and The Dead are essential Huston: key performances in two wildly differing films; both minor gems of their genres. As, respectively, the Grand High Witch and mournful Gretta Conroy she couldn’t have been more different, and in both she showed immense versatility. Essential, too, are Enemies: A Love Story and Prizzi’s Honor: an Oscar nod for the former; a win for the latter. (Nathaniel wrote about Mae Rose Prizzi previously - and the Grand High Witch, too.)
For Wes Anderson she played three independent women: two estranged wives in The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, and a strange mother in The Darjeeling Limited. The Addams Family's Morticia parts are a double-bill of the joyfully macabre.
Today: Anjelica Huston
Anjelica Huston's played so many memorable roles that I wish I'd called this series Take Ten.
The Witches and The Dead are essential Huston: key performances in two wildly differing films; both minor gems of their genres. As, respectively, the Grand High Witch and mournful Gretta Conroy she couldn’t have been more different, and in both she showed immense versatility. Essential, too, are Enemies: A Love Story and Prizzi’s Honor: an Oscar nod for the former; a win for the latter. (Nathaniel wrote about Mae Rose Prizzi previously - and the Grand High Witch, too.)
For Wes Anderson she played three independent women: two estranged wives in The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, and a strange mother in The Darjeeling Limited. The Addams Family's Morticia parts are a double-bill of the joyfully macabre.
- 8/2/2010
- by Craig Bloomfield
- FilmExperience
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