Category Archives: Home Video

What I Saw Last Year: Best Documentaries 2014

Posted on January 13, 2015 by Ted Hicks

              ____________________________________________________ CITIZENFOUR (Laura Poitras, director). Most documentaries, much like histories, tell their stories in retrospect, looking back to evaluate events that have already happened. Citizen Four unfolds largely in the moment. During the … Continue reading →

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What I Saw Last Year: Best Feature Films 2014

Posted on January 9, 2015 by Ted Hicks

Of the approximately 230 feature films I saw last year, here are the 30 new films that stood out for me. Some of these choices are pretty obvious, others maybe not so much. These are films that entertained and sometimes … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Home Video, TV | 2 Comments

John Huston – The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of

Posted on December 31, 2014 by Ted Hicks

As I write this, the Film Society of Lincoln Center (FSLC) here in New York is in the midst of a complete John Huston retrospective (December 19 – January 11). The series includes thirty-seven features and five documentaries directed by … Continue reading →

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“Rosebud was his sled!” – Random Notes on Orson Welles

Posted on November 14, 2014 by Ted Hicks

*************************************************************************************** The first time I saw Citizen Kane — an experience I’ll never forget — was in a film class at the University of Iowa in 1964 or ’65. The class was held in a long, narrow room with rows of … Continue reading →

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On the Radio – Monsters & Noir Podcasts!

Posted on September 3, 2014 by Ted Hicks

Podcasts are now available for the two interview shows I did earlier this year for “Talk Art Radio” on WSOU, the campus radio station at Seton Hall University in South Orange, NJ, not far from Manhattan. I wrote about doing … Continue reading →

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Barry Gifford on Film Noir – A Way with Words

Posted on September 1, 2014 by Ted Hicks

As a writer, Barry Gifford definitely gets around. Born in Chicago in 1946, Gifford’s hefty  output (over 40 titles to date) includes fiction, non-fiction, biographies, poetry, and screenplays. I first became aware of his name as the author of the 1989 … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Fiction, Film, Home Video, TV | 3 Comments

“A Most Wanted Man” & “Double Indemnity” – Top of the Line

Posted on August 12, 2014 by Ted Hicks

A Most Wanted Man – Sunday, August 3 at AMC Loews Lincoln Square. I love spy stories in films, TV shows, novels & non-fiction, but I’m sure my most immediate reason to see A Most Wanted Man was to watch Philip … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Fiction, Film, Home Video, TV | 5 Comments

Film Noir & Everything Else – Too Many Movies

Posted on July 31, 2014 by Ted Hicks

Today is my birthday. Ta da! Birthdays can be a time of reflection, so maybe I should reflect on the fact that I’ve only put up one new post so far this month, yet more evidence of my constant struggle … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Film, Home Video, TV | 2 Comments

Elaine Stritch – No Pants, Bela Lugosi, and Godzilla in a Stalled Elevator

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Ted Hicks

In a review of Woody Allen’s September (1987), People magazine referred to Elaine Stritch in that film as a “…roaring presence, like Godzilla in a stalled elevator…” I like that vivid image, which really captures something about Elaine Stritch. Her … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Home Video, Music, TV | 4 Comments

Movie Poster Art – Foreign Versions

Posted on June 30, 2014 by Ted Hicks

When searching online for posters and stills for English-language films, I often stumble upon foreign posters for those films. Many of these simply re-purpose the original poster art, but the ones that really get my attention are re-imagined in ways … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Film, Home Video, TV | 3 Comments