Sam Peckinpah’s Straw Dogs (1971) has often been considered a difficult and controversial text. Central to this is the depiction of gender, specifically concerning the role of Amy (played by Susan George) and the double[…]
Tag: Vigilante
Superman V Objectivism
This article was previously published on Bright Lights Film Journal. Since original publication the excellent Wonder Woman (Patty Jenkins) was released, embodying the opposite of Rand’s ideas. It has now made more money than Batman v Superman despite costing[…]
Watch it Again! Joe (John G. Avildsen, 1970)
This article was first published by Bright Lights Film Journal. During Donald Trump’s campaign for the White House, more than a few commentators noticed some similarities to George Wallace, and especially Wallace’s 1968 campaign for[…]
Thoughts on Straw Dogs (Sam Peckinpah, 1970)
On its release Pauline Kael described Sam Peckinpah’s Straw Dogs (1971) as; the first American film that is a fascist work of art[i] and Richard Schickel called it “unrelenting evil”[ii]. A collection of thirteen British film critics[…]
Watch it Again! Joe – on Bright Lights Film Journal
Watch It Again! Joe (John G. Avildsen, 1970)
Fascist-Super Cops? The Legacy of The French Connection & Dirty Harry
One of them is a loner who gets thrown every dirty job in town. His solution: shoot his .44 Magnum and damn the consequences. The other is a blue-collar roughneck, a porkpie-hat wearing boot fetishist[…]