Smart Blog

Never was there a tale of more woe, than this of Juliet and her Romeo. Still the best version on film, and Zefferelli's masterpiece.

One of my favorite Woody Allen films, although not his most popular. Perhaps I love it because it is an homage to Fellini's Eight And A Half. As Woody says....."An homage? No, we just ripped it off."

The incomparable Greta Garbo at the height of her beauty and powers in a timeless romantic tragedy. The book is La Dame Aux Camillias, the opera is La Traviata. Both also wonderful.

Salieri works hard, kisses the right behinds, is chaste, and plays by the rules. So why has God given musical genius to Mozart, "that giggling, obscene child"? Sometimes life is unfair.

My favorite Merchant & Ivory film. Daniel Day Lewis's portrait of Cecil Vyse is beyond funny. And Helena Bonham Carter's Lucy is wonderful. Also great: Denholm Elliott, Julian Sands, Simon Callow. And, star of the film: Florence, Italy.

I worship the Bard. I love this interpretation of his life. "Romeo and Ethel, The Pirate's Daughter." And I love Gwyneth Paltrow's reaction to the first time they make love: "Finally, there is something better than a play!"

The story of a film director suffering a creative block, a nervous breakdown, and a mid-life crisis — all at once. The narrative structure is a hallucination. pastiche of memory, fantasy, reality, and My favorite film.

One of my teachers once remarked that you cannot view this film without feeling that civilization has gone downhill.