Cinematic Catharsis

The Terrornauts (1967) Scientists make contact with an alien outpost stationed on a nearby asteroid.

(1981) Directed by Bruce D.

(1965) Directed by Mario Bava; Written by Ib Melchior, Alberto Bevilacqua, Callisto Cosulich, Mario Bava, Antonio Roman, Rafael J.

(1976) Directed by Gottfried Kolditz; Written by Joachim Hellwig and Gottfried Kolditz; Starring: Jana Brejchová, Alfred Struwe, Ekkehard Schall, Milan Beli, Silvia Popovici, Violeta Andrei and Leon Niemczyk; Available on Blu-ray and DVD Rating: ***½ Akala

Rapiña (1975) Porfirio (Ignacio López Tarso), a poor woodcutter, witnesses an airplane crash in the mountains near his home.

(1993) Written and directed by Guillermo del Toro; Starring: Federico Luppi, Ron Perlman, Claudio Brook, Margarita Isabel and Tamara Xanath; Available on Blu-ray and DVD Rating: **** “The first movie articulates your universe.

(1970) Directed by René Cardona; Written by René Cardona and Jesús Murcielago Velázquez; Starring: Santo, Armando Silvestre, Julio Aldama, Mary Montiel, Gregorio Casal, Ivonne Govea and Carlos Agostí; Available on Blu-ray and DVD Rating: *** “Being locked…

Brewster McCloud (1971) But Cort stars in the title role, as an odd, reclusive young man who lives in the basement of the Houston Astrodome, and dreams of flying like a bird.

(1988) Directed by David Cronenberg; Written by David Cronenberg and Norman Snider; Based on the novel, Twins, by Bari Wood and Jack Geasland; Starring: Jeremy Irons, Geneviève Bujold, Heidi von Palleske, Barbara Gordon and Stephen Lack; Available on Blu-…

Horror Hospital (1973) Michael Gough stars as the unscrupulous Dr.

(1959) Directed by Terence Fisher; Written by Jimmy Sangster; Based on the play The Man in Half Moon Street by Barré Lyndon; Starring: Anton Diffring, Hazel Court, Christopher Lee, Arnold Marlé, and Delphi Lawrence; Available on Blu-ray and DVD Rating: **…

True Stories (1986) Writer/director David Byrne is our guide to the fictional town of Virgil, Texas, where they’re about to hold their sesquicentennial celebration.

(1979) Directed by Alan Arkush; Written by Richard Whitley, Russ Dvonch, and Joseph McBride; Story by Alan Arkush and Joe Dante; Starring: P.J.

(1978) Directed by Eric Idle and Gary Weis; Written by Eric Idle; Starring: Eric Idle, Neil Innes, John Halsey, Ricky Fataar, Michael Palin, George Harrison, and Mick Jagger; Available on DVD Rating: ****½ Side Note: The “cinematic” in Cinematic Catharsis…

Iceman (1984) An arctic surveying team finds the discovery of the century, a perfectly preserved Neanderthal (John Lone) in an ice cave.

(1981) Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud; Written by Gérard Brach; Based on the novel by J.H.

Shari and Lamb Chop (2023) Lisa D'Apolito’s documentary is an affectionate ode to the career of pioneering children’s television host and ventriloquist Shari Lewis from her early days through her twilight years.

(1989) Directed by Peter Jackson; Written by: Fran Walsh, Stephen Sinclair, Danny Mulheron, and Peter Jackson; Starring: Danny Mulheron, Donna Akersten, Stuart Devenie Mark Hadlow and Ross Jolly.

(1978) Directed by Richard Attenborough; Written by William Goldman; Based on the novel by William Goldman; Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Ann-Margret, Burgess Meredith and Ed Lauter; Available on Blu-ray and DVD.

(1977) Written and directed by Jeff Lieberman; Starring: Zalman King, Deborah Winters, Mark Goddard, Robert Walden, Wendy Flemming and Ray Young; Available on Blu-ray and DVD Rating: ***½ “Millions of my generation had experimented with LSD during the late

Elizabeth Harvest (2018) Elizabeth (Abbey Lee), a young trophy wife, arrives home with her rich middle-aged husband, Henry (Ciarán Hinds), but it doesn’t take long for her to realize something isn’t quite right about the ultramodern household.

(1978) Directed by William Girdler; Written by: William Girdler, Jon Cedar and Thomas Pope; Based on the novel by Graham Masterton; Starring: Tony Curtis, Susan Strasberg, Michael Ansara, Stella Stevens, Jon Cedar, Ann Sothern, Burgess Meredith, Paul Mant…

(2000) Directed by Kinji Fukasaku; Written by Kenta Fukasaku; Based on the novel by Koushun Takami; Starring: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Taro Yamamoto, Chiaki Kuriyama, Takashi Tsukamoto, and Takeshi Kitano; Available on Blu-ray and DVD Rating: **** “I…

The Red Angel (1966) Set during the second Sino-Japanese War in 1939, The Red Angel follows Sakura (Ayako Wakao), a young Japanese army nurse stationed in China.

(1968) Directed by Satsuo Yamamoto; Written by Yoshikata Yoda and Enchô San'yûtei; Starring: Kôjirô Hongô, Miyoko Akaza, Kô Nishimura, Mayumi Ogawa, Takashi Shimura, and Michiko Ôtsuka; Available on Blu-ray (included in Daiei Gothic, Volume 1) and DVD Rat…

Monterey Pop (1968) Before there was Woodstock, there was the Monterey Pop Festival, held over three days in June 1967.

(1919) Directed by Frank Hurley; Starring: Ernest Shackleton, Frank Worsley, J.

The Bigamist (1953) Ida Lupino directs and co-stars in this unusual drama about a man with two wives.

On this day (okay, technically the day after), when many folks in my country are stuffing their faces and celebrating manifest destiny, I felt it was only appropriate to reflect on something I’m truly thankful for – being nominated by Virginie Pronovost of