Sneak Prevue Mailbag: Waiting forever just to see a movie

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

I have stood in line literally hours just to buy a ticket to see a film high on my want-to-see-list – a list that through the years has included “Earthquake,” “The Towering Inferno,” “Jaws” and “Star Wars.”

I know “Earthquake” and “The Towering Inferno” are embarrassing, guilty pleasures. But, hey, “Earthquake” played at the Joy Theater in downtown New Orleans in late 1974 accompanied by that wonderful, ear-piercing gimmick called Sensurround (“Feel it as well as see it in Sensurround”).

And I couldn’t wait to experience a real, live, 9.0-magnitude, end-of-the-world, Armageddon-is-coming earthquake in the comfort and safety of a climate-controlled movie theater. I wasn’t disappointed.

But “Jaws?” Now that’s a different story. In fact I’ll talk about my experiences with that film when I answer questions in this week’s edition of the Sneak Prevue Mailbag. As you no doubt already have discovered, the Sneak Prevue Mailbag feature moves to Fridays beginning this week.

‘Manhattan’ remains Woody Allen’s timeless masterpiece

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

MANHATTAN (1979)

One year after winning the Oscar for “Annie Hall” in 1977, Woody Allen helmed his first serious drama – an absorbing film no doubt inspired by one his favorite directors, Sweden’s Ingmar Bergman.

Diane Keaton heads an ensemble cast for “Interiors,” the story about three sisters whose lives spiral downward when their parents divorce. The drama was a milestone in Allen’s career.

And, I believe, “Interiors” made Allen a better filmmaker, someone who is unafraid to tackle honest, emotional issues. It also prepared him well for his next film, “Manhattan,” a comedy-drama that opened in theaters the following year.

Allen has created many great films in his career, from the laugh-fests of the 1970s like “Sleepers” and “Love and Death” to the rich, character-driven comedies of the 1980s like “Broadway Danny Rose” and “Radio Days.”

But of all his works, “Manhattan” is the one I enjoy the most. “Manhattan” ranks up there with “Annie Hall,” “Hannah and Her Sisters” and “Everyone Says I love You” as the best of Allen’s lengthy screen career.

Fosse’s ‘Lenny’ offers intimate look at controversial comic

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

LENNY (1974)

With “Lenny,” his third film as director, Bob Fosse was on a role – one that almost led to his own self destruction dramatized five years later in the autobiographical musical “All That Jazz.”

“Lenny” from 1974 cemented Fosse’s reputation as a daring, visionary film maker. Fosse’s biographical drama stars Dustin Hoffman in a standout performance as comedian, satirist and social critic Lenny Bruce.

Fosse won the Best Director Oscar for “Cabaret” in 1972. “Lenny” proved the award was no fluke.

Filmed in semi-documentary style, “Lenny” is based on the stage play of the same name and tells the rise, fall and death of Bruce – one of the most controversial comics of all time who saw himself as a crusader for free speech.

Hitchcock’s classic ‘Psycho’ still scares more than 50 years later

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

PSYCHO (1960)

Shortly after “Psycho” settles into its story, Alfred Hitchcock does the unthinkable: He knocks off one of the film’s top-billed stars in a scene that still frightens today.

The infamous “Psycho” shower scene is a technical tour de force, an intricately designed and meticulously filmed sequence that remains one of  many highlights of Hitchcock’s lengthy film career. The sequence is so effective that film scholars still study it in-depth.

More than 50 years after “Psycho” opened in 1960, the movie still packs significant scares and suspense into a small, intimate story. A year after helming the hit comic thriller “North by Northwest” in 1959, Hitchcock went for something totally different: a scaled-down, low-budget, black-and-white thriller filmed with the crew from his hit television show.

With strong performances from Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins, a lean script from writer Joseph Stefano and taut direction from Hitchcock, “Psycho” is in a class all its own. “Psycho” jolted film-goers in much the same way that “The Exorcist” did 13 years later. Audiences had never seen anything quite like Hitchcock’s film.

Warners unveils teaser trailer for ‘The Dark Knight Rises’

Warner Bros. has just released a teaser trailer for next summer’s certain blockbuster, “The Dark Knight Rises.” The film is the final installment of Christopher Nolan’s successful resurrection of the “Batman” film franchise. Enjoy.

Friedkin returns to the streets with ‘To Live and Die in L.A.’

TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A. (1985)

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

By winning the Oscar for “The French Connection” in 1971 and following it two years later with “The Exorcist,” William Friedkin made a name for himself as one of the best, most successful young film directors of his time.

Then came a string of misses. A long string of misses. In fact, Friedkin’s spotty career has produced a host of disasters that include the killer tree film “The Guardian” and a so-so cable television remake of “12 Angry Men.”

Friedkin recently finished his first film in five years, “Killer Joe,” set for release later this year; the film is about a man in debt who decides to kill his mother for the insurance. With a cast that includes Matthew McConaughey and Emile Hirsh, Friedkin hopefully will regain his voice.

Until then, you have go back almost 26 years to find the last great film Friedkin directed. “To Live and Die in L.A.” hit movie screens in November 1985 – the first Friedkin crime drama since “The French Connection.” While the action this time is on the West Coast, “To Live and Die in L.A.” is just as riveting and exciting.

Robert Duvall does justice to Pat Conroy’s ‘The Great Santini’

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

THE GREAT SANTINI (1979)

Robert Duvall has had an impressive film career playing a key role in many classic American motion pictures, including a memorable three from Francis Ford Coppola: “The Godfather,” “The Godfather, Part II” and “Apocalypse Now.”

But one of Duvall’s best performances, and a wonderful film in its own right, almost never was released to theaters. Duvall played the title role in the 1979 film “The Great Santini” – but the movie sat on the shelf for months.

Based on the best-selling autobiographical novel by Pat Conroy, Duvall played the main role of Bull Meechum, “The Great Santini,” a gruff, bull-headed, hard-nosed Marine colonel who had a complex relationship with his family – especially his son.

The film, adapted by director Lewis John Carlino, remains faithful to Conroy’s book. As the Meechum family settles into their new home in Beaufort, S.C., son Ben struggles to build a relationship with his overbearing father.