Most Wanted
Email here for additions & corrections.

Il Grido
(Antonioni, 1957)

The Fortune
(Nichols, 1975)

-30-
(Webb, 1959)

Betrayal
(Jones, 1983)

Play It As It Lays
(Perry, 1972)

The Outfit
(Flynn, 1973)

Alex in Wonderland
(Mazursky, 1969)

The Legend of Lylah Clare
(Aldrich, 1968)

In The Cool of the Day
(Stevens, 1963)

That Cold Day in the Park
(Altman, 1969)

The Fox
(Rydell, 1967)

Thumb Trippin'
(Masters, 1972)

Midas Run
(Kjellin, 1969)

At Long Last Love
(Bogdanovich, 1973)

Brewster McCloud
(Altman, 1972)

Outcast of the Islands
(Reed, 1951)

Mike's Murder
(Bridges, 1984)

Reader Submissions

1930's-1950's
The Moon's Our Home
(Seiter, 1936)
Sh! The Octopus
(McGann, 1937)
The Mating Season
(Leisen, 1951)
Bad for Each Other
(Rapper, 1953)
The Phenix City Story
(Karlson, 1955)
Run of the Arrow
(Fuller, 1956)
House of Secrets
(Green, 1956)
Saint Joan
(Preminger, 1957)
Macabre
(Castle, 1958)
The Fiend Who Walked the West
(G. Douglas, 1958
Five Gates to Hell
(Clavell, 1959)
1960's
Key Witness
(Karlson, 1960)
Summer and Smoke
(Glenville, 1961)
The Chapman Report
(Cukor,1962)
Bachelor Flat
(Tashlin, 1962) [on Hulu]
The L Shaped Room
(Forbes, 1963)
The Chalk Garden
(Neame, 1964)
A Thousand Clowns
(Coe, 1965)
You're a Big Boy Now
(Coppola, 1966)
The Whisperers
(Forbes, 1967)
Dark of the Sun
(Cardiff, 1968)
Skidoo
(Preminger, 1968)
Last Summer
(Perry, 1969)
The Comic
(C. Reiner, 1969)
1970-1974
The Revolutionary
(Williams, 1970)
The Landlord
(Ashby, 1970)
Diary of a Mad Housewife
(Perry, 1970)
Tropic of Cancer
(Strick, 1970)
I Never Sang for My Father
(Cates, 1970)
Sometimes a Great Notion
(Newman, 1971)
Marriage of a Young Stockbroker
(Turman, 1971)
'Doc'
(Perry, 1971)
The Music Lovers
(Russell, 1971)
Drive, He Said
(Nicholson, 1971)
The Steagle
(Sylbert, 1971)
The Last Movie
(Hopper, 1971)
Made For Each Other
(Bean, 1971)
The Day the Clown Cried
(Lewis, 1972)
Hickey & Boggs
(Culp, 1972)
The Carey Treatment
(Edwards, 1972)
Pete 'n' Tillie
(Ritt, 1972)
Slither
(Zieff, 1973)
Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing
(Pakula, 1973)
Man on a Swing
(Perry, 1974)
Open Season
(Collinson, 1974)
The Tamarind Seed
(Edwards, 1974)
Law and Disorder
(Passer, 1974)
Homebodies
(Yust, 1974)
Stardust
(Apted, 1974)
Celine and Julie Go Boating
(Rivette, 1974)
1975-1979
Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins
(Richards, 1975
At Long Last Love
(Bogdanovich, 1975)
Hearts of the West
(Zieff, 1975)
Welcome to L.A.
(Rudolph, 1976)
W.C. Fields and Me
(Hiller, 1976)
Citizens Band
(Demme, 1977)
Twilight's Last Gleaming
(Aldrich, 1977)
Looking for Mr. Goodbar
(Brooks, 1977)
Girlfriends
(Weill, 1978)
Movie Movie
(Donen, 1978)
The Medusa Touch
(Gold, 1978)
American Hot Wax
(Mutrux, 1978)
Hot Stuff
(DeLuise, 1979)
Scavenger Hunt
(Schultz , 1979)
Players
(Harvey, 1979)
Rich Kids
(Young, 1979)
Nightwing
(Hiller, 1979)
Screams of a Winter's Night
(Wilson, 1979
When You Comin' Back Red Ryder?
(Katselas, 1979
1980's
Resurrection
(Petrie, 1980)
The Awakening
(Newell, 1980)
Simon
(Brickman, 1980)
God's Angry Man
(Herzog, 1980)
Fast-Walking
(Harris, 1982)
Twice Upon a Time
(Korty & Swenson, 1983)
Trouble in Mind
(Rudolph, 1985)
When the Wind Blows
(Murikami, 1986)
Housekeeping
(Forsyth, 1987)
The Glass Menagerie
(Newman, 1987)
Patty Hearst
(Schrader, 1988)
Running on Empty
(Lumet, 1988)
Drowning by Numbers
(Greenaway, 1988)
Haunted Summer
(Passer, 1988)
The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years
(Spheeris, 1988)
1990's
Men Don't Leave
(Brickman, 1990)
Old Times
(Curtis, 1991)
Prospero's Books
(Greenaway, 1991)
City of Hope
(Sayles, 1991)
The Baby of Macon
(Greenaway, 1993)
King of the Hill
(Soderbergh, 1993)
Dadetown
(Hexter, 1995)
SubUrbia
(Linklater, 1997)

Upcoming

June 11

Tetro

June 12

Call of the Wild 3D

Food, Inc.

Imagine That

Moon

Sex Positive

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3

Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love

June 16

Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg

June 19

$9.99

Dead Snow

The Proposal

Whatever Works

Year One

June 24

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

June 26

Cheri

Fireflies in the Garden

The Hurt Locker

My Sister's Keeper

The Stoning of Soraya M. 

Surveillance 

July 1

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

Public Enemies

July 3

The Girl from Monaco

I Hate Valentine's Day

July 10

Bruno

I Love You, Beth Cooper

Soul Power

July 15

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

July 17

(500) Days of Summer

All the Boys Love Mandy Lane

July 24

All Good Things

The Answer Man

G-Force

In the Loop

Orphan

The Ugly Truth

July 29

Adam

July 31

The Cove

Funny People

Lorna's Silence

They Came from Upstairs

August 7

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Julie & Julia

Paper Heart

Shorts

When in Rome

August 14

A Perfect Getaway

Bandslam

District 9

The Goods: The Don Ready Story

I Sell the Dead

Ponyo

Pool Boys

Spread

Taking Woodstock

The Time Traveler's Wife

August 21

Five Minutes of Heaven

Goose on the Loose!

Inglorious Bastards

It Might Get Loud

Post Grad

World's Greatest Dad

August 28

The Boat that Rocked

Final Destination: Death Trip

H2

September 4

All About Steve

Amreeka

Black Dynamite

Carriers

Citizen Game

Extract

Pandorum

Shanghai

September 9

9

September 11

The Red Canvas

Tyler Perrys: I Can Do It All Myself

Whiteout

September 17

The Burning Plain

September 18

Armored

Brand New Day

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Jennifer's Body

Splice

September 25

Fame

The Invention of Lying

Surrogates

October 2

A Serious Man

More Than a Game

Sorority Row

Toy Story/Toy Story 2

Shaving Cream...Terrific

What's the point of running a tribute to the original 1965 George Lois Esquire cover with Virna Lisi? It meant something in the mid '60s, sort of -- obviously a faint provocation or taunt aimed at forward-thinking women -- but what does it mean for Jessica Simpson to repeat it for the May issue? Nothing. The Esquire website, which is always behind the curve, doesn't even mention it.


Ben-Hur Redux<< previous | next >>Hell

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on April 9, 2008 at 9:31 PM

comment #1

hiviper Author Profile Page says ...

it means about as much as Lindsay Lohan's pics in New York magazine did. Absolutely nothing and forgotten in a couple of days.

Posted by hiviper Author Profile Page at April 9, 2008 9:52 PM

comment #2

Jeffrey Kunze Author Profile Page says ...

Virna Lisa looks classy. That photo is timeless.

Jessica Simpson looks dumb.

Posted by Jeffrey Kunze Author Profile Page at April 9, 2008 9:54 PM

comment #3

T. Holly Author Profile Page says ...

Must be for the Pope, there's a religiousity to it.

Posted by T. Holly Author Profile Page at April 9, 2008 10:45 PM

comment #4

atticusrex Author Profile Page says ...

I agree with Jeffrey Kunze, but to go farther because it's a slow morning here... The Lisi pic is actually quite good. She seems to be actually shaving and the colors against the black are quite stunning and very much captures the period.

Ms. Simpson's is just a pose. A pretty vapid blonde with shaving cream on her face against a white background with typefonts.

But more important... she's just posing.

On the other hand...Hiviper I must disagree with, Ms. Lohan's pictures were very much an updated tribute and brave for her to do by baring herself in an attempt to shake up her image.

All Ms. Simpson has done is give further proof to how true that old adage "Deer caught in the headlights" look is.

Posted by atticusrex Author Profile Page at April 10, 2008 5:52 AM

comment #5

Wrecktum Author Profile Page says ...

They screwed up the Simpson pick. If you look at the original, a deliberate attempt was made to keep cream away from Virna's top lip. She'd also conspicuously shaving the far side of her cheek. Why were these two choices made? Because otherwise she'd look like she has a moustache and beard. Simpson looks like she's wearing a white goatee, which is ugly and offputting.

Posted by Wrecktum Author Profile Page at April 10, 2008 8:11 AM

comment #6

Jay T. Author Profile Page says ...

I'm so sick of "tribute" photo shoots... give me a fucking break, is Hollywood so unoriginal that they can't even do a photo shoot without it being a remake too?

Posted by Jay T. Author Profile Page at April 10, 2008 8:12 AM

comment #7

Jay T. Author Profile Page says ...

Jessica Simpson was also a horrible choice for this type of a shoot given that her facial features aren't the most feminine to begin with. Someone like Charlize Theron would have been much better...

Posted by Jay T. Author Profile Page at April 10, 2008 8:20 AM

comment #8

corey3rd Author Profile Page says ...

why Jessica Simpson? She's worthless at this point. He records don't sell. her TV show is over. Her movie career is straight to video. Only thing she's got going is those pimple cream ads and being Tony Romo's new meatdoll.

Posted by corey3rd Author Profile Page at April 10, 2008 8:41 AM

comment #9

T. Holly Author Profile Page says ...

Everytime I look at the new photo on the left, I see Jesus Christ.

Posted by T. Holly Author Profile Page at April 10, 2008 8:42 AM

comment #10

T. S. Idiot Author Profile Page says ...

"Everytime I look at the new photo on the left, I see Jesus Christ."

I see Custer.

Meanwhile, those who don't know who the divine Virna is should see How to Murder Your Wife.

Posted by T. S. Idiot Author Profile Page at April 10, 2008 8:49 AM

comment #11

anti-sardine Author Profile Page says ...

If both of those Simpson girls packed up all their belongings and moved away to a different town then I would be the happiest kid on the street.

Posted by anti-sardine Author Profile Page at April 10, 2008 9:44 AM

comment #12

Abbey Normal Author Profile Page says ...

This year is Esquire's 75th anniversary, so they're periodically recreating classic covers from past issues. That's the point.

Not too mysterious, really...just involves a half-second of research.

Posted by Abbey Normal Author Profile Page at April 10, 2008 10:31 AM

comment #13

Jean Author Profile Page says ...

Damn, T.S.: you beat me to it - How to Murder Your Wife is a great comedy in of itself, but Lisi looked unbelievably stunning in the film. Jessica Simpson is nowhere near in Lisi's league.

Posted by Jean Author Profile Page at April 10, 2008 10:34 AM

comment #14

christian Author Profile Page says ...

HOW TO MURDER YOUR WIFE is rather unpleasant, that Axelrod bitterness mingled with dark comedy. But it's a fascinating film and great production design by Dick Sylbert.

The problem with Simpson is that she literally looks like she has no idea why she's striking this shaving pose. I can see her thought ballon saying, "I don't get it." Lisi exudes Euro-sensuality and playfullness and GETS IT.

Posted by christian Author Profile Page at April 10, 2008 10:45 AM

comment #15

T. S. Idiot Author Profile Page says ...

"HOW TO MURDER YOUR WIFE is rather unpleasant, that Axelrod bitterness mingled with dark comedy."

It argues that American and British males put up a misogynistic front but down deep we're pussies who just want a cuddle from a hot mama.

Posted by T. S. Idiot Author Profile Page at April 10, 2008 10:58 AM

comment #16

Jay T. Author Profile Page says ...

"Not too mysterious, really...just involves a half-second of research."

Gee, next time I'll make sure to properly research and edit my blog comments. Now, can you evacuate a person or just a building? I'm still unclear on that.

Posted by Jay T. Author Profile Page at April 10, 2008 11:23 AM

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