Email here for additions & corrections.

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)
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)
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)
A Thousand Clowns
(Coe, 1965)
You're a Big Boy Now
(Coppola, 1966)
Dark of the Sun
(Cardiff, 1968)
Skidoo
(Preminger, 1968)
Last Summer
(Perry, 1969)
The Comic
(C. Reiner, 1969)
1970-1974
The Revolutionary
(Williams, 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)
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)
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
The Awakening
(Newell, 1980)
Simon
(Brickman, 1980)
God's Angry Man
(Herzog, 1980)
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

July 30

Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore

Charlie St. Cloud

The Concert

Dinner for Shmucks

The Dry Land

The Extra Man

Get Low

Helen

Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel

Smash His Camera

What's the Matter with Kansas?

Who Killed Nancy

Leadership

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Pamela Ezell's 11.27 Huffington Post Invictus piece notes several parallels between former South African president Nelson Mandela and U.S. president Barack Obama. First black president, humble backgrounds, preachers of tolerance and forgiveness despite haters, etc. But the Mandela-Obama parallel falls apart in Clint Eastwood's film when Morgan Freeman's Mandela is told he's risking his political capital, and he replies "the day I am afraid to do that is the day I am no longer fit to lead."

Is there anything less Obama-like than a core belief that a leader must sometimes risk much if not all in order to get the right thing done? Has there ever been a president with less backbone -- with more of a mushy cottonball approach to leading and using power than Obama? Has there ever been a president who's been less inclined to take any risks whatsoever? Who's been more willing to bend over and defer to his enemies and say to the worst scummiest Republicans, "Hmmm...okay, maybe you guys have a point"?

Here's another line that Mandela says in the film:

It'll be an ice-cold day in hell when Barack Obama says to a White House adviser, "In this instance the people are wrong, and it is my job as president to make them see that." The mantra of Barack Obama is, "We know what to do and we know what's right, but it's better to cave in and get along because that way our poll numbers will be steadier. Because...you know, I can't afford to be seen as an angry black guy. I don't have that authority that Franklin D. Roosevelt had when he became 'a traitor to his class.' The right is too powerful and there too many crazies out there. It's all I can do to chill them out."

Mitigating Circumstances<< previous | next >>Role Model

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on November 27, 2009 at 1:57 PM

comment #1

mizerock says ...

Yeah, President McCain & VP Palin would have done a much better job with getting this country a good health care plan, and formulating an exit strategy from the wars & for closing down Guantanamo - what were the voters thinking?

Posted by mizerock at November 27, 2009 2:51 PM

comment #2

C is for cookie says ...

mizerock, It's not that McCain-Palin would have done a better job because they didn't run on a platform that they were going to do any of these things. Obama was the one who said these things were important to him and then caved like a scared rabbit under the slightest bit of pressure from the opposition. The right doesn't want gitmo closed by January? Then gitmo doesn't close in January. The right doesn't want a public option? Then Mr. Obama says the public option isn't important and puts no pressure on Congress to pass it. The right doesn't want gays in the military? Then Mr. Obama sits on his hands and says he'll think about what to do in regard to don't ask don't tell later.

As someone who voted him into office, I can empathize with Jeffrey's disappointment.

Posted by C is for cookie at November 27, 2009 3:18 PM

comment #3

Travis Crabtree says ...

I see that it's Invictus Day at Hollywood Elsewhere.

Posted by Travis Crabtree at November 27, 2009 3:35 PM

comment #4

The Hoyk says ...

Playwright Christopher Durang finds a more polite way of expressing the anger and frustration that Jeff and I are feeling at our current President:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-durang/thankful-well-not-so-very_b_371362.html

Posted by The Hoyk at November 27, 2009 3:36 PM

comment #5

The Hoyk says ...

And Invictus Day is my favorite Arcadia song, by the way.

Posted by The Hoyk at November 27, 2009 3:37 PM

comment #6

QualityGibberish says ...

OK, so he's not Jesus. But, as I sometimes like to say, even Jesus is not the Jesus people think he is.

What's the small favor here? McCain is nearly dead and his joke of a running mate is out of all office. If the guiding principle is "first, do no harm," then Obama is 1000% better than Cheney/Bush.

That's something to be quite happy about only a year in, to my way of thinking.

Posted by QualityGibberish at November 27, 2009 4:04 PM

comment #7

bluetide says ...

Life is not a movie and there is no question that Barack Obama is better than the GOP alternative would have been.

That said, there is something that eats away at your admiration of the man (and his staff) as you watch their single-minded focus on "political victories" as opposed to achieving progressive objectives. Everything they do seems to be first viewed in terms of how it will affect the image of Obama and then in terms of how it will affect the American people. What is so irritating is that they believe that people should accept 20% when they only ever pushed for 30% of what they want.

Posted by bluetide at November 27, 2009 4:45 PM

comment #8

Gordon27 says ...

"Then Mr. Obama says the public option isn't important and puts no pressure on Congress to pass it."

You must mean the Senate, since he *did* put pressure on the House already, and, since the Senate isn't done yet, it's a bit premature to say he hasn't done it, much like most of Jeff's post to which you're responding.

Posted by Gordon27 at November 27, 2009 5:10 PM

comment #9

DeeZee says ...

'It'll be an ice-cold day in hell when Barack Obama says to a White House adviser, "In this instance the people are wrong, and it is my job as president to make them see that."'

I thought that's what he's doing with Afghanistan...

Quality: "If the guiding principle is "first, do no harm," then Obama is 1000% better than Cheney/Bush."

Um, leaving our economy hanging, because he doesn't want to admit that Krugman is right about the stimulus being too small, is doing us harm.

Posted by DeeZee at November 27, 2009 5:34 PM

comment #10

sumo-pop says ...

I'm not sure if you're aware of this Jeff, but despite the best efoorts of Bush to prove otherwise, the President is not a king. If lacking courage means taking on health care, going against your party in Afghanistan, and passing the largest stimulus package in history, then yes, Obama is terribly lacking. All three of those efforts put him at great political risk. Of course, it would be easier for him If Joe Leiberman and Ben Nelson didn't exist, but they do. Therefore, he has to deal with that branch of the government too. And the fact that these democrats are a bunch of lily-livered cowards is making this pain staking work. But hey, go ahead and pronunce him dead after 10 months, Ya know, there's a difference between cynicism and skepticism, and Jeff you are way past skeptical. Sorry.

Posted by sumo-pop at November 27, 2009 5:37 PM

comment #11

DeeZee says ...

sumo: I don't think Obama's over, but I'm hoping he'll at least have something to show for himself by next year, his majority could be vulnerable. Assuming he's not just betting that the Republicans will be so incompetent and bat-shit crazy from their current round of in-fighting, that they'll just lose more seats, anyway...

Posted by DeeZee at November 27, 2009 6:08 PM

comment #12

arturobandini2 says ...

Jesus, is that dialogue actually in the movie? That's a much worse indicator of quality than any review that's slipped out. Screenwriting 101 teaches you that subtext is NEVER EVER spelled out in the dialogue.

I'm not giving up on Obama, but some of us older progressives are scratching our heads nonetheless. 'Compromise' is supposed to mean that everybody gets a bone -- not that centrists get everything. What bones have we gotten? A beer summit? We're starting to feel as underappreciated as Howard Dean. I'm very concerned that the generally apathetic kids who got involved and turned out the vote in 2008 for the first time will have little incentive to return to the polls in 2010 and 2012. Surely Obama's people realize the danger of disappointing a whole generation of potential party loyalists still in their 20s?

I'm betting there's an ace up his sleeve and he'll pull through for us. But a certain tonedeafness is undeniable. Perception is everything in politics, unfortunately. There should be more photo ops like Barack and Michelle handing out candy at Halloween, and fewer events where they show up in tuxedoes and designer gowns. I cringed when I saw footage from the opulent State Dinner this week. 20% of Americans are un- or under-employed, one in four homeowners are underwater and one in six breadwinners can't provide enough food for their families. Scale back the glitz for now, Prez, and put back on the Mom jeans. Pretty please.

Posted by arturobandini2 at November 27, 2009 6:19 PM

comment #13

QualityGibberish says ...

DeeZee: Not to be doing a thing that in the opinion of some people should be done (while others disagree) is a completely different category of complaint. Those complaints are endless, so you miss my point entirely. What is substantive is the active damage Cheny/Bush did in innumerable areas (like wrecking the economy that concerns you, for example) -- in other words, doing harm. Comparatively speaking, just to have in office a man who is not actively trashing the country and the world is a great relief.

Of course, I hope he gets on the ball and accomplishes some positive things, too. But you probably underestimate the pile of shit he's been saddled with.

Posted by QualityGibberish at November 27, 2009 6:26 PM

comment #14

DeeZee says ...

arturo: Oh, I'm sure they'll be disappointed, but if things keep getting worse, they'll have to vote anyway. They just might go for mail-ins, rather than the polls.

"I'm betting there's an ace up his sleeve and he'll pull through for us."

The only ace I'd imagine the Dems pulling is impeaching Bush, since their whole campaign seems to be about winning, by not agreeing with him or his apologists, but not necessarily going in a different direction than him.

Quality: Considering wars like Afghanistan are tied into our financial crisis, since they haven't done anything to improve the situation at home, and considering he's ignoring his declining polls over his lack of immediate results in improving the situation, I don't think these grievances are as unrelated as you'd like them to be.

Posted by DeeZee at November 27, 2009 9:20 PM

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comment #16

bluefugue says ...

>Screenwriting 101 teaches you that subtext is NEVER EVER spelled out in the dialogue.

It's a good rule of thumb (kinda like the no-VO rule), but it's also a rule that has been violated innumerable times in a number of very good movies.

Posted by bluefugue at November 28, 2009 7:03 PM

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Jesse Perry says ...

"Fuck Screenwriting 101." - Glenn Kenny

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arturobandini2 says ...

The "doofus" responds to Mr. Kenny.

http://somecamerunning.typepad.com/some_came_running/2009/11/text-and-subtext-in-eastwoods-invictus.html

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