Shelley Duvall’s special dance as Olive Oyl, in ‘Popeye’ 4

Dance · Film
Seen above, a personal photo published with permission. It is a beatific pose by the recently deceased actress Shelley Duvall dancing as Olive Oyl in director Robert Altman’s “Popeye” (1980). Duvall (1949-2024), who recently passed away, led a long and memorable career primarily as a character actress, but in this case she played a full ...

Kathryn Altman memorialized as gracious, effervescent

Film
Barely a week after savoring Kathryn Altman’s crystalline memories of the filming of McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), shared by the widow of director Robert Altman at an entrancing 45th anniversary screening of the precious movie, we learned that this elegant and classy woman had passed away. A shocker. So we’re very pleased to excerpt ...

Zsigmond’s “McCabe” cinematography revisited

Film
Pauline Kael memorably described Robert Altman’s McCabe & Mrs. Miller as “a beautiful pipe dream of a movie.” This poetic, revisionist Western is set in the Northwest at the turn of the 20th century and stars Warren Beatty and Julie Christie (Oscar-nominated for her performance). The screening is presented as a tribute to Oscar-winning cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond ...

David beats Goliath in “Dallas Buyers Club”

Film
by 
Malcolm Gladwell’s new book, “David and Goliath,” arrives at the same moment as “Dallas Buyers Club.” Sometimes there’s harmonic convergence in the culture. Gladwell describes several cases of underdogs discovering their untapped strengths or advantages. “Dallas Buyers Club” takes Gladwell’s thesis into the stratosphere of high entertainment, tracing the incredible but true story of Texas ...