N
ew York Daily News
critic Bernard has selected arousing movies varying wildly in quality, from the classic romantic noir Laura
to the grotesque Beyond the Valley of the Dolls
. What makes the book stimulating is the uniform cleverness of the writing. Jay Carr brings the soft, sensual vividness of The Fabulous Baker Boys
to life, noting, "It's an after-hours nocturne of dead-solid serendipity"; Bernard characterizes Gilda
as a "coyly sadistic exercise where sex is a weapon that's constantly being unsheathed." There's loose, tongue-in-cheek humor from Rob Nelson in his review of Eyes Wide Shut
(he describes Stanley Kubrick as "one seriously perverse dude"). J. Hoberman's witty pan of Basic Instinct
is delightful, and Liza Schwarzbaum's enthusiasm for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
will create new excitement for the DVD. Best Picture Oscar winners (Rebecca
), European classics (Belle du Jour
), lightweight musicals (Bye Bye Birdie
), thrillers (Klute
) and love stories (The Long Hot Summer
) are spotlighted, and fine film writers—Joe Morgenstern, Richard Schickel, Peter Travers, Michael Wilmington, Kevin Thomas and David Edelson—tackle them with aplomb. Aspiring critics and cinema fans should savor these essays. (Nov. 1)
