REIMAGINING A CLASSIC: WERNER HERZOG’S NOSFERATU

We live in the age of remakes and prequels. Every month Hollywood rolls out an easily recognizable title that’s been repackaged and recast with a plot that’s all too familiar. The horror and science fiction genre has been hit the hardest by these reimagined movies that all too often fall extremely short of the original …

6 Months of Film Writing

I'm afraid I've been neglecting Cinebeats again but I've been busy with various personal projects and obligations. I've also recently started writing for Publishers Weekly but I thought I'd finally update with some highlights from TCM's Movie Morlocks. Here's some of the more interesting (in my estimation) film related writing & entertaining babble I've produced …

2013 at the Movie Morlocks

Jess Franco 1930-2013 What follows is a collection of links to some of my posts at TCM's Movie Morlocks from 2013. These are (in my estimation) the best and most interesting articles I wrote last year but you can read my entire output for 2013 at the Movie Morlocks if you peruse the archives. From …

Klaus Kinski in Nosferatu

I promised more Kinski and now I'm delivering... Over at the Movie Morlocks you can find my recent post on Werner Herzog's 1979 film NOSFERATU THE VAMPYRE. It's one of my favorite Herzog films and I think it contains one of Klaus Kinski's most compelling performances. This modern reimagining of F. W. Murnau's NOSFERATU (1922) …

Klaus Kinski as Ahmed Kortobawi

Today would have been Klaus Kinski's 85th birthday if he were still alive. I've written birthday tributes to Klaus before but today I thought I'd share a little something about one of my favorite Klaus Kinski films, Jess Franco's remarkable Venus in Furs aka Paroxismus (1969). From the DVD box: "Of all the twisted hits …

What’s It All About, Alfie?

Michael Caine was one of the coolest actors working during the '60s and '70s but he was also incredibly sexy. He had unconventional good looks and I love the thick black glasses he used to wear that often hid his eyes and amazingly long lashes. Michael Caine may have played a British tough guy on …

Stalking Klaus Kinski or How I Worshiped a Madman

Klaus Kinski b. October 18, 1926 - d. November 23, 1991 Today would have been Klaus Kinski's 83rd birthday and in honor of the event I thought I'd share something I originally wrote about the actor back in 2003 on Valentine's Day but have since expanded on.* "One should judge a man mainly from his …

10 Characters I Love

The task: Make a list of 10 of your favorite film characters.As much as I tend to dislike these blog memes, I couldn't say no to The Agitation of the Mind, Coosa Creak Cinema and Bubblegum Aesthetics so I finally took the plunge and decided to participate. Like any self-respecting film enthusiast I have hundreds …

My Top 20 Favorite Films of 1968

At the Britannica blog Raymond Benson has finished listing off his Top 10 Favorite Films of 1968 so if you're interested in the final results stop by and give them a look. I've mentioned on numerous occasions how much I dislike making lists of favorite films myself since they're limited by what I've seen and …

A Spaghetti Western Top Ten

I love Spaghetti Westerns. The best ones are what I would call "gothic westerns" since they combine some of the best aspects of Italian gothic horror films and literature with classic American westerns and western novels. They are filled with high drama but laced with subtlety. They offer romantic views of the west but they're …