Today I am very happy to welcome screenwriter Barry Sandler back to CINEMATIC REVELATIONS. Barry has been on the blog previously speaking about his screenwriting of KANSAS CITY BOMBER, and many other topics; the interview can be found here. Barry wrote the screenplay of groundbreaking movie MAKING LOVE, which was released in 1982, my review is on the following page. It dealt sympathetically with the topic of homosexuality, and the impact of a husband’s decision to leave his wife for another man. In this post, Barry will be discussing his work on MAKING LOVE, and how the movie is of importance ..read more

Title: MAKING LOVE Year of Release: 1982 Director: Arthur Hiller Genre: Drama Synopsis: A Los Angeles doctor leaves his television producer wife for his patient, a man. Within a film history context: Movies about a husband who is gay, but married to a woman, began to appear from the late 1960s in cinema with the gradual relaxation of film censorship. One of the first major examples was Gregory Ratoff's OSCAR WILDE (1960). When playwright Oscar Wilde launches a suit against his male lover's father, his homosexuality becomes public knowledge, despite being married to a woman in this drama ..read more

Title: CHASTITY Year of Release: 1969 Director: Alessio de Paola Genre: Drama Synopsis: A young woman from a troubled family background takes to the road hitchhiking, finding some happiness, but also angst, along the way. Within a film history context: Films which feature hitchhiking characters have been around in cinema since the silent era. E. Mason Hopper's THE RIGHT DIRECTION (1916), is an early documented example of this. A young woman begins hitchhiking to take herself, and her younger brother, to a better life away from their miserable existence, and finds problems with the fa ..read more

Title: THE YOUNG GRADUATES Year of Release: 1971 Director: Robert Anderson Genre: Drama, Romance Synopsis: A young, perky high school graduate works her wiles on her married teacher among her many extracurricular activities. Within a film history context: Movies about high school graduates have been present in cinema since the 1920s, but not to a large degree. One of the first to deal with this was James Horne and Buster Keaton's silent COLLEGE (1927). A cocky, bookish high school graduate causes waves with his renouncing of sport, but finds difficulty in conquering this aspect of college ..read more

I have the immense pleasure today of welcoming a very special guest, actor Perry King, to CINEMATIC REVELATIONS for an interview. Perry has acted in over twenty movies including SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE, THE POSSESSION OF JOEL DELANEY, THE LORDS OF FLATBUSH, A DIFFERENT STORY [my review of the film can be found here], MANDINGO, LIPSTICK, CLASS OF 1984, and more recently in THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW, DELUSIONAL, and THE DIVIDE. THE DIVIDE marked Perry’s directorial debut, and has been well received, being the recipient of many awards. Perry has also been very prolific on television, acting in scores of ..read more

Title: THE HOLLYWOOD KNIGHTS Year of Release: 1980 Director: Floyd Mutrux Genre: Comedy, Sex Comedy, Teen Comedy Synopsis: A night in the life of The Hollywood Knights car club members in 1965 Beverly Hills. Within a film history context: Teenage sex comedies were highly visible on cinema screens in the 1980s. While sex comedies have been present since the beginning of cinema, the 1980s had a large number of teen-oriented films, of varying degrees of quality. The push to bring younger viewers into the cinema, coupled with a new generation of talented performers and personnel, seeking ..read more

I have the immense pleasure today of welcoming a very special guest, songwriter, music producer, writer and musician Peter Rafelson, to CINEMATIC REVELATIONS for an interview. Peter is the son of late film director Bob Rafelson, whose movies included FIVE EASY PIECES, THE KING OF MARVIN GARDENS [my review of the film can be found here], STAY HUNGRY, HEAD, BLACK WIDOW, MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON, and MAN TROUBLE. Today is a very special occasion for Peter and the Rafelson family, and CINEMATIC REVELATIONS, as it would have marked Bob Rafelson's ninety-first birthday, being February 21, 1933.  ..read more

Title: A COLD WIND IN AUGUST Year of Release: 1961 Director: Alexander Singer Genre: Drama Synopsis: A young man living in an apartment building falls for an older woman also residing there, unaware that she is a stripper. Within a film history context: Movies which feature a female stripper as a main character have been quite common in film history. Many of the early depictions downplayed the stripper aspect, portraying characters as exotic dancers, in keeping with the film censorship of the times. One of the first to deal with the topic was Steve Sekely's MIRACLE ON MAIN STREET (1939 ..read more

Title: EXPLOSION Year of Release: 1969 Director: Jules Bricken Genre: Drama Synopsis: A disturbed young man teams up with a hippie in order to avoid being drafted for Vietnam, but his fragile emotional state, and actions, causes his friend no end of angst. Within a film history context: Movies which explore post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of military participation have been around for many years onscreen. One of the first was William Dieterle's THE LAST FLIGHT (1931). Young veterans from World War I spend their hours whiling away time in Paris, drinking excessively ..read more

Title: J W COOP Year of Release: 1971 Director: Cliff Robertson Genre: Western, Drama, Road Movie Synopsis: After being released from prison, J W Coop aims to reassume his place as a professional rodeo cowboy. Within a film history context: Character studies of rodeo cowboys have been onscreen since the silent period of cinema. One of the first was silent film THE CALGARY STAMPEDE (1925), directed by Herbert Blache. In this movie, a cowboy is thought to have murdered his amour's father, but is declared innocent when the real culprit comes to light. In D. Ross Lederman's THE RIDING TO ..read more