“It was his story against mine, but of course I told my story better…”

That’s something Humphrey Bogart says in one of my favorite films, Nicholas Ray’s In a Lonely Place. It’s a quote illustrative of what I’ll be doing here. To be able to sermonize uninterrupted will take some getting used to. But I do hope to be interrupted.

This whole idea started out as a list I began keeping about a week ago of the films I’ve been watching… 

Out of the Past - Jacques Tourneur – 1947

My Geisha - Jack Cardiff – 1962 

Asphalt Jungle - John Huston – 1947

Gilda - Charles Vidor – 1946

Girl in the Red Velvet Swing - Richard Fleischer – 1955

A King in New York - Charlie Chaplin – 1957 

King of New York - Abel Ferrara – 1990 

Eyes Without a Face - Georges Franju – 1959 

Control - Anton Corbijn – 2007 

Jigoku (Hell) – Nobuo Nakagawa – 1960

Palindromes – Todd Solondz – 2004

I did also see The Dark Knight, but believe me when I say I won’t litter the infinite internet with any words on the subject. Thoughts on some of the films in the list above will be forthcoming.