September 3rd, 2015
Yet another of the memorable major releases of 1939 in this summer’s “The Golden Year” Blu-ray collection from Warner Home Video is the RKO remake of Universal’s classic 1923 production, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” The two films were adapted and heavily altered in various ways from Victor Hugo’s famous novel. Now both are on Blu-ray in separate editions and it’s both fascinating and instructive to watch them back to back, making their differences much more obvious,…
August 26th, 2015
Lovers of bad cinema will marvel at Blue Underground co-founder and veteran “making of” and bonus feature producer David Gregory’s anatomy of a train wreck “Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley’s Island of Dr. Moreau.” Sharing war stories of the 1996 Marlon Brando/Val Kilmer debacle ultimately directed by John Frankenheimer, Gregory’s documentary is akin to more effective brethren like “Jodorowsky’s Dune,” “Lost in La Mancha” and “Hearts of…
August 26th, 2015
Another in the canon of popular 1939 film classics released on Blu-ray this June, and a frequent staple of the Turner Classic Movies channel, was a contender in four of the major Academy Award categories for that year.
The MGM production “Ninotchka” is an endearing (and enduring) blend of bright romantic comedy and somewhat darker political satire that is now available in Warner Home Video’s “The Golden Year: 1939” box set as well as individually.
The plot device of a stuffy,…
August 19th, 2015
Predictably, the critical reception of Woody Allen’s “Irrational Man” ranges across the spectrum, from haters like Lou Lumenick and Jessica Kiang to admirers including Richard Brody, David Rooney and Amy Nicholson. The director’s films, even more polarizing in the grim aftermath of the highly publicized February 2014 open letter by Dylan Farrow that revisited allegations of sexual abuse, continue to appear with clockwork regularity at the rate of one feature per year. While the…
August 19th, 2015
The year 1939 is often remembered for its unusually high percentage of enduringly popular classic films (about 20 of which are currently available on Blu-ray in nice restorations), as well as many other things, from the September outbreak of the second World War in Europe, to the New York World’s Fair showcasing hopes for a peaceful and prosperous technology-based future, to the introduction of regular if limited broadcast television for the American public.
Released to Blu-ray this…
August 12th, 2015
Is it possible to make a feature-length documentary chronicling the commercial success, historical context and popular appeal of Lego (stylized as LEGO) building toys without coming across as a corporate shill? Maybe, but the question remains unanswered by Kief Davidson and Daniel Junge in “A Lego Brickumentary,” a geeky, gushing love letter that often feels like an extended television advertisement.
Junge, who recently helmed the much better “Being Evel,” and Davidson have…
August 12th, 2015
The year 1939 was notable for many things, from the September outbreak of World War II in Europe, to the New York World’s Fair showcasing hopes for a peaceful and prosperous technology-based future, to the introduction of regular broadcast television for the American public, to the year’s unusually high percentage of enduringly popular classic films. The year’s film output includes the timeless and beloved “The Wizard of Oz” and “Gone With the Wind,” but over twenty 1939…
August 12th, 2015
Twin Cities-based filmmaker Micah Dahl is working on an ambitious, feature-length documentary covering three decades of the Fargo-Moorhead DIY/punk scene called “The Red River Runs Through It.”
Currently shooting and in the process of raising production money through crowdfunding (visit Indiegogo and search for “The Red River Runs Through It” to donate), Dahl has already collected interviews, concert footage, gig posters and other key archival material to help tell the story.…
August 5th, 2015
Employing the same skillful arrangement of archival resources that fueled his motorsports bio “Senna,” filmmaker Asif Kapadia assembles a heartfelt portrait of British soul-jazz-pop vocalist Amy Winehouse, the electrifying star who died at the age of 27 in 2011 of alcohol poisoning.
Appearing only a few years after Winehouse’s death, the movie is both snapshot and obituary, celebrating the achievements of a unique voice and lamenting the toll of drug abuse, bulimia and the…
August 5th, 2015
The annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is going on this week, providing a good excuse to review a couple of classic biker movies that came out on Blu-ray earlier this year, plus one that’s been out for some time.
Of course the most iconic and influential biker movie is Dennis Hopper’s “Easy Rider” (1969). Hopper co-wrote and co-starred with Peter Fonda in a free-spirited counterculture story of a motorcycle trip across the country to the Mardi Gras in New Orleans, with plenty of…
Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.com A midnight wedding ceremony at the Clay County Courthouse in Moorhead on August 1, 2013 was more than a romantic gesture. Eighteen couples made history on that day by exchanging vows in the…
By Michael M. Millermichael.miller@ndsu.edu On March 11, 2024, we celebrated the 121st birthday of bandleader Lawrence Welk. He was born March 11, 1903 in a sod house near Strasburg, North Dakota, and died on May 17,1992. The…
Saturday, May 117 p.m., gates at 5 p.m.Outdoors at Fargo Brewing Company610 University Dr. N, FargoWisconsin’s finest export, The Violent Femmes, started out in Milwaukee in 1981 as an acoustic punk band, and they’ve been…
Is this a repeating pattern?By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comThere’s a quote circulating around the world wide web, misattributed to Sinclair Lewis: "When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a…
by Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comAccording to my great-grandfather many years ago, my French ancestors migrated from Normandy to Quebec to Manitoba to Wisconsin to Minnesota over the spread of more than two centuries, finally…
By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…
By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com In this land of hotdish and ham, the knoephla soup of German-Russian heritage seems to reign supreme. In my opinion though, the French have the superior soup. With a cheesy top layer, toasted baguette…
By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.com It is not unheard of for bands to go on hiatus. However, as the old saying goes, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” That is why when a local group like STILL comes back to…
Now playing at the Fargo Theatre.By Greg Carlson gregcarlson1@gmail.comPalme d’Or recipient “Anatomy of a Fall” is now enjoying an award-season victory tour, recently picking up Golden Globe wins for both screenplay and…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com There’s no exaggeration when we say that this year’s Plains Art Gala is going to be out of this world, with a sci-fi theme inspired by a painting housed in the Plains Art Museum’s permanent…
By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.comHigh Plains Reader had the opportunity to interview two mysterious new game show hosts named Milt and Bradley Barker about an upcoming event they will be putting on at Brewhalla. What…
By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…
By John Showalter john.d.showalter@gmail.comThey sell fentanyl test strips and kits to harm-reduction organizations and…
JANUARY 19, 1967– MARCH 8, 2023 Brittney Leigh Goodman, 56, of Fargo, N.D., passed away unexpectedly at her home on March 8, 2023. Brittney was born January 19, 1967, to Ruth Wilson Pollock and Donald Ray Goodman, in Hardinsburg,…
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Dismissing the value of small towns for the future of our nation is a mistakeBy Bill Oberlanderarcandburn@gmail.comAccording to U.S. Census projections, by the middle of this century, roughly 90% of the total population will live…
