Author Archives: F.T. Rea

Thanks for the Magic

Posted on at by F.T. Rea

On the most recent February 11th, if you were in the VCU Grace Street Theater’s cozy auditorium you may have sensed a touch of magic in the air. From being there, what I detected was a particular brand of magic … Continue reading →

Posted in Birthdays, James River Film Society, Orson Welles | Leave a comment

How About 139 Worthwhile Movies? Part Three

Posted on at by F.T. Rea

Why another list of old movies? With the Biograph Theatre’s 40th anniversary celebration on Saturday, February 11, in mind, my instinct to promote good movies has been reawakened. The 139 movies on the entire list all played at Richmond’s Biograph … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Lists | 1 Comment

How About 139 Worthwhile Movies? Part Two

Posted on at by F.T. Rea

Why another list of old movies? With the Biograph Theatre’s 40th anniversary celebration next month in mind, my hope is that a reader might be persuaded to take a chance on watching one or two on this list. The movies … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Lists | Leave a comment

How About 139 Worthwhile Movies? Part One

Posted on at by F.T. Rea

Why another list of old movies? With the Biograph Theatre’s 40th anniversary celebration on the horizon, my lofty hope is that a reader might be persuaded to take a chance on one or two on this list, titles they’ve previously … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Lists | Tagged A Clockwork Orange, A Day at the Races, Aguirre the Wrath of God, Alfie, All About Eve, Allan Jones, Amarcord, American Graffiti, Amy Irving, Anna Karina, Anne Baxter, Bang the Drum Slowly, Belle Du Jour, Bernardo Bertolucci, Bette Davis, Between the Lines, Biograph Theatre, Black Orpheus, Blazing Saddles, Blow Up, Bob Fosse, Bread and Chocolate, Breaker Morant, Breaking Away, Breathless, Breno Mello, Brian De Palma, Brooke Adams, Bruce Beresford, Bryan Brown, Burgess Meredith, Cabaret, Candy Clark, Carrie, Casablanca, Cat Ballou, Cat People, Catherine Deneuve, Charlie Chaplin, Chinatown, Christopher Walken, Cindy Williams, Citizen Kane, City Lights, Claude Rains, Cleavon Little, Daniel Stern, Das Boot, David Hemmings, Day for Night, Days of Heaven, Delphine Seyrig, Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, Dinner at Eight, Dorothy Comingore, Dr. Strangelove…, Dwayne Hickman, Edward Dmytryk. Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Edward Woodward, Elliot Silverstein. Cast: Jane Fonda, Faye Dunaway, Federico Fellini. Cast: Bruno Zanin, Fernando Rey, Florence Lee, François Truffaut, Francis Ford Coppola, Franco Brusati, Fred MacMurray, Gastone Moschin, Gene Hackman, Gene Wilder, George C. Scott, George Cukor, George Lucas, George Sanders, Gillo Pontecorvo, Harvey Korman, Helena Rojo, Herbert Grönemeyer, Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Jack Nicholson, Jack Warden, Jacqueline Bisset, Jacques Tourneur, Jürgen Prochnow, Jean Harlow, Jean Seberg, Jean Sorel, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Jean-Luc Godard, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jeff Goldblum, Joan Micklin-Silver. Cast: John Heard, Joel Grey, John Barrymore, John Cazale, John D. Hancock, John Huston, John Savage, John Schlesinger, John Travolta, José Ferrer, Joseph Cotten, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Karen Black, Katharine Hepburn, Kent Smith, Klaus Kinski, Klaus Wennemann, Lee Marvin, Lindsay Crouse, Lionel Barrymore, Liza Minnelli, Luis Buñuel, Madeline Kahn, Magali Noël, Malcolm McDowell, Marcel Camus, Marie Dressler, Marpressa Dawn, Maureen O'Sullivan, Mel Brooks, Meryl Streep, Michael Bates, Michael Caine, Michael Callan, Michael Cimino, Michael Curtiz, Michael York, Michel Piccoli, Michelangelo Antonioni, Micheline Lanctôt, Nino Manfredi, Orson Welles, Patrick Magee, Paul Frankeur, Paul Henreid, Peter Sellers, Peter Yates, Piper Laurie, Polanski, Richard Dreyfuss, Richard Gere, Robert De Niro, Ron Howard, Ruy Guerra, Sam Shepard, Sam Wood, Sarah Miles, Shelly Winters, Simone Simon, Sissy Spacek, Slim Pickens, Stanley Kubrick, Stefania Sandrelli, Sterling Hayden, Sutherland, Ted Kotcheff, Terrence Malick, The African Queen, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravtiz, The Battle of Algiers, The Caine Mutiny, The Conformist, The Conversation, The Day of the Locust, The Deer Hunter, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, The Marx Brothers, Un Chien Andalou, Valentina Cortese, Van Johnson, Vanessa Redgrave, Virginia Cherrill, Wallace Beery, Werner Herzog, William Atherton, Wolfgang Petersen | 4 Comments

The Biograph’s 40th

Posted on at by F.T. Rea

On its 40th anniversary, the Biograph Theatre, or perhaps something akin to its reanimated spirit, will serve up a pair of highly acclaimed films as a double feature. In other words, the James River Film Society will present “Breathless” — … Continue reading →

Posted in Events, Film, James River Film Society | Tagged Biograph Theatre, Breathless, David Miller, Gena Rowlands, Jean Seberg, Jean-Luc Godard, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Kirk Douglas, Lonely Are the Brave, Walter Matthau | 7 Comments

Five Film Favorites: Midnight Shows

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In the 1970s, during what was the Golden Age of Repertory Cinema, the midnight show was close to the heart of many such specialized movie houses. Although theaters still show films at the midnight hour, clearly, the cultural significance of … Continue reading →

Posted in Essays, Film, History, Lists | Tagged 2000 Maniacs, Allan Joseph, Allen Garfield, Animal Crackers, Arnold Johnson, Beach Boys, Big Brother and the Holding Co., Biograph Theatre, Blood Feast, Brian De Palma, Chafed Elbows, Charlotte Stewart, Chuck Berry, D.A. Pennebaker, David Lynch, El Topo, Eraserhead, Five Film Favorites, Fritz the Cat, Golden Age of Repertory Cinema, Jack Nance, James Brown, Jefferson Airplane, Jessica Harper, Jimi Hendrix, Mamas and Papas, Marvin Gaye, Marx Brothers, midnight movie, midnight shows, Mondo Cane, Monterey Pop, Otis Redding, Paul Williams, Phantom of the Paradise, Putney Swope, Reefer Madness, Robert Downey, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Rolling Stones, Scorpio Rising, Smokey Robinson, Sr., Stan Gottlieb, Steve Binder, The Godfather, The T.A.M.I. Show, The Who, WGOE-AM, William Finley | Leave a comment

Five Film Favorites: Obscure Oldies on Netflix

Posted on at by F.T. Rea

Although Netflix has allowed me to catch up on a bunch of movies I had missed over the last 20 years, and at some point I’ll write about some of them, this time I want to put the spotlight on … Continue reading →

Posted in Essays, Film, Lists | Tagged Anne Bancroft, Anthony Quinn, Beverly Lunsford, Colleen Miller, Don’t Bother to Knock, Ed Begley, Everett Sloane, Farley Granger, Fielder Cook, Five Film Favorites, Frank Maxwell, Jack Arnold, Jeff Chandler, Man in the Shadow, Marilyn Monroe, Maxwell Shane, Netflix, Orson Welles, Patterns, Peter Graves, Richard Widmark, Roger Corman, Roy Ward Baker, The Intruder, The Naked Street, Van Heflin, William Shatner | 2 Comments

Time Warping

Posted on at by F.T. Rea

In 1975 “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” produced by Lou Adler, was released by 20th Century Fox. Adapted from the British gender-bending stage musical, “The Rocky Horror Show,” the movie died at the box office. The critics didn’t particularly like … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Local | Tagged Biograph Theatre, Carole Kass, John Porter, Larry Rohr, Lou Adler, Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Floorshow | 2 Comments

Jake Wells: ‘Father of Richmond Movie Houses’

Posted on at by F.T. Rea

There are records of an exhibition of “moving pictures” having been presented at The Academy (the Mozart Academy of Music) at 103-05 N. Eighth Street in 1897. Built in 1886, that venue was generally considered to be Richmond’s most important … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Local | Tagged Atlantic League, Bijou, Broad Street, Byrd Park, George W. Rogers, Idlewood Amusement Park, Jake Wells, major league baseball, movie houses, Mozart Academy of Music, New Reservoir Park, Richmond, Richmond movie houses, Richmond News Leader, Swan Tavern, Virginia | Leave a comment

‘Taxi Driver’ at 35

Posted on at by F.T. Rea

The viewer sees Travis Bickle, the loner, coping with his diffused rage as he drives a taxi cab in New York City. His life is utterly bleak. Travis, as the narrator, reads from a diary he keeps in a school … Continue reading →

Posted in Events, Film, James River Film Festival | Tagged Albert Brooks, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Jodie Foster, Martin Scorsese, Peter Boyle, Robert De Niro, Travis Bickle | 1 Comment

Author Archives: F.T. Rea

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