In the history of film, the stories of fights between filmmakers and the studios that financed their latest pictures are legendary; legendary and utterly commonplace. Once productions are complete, movies are often taken out of the hands of the frustrated filmmaker and recut into a version that the studio believes will make it more marketable. The results, as you might imagine, are often a mixed bag, or a downright mess. One of the most famous films that ended up in such a do

Film critic Roger Ebert once said that the great comedy writer and director Mel Brooks is so uniquely likeable and funny that he has the ability to “say anything, do anything” and people will let him. For proof, look no further than Brooks’ 1974 box office hit Blazing Saddles. It’s a comedy western made up of such outrageously funny excess that it’s a good bet you’ll laugh out loud at the chaotic humor and firehose of jokes, no matter how irreverent, racist, sexist, and sat

My love of good Italian food is in my DNA. My grandparents on my father’s side were full-blooded Sicilian, so I grew up loving everything about one of the world’s greatest cuisines. It should come as no surprise then that seeing a movie like 1996’s Big Night always fills me up like the biggest and best Italian meal. The story is set on the Jersey Shore in the 1950s where two brothers—who have immigrated from Italy—run a restaurant called Paradise. One of the brothers is Primo

If you love movies made by the Coen brothers—as I do—no doubt you have your favorites. Blood Simple, Fargo, Raising Arizona, No Country for Old Men—their filmography as writers and directors is astounding. But perhaps none of their movies are quite as popular as The Big Lebowski. Made in 1998 and starring Jeff Bridges and a stellar supporting cast, the comedy is a true classic, so much so that annual Big Lebowski festivals are held all over the world where fans gather, dresse

In the cinema of the fantastique, one of the most fantastic, magical and enchanting of all movies is the 1946 French version of Beauty and the Beast. The fairy tale upon which it is based has been filmed and adapted for other art forms countless times, over hundreds of years. The story’s grip on our collective imaginations is timeless. The appeal of its message: universal. It’s a story about the power of love to set free the metaphorical beast trapped inside all of us, whatev

Baseball is my favorite sport. It’s the most perfect game ever invented. If you don’t agree, well, that’s okay—you just don’t understand it, the games within the game. So, it’s no surprise that I’m just as passionate about movies about baseball. There are so many great ones. but there’s one gem that often gets overlooked…and that’s Bang the Drum Slowly. Made in 1973, it was written by Mark Harris, which he adapted from his own novel. The story takes place during one season in