This review refers to both the silent film and the novel. If I get around to the anime film, you’ll be the first to know.

I have this great set of DVDs at home - 50 Classic Horror movies, for which I paid like $20. By “classic” they mean “so old that the rights were hella cheap”, meaning there are some true classics, some bad-hysterical, and some bad-awful films packed onto these discs. They were initially purchased to aid in my quest to watch all of Wicked Magazine’s list of most influential horror films*, but I’ve found myself watching the other discs as well.

I decided on Metropolis one recent afternoon home alone on the basis of two facts: that I kept hearing it referenced by self important film snobs, who never seemed to actually know what it was about, and that it’s a silent film. I’d never really sat down and watched a silent movie before, and my curiosity for a new experience beat out my desire to laugh (or wince, depending on whose opinion you believe) at The Beast of Yucca Flats. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m sure most library/bookstore/videostore/etc. employees have one of those items — every time you have to get it from or put it onto a shelf, you think “hmm, that looks interesting. I should try that one some time.” And you never get around to it? Well, I’m starting to think there’s a reason, beyond lack of time and forgetfulness, that this kind of item’s number never seems to come up.

During the purge of VHS to make room for the ever-expanding DVD collection, I got to know our movie collection pretty darned well. You might remember where you were when JFK was shot; I recall just as vividly the day we finally replaced this Jazz with that Jazz, netting nearly one and a half shelf-feet in a single item. (The room was quickly taken up by catering to the public taste for agenda-driven mediocrity, but that’s a story for another day.) Read the rest of this entry »