The Coen Brothers bring their Tall Tales to the TIFF Bell Lightbox
The enigmatic Coen Brothers are the subject of the latest retrospective from the programmer at TIFF as starting this weekend Joel & Ethan Coen:Tall Tales kicks off 4 weeks of Coen goodness at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. A 10 film spotlight on the theatrical films in the Coen Brother’s cannon, the retrospective kicks off with screening of Fargo, Miller’s Crossing, No Country for Old Men and Blood Simple over the opening weekend and snakes through the month of December with screenings of other Coen Classics.
Of the opening weekend, the can’t miss opportunity lies in the stunning debut film from the brothers, Blood Simple, which is a twist driven crime noir that set the indie film world ablaze and inspired a myriad of late 80’s early 90’s rip offs that never captured the energy and originality of the Coens debut. The film features strong performances from a cast of classic character actors like Dan Hedaya, John Getz and the legendary M. Emmet Walsh. It’s also responsible for introducing the brothers, and the film world, to Joel soon to be wife and collaborator on many Coen films Francis McDormand.
‘Lincoln’ aims to talk his way into your Blu-ray collection
New on Blu-ray from Disney Home Entertainment is the Oscar wining biopic from Steven Spielberg about Abraham Lincoln’s fight to abolish slavery with the 13th amendment to the constitution while also trying to bring about then end of the long and very bloody civil war dividing the country, Lincoln. The film features an all-star cast both behind and in front of the camera that had writer Doris Kearns Goodwin on set as an adviser and the production using many real locations to replicate the events as factually as possible. So how does the historic epic translate to the small screen?
Lincoln Blu-ray
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, Tommy Lee Jones, David Spader, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Hal Holbrook, John Hawkes, Jackie Earle Hailey, Bruce McGill, Lee Pace, Tim Blake Nelson and Jared Harris
Written by Tony Kushner based on the novel by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Lincoln (Day-Lewis) tarts as the Civil War continues to rage. Struggling with continuing carnage on the battlefield, Lincoln is fighting another great battle with many inside his own cabinet on the decision to emancipate the slaves. But the promise of an impending peace threatens the amendment from going to vote so Lincoln must make some tough decisions. His wife Mary (Field) is still grieving the loss of their son years before and fears her other ambitious son Robert’s (Gordon-Levitt) determination to enlist will cost him his life as well. The film follows Lincoln through to his ill-fated trip to the theater. (more…)
