Free Republic

Once it was agreed that there was such a thing as film noir, two questions remained: Which films are film noir and what makes a film noir... noir? The arguments have persisted since then: Is The Maltese Falcon the first actual film noir? What is the best film noir? Is it Double Indemnity? Out of the Past? Gun Crazy? Is Touch of Evil the last classic noir, and when did neo-noir begin? Can it be noir if it's in colour? Everybody has an opinion and if you have one, be prepared to have your intelligence questioned. But very few of...

There’s a place for Steven Spielberg, and apparently it’s on New York’s Upper West Side in the 1950s. A casting call has gone out for a remake of “West Side Story,” written by Pulitzer Prize winner Tony Kushner, author of Spielberg’s terrific “Lincoln” screenplay and, of course, “Angels in America.” It’s a pro-forma casting call because, in the end, the new “West Side Story” is going to need stars. Big names. And because of the setting and the time we are in, it’s going to need actual Puerto Ricans or Latinos for the parts of characters like Maria, Anita, and...

LOS ANGELES -- Robert Wise, who won four Oscars as producer and director of the classic 1960s musicals "West Side Story" and "The Sound of Music," has died. He was 91. Wise died Wednesday of heart failure after falling ill and being rushed to the University of California, Los Angeles, Medical Center, family friend and longtime entertainment agent Lawrence Mirisch told The Associated Press. Mirisch said Wise had appeared in good health when he celebrated his 91st birthday Saturday. Wise was nominated for seven Oscars, including the four he won, during a career that spanned more than 50 years. The...

Last week House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, a Democrat from Missouri, delivered what appeared to be a 30 minute campaign speech on the floor of the House: "We now have an economy that is in some real difficulty" he said "Since January 2001, our economy has deteriorated dramatically." Using charts in his speech, and on his website, he says: "From January 2001 when we had 5.9 million people unemployed, we now have, as of last month, 8.1 million people unemployed – a 2.2 million increase in unemployment. This is as a result in large part of the Bush economic plan...