THE BULLETIN • MARCH 18 - 24, 2021
TV • PAGE 25
What’s Available NOW On
“Mae West: Dirty Blonde”
From PBS Living comes this
documentary that aired on “American
Masters” last year that does a deep
dive into the life and career of Mae
West, a groundbreaking writer,
performer and subversive agitator for
social change who possessed creative
and economic powers that were
unheard of for a female star in the
1930s.
BY JAY BOBBIN
“Oliver Twist”
“The Bridge on the River Kwai”
“Doctor Zhivago”
“Movie: Back to the Future”
“Invincible”
“La templanza”
The story that never gets old returns
for another engagement as the saga
of Marty McFly, Doc Brown and the
time-traveling DeLorean plays out
for Amazon streaming audiences in
the trilogy of the Robert Zemeckis-
directed adventure comedies.
Michael J. Fox. Christopher Lloyd,
Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover and
Thomas F. Wilson are among the
stars.
From “The Walking Dead” creator
Robert Kirkman comes this adult
animation series that is based on the
Skybound/Image comic of the same
name and follows the adventures of
17-year-old Mark Grayson (voice of
Steven Yeun) and son of the most
powerful superhero on the planet.
As he develops his own powers, he
comes to realize his father’s legacy
isn’t as heroic it seems. (ORIGINAL)
From Spain comes this period drama
series that is set in the second half
of the 19th century and follows
the story of Mauro Larrea (Rafael
Novoa), who finds his destiny
restoring a vineyard to its former
glory while pursuing the love of
Soledad Montalvo (Leonor Watling),
the feisty widow who once owned
the property. Nathaniel Parker and
David Levy also star. (ORIGINAL)
BEST DAVID LEAN MOVIES
“Blithe Spirit” (1945) Noel Coward’s play
inspired director Lean’s comedy-fantasy about an
author and his second wife (Rex Harrison, Constance
Cummings) whose pursuit of a seance – conducted by
a medium played by Margaret Rutherford – conjures
up the spirit of his first spouse (Kay Hammond).
“Brief Encounter” (1945) Lean’s treatment of
the story about two married people (Celia Johnson,
Trevor Howard) tempted to cheat with each other
became iconic, referenced by other films (some using
actual clips from it) over the ensuing years.
“Great Expectations” (1946) The first of Lean’s
successful Charles Dickens adaptations casts John
Mills as the orphaned Pip, whose initial hardships
are reversed when an unknown benefactor funds his
education and later life.
“Oliver Twist” (1948) John Howard Davies
has the title role as Lean revisits Dickens, but other
actors gave the more colorful parts – including Alec
Guinness as questionable mentor Fagin and Anthony
Newley as the Artful Dodger.
“Summertime” (1955) Lean returns to romance
as Katharine Hepburn plays an American secretary
vacationing in Venice and hesitating to fall completely
for an antiques dealer (Rossano Brazzi). “The Way
We Were’s” Arthur Laurents wrote the screenplay.
“The Bridge on the River Kwai” (1957)
The “epic” phase of Lean’s career began with this
Oscar-winning adventure of World War II prisoners
forced to build the title bridge, with Alec Guinness
as the military colonel overseeing the operation, and
William Holden as a captive much more interested
in his own survival. Turner Classic Movies shows the
picture Saturday, March 27.
“Lawrence of Arabia” (1962) Widely
considered Lean’s masterpiece, this saga of a
military man who was a World War II military
liaison between British forces and Arabs made
stars of Peter O’Toole – in the title role – and Omar
Sharif. This is a movie that demands to be seen on
the largest screen possible, thanks to its famous and
magnificent panoramas (beautifully photographed
by Freddie Young).
“Doctor Zhivago” (1965) Sharif reunited with
Lean to play the title part in Lean’s sweeping
Russian Revolution romance, based on the novel
by Boris Pasternak. Julie Christie’s stardom also
was heightened by her performance as Zhivago’s
true love Lara; the outstanding cast also includes
Rod Steiger, Geraldine Chaplin, Alec Guinness,
Tom Courtenay, Siobhan McKenna and Ralph
Richardson.
“Ryan’s Daughter” (1970) Atmosphere again
is essential to Lean’s love story set against World
War I intrigue, with Sarah Miles – then the wife of
the film’s writer, Robert Bolt – as the titular daughter
of Irish pub owner Ryan (Robert Mitchum); her
romance with a British officer (Christopher Jones)
becomes problematic. Again directed by Lean, John
Mills won an Oscar here.
“A Passage to India” (1984) Lean’s final film,
adapted by E.M. Forster from his own novel, casts
Judy Davis as an Englishwoman who undertakes a
1920s journey to British India – along with her future
mother–in-law (Peggy Ashcroft) – to visit her fiance
(Nigel Havers) and is dismayed by the social system
she finds there.