Tagged: movies

Sometimes, novels that are American classics have been transformed into motion pictures that are American classics. FROM HERE TO ETERNITY, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, THE GRAPES OF WRATH, ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST, and FIELD OF DREAMS (based on Ray Kinsella’s Shoeless Joe) are a few that come to mind. Some-- ALL THE KING’S MEN, for example-- have been the source for films that deserve all the acclaim they earn and remakes that are, in a word, execrable.

Tonight marks the local premiere of the film The Place Beyond The Pines, starring Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes, Ray Liotta and Ryan Gosling, which was filmed in several Capital Region locales and takes place in Schenectady.

WAMC's Brian Shields spoke with Don Rittner, head of the Schenectady Film Commission, who helped bring the film to town and who has a bit part in the movie.

Back in the late 1960s and early 70s, a host of films-- which now are acknowledged classics-- literally changed the tenor of American filmmaking. And in retrospect, they serve as mirrors of their time. Films like THE GRADUATE and FIVE EASY PIECES, which helped establish Dustin Hoffman and Jack Nicholson as major stars and which are as fresh and invigorating today as when first released, spotlight characters who are alone, confused, and alienated, and are drifting aimlessly through life.

    Nobody knows movies like Thelma Adams. So, we wanted to talk with her about last night Academy Awards and find out her thoughts on the winners and losers from film’s biggest night.

She is currently a Yahoo! Contributing Editor and her column “Thelma Adams on Reel Women” runs on AMC Filmcritic.com. She was the film critic at Us Weekly for eleven years from 2000 to 2011, following six years at the New York Post. She has twice chaired the New York Film Critics Circle.

She is also author of the terrific novel, Playdate, now out in paperback.