Leonard Kipnis Movies
Oedipus Rex looks just like what it was: a photographed stage play. Any cinematic deficiencies are, however, quickly forgotten as the "magic" of the Sophocles tragedy (translated by William Butler Yeats) takes hold. Staged by Sir Tyrone Guthrie at the Stratford (Ontario) Shakespeare festival, the film spotlights such formidable Canadian-based talents as Douglas Campbell (Oedipus Rex) and Douglas Rain (Messenger). The story, of course, concerns Oedipus' detective work in locating the murderer of his father, and his nonplused (to say the least) reaction when he discovers that, not only is hehimself the guilty party, but his wife Jocasta is actually his own mother. When Douglas Rain comes on screen, see if you can pin down his voice. That's right: Rain was the dispassionate voice of homicidal computer Hal 9000 in Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (Douglas Campbell was later in the McKenzie Brothers' slapstick comedy Strange Brew, but that's hardly in the same category as 2001). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Douglas Rain, Douglas Campbell, (more)
- 1952
Luciano Emmer, one of Italy's foremost purveyor of art-oriented short subjects, collaborated with Lauro Venturi on the direction of the feature-length Leonardo da Vinci. The life and work of da Vinci is re-created with lovingly detailed close-ups of his paintings, sculptures, etchings and inventions. Surprisingly, there is a great deal of movement to be found in what is essentially a series of "stills." The incisive English-language narration is provided by Albert Dekker. The principal attractions of Leonardo da Vinci are the musical score by Roman Vlad and the color cinematography of Mario Craveri, Antonio Harispe, Andre Thomas and Boris Kaufman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1952
Pictura is a feature-length collection of several short-subject documentary celebrations of great artists and their work. The film consists of six separate "episodes," many of these representing a collaboration between Luciano Emmer and another director. "The Lost Paradise," co-directed by Enrico Gras and narrated by Vincent Price, spotlights Hieronymous Bosch. "The Legend of St. Ursula," narrated by Gregory Peck, showcases Vittorio Carpaccio. "Francisco Goya" was co-directed by Lauro Ventura and narrated by Henry Marble. "Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec" is narrated by Lilli Palmer. The final two sections of Pictura were directed by someone other than Luciano Emmer: "Paul Gaugin" was directed by Alain Resnais and narrated by Martin Gabel, while "Grant Wood," the only American documentary in the batch, was directed by Mark Sorkin, with narration by Henry Fonda. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
