STACK Magazine .: BOB J's CLASSIC CORNER :.

Bob J.'s Classic Corner: THE THING (1982)

- Directed by John Carpenter UFO paranoia, coupled with the fear of Communism that swept America in the early 1950s, supplied Hollywood with a wealth of material. Suspicion of anything un-American – especially the sudden outbreak of mysterious sightings of flying... more

Bob J.'s Classic Corner: BEN-HUR (1959)

- Directed by William Wyler In 1924, the merger of three struggling minor studios that created Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer caused some amusement within the motion picture industry. As one wag at the time stated: “Three failures into one success won’t go”. Indeed, the fledgling... more

Bob J.'s Classic Corner: TAXI DRIVER (1976)

- Directed by Martin Scorsese You would be hard pushed to find a film – other than Welles’ Citizen Kane – that has been so minutely dissected, analysed and systematically discussed by a multitude of film critics and fans as Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver.... more

Bob J.'s Classic Corner: THE KILLERS (1946)

- Directed by Robert Siodmak In 1927, Ernest Hemingway wrote a short story about two hitmen sent to kill an ex-prizefighter. The stylistic but minimalist story rocked the literary world and over the following two decades, every Hollywood studio tried to secure the... more

Bob J.'s Classic Corner: BIG WEDNESDAY (1978)

Directed by John Milius Early in 1977, a trio of friends were discussing their latest cinema projects. Two of them, who would soon become household names, were about to have their new movies released and one of them in particular was nervous that his project was going... more

Bob J.'s Classic Corner: SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON (1949)

- Directed by John Ford John Ford’s favourite cinematic subject was the post civil-war frontier and with She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, the second and finest of his famous cavalry trilogy, he managed to deliver his most visual achievement in glorious Technicolor.... more

Bob J.'s Classic Corner: THE PARALLAX VIEW (1974)

Directed by Alan J. Pakula The Parallax View ranks high in the pantheon of films that perfectly captured the public paranoia in the years following both the Kennedy assassinations. Distrust by the American people of their government and large corporations,... more

Bob J.'s Classic Corner: THE PROFESSIONALS (1966)

Directed by Richard Brooks Henry ‘Rico’ Farden – Virginia Military Academy; Philippines’ Campaign; Cuba with Roosevelt’s Rough-Riders; married a Mexican woman, wife deceased; joined Pancho Villa as weapons expert and tactician. The speaker pauses and points to an... more

Bob J.'s Classic Corner: BATTLEGROUND (1949)

Before Spielberg shot a single frame of Saving Private Ryan, he viewed two specific war movies for inspiration: The Story of GI Joe and Battleground. The latter of the two he watched numerous times, and one can understand why – Battleground... more