By Red Nesbitt, Red Phoenix correspondent, Maryland. The 1989 film Glory turns 34 years old this year, as the Battle of Fort Wagner, the climax of the movie, turns 160. In the milieu of tired, historical drama epics chasing after… Read More ›
Movies
Hollywood Blacklist: “Salt of the Earth” and a demand for political reckoning
By Ed Rampell, Red Phoenix guest contributor, California. June 19, 2023 is the 70th anniversary of the electrocution of the so-called “atomic spies” Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Believed to be members of the Communist Party USA, the Rosenbergs were convicted… Read More ›
Hollywood Blacklist: “Spartacus”
By Ed Rampell, Red Phoenix guest contributor, California. (Note: This is the edited text for Rampell’s introduction to the April 29 screening of Spartacus at the Academy Museum for The Hollywood Ten at 75 Film Series from April 13-30 commemorating… Read More ›
Never again! “Argentina, 1985” — A lesson in vigilance and justice against fascism
The 2022 film, Argentina, 1985, is an Argentine historical drama based on the 1984-85 trial of the leaders of the fascist military Junta of Argentina which seized power in 1976 and ruled until 1984 when a humiliating defeat in the… Read More ›
Hollywood Blacklist: “Objective, Burma!”
By Ed Rampell, Red Phoenix guest contributor, California. (Note: This is the unedited text for the introduction to the April 23 screening of Objective, Burma! at the Academy Museum for this series commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Hollywood Blacklist.)… Read More ›
Hollywood Blacklist: The Duke, draft-dodging opportunist
By Ed Rampell, Red Phoenix guest contributor, California. (Note: This is the unedited text for the introduction to the April 16 screening of “Three Faces West,” at the Academy Museum for this series commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Hollywood… Read More ›
Hollywood Blacklist: “Cloak and Dagger” and “None Shall Escape”
By Ed Rampell, Red Phoenix guest contributor, California. (Note: This is the edited text for the introduction to the April 14 screening of “Cloak and Dagger” by Ed Rampell and to “None Shall Escape” by Roger Memos, the director and… Read More ›
Hollywood Blacklist: “Tender Comrade” and “Sahara”
By Ed Rampell, Red Phoenix guest contributor. This is the edited text for the introduction to the April 13 screening of Tender Comrade and Sahara at the Academy Museum for this series commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Hollywood Blacklist…. Read More ›
It can happen here: Three L.A. museums shine spotlights on the Hollywood Blacklist’s 75th anniversary
By Ed Rampell, Red Phoenix guest contributor. Three museums are commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Hollywood Blacklist, the darkest period in Tinseltown history. What happened during this period of rightwing repression? As actor Humphrey Bogart put it: “We saw… Read More ›
“Judas and the Black Messiah” and what 30 pieces of silver can buy
In February of 2021, the independent film “Judas and the Black Messiah” was released to critical and audience acclaim. The film, detailing how the infiltration of the Black Panther Party by car thief-turned-FBI agent, Bill O’Neal, lead to the assassination… Read More ›
Stalin at the Movies
It is strange to say that, considering he was one of the most significant figures in world history, Joseph Stalin has rarely appeared on the silver screen. Certainly, when compared to the number of films portraying individuals as widely diverse… Read More ›
Review of “Lesson Plan: The Story of the Third Wave” (2011)
The opening title of Lesson Plan: The Story of the Third Wave (2011) reads: “In 1967 a High School student asked his history teacher how the German people could so easily follow Adolph Hitler. What follows is the result of… Read More ›
I saw “The Lone Ranger” so you don’t have to
It’s been 12 hours since I saw The Lone Ranger, and I still have the darn William Tell Overture stuck in my head. I wonder how long that lasts. It’s like waking up with a Tonto hangover, I guess. I have so… Read More ›
Review of “The Great Gatsby” (2013)
Introduction: Classic Literature Doesn’t Always Make a Classic Film Whenever a classic work of fiction is adapted for the silver screen, there is both a feeling of excitement and dread. Sometimes an essential work of literature like Les Misérables becomes… Read More ›
Of Flags & Butter: An Analysis of American White Supremacy Through Symbols
American racism and white supremacy is not limited to the physical realm, but is also a mental phenomenon – it is possible for the mind to be colonized by racist and white supremacist ideology, just as it is possible for… Read More ›
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