My first viewing of Jon Amiel’s (Entrapment, Copycat) Sommersby was when I was 17. I liked the story, was intrigued by the slow unraveling mystery, and ate up the sentimentality created by Richard Gere (Pretty Woman, The Mothman Prophecies) and Jodie Foster (Panic Room, The Silence of the Lambs). Had I reviewed the film in 1993, I likely would have given it an A-. As I watched the movie most recently, some 30 years later, I was impressed by how well it once again grabbed and held my interest. Much of that was trying to spot each clue that connected the start and end, which rewatches allow. However, as simple as the story was, I fell victim to Jack Summerset’s (Gere) six-year return to Laurel (Foster) following the U.S. Civil War.
Category Archives: 1993
Three Colors: Blue (1993)
Blue is the first in Polish-born Krzysztof Kieslowski’s (The Double Life of Veronique, No End) three-part trilogy, aptly named Red, White, and Blue. While showing very little connection and not intended to be watched in any particular order, Blue (1993) had a release date before White (1994) and Red (1994). Blue also features the most recognized actor (Juliette Binoche – The English Patient, Chocolat). So, either on its own was enough to start with Blue. Together, it was a no-brainer.
A Perfect World (1993)
David Mackenzie’s critically acclaimed Hell or High Water, a 2016 movie nominated for Best Picture, reminded me of a quiet and subdued gem of a 1993 film that undoubtedly inspired a director just starting to enter his prime. Clint Eastwood (Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby) was fresh off of Unforgiven (a movie that earned him his first Best Director Oscar win as well as Best Picture of the Year) and the critically acclaimed and equally fan-adored In the Line of Fire. A Perfect World was Eastwood’s third movie between 1992 and 1993, the most successful two-year period of the most exceptional director/actor combination in cinema history.