Try to imagine an actor other than Jack Nicholson starring in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Gene Hackman? Not randy enough. Paul Newman? Too good-natured. Robert DeNiro? Maybe – if the filmmakers had wanted to portray the wrongly institutionalised R. P. McMurphy as an actual psychopath. Nicholson’s McMurphy is indelible, difficult to separate from [...]
Michael Healey
Michael Healey holds an MA in Cinema Studies from New York University. His writing has also appeared in The Hitchcock Annual, The House Next Door, and PopMatters.com. He lives in New York with his wife and son and doesn’t see nearly as many movies these days as he’d like to.
Articles by Michael Healey:
Jean-Pierre Melville’s movies have been called distant or abstract, but that’s not quite right. His decorous criminals and dogged policemen may be predisposed to understatement and carefully considered action, but they are far from unfeeling. In Le Samouraï (1967), for instance, the hired killer’s icy demeanour and ritualistic behaviour suggest that his aloofness is a [...]
Le Cercle rouge (1970 France/Italy 140 mins) Source: Potential Films Prod: Robert Dorfmann Dir, Scr: Jean-Pierre Melville Phot: Henri Decaë Ed: Marie-Sophie Dubus Art Dir: Théo Meurisse Sound: Jean Nény Mus: Eric de Marsan Cast: Alain Delon, André Bourvil, Gian-Maria Volonté, Yves Montand, François Périer, André Ekyan, Melville’s cats Jean-Pierre Melville’s movies have been called [...]

