The Playlist

The obsessives' guide to contemporary cinema via film discussion, news, reviews, features, nostalgia, movie music, soundtracks, DVDs and more.

Interviews

SXSW Review: 'Milius' Is A Rousing Tribute To The Warrior Poet Of Mainstream Hollywood

By Drew Taylor
|
March 17, 2013 1:26 PM
|
8 Comments

Reviews

In the opening moments of “Milius,” a hellzapoppin’ new documentary about John Milius, a genius tyrant and warrior poet of '70s and '80s mainstream Hollywood who wrote and directed testosterone-soaked epics like “Conan the Barbarian” and “Red Dawn,” Sam Elliott, in the same laid back butterscotch drawl he used to narrate the adventures of The Dude, sums up the filmmaker thusly: “He doesn’t write for women and he doesn’t write for pussies. He writes for men. Because he’s a man.” And as “Milius” (the documentary) elaborates on Milius (the man), this was his biggest strength and his greatest weakness – at some point the persona he fashioned for himself, festooned with his fondness for cigars, right wing politics, and guns, would become too much of a liability, ultimately leading to his undoing.

By Ken Guidry
|
March 7, 2013 10:18 AM
|
1 Comment

News

The older he’s gotten, the more of a legend he has become. So it should come as no surprise that the great John Milius would have a documentary made about him -- the real question is what took so long. The man behind the “Dirty Harry” franchise, “Apocalypse Now,” and “Conan the Barbarian” is known as much for his personality as he is for his film work. He was one of the inspirations for the Walter Sobchak character in the “The Big Lebowski” after all (as we discussed in our feature about the film yesterday). Anyway, finally that personality has been captured for our enjoyment in the upcoming documentary “Milius,” from filmmakers Joey Figueroa and Zak Knutson, and the trailer is now here to give you a peek.

By Oliver Lyttelton
|
May 14, 2012 11:20 AM
|
4 Comments

Features

These days, after "Lord of the Rings" and "Game Of Thrones," fantasy isn't just big business, but it can also be an critically acclaimed awards favorite, picking up Oscars and Emmys by the handful. As such, it's easy to forget that prior to the 1980s, the genre barely existed on screen, with animated takes on Tolkein's works the only really significant pictures in the genre. But in 1977, "Star Wars," a film that owed as much to high fantasy as to science-fiction, became the biggest hit in history, and that opened the door to all kinds of new fantasy worlds.

By Oliver Lyttelton
|
April 12, 2012 10:04 AM
|
15 Comments

Features

All those who complain about the liberal domination of Hollywood have never come across John Milius. A film school pal of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, Milius had tried to join the Marine Corp, but was turned away due to his asthma. Instead, he channeled his frustrations into both a life-long obsession with firearms (he was paid for "Jeremiah Johnson" in antique weaponry, and has served on the NRA Board of Directors,) and making some of the most masculine, testosterone-filled movies of all time, both as an acclaimed writer and as a director. The basis for both Paul Le Mat's character in "American Graffiti" and Walter in "The Big Lebowski" -- the Coens are friends of Milius, and offered him the part of Jack Lipnick in "Barton Fink" -- he's one of film history's most singular, colorful characters.