OFFICIAL SITE OF AUTHOR MICHAEL RICKARD

William Friedkins's To Live and Die in L.A., a terrific thriller film, but does it qualify as film noir? Join me for part three of this discussion. There is further support for L.A. being noir if one agrees with Foster Hirsch that “Indeed for a policier to qualify as legitimately noir, the cop must be attracted to or in some way be complicit with the cry of the city at night. If he remains an observer who is not innocent of any transgression, the film is a crime movie that h

August 29, 1967 was a highly anticipated date for television viewers as it promised the end to Dr. Richard Kimble’s four-year flight from the law, and his quest to clear his name of a wrongful conviction for murder. After four years and 119 episodes, The Fugitive was going to close out with a conclusive ending. Fans had invested their Tuesday evenings in watching Dr. Kimble track down Fred Johnson (aka “The One-Armed Man”), and now, there would be a day of reckoning. However,

My recap of wrestling's summertime supercards and pay-per-views continues with my look back at Jim Crockett Promotions' Great American Bash tour in 1986. Originally presented at Canadian Bulldog's World.

Another noir element used in L.A. is the use of shadow. The film uses shadow and light to create a dual image on several characters’ faces, symbolizing their duplicitous nature. In another scene, Chance and Vukovich are seen in a hallway with shadows of bars on the wall, a clear symbol of the prison their actions have trapped them in and the real prison they face if their actions are revealed. Friedkin acknowledges noir’s roots of shadow but also demonstrates how color films

August 22, 1967 marked an epoch in television history when the TV series The Fugitive prepared to close out its four-year run with a two-part finale titled, “The Judgment”. While today’s TV viewers are used to season finales (including mid-season finales) and series finales, the concept of a series closing out with a definitive episode was new, but as the ratings proved, successful. It would achieve the highest ratings of any TV show at the time, and while it bears noting the

My series looking back at some of professional wrestling's biggest summertime events continues with a recap of the 1986 WWF supercard, The Big Event. Originally presented at Canadian Bulldog's World.

The death of Elvis Presley is a flashbulb memory burnt into my mind. In a 1977 journal article, Harvard researchers Roger Brown and James Kulik defined them as, “Flashbulb Memories are memories for the circumstances in which one first learned of a very surprising and consequential (or emotionally arousing) event. Hearing the news that President John Kennedy had been shot is the prototype case. Almost everyone can remember, with an almost perceptual clarity, where he was when

William Friedkin’s 1985 film To Live and Die in L.A. is not only a terrific crime film but a true neo-noir film. The film contains noir stylistic elements such as shadows and symbols like Venetian blinds; it features fatal women and fatal men; and most of all, it features the city as spectacle, with Los Angeles seen as a corrupting labyrinth from which there is no escape. The 1980’s saw the return of noir. Labeled neo-noir, Body Heat was seen as the film that heralded noir’s

Originally presented at Canadian Bulldog's World. Here's the latest installment in my series "Wrestling's Long Hot Summer." Last year I looked at the 20-year anniversary of the match between Four Horsemen members "Nature Boy" Ric Flair and Arn Anderson vs. NFL stars Steve "Mongo" McMichael and NFL Hall of Famer Kevin Greene.

Editor's Note: Here's an essay I wrote for a British Literature class. The essay is two years old so the MLA formatting is a different version than the current. “Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.” Acts 26:28 Once again it seems that Faustus’ carnal nature overwhelms his thoughts of spiritual redemption. Lucifer knows Faustus’ weakness and exploits it. “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are

Originally presented at Canadian Bulldog's World. Here's the latest installment in my series "Wrestling's Long Hot Summer." Last year I looked at the 20-year anniversary of the match between Four Horsemen members "Nature Boy" Ric Flair and Arn Anderson vs. NFL stars Steve "Mongo" McMichael and NFL Hall of Famer Kevin Greene.

Editor's Note: Here's an essay I wrote for a British Literature class. The essay is two years old so the MLA formatting is a different version than the current. “Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.” Acts 26:28 The story of Doctor Faustus is a fascinating exploration of the lengths that people will go to in pursuit of their heart’s desire. In Faustus’ case, the thirst for knowledge leads to a pact with the Devil where Faustus will receiv