Everything builds upon something. In the earliest days of cinema, it drew inspiration from vaudeville and theater. If we go back down in history through operas and stages, we will end up in ancient times and in this case, ancient Greek theater. For their theater, it was based upon tragedies from family chaos, myths, epics, and so forth. Certain films… Read more »
A master class can be a bit paradoxical at times. This is the opportunity to introduce newcomers to the prime examples of a particular subject. Do we go with the blatantly obvious options, or do we give them cases that they would have never thought to explore? This is a concerted effort to attempt to do both. Today, we’re looking… Read more »
Fans of Dario Argento’s 1977 classic, Suspiria, weren’t exactly pining for a remake, but in 2018 they got one anyway. Argento’s fellow Italian director, Luca Guadagnino, has thrown down the gauntlet with his reworking of the beloved horror shocker, and now the opinions are ours to form. Even though a 21st century Suspiria might have been the last thing that… Read more »
I miss being traumatized by Disney. When I was 5 years old, nothing was more intense than Cinderella’s wicked stepmother’s green snake-eyes glowing in darkness. The stepmother Lady Tremaine psychological abuse of our heroine gave the otherwise cheerful “Cinderella” a flavor of horror that, in hindsight, was quite necessary for my development. Monsters like Lady Tremaine very much exist and… Read more »
We just love prison break films. Sometimes they’re not convincing but still watchable, sometimes they’re philosophical, sometimes they’re just pure silly fun, or sometimes it’s just a metaphor for something else but we love them and not just for one reason. Sometimes it’s like watching a film about con men; we like to see how they’ll work their “magic”, what… Read more »
Admittedly writing and publishing a cinema list that, in this case, purports to be a definitive listing of “the 25 Best Foreign Language Films of All Time” is clickbait that borders on trolling. Well, that isn’t that case at all, despite the fact that numerous international favorite filmmakers didn’t quite make the cut (alas, Robert Bresson, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne,… Read more »
It’s a bit hard to believe that. in a world with so many bad films, a good film can be overlooked or forgotten, especially if it was created by first rate artists, but it does happen. Sometimes film makers go out of fashion and even their best works can be swept aside. Sometimes a film maker is perceived as making… Read more »
Starting in the art world of Paris in the 1920s by artists and poets such as Andre Breton, Guillaume Apollinaire and Louis Aragon, surrealism was adopting as a way of allowing the unconscious to freely express itself. Inspired by the dream theories of Sigmund Freud, surrealism foregoes rational explanation in favour of strange juxtapositions, illogical developments and non sequitur –… Read more »
Being a one-hit-wonder is something that happens all the time in the music industry. Bands crack the code and create a chart-topping song, but a lot of the time, these bands have multiple other songs that are pretty good, if not better. But when it comes to directors and filmmaking, it’s a little harder to create a career-defining hit, and… Read more »
What is horror? The dictionary describes horror as “an intense feeling of fear, shock, or disgust”. These three approaches to horror represent three different styles of the horror movie. Horror movies designed to create a feeling of fear is what horror movie purists would refer to as a true example of a horror movie. However, the current state of affairs… Read more »
Romantic love is one of the most tumultuous of emotions, ranging from elation to heartbreak in mere moments. It’s something nearly all people experience, making sad romantic films one of the most popular of film genres. Whether it’s the forces of society, illness, being married to the wrong person or simply unable to deal with one another, watching people made… Read more »
This is a man’s world. James Brown was right. Sometimes a male mind’s rationale appears on the surface of every man-made structure, norm, and pattern. Behind the surfaces, though, this is a woman’s world, too. No, a dynamic woman isn’t found behind every successful man. A woman, in a both rough and delicate cloth of emotion and creation, is found… Read more »
Characters are at the heart of a film and without interesting, appealing characters, a film will inevitably fail to engage an audience. A memorable character can see a film elevated from good to great and even ensure that a film stands the test of time. Though we may often be able to sort characters into succinct categories – the protagonist,… Read more »
The epic represents time beyond living memory, ancient and eternal, a place reserved for the gods themselves. Sometimes man interjects himself between, around, and throughout such timeless affairs. These matters usual concern Kings and Queens, wars, and moral decisions that affect the fate of the entire world. The mystical mixes with the historical and legends arise. However, like anything else,… Read more »
Sometimes, morbid curiosity takes hold of the best of us film lovers. You’ve most likely all heard of the classic examples of extreme and disturbing cinema that often appear in lists similar to this such as the headache-inducing Irreversible (2003) or the infamous Salo or The 120 Days of Sodom (1975), but let’s look outside the box and delve into… Read more »
There are so many films you can pick as an educator. You want to guide the world towards the best works imaginable. The thing is, you will undoubtedly discover so many works you never could have even dreamed of once you go down this rabbit hole. You watch Persona, and demand that your class watches it because it is the… Read more »
