When you first get into film, a big mistake people make is interpreting the influence a director has on a film’s visual aesthetics incorrectly. That’s the wonderful day that you learn what cinematography is. A director might have a vision, but the director of photography is the person to make this happen. An auteur filmmaker gets misunderstood if the cinematographer… Read more »
Usually we get to hear about directors who made one great film in their entire career. Then there are directors who made just one film and directed nothing else. Some are films where you think maybe it’s best for them to pursue a career in a different field, but then there are some really amazing films that you keep wondering… Read more »
The protocol which governed the selection of the following films is one that emanates from a particular conception of form and style. The films listed below take as their starting point not a conception of style as something superfluous, ornamental and subject to the caprices of the director. The films below recognize that style is indispensable from cinematic production and… Read more »
In the earliest days of cinema, there was no acting. The experimenters of cinema such as the Lumiere brothers used to place their camera at a fixed position and record the events of daily life until the film stock ran out. In a lesser extent, it leans toward the documentary filmmaking approach of the present, but even documentaries nowadays manipulate… Read more »
David Lynch isn’t just one of the most renowned filmmakers of all time, but also a true artist since he is a musician, an actor, and a painter. Through his unique vision and cinematic style, he has created a lot of critically acclaimed avant-garde films as well as cult classics. Here is a list of some remarkable works not directed… Read more »
Let me start off by saying that this should in no way be considered the final word but rather the beginning of a long discussion. There are so many great directors out there that it’s almost ridiculous to narrow it down to only 10. For that matter it’s seemingly ridiculous to give all the credit of a film’s success to… Read more »
David Lynch is adored by millions because of his idiosyncratic style. One of the very few filmmakers to successfully merge the underground with the mainstream, Lynch has affected many crowds because of his ability to deliver something different to the masses. It’s no secret that his films are strange. That’s what makes this list easy. However, picking only a handful… Read more »
There is a great scene in the recently released American Animals (Bart Layton, 2018), in which the four thieves, who are starting to prepare a heist of their own, buy every heist film they can find and watch them all in an attempt to gather ideas. Of course, this isn’t really the best idea, however, they definitely saw some terrific… Read more »
In the world of cinema, so many directors have a message or idea they wish to get across. Some of these ideas are conveyed in such a shocking or absurd manner that it really drives the idea home. Legendary directors such as Pier Paolo Pasolini are masters of this with films like Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)… Read more »
Virtuosic single take scenes are one of the key hallmarks of cinema. Whether it’s filming an entire scene in one distanced take or making use of steadicam or handheld cameras, an extended sequence with no cuts can immerse the viewer into the film, allowing us to process reality as the characters may see it. There are many good effects of… Read more »
We have all been guilty of criticizing films that make their way into the theater. Seeing a certain actor, story, or director immediately has us feeling turned on or off. In the same vein, sometimes online film critics can be overly harsh or overzealous in their comments about new movies. One of the loudest voices in film commenting, is the… Read more »
Regardless of the periodic contrasting suggestion from the filmmaking community, there are more similarities than differences between poetry and film. Both art forms engage aesthetic and rhythmic qualities of form in their implementation; the poem uses the metre and sound symbolism, whereas film uses both visual and sound-based association in their favor. When the emotions surrounding life and its choices,… Read more »
Horror movies turn into franchises more often than any other genre. It often brings financial success, but the critical reception of sequels goes down-spiral. The thing works simple, you have one film that becomes a considerable success at the box-office and earns critical acclaim. While the former often becomes the reason to make a sequel, the latter is almost completely… Read more »
It’s hard to top the master of suspense, especially on his home field that covers a variety of genre movies, including thriller, horror and mystery. The mastery of Hitchcock lies in his simplicity to visually combine scenes into a very suspenseful storyline, almost all his films are one never-ending breathless emotion. It’s a combination of story and experience that bring… Read more »
Ensemble films can either unify or be a complete mess, like many other things. Whether they are parallel stories in a shared world, or a group of great actors occupying the same time and space, they must flow together to make a lasting film. On this list, there are films where actors don’t ever cross one another’s paths, or where… Read more »
Since the writing of the Bible, it has been found the first iconographics reports of the battles between good and evil. God vs. the Devil; such a clash goes on in countless cultures around the world. Years earlier, Plato’s dialogues presented the idea of an absolute moral good, shortly before the creation and establishment of monotheism. In cinema, from its… Read more »
