With Asghar Fashidi's recent (and second) triumph at the Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film with The Salesman (which I have yet to watch), I thought it would be a nicety nice idea to check out some of the great movies that have come out from that troubled land - The Middle East (and no, … Continue reading Films from The Middle East: A Short Selection
Jean-Luc Godard began his career in the 1950s with the inspired idea of bringing French cinema into a new era; in the direction of becoming a higher art form. He was born in Switzerland but grew up in Paris where he developed a major interest in the films of his adopted country. The early years … Continue reading Godard et La Nouvelle Vague: A Collision of American and European Cultures
When examining the history of cinema and its road to where it is now, it can sometimes be illuminated by focusing on the huge role that Italy has played in it. Since the astonishingly filmed epic, Cabiria by Giovanni Pastrone from 1914, which Scorsese cites as one of the most important early films of cinema, … Continue reading The European Masterpieces Part 2: L’Avventura, La Notte and L’Eclisse
In an increasingly bewildering modern world, where any means of engagement with it likely leads to further bewilderment and short-term depression (possibly long-term too), the populist fervor for escape could not be greater. Whether that escape may be to sit by a babbling brook and read Fifty Shades of Grey, or to climb to the … Continue reading Escaping This World Through Film
Down under, there has been a growing voice towards the basic request to change the date of Australia/Invasion/Survival Day (which happens every January 26th) so as to not associate it with the arrival of the first fleet of white supremacists to the east coast - the same white supremacists who were intent on pushing out … Continue reading Survival Day: Reflections on Aboriginal Australia in Film
Burden of Dreams (1982 Les Blank) 'If I abandon this project, I would be a man without dreams and I don't want to live like that' - Werner Herzog I did speak at length about Herzog and his films last week but regardless, a list of documentaries concerning the making of films could not conscientiously … Continue reading Dreams and Madness: 6 Great Documentaries about Making Film
Casablanca (1942 Michael Curtiz) is one of the great romances of cinema. Set upon the backdrop of war-torn Europe and a massive exodus of European refugees into North Africa, it is significant to note that many of the leading roles were played by actors who themselves were refugees from fascist Europe. At a pivotal point … Continue reading The War-torn World of Casablanca
If you haven't heard it already, I would heartily recommend the You Must Remember This podcast series on The Blacklist and in particular the episode on Kirk Douglas and Dalton Trumbo. Indeed, if that isn't enough, you could watch the film Trumbo from last year, which is in the same class and context as Good … Continue reading Kirk Douglas at 100: Spartacus (1959 Stanley Kubrick)
Although Douglas had been on the Hollywood scene for a few years in the late 40s, it wasn't until he did Ace in the Hole with Billy Wilder that he solidified his place as an A-Lister. Here, he personifies a character that is equally repulsive as he is watchable. The role of Chuck Tatum, a … Continue reading Kirk Douglas at 100: Ace in the Hole (1951 Billy Wilder)
Here is the first of a few reviews honouring Kirk Douglas's achievement in making the century - a nice homage was given to him by Peter Bradshaw on The Guardian. Of course it is a welcome change to hear of a screen legend from the 40s, 50s and 60s to be still hanging around and … Continue reading Kirk Douglas at 100: Paths of Glory (1957 Stanley Kubrick)
Momentary Cinema 