Jesus Christ could be described as the most enduring figure in human historical records, but I suppose that is very Christian-centric of me. What about Siddhārtha Gautama, one may ask? Described as ‘a first-century Jewish preacher and religious leader’ and lampoon-ishly marked as being born ‘c. 4 BC’ (BC meaning Before Christ) on Wikipedia, Jesus … Continue reading Jesus Christ Movie Star: Portrayals of the Messiah on Screen
The cinematic form took on a new and exciting shape for Hollywood in the 1970s. This blog has made reference to it many times. Like the French New Wave, New American film-making borrowed from other times and places too. Home-grown directors took the reins, but sometimes their selected crew were internationally renowned and experienced. Together, … Continue reading Cinematography of the World – Part 3: Terrence Malick’s Vision of an American Heaven
There are so many incredible examples of cinematography from around the world. So much so that it can be very difficult to settle on a particular moment or place in cinema history for an appropriate inclusion to this great series that Robin has devised. But I thought it relevant to go back to when cinematography … Continue reading Cinematography of the World – Part 2: Jack Cardiff in 1940s Britain
This will be an on-going series of posts on cinematography from around the world. Initially, it was intended to be a single post but there are so many aesthetically interesting and innovatively shot films from around the world that it is just too difficult to do that in one go. Just think of some of … Continue reading Cinematography of the World – Part 1: China Post-1990
Over time, the Western films of Hollywood expanded outwards. Many were made in Europe by Italian and Spanish directors (Spaghetti Westerns). Some were adaptations of Japanese Samurai films (The Magnificent Seven). Some were set in Mexico and required drugs to understand (El Topo). Even Communist Eastern Europeans were fond of making their own Westerns that … Continue reading The Western Story – Part 2: Beyond the Frontier
Americans like to think Western movies are about their history, and they therefore cherish them greatly. But the Western was in fact an early construct of dramatic motion pictures. Edwin S. Porter directed a short film in 1903 called The Great Train Robbery. This was a milestone in film making because it established action on … Continue reading The Western Story – Part 1: Into the West
With the promise of control of the X-Men Universe reverting back to Marvel, it is interesting to look back on the roller-coaster of quality and influence that is the X-Men movies. It has been almost 20 years since Bryan Singer made X-Men (2000) and as a result made superhero movies fashionable and profitable again. The … Continue reading Saturday Afternoon Movies, Part 4 – Push (2009 Paul McGuigan)
Tobol (Тобол), The Conquest of Siberia (2019, KinoFilm Corp) Directed by Igor Zaitsev. Featuring Andrey Burkovskiy, Erkebulan Dairov, Evgeniy Dyatlov Aleksandr Lazarev, Dmitriy Dyuzhev, Yekaterina Guseva, Agata Muceniece and Ilya Malanin, . Tobol, also known as The Conquest of Siberia in some British and American releases, is loosely based on historical events, when under Peter … Continue reading The One Review: Tobol, The Conquest of Siberia (2019 Igor Zaitsev)
Background In 1993, Czechoslovakia dissolved into two independent states: Czech Republic (made up of the Bohemia and Moravia regions) and Slovakia. The 20th Century up until that point had been a turbulent time for the former country. After World War I, it gained independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire and grew into a socially and economically … Continue reading The European Masterpieces Part 4: Closely Watched Trains (1966 Jiří Menzel)
The 2019 French Film Festival of Australia is in its 30th year now. It is the largest film festival dedicated to French cinema in the world and is presented by the Alliance Française of Australia. The festival will screen French films across many Luna Palace Cinemas in Perth from mid-March to mid-April, as well as … Continue reading Review Special: The 2019 French Film Festival of Australia – Advanced screening of The Sisters Brothers
