The Godfather Trilogy
Adapting Mario Puzo’s best-selling novel, Francis Ford Coppola drew up several themes lying dormant within its pages and augmented them in a uniquely cinematic fashion to create a masterful saga.
Tag Archives: Barry Lyndon
380. Ugetsu Monogatari
Kenji Mizoguchi’s masterpiece owes a great debt of gratitude to Kazuo Miyagawa’s luminous, shimmering cinematography.
Kubrick – Before and After
This video essay examines the films that influenced Stanley Kubrick (silent cinema, European arthouse, avant-garde etc.,) as well as the many films his work has since influenced.
357. The Shining
In adapting Stephen King’s best-seller, Stanley Kubrick drew on a genre other than horror and used a new motif that he would repeat for the rest of his career.
343. Gladiator
Going into production, Gladiator had nothing near a finished script yet one simple change to the start of the story turned it into the greatest opera ever filmed.
319. 2001: A Space Odyssey
For all its groundbreaking effects and narrative innovation, this owes a debt to a romantic fantasy and a Soviet propaganda film.
315. Letter from an Unknown Woman
Max Ophuls’ adaptation of Stefan Zweig’s novella is more than a romance; it explores memory, delusion and the meaning of art.
275. Deliverance
When we think of American cinema in the seventies, all too often we all too quickly think of the great directors. But what of the cinematograph-auteurs?
271. Great Openings – Part Four
What makes for a great opening? Character? Conflict? Poetry? Hopefully, more than something we’re supposed to just listen to.
252. Freeze-Frame
Once considered avant-garde, freeze-frame is now common place in every genre. Here are some of landmark and innovative uses of the technique.
232. The Age of Innocence
Best known for his crime dramas, Martin Scorsese’s adaptation of Edith Wharton’s romantic novel is one of his most incisive works.
211. Dangerous Liaisons
Chodleros De Laclos’ novel has inspired plays, operas and ballets. But none match the debauched panache of Stephen Frears’ film.
204. The Most Influential Films Ever Made – Part Two
The films that really changed the course of cinema are often ones few people have seen.
201. The Most Influential Films Ever Made – Part One
The films that really changed the course of cinema are often the ones few people have seen.
161. Dr. Strangelove
Until 1964, Stanley Kubrick had suffered years of set-backs, disappointments and frustration. But he made his reputation with this satire on nuclear war.
122. Under The Skin
It took Jonathan Glazer over ten years to bring Under the Skin to the screen, but with that long gestation he might just have delivered the film of the decade.
84. Days of Heaven
Regarded as a poet of cinema, Terrence Malick’s films have rarely connected with audiences. Has he been ahead of his time or is he now running out of it?
51. The Last of the Mohicans
James Fenimore Cooper’s novel has been adapted to the cinema screen nine times. How does Michael Mann’s version fare?
Blade Runner
This video-essay on Blade Runner examines how Ridley Scott visualizes the film’s numerous and seemingly disparate themes of urbanity, ecology, identity and mortality.
