391. WALL•E
Twenty-one feature films, $14b at the worldwide box-office and 15 Oscars. If you ever wondered about the secret of Pixar’s success, read their mission statement.
Tag Archives: Blade Runner
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.
361. Ex Machina
What if science-fiction were not a literary genre but a political and ideological theory. If so, Alex Garland uses Ex Machina to show us how he sees the world.
349. The Matrix
Science-Fiction operates in many ways; fantasy, allegory, romance, satire and speculative. Another is prophecy. Twenty years on The Matrix seems eerily prescient.
296. Un Chien Andalou
This film lasts seventeen minutes, features mutilation, insects and dismemberment. Yet it is one of the most influential ever made.
280. Metropolis
The influence of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis extends far beyond sci-fi and can be seen in films are varied as Casablanca, An American in Paris and The Birds.
277. Blade Runner
Are classics always instantly recognized? If ever there were proof that critics cannot assess a film’s merits on a single viewing, it is Ridley Scott’s masterpiece.
266. Thelma & Louise
The Oscar-winning Thelma & Louise was released in 1991 to a storm of controversy. Did it warrant it then and does it hold up to scrutiny now?
247. The Killers (1946)
Ernest Hemingway hated what Hollywood did with his novels. The only film of his work he liked was this classic adaptation of his celebrated short story.
240. The Maltese Falcon
John Huston’s film of Dashiell Hammett’s classic novel was the third adaptation. How did he succeed where others had failed?
230. Chinatown
Roman Polanski’s masterpiece is often called film noir. But lacking a dark look and a femme fatale, it’s not. It’s a very rare Hollywood breed; a true tragedy.
228. The Magnificent Ambersons
Orson Welles is celebrated for Citizen Kane but it was this adaptation of Booth Tarkington’s novel that defined his career.
226. Nashville
Robert Altman’s best films capture cultures in transition. Nashville marked the moment politics and celebrity intermingled to create space for Donald Trump.
173. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
How do you make a film about a character who can neither move nor speak, but can only blink his left eye?
171. Three Days of the Condor
Adapting James Grady’s straight forward thriller, Sydney Pollack delivered a commentary on dehumanising institutions.
153. Memento
Christopher Nolan’s time-warping mind-bending classic left many audiences very confused. But the director left more than enough clues to make sense of it.
151. Drive
Nicolas Winding Refn’s film focuses on Ryan Gosling’s nameless getaway driver. But its best scene involves a vehicle of an entirely different kind.
The Application of Colour in Production Design
This extended video-essay examines the application of colour in production design from A Voyage to the Moon and Ben-Hur through to Avatar and Gravity.
116. Fight Club
When it was released, Fight Club was rubbished by critics and rejected by audiences. Now it’s regarded as a masterpiece. So what changed people’s minds?
99. Christopher Nolan’s Mementos
He may make blockbusters, but Christopher Nolan’s tastes lean more to art house cinema. So what are his films really about?
56. Surrealism in Cinema
Originally, surrealism set out to shock. But it has become such a normal element in cinema, has it lost its original power?
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.
50. LA Confidential
LA Confidential is adapted from James Ellroy’s highly regarded crime novel that spans seven scandalous years in the life of Los Angeles.
37. Robocop
Robocop is now a quarter of a century old. With a remake soon to be released, we ask is Paul Verhoeven’s original beginning to rust?
