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?
John Huston’s film of Dashiell Hammett’s classic novel was the third adaptation. How did he succeed where others had failed?
In terms of genre, few films are as influential film as Fritz Lang’s M. Where would The French Connection, LA Confidential and Se7en be without it?
Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon is celebrated for asking what is truth. Which is more than a little ironic, because that’s not what it is really about.
Orson Welles is celebrated for Citizen Kane but it was this adaptation of Booth Tarkington’s novel that defined his career.
Like many other cult classics, the French thriller Diva was almost still born. Rejected by the French critics and public, it only got a second lease of life in the US.
Orson Welles’ debut feature is now a quarter of a century old. Have we been taking its greatness for granted or is it time for reappraisal?
The films that really changed the course of cinema are often ones few people have seen.
Francis Ford Coppola’s radical adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s novella is one of the most astonishing achievements in the entire history of cinema.
Emily Brontë’s novel has been filmed over 25 times. Is there a line between radical interpretation and reckless desecration?
Made in 1944, Gaslight is an Oscar-winning melodrama concerning madness and murder. The film itself is guilty of attempted homicide.
Divorce is traumatic enough we hardly need to laugh at it. But this deliciously dark comedy brought career highs from all involved.
Whether it be theatre, film or TV, all stories need good plots and performances. But what elevated True Detective Season 1 to the status of classic was its structure.
How did New York’s Peter Bogdanovich make a masterpiece set in small town Texas when he had never set foot in the state?
This short video-essay compares and contrasts the ways both Martin Scorsese and Orson Welles present the corrupting forces of wealth and power. Their narratives may be similar but they yield different results.
You can divide Hollywood rom-coms into two eras; before and after Annie Hall. The film also marked the arrival of one of America’s most individual artists.
Belonging to a tradition that dates back to Rebel Without a Cause, Richard Linklater’s early masterpiece also owes some debt of gratitude to Robert Altman.
This video-essay celebrates the career of Martin Scorsese, showing how he has taken cinema as a means of telling stories and expanded it as a means of personal expression.
Oliver Stone’s JFK was lambasted by both the political left and right for its factual inaccuracies. But since very few can agree on the facts, is it a good movie?
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.
Four actresses received Oscar nominations for their performances in All About Eve. Great script, great acting… but a great movie?
Credits used to simply announce the names of those involved. But then someone came up with the idea of making them part of the story itself.
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