387. The Third Man
The Palme d’Or winner in 1949, Carol Reed’s masterpiece drew on covert sources and unexpected styles and techniques to deliver a melancholic mystery.
Tag Archives: F.W. Murnau
380. Ugetsu Monogatari
Kenji Mizoguchi’s masterpiece owes a great debt of gratitude to Kazuo Miyagawa’s luminous, shimmering cinematography.
376. The Passion of Joan of Arc
In Carl Theodor Dreyer’s silent masterpiece, the story isn’t so much told through the Saint’s eyes as it is read on her face.
354. Let The Right One In
The vampire genre is ripe with themes; sexuality, feminism, xenophobia, disease, yet Let The Right One In broke new ground.
350. The Lives of Others
An exposé of life in East Germany under the Stasi, The Lives of Others still frustrated survivors of the totalitarian regime.
347. Full Metal Jacket
Many great auteurs use similar styles to explore similar themes as lesser filmmakers. The only real difference is that great auteurs are more consistent and precise.
328. Nosferatu
Long before it was revered as a masterpiece, F.W. Murnau’s radical reimagining of Bram Stoker’s classic vampire novel had to be saved from the furnaces.
310. Pandora’s Box
There has never been a more iconic and influential hairstyle in all of cinema than ‘the black helmet’ sported by Louise Brooks in Pandora’s Box.
292. La Ronde
Released in 1950, Max Ophuls’ adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler’s scandalous play is a landmark exhibition of theme and style operating in perfect harmony.
276. Le Mépris
When it comes to making movies about making movies, many directors choose to venerate the medium. Not Jean-Luc Godard. He treats it with contempt.
238. Great Shots – Part Three
What makes for a great shot? Beauty? The lens? Lighting? Combine them and you have more than just an image.
237. Tokyo Story
On the surface Yasujiro Ozu’s examination of family life in post-war Japan may sound simple, but what he delivered is one of cinema’s supreme achievements.
223. Pan’s Labyrinth
Guillermo del Toro says he is “in love with monsters.” In Pan’s Labyrinth, set in the Spanish Civil War, he uses them to navigate history and the world.
Alien
This video-essay on Ridley Scott’s Alien examines the origins of horror and science-fiction and uses them to illustrate the disparate themes, ideas and influences that came to bear on the film’s creation.
