Great Openings – Part Two
What makes for a great opening? Character? Conflict? Poetry? Hopefully, more than something we’re supposed to just look at.
Tag Archives: Martin Scorsese
Badlands
Terrence Malick’s first feature is not just one of the greatest debuts in the history of American cinema, Badlands also succeeded in redirecting screen violence.
THX-1138
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, George Lucas was an avant-garde filmmaker whose sole interest was in making highly experimental short films.
Slow-Motion
Once considered avant-garde, slow-motion is now the mainstay of every action film. Here are some of the best and most innovative uses of the technique.
Dreams
If the dream sequence is a crutch for many dull thrillers, horrors and mysteries, what makes a good one? One that challenges and stretches cinematic language.
Great Sounds – Part Two
The world is so noisy, we unconsciously filter out all that we don’t want to hear. Much of film sound operates in the same way.
The Age of Innocence
Best known for his crime dramas, Martin Scorsese’s adaptation of Edith Wharton’s romantic novel, The Age of Innocence is one of his most incisive works.
Persona
In a career that spanned over sixty years, forty films and a dozen masterpieces, Persona is the most unusual film in Ingmar Bergman’s canon.
Great Shots – Part One
What makes for a great shot? Beauty? The lens? Lighting? Combine them and you have something that amounts to more than just an image.
The Conformist
Few films are as layered as The Conformist. But whether you see it as an exercise in style, character study, or philosophical thesis, it’s a flat out masterpiece.
Citizen Kane
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?
City of God
Adapted from Paolo Lin’s non-fiction novel, director Fernando Meirelles cast non-actors to capture life, death and everything in-between in Rio’s favelas.
Great Scenes – Part Three
What makes for a great scene? Performance? Conflict? Dialogue? Visuals? Music? Combine them and you have atomic weight.
American … What?
Beauty, Gangster, Hustle, Psycho, Sniper. With so many films using “American” in their title, is the appellation not in danger of losing its significance?
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Thirty-five years old, Spielberg’s classic was inspired by more than just the Saturday matinee serials he watched as a child.
The Most Influential Films Ever Made – Part Two
The films that really changed the course of cinema are often ones few people have seen.
Blue Velvet
David Lynch’s shocking and mesmerising look at suburbia’s underbelly also showed he could turn popular music into a nightmare.
GoodFellas
GoodFellas is more than just a breathless tale of middle-management in the Mafia. It’s one of Martin Scorsese’s many films in which he seeks enlightenment.
The Concert Film
With content pretty much always the same, what elevates one concert movie above others is not just the quality of the music, it is also the film’s form.
The Searchers
The Searchers is both a cinematic monument and an extremely unsettling depiction of the racism that lies at the heart of America’s own mythology.
Scorsese/Welles
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.
Once Upon a Time in the West
Sergio Leone’s masterpiece doesn’t only reference American westerns. He also drew inspiration from an English film.
Fifty Shades of Hate
This video-essay addresses the abuse inflicted by men against women in cinema. The films are critically acclaimed, Oscar winners and box-office hits. WARNING: It features scenes of extreme graphic violence.
Moving Pictures: From Hollywood to Silicon Valley
This extended video-essay examines the innovations at the heart of cinema, focusing on how cinema is coping with the move from Hollywood to Silicon Valley.
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Steven Benedict (StevenBenedict2)
Multi-award winning filmmaker. Podcaster, broadcaster, author and lecturer. I'm downloading the universe one app at a time.
Dublin, Ireland
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