401. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
For my final podcast, I look at how Steven Spielberg effectively remade his first feature, Firelight to deliver a message of hope.
Tag Archives: Sci-Fi
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.
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.
301. Alien
We are told we watch horror films because they offer a vicariously thrilling, and thus safe experience. I don’t believe that. I believe horror films are instructive.
296. Un Chien Andalou
This film lasts seventeen minutes, features mutilation, insects and dismemberment. Yet it is one of the most influential ever made.
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.
259. 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.
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.
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.
221. Children of Men
Science-fiction sometimes predicts the future. Released a decade ago, Alfonso Cuarón’s Children of Men grows more prophetic as the years go by.
217. Great Scenes – Part Three
What makes for a great scene? Performance? Conflict? Dialogue? Visuals? Music? Combine them and you have atomic weight.
193. Aliens
James Cameron took a risk in tackling a sequel to Ridley Scott’s Alien. But his follow-up added other elements to the sci-fi/horror: action, adventure and all out war.
187. The Revenant
Originally pitched as a simple story of revenge, under Alejandro Inarritu’s direction The Revenant became a journey of spiritual release.
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?
158. The Big Sleep
How can Howard Hawks’ adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s labyrinthine detective novel be heralded as a classic when it is impossible to follow?
123. The Terminator
Because The Terminator is not about a cyborg but a resilient woman, James Cameron’s landmark film presented him as a unique feminist.
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.
Spielberg’s Techniques
This video-essay examines Steven Spielberg’s career, from his days in television up until War Horse, and shows how he uses the disciplines of cinema to secure specific emotional responses.
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.
Inception
This video-essay on Christopher Nolan’s Inception examines the themes of time and memory which serve as twin anchors to the film’s plot. These elements are also central to surrealism and the way it depicts dreams.
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.
45. Spielberg & Friends
Steven Spielberg is one of Hollywood’s most influential filmmakers ever, so what accounts for his phenomenal success?
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?
