399. The Irishman
The gangster genre is dominated by men, but in Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman the most important position is held by a woman who utters barely a dozen words.
Tag Archives: Western
385. Unforgiven
Originally titled Whore’s Gold, Clint Eastwood’s Oscar-winning western exposes the psychosis, bigotry and misogyny at the heart of the genre’s mythology.
379. Midnight Cowboy
This 60s’ American classic mixes avant-garde with mythology to examine male identity, intimacy, sexuality and trauma.
364. Das Boot
How did Wolfgang Petersen manage to get audiences to care about a bunch of Nazi sailors trying to destroy the British fleet in the North Atlantic?
357. The Shining
In adapting Stephen King’s best-seller, Stanley Kubrick drew on a genre other than horror and used a new motif that he would repeat for the rest of his career.
337. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
This western gives fresh examinations of celebrity and post-traumatic stress disorder.
313. McCabe & Mrs. Miller
Critics have long called Robert Altman’s 1971 picture a revisionist western. Truth is, the western has always been revising itself.
308. Wadjda
Precious few films celebrate the joys of riding a bike. Haifaa Al Mansour’s Wadjda is more than just a celebration; it is a dissection of an entire culture.
307. Easy Rider
Upon its release, it seemed that Easy Rider typified the spirit of the nineteen-sixties. But it really should be viewed as the first film of the seventies.
282. The Leopard
All countries have troubled histories they would rather forget. The Leopard is a masterpiece that admits to those troubles as well as the failure to fix them.
255. Cabaret
Before it was adapted into a film, Cabaret was a memoir, a short story, a play and a Broadway musical. Released in 1972, it now serves as a history lesson.
236. Great Shots – Part Two
What makes for a great shot? Beauty? The lens? Lighting? Combine them and you have more than just an image.
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.
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.
218. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
An unknown author, a director not known for action, and only one actor fluent in the language. How did this film succeed?
215. Great Scenes – Part One
What makes for a great scene? Performance? Conflict? Dialogue? Visuals? Music? Combine them and you have atomic weight.
208. The French Connection
William Friedkin’s Oscar-winner may be a gritty thriller but it owes an enormous debt to a classic of 19th century American literature.
206. Blazing Saddles
We like to think of ourselves as modern and sophisticated, but is the humour of Blazing Saddles too outrageous for anyone in Hollywood to make it today?
189. Genocide in Cinema
Blighted with massacres since Biblical times, the word genocide was not coined until 1944. How has cinema faired in depicting it?
187. The Revenant
Originally pitched as a simple story of revenge, under Alejandro Inarritu’s direction The Revenant became a journey of spiritual release.
170. My Darling Clementine
John Ford made so many great westerns, he is synonymous with the genre. But that doesn’t mean he always got everything right.
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?
144. 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.
141. 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.
