The Dark Side of the Screen
Although it can be traced to German Expressionism and French Poetic-Realism, Film Noir is quintessentially an American idiom. Not a genre but a mood, it centres on fatalistic dread.
Tag Archives: William Wyler
365. Saving Private Ryan
Released to ecstatic reviews in 1998, Steven Spielberg’s film soon suffered a backlash. Twenty-one years on it has finally come of age.
306. Bicycle Thieves
Many films enjoy exaggerated reputations, but it is almost impossible to underestimate the beauty, truth and importance of Vittorio De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves.
270. Bonnie and Clyde
When great art heralds great change, it often experiences a difficult birth. Bonnie and Clyde is a seminal moment in American film that almost never happened.
268. Dunkirk
All boring films are alike; every great film is great in its own way. Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk belongs not just to the latter but amongst the greatest ever made.
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?
232. The Age of Innocence
Best known for his crime dramas, Martin Scorsese’s adaptation of Edith Wharton’s romantic novel is one of his most incisive works.
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.
200. Apocalypse Now
Francis Ford Coppola’s radical adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s novella is one of the most astonishing achievements in the entire history of cinema.
192. Wuthering Heights
Emily Brontë’s novel has been filmed over 25 times. Is there a line between radical interpretation and reckless desecration?
The Application of Colour in Production Design
This extended video-essay examines the application of colour in production design from A Voyage to the Moon and Ben-Hur through to Avatar and Gravity.
82. Roman Holiday
How do you cast a movie star in a story about a Princess who does not want to be a Princess? You cast an unknown. Ladies and Gentlemen, Audrey Hepburn.
