159. 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.
Tag Archives: Editing
157. Jaws
For all the fun stories and anecdotes about how the shark didn’t work, none of them help explain how Steven Spielberg managed to deliver a masterpiece.
153. Memento
Christopher Nolan’s time-warping mind-bending classic left many audiences very confused. But the director left more than enough clues to make sense of it.
152. Mad Max: Fury Road
Most action films are fuelled by testosterone. But Fury Road has so much estrogen coursing in its engines, let’s call it Mad Maxine.
150. The Bridge on the River Kwai
With this Oscar winning classic, David Lean stopped being an ‘English filmmaker’ and became an ‘international star director’.
143. The Adventures of Robin Hood
The legend has endured for 500 years and Hollywood has filmed it a dozen times. But Errol Flynn is still the only Robin Hood.
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.
139. Repulsion
Repulsion was Roman Polanski’s first film he made after defecting from communist Poland. Its depiction of mental disintegration is also his first masterpiece.
American Trailers
This extended video-essay charts the development and possible future of the America movie trailer. Beginning in 1912, taking in the coming of television and suggesting where it might go in the age of the internet.
134. Foxcatcher
The publicity will tell you that Foxcatcher is about wrestling. But like all great directors, Bennett Miller uses his subject as a metaphor for something else.
133. Birdman
Alejandro Iñárritu’s brilliant new film pretends to be about an actor trying to escape his comic-book alter ego. But really it’s about our need to escape our own egos.
132. Mildred Pierce
Joan Crawford’s portrayal of martyred mother Mildred Pierce is the stuff of legend. It not only won her an Oscar but provided her with a career defining role.
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.
129. Trainspotting
Released in 1996, Trainspotting was accused of promoting drug abuse. But really, it was a much needed shot in the arm for British cinema.
126. Raging Bull
In a career featuring several masterpieces, Raging Bull is considered Martin Scorsese’s greatest achievement. But what did he achieve in making it?
125. Out of Sight
Out of Sight is about second chances and it helped the three main players; Steven Soderbergh, George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez to relaunch their careers.
121. Gone Girl
Adapted from Gillian Flynn’s best-selling thriller, David Fincher’s film keeps its most surprising twist until the final shot. And it’s not what you think.
119. Annie Hall
You can divide Hollywood rom-coms into two eras; before and after Annie Hall. The film also marked the arrival of one of America’s most individual artists.
110. The Shawshank Redemption
A box-office flop in 1994, Frank Darabont’s adaptation of Stephen King’s novella is proof that some films deserve a second chance.
104. The Grifters
Based on Jim Thompson’s grimey story about smalltime criminals, Stephen Frears’ film was robbed when it didn’t win a single Oscar from its four nominations.
101. 12 Years a Slave
He has made only 3 feature films, but with each of them being a masterpieces Steve McQueen is now one of the world’s leading filmmakers.
99. Christopher Nolan’s Mementos
He may make blockbusters, but Christopher Nolan’s tastes lean more to art house cinema. So what are his films really about?
96. The Social Network
Aaron Sorkin’s script is lauded as dazzling. But a script is more than just dialogue, and that’s why Sorkin’s is so great.
The Journeys of Martin Scorsese
This video-essay celebrates the career of Martin Scorsese, showing how he has taken cinema as a means of telling stories and expanded it as a means of personal expression.
