Author: Pete Johnson
Seven Classic Historical Epics You Haven’t Seen
Ever since I can remember, I have always been a fan of historical and costume dramas. They often featured battles, sagas that spanned decades, and brought history to life from the pages of books that I had read. At one time, they were the staple diet of my weekly cinema excursions, when almost every film…
Subtitled War Films: International Examinations of Conflict
Ever since I was young, I have enjoyed war films. Whether they were about medieval battles, colonial expansion, or one of the world wars, I found them exciting, inspiring, and enthralling. As I got a little older, I began to look past the glory and the heroism portrayed, and tried to find something deeper in…
The Hard Men: British Bad Guys
British actors have long been sought after by American filmmakers. They like to cast them as villains, or as upperclass, witless saps. They are often used as Nazis, and have provided the James Bond franchise with some of its more memorable arch-enemies. Maybe it’s the accent, perhaps it’s the old animosity from the 1770s, but…
Little People with Large Talent: Cinema’s Under-Appreciated Performers
Little people, sometimes known as dwarfs and once derogatively referred to as ‘midgets’, did not always get a fair deal from the cinema industry. Generally portrayed as figures of fun, or cast as clowns, and sometimes relegated to sitting inside small machines to play robots, or strange alien creatures, their lot was not a happy…
Lest We Forget: The Great War and Cinema
This August sees the centenary of the First World War. This tragic conflict destroyed nations, took millions of lives, and changed the map of the world. Many films have been made about this war, and this seems a suitable time to examine some of them. I normally seek out lesser-known films for my posts; but…