Author: Simon Hardy Butler
Subjectivity and Objectivity in Film: Kagemusha, Booze and the Boundaries of Cinema
There’s a great scene in the Kurosawa movie Kagemusha (1980) where two of the three unifiers of Japan, Oda Nobunaga and Ieyasu Tokugawa, meet to discuss business. Nobunaga, who has been Westernised all the way down to his armour, offers Tokugawa a glass of European wine. His comrade takes it and has a sip ……
Debating the Auteur Theory: An Argument For
The first of a two-part debate between CURNBLOG’s Simon Butler and Jonathan Eig on the legitimacy of the Auteur Theory. See Part Two here. My esteemed colleague Jonathan Eig and I have a little debate going on: Is the auteur theory, which finds that the director is the creative visionary behind the film, truth or hogwash?…
Separate Tables: On Differentiating Between Talent and Celebrity
I learned about the meaning of celebrity at an early age. Eons ago, after a grade-school student concert in which I sang, I was sitting alone in the cafeteria when an unassuming, blond-haired woman nearby began to speak to me. “You have a beautiful voice,” said Mia Farrow. I’m not sure if I blushed, but…
Edge of Tomorrow: Resorting to Repetition
Let’s retire the genre of movies that repeat scenes or plotlines over and over again with slight variations. That’s right, Edge of Tomorrow (2014). You don’t get props from me. I blame Rashomon (1950) for this. It’s never been my favourite Kurosawa film – despite its vaunted status – owing to its repetition. And I…
Black-and-White Movies: Meditating on Monochrome
In the days before DVDs, when my sister and I were kids, our parents would often stage movie nights, a post-homework foray during which we’d all watch a film of their choice on VHS in their bedroom. On one such occasion – and much to our dismay – they picked North by Northwest (1959), leading…