Category: Articles
The Big Bang: Cinema and The Bomb
Ever since the first use of atomic weapons on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, the idea of the effects of a nuclear war and its post-apocalyptic aftermath has been the subject of numerous film treatments. From giants ants, mutated by radiation fallout in the deserts of the American south-west in Them!…
13 Great Movie Androids, Cyborgs and Robots
Everyone loves lists and movies. I love mechanical life forms too. So I’ve rolled all three into one with a little engineering spin. This list is by no means comprehensive – it’s simply thirteen of my favourite androids, cyborgs and robots. 13. Blinky – BlinkyTM (2011) BlinkyTM is a short film about a boy,…
Group Offences: Braveheart and the future of prejudiced pictures
The worst thing I ever heard at the movies was laughter. This oft-merry sound reached me, to my dismay, at a Manhattan showing of Mel Gibson’s historical epic Braveheart (1995) nearly 20 years ago. I was watching it in the theatre, surrounded by other New Yorkers, when a scene came up in which King Edward…
Young Talent: Recognising the great child actors
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded twelve special “Juvenile Oscars” between 1934 and 1960. The recipients included some of the biggest names in Hollywood, such as Shirley Temple, Judy Garland, and Mickey Rooney. In more recent years, it has become almost commonplace for actors in their teens or even younger to receive…
American Memories: The Great Depression and Cinema
I love My Man Godfrey (1936). How could you not? It has William Powell at his most suave, Carole Lombard at her most adorable. It’s got Eugene Pallette, for crying out loud. But I wouldn’t hold it up as an incisive and accurate depiction of America in the 1930s. Though it actually is one of…