Category: Articles
Dilip Kumar: The Chekhovian amateur who redefined acting
Anton Chekhov revolutionised modern playwriting and short stories. And he is one my favorite writers. Thus, I remember being confused when I first read that Hemingway had said the following about him: “Chekhov wrote about 6 good stories. But he was an amateur writer”. I have never quite been able to understand why Hemingway called…
Thank You, Mr. Welles: Definitive actor, consummate director, and true auteur
Orson Welles is considered by many to be the greatest film maker in history. I do not necessarily agree with that, although I do consider him to be one of the greatest actors of all time. His voice alone is worth a career, let alone his charismatic presence in a film. As a very young…
Only in the 80s: Five great family films that adults can actually watch
In the 90s, film genres seemed to begin fragmenting into niche areas. Independent filmmaking came into commercial prominence with directors like Quentin Tarantino and the Coen brothers turning pulp stories into pop-art. In the blockbuster world, dramas became more challenging, comedies became sillier and the gap between adult’s and kid’s cinema seemed to expand radically.…
Dracula lives: On the joy of location screenings
The team at Belfast Film Festival have devised a programme of site specific location screenings called ‘The Haunted Screen’ as part of the UK wide BFI Gothic film celebrations. Over the course of November and December a series of unique film screenings are being held at carefully selected locations all over Northern Ireland. The films…
Only in the 80s: Five great genre comedies to come out of the decade of fun
The line between comedy and drama was very fine in 1980s cinema. Iconic 1980s chick-flick comedies like Desperately Seeking Susan and Pretty in Pink are perfect examples – both their stories take quite serious turns and we often forget that we’re even watching a comedy. On the other end of the scale, films like The…