Tag: cinema
Musical Snares: ‘Cavalleria,’ ‘Raging Bull,’ ‘The Godfather: Part III’ and Art’s Integrity
If a great piece of existing music is used to accentuate a brilliant sequence in one film and then, much later, employed as the background for another superb scene, is the music’s impact—as well as its context—diluted? This question has troubled me for a long time, as it concerns the nature and purpose of art…
18 thoughts on the 2018 Academy Awards
Another Oscars has come and gone and, well, given the explosive events of 2017, it was fairly benign. No big upsets. No big controversies. A few nice moments and a few groaning embarrassments, but overall, pretty tame. But here are about a thousand thoughts about it anyway. Right off the bat, they missed the best…
The Surviving Stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age
The oldest actress to appear in a feature film unfortunately passed away in 1997 at the age of 122. Coincidentally, she is also the oldest person ever on record. Jeanne Calment, at the young age of 114, made a guest appearance in the 1990 film Vincent and Me; technically making her an actress. Whilst many more well-established Hollywood Golden Age…
Fourteen Amazing Films You Might Have Missed in 2017
2017 was a pretty good year for American film. Sure, there were plenty of head scratchers, disappointments, and outright train wrecks, but that’s for another column. (Which will be called “Head Scratchers, Disappointments & Outright Train Wrecks” – it’s all about the ampersand.) Today, we celebrate the minor gems. “Minor” only in the sense that…
Cat People Turns 75 – Celebrating the Legacy of Val Lewton
Last year filmmakers, film historians, film critics and hardcore cinephiles across the world celebrated the 75th Diamond Anniversary of the film the American Film Institute calls the “greatest motion picture ever made”: Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane (1941). Lead actor, director, co-writer and co-producer Welles brought the film to life when he was only in his…