Tag: film
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…
War of the War Horses: Spielberg vs National Theatre Live
Steven Spielberg adaptations tend to take on a life and message all their own. They stray from their sources in surprising (and often effective) ways. For example, if you watched the original Jurassic Park (1993), you would find Hammond transformed from the villain of Michael Crichton’s novel into a sympathetic grandfather. His original fate (an…
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…
20 Great Action Heroes: Defending the indefensible (Part One)
I have a problem: an inescapable attraction to a breed of cinema that would seem to run counter to my self-proclaimed status as a cinephile. The beginnings of this problem are easy enough to trace – liberal parents with a penchant for Friday night TV screenings of American movies loaded with endless depictions of entertaining…
Twist in the tale: Movie plots with a difference
Most films, old or new, follow well-established formulas. Boy gets girl, hero wins against all odds, and we always triumph over the alien invaders. Natural disasters bring out the best in mankind, and those reliable comedians are guaranteed to leave us chuckling. Even the ‘anti-films’ of recent decades; anti-war, anti-homophobia, anti-racism, wear their colours on…