Tag: movies
Guerra Civil: The Spanish Civil War on Film
From 1936 until 1939, Spain was torn apart by a bitter civil war. This almost forgotten conflict was the precursor to the world war that soon followed, and was one of the bitterest, and cruellest civil wars in modern times. You would need to read a book, and there are many to choose from, for…
Sunset Cinema: 30 superb directorial feature film finales
One of the best things about writing a blog is that it gives my family an excuse to talk to me. And so, when I recently put up a piece about great directorial debuts, I heard from a lot of them. Usually they were telling me, in the politest possible terms, how many titles I…
Religion in the movies: The Kendrick case study
God is making a comeback in movies, and this time, it’s personal. After several years free of biblical cinema, 2014 may well be remembered as the year that Hollywood found religion again. First up is Son of God, produced by Touched by an Angel’s Roma Downey and her husband, Survivor mogul Mark Burnett (perhaps the…
The action movie dilemma: My last stand against 300
Every great film is an action movie. That goes for Ivan the Terrible, Parts I and II (1944 and 1958), The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) and My Dinner With Andre (1981). It doesn’t go for 300 (2006), its sequel, 300: Rise of an Empire (2014) or any other picture of their ilk –…
Documenting the human being: Film characters in 2013
Quick quiz: Who were the most indelible film characters from 2013? Don’t think about it too long. That’s the whole idea behind being indelible. The character stays with you long after the closing credits have rolled. 2013 was a good year for film, and there were lots of good characters. In order to save time,…