1More Film Blog

June 28, 2009

A Man Escaped (Bresson, 1956)

In Notes on the Cinematographer, Bresson appears particularly anxious to remind himself (and us) that film is its own media and does not have as its purpose the reproduction of a theatrical experience or technique: "The truth of cinematography cannot be the truth of theatre, nor the truth of the novel, nor the truth of painting. (What the cinematographer captures with his or her own resources cannot be what the theatre, the novel, the painting capture with theirs)" (20).

Essays, Interviews, Reviews

June 23, 2009

Charlie Chaplin: A King in New York

The nature of a celebrity interview is that it can be hit or miss. Surely it is interesting to hear Chaplin opine in 1957 that this new kid, Marlon Brando, has "something." But that doesn't relate much to the film.

2007 Top 10, Elsewhere, Film Festivals, Top 10s and Other Lists

June 20, 2009

Persepolis (Paronnaud, 2007)

A lot of films can break your heart--a precious few can enlarge and renovate it.

Interviews, Reviews

June 6, 2009

Land of the Pharoahs (Hawks, 1955)

Struggle he unquestionably did. He reports both in the audio commentary and in his 1956 interview with Cahiers du Cinema (reprinted in the Andrew Sarris edited anthology Interviews with Film Directors) that he and friend William Faulkner struggled with the story because they had no idea how a pharaoh talked or acted.

Interviews, Reviews

June 3, 2009

The Tragedy of Hamlet (Brook, 2002)

Peter Brook has forgotten more about Shakespeare than I'll ever know, and Adrian Lester is an underrated and underappreciated actor.

Elsewhere, Reviews

May 31, 2009

Bride & Prejudice (Chadha, 2004)

Where to start? Well, I finally understand those singing puppets in the Fandango commercials.

Essays, Reviews

May 29, 2009

Up (Docter, 2009)

As such, there has always been something troubling to me about the increasing insistence of Disney and Pixar films that the villains not only be wrong, but incorrigibly evil--not merely defeated but destroyed.

Elsewhere, Laura on the Oscar Winners, Reviews, Top 10s and Other Lists

May 27, 2009

The Broadway Melody (1929 Best Picture Winner)

In a nutshell, a must see for cinophiles. Others might consider taking a pass.

Essays, Interviews

May 26, 2009

Nicholas Ray

"You're tearing me apart!" The line--the plaintive cry--is synonymous with Rebel Without A Cause and hence with Nicholas Ray.

Essays, Interviews, Reviews

May 24, 2009

Ingmar Bergman: (Smiles of a Summer Night, 1955)

My relationship with the films of Ingmar Bergman has been analogous to that with a popular elder at a new church: I respect the title and all, but I usually find myself squinting when people tell me he's more than just deathly serious.