Editor’s Note: In 2017, a popular meme on Facebook asked respondents to list their favorite films for each year of their lives. While I didn’t make a list at that… Continue reading "Favorite Film Series: A Man for All Seasons (Zinnemann, 1966)"
No song is shot completely in one take, but whenever the camera can move instead of cut, it does
High Noon does not explain itself nor its hero. One suspects that what Tony Soprano really identified with in Will Kane was his reticence. In today's political landscape, Kane's insistence on taking up his gun even after he had officially resigned his position might well be questioned. Neither his wife's arguments for pacifism nor the town's pleas for pragmatism are clearly and effectively rebutted. Kane represents an emotional rather than intellectual (or political) argument. The way things are is stipulated, not explained. A man has to do what a man has to do. What that thing is that he must do can only be understood, not explained.
From Here to Eternity is a bit of a soap-opera, but at its center is a character who has to stand firm in the face of immense social pressure--pressure that escalates to physical torture and threatens not only his peace of mind, but his life.
