6. FILM NOIR
FILM NOIR: NOT WHAT IT SEEMS “ You may think you know what you’re dealing with – but believe me, you don’t.” …
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5. HORROR
HORROR: THE UNBELIEVABLE AND THE SEMI-REAL “The strength of the vampire is that people will not believe in him.”– Dracula, 1931 What defines horror? What connects such different films as Frankenstein (Whale, 1931), Psycho (Hitchcock,…
4. THE SAMURAI BUNCH
THE SAMURAI BUNCH : THE SEVEN SAMURAI (1954), THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (1960) , AND THE WILD BUNCH (1969) Akira Kurosawa’s The Seven Samurai (1954) tells the story of seven ronin (samurai without masters) who are hired…
3. THE HOLLOW MEN
THE HOLLOW MEN: WESTERN HEROES “Conquerors, like cannonballs, must go on.” – Wellington on Napoleon The Western movie embodies basic mythic themes of American culture that pre-date filmmaking. Before the invention of the motion camera, dime…
2. GOING DOWNHILL
GOING DOWNHILL: FROM THE BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN (1925) TO THE UNTOUCHABLES (1987) Soviet director Sergei Eisenstein’s film, The Battleship Potemkin, debuted in 1925 but even today it has a kinetic, dynamic and modern feel to its montage…
1. WHERE THE MONEY IS
[ This is the first of six essays on film I wrote in 2000 ] Where the Money Is: Crime, Violence, and Hollywood; From The Great Train Robbery To the Present Career bank robber Willie Sutton…