Costa-Garvas opens his polarizing political masterpiece with an arresting statement that sets the tone for the rest of the film: “any resemblance to real events, to persons living or dead, is not accidental. It is DELIBERATE.” Right from the outset, you find yourself hooked and drawn into one of the most thrilling explorations of politicalContinue reading “Exposing the Ugly Truth in “Z””
Category Archives: Film History
The 10 Best Films of 2019
What a year for cinema! There was pretty much something for everyone. Robert Eggers, Ari Aster and Jordan Peele all made successful returns to the horror genre. Hollywood heavyweights, Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, and Sam Mendes reminded us why we hold them with such high regard. There were also plenty of independent as well asContinue reading “The 10 Best Films of 2019”
Disturbance in Luis Buñuel’s “Land Without Bread”
In Luis Buñuel’s grotesque, “Land Without Bread”, we are introduced to a small town struck by extreme poverty and disease. The camera does not shy away from exposing viewers to some of the most disturbing imagery you can think of. We see plenty of rotten animals, a dead baby, the mourning mother, and sick childrenContinue reading “Disturbance in Luis Buñuel’s “Land Without Bread””
Film Analysis: “Godzilla”
“The arrogance of man is thinking nature is in their control and not the other way around.” Dr. Ichiro Serizawa Besides stomping all over the arrogance of man, the king of all monsters also managed to crush box office competition with a towering worldwide gross of over $200 million in less than five days.Continue reading “Film Analysis: “Godzilla””
Film History: The Physicality of “Silent Running”
The other day I was discussing the physicality of objects with a fellow Far-Flung Correspondent), Grace Wang. We were mourning the death of physical objects. Like me, she shares this preference of actual physical books over e-books, letters over emails, photo albums on a shelf over digitalized photo albums on Facebook. There is something uniqueContinue reading “Film History: The Physicality of “Silent Running””
Film History: The Motion Picture Patent Wars
The Motion Picture Patents Company was the result of the patent wars that started when W.K.L. Dickson started his own company, the Biograph. Prior to that moment Edison and his company had nothing to worry about, for they were successful at dominating the motion picture field. When the Lumiere brothers came to the U.S.Continue reading “Film History: The Motion Picture Patent Wars”
Film History: The Story of “Hollywood”
At first the iconic sign read “Hollywoodland” after that “land” was removed and it has been known as “Hollywood” ever since. When one hears the word’ Hollywood’, the first thing that pops in mind is movies. There’s a reason why Los Angeles became the center of motion pictures. It all started with a few independentContinue reading “Film History: The Story of “Hollywood””
Film History: From Vaudeville Houses to Deluxe Theaters
Vaudeville houses existed long before nickelodeons and movie theaters. The main idea behind a vaudeville house was to display live acts, each lasting between five to ten minutes to an audience. While the upper class wouldn’t venture into these houses, by the late 1800’s they were the dominant form of mass entertainment. TheContinue reading “Film History: From Vaudeville Houses to Deluxe Theaters”
The Roots and History of the Horror Film
Each genre has a specific effect on the viewer. When it comes to the horror genre, that effect is fear. The horror genre has a very unique history, for unlike genres like the film noir or the gangster genre, the horror genre originated in Germany with the expressionistic movement. World War I affected numerous lives. The decade following the war was crucial for the horror film genre. It was in the 1920’s that saw German Expressionism develop into full form. Prior to that period (during World War I), all studios were controlled by the German government in order t produce propaganda films. Foreign movies were banned till 1916 but this ended in 1921 and German cinema benefited a lot from the situation. The reason for that being is, after the First World War UFA (Germany’s major studio at the time) was fully capitalized and hired the most talented German filmmakers to put cinema back on its feet. From that moment on, the horror genre was changed forever.
The Cinephile Fix 