231. Rashomon
Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon is celebrated for asking what is truth. Which is more than a little ironic, because that’s not what it is really about.
Tag Archives: cinematography
230. Chinatown
Roman Polanski’s masterpiece is often called film noir. But lacking a dark look and a femme fatale, it’s not. It’s a very rare Hollywood breed; a true tragedy.
229. The Conformist
Few films are as layered as The Conformist. But whether you see it as an exercise in style, character study, or philosophical thesis, it’s a flat out masterpiece.
228. The Magnificent Ambersons
Orson Welles is celebrated for Citizen Kane but it was this adaptation of Booth Tarkington’s novel that defined his career.
225. Diva
Like many other cult classics, the French thriller Diva was almost still born. Rejected by the French critics and public, it only got a second lease of life in the US.
224. Citizen Kane
Orson Welles’ debut feature is now a quarter of a century old. Have we been taking its greatness for granted or is it time for reappraisal?
222. The Night Of
In adapting Peter Moffat’s original BBC series, Criminal Justice how did Steven Zaillian and Richard Price turn it from a legal thriller into a social drama?
221. Children of Men
Science-fiction sometimes predicts the future. Released a decade ago, Alfonso Cuarón’s Children of Men grows more prophetic as the years go by.
220. City of God
Adapted from Paolo Lin’s non-fiction novel, director Fernando Meirelles cast non-actors to capture life, death and everything in-between in Rio’s favelas.
218. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
An unknown author, a director not known for action, and only one actor fluent in the language. How did this film succeed?
214. Revolutionary Road
Like the novel, Revolutionary Road so probed its subject audiences stayed away. Their loss. It is Sam Mendes’ best film.
212. American … What?
Beauty, Gangster, Hustle, Psycho, Sniper. With so many films using “American” in their title, is the appellation losing its significance?
209. Raiders of the Lost Ark
Thirty-five years old, Spielberg’s classic was inspired by more than just the Saturday matinee serials he watched as a child.
208. The French Connection
William Friedkin’s Oscar-winner may be a gritty thriller but it owes an enormous debt to a classic of 19th century American literature.
203. Son of Saul
While cinema has a moral duty to bear witness to history, the problem is that to witness something you have to see it. How can you show the Holocaust?
200. Apocalypse Now
Francis Ford Coppola’s radical adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s novella is one of the most astonishing achievements in the entire history of cinema.
199. Se7en
Mention Se7en and chances are talk will lead to the head in the box. But while that makes the ending so unforgettable, it’s also the film’s biggest problem.
198. Reel Space/Time – Part Two
In his Poetics, Aristotle wrote that drama needs a unity of space, time and action. How does cinema deal with such restrictions?
197. Reel Space/Time – Part One
In his Poetics, Aristotle wrote that drama needs a unity of space, time and action. How does cinema deal with such restrictions?
195. Minority Report
Critics often chide Steven Spielberg for inappropriate optimism and not knowing when to end his films. They should reconsider Minority Report.
194. All The President’s Men
This Oscar winning adaptation of Woodward and Bernstein’s book is one of the great masterpieces of American cinema.
193. Aliens
James Cameron took a risk in tackling a sequel to Ridley Scott’s Alien. But his follow-up added other elements to the sci-fi/horror: action, adventure and all out war.
192. Wuthering Heights
Emily Brontë’s novel has been filmed over 25 times. Is there a line between radical interpretation and reckless desecration?
191. GoodFellas
GoodFellas is more than just a breathless tale of middle-management in the Mafia. It’s one of Martin Scorsese’s many films in which he seeks enlightenment.
