151. Drive
Nicolas Winding Refn’s film focuses on Ryan Gosling’s nameless getaway driver. But its best scene involves a vehicle of an entirely different kind.
Tag Archives: Ridley Scott
The Application of Colour in Production Design
This extended video-essay examines the application of colour in production design from A Voyage to the Moon and Ben-Hur through to Avatar and Gravity.
Fifty Shades of Hate
This video-essay addresses the abuse inflicted by men against women in cinema. The films are critically acclaimed, Oscar winners and box-office hits. WARNING: It features scenes of extreme graphic violence.
American Trailers
This extended video-essay charts the development and possible future of the America movie trailer. Beginning in 1912, taking in the coming of television and suggesting where it might go in the age of the internet.
Moving Pictures: From Hollywood to Silicon Valley
This extended video-essay examines the innovations at the heart of cinema, focusing on how cinema is coping with the move from Hollywood to Silicon Valley.
123. The Terminator
Because The Terminator is not about a cyborg but a resilient woman, James Cameron’s landmark film presented him as a unique feminist.
99. Christopher Nolan’s Mementos
He may make blockbusters, but Christopher Nolan’s tastes lean more to art house cinema. So what are his films really about?
77. Barry Lyndon
Stanley Kubrick’s most awarded film is the one that Martin Scorsese says was his best. Ridley Scott worships it. So why is it so seldom seen?
Alien
This video-essay on Ridley Scott’s Alien examines the origins of horror and science-fiction and uses them to illustrate the disparate themes, ideas and influences that came to bear on the film’s creation.
62. Angel Heart
Some films generate controversy, but Alan Parker’s Angel Heart was creating quite a stir even before it was released. Was it worth the trouble?
56. Surrealism in Cinema
Originally, surrealism set out to shock. But it has become such a normal element in cinema, has it lost its original power?
Blade Runner
This video-essay on Blade Runner examines how Ridley Scott visualizes the film’s numerous and seemingly disparate themes of urbanity, ecology, identity and mortality.
42. Tony Scott
Despite his many box-office successes, critics did not hold Tony Scott in high regard. With the sad news of his death, we offer a re-evaluation of his work.
37. Robocop
Robocop is now a quarter of a century old. With a remake soon to be released, we ask is Paul Verhoeven’s original beginning to rust?
27. Chariots of Fire
A surprise hit in 1981, Chariots of Fire was nominated for 7 Oscars including Best Picture, Original Screenplay, Score and Costume Design. Does it still have legs?
25. Scarface
The original Scarface was released in 1932. In 1983, Brian De Palma directed Al Pacino in an update scripted by Oliver Stone. Are ‘remakes’ always bad?
5. Terrorism in Film
As far back as World War II, Hollywood cinema has assisted in promoting American foreign policy. How has it responded to the 9/11 atrocities?
4. Point Blank
John Boorman’s first film in America brought a very distinctive and European look to the hardened Hollywood gangster genre.
