361. Ex Machina
What if science-fiction were not a literary genre but a political and ideological theory. If so, Alex Garland uses Ex Machina to show us how he sees the world.
Tag Archives: Shakespeare
344. The Double Life of Veronique
Krzysztof Kieślowski avoids all the clichés of doppelgängers, doubles and lookalikes to deliver a meditation on freedom.
343. Gladiator
Going into production, Gladiator had nothing near a finished script yet one simple change to the start of the story turned it into the greatest opera ever filmed.
342. Cold War
Despite its title, Cold War is not an espionage thriller. Instead, Pawel Pawlikowski loosely based it on his parents’ lives. But it’s not a biopic either. So what is it?
314. Investigation of a Citizen above Suspicion
Elio Petri’s bitterly satirical Oscar winner from 1970 cuts a stark picture of today’s political leaders.
311. Peeping Tom
Reviled upon its release and long out of circulation, the influence of Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom is now to be found in the most unexpected places.
308. Wadjda
Precious few films celebrate the joys of riding a bike. Haifaa Al Mansour’s Wadjda is more than just a celebration; it is a dissection of an entire culture.
302. Festen
William Shakespeare, Sigmund Freud, Ingmar Bergman and John Cassavetes are just some of the disparate influences on view in Thomas Vinterberg’s masterpiece.
294. Ida
In ancient Greece, all violence took place off stage. How can filmmakers show the violence of the Holocaust without exploiting the memory of the victims?
288. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
With his Palme d’Or winning masterpiece, Jacques Demy wove more than a musical. He delivered a socially relevant story worthy of tragic opera.
263. Cyrano de Bergerac
Why did Edmond Rostand base his play on a real-life historical figure, only to turn his writing talent into a tragedy?
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.
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?
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.
202. #Shakespeare400
He died in 1616 but the fact that over four hundred films have been made from his plays shows how much The Bard knew about human nature.
192. Wuthering Heights
Emily Brontë’s novel has been filmed over 25 times. Is there a line between radical interpretation and reckless desecration?
184. When Harry met Sally…
The rom-com goes back to 300BC. Since then, four major categories have emerged with Ron Reiner’s classic being one of the best.
147. The Case for the Courtroom Drama
Of all the genres, the courtroom is perhaps the one most beset by clichés. So is there any evidence for a few masterpieces?
139. Repulsion
Repulsion was Roman Polanski’s first film he made after defecting from communist Poland. Its depiction of mental disintegration is also his first masterpiece.
130. House of Cards
If you want to change television, stop people watching it. That is just one of the many tricks behind this great adaptation of Michael Dobbs’s best-selling novels.
119. Annie Hall
You can divide Hollywood rom-coms into two eras; before and after Annie Hall. The film also marked the arrival of one of America’s most individual artists.
105. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Is this film about amnesia or is it about déjà vu? Either way, Charlie Kaufman’s script which focuses on memory is a true original.
95. Shakespeare in Love
A lot of people don’t like this because it beat Saving Private Ryan to the Best Picture Oscar. Is the prejudice justified?
79. Remakes or Mis-takes?
When is a remake not a remake? When is a re-imagining not a reboot? And most pertinent, when are any of them ever any good?
