In honor of the 100th anniversary of SHERLOCK JR. today (it premiered on 17 April 1924) I've completed a new essay on the film. As usual it's a close reading that, I hope, captures the main point accurately.
02:11 AM - Apr 17, 2024
Until now I had been unable to see PATHER PANCHALI (1955, Satyajit Ray) as anything more than a well-made debut film. At last I've had a breakthrough. Now I think it's probably Ray's second-best film (after CHARULATA).
09:10 AM - Apr 04, 2024
Continuing a series of essays on Claude Chabrol's films, here's a new piece on LE BOUCHER (The Butcher, 1970).
12:10 AM - Mar 25, 2024
As I promised last week, here are more thoughts on Chabrol... this time on LA RUPTURE (1970). Which Claude Chabrol film should I dig into next?
12:16 PM - Mar 21, 2024
(Edited)
Recently I was griping on social media that there were only three Claude Chabrol films on Criterion, while the director was still unrepresented on my own website.
That's fixed now, with more to come. Here's an essay on LES BONNES FEMMES (1960).
That's fixed now, with more to come. Here's an essay on LES BONNES FEMMES (1960).
01:52 PM - Mar 12, 2024
(Edited)
L'ATALANTE (1934, Jean Vigo) is a messy story with vulgar characters, crass humor, and an unbelievable ending. Why then is it a great movie? Sure, it's beautifully shot and has great supporting performances, but there's more to it...
New essay on The Cinematograph:
New essay on The Cinematograph:
06:43 PM - Mar 07, 2024
Here's a new analysis of an important Yasujiro Ozu film, EARLY SUMMER. Its story and details have a lot in common with EARLY SPRING, but the ending reveals an evolution in Ozu's thinking.
01:26 PM - Feb 29, 2024
Here's a new analysis of SOLARIS (1972). Andrei Tarkovsky was disappointed with this film, but many of his fans disagree with him. I think I've found a way to synthesize those two points of view, and also to salvage what he wanted to do with Solaris.
09:22 AM - Feb 18, 2024
One of the most neglected classics of the last century is LES ENFANTS TERRIBLES (1950), written by Jean Cocteau and directed by Jean-Pierre Melville.
This is about the closest movies have ever come to the level of ancient Greek drama.
This is about the closest movies have ever come to the level of ancient Greek drama.
05:42 AM - Feb 17, 2024
After writing on Orphée a few days ago I decided to go back to Jean Cocteau's first film and see if I could make sense of it. Here's the result, a new essay on THE BLOOD OF A POET (1932):
12:53 AM - Feb 11, 2024
New essay on Orphée (1950, Jean Cocteau), a retelling of the Greek myth set in the contemporary art world. The movie makes a potentially unpopular criticism of the ways people think about art.
01:18 PM - Jan 28, 2024
(Edited)
This week my children saw snow for the first time in their lives. It seems fitting, then, that I was writing this essay on a snowy Polish movie. THE STRUCTURE OF CRYSTAL (1969, Krzysztof Zanussi) is an intimate drama on a large topic, summarized in the difference between two friends.
11:34 PM - Jan 18, 2024
A few days ago I rewatched DRY SEASON (2006, Mahamat-Saleh Haroun), a Chadian film I had liked a few years back.
This time it was a revelation, something far more than I ever suspected. This needs to be placed among the greatest films of the 21st century.
This time it was a revelation, something far more than I ever suspected. This needs to be placed among the greatest films of the 21st century.
12:02 PM - Jan 04, 2024
Here's a new review of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988, Pedro Almodóvar) on The Cinematograph:
It's a fun movie but also a challenge to decode, because there's so much going on in it. I'm particularly fond of its use of gazpacho as a metaphor for traditional Spain.
It's a fun movie but also a challenge to decode, because there's so much going on in it. I'm particularly fond of its use of gazpacho as a metaphor for traditional Spain.
11:40 AM - Dec 28, 2023
Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Whity is an exceedingly slow and strange movie that alienates many viewers, yet its weirdness and slow pace are necessary to its argument against racism.
New review at The Cinematograph:
New review at The Cinematograph:
07:04 AM - Dec 18, 2023
Until today one of the biggest gaps on my website was a lack of essays on any Fassbinder film. It wasn't for lack of respect... I was probably daunted by the challenge of defining his movies. Here's my first attempt, with more to come soon.
03:33 PM - Dec 11, 2023
For Thanksgiving week here's a new essay on a movie that's full of food... in this case, grounding the story in the arena of economics ("daily bread"). The feeding machine episode is my pick for Chaplin's funniest moment.
02:58 PM - Nov 21, 2023
(Edited)
I'm guessing no one on the trump team bothered to get the domain for his library as someone else did and boy did they do a good job of showcasing his 'accomplishments'. Have a look.
https://djtrumplibrary.com...
https://djtrumplibrary.com...
04:50 PM - Nov 19, 2023
08:04 PM - Nov 15, 2023
Last February I launched The Cinematograph with 100 film essays. Today the number reaches 150 with a new piece on Andrei Tarkovsky's The Sacrifice:
https://www.the-cinematogr...
https://www.the-cinematogr...
06:46 AM - Nov 08, 2023
(Edited)
Okay here's something I can claim expertise in. 5 favorite towns in Germany (population < 100,000):
1. Bamberg
2. Rothenburg ob der Tauber
3, Schwäbisch Hall
4. Blaubeuren
5. Michelstadt
1. Bamberg
2. Rothenburg ob der Tauber
3, Schwäbisch Hall
4. Blaubeuren
5. Michelstadt
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Professor Kyle @blackcatproseQuote spout with 5 favorite somethings09:22 PM - Nov 02, 2023
5 (of many) fave keyboardists:
Thelonious Monk
Oscar Peterson
Ahmad Jamal
Keith Emerson
Rick Wakeman
(Speaking of lists...)
07:31 PM - Nov 03, 2023
Tokyo Story is 70 years old today (November 3). Yasujiro Ozu made at least one movie I'd rate higher, but there's so much to learn from Tokyo Story. Like Vertigo, this has reached the highest tier of the canon (#4 in the latest Sight & Sound survey) even without being understood by most critics.
03:32 AM - Nov 03, 2023
Here's a new essay on Andrei Tarkovsky's film Nostalghia (1983). It's the third piece I've published on it (going back to 2006), and I hope I've captured the logic of the ending, which can be hard to put into words.
08:30 AM - Oct 28, 2023
Most of the films I write on are models of cinematic argument. A good movie should make a case for something... but this one is especially instructive. It's also the first Australian fillm on my site.
My new review of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994, Stephan Elliott):
My new review of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994, Stephan Elliott):
10:25 AM - Oct 21, 2023
Good advice for critics. I read and hear this sort of comment pretty often, and as @emelleghostlight says, it's a distraction from seeing what the thing actually is.
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Margaret Layne @EmElleGhostlightHere's something I don't want to read in a book/film/theatre review: "I kept on trying to imagine a different novel/movie/play." Well you just stop that right now. Like the thing or don't, but deal with what it is & articulate your opinion, don't bash it for not being something totally else.05:21 PM - Oct 17, 2023
08:20 PM - Oct 17, 2023
(Edited)
For Halloween season I've made a rare concession to the idea of film genres with the timing of my latest essay. Here's an analysis of Dead of Night (1945). It's a collection of spooky tales told in an English country manor. Fans of The Twilight Zone will love it.
12:55 AM - Oct 17, 2023
Early analyses show global warmth surged far above previous records in September — even further than what scientists said were astonishing increases in July and August. https://open.substack.com/...
09:49 AM - Oct 16, 2023
90 years since Jean Harlow's immortal outburst! Great film. I almost showed this in one of my classes, and maybe I should have.
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Terence Towles Canote @mercurie80Today in 1933 Bombshell, starring Jean Harlow, was released.10:05 AM - Oct 13, 2023
10:18 AM - Oct 13, 2023
New essay on the film Caché (2005, Michael Haneke).
The opening shot is a riddle, and it has a lot to do with U.S. politics.
The opening shot is a riddle, and it has a lot to do with U.S. politics.
10:14 AM - Oct 13, 2023
I agree with this. We need to rethink the idea of national borders, which cause so much hardship and injustice.
Obviously hard to implement, but it can be done in steps. One idea I had: create "condominium cities" around the world where e.g. Americans could live and work on EU land and vice-versa.
Obviously hard to implement, but it can be done in steps. One idea I had: create "condominium cities" around the world where e.g. Americans could live and work on EU land and vice-versa.
04:12 AM - Oct 10, 2023
