Reviewing the Classics| The Gospel According to St. Matthew
When Pier Paolo Pasolini, the Italian director of The Gospel According to St. Matthew, was asked why his movies so often dealt with religious themes despite his communist leanings and professed atheism, he responded, “If you know that I am an…
Reviewing the Classics| Rashomon
“A human life is so frail, as fleeting as the morning dew.” – the Priest, Rashomon “What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” – James 4:14 It was fortunate…
Reviewing the Classics| The Shop Around the Corner
Ernst Lubitsch’s 1940 film The Shop Around the Corner is a familiar story for many reasons—one being that it is a textbook romantic comedy. The film is “textbook” not because it is a repetition of what came before, but because…
Reviewing the Classics| The Adventures of Prince Achmed
In order to truly appreciate the beauty and wonder of Prince Achmed, we must acquaint ourselves with Lotte Reiniger—the woman who shaped the destiny of animated films with a pair of scissors. Before Walt Disney could change the world with…
Reviewing the Classics| The Third Man
It’s always a good day when you can dig into Film Noir, and The Third Man is a prime example of the artful genre. Martin Scorsese is said to be a big fan of the film– enough to write a…
Reviewing the Classics| Spellbound: Psychology, Sexism, and Reversing the Roles
Woah. I’m no stranger to director Alfred Hitchcock’s work, and I have seen Spellbound a few times before this (though it’s been a while), but this movie blew my mind. Not only does it use surrealist ideas and imagery to…
Reviewing the Classics| Terje Vigen (A Man There Was)
You will no doubt hear the names Carl Theodor Dreyer and Ingmar Bergman in any and every conversation about iconic 20th-century Scandinavian filmmakers—and rightfully so; perhaps someone will even mention Jan Troell or, more recently, the notorious Lars von Trier…
Reviewing The Classics| 12 Angry Men
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the 1957 film 12 Angry Men, and it is as relevant and captivating as ever. Our current cultural climate is different and much more progressive than the 1950s, but we still face the…
Reviewing the Classics| Scrooge
Charles Dickens’ story A Christmas Carol is well nigh inescapable during this time of year. Even without reading the book or watching any of the dozens of film and stage adaptations, we still encounter it. The word “scrooge” is part…
Reviewing the Classics| Citizen Kane
Orson Welles’ mythic masterpiece about an American tycoon’s rise and fall feels remarkably relevant for America in 2016. Despite only winning one Oscar out of its nine nominations and being panned at the box office, Citizen Kane is arguably the…