Reviewing the Classics| Singin’ In The Rain
Considered by many to be the greatest film musical of all time, Singing in the Rain is also one of my personal favorite things, a movie about the art and business of making movies. At the pinnacle of fame and…
Reviewing the Classics| Andrei Rublev
What do we think about when we engage art? When we gaze at a painting, do we appreciate it for its beauty – the images we see and perceive – or for the craftsmanship it took to create it? Depending…
Reviewing the Classics| Knowing Our Neighbors Outside Our Rear Windows
When Alfred Hitchcock and the horror genre are mentioned in the same breath, the conversation is more than likely revolving around Psycho – Hitchcock’s 1960 classic that single-handedly evolved the horror genre into a new kind of monster. If Psycho…
Reviewing the Classics| Seven Samurai
Seven Samurai, directed and co-written by Akira Kurosawa, is a masterwork of filmmaking. Set in late-16th century feudal Japan, the backdrop for the story is one of upheaval and unrest. A poor farming village is under continual threat from pillaging…
Reviewing the Classics| An Autumn Afternoon
Director Yasujiro Ozu may not be as well-known in the West as Akira Kurosawa – easily the most recognizable name in classic Japanese filmmaking – but his role in not only shaping the cinema of his own nation but also…
Reviewing the Classics| The Hidden Fortress
For Western audiences, Akira Kurosawa is probably the most accessible of Japanese filmmakers. Kurosawa hybridized traditional Japanese and Western story elements to create something unique. His camera work is influenced by John Ford’s Westerns. He was one of the earliest…
Reviewing the Classics| Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
I chose this film as my next classics piece long before the political climate of our country reached critical mass, and now it’s clear that it is a perfect choice. Frank Capra’s gem was released in cinemas at the cusp…
Reviewing the Classics| Make Way for Tomorrow
When Leo McCarey won an Academy Award for directing The Awful Truth, he began his acceptance speech with the following: “I want to thank the Academy for this wonderful award, but you gave it to me for the wrong picture.”…
Reviewing the Classics| Playtime
Long before the onslaught of films chastising us for The Way We Live Now – including themes such as technophobia, interpersonal miscommunication, and the daunting rise of urbanity – that has marked the better part of the late-twentieth and early…
Reviewing the Classics| The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
I was in college when a dear friend said, “You have to watch this crazy French movie. It’s weird, but you’ll like it.” When I dubiously sat down with her to watch Umbrellas of Cherbourg, little did I know that…