• About Me
  • John Charet’s Favorite Westerns
  • My 233 Favorite Directors of All-Time (Alphabetical Order)

cinematiccoffee

~ Fine Conversations About Cinema

cinematiccoffee

Category Archives: Fantasy

My Favorite Alfonso Cuaron Films

17 Tuesday Mar 2020

Posted by John Charet in 1990's Cinema, 2000's Cinema, 2010-Present Cinema, Adventure, Alfonso Cuaron, American Cinema, British Cinema, Cinema, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Film Directors, Greatest, Lists, Mexican Cinema, Mexican Filmmakers, Mystery, Science Fiction, Thriller

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

A Little Princess, Children of Men, Gravity, Roma, Y Tu Mama Tambien

* * * * (Out of * * * *)

1.   Roma (2018)

2.   Gravity (2013)

3.   Children of Men (2006)

4.   Y Tu Mama También (2001)

* * * 1/2 (Out of * * * *)

1.   A Little Princess (1995)

My Favorite Ishiro Honda Films

15 Wednesday Jan 2020

Posted by John Charet in 1950's Cinema, 1960's Cinema, Cinema, Drama, Fantasy, Film Directors, Greatest, Horror, Japanese Cinema, Japanese Filmmakers, Lists, Science Fiction, Top 272

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Godzilla 1954, Matango, Mothra vs. Godzilla, The War of the Gargantuas

* * * * (Out of * * * *)

1.   Godzilla (1954)

2.   The War of the Gargantuas (1966)

3.   Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)

4.   Matango (1963)

John Charet’s Take On: Cat People (1942)

03 Wednesday Oct 2018

Posted by John Charet in 1940's Cinema, American Cinema, American Filmmakers, Cinema, Fantasy, Horror, Jacques Tourneur, Thriller

≈ 21 Comments

Tags

1942, Cat People, Jacques Tourneur

Warning: This review contains potential spoilers. If you have not seen the film yet, I suggest you read no further.

In a desperate attempt to recoup from the back-to-back costly failures recently brought on by legendary director Orson Welles twin masterpieces of Citizen Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons, newly hired RKO Pictures executive Vice President Charles Koerner (read here) appointed former novelist Val Lewton as head producer for a series of B horror films that would give the hugely popular Universal monster movies a run for their money. Directorial duties would be individually assigned to Jacques Tourneur, Mark Robson and Robert Wise respectively. Cat People (directed by Tourneur) was the first of the nine entries Lewton produced for that genre and today, it is generally (If quietly) recognized (and rightfully so) as one of the most influential horror films ever made.

Fascinated by her sketches of black panthers at a New York City zoo, marine engineer Oliver Reed (Kent Smith) befriends a Serbian-born fashion sketch artist named Irena Dubrovna (Simone Simon) and not too long afterwards, the two of them begin a semi-romantic relationship. Back at her apartment, Oliver is equally intrigued by her figurine of a knight impaling a cat and we learn from Irena that he is King John of Serbia (a.k.a. Jovan Nenad). According to Irena, the cat represents evil as she tells him a historical tale involving Satanism and witchery, but Oliver dismisses it as pure nonsense. When Oliver tries to buy a kitten for Irena, the animal just hisses at her and when they go together to the pet store to exchange it, all of the animals freak out over her presence. Suddenly, Irena thinks that she may be cursed as one of the cat people that was spreading chaos in that aforementioned story she told Oliver. Unfazed by all of this, Oliver proposes to Irena and she reluctantly accepts. While celebrating her wedding dinner at a small restaurant, a mysterious lady comes up to Irena and calls her “moya sestra” (translation: “my sister”), which only confirms her realization that she is indeed a member of the cat tribe.

Predictably, Oliver’s marital relationship with Irena proves to be a troubled one from the start. Terrified that feeling even the slightest bit of intimacy for him will transform herself into a vicious panther, Irena thinks that it would be best for both she and Oliver to sleep in separate rooms. Worried that their marriage is hitting rock bottom, Oliver advises Irena to see local Psychiatrist Dr. Louis Judd (Tom Conway) so she can talk freely about this phobia to someone within the medical profession. After going to Dr. Judd, who believes that her concerns are little more than fears rooted in childhood, Irena stops attending most (If not all) of her sessions with him. Upon discovering that Oliver’s colleague Alice Moore (Jane Randolph) was the one who recommended Dr. Judd for her, Irena gets upset at Oliver for sharing her personal problems (especially without her consent) to those whom she views as complete strangers. Disillusioned with the seemingly deteriorating status of his married life, Oliver grows more intimate with Alice, who shares similar feelings for him. Shortly afterwards, a mysterious chain of events break out involving dead sheep and three failed attempts on Alice’s life involving one with Oliver as a target.

Allegedly adopting the motto of “showmanship in place of genius” or “showmanship instead of genius” (read here and here) coined by the studio’s then executive Vice President Charles Koerner, everybody at RKO Pictures must have been under the impression that Cat People was just going to a profitable low-budget horror film and nothing more. While it’s commercial success can most certainly be credited for significantly improving RKO’s then notorious financial status, one must not overlook some of the surprising artistic qualities that shape Cat People as a whole.

Despite being shot on a shoestring budget of $134,000 (even lower today by Hollywood standards), Cat People overcomes that limitation in a rather creative way. Unable to show viewers a convincing looking monster obviously due to budgetary restraints, producer Val Lewton slyly places the emphasis on atmosphere alone; suggesting that our deepest darkest fears are scarier when left to the imagination. Visually, Lewton achieves this with his use of lighting to generate a true feeling of dread on the part of the audience. As with any great horror film, this one contains a fair share of standout set pieces. The first one comes in the form of Irena carefully stalking Alice at nighttime; the camera cuts back and forth from Alice’s footsteps to Irena’s and back again to build suspense. Suddenly, a bus arrives scaring Alice out of her mind before ending with her going on it. Next up is the renowned swimming pool scene, which starts off on a lighthearted note with Alice noticing a rascally kitten, but after running off, the inevitable terror begins. When Alice hears the roar of the panther, she makes a run for it and then dives into the swimming pool while remaining terrified of both the panther’s roars and where the animal may be hiding. Eventually, the lights in the pool room are turned on by a calm Irena, who wants to know where Oliver is. Soon enough, Alice gets out of the pool to grab her robe; only to discover that it has been “torn to ribbons” as said by the receptionist of the club/gym. Other notable scenes involve slaughtered sheep, Oliver and Alice fending off the shadowy panther with a Christian cross and later on, the offscreen mauling of a victim by the aforementioned unseen creature. To top it all off, we get brief surrealistic imagery courtesy of a dream sequence involving panthers.

Undoubtedly, all of the cinematic trademarks on display in Cat People belong to it’s producer Val Lewton, but credit should also be given to it’s director Jacques Tourneur for bringing his intended vision to life. Following in the footsteps of his then prestigious (If now similarly overlooked) father Maurice Tourneur (read here), Jacques Tourneur began his career as a filmmaker three years earlier in 1939 with They All Come Out, a socially conscious crime drama. I have not seen that one, nor have I seen the three films of his that followed, which include: Nick Carter, Master Detective, Phantom Raiders and Doctors Don’t Tell. Roughly a year and (almost) three months after that last title, Tourneur would finally hit pay dirt in 1942 with his fifth feature-length film (i.e. Cat People). Courtesy of Nicholas Musuraca’s black-and-white cinematography, Tourneur utilizes lighting and shadows to further emphasize the visual elements that are now officially rooted in the film noir genre (or sub-genre). At the same time, the script allows Tourneur to briefly explore some of the themes that he would expand upon in some of his later works including but not limited to Christianity as a force of good (Stars in My Crown) and Satan worship (Night of the Demon).

Contrary to it’s schlocky title, there is actually much more going on in Cat People than viewers might realize at first. For starters, producer Val Lewton had a phobia of cats (read here) and it is possible that his screenwriter Dewitt Bodeen may have picked up on this aspect while writing the script. The character of Irena Dubrovna obviously symbolizes these fears of his, which in turn, drives the horror elements of this film. As it slowly unfolds behind it’s disguise as a crowd pleasing horror thriller, Cat People ultimately reveals itself as an insightful yet tragic social commentary on sexual repression. Irena’s fear of sexual arousal confirms this, which distances herself more and more from Oliver. Irena loves him dearly, but at the same time, she does not want to accidentally kill him given that those kinds of thoughts can transform her into a vicious black panther. When Oliver starts seeing Alice more frequently, Irena’s feelings of resentment turn her into a panther, who stalks Alice with the intention of murdering her. Along the way, the panther inadvertently kills a bunch of sheep. Later on, Irena comes home and locks herself in the bathroom and shortly after, she is seen crying in a bathtub. Irena’s sadness may be due to Oliver’s betrayal of her and her guilt for either genuinely emoting for the first time or for expressing those forbidden emotions. After having a weird dream with a voice exclaiming “the key”, Irena goes to the zoo and steals the key to the panther’s cage. Irena’s action represents the unleashing of her sexual freedom and the elimination of some of her insecurities. Even though Irena (in panther form) still fails in her attempts to kill Alice, she feels more confident about herself as a human. This feeling of happiness does not last long however when Oliver announces that he is divorcing her. Outraged, Irena (as a panther) now tries but backfires in killing both Oliver and Alice. After transforming into a panther for one last time and leaving a casualty behind, Irena stumbles over to the zoo to place the stolen key in the hole to unlock the panther’s cage resulting in her death by the zoo panther, who is run over by Oliver’s car shortly afterwards. I do not know about everyone else, but I see Irena’s death as a sacrifice. In other words, it serves as her way of dying for her sins. No doubt, Irena was not totally at fault for all of her actions, but even when she got some form of revenge, she always seemed to carry around a moral compass at the same time. If Cat People has one performance that can be singled out for praise, it would easily be it’s leading French actress Simone Simon, who perfectly balances sexiness with childlike playfulness in her role of Irena. Regardless of whether or not readers will echo my sentiments here, their is no denying that it does stand as one of many interesting ways to look at it.

Even If it still (annoyingly) remains a little known fact to this day, producer Val Lewton (not the equally masterful director Alfred Hitchcock) stands as the real grandfather of psychological horror and Cat People serves as the perfect entry for unfamiliar viewers to begin their journey with. Similar to how it concluded in 1946 with Bedlam, Cat People began Lewton’s cycle of RKO horror films with a bang. Also worth checking out is the 1944 sequel entitled The Curse of the Cat People directed by Robert Wise instead of Jacques Tourneur and despite it’s differences (that one plays out more like a supernatural drama), I personally feel that it is every bit as spellbinding as this one is.

-Star Rating-
* * * * (Out of * * * *)

My Favorite Takashi Miike Films

17 Monday Sep 2018

Posted by John Charet in 1990's Cinema, 2000's Cinema, 2010-Present Cinema, Action, Adventure, American Cinema, British Cinema, Cable/Television, Cinema, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Fantasy, Film Directors, Greatest, Horror, Japanese Cinema, Japanese Filmmakers, Lists, Mystery, Short Cinema, Takashi Miike, Thriller, Top 307

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

13 Assassins, Audition, Blade of the Immortal, Dead or Alive, Dead or Alive 2: Birds, Dead or Alive: Final, Fudoh: The New Generation, Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai, Ichi the Killer, Ley Lines, Masters of Horror (Imprint) (Cable Series), Rainy Dog, Shinjuku Triad Society, Three... Extremes (Box) (Anthology), Visitor Q

* * * * (Out of * * * *)

1.   Audition (1999) 

2.   Ichi the Killer (2001)

3.   13 Assassins (2010)

4.   Masters of Horror (2006)
4a. Episode: “Imprint”
(Cable/Television)

5.   Three… Extremes (2004)
5a. Segment: “Box”
(Anthology Film)

* * * 1/2 (Out of * * * *)

1.   Dead or Alive 2: Birds (2000)

2.   Visitor Q (2001)

3.   Dead or Alive (1999)

4.   Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (2011)

5.   Ley Lines (1999)

6.   Blade of the Immortal (2017)

7.   Rainy Dog (1997)

8.   Fudoh: The New Generation (1996)

9.   Shinjuku Triad Society (1995)

10. Dead or Alive: Final (2002)

My Favorite King Hu Films

17 Monday Sep 2018

Posted by John Charet in 1960's Cinema, 1970's Cinema, Action, Adventure, Chinese Filmmakers, Cinema, Crime, Drama, Fantasy, Film Directors, Greatest, Hong Kong Cinema, Hong Kong Filmmakers, Horror, King Hu, Lists, Mystery, Taiwanese Cinema, Taiwanese Filmmakers, Top 307, Uncategorized

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

A Touch of Zen, Come Drink with Me, Dragon Inn, Legend of the Mountain, Raining in the Mountain, The Fate of Lee Khan, The Valiant Ones

* * * * (Out of * * * *)

1.   A Touch of Zen (1971)

2.   Dragon Inn (1967)

3.   Come Drink with Me (1966)

4.   The Fate of Lee Khan (1973)
(I watched it on youtube)

5.   Legend of the Mountain (1979)

6.   Raining in the Mountain (1979)
(I watched it on youtube)

7.   The Valiant Ones (1975)

Note: King Hu only partially directed The Swordsman (1990).

My Favorite Robert Wise Films

06 Thursday Sep 2018

Posted by John Charet in 1940's Cinema, 1950's Cinema, 1960's Cinema, 1970's Cinema, American Cinema, American Filmmakers, British Cinema, Cinema, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Fantasy, Film Directors, Film Noir, Greatest, Horror, Lists, Mystery, Robert Wise, Romance, Science Fiction, Sport, Thriller, Top 306

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Executive Suite, Odds Against Tomorrow, The Andromeda Strain, The Body Snatcher, The Curse of the Cat People, The Day the Earth Stood Still 1951, The Haunting 1963, The Set-Up, This Could Be the Night

* * * * (Out of * * * *)

1.   The Set-Up (1949)

2.   The Haunting (1963)

3.   The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

4.   The Curse of the Cat People (1944)

5.   The Body Snatcher (1945)

* * * 1/2 (Out of * * * *)

1.   This Could Be the Night (1957)

2.   Executive Suite (1954)

3.   Odds Against Tomorrow (1959)

4.   The Andomeda Strain (1971)

My Favorite Wim Wenders Films

05 Wednesday Sep 2018

Posted by John Charet in 1970's Cinema, 1980's Cinema, 1990's Cinema, 2000's Cinema, 2010-Present Cinema, American Cinema, Austrian Cinema, Biography, Brazilian Cinema, British Cinema, Cinema, Crime, Cuban Cinema, Documentary, Drama, Fantasy, Film Directors, French Cinema, German Cinema, German Filmmakers, Greatest, Italian Cinema, Lists, Miniseries, Music, Mystery, Romance, Short Cinema, Sport, Swedish Cinema, Thriller, Top 306, Wim Wenders

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Alice in the Cities, Beyond the Clouds, Buena Vista Social Club, Kings of the Road, Lightning Over Water, Notebook on Cities and Clothes, Paris Texas, Pina, Ten Minutes Older (Twelve Miles to Trona), The American Friend, The Blues (Soul of a Man), The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick (a.k.a. The Goalkeeper's Fear of the Penalty), The Salt of the Earth, The Wrong Move, Wings of Desire

* * * * (Out of * * * *)

1.   Kings of the Road (1976)

2.   Paris, Texas (1984)

3.   Alice in the Cities (1974)

4.   Wings of Desire (1987)

5.   The Wrong Move (1975)

6.   The American Friend (1977)

7.   The Goalie’s Anxiety at the Penalty Kick (1972)
(a.k.a. The Goalkeeper’s Fear of the Penalty)
(I saw it on an old VHS tape)

8.   Lightning Over Water (1980)
(co-directed with Nicholas Ray)
(Documentary)

9.   Beyond the Clouds (1995)
(co-directed with Michelangelo Antonioni)

* * * * (Out of * * * *) (Short Cinema)

1.   Ten Minutes Older (2002)
(Segment: “Twelve Miles to Trona”)

* * * 1/2 (Out of * * * *)

1.   The Salt of the Earth (2014)
(Documentary)

2.   Pina (2011)
(Documentary)

3.   Buena Vista Social Club (1999)
(Documentary)

4.   The Soul of a Man (2003)
(Documentary)
(Episode of PBS’s “The Blues”)
(TV Documentary miniseries)

5.   Notebook on Cities and Clothes (1989)
(Documentary)

My Favorite Apichatpong Weerasethakul Films

02 Sunday Sep 2018

Posted by John Charet in 2000's Cinema, 2010-Present Cinema, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Cinema, Docufiction, Documentary, Drama, Fantasy, Film Directors, Greatest, Lists, Romance, Thai Cinema, Thai Filmmakers

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Blissfully Yours, Cemetery of Splendour, Mysterious Object at Noon, Syndromes and a Century, Tropical Malady, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

* * * * (Out of * * * *)

1.   Syndromes and a Century (2006)

2.   Cemetery of Splendour (2015)

3.   Tropical Malady (2004)

4.   Blissfully Yours (2002)

5.   Mysterious Object at Noon (2000)

6.   Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010)

My Favorite John Waters Films

01 Saturday Sep 2018

Posted by John Charet in 1970's Cinema, 1980's Cinema, American Cinema, American Filmmakers, Cinema, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Film Directors, Greatest, Horror, John Waters, Lists, Music, Romance, Thriller

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Desperate Living, Female Trouble, Hairspray 1988, Multiple Maniacs, Pink Flamingos, Polyester

* * * * (Out of * * * *)

1.   Pink Flamingos (1972)

2.   Female Trouble (1974)

3.   Hairspray (1988)

* * * 1/2 (Out of * * * *)

1.   Multiple Maniacs (1970)

2.   Desperate Living (1977)

3.   Polyester (1981)

My Favorite Raoul Walsh Films

01 Saturday Sep 2018

Posted by John Charet in 1920's Cinema, 1930's Cinema, 1940's Cinema, 1950's Cinema, 1960's Cinema, Action, Adventure, American Cinema, American Filmmakers, Biography, British Cinema, Cinema, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Film Directors, Film Noir, Greatest, History, Lists, Music, Musical, Mystery, Pre-1920's Cinema, Raoul Walsh, Romance, Silent Cinema, Sport, Thriller, Top 306, War, Western

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

A Distant Trumpet, Along the Great Divide, Band of Angels, Battle Cry, Big Brown Eyes, Blackbeard the Pirate, Captain Horatio Hornblower, Cheyenne, Colorado Territory, Dark Command, Distant Drums, Gentleman Jim, Going Hollywood, Gun Fury, High Sierra, Manpower, Me and My Gal, Pursued, Regeneration, Sadie Thompson, Saskatchewan, The Big Trail, The King and Four Queens, The Lawless Breed, The Man I Love, The Naked and the Dead, The Revolt of Mamie Stover, The Roaring Twenties, The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw, The Strawberry Blonde, The Tall Men, The Thief of Bagdad 1924, The World in His Arms, They Died with Their Boots On, They Drive By Night, White Heat

* * * * (Out of * * * *)

1.   White Heat (1949)

2.   The Thief of Bagdad (1924)

3.   The Roaring Twenties (1939)

4.   Regeneration (1915)

5.   Band of Angels (1957)

6.   Sadie Thompson (1928)

7.   Gentleman Jim (1942)

8.   Going Hollywood (1933)
(I watched it on TCM)

9.   High Sierra (1941)

10. The Strawberry Blonde (1941)

11. Pursued (1947)

12. Colorado Territory (1949)

13. They Drive by Night (1940)

14. They Died with Their Boots On (1941)

15. Me and My Gal (1932)

16. The Big Trail (1930)

17. The Man I Love (1947)

18. Dark Command (1940)

19. Manpower (1941)

20. Big Brown Eyes (1936)

21. Cheyenne (1947)
(I watched it on TCM a few years ago)

* * * 1/2 (Out of * * * *)

1.   Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951)

2.   The World in His Arms (1952)

3.   Along the Great Divide (1951)

4.   The Tall Men (1955)

5.   Distant Drums (1951)

6.   Battle Cry (1955)

7.   The Revolt of Mamie Stover (1956)

8.   The Naked and the Dead (1958)

9.   A Distant Trumpet (1964)

10. Saskatchewan (1954)

11. The Lawless Breed (1953)

12. The King and Four Queens (1956)

13. Gun Fury (1953)

14. Blackbeard the Pirate (1953)

15. The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw (1958)

← Older posts

Recent Posts

  • Moviedrome Mondays: Gothic (1986) and The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey (1988)
  • Week Off
  • Moviedrome Mondays: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) and Romance of a Horsethief (1971)
  • My Favorite William Wyler Films
  • Moviedrome Mondays: Cry-Baby (1990) and Lenny (1974)

Archives

  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • December 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • April 2015
  • November 2014
  • March 2014
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012

Categories

  • 1920's Cinema
  • 1930's Cinema
  • 1940 Comedies
  • 1940's Cinema
  • 1950's Cinema
  • 1960's Cinema
  • 1970's Cinema
  • 1980's Cinema
  • 1990's Cinema
  • 2000's Cinema
  • 2010-Present Cinema
  • 2020 Cinema
  • Abbas Kiarostami
  • Abel Gance
  • Action
  • Adventure
  • African American Cinema
  • African American Filmmakers
  • Agnes Varda
  • Akira Kurosawa
  • Alain Resnais
  • Alan Clarke
  • Alan Rudolph
  • Albert Brooks
  • Alex Cox
  • Alexander Mackendrick
  • Alfonso Cuaron
  • Alfred Hitchcock
  • Alfred L. Werker
  • Algerian Cinema
  • American Actors
  • American Cinema
  • American Film Critics
  • American Filmmakers
  • Andre De Toth
  • Andre Techine
  • Andrei Tarkovsky
  • Andrzej Wajda
  • Animation
  • Anime
  • Anthology
  • Anthology Films
  • Anthony Mann
  • Apichatpong Weerasethakul
  • Arabic Cinema
  • Argentine Filmmakers
  • Armenian Cinema
  • Arthur Penn
  • Atom Egoyan
  • Australian Cinema
  • Australian Filmmakers
  • Austrian Cinema
  • Austrian Filmmakers
  • B Cinema
  • Bela Tarr
  • Belgian Cinema
  • Belgian Filmmakers
  • Ben Wheatley
  • Bernardo Bertolucci
  • Bill Forsyth
  • Billy Wilder
  • Biography
  • Black Comedies
  • Bob Fosse
  • Bong Joon-ho
  • Box Sets
  • Brad Bird
  • Brazilian Cinema
  • Brian De Palma
  • Brian Taylor
  • British Cinema
  • British Filmmakers
  • Bruno Dumont
  • Budd Boetticher
  • Buster Keaton
  • Cable/Television
  • Canadian Cinema
  • Canadian Filmmakers
  • Carl Theodor Dreyer
  • Carlos Reygadas
  • Chantal Akerman
  • Charles Burnett
  • Charlie Chaplin
  • Chicago
  • Chinese Cinema
  • Chinese Filmmakers
  • Chris Marker
  • Christopher Guest
  • Christopher Nolan
  • Christy Lemire
  • Cinema
  • Claire Denis
  • Claude Chabrol
  • Clint Eastwood
  • Comedies
  • Comedy
  • Compilation
  • Compilations
  • Concert Films
  • Crime
  • Crime Films
  • Cristian Mungiu
  • Cuban Cinema
  • Curt Oertel
  • Czech Cinema
  • Czech Filmmakers
  • D.W. Griffith
  • Damien Chazelle
  • Danish Cinema
  • Danish Filmmakers
  • Dario Argento
  • Dariush Mehjui
  • David Cronenberg
  • David Lowery
  • David Lynch
  • David O. Russell
  • Denis Villeneuve
  • Derek Jarman
  • Discussions of Cinema
  • Docufiction
  • Documentaries
  • Documentary
  • Documentary Shorts
  • Dolly Parton
  • Don Siegel
  • Douglas Sirk
  • Drama
  • Dusan Makavejev
  • Dutch Cinema
  • Dutch Filmmakers
  • Edgar G. Ulmer
  • Edgar Wright
  • Edmund Goulding
  • Elaine May
  • Elia Kazan
  • English Filmmakers
  • Epics
  • Eric Rohmer
  • Erich von Stroheim
  • Ernst Lubitsch
  • Errol Morris
  • Ethan Coen
  • Expressionism
  • F.W. Murnau
  • Family
  • Fantasy
  • Federico Fellini
  • Film Directors
  • Film Noir
  • Finnish Cinema
  • Forbidden Season
  • Francesco Rosi
  • Francis Ford Coppola
  • Francois Truffaut
  • Frank Borzage
  • Frank Capra
  • Frank Tashlin
  • Fred C. Newmeyer
  • French Cinema
  • French Filmmakers
  • Fritz Lang
  • G.W. Pabst
  • Gangster Films
  • Gaspar Noe
  • Gene Kelly
  • Gene Siskel
  • George A. Romero
  • George Abbott
  • George Miller
  • George Stevens
  • Georges Melies
  • German Cinema
  • German Filmmakers
  • Gillo Pontecorvo
  • Greatest
  • Greek Cinema
  • Greek Filmmakers
  • Guest Entries
  • Guillermo del Toro
  • Guy Maddin
  • Harold Lloyd
  • Hayao Miyazaki
  • Henri-Georges Clouzot
  • Henry Selick
  • Hirokazu Koreeda
  • History
  • Hong Kong Cinema
  • Hong Kong Filmmakers
  • Horror
  • Hou Hsiao-hsien
  • Howard Hawks
  • Hungarian Cinema
  • Hungarian Filmmakers
  • Icelandic Cinema
  • Ignatiy Vishnevetsky
  • Indian Cinema
  • Indian Filmmakers
  • Indo Canadian Filmmakers
  • Ingmar Bergman
  • Iranian Cinema
  • Iranian Filmmakers
  • Irish Cinema
  • Italian Cinema
  • Italian Filmmakers
  • Jacques Becker
  • Jacques Demy
  • Jacques Rivette
  • Jacques Tati
  • Jacques Tourneur
  • Jafar Panahi
  • James Whale
  • Jan Svankmajer
  • Jan Troell
  • Jane Campion
  • Japanese Cinema
  • Japanese Filmmakers
  • Jared Hess
  • Jean Cocteau
  • Jean Renoir
  • Jean-Luc Godard
  • Jean-Pierre Melville
  • Jerry Lewis
  • Jia Zhangke
  • Jim Jarmusch
  • Joe Dante
  • Joel and Ethan Coen
  • Joel Coen
  • John Carpenter
  • John Cassavetes
  • John Ford
  • John Frankenheimer
  • John Huston
  • John Landis
  • John M. Stahl
  • John Schlesinger
  • John Waters
  • John Woo
  • Johnny Mathis
  • Jonathan Demme
  • Jordan Vogt-Roberts
  • Josef von Sternberg
  • Joseph H. Lewis
  • Joseph L. Mankiewicz
  • Jules Dassin
  • Juzo Itami
  • Kathryn Bigelow
  • Keisuke Kinoshita
  • Kelly Clarkson
  • Kelly Reichardt
  • Ken Loach
  • Ken Russell
  • Kenji Mizoguichi
  • Kenneth Anger
  • Kim Jee-Woon
  • King Hu
  • King Vidor
  • Kon Ichikawa
  • Korean Cinema
  • Korean Filmmakers
  • Krzysztof Kieslowski
  • Larry Cohen
  • Lars von Trier
  • Leo McCarey
  • Leos Carax
  • Lina Wertmuller
  • Lists
  • Louis Feuillade
  • Louis Malle
  • Luchino Visconti
  • Luis Bunuel
  • Lynne Ramsay
  • Manoel de Oliveira
  • Marcel Carne
  • Mario Bava
  • Mark Neveldine
  • Mark Robson
  • Martin Scorsese
  • Masaki Kobayashi
  • Max Ophuls
  • Mel Gibson
  • Mexican Cinema
  • Mexican Filmmakers
  • Michael Cimino
  • Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
  • Michaelangelo Antonioni
  • Michel Gondry
  • Mike Leigh
  • Mikio Naruse
  • Miklos Jancso
  • Milos Forman
  • Miniseries
  • Mockumentary
  • Mohsen Makhmalbaf
  • Monte Hellman
  • Moviedrome
  • Music
  • Music Videos
  • Musical
  • Musicals
  • Mystery
  • Neo Noir
  • New Zealand Cinema
  • New Zealand Filmmakers
  • Nicholas Ray
  • Nick Park
  • Nicolas Roeg
  • Noah Baumbach
  • Norwegian Cinema
  • On the Side
  • Orson Welles
  • Otto Preminger
  • Ousmane Sembene
  • P.J. Hogan
  • Park Chan-wook
  • Paul Mazursky
  • Paul Thomas Anderson
  • Paul Verhoeven
  • Pedro Almodovar
  • Performance Film
  • Peter Bogdanovich
  • Peter Jackson
  • Peter Watkins
  • Phil Karlson
  • Philip Kaufman
  • Pier Paolo Pasolini
  • Pierre Etaix
  • Polish Cinema
  • Polish Filmmakers
  • Portuguese Cinema
  • Portuguese Filmmakers
  • Pre-1920's Cinema
  • Preston Sturges
  • Quentin Tarantino
  • Rainer Werner Fassbinder
  • Raoul Walsh
  • Religious
  • Remakes
  • Rene Clair
  • Richard Fleischer
  • Richard Lester
  • Richard Linklater
  • RIchard Roeper
  • Robert Aldrich
  • Robert Altman
  • Robert Bresson
  • Robert J. Flaherty
  • Robert Lyford
  • Robert Wise
  • Roberto Rossellini
  • Roger Ebert
  • Roman Polanski
  • Romance
  • Romanian Cinema
  • Romanian Filmmakers
  • Roy Andersson
  • Russ Meyer
  • Russian Cinema
  • Russian Filmmakers
  • Sam Peckinpah
  • Sam Raimi
  • Sam Taylor
  • Samuel Fuller
  • Samurai Films
  • Satoshi Kon
  • Satyajit Ray
  • Science Fiction
  • Scottish Cinema
  • Scottish Filmmakers
  • Senegalese Cinema
  • Senegalese Filmmakers
  • Sequels
  • Serbian Cinema
  • Serbian Filmmakers
  • Sergei Eisenstein
  • Sergio Corbucci
  • Sergio Leone
  • Sergio Sollima
  • Shohei Imamura
  • Short Cinema
  • Short Film
  • Short Films
  • Sidney Lumet
  • Silent Cinema
  • Slovak Cinema
  • South Korean Cinema
  • South Korean Filmmakers
  • Soviet Cinema
  • Soviet Filmmakers
  • Spanish Cinema
  • Spanish Filmmakers
  • Special Interest
  • Spectacle
  • Spike Jonze
  • Spike Lee
  • Sport
  • Sports
  • Sports Films
  • Stanley Donen
  • Stanley Kubrick
  • Status
  • Stephen Chow
  • Steve James
  • Steven Soderbergh
  • Steven Spielberg
  • Stuart Gordon
  • Student Cinema
  • Surrealism
  • Swedish Cinema
  • Swedish Filmmakers
  • Swiss Cinema
  • Swiss Filmmakers
  • Taiwanese Cinema
  • Taiwanese Filmmakers
  • Takashi Miike
  • Ted Post
  • Television
  • Terence Davies
  • Terrence Malick
  • Terry Gilliam
  • Terry Jones
  • Terry Zwigoff
  • Thai Cinema
  • Thai Filmmakers
  • The Film Club
  • The Quay Brothers
  • Thriller
  • Thrillers
  • Tian Zhuangzhuang
  • Tobe Hooper
  • Todd Solondz
  • Tony Richardson
  • Top 10
  • Top 100
  • Top 101
  • Top 272
  • Top 304
  • Top 305
  • Top 306
  • Top 307
  • Top 308
  • Top 309
  • Top 310
  • Top 312
  • Top 313
  • Top 314
  • Top Directors
  • Tunisian Cinema
  • TV Films
  • Uncategorized
  • Victor Sjostrom
  • Vincente Minnelli
  • Vittorio de Sica
  • Walter Hill
  • War
  • War Films
  • Werner Herzog
  • Wes Anderson
  • West German Cinema
  • Western
  • Westerns
  • William Friedkin
  • Wim Wenders
  • Wong Kar-wai
  • Woody Allen
  • Yasujiro Ozu
  • Yasuzo Masumura
  • Yugoslavian Cinema
  • Zack Snyder

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Blogroll

  • Antagony & Ecstasy
  • Brian Tallerico
  • Chicago Film Discussion Group
  • Collin Souter
  • Combustible Celluloid
  • Criterion Collection
  • Eric Melin
  • Erik Childress
  • Farran Nehme
  • Filmspotting
  • Ignatiy Vishnevetsky
  • Jonathan Rosenbaum
  • Josh Larsen
  • Laura Emerick
  • Mark Dujsik
  • Matt Pais
  • Michael Glover Smith
  • Michael Phillips
  • Michael Wilmington
  • Nick Digilio
  • Peter Sobcynski
  • Ray Pride
  • Richard Roeper
  • Roger Ebert
  • Susan Doll
  • The Criterion Collection
  • The Dissolve

Blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy