I really love this film. “CHUNGKING EXPRESS” is the ultimate pop art film that won a lot hearts when it was first released and continues to this day. And not only has the film jumpstarted the film careers of Wong Kar-wai, Christopher Doyle, Takeshi Kaneshiro Read More …
I think the reason why I love Whit Stillman’s “Metropolitan” so much is because the characters resonated strongly with me. Especially the character of Tom. The character of Tom Townsend is a character who does not come from a rich family nor a privileged family Read More …
Today’s selection for Cineaste365 goes to Hyun-seung Lee’s “il mare” (시월애, Siworae) starring Lee Jung-jae and Jeon Ji-hyun. A US version was made titled “The Lake House” with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock but that film was nowhere as memorable as the original 2000 Korean Read More …
A film that has been beloved by many Chaplin fans, “City Lights” has been a long awaited title that fans have hoped to see release by the Criterion Collection, even before Criterion had the rights to release Chaplin titles. It was also a title that Read More …
Today’s Thanksgiving selection goes to “The Ice Storm” directed by Ang Lee. “The Ice Storm” is a sinfully, delightful film. Each of the characters featured in the film are deeply flawed and there is no sense of moralistic behavior. Everyone seems to be miserable or Read More …
In 1967, Jean-Luc Godard officially ended “bourgeois” narrative filmmaking. A man that was now dedicated in being the voice of the students, the workers, the voice of to rebel against the government, the world and even his fellow filmmakers. While Godard had hints of rebelliousness Read More …
Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis” is just incredible. What is amazing is that this 84-year old film has literally caught the attention of cinema fans from various generations throughout several decades. With each restoration, there is always something new to find in this film and literally, within Read More …
For many years, I have been waiting for a powerful film that would show people of the atrocities that took place from December 1937-January 1938 in the capital city of Nanking. While there have been several films on what occurred in Nanking over seventy years Read More …
For many Americans, especially today, we often don’t understand why certain countries have strained relations. Some look at cultural differences, religious differences but when it comes to the United States and Iran, many will look towards history and see 1953 as a year that the Read More …
In 1962, Michelangelo Antonioni (who had earned the nickname “the Master of Alienation”) released his third film, L’Eclisse (also known as “The Eclipse”), as part of his alienation trilogy. The Italian modernist director was known for his radical new style, not following any convention of Read More …
In 1959, Francois Truffaut released a semibiographical film about his life with “the 4oo blows” (Les quatre cents coups). A film highly regarded as a definitive film that showcases French New Wave (a term to describe a group of French filmmakers in the 1950’s-1960’s that Read More …
Filmmaker René Clair is looked as one of the legendary filmmakers in France. From silent films such as “A Nous la Liberte”, “Le Million” and “Under the Roofs of Paris” to name a few, but in mid-1930’s, Clair with an invitation by filmmaker Alexander Korda, Read More …
In 1964, Jean-Luc Godard went to work on his tenth film, a color film titled “Pierrot Le Fou” which would feature his ex-wife Anna Karina and Jean-Paul Belmondo (who worked on Godard’s “A bout de Souffle” (Breathless) and “Une femme est une femme” (A Woman Read More …
It was 1966 when the film “The Battle of Algiers” (La battaglia di Algeri) was released to the masses. A war film about the war in Algiers covering what took place between November 1954 through December 1960, during the Algerian War of Independence and director Read More …
Agnès Varda, a director known for her role in the Rive Gauche (Left Bank Cinema) movement (filmmakers associated with the French New Wave but the directors had different political perspectives – for a more detailed understanding, please click here), began working on her seventh indie Read More …
In Japan, what kind of film would ever feature a stoic, cool tough former gangster that can whistle or sing a song while guns are pointed at him? The answer is “Tokyo Drifter”, the 1966 film directed by Seijun Suzuki who has earned a worldwide Read More …
From filmmaker Yuri Zhelyabuzhsky, the filmmaker/cinematographer known for his short “The Emperor’s New Clothes” and filmmaker/producer Fyodor Otstep comes a silent comedy from Russia showcasing the complexities of love titled “The Cigarette Girl of Mosselprom” (Papirosnitsa ot Mosselproma). The film which had aged quite a Read More …