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32 Days of Movies - "To Become Immortal, and Then, to Die." • "Reality Cinema"
video
Chapters 19 & 31 in video series - one closes off the 60s epoch with a bang (including a lightning fast montage featuring 60 years of cinema in 40 seconds) and the other scans the 00s, with its mixture of documentary and impressionism
video
Chapters 19 & 31 in video series - one closes off the 60s epoch with a bang (including a lightning fast montage featuring 60 years of cinema in 40 seconds) and the other scans the 00s, with its mixture of documentary and impressionism

One hundred films I love, with a picture and brief capsule for each

Art...on the March! (a visual mixtape)
list • images
Ninety great works of art from 1305 to 1998, plus hundreds more in a slideshow
list • images
Ninety great works of art from 1305 to 1998, plus hundreds more in a slideshow


The Big Picture: The Movies and Me
essay
A memoir, a confession, a manifesto, a declaration of principles...
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A memoir, a confession, a manifesto, a declaration of principles...

Boomer Baseball: Field of Dreams & the 60s • Sixties Reunion: The Big Chill & Return of the Secaucus Seven
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Two essays on a generation and its cinematic mythology: Field of Dreams seen through a prism of 60s nostalgia, and The Big Chill & Return of the Secaucus examined against the rise of the "baby boomer" culture
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Two essays on a generation and its cinematic mythology: Field of Dreams seen through a prism of 60s nostalgia, and The Big Chill & Return of the Secaucus examined against the rise of the "baby boomer" culture

Blog 10
mixed media
In tribute to the blogosphere, a greatest-hits sampler of fellow blogger's work from 2010 (chosen by them), illustrated throughout with pictures and even the occasional video
mixed media
In tribute to the blogosphere, a greatest-hits sampler of fellow blogger's work from 2010 (chosen by them), illustrated throughout with pictures and even the occasional video

A Century of Wonders • Cinema in Pictures...
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Two lavish visual lineups, featuring screen-caps from hundreds of classic films, also serving as directories for Allan Fish's decades countdowns and my own video series
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Two lavish visual lineups, featuring screen-caps from hundreds of classic films, also serving as directories for Allan Fish's decades countdowns and my own video series

Cities of the Imagination
mixed media
A prose/image reflection on city dreams, using Carl Jung, the Chinese film The World, Michel Gondry's music videos, and my own memories
mixed media
A prose/image reflection on city dreams, using Carl Jung, the Chinese film The World, Michel Gondry's music videos, and my own memories

Citizen Kane
essay
essay
An analysis of how each narrator subtly shifts the tone and style, both cinematic and narrative, in this celebrated masterpiece

Civilisation in Pictures
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Great works of Western art, in visual tribute to the wonderful British TV series
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Great works of Western art, in visual tribute to the wonderful British TV series

Class of 2002
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In this short film, a fictional photo memoir I wrote & directed, a young man recalls the tragic lives of his classmates in fleeting impressions.
video
In this short film, a fictional photo memoir I wrote & directed, a young man recalls the tragic lives of his classmates in fleeting impressions.

The Comedy Countdown - Modern Times
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My video essay entry in a comedy countdown, juxtaposing the contending views of Graham Greene, Roland Barthes, and Otis Ferguson with memorable moments from the beloved Chaplin classic they are discussing
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My video essay entry in a comedy countdown, juxtaposing the contending views of Graham Greene, Roland Barthes, and Otis Ferguson with memorable moments from the beloved Chaplin classic they are discussing

The Corruption of Michael Corleone
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The descent of a character into darkness and evil, told using only images from the Godfather films
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The descent of a character into darkness and evil, told using only images from the Godfather films

directed by Brian De Palma
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A video tribute to the dark fusion of sex and violence in the director's cinema
This is the one piece I am proudest of.
video
A video tribute to the dark fusion of sex and violence in the director's cinema
This is the one piece I am proudest of.

The Director's Chair
list
32 favorite directors, represented by evocative title cards & clips from their work
list
32 favorite directors, represented by evocative title cards & clips from their work

A dirty dozen
list
An imaginary lineup of double features, arranged thematically into six categories: 'Their Town,' 'Secret Societies,' 'She Did It Her Way,' 'Rising to the Top,' By Airplane or Submarine,' and 'Movement, Music, and Montage'
list
An imaginary lineup of double features, arranged thematically into six categories: 'Their Town,' 'Secret Societies,' 'She Did It Her Way,' 'Rising to the Top,' By Airplane or Submarine,' and 'Movement, Music, and Montage'

The Fall and Redemption of Anakin Skywalker
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An image-only representation of Darth Vader's trip to the dark side
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An image-only representation of Darth Vader's trip to the dark side

Fists in the Pocket: Shaking the Foundations • Lovely Paola • I am My Brother's Reaper
image • video
Three posts devoted to the most-referenced film on my site, a fantastic Italian favorite from the sixties - the first two are visual tributes to the film's vivid beauty (not least its leading lady), the third is my first narrated video essay
image • video
Three posts devoted to the most-referenced film on my site, a fantastic Italian favorite from the sixties - the first two are visual tributes to the film's vivid beauty (not least its leading lady), the third is my first narrated video essay

Flight of the Red Balloon
essay
A review of the French film, exploring its relationship to the earlier Red Balloon and the French New Wave, which kicked off my 'Best of the 21st Century?' series
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A review of the French film, exploring its relationship to the earlier Red Balloon and the French New Wave, which kicked off my 'Best of the 21st Century?' series

The Great Movies
mixed media
A tribute to one of my favorite movie books, an obscure, out-of-print coffee table tome discovered in childhood and relished ever since; includes many scanned images from the book itself
mixed media
A tribute to one of my favorite movie books, an obscure, out-of-print coffee table tome discovered in childhood and relished ever since; includes many scanned images from the book itself

Hooray for (Hating) Hollywood: Sunset Boulevard
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A review of Sunset Boulevard which concludes my series on early 50s films dishing the dirt on the film industry
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A review of Sunset Boulevard which concludes my series on early 50s films dishing the dirt on the film industry

In the Beginning...
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Nine great 'opening' images from movies - meaning these are the very first visuals we see onscreen; this post also kicked off an active and lively 'picture gallery' meme, and the other entries are listed at the bottom
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Nine great 'opening' images from movies - meaning these are the very first visuals we see onscreen; this post also kicked off an active and lively 'picture gallery' meme, and the other entries are listed at the bottom

Island of Lost Pictures
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A massive image dump, collecting all the striking screen-caps and stills I'd uploaded but never posted (previously), this also doubles as backward-moving, entirely visual alternate history of my blog, its interests, and its approaches
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A massive image dump, collecting all the striking screen-caps and stills I'd uploaded but never posted (previously), this also doubles as backward-moving, entirely visual alternate history of my blog, its interests, and its approaches

essay
A re-examination of the holiday classic in light of its psychological darkness, political implications, and historical resonance
A re-examination of the holiday classic in light of its psychological darkness, political implications, and historical resonance

Just because you are a character, doesn't mean you have character... Part 1 • Part 2
list
Two posts, taken together comprising 100 favorite characters in film history, from Nosferatu to King Kong to Mrs. Robinson to E.T. to the Dude
list
Two posts, taken together comprising 100 favorite characters in film history, from Nosferatu to King Kong to Mrs. Robinson to E.T. to the Dude

Lawrence of Arabia
essay
An essay on one of my favorite films, celebrating its expression of personal psychology through epic landscapes
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An essay on one of my favorite films, celebrating its expression of personal psychology through epic landscapes

Let Them All In... Let the Right One In Book/Movie/Remake
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History of all the different versions of Let the Right One In, a film about a teenage girl vampire and her strange friendship with a lonely little boy
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History of all the different versions of Let the Right One In, a film about a teenage girl vampire and her strange friendship with a lonely little boy

Lucasfilm Lost
essay
Requiem for one of Hollywood's last private empires, flawed but personal, in the wake of its sale to Disney
essay
Requiem for one of Hollywood's last private empires, flawed but personal, in the wake of its sale to Disney

The Magnificent Ambersons
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Observations on a massacred masterpiece, and how the studio's cuts actually reflect the very theme of the movie: the descent from elegance into the mundane
The Musical Countdown - 42nd Street • The Gay Divorcee
video • mixed media
Two offbeat entries in a musical countdown: 42nd Street leads with a 5-minute video examining the narrative & stylistic sweep of the Busby Berkeley classic, while The Gay Divorcee explores the "Night and Day" number through Arlene Croce's prose & images from the film
essay
Observations on a massacred masterpiece, and how the studio's cuts actually reflect the very theme of the movie: the descent from elegance into the mundane
The Musical Countdown - 42nd Street • The Gay Divorcee
video • mixed media
Two offbeat entries in a musical countdown: 42nd Street leads with a 5-minute video examining the narrative & stylistic sweep of the Busby Berkeley classic, while The Gay Divorcee explores the "Night and Day" number through Arlene Croce's prose & images from the film

Reading the Movies
list
My ten favorite movie books, with the stories behind each one, fifteen runners-up, and an invitation for other bloggers to participate (they did)
list
My ten favorite movie books, with the stories behind each one, fifteen runners-up, and an invitation for other bloggers to participate (they did)

Remembering the Movies, Dec. 3 - 9
mixed media
Probably the most interesting entry in my movie-history series, this covers a Siskel & Ebert conversation on Edward Scissorhands, two classic cartoons from Warners and Disney, my capsule on Flash Gordon, memories of films seen when I was 7 and 17, and extracts from a contentious debate between Pauline Kael and the Maysles Brothers on the truth of Gimme Shelter
mixed media
Probably the most interesting entry in my movie-history series, this covers a Siskel & Ebert conversation on Edward Scissorhands, two classic cartoons from Warners and Disney, my capsule on Flash Gordon, memories of films seen when I was 7 and 17, and extracts from a contentious debate between Pauline Kael and the Maysles Brothers on the truth of Gimme Shelter

The Restoration: Glimpses of the Past - and Future?
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A smorgasboard of screen-caps, stills, and posters from unavailable films, in tribute to the 'Film Restoration' blogathon
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A smorgasboard of screen-caps, stills, and posters from unavailable films, in tribute to the 'Film Restoration' blogathon


The Singer Not the Song
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Beautiful images captured from 'The Nightingale,' based on a Japanese fable, aired for Shelley Duvall's 1980s TV series 'Faerie Tale Theatre,' starring Mick Jagger in yellowface
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Beautiful images captured from 'The Nightingale,' based on a Japanese fable, aired for Shelley Duvall's 1980s TV series 'Faerie Tale Theatre,' starring Mick Jagger in yellowface

The Social Network • Paper vs. Plastic
mixed media • image
Musings on The Social Network, presented in the form of a Facebook page, and a visual tribute to old and new technologies in the film
mixed media • image
Musings on The Social Network, presented in the form of a Facebook page, and a visual tribute to old and new technologies in the film

Spade & Marlowe, Private Eyes
essay
Comparing and contrasting the two iconic detectives and their creators, on page and screen
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Comparing and contrasting the two iconic detectives and their creators, on page and screen

Summer Hours (Best of the 21st Century?)
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Review of the French film about a family letting go of their country home - maybe my strongest piece for the 'Best of the 21st Century?' series
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Review of the French film about a family letting go of their country home - maybe my strongest piece for the 'Best of the 21st Century?' series

The Sunday Matinee - Before the Revolution
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Bertolucci's hard-to-find classic, about a romantic young man who struggles with his Marxist beliefs and sleeps with his aunt, gets the 'Sunday Matinee' treatment, as part of my series on 60s New Wave cinema
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Bertolucci's hard-to-find classic, about a romantic young man who struggles with his Marxist beliefs and sleeps with his aunt, gets the 'Sunday Matinee' treatment, as part of my series on 60s New Wave cinema

Syndromes and a Century
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Images of city and country, green and white, warm and cold, from great Thai film
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Images of city and country, green and white, warm and cold, from great Thai film

They Once Were Coming Attractions... (memories of my movie past, 1988 - 1998)
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Sheer nostalgia for my generation (born circa 1983), a lineup of movie posters from everything I saw in theaters between ages 4 - 15
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Sheer nostalgia for my generation (born circa 1983), a lineup of movie posters from everything I saw in theaters between ages 4 - 15

This Sporting Life, Billy Liar, and the British New Wave
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Historical overview of British 'kitchen sink' films of the 1960s, focusing on two films which came out in 1963, representing a profound shift in the movement
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Historical overview of British 'kitchen sink' films of the 1960s, focusing on two films which came out in 1963, representing a profound shift in the movement


Triumph of the Will
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Reflections on Leni Riefenstahl's powerful and disturbing Nazi propaganda doc
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Reflections on Leni Riefenstahl's powerful and disturbing Nazi propaganda doc

Twin Peaks: Lonely Souls • Beyond Life and Death
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Write-up on two climactic 'Twin Peaks' episodes (the revelation of the killer, and the finale), entries in my series on the TV show
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Write-up on two climactic 'Twin Peaks' episodes (the revelation of the killer, and the finale), entries in my series on the TV show

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
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After watching this movie (the prequel to the TV series), I was impressed, upset, and uneasy with what I'd seen, and I wrote this review
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After watching this movie (the prequel to the TV series), I was impressed, upset, and uneasy with what I'd seen, and I wrote this review

Two Things We Know About Pictures
mixed media
Impressionistic tribute to Pierrot le fou, using Godard's famous quote and images captured from the film
mixed media
Impressionistic tribute to Pierrot le fou, using Godard's famous quote and images captured from the film

Waiting for the 25th Hour
essay
Seven years after the movie came out (and at the exact time the main character would be getting out of prison) I revisit Spike Lee's 25th Hour, one of the few films to deal directly with 9/11, for 'Counting Down the Zeroes'
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Seven years after the movie came out (and at the exact time the main character would be getting out of prison) I revisit Spike Lee's 25th Hour, one of the few films to deal directly with 9/11, for 'Counting Down the Zeroes'

The Way We Weren't: Art Under Bush
essay
Polemical response to Newsweek's shallow 'Art in the Bush Era' piece, reflecting on culture and politics of the 00s - this one came straight from the gut
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Polemical response to Newsweek's shallow 'Art in the Bush Era' piece, reflecting on culture and politics of the 00s - this one came straight from the gut

Who's Killing the Movies - and Who Cares?
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My enthusiastic response to David Denby's "crisis in the cinema" piece, not only affirming his despair but suggesting what the way forward will look like
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My enthusiastic response to David Denby's "crisis in the cinema" piece, not only affirming his despair but suggesting what the way forward will look like

The Wind in the Willows - Toad Hall • Dulce Domum
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Observations on Kenneth Grahame's classic book accompanied with images from film adaptations: 'Toad Hall' explores the setting in light of British social history; 'Dulce Domum' relates Grahame's personal biography to the book's theme of 'home'
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Observations on Kenneth Grahame's classic book accompanied with images from film adaptations: 'Toad Hall' explores the setting in light of British social history; 'Dulce Domum' relates Grahame's personal biography to the book's theme of 'home'
