John Ford’s westerns have influenced so many directors throughout the world so it was not so much of a surprise when “westerns” started being made outside the Hollywood system.
The most famous mutation of the traditional western was the spaghetti western. These were films made largely in Europe (Spain being the most believable location to double [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Film Authorship'
Westerns – Part 3 – Easterns
February 3rd, 2010 · No Comments · Cinematography, Film Authorship, Film Criticism and Analysis, Film Directing, Film History, Film Narrative, Film Sound, Genre
Tags: fistful of dollars·kurosawa·once upon a time in the west·segio leone·sergio corbucci·spaghetti westerns·the great silence·the magnificent seven·westerns
Westerns – Part 2 – John Ford
February 2nd, 2010 · No Comments · Cinematography, Film Authorship, Film Criticism and Analysis, Film Directing, Film History, Genre
Westerns have been around since the era of silent film. They have been the staple of early cinema and early TV. I can remember watching many western series on the box during the sixties such as Wagon Train, Gunsmoke, Rawhide and many more.
But the western started to become more of an art form in cinema [...]
Tags: cheyenne autumn·fort apache·John Ford·my darling clementine·she wore a yellow ribbon·the man who shot liberty valance·the searchers·westerns
Old Boy – Asian Extremism
July 25th, 2009 · No Comments · Film Authorship, Film Criticism and Analysis, Film Directing, Film Narrative, Genre
To pigeonhole it, I suppose you might call it a revenge thriller. You have to admire its bravado and confidence in the cinematography and acting.
Malick’s New World
September 29th, 2008 · No Comments · Cinematography, Film Authorship, Film Criticism and Analysis, Film Directing, Film Editing
It is always interesting to watch the films of a director who marches to the beat of a different drum. Terrence Malick is one of those directors whose films captivate and sometimes infuriate the film critics. His latest film – The New World – seems to have divided critics and been less than enthusiastically received [...]
Tags: beauty·Colin Farrell·natural world·pilgrim fathers·Terrence Malick·The New World
The Dark Side of Mel Gibson
January 25th, 2008 · No Comments · Cinematography, Film Authorship, Film Directing, Film General, Film Narrative, Film Special Effects
No, I’m not talking about his drunken rants against Jews but the dark side of his more recent films. Has any one noticed that you have to have a fairly strong stomach to watch the films directed by Mel Gibson? Of course you have. You have to wade through a lot of gore.
It obviously started [...]
Tags: apocalypto·braveheart·mel gibson·passion of the christ
Learning about Cinema
January 14th, 2008 · No Comments · Cinematography, Film Authorship, Film Criticism and Analysis, Film Directing, Film Editing, Film General, Film History, Film Narrative, Genre
1999 was one of my favourite years. I studied film and the cinema for a year at John Leggott sixth form college in Scunthorpe and ended up with an “A” Level in Film Studies. For years I had avidly watched movies at the cinema and on the television and more recently on video. I had even [...]
Tags: citizen kane·eisenstein·film grammar·Film History·film studies·propp·seven samurai