I have nothing to add that hasn’t already been communicated over the past century.
For every one of its supposed “steps forward for the cinematic medium,” it undercuts this progress with a disgusting depiction of the Black community that borders on revisionist history.
Utterly ashamed to say that I didn’t formerly know of Oscar Micheaux, but I couldn’t be happier to have taken care of that cinematic blindspot today by watching his riveting rebuttal to Birth of a Nation.
More Micheaux, less Griffith, please and thank you.
Intro to Film History - Film #1
The General effectively captures the scale of the Civil War with fast-paced, thrilling stunts and chase sequences without losing sight of its witty core thanks to the ever-reliable charm and appeal of Buster Keaton and his signature understated reactions and impeccable physical comedy. For a film made over 90 years ago, this one still holds up incredibly well, and it was a great first flick to kick off my Intro to Film History course this semester!
Intro to Film History - Film #2
Metropolis absolutely floored me. From its highly complex and empathetic screenplay to its revolutionary filmmaking techniques (particularly with camera placement and lighting), this film remains an absolute hallmark for cinema nearly a century after its release. It was so intriguing to note how future science fiction titans such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Wars, and Blade Runner all took inspiration from this film, and explore how Metropolis birthed a plethora of the…
Intro to Film History - Film #3
After the visually resplendent Metropolis, it was quite interesting to view a film so stripped down in terms set design and technical/editing work. The Passion of Joan of Arc is an emotionally involving tragedy that rather chooses to emphasize the personal and accentuate the plight of the human condition. Director Carl Theodor Dreyer accomplishes this through intense close-up camerawork and innovative angled shots to signify the possession of power or the absence of…
Intro to Film History - Film #4
Oh wow, this was SUCH a blast! I loved how it was able to balance both the continual hilarity right alongside the endlessly twisty central murder mystery and keep both the laughs and the shocks coming. Screenwriters (and real-life husband and wife duo) Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich imbued such authenticity and ingenuity into the story with their pitch-perfect dialogue for Nick and Nora; William Powell and Myrna Loy certainly had incredible chemistry…
Infinitely less interesting when it’s not focused on Delilah and Peola (especially with Louise Beavers’ effortless earnestness) but even if it’s slightly uneven as a whole, Imitation of Life an immensely engaging exploration of colorism and “passing” in the 1930s. Sad to see how the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Intro to Film History - Film #5
I appreciated Stagecoach far more from a filmmaking perspective than I enjoyed it overall as a cinematic experience. There’s plenty to like here - the character work is layered and engaging, the stunts in the third act climax are impressive and thrilling, John Ford’s direction is epic and assured - but I just found the plot a bit too loose at times to get as invested as I wished. The representation of the…
Never thought the day would come where I could mark this off my watchlist but it HAS and I feel ACCOMPLISHED!!!
It definitely peaks in the first half in my opinion (and it does drag a tad in the final hour), but the filmmaking here is just too exemplary to ignore. And yes, it is most certainly a product of its time, but the direction, the cinematography, and the ACT-ING (Miss ! Vivien ! LEIGH !) all resonate just as much…
Utterly transfixing. That sumptuous cinematography paired with that seductive score = VERY telling of what I like about cinéma!
Absolutely absurd that Hitchcock had to go without winning Best Director once in his lifetime (especially if the Academy was going to give one of his films a Best Picture win???), but I’m just thrilled they went to bat for this gothic mystery romance at all.
Rebecca may not have the erratic energy of thrillers like Psycho or Rear Window, but…