In the early 1980s, German filmmaker Werner Herzog shot a film named ‘Fitzcarraldo’ in the jungles of South America, battling against forces of nature as formidable as hostile tribes, and an egomaniacal actor. In that film a 340 ton steamship is moved up and over a hill without the aid of special effects. This ostensibly […]
Trick or Treat! This is another Halloween season, and Taste of Cinema is full of brilliant horror lists. From the silent era to the past few years, from the classic Universal monsters to the modern day J-horror, from essential lists of horror masters like Wes Craven and Mario Bava to definitive horror recommendations. If you […]
Surrealism and film have been together since the beginning of the surrealist movement in the early 1920’s. The first time the word surrealist appeared was in 1903 in the play “Les Mamelles de Tirésias” by Guillaume Apollinaire; Surrealism developed out of the Dada activities during WWI centering itself in Paris. Surrealism is based on the […]
The uncanny and the macabre were themes that cinema embraced from the outset. The cinematograph, after all was invented during the time of the Victorian Gothic renaissance, the popular bloody excesses of The Grand Guignol Theatre Company and Jack The Ripper. Germany was home to the first masters of horror cinema. Robert Weine’s 1919 Das […]
The 2000s was the best of times for indie, and it was the worst of times for indie. It was the dawn of cinema’s second millenium, a clean slate for a new century of cinematic art. However, it was not all good news for indie cinema. On one hand, following the indie renaissance of the […]
Even if you’re not an aspiring screenwriter and have general interest in extremely good screenplays, these are the basic films whose narrative construction, character development, solid yet mind-blowing plotlines, etc., make for terrific readings and life-changing experiences. Any good screenwriter should keep in mind the work already done by masters of this craft throughout film […]