“Hellraiser’s creators channel the works of Francis Bacon, Walter Sickert, Allen Jones and Zdzisław Beksiński. These impressionist and surrealist craftsmen, like Barker and Randel, expose the horrors of their lifetime to the populace at large.”
‘The Lair of the White Worm’ Cast: A Vague Visages guide for every actor and character in Ken Russell’s 1988 movie.
“If ‘The Angelic Conversation’ portrays a time where loving affection could be found amongst the rubble of industrialization, then ‘The Last of England’ shows how affection, love and hope are lost qualities of a paradisal past.”
“Perhaps David Cronenberg is owed another kind of reputation: that of a humanist filmmaker who observes and questions, who understands our pain and sorrow as well as our ambitions both intellectual and libidinous.”
“Despite its storytelling flaws and omissions, ’64 Day Hero’ is a must-watch for the boxing documentary completist.”
D.M. Palmer on the career women of ‘9 to 5’ (1980), ‘Baby Boom’ (1987), ‘Big Business’ (1988), ‘Working Girl’ (1988) and ‘Disclosure’ (1994).
“Dennis Potter left us with one of the most ambitious and meaningful pieces of British television, bridging commercial and public broadcasting to address the state of the nation and the fate of the artist with his customary irreverence and accessibility.”
“‘Kharij’ is a scathing expose of societal problems that — truth be told — aren’t exclusive to Indian society.”
“The 70s were a tumultuous and often bleak decade for the British film industry, and this pessimism bled into its output.”
Ignacio Agüero Essay: Vague Visages’ Q.V. Hough on OVID’s streaming celebration of the Chilean documentarian.
“If you’re looking for feminism, don’t look at James Cameron — look at his films.”
“‘Mona Lisa’ was ahead of its time, a precursor of urban fairy tales in late 90s British cinema.”
“Bellocchio’s 1986 film ‘Devil in the Flesh’ is perfectly representative of the great Italian director’s outlook.”
Mannhunting #2 by Bill Bria: “In Mann’s duality of man, cop and robber are, in Stevenson’s words, ‘radically both’ one and the same.”
Mannhunting #1 by Bill Bria: “The protagonists and antagonists in Mann’s films tend to be mirror images of each other, all of them caught within masculinity’s shackles.”
“For all the praise showered on Almodóvar’s later work, it lacks the wildness, freshness and exuberance of his 80s filmography, which often feels unfairly overlooked as a result.”
“By spoiling God’s servants with sex, drugs and doubt, films like Almodóvar’s ‘Dark Habits’ show that earnestly criticising the Catholic Church’s crimes is not the only way to weaken centuries of unchecked supremacy.”
Fedor Tot on Pedro Almodóvar’s Collaborations with Antonio Banderas
“Nearly 40 years after its release, ‘Koyaanisqatsi’ continues to send signals.”
“The ‘Poltergeist’ films will remain eternally relevant as long as America and other countries keep making the same tragic mistakes over and over again, building their own haunted houses for spirits to eventually consume from within.”
