Days of Future Past: History and ‘Blade Runner 2049’
“As ‘Blade Runner 2049’ suggests, perhaps the way forward into a future of possibility is through a deeper investigation of the past’s secrets.”
Faith and Survival: Celebrating Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dunkirk’
“I contend that not only has Nolan grown as an auteur, but that he has perfectly captured a universal truth to which all may relate and celebrate.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Marshall Shaffer on FilmStruck’s ‘Black in America’ Collection
The Conclusion of Marshall Shaffer’s #FilmStruckFebruary
On Growing Up, First Love and Learning in ‘An Education’ and ‘Call Me by Your Name’
A Comparative Essay by Ellie Steiner
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Marshall Shaffer on Ingmar Bergman’s ‘Silence of God’ Trilogy
“I’m convinced that understanding the progression is a crucial bridge in any attempt to understand how the two distinct portions of Bergman’s filmography interact.”
Berlinale 2018: Perspektive Deutsches Kino – No Safe Space
“Under the direction of the gutsy Linda Söffker, the Perspektive Deutsches Kino continues to tell some of the most interesting stories at Berlinale.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: David Pountain on Howard Hawks’ ‘Bringing Up Baby’
“‘Bringing Up Baby’ delves joyfully beyond the stiff pretences of modern life to reveal the wild and lustful animal that still lies beneath the surface.”
In Conversation: Cillian Murphy from ‘Kitten’ Braden to Tommy Shelby
Leslie Hatton and Ciara Wardlow Discuss Cillian Murphy’s Career
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: ‘Twentieth Century’
“Screwball comedies don’t get much funnier, or screwier, than Howard Hawks’ ‘Twentieth Century.'”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Marshall Shaffer on Paul Robeson
“As both a man and an artist, Paul Robeson deserves more recognition in 2018 and beyond.”
2018 Oscar-Nominated Short Reviews: Best Live Action Short Film and Best Documentary (Short Subject)
“While nearly all Oscar-nominated shorts are doomed to eventual obscurity whether they win or not, that’s the key to one’s artistic staying power.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Marshall Shaffer on Valentine’s Day and a FilmStruck Wedding
Love Is Love: Peter Putzel Marries FilmStruck
The Digital Perverse: Dario Argento’s ‘Dracula 3D’
“This filmmaker’s oeuvre has never been a showcase of ‘good taste’ or conventional demonstrations in character/story development, so why should we expect him to play by the rules now?”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Marshall Shaffer on Agnès Varda’s ‘Mur murs’
“New York might have the physical structure where one can project themselves onto a city, but Los Angeles’ mutability allows people to graft their life into its cultural fabric.”
The Striking Punch of Subversion: Devashish Makhija’s ‘Ajji’
“‘Ajji’ successfully imparts the notion that it’s compulsory for victims to retaliate against extreme injustice by transforming into wolves.”
Could Jordan Peele’s ‘Get Out’ Break Horror’s Dry Spell at the Oscars?
“Art is a product of its time; is it Get Out’s fault that the time mostly resembles a horror production?”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Marshall Shaffer’s #FilmStruckFebruary – The Beginning
Marshall Shaffer’s 2nd annual #FilmStruckFebruary begins!
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Natalia Winkelman on Věra Chytilová’s ‘Daisies’
“The Maries, and ‘Daisies’ itself, are quintessential fruits of the Czech New Wave, deconstructing social hierarchies while embodying the free-flowing, iconoclastic ethos that roused and buoyed 1960s Czechoslovak cinema.”
‘Mary and the Witch’s Flower’ Is Chock-Full of Studio Ghibli Fairy Dust
“While it doesn’t pop with philosophical resonance like Ghibli pictures, it has enough fairy dust in its sleeves to keep you transfixed and rooting for the heroine.”
Lady Bird and the War of Innocence
“Maybe this war of innocence is one that’s never really won or lost. Maybe we just take life one battle at a time.”