Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Jeremy Carr on Sergei Eisenstein’s ‘Strike’
“As it’s applied to ‘Strike,’ Eisenstein’s methodology is generally simplified, with an occasional leaning toward crude hyperbole.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Francesco Rosi’s ‘Salvatore Giuliano’
“‘Salvatore Giuliano’ is a thoroughly concentrated work of formal conviction.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: John Ford’s ‘The Searchers’
“‘The Searchers’ has moments of low-brow comedy and moments of penetrating tension, its interconnected themes involve love and guilt, and its visual and spiritual essence falls somewhere in the realm of poetic melancholy.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Alexander Mackendrick’s ‘Sweet Smell of Success’
“‘Sweet Smell of Success’ seems to exist somewhere beyond auteurist canonization or even the traditional Hollywood studio stock.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s ‘The Red Shoes’
“‘The Red Shoes’ dynamically crosses from reality to fantasy, befitting a film that is itself a grand fiction, simultaneously reflecting and critiquing a true reality. That’s the power of cinema — that’s the power of ‘The Red Shoes.’”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: ‘Twentieth Century’
“Screwball comedies don’t get much funnier, or screwier, than Howard Hawks’ ‘Twentieth Century.'”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Henri-Georges Clouzot’s ‘The Wages of Fear’
“Just because ‘The Wages of Fear’ is dire and pessimistic, that doesn’t make it any less perceptive or accurate. Quite the contrary: the virulent truth only makes it that much more engrossing…”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Jeremy Carr on Costa-Gavras’ ‘Z’
“‘Z’ is thoughtful, provocative, impassioned entertainment, stylish and teeming with conviction.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Jeremy Carr on Erich von Stroheim’s ‘Greed’
“‘Greed’ is like the gold within the soil, a gem that must be mined from its sullied context.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Ingmar Bergman’s ‘Summer with Monika’
“Undeniably the central focus of ‘Summer with Monika,’ Andersson’s overt sex appeal somewhat minimizes her remarkable range in the film, her seamlessly oscillating moods and subtle facial intimations.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Jeremy Carr on Louis Malle’s ‘Black Moon’
“Communication — or the lack thereof — is key to ‘Black Moon.’”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Jeremy Carr on Anthony Mann’s ‘T-Men’ and ‘Raw Deal’
“In both ‘T-Men’ and ‘Raw Deal,’ Alton and Mann take what is already a heightened genre and somehow intensify its formal qualities.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Jeremy Carr on Federico Fellini’s ‘La Strada’
“Fellini’s films often flourished with acute ruminations on life and society, but rarely would his work achieve this degree of pure emotion.”
The Bottom Line: Q.V. Hough, Jeremy Carr, Bill Arceneaux and Peter Bell on ‘V for Vendetta’
Vague Visages Chat Transcript
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Jeremy Carr on Andrei Tarkovsky’s ‘Solaris’
“The film goes beyond strict and narrow generic classification and touches upon something universal, something profound about undying affection and the unreliability of reality.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Jeremy Carr on Pier Paolo Pasolini’s ‘Mamma Roma’
“The compassion Magnani and Pasolini elicit from this affectionate portrait is manifestly sympathetic — she just tries so hard.”
The Bottom Line: Q.V. Hough, Jeremy Carr and Bill Arceneaux on ‘Cobra’
Vague Visages Chat Transcript
‘Stardust Memories’: Woody Allen’s Comic Catharsis
“He may be suggesting that emotional and social anxiety is widespread and prevalent, but the key distinction is that not everyone can translate these uncertainties into comedy gold.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Jeremy Carr on Jean Vigo’s ‘L’Atalante’
“‘L’Atalante’ is a movie defined by it moments, images and emotive strength, not its ostensible plot.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Jacques Demy’s ‘Lola’
“Like his characters, Demy’s camera in ‘Lola’ moves everywhere but goes nowhere; it’s a paradoxically headlong hesitation.”