Film Noir and Apocalyptic Anxiety
“Where is our own cinema of madness?”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Marianna Aloisio-Seale on Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s ‘Black Narcissus’
“No matter the fantasy and clash of culture that swirls around ‘Black Narcissus,’ it is probably best that The Archers did not revisit Orientalist ideas, and that they stuck to what they knew best — the human interest and depths of United Kingdom and European issues.”
Random Dating: ‘Where the Boys Are’ and the Evolution of Sex in Teenage Cinema
“Merritt establishes herself as more than simply the main character in a bubbly teen film. She presents a progressive face and viewpoint at a time when society was still struggling to evolve.”
Killing the Samurai: ‘Kuroneko’ and the Myths of Imperialism
“Kuroneko’s otherworldly visuals evoke a reality shaped by great and sinister powers, and a world where fate will always scupper the impudent plans of hubristic men.”
Let the Right Light In: On Escapism, Coping Mechanisms and Master Projections in Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘The Master’
“The processing conversation is perhaps the most telling sequence of all, as Quell submits to The Master — the Master Projection — and acknowledges his own self-deception.”
Why I Wear the Mask: Tom Hardy’s Performances of Limitation
“Behind the mask, lurking within the timbre of the vocal choices, buried beneath the shaped physique, there is truth.”
Clothes Make the Man: Remembering Harry Dean Stanton
“Harry Dean Stanton was dependable, durable and made whatever part his own, no matter how big or small.”
Review: Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dunkirk’
“As a portrait of differing wartime experiences, ‘Dunkirk’ is too plot-oriented to be successful.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Bill Arceneaux on Samuel Fuller’s ‘The Steel Helmet’
“Answers don’t come easy, but they do come if you’re looking for them.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Jeremy Carr on Yasujirô Ozu’s ‘I Was Born, But…’
“If Ozu has taught us anything, it’s that life doesn’t get any easier. But life does go on.”
Why Criticism: James Agee’s Vision of the American Cinema
A Column on Film Criticism by Justine A. Smith
More Than Shadows #1: Series Introduction
“There will be unrequited love and monstrous desires amongst these essays.”
Of Love and Other Demons: In Remembrance of Andrzej Żuławski
Justine A. Smith Remembers Andrzej Żuławski (November 22, 1940 – February 17, 2016)