“San Francisco has only one drawback – it is hard to leave“, once said Rudyard Kipling, and it is very easy to see the city’s glorious appeal: situated on hills and surrounded by a vast bay, it looks almost like some fairy-tale land with its jaw-dropping landmarks, including the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island,…
Category: Lists
7 Most Brutal & Violent Historical Dramas
I. The Proposition [2005] Centering around three very different brothers embroiled in the life of crime in 1880s Australia, John Hillcoat’s brutal western is bound to leave an impression. The scriptwriter of this under-seen gem is musician Nick Cave, and the story tells of a lawman (Winstone) who makes the proposition to an outlaw (Pierce):…
“A Blast from the Past”: 7 Italian Cinema Recommendations
I. The Tree of Wooden Clogs [1978] This Palme d’Or winner shows “[l]ife on a farm in Italy at the end of the 19th century. Many poor country families live there, and the owner pays them by their productivity. One of the families has a very clever child, and they decide to send him to…
Top 10 “Mary Poppins” Songs: Ranked
I. Chim Chim Cheree This is the catchiest tune in the whole film. It is so simple and yet so inexplicably endearing. Bert nearly steals the whole film from Mary Poppins with this song, showing his cheery disposition, but also hinting at the underlying injustice – “the social ladder has been strung”. Pavement Artist is the…
7 Films Based on Graphic Novels/Comics
In no particular order and excluding “superhero” comics, including Batman, Superman, Spiderman, and the Marvel Universe. I. Alan Moore is a force to be reckoned with. He is the creator of so many epic graphic novels, from Watchmen and Batman: The Killing Joke to Jerusalem and V for Vendetta. His graphic novel From Hell (1999)…
7 Films Based on Japanese Manga
I. Edge of Tomorrow is a great sci-fi film about one Major who wakes up with each day being repeated, but the catch is that this day is the day of the invasion battle with aliens. This Groundhog Day-concept works brilliantly in the story, and Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt’s chemistry is unbelievably good. However,…
10 Great Films Based on Plays (Part II)
I enjoyed so much compiling the Great Films Based on Plays list last year that I thought that a sequel was in order. As Part I, this list is in no particular order and excludes adaptations of Shakespearean plays. I. Doubt [2008] Play: Doubt: A Parable [2004] by John Patrick Shanley “Did he, or didn’t…
10 “Must-See” Japanese Films
This list excludes anime, and, to ensure variety, includes only two films from any one director. I. Tokyo Story [1953] Tokyo Story is one of the greatest films of all time. Director Yasujirō Ozu’s trade-mark subtlety in rendering a picture so quietly powerful is seen here as in no other film as a story is told…
Back to School: 10 Incredible Films
This is a list of ten great films that are set at school or academic environment. It is in no particular order. I. The Browning Version [1951] This film is based on a 1948 acclaimed play The Browning Version by Terence Rattigan (The Deep Blue Sea (1952)). Michael Redgrave gives a touching and memorable performance…
15 Great World War II Films
Schindler’s List (1993) The Pianist (2002) Life is Beautiful (1997) The Bridge on the River Kwai (1953) Fires on the Plain (1959) Downfall (2004) Ivan’s Childhood (1962) The Red Thin Line (1998) Hacksaw Ridge (2016) Come and See (1985) Dunkirk (2017) Rome, Open City (1945) Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) Saving Private Ryan (1998) The…
5 Foreign Films That Should Have Been Nominated for an Academy Award (Part II)
This is the second part of my list of foreign films that should have been nominated for an Academy Awards. As my previous list – 5 Foreign Films that Should Have Been Nominated for an Academy Award (Part I) – I am listing only those films that were officially submitted by their respective countries for consideration. I….
5 Foreign Films That Should Have Been Nominated for an Academy Award (Part I)
The Academy Awards have always had a very difficult relationship with experimental and artistic films or with films d‘auteur, but, nevertheless, below are five films that should have received at least a Best Foreign Film nomination by the Academy (if not a win) and were unjustly ignored. I am listing only the films that were…
5 Great Films Never Made
I. Tim Burton’s Notre Dame de Paris What is it all about? In 2011, it was announced that Tim Burton was working on his version of Notre-Dame de Paris with Josh Brolin, but the project never moved beyond the early stages. This film was supposed to be an adaptation of Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel Notre-Dame…
Childhood in Cinema: 10 Unforgettable Films
I. Ivan’s Childhood [1962] Country: USSR Andrei Tarkovsky’s film is a beautiful, powerful story set during the World War II. At its centre is a twelve-year old boy Ivan (Kolya Burlyayev) who has taken on the job of an adult, the dangerous job of spying on the Nazi forces that are invading his country. Tarkovsky…
Film Recommendations based on 8 Finalists of the Copa América
Inspired by my previous post where I recommended 16 films based on the 16 finalists of the UEFA European Championship, I decided to write a similar post but based on Copa América, the South American Football Championship and the oldest still-running international football competition. It started on 11 June and the finale will be held on 10 July 2021. Below I am recommending 8 films based on the 8 South American countries that reached the quarter-finals.
Film Recommendations based on 16 Finalists of the UEFA European Championship
The UEFA European Football Championship 2020 is underway and we now have 16 country finalists who will compete for the coveted trophy. That led me to the idea to recommend 16 films from each of the 16 European countries currently remaining in the competition:
5 Films Based on Remarkable True Stories
Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, and there are many interesting films of this or last year which are based on true stories, including Mank, The Trial of the Chicago 7, The United States vs. Billie Holiday, Tesla, Hillbilly Elegy, The Dig and The Mauritanian. Crime and war films are often inspired by real stories (Catch Me If You Can [2002], The Pianist [2002]) and I previously compiled a list of 25 “Must-See” Biographical Films (see also my related list of 5 Great Films About Adventurers Based on Real Stories). Below are five films which were based on, or inspired by, real stories which, in turn, are simply remarkable.
5 Films That Were So Evidently Influenced by Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Tarkovsky (1932 – 1986) was a Soviet director and screenwriter known for his cinematic masterpieces, including Solaris [1972], Stalker [1979] and his debut Ivan’s Childhood [1962]. He inspired generations of film-makers, and Steven Dillon, a film historian, even went so far as to say that “much of subsequent film” was influenced by Tarkovsky’s work. A list of films that were inspired by Tarkovsky’s work in some way or another will probably be never ending, but here I would like to focus on just five of them.
10 Great Films Based on Plays (Part I)
Did you know that classic film Casablanca [1942] was based on an unproduced play titled Everybody Comes to Rick’s? by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison?; or that film Moonlight [2016] was based on another unproduced play titled Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue by Tarell Alvin McCraney? Many a great film first originated in a play, and…
3 Underappreciated Songs in Animation
I. “You Know Better Than I” from Joseph: King of Dreams [2000] This song, written by John Bucchino and performed by David Campbell, is from the straight-to-video animated film Joseph: King of Dreams. The song is inspirational and feels very personal. It is sung by Joseph when he finds himself near to despair and at…
Spotlight on Film 