The act of “whitewashing” isn’t new in Hollywood, it’s been there since the beginning of movies. From the controversial blackface in D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation, to the very white Natalie Wood playing the Puerto Rican Maria in West Side Story, it is still a big problem today as taken into evidence by the following movies – many only released in the last few years.
Read moreThe 5 Best Stop-Motion Animation Movies
I actually wish I could have included the underrated "Shaun the Sheep," but, alas, we'll have to settle with these 5 landmarks of stop-motion animation. With Wes Anderson announcing his next film, Isle of Dogs, will be using stop-motion, we figured it would be a good time to look back at the very best that stop-motion animation has offered us over the years. This isn’t a new technique by any stretch of the imagination. Stop-motion animation has been in use for decades, notably in 1933’s King Kong, which had animator Willis O’Brien creating the aforementioned monster-sized ape out of a model with movable limbs. Here are ten movies that advanced the technique and made unequivocally beautiful art out of it.
Read more12 Great films made by directors over 80
1) L'Argent (Robert Bresson, 82)
Robert Bresson won the director's prize at Cannes for this stinging indictment of poverty and crime in France as a fake 500 Franc bill gets passed around from person to person until an unlucky delivery man tries uses it buy some food and gets caught by the police. He passes through a flawed legal system, holding no mercy for the poor, and eventually resorts to a life of crime to support his struggling family. "L'Argent" is a compelling morality tale that holds no prisoners and works on layers of social issues as its protagonist's innocent soul, slowly, but surely, turns into black ink by its conclusion. This would be Bresson's swan song as he would go on to live the last 16 years of his life in retreat.
2) Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" (Sidney Lumet, 83)
Post-1988's "Running on Empty," Sidney Lumet was struggling to regain his voice as an artist. The '90s weren't very kind to the man known as "The Prince of New York," with "A Stranger Among Us," "Guilty as Sin," "Critical Care," and, especially, "Gloria" burying his career down to the abyss. It wasn't until his final film, 2007's "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead," that Lumet pulled out his final great statement. In a career that spanned more than five decades and dozens of classics ("12 Angry Men," "The Verdict," "Prince of the City," "Network," "Dog Day Afternoon," "Serpico") Lumet put his old-school directorial chops to good use and his familiarity with crime genre. I wrote back in 2007 "It'd be a real shame for young filmmakers to not watch, study and ponder Lumet's film. It might feel small-scaled and simply rendered, but there's an artistry to the way the story is told that just doesn't exist in today's Hollywood and that, I fear, is going extinct." Sadly, I feel like that is exactly what's happened.
3) I'm Going Home (Manoel De Oliveira, 94)
This is another low-key yet compelling latter-day offering from the indefatigable Portuguese film-maker; given that it deals with a famous but ageing actor (Michel Piccoli once again) who decides to give up his boots, it was probably meant as such by Oliveira himself – though he was still going strong years later, having not only made some half-a-dozen other films in the interim but, at nearly 106, had two more productions already lined up before his death. "I'm Going Home" was, by far, the most accessible and approachable film the director made in his latter-day "renaissance," with a naturalism and emotional resonance that harkens back to the golden-age of European cinema in the 60s.
4) Blue Jasmine (Woody Allen, 79)
Yes, I'm cheating a bit here. Woody Allen was 79 years of age when "Blue Jasmine" was released in the summer of 2013, but we can all recognize that the film was an exemplary showcase of how the Woodman's still got it. I could have also included "Irrational Man," an underrated stunner from 2015 that had him dealing with the darkest of themes, and more importantly, with death itself. "Blue Jasmine" is the crowning performance of Cate Blanchett's career. Here she plays a Xanax-popping, middle aged New York bourgeois whose husband divorces her, sending her in a state of suicidal, depressive panic. I don't think I'd be stretching it by calling it Allen's best film since 1989's similarly themed "Crimes and Misdemeanors."
5) Saraband (Ingmar Bergman 85)
It'd be crazy to think that "Saraband" belongs in the same company as "Cries & Whispers," "Persona," "Through the Glass Darkly," "The Silence," "Wild Strawberries," "Scenes From A Marriage," "The Seventh Seal" and "Fanny & Alexander." However, what exactly is as good as these films? The impressive filmography Ingmar Bergman built over his long-storied career is the stuff of legend and, yet, here he was in his mid 80s making a film as luminous as "Saraband." It's a final roar from a master of cinema. as he revisits the characters of 1973 "Scenes from a Marriage" thirty years older, with Marianne sharing the dramatic and complicated relationship of John's family.
The film is vintage Bergman with revealing close-ups, emotionally intense dialogue, an old-fashioned style of film-making, and a surfeit of bitterness about the human condition.
6) Madadayo (Akira Kurosawa, 83)
The thirtieth and final film of Akira Kurosawa's career shows that he had plenty left in the tank before passing on. The film is a profoundly moving treatise on facing death with dignity and honor. The college professor in the film is entering the final years of his life, but he is always surrounded by fellow peers and students who have the most adhering of respects for him. As the birthdays pileup, so do the celebrations and the beers, which he always manages to drink down to the final gulp. There are tears, there are toasts, there is song — it's a celebration of life. The expressionistic simplicity and themes make it a heartbreaking swan song for one of the greatest cinematic directors we will ever see.
7) The Dead (John Huston, 81)
According to Pauline Kael, John Huston directed "The Dead" at eighty, from his wheelchair, "jumping up to look through the camera, with oxygen tubes trailing from his nose to a portable generator." If that wasn't enough, most of the time, he had to watch the actors on a video monitor outside the set and use a microphone to speak to the crew. And yet, what grand, masterful statement "The Dead" is, from one of the immaculate American directors of our time. He contemplates his own death through the story of a family gathering and the mistakes that haunt their pasts. The message of the film is simple, yet retains a heartbreaking sentiment: No matter how long they have been in their graves, the dead will always influence the living. Huston is proof of that.
8) Prairie Home Companion (Robert Altman, 81)
In a career that spanned dozens of classics ("Nashville," "The Player," "MASH," "McCabe and Mrs. Miller," "The Long Goodbye," "3 Women," "Shortcuts," and "California Split") nothing could prepare us for this kind of swan song from Robert Altman. "A Prairie Home Companion" is one his simplest, lightest affairs. It's a cinematic valentine to the radio, one that rivals Woody Allen's own "Radio Days" as a depiction of a simple, melancholic, diverse, but bygone era. Just like many of the other films on this list, it's a meditation on death, and yet, what joy that there is in every frame. Altman refuses to eulogize, and he instead dares us to think of the end while humming A Prairie Home Companion's most insanely catchy tunes imaginable.
9) Wild Grass (Alain Resnais, 86)
As if Alain Resnais didn't mess with our heads enough in his legendary five decade career as filmmaker ("Last Year at Marienbad," "Hiroshima, Mon Amour"), he pulled one final rabbit out of the bag with "Wild Grass." Time's Richard Corliss said the film was a tribute to the "con-artistry" that enveloped his career. Resnais has rejected cinematic naturalism all throughout his career, so why would he embrace it now? You might be tempted to say he riffs on David Lynch's "Mulholland Drive" here, until you realize that Resnais actually influenced Lynch in the first place. The surreal landscape he creates in "Wild Grass" isn't far off from the Twin Peaks valleys that have invaded Lynch's own filmography. As a character in the film states: "After the cinema nothing surprises you. Everything is possible."
10) The Last of the Unjust (Claude Lanzmann, 87)
Claude Lanzmann has had a fascination with the holocaust his entire life. His seminal eight-hour 1985 documentary "Shoah," is the final statement on the tragedy. No offence to Steven Spielberg of course. "The Last of the Unjust" is a spiritual sequel to "Shoah," a series of interviews Lanzmann concocted over the years, some that didn't make "Shoah" and others that were never even thought to have existed. At 87, Lanzmann is still haunted by the genocide that killed six million Jews, so much so that it's become an obsession, a seeking of the truth and a way for him to release all the tension and demons that have lured inside him.
11) Goodbye to Language (Jean-Luc Godard, 84)
One may believe that Jean-Luc Godard long ago jumped onto the bandwagon of cinematic insanity, at least since 1967's "Weekend," which many recognize as the last great, relevant statement of his career. Yet, you might have missed the true gem of his twilight years: "Goodbye to Language." Yes, it still has the odd political quote and name-dropping he has been known for churning out these last 30 odd years, as well as the fragments of thoughts that have invaded his post-'60s radical filmmaking, and the patchiness of his narratives. The man is, after all, Jean-Luc Godard, and with any film he makes comes a well-recognized package of ideas and metaphors and images that the cinephile, if he feels like doing so, tries to scramble together. Sometimes it does gel and other times it just doesn't. In "Goodbye to Language" it's the former that happens, but no thanks to the 3D, which stands as one of the best uses of the technology I have ever seen. It sustains a story that polarizes, but feels right given the the dazzling, brilliantly-colored images on display. Here's to hoping he shoots his next movie this way again. 3D and Godard go hand in hand. Who knew?
12) Sully (Clint Eastwood, 86)
Clint Eastwood is still making vital and relevant films in the twilight of his career. Case in point these two gems: "American Sniper" and "Sully." Both have the classicism of old-school Hollywood directing, and yet, they feel vital and current. The resonant theme that binds both is the cost of hero worship. Both films have male characters who feel isolated and flawed, despite being deemed heroes by those around them. In a career that spans more than 50 years in the director's chair, Eastwood proves yet again that he is a master at the game, honing his craft and, as Time's late great Richard Corliss would say, he makes it seem "as if the story is telling itself." Who else can pull that off these days?
Top 10 Movies Destroyed by Studio Interfering With A Director's Vision
It's not uncommon for a studio to mess around with a director's movie. Some just take the abuse and don't complain, while others (like Fantastic Four director Josh Trank) wage a losing battle they know will never likely go their way. Greed triumps over artistry. It's a sad state of affairs, but a reality that most filmmakers know all too well. Sure, some filmmakers are out of their depth in the studio system and need to be reined in, but on the other hand, some of the greatest filmmakers in cinema history have had to give in to the powerful Hollywood studio machine: Scorsese, Gilliam, Fincher, Welles, Leone, Scott etc. The list is endless and too frustrating to fully name.
Read more10 Greatest Films Directed By Women
[This was one of my most popular posts for Sasha Stone's lovely web site AwardsDaily. You can see the original post HERE. The full list can be seen below.]
In its 87 years of existence, only four women have ever been nominated for a Best Director Oscar. All of those nominees have made my list of the greatest movies directed by women. While researching this project, the original draft was more than 100 titles; narrowing it down to 10 was not easy, which is why I encourage you to chime in with your own choices in the comment section. In honor of Ava Duvernay, the latest and probably not last snub, for her brilliant “Selma”, here are 10 movies that make a good case for more original female voices at the movies.
1) Seven Beauties
Lina Wertmuller’s "Seven Beauties" is an ugly movie. Wertmuller is a female Italian director whose films weren’t supposed to be nice to look at. She consistently tried to break societal taboos over her long illustrious career. “Seven Beauties” was the best film of her career and justifiably made her become the first female director to ever get nominated for Best Director. Tackling the holocaust, WW2 and Italy’s ugly role in the war was a risk. The taboos tackled by Wertmuller were indelibly cringed in an air of shame in her native country. She wanted to push buttons with her film and make the audience as uncomfortable as possible. Wertmuller shot her scenes with no restraint, purposely going over the top with original characters that stay etched in your memory for a good, long time. “Seven Beauties” is a landmark of cinema and clearly inspired Tarantino to re-write WW2 history himself 34 years later with “Inglourious Basterds”.
2) The Hurt Locker
Here is Kathryn Bigelow’s taut, tense and incredibly terrific movie that justifiably won the Oscar for Best Picture. I could have chosen other Bigelow gems like “Point Break”, “Strange Days” and “Near Dark”, but “The Hurt Locker” was the best and most important achievement. An episodic movie that dealt with male testosterone and adrenaline by studying a man who thrived on it, and kept putting himself in the most dangerous situation imaginable. The attention to detail is staggering. “War is a Drug” the title card reads at the beginning of Bigelow’s film. This movie is a drug. Jeremy Renner’s incredible performance and Bigelow’s incredibly controlled direction changed the way we saw action films and reinvented the possibilities for the new century. Not surprising that Bigelow was the first ever woman awarded the Best Director Oscar, and this quickly became a landmark in 21st century cinema.
3) Lost in Translation
Sofia Coppola’s best movie as a director was such sensitive, delicate stuff – and I do mean that as a compliment. Every frame is beautifully photographed by Lance Acord; the film is a portal to a brightly colored, anything-can-happen Japan. And the performances by the two leads – Bill Murray and Scarlett Johanssen – just sublime. In showing unrequited, unforgivable, love between these two strangers lost in a place far away, Coppola infuses every frame of her magically romantic film with a sense of purpose and free will. It’s as if every convention known to Hollywood is thrown out the window and replaced by a freshness you usually see in Japanese films made by Wong Kar Wai or Ozu. Most surprising of all, it’s American and as purely poetic as any movie can be.
4) The Piano
Jane Campion’s “The Piano” is the most personal movie of her astonishing filmography. This almost plotless story about a group of people who aren’t, on the whole, particularly easy to sympathize with, is a stunning mood piece and a haunting adult fairy tale about a woman’s quest to control her identity and destiny. A practically silent Holly Hunter gives an Oscar Winning performance that is as mesmerizing as it is haunting, and Anna Paquin, then 11 years old, won an Oscar playing Hunter’s smart and witty young daughter. Campion, never one to shy away from Gender politics, gave us a portrait of love, fear and passion amidst a world where a woman is not supposed to have the necessary freedom to fulfill her every desires. Rarely do we witness beauty as real as what is captured in this film. Campion’s cinematic landmark is such a visually stunning film, it’s almost intoxicating how its atmosphere sweeps across the screen and ravishes the eyes.
5) The Triumph of the Will
Was there ever any doubt that this – quite possibly the most influential film of all time – would not make the list? “Triumph of the Will” is a Nazi propaganda film that, despite its disturbing subject matter, revolutionized the way movies were made. Filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl singlehandedly rewrote the language of cinema with her use of cinematography and music. This is a work of staggering brilliance with shots that are still hard to achieve to this very day. It is then no surprise that filmmakers such as Peter Jackson, George Lucas and Ridley Scott have all admitted to having studied and copied Rifenstahl’s masterpiece. Watching the film with attention to all the details on screen is an incredible experience; add in the fact that this was meant as a propaganda tool by the Nazis and you have one of the most harrowing cinematic experiences imaginable.
6) Cléo de 5 à 7
The French New Wave was a boys club – that is until a young Agnes Varda showed up to shake the party. We all know “Breathless”, “The 400 Blows”, “Contempt” and “Hiroshima Mon Amour”, but no French New Wave top five could be complete without “Cléo de 5 à 7″ a rich absorbing look at a woman embracing death and looking into the unknown. The film is a staple of feminist filmmaking and introduced to us a character that we could eerily relate to. Awaiting the results of a medical exam that could potentially lead to a stomach cancer diagnosis, Cleo wanders around the streets of Paris as themes of existentialism and mortality get played out. It’s a groundbreaking movie that gave way to one of the most iconic and important female voices in cinematic history. The boys club was forever shaken.
7) Zero Dark Thirty
Forget about the Bin Laden raid, which ends the movie, what counts in Kathryn Bigelow’s film is how they actually got there in the first place. The procedural work rivals that of “All The Presidents Men” and “Zodiac”, as does the harrowing relevance that burns at its core. A great performance by Jessica Chastain infuses every frame, and Bigelow, a great action director, proves her worth as a director of considerable intellectual skill. The controversy Bigelow’s film got upon release was obviously unwarranted and cost it Best Picture to –huh? – Argo? Haters will hate, but this movie has stood the test of time and will continue to do so.
8) Winter’s Bone
Debra Granik’s second feature film, “Winter’s Bone”, is the kind of movie that gets progressively better as you delve deeper and deeper into it. It is filled with humane, authentic characterizations of a society that is rooted in evil and people who have lost all hope in life and succumbed to morally wrong choices. There are memorable scenes that linger (the gutting of a squirrel, the taking of a girl, a final ambiguous mumbling sentence) a sense of dread that might turn the most primitive of moviegoers off. It is through and through a product of American Independent cinema and we should never forget its important existence. Then newcomer Jennifer Lawrence, delved deeply into her role and created something memorable and real. It was an absolutely spellbinding lead performance that brought subtlety to her role as a teenage girl desperately looking for her – quite possibly dead – father in the wild Ozarks of Missouri.
9) Boys Don’t Cry
I still hold out hope that director Kimberly Peirce will one day make as great a movie as her 1999 debut “Boys Don’t Cry”. Featuring an Oscar Winning performance from Hilary Swank, this was ballsy, original filmmaking at its finest. The true story of Brandon Teena, a trans-man raped, beaten and murdered by acquaintances after they discover that he is anatomically female, “Boys Don’t Cry” was a statement by Peirce to stop the madness and advance as a society. She doesn’t hold any punches and knocks us out with every stinging detail in this tragic, and sadly still relevant, story
10) Big
Director Penny Marshall became the first female director ever to direct a movie that grossed more than 100 million dollars at the box office. No small feat. She was sadly one of the few true feminine voices in Hollywood to sit in the director’s chair during the 1980’s. Who can forget the iconic piano dancing scene that is the centerpiece of this constantly copied, but never bettered, 1988 movie starring Tom Hanks as a boy trapped in a grown man’s body. Marshall’s short but impressive streak would continue with “A League of Their Own” and the vastly underappreciated “Awakenings”, starring Robert DeNiro and Robin Williams.
15 Great Modern-Day Movies Shot in Black & White
Since the 1960s, movies shot in black and white have practically become extinct. The number of films shot in black and white has decreased every successive decade since then. And yet, sometimes a movie demands to be shot without color to capture a certain kind of mood or tone that color would otherwise fail to get. In the case of the following list, "modern-day" means anything produced after 1970, which is when the decline really started happening. The following 15 examples are further proof that black and white will never die, as long as there are directors and DP's out there willing to value and acknowledge its importance.
Read moreThe 10 Best YA Movies
Turning Young Adult novels into feature films has been all the rage this decade. Never has the prospect of adapting a YA novel to the big screen been so profitable for Hollywood.
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