Tagged: Black & White
20 of the Most Visually Stunning Films of the 20th Century
Increasingly I hear people referring to any film made in the last century as old. Nobody likes “old” movies. It seems that most people don’t even really like black & white. I used to be like that, but of course you can’t call yourself a real cinephile and not have a basic knowledge of the great classics. I’m here to help you. How? I’ve selected 20 of my favorite films of the 20th century. My hope is that these films will help you appreciate the fact that there are gorgeous looking pictures throughout any decade. Moreover these films aren’t just pretty to look at, but they’re also some of the best movies ever made. Continue reading
Mini-Review: Faith, Hope and Love in Carl Theodor Dreyer’s Ordet (1955)
The Borgen’s are a peasant family living in rural Denmark. They love their pigs, smoking their pipe and God. One day Anders Borgen (Cay Kristiansen), Morten Borgen’s (Henrik Malberg) youngest son announces that he wants to get married with Anne Petersen (Gerda Nielsen). Unfortunately, the Petersen’s don’t share the Borgen’s religious views and ascribe to a slightly different group of Christians, so that’s a no-go. Things however escalate when Morten’s daughter Inger (Birgitte Federspiel) gets sick. Meanwhile her younger brother Johannes (Preben Lerdorff Rye) thinks he’s the second coming, prancing around the house speaking of resurrection and making crazy faces. Who are these people? Continue reading
Watch & Listen: Elle Fanning Sees The Stars for the First Time in ‘First Stars I See Tonight’ Short Film
First Stars I See Tonight is a black & white animated/live-action cross-over short film. It narrates the story of a girl (Elle Fanning) with night blindness and how her dad (James Patrick Stuart) gets her these military goggles to see the stars. It’s a lot of voice-over narration, incessant I should say, but it’s quite a sweet story and it’s less than 3 minutes, so if it even sounds mildly interesting to you: Check it out! Continue reading
Mini-Review: Il Vedovo (1959) – Your Typical Italian Tragicomedy Starring Alberto Sordi
Alberto Nardi (Alberto Sordi) is an enthusiastic, but unlucky Roman entrepreneur trying to make it big in Milan. All of his business ventures seem to be busts, but he still hasn’t given up hope and keeps dreaming of becoming very rich one day. In the meantime he has only made a lot of debts and if it wasn’t for his wealthy wife Elvira Almiraghi (Franca Valeri) he would probably be insolvent and declaring bankruptcy. Other than financial interests, Alberto doesn’t seem to care much about his wife. One day, it seems that Alberto’s luck has finally come: His wife has died in a terrible train accident and he is going to inherit her fortune. What a happy ending, but wait this is an Alberto Sordi film: It never ends well! Continue reading
Five Reasons: Werner Herzog’s Even Dwarfs Started Small (1970)
Welcome to another edition of Five Reasons, where I give you five very valid reasons to check out a film if you still need some convincing. If you have seen the film you get to peek inside my brain and find out why I love the movie so much. If you’re okay with peeking inside my brain, because there is all kinds of crazy shit going on there. Moving on: Here are five reasons why I highly recommend checking out Werner Herzog’s 1970 art film Auch Zwerge haben klein angefangen, which is just one of his many masterpieces. Continue reading
Watch: Another Appetizer for Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac
Another teaser for Lars von Trier’s upcoming Nymphomaniac has premiered today on the official website of the film. The clip features Charlotte Gainsbourg walking towards what seems to be a hospital. Stellan Skarsgård narrates the scene with his warm, raucous voice. The clip is shot in crispy clean black & white and looks gorgeous. It doesn’t really say or show much about the movie, so don’t worry about spoilers.
The description on the website reads: “Chapter 4 – Delirium. Delirium: Confusion. Delusion. Hallucination. The nymphomaniac’s father dies”. That would be Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg)’s father. The film is set to be released on Christmas Day in Denmark and in January 2014 worldwide. Looking good?
black is white 