It Came from the Mystic Carloss James Chamberlin February 2004 Feature Articles Revenge, innocence and the search for lost time are among the many motifs touched upon in this bold and original exegesis of one of Eastwood's most complex works.
The Tracking Shot in Kapo Serge Daney February 2004 Feature Articles A seminal piece of contemporary film criticism, written late in Daney's career, which interweaves personal reflection and sharp analysis in a moving meditation on cinema, history and criticism.
Sergei Eisenstein Dan Shaw February 2004 CTEQ Annotations on Film, Feature Articles b. January 23,1898, Riga, Latvia d. February 11, 1948, Moscow, USSR filmography bibliography articles in Senses web resources With Eisenst...
On the Street where You Live: The Films of John Smith Adrian Danks December 2003 Feature Articles An overview of the work of filmmaker John Smith, and an appreciation of its humble, earthly qualities, its fine-tuned probing of the "local" world, the artist's relationship to this world and the film form itself.
Monkey Screwball: MGM’s Afrikareise and Other Observations Maximilian Le Cain December 2003 Feature Articles A personal reflection on how one relates to and remembers cinema, Le Cain re-discovers the early MGM Tarzan movies, finding therein a complex interplay of social values and an innocence not found in contemporary cinema.
Recuperation and Rear Window Murray Pomerance December 2003 Feature Articles James Stewart in Rear Window is convalescent, not mentally disturbed, argues Pomerance – whose own experience of immobilising injury gave him a chance to see this Hitchcock classic from a new angle.
Tony’s Options: The Sopranos and the Televisuality of the Gangster Genre Martha P. Nochimson December 2003 Feature Articles Arguing against the proposition that television should be more like film, Nochimson shows how TV's The Sopranos transforms gangster film conventions through serial narrative patterning unique to the medium.
Dreams of Fassbinder: An Interview with Juliane Lorenz Maximilian Le Cain and Chris Neill December 2003 Feature Articles A distinguished film editor, Juliane Lorenz was closely associated with Rainer Werner Fassbinder in the final years of his life. She shares some memories of working with this "extraordinary" genius.
Hurlevent: Jacques Rivette’s Adaptation of Wuthering Heights Valérie Hazette December 2003 Feature Articles One of the least-discussed films by this often-elusive master, Hurlevent has recently been released on DVD. In this rare English-language interview, Rivette talks about the challenges he faced in planning and shooting his own version of Emily Bronte's novel – with some sidelights on his most recent project.
More Sinned Against than Sinning: The Fabrications of “Pre-Code Cinema” Richard Maltby December 2003 Feature Articles Revisionist history in action, this essay calls into question prevailing perceptions of pre-Code and Code Hollywood cinema, arguing for a more accurate and considered understanding of how the entertainment industry worked in the '30s and how it was influenced by a variety of factors.
Hong Kong Horror – The ’90s and Beyond Grady Hendrix December 2003 Feature Articles Back from the dead? Despite prophecies of doom, the Hong Kong film industry is now stronger than ever, with horror films a speciality. Hendrix provides all the gory details in this blow-by-blow account.
Goodbye City, Goodbye Cinema: Nostalgia in Tsai Ming-liang’s The Skywalk is Gone Brian Hu December 2003 Feature Articles Serial alienation in the modern city: a discussion of the multiple "lost objects" of mourning in Tsai Ming-liang's recent short film, ranging from bygone eras of Chinese and Taiwanese cinema to Tsai's own previous features.
Jennifer Dworkin Interviewed Jared Rapfogel December 2003 Feature Articles In this conversational yet rigorous interview, Dworkin discusses the techniques and overall experience of working on Love and Diane, a landmark in contemporary documentary that, in the tradition of Wiseman, reveals the workings of social structures from the point of view of human experience.
Dancing with Myself, Drifting with My Camera: The Emotional Vagabonds of China’s New Documentary Bérénice Reynaud October 2003 Feature Articles A sweeping analysis of the rise and history of documentary filmmaking in China, its significance as a formally innovative medium and a voice for the marginalised.
The Cliff and the Flume Bill Krohn October 2003 Feature Articles A "great poet of space", Hollywood director Allan Dwan pursued consistent formal interests across 50 years, multiple genres and hundreds of films. Krohn provides a partial map of the territory.
The Rise of the Mandacaru: Brazilian Cinema Renewed Jorge Didaco October 2003 Feature Articles An account of Brazilian cinema post-1992 that interweaves the country's politics and temperament with its cinema.
Orchestration of Tears: The Politics of Crying and Reclaiming Women’s Public Sphere Saito Ayako October 2003 Feature Articles Examining the 1953 Japanese film Twenty-Four Eyes, Ayako unravels how affective discourses such as crying have been appropriated for "higher" purposes in Japanese history, making women's tears rarely their own.
Against the Grain: On the Cinematic Vision of Manoel de Oliveira Randal Johnson October 2003 Feature Articles This discussion of Oliveira focuses on his '70s work and its interest in the specificity of cinema in relation to theatre, literature and the other arts.
Acting “Genius”: Judy Davis Lesley Chow October 2003 Feature Articles How can an actor convincingly suggest "genius" in a character? Judy Davis' stylised, self-conscious performances approach this problem in an unusual way.
Antonioni’s L’avventura and Deleuze’s Time-image Hamish Ford October 2003 Feature Articles Deleuze's concept of the "time-image" offers insights into Antonioni's still-radical treatment of time and space.
“La Loïe” as Pre-Cinematic Performance – Descriptive Continuity of Movement Erin Brannigan October 2003 Feature Articles Establishing a connection between the techniques of turn-of-the-century dancer Loïe Fuller and theories of movement emerging at the time, Brannigan argues for the place of Fuller's dancefilm in the development of the cinematic apparatus.
The Swine who Rewrote F. Scott Fitzgerald: Joseph L. Mankiewicz as Producer Tag Gallagher October 2003 Feature Articles As a producer for MGM, Mankiewicz put his signature on films by a variety of directors – not necessarily for the better.
The Frontiers of Genre and Trance: Five Films by Jess Franco Maximilian Le Cain July 2003 Feature Articles Despite having seen only a portion of Franco's incredibly vast oeuvre, Max's discussion is nevertheless insightful, uncovering the workings of what he refers to as "a paroxysmal non-narrative cinema based on the director's sensations".
Phantasmatic Fissures: Spider Patricia MacCormack July 2003 Feature Articles As a film which dramatises a state of 'schizophrenia', MacCormack argues, by going beyond psychoanalysis, that Spider and indeed Cronenberg's films generally offer creative possibilities for thinking new realities and states.
Absolute Definition: Katharine Hepburn Lesley Chow July 2003 Feature Articles Katherine Hepburn died last month aged 96. This tribute takes a close look at what made her performances unique.
Central Asian Films Jared Rapfogel July 2003 Feature Articles Jared delights in films from this region of the world, in particular, their humility, insight and complexity in grasping a reality much harsher then that of the contemporary West.
The European Undead: Tsai Ming-liang’s Temporal Dysphoria Fran Martin July 2003 Feature Articles Martin examines the complex, layered workings of cinematic and cultural referencing in this film and its overall sensibility of temporal disjuncture.
Community, Loss, and Regeneration: An Interview with Wheeler Winston Dixon Gwendolyn Audrey Foster July 2003 Feature Articles In this career-spanning interview, the filmmaker and prolific author discusses his participation in the '60s counterculture and avant-garde film scene.
One League of Social Consciousness: Dharmasena Pathiraja Speaks Brandon Wee July 2003 Feature Articles Sri Lankan filmmaker, Dharmasena Pathiraja, whose works are humanist social commentaries, enjoyed a retrospective at this year's Singapore International Film Festival.
“There Is No Sixth Generation!” Director Li Yang on Blind Shaft and His Place in Chinese Cinema Stephen Teo July 2003 Feature Articles Li Yang discusses his impressive first feature, a drama set in China's mining industry, starring professional and non-professionals, exploring socio-historical, ethical, and existential themes.
Performing the Documentary, or Making It To the Other Bank Charles Leary July 2003 Feature Articles A recent, unconventional Chinese documentary blurs the lines between cinema, theatre and ‘reality.’
Don’t Fence Me In: Reading Beyond Genre Robert Briggs July 2003 Feature Articles Unforgiven as a fantasy film? Star Trek as a Western? How do we go about classifying films by genre – and what are the risks of doing so?
Material Film Hugo Salas July 2003 Feature Articles Could Adorno have been right in his belief that cinema was not an art? In this provocative essay, Salas argues for a re-assessment of the concept of the ‘culture industry.’
Ford Rises from the Dead. Again. Tag Gallagher May 2003 Feature Articles John Ford's early film, Bucking Broadway, was recently 'found' in Paris and later restored. Ford expert, Tag Gallagher appraises the restoration.
Infernal Affairs: High Concept in Hong Kong Charles Leary May 2003 Feature Articles Hong Kong's most ambitious blockbuster reveals shifts in the industrial logic of world cinema.
Catch Me If You Can, Auto Focus, Far From Heaven and the Art of Retro Title Sequences Deborah Allison May 2003 Feature Articles A look at the stylish heyday of title sequences in the 1950s and '60s - and some current films that playfully revisit this era.
