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Reviews
11'09''01 - September 11 (2002)
DVD
9/11/2001. I was in the barracks for my compulsory military service, and we were preparing for a joint US-Israel-Turkey military exercise that would begin in a few months. American and Turkish commanders were sitting and watching the news on CNN when they saw the attack. After a deep silence, the American lieutenant colonel turned to his Turkish and Iraqi colleagues and said, "The world will never be the same." As if everything was so different on the 10th of the month... For me, 9/11 is all about this because three officers who had been hanging out, having fun, and watching basketball together for days did not speak to each other until the day of the planned exercise, unless official circumstances required it.
Why am I telling you this? This film was released in 2002, and I bought the DVD in 2004 because I couldn't watch it in the cinema because I was in the military.
2002... That is, while the ashes of 9/11 were still falling from the skies of New York, Hollywood started thinking about how to turn this into political propaganda and money and started producing projects. The funny thing is, the countries of the non-American directors/writers in this film were militarily or economically devastated by the US after this film. Here is a recorded and served version of the West's hypocrisy.
As a work of art, the film consists of very good short films... But at the end of the day, it's not just a film.
Le sourd dans la ville (1987)
Canadian...
"Le sourd dans la ville" by Marie-Claire Blais... note to self: must read this book...
Another Canadian film lost in the dusty pages of history despite being part of the selection at the 44th Venice Film Festival. Canada might just have the world's most crowded film graveyard. They've been producing underrated films for decades, and then they don't even remember them.
"Le sourd dans la ville" is an exceptional film with that title. In the film, we dive in and out of the lives of Florence, who moves into a dilapidated hotel in downtown Montreal after her husband leaves her and befriends the hotel owner Gloria (Béatrice Picard) and her deaf son Mike (Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge), and the hotel, the hotel guests. I felt like the morning after a night of cheap wine when the film ended.
I wish such films would somehow be brought back into the spotlight.
PS: Ginette Bellavance and Michel Caron are two miraculous invisible hands that add amazing details to the film.
PS: As this is a Canadian film, some dialogues are in English and the majority of the film is in French... And I can say this; French suits art and literature very well...
Icare (2017)
Albert Chassagne-Baradat
Magritte 2019 Best Fictional Short Film Award... On a small island crowned with steep cliffs, stands a single house overlooking the sea. An inventor, obsessed with the dream that man will one day fly like birds, conducts experiments with his machines on this abandoned piece of land. According to this man, only a pure, light, and naive soul can achieve such a feat. Eleven-year-old Joseph, recruited from the mainland, seems like the perfect candidate...
The director, Nicolas Boucart, who himself worked in the camera department, is also the screenwriter of the film. In this short film, it is evident from the very first second that Nicolas Boucart has a background in camera work, because each frame is like a Renaissance painting, a film completed at 24 frames per second. Although such good visuals dominate and overshadow the film's script, a very good child actor, Albert Chassagne-Baradat, comes into play here.
"Icare" is one of the finest examples of how intense the narrative power of a short film can be.
Gladiator II (2024)
million-dollar garbage.
"Whither is fled the visionary gleam?
Where is it now, the glory and the dream?"
If I didn't know he died on April 23, 1850, I would say William Wordsworth wrote these lines from his magnificent poem "Ode: Intimations of Immortality" after watching this film.
The very idea of making a sequel to "Gladiator" sounded absurd to me when I first heard the news, but similar negative things were written about "Blade Runner 2049," and yet we trusted the director and actors and were not disappointed. So I said to myself, "Maybe," "a good film could come out of this."
The resulting film is entirely formulaic: CGI, social messages shoved down our throats, CGI, high-octane action sequences...
Thanks to this film, Paul Mescal can probably make a move towards Hollywood films; it could be Hollywood's Mescal discovery film... This may be good news for Mescal, but it is debatable how good news this is for film lovers on the other side of the ocean.
Also, critics who saw this film a few days ago in the US wrote that it was "Ridley Scott's best film since 'The Martian'"... I beg your pardon... "The Last Duel" (2021)???
This may be the answer to the question of why we shouldn't trust American critics.
Zizotek (2019)
Vardis Marinakis
The subtlety (and superfluity) of the border between Greece and Turkey is reflected in its art and literature. Vardis Marinakis has written such a screenplay and Christina Moumouri has captured such beautiful frames that at times, if I didn't realize I was reading subtitles, I could say that I was watching a film made in my native language.
With Vardis Marinakis' clever choices, "Zizotek" reaches its audience with small touches and deep meanings hidden in naive frames, even though it could have conveyed its message in big letters, grabbing people by the scruff of their necks and shaking them.
This film, which tells the story of a child who is emotionally abused by his mother and shares things about life with a deaf man, is one of those films that I can't understand why it is so underrated.
The Death & Life of John F. Donovan (2018)
Xavier
Xavier Dolan, born in 1989, quit filmmaking a few years ago despite winning numerous awards with every film he made. Why? Because he said people don't watch these kinds of movies and the effort he puts in is wasted. At the time, many viewers and critics told Xavier Dolan he was wrong... In the intervening time, Xavier Dolan has been proven right, because now even so-called independent film festivals have become places where Disney+, Apple TV, and other companies' big-budget, multi-million dollar films are awarded and showcased.
This film has an amazing cast, and Xavier Dolan has used this cast to the fullest. There is not a single scene/dialogue in the film that is not meaningful. Xavier Dolan has had a hand in everything from the editing to the costume design of the film, which has a very solid narrative language thanks to its dynamic editing.
The classic Xavier Dolan mother-son relationship - which I feel to my core in every one of his films - is brought to the forefront with a terrific narrative in this film as well.
The queer narrative is better than most queer films made in a long time. Dolan, as always, focuses on the real concerns of LGBT individuals.
I identified so much with the scene where Jacob Tremblay watches his favorite actor's film in front of the TV and is left screaming that even today, when someone I love makes a film, I get into that state.
Even when it came to cutting Jessica Chastain's scenes from the film, I admired Xavier Dolan at the time. It's not every man's job to completely remove such a high-profile name - and I adore the woman - from the film because she's detrimental to the narrative.
When the film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, it received low ratings from film critics and was voted the worst of the year... Now the same critics at the same festivals are busy praising Disney+ / Apple TV+ films...
If it were up to audiences and critics, Marvel films would have killed cinema... If the subject is the death of cinema, that is, the production of good films, film critics and the audience that watches films are the common cause.
This film and this director are proof of that.
Hosszú alkony (1997)
Shirley Jackson
It is impossible not to mention Mari Torocsik, who passed away recently.
András Forgách and Attila Janisch have created a very interesting and unique adaptation of Shirley Jackson.
Actually, two adaptations, because on the DVD release of the film "Hosszú alkony" you can also find another Shirley Jackson adaptation called "ZiZi"... as a short film, of course.
In this 86-minute film, which contains all the beauty of Hungarian cinema and Hungarian nature, Mari Torocsik makes you truly experience the film.
Attila Janisch is not a filmmaker who produces a lot of work, but watching two of his films back-to-back has made me curious about his other films.
The Little Prince (1974)
Stanley Donen
I love this film. Because Gene Wilder plays the Fox, because there's Bob Fosse, Richard Kiley, and the film's director is Stanley Donen... the lyrics are by Alan Jay Lerner, the music is by Frederick Loewe, and the songs, arranged and orchestrated by Angela Morley, complete the musical part of the film perfectly.
The dance moves of the 'Snake' character, voiced by Fosse, which contain elements of his signature style, and the connection of these moves to Michael Jackson were talked about for many years.
I hope that Paramount Pictures will one day release a 4K restoration of this film and remaster the soundtrack album.
Sebastian (2024)
Sundance
The director and screenwriter of this film, Mikko Mäkelä, is only 35 years old, and this is not his first work; he has been making quality films in the industry for years.
The young actor Ruaridh Mollica, who delivers a very good performance in the lead role, is only 25 years old, and he has also been acting and writing in the industry for over a decade.
That such a profound film could come from two such young individuals... That's cinema, that's art.
"Sebastian," both the film and the character, is one of the most naive yet daring productions of 2024...
Sundance selections never disappoint.
Disclaimer (2024)
Why Cuaron... Why?
I was so excited about Alfonso Cuarón making a miniseries that I was afraid to watch it as soon as Apple TV released it, for fear that it would end too quickly... Over 300 minutes of Alfonso Cuarón... and with a cast like Emmanuel Lubezki, Sacha Baron Cohen, Kevin Kline, Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Cate Blanchett, who could win the cup if they were a soccer team.
However, the end result, with the exception of KSMP and SBC, is mediocre, even a tad below average at times.
I haven't read Renee Knight's novel, I don't know how different it is from the miniseries, but if it's not much different, I might not have watched this miniseries at all, despite the cast. If the opposite is true, that's even worse, because I can't believe this cast would have made a bad adaptation of a good novel.
I realized while correcting the data on IMDb that they were all involved in the production as producers. So the quality of the product doesn't matter, it's been sold and the money will be deposited into their accounts. It's people like us who trust a few names for quality content who lose out.
There's something wrong with Apple TV+, they seem to have made it their mission to make miniseries and films that are a tad above and a tad below average by bringing together casts like a Champions League mix... They probably want to be the Warner Bros. Of the streaming world by not giving directors full control and asking them to stay within certain standards.
Midnight Run (1988)
80's
Al Pacino or Robert De Niro? Robert De Niro or Al Pacino?
This question is one of the dilemmas that film fans have not been able to answer since the late 70s. For me, the answer to this question has always been Robert De Niro, because apart from writing and directing, his acting and role-playing range is also wider.
This film is one of the proofs of that. Director Martin Brest also made "Scent of a Woman" (1992) with Al Pacino four years after this film, and apart from the "Gigli" (2003) debacle, he is a magnificent filmmaker who has never fired a blank.
Screenwriter George Gallo, who has no other noteworthy work apart from this film, deserves to be commended, because the dynamics of the dialogues in the film are very good and increase the enjoyment one gets from the film.
This legendary film, which has had three sequels that cannot surpass the magnificent chemistry between Charles Grodin and De Niro, is still making headlines today as a new generation discovers it.
There is not a single wasted frame in the film. In addition to the flawless musical score, the songs chosen, the locations chosen, and the accessories chosen, such as the leather jacket and jeans that have become synonymous with De Niro, even the actors who appear for three seconds in the film's cast are like a parade of stars.
In interviews they gave to Rolling Stone magazine and The New York Times in 2016, both Grodin and De Niro said they loved and missed their characters...
As a film fan, I really miss those days.
Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)
Cagney
"What do you hear, what do you say?"
It follows in the footsteps of "Scarface" (1932 version) and delves into the criminal underworld, but offers a delightful alternative to "Scarface's" moralizing didacticism. In contrast to the Italian in "Scarface," the Irishman in "Angels with Dirty Faces" is more of a "wiseguy." While Camonte is a coward who grovels at the feet of the police when arrested, Sullivan does so at the cost of destroying his name, to avoid setting an example for young teenagers. He chooses the courage of "God" over the courage of tough guys. A kind of "profession of faith," just before death.
Sullivan is one of two young friends who grew up under the sway of the perception of the ordinariness of lawlessness. Under the influence of this ordinariness, he and his friend engage in a petty crime spree with almost childish enthusiasm. Not being as quick as his friend, he cannot escape the law. The law, which claims to rehabilitate him, ends up creating a gangster out of him.
Punishment alone is not capable of changing the conditions that give rise to crime. The same place continues to produce new Sullivans. The divine sermons of the "fast-talking" priest, who strives to prevent these "Angels with Dirty Faces" from turning into sharp-dressed gangsters, pale in comparison to the vitality of their actions.
The "angels" see their own future in gangster Sullivan, who was once one of them. In a world where the traces of the holy commandments are erased by sin-ridden earthly people, the priest's sermons are about a world that does not exist for children. They are concerned with existing in the most worldly way in the world that does exist. That's why their hero is Sullivan.
Give credit where credit is due. It conveys the potential of laws to create criminals with the naiveté of a clergyman, and in this respect, it is a very close follower of "I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang" (1932) in delving into the nature of crime.
This is, in my opinion, the best film by director Michael Curtiz, who went down in cinematic history with "Casablanca" (1942). It was my father's favorite VHS tape and is among my favorite DVDs.
And I can't help but say; James Cagney is such a good actor that he overshadows the likes of Pat O'Brien and Humphrey Bogart.
PS: In the scene where the priest enters Sullivan's room minutes before the execution, the moment the priest says in a low voice, "I'm going to ask you for one last favor," a passage from Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities" came to mind... I won't write about that... Please read the book.
Nightmare Classics: The Turn of the Screw (1989)
Shelley Duvall's Nightmare Classics
There was a television program created by Shelley Duvall, with Linda Hunt doing the opening presentations for the episodes. This American TV show, known as "Nightmare Classics" (also known as "Shelley Duvall's Nightmare Classics"), premiered with an adaptation of Henry James' immortal novella, "The Turn of the Screw."
Two masters like Micole Mercurio and Amy Irving are accompanied by Balthazar Getty, who did wonders with "Lord of the Flies" (1990) and "Lost Highway" (1997). Getty's character, Miles, is the most sinister character in the book, and he delivers a terrific performance as the most sinister character in this TV adaptation... His playing Ludwig van Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" on the piano was especially eerie.
By the way... David Hemmings, who plays the uncle, originated the role of Miles in Benjamin Britten's opera adaptation of "The Turn of the Screw" in 1954... An interesting detail.
Deep End (1970)
70's
Two years ago, the film "IO" was quite the talk of the town, especially thanks to Mubi's advertising, but I couldn't get into the mood of the film and therefore didn't like it. Apart from "Moonlighting" (1982), which I adore, that was the extent of my relationship with Jerzy Skolimowski's cinema. This year, when Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam came to Istanbul for an event during Ramadan, I went to see him thanks to a few people at the Ministry of Culture. While I was getting him to sign my father's old records, he stopped, looked at me, and said, "Have you seen 'Deep End'?"
Of course, I hadn't, but I didn't understand why he asked... then the film slipped my mind again... When the conversation at the Sweden consulate turned to it over the weekend, I realized while watching that the film's music was by Cat Stevens...
So this was Jerzy Skolimowski's signature work. Everyone loves this film... And now I do too... It's full of 70s England and the trends that started with the rising BRIT movement... John Moulder-Brown, who had just turned 17 when the film was made and, naturally, had no trouble playing a horny teenager, and Jane Asher, whom I've always loved, even though her film career is full of mediocre films apart from a few very good ones, have achieved a wonderful harmony...
And of course, the music... How could I not know about this? I feel ashamed.
Waking Up in Vegas (2023)
Short but Deep
A Swiss-born brother of Turkish descent and a teenager who likes to paint his nails.
Michèle Flury brightens up my Saturday morning and captures my heart with a short but impressive queer coming-of-age narrative.
Finnigan Inan and Fritz Rudolph fulfill their roles with a maturity unexpected for their age and take us back to our childhood for 15 minutes.
Although we are in 2024, a couple of teenagers dream of a career in the world of soccer, which is still as masculine as it was in the 50s... One of them has a Turkish family born in Switzerland, so he is already a minority, and the other is brave enough to confess that he finds his best friend beautiful and paint his nails, but also desperate enough to have to make up fake heterosexual sex stories.
Michèle Flury is aware that the change in society will not happen overnight, that it will happen with baby steps, and she has based her film on this...
Seeing the fragile state of mind beneath all the masculine armor of his role model brother (Ayhan Eranil), Yael (Finnigan Inan) finds himself next to his secret love Aaron (Fritz Rudolph), with whom he is comfortable, in the middle of the night. And the change begins with a small stroke of nail polish...
And dance...
Although popularized by Katy Perry's 2009 song of the same name, the phrase "Waking Up in Vegas" is used to mean people who go wild in Las Vegas casinos not remembering the next day, but thanks to the memories of our own childhood, we are sure that the two protagonists in this story will remember this moment.
The quality productions that queer cinema lacks come with such naive narratives, not with big-budget, big stories, and this is a really beautiful detail.
Babycall (2011)
Noomi Rapace
The Match Factory, The Match Factory, The Match Factory, The Match Factory... Yes, that company, recently acquired by Mubi, is the producer of this film... The Match Factory used to make films like this. What happened to them?
"Babycall," aka "The Monitor," directed by Pål Sletaune, whose films I've never seen before, is a thriller co-produced by Germany, Norway, and Sweden, bearing the characteristic features of the nature, people, and literature of all three countries.
However, I want to open a separate heading here for Noomi Rapace. Born to a Swedish mother and a Spanish father, she is one of the rare actresses in the world who works wonders both in her own country, in her own language, and in global cinema in English.
Burning Secret (1988)
David Eberts
This film came to mind again the other day when I watched the film "Sredni Vashtar" (1981) by British director/screenwriter Andrew Birkin, whose screenplays already hold a privileged place in my physical media collection.
Undoubtedly, there are few works in recent literary history that have sparked as much controversy as Thomas Mann's "Death in Venice," written in 1912, and this short story, written a year later by Stefan Zweig under the title "Burning Secret." So much so that all the film, theater, and TV adaptations of these works have caused great controversy...
"Burning Secret" was banned and its publication prevented so many times that Adolf Hitler and the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda banned the book separately and the film adapted from it, titled "Das brennende Geheimnis, Mutter, dein Kind ruft!," separately.
This adaptation was quite risky for MGM because they actually wanted Stanley Kubrick to direct the film. They both wanted the project and feared that Kubrick, who had already generated great controversy with his film "Lolita," would take things even further with this script.
Ultimately, the film was written and directed by Andrew Birkin, but according to him, there was never a comfortable working environment on set due to the constant quarrels between Klaus Maria Brandauer and Faye Dunaway.
He even says in an interview that he made the film with David Eberts, which I didn't quite believe, but later, when I saw his videos with Hans Zimmer, I did...
This film and all the adaptations of this book are very underrated because MGM doesn't have the guts to release these films today.
Emporte-moi (1999)
Underrated
"Hanna: My father is Jewish, my mother is Catholic... Judaism is passed down through the mother, so I'm not Jewish... Catholicism is passed down through the father, so I'm not Catholic either.
Teacher: Okay, I'll register you as Catholic for school."
Religion, if not religion, then the state, if not the state, then society... Down to its smallest cell... The molds they try to force us into and the labels given to us without asking our opinion...
The year is 1963 (nothing has changed today), and Hanna is growing up in Montreal. She just had her first period, which makes her life even more complicated than it already is. Also, they have no money at home because her father, the breadwinner, is a penniless writer and a Holocaust survivor. Hanna has a difficult relationship with her father and her mother, who provides the income. Hanna is also an outsider at school, an immigrant. Jean-Luc Godard's film "Vivre sa vie" is her way of escaping the world... Today, people ask me how I watch so many films... That's exactly how; when I was a child, a teenager, I was constantly listening to music and watching films to escape reality...
Despite being made in '99, the greatest success of "Emporte-moi" is that it manages to give the feeling of being a film from the 60s, the time in which its story takes place... Director Léa Pool, herself a stateless person born in Switzerland and teaching film at the Université du Québec à Montréal, has surely added biographical touches to the script.
The film is quite underrated because Roger Ebert, in his usual cantankerous manner, mercilessly criticized the film, and therefore the film was announced as Canada's Academy Award nominee for Best International Feature Film at the 72nd Academy Awards but was not nominated...
I am reminded once again why I don't care about those microorganisms called film critics.
The Rocking Horse Winner (1949)
John Howard Davie... Not Oliver!!!
There are actually a lot of short film adaptations of this short story by D. H. Lawrence, some even featuring legendary actors like Gabriel Byrne. Ironically, the best-known and most respected adaptation of this short story is not a short film.
Although this is the only noteworthy film of his cinematic career, Anthony Pelissier was actually a director who wrote quite "creepy" screenplays. And we can see traces of that here.
In the lead role is John Howard Davies, who made history playing Oliver in the best-known and most beloved version of "Oliver Twist" and later became a director. Davies, presumably because he is British and was introduced to Lawrence's works in school, seems to have understood the story tremendously well and delivered a very good performance.
The Rocking Horse Winner (1997)
Michael Almereyda
''A gambler comes to live with his sister and discovers his young nephew can predict the winner of horse races by riding on his rocking horse.''
Very 90s and more or less keeps the same story beats as the D. H Lawrence short story.
Director Michael Almereyda shot this famous short story by D. H. Lawrence entirely independently with a Fisher-Price PixelVision 2000 camera. That is, with a toy camera... And this short film stars Eric Stoltz, no less... It's mind-boggling. Even stranger is that I came across this film in the extras on the DVD release of the 1949 adaptation of the same short story. I have a bunch of Michael Almereyda DVDs, but it's not on any of them... peculiar.
Le temps du loup (2003)
Haneke
This is one of Haneke's most masterful works, which I had the opportunity to see in Istanbul thanks to Filmekimi 2003 after its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.
The festival's website at the time described the film as follows: "Setting a slow, unhurried pace, the film allows viewers time to truly absorb the cold and bleak atmosphere. A dark, relentless work that will shake you out of your comfortable seats."
I'm always excited to watch a Haneke film, to await its release, and this one even starred Isabelle Huppert... My excitement was doubled.
At the time, the film failed to please any audience at any festival in the world, including Cannes and Filmekimi. As I recall, a director like Haneke was even booed at Cannes. This time, the characteristic feature inherited from the French New Wave, "take a slice of life and present it to the viewer in a simple way, without excitement, tension, or expense," is presented as an answer to the question, "If the end of the world comes, how can it be told in this way?" Considering how subjects like "the end of the world, the end of everything, doomsday," which are frequently dealt with in Hollywood, are conveyed to the audience, I believe Haneke should be applauded for creating a beautiful alternative with the idea of filming this issue from the perspective of a French filmmaker (although he is actually of Austrian origin).
He is the best narrator of his own stories, and the story of this film has told itself as much as one person can tell another. It is devoid of unnecessary dialogue; dramatic expressions and dialogues play a repulsive role that will prevent the viewer from reaching for the off button, even if they are tempted to. The director, who elaborates on alienation, instinctive animality, the will to exist, and all our inner urges in great detail, has come extremely close to objectivity with elements that contain the contrast of all kinds of emotions with various characters, in order not to glorify himself and his views in the film, and has not burdened the viewer with the trouble of listening to advice. I think it is a very successful film, though it may not be for some. However, while very few aphorisms from other films that you are impressed by remain in your mind, you will remember long nature visuals from this film, facial expressions that show you can understand many things without statements and silly aphorisms, and something that continues within you... A family going from the dirty environment of the city to the clean, safe haven of nature. But Haneke attacks this last refuge of people. O mankind, you have nowhere left to run, it is time to question the system. Now you will either experience disappointments, hopelessness, death, in short, hell, or you will destroy this dirty system and replace it with another. Yes, it is a gray film, yes, there is more hopelessness than hope, but it is a masterfully crafted film that rubs the truth in the viewer's eyes, pulls it out of their ears and sticks it into their hearts.
A film where what is, is.
Simple, unadorned, far from dramatization, just as it is.
Cormac McCarthy's 2006 novel "The Road" has inspired many plays/series/films; even the creators of works like "The Last of Us" / "God of War" say this without mincing words... I think it's impossible that Cormac McCarthy was not influenced by the cold-blooded story of annihilation in which Haneke, who shattered the family with "Funny Games" (1997, of course), this time destroys society in a clear and simple way, when he wrote "The Road."
2003... 2024 I watched this film on October 24th (I still have my Filmekimi ticket, yes, there were still printed tickets back then), it's been 21 years... In the intervening years, like the character played by Lucas Biscombe, I feel exhausted and want to set everything I have on fire and finish myself off, and in this day and age, there is no one left to pull us out of that fire and say "cry, you will be relieved."
Beshkempir (1998)
Khassan Kydyraliev
When the USSR dissolved, the separated countries struggled to find their own identities. Many of them failed to emerge victoriously from this struggle and vanished from the world of art and literature... Kyrgyzstan is in a different position. Kyrgyz filmmakers like Aktan Abdykalykov (also known as Aktan Arym Kubat), who were trying to find their own cinematic language after the USSR, created a Kyrgyz New Wave in the world of cinema. Yes, due to its location and economic strength, Kyrgyzstan does not have a very productive cinema, but they still make themselves known from time to time.
"Beshkempir," a coming-of-age story, tells its tale in a highly engaging language thanks to the tremendous success of its cinematographer, Khassan Kydyraliev.
For reasons unknown, Noé Production has not restored and re-released the films in its possession, and as a result, many films belonging to this production company, despite being magnificent cinematic works, remain underrated.
Je suis le seigneur du château (1989)
Sussan Hill
The presence and success of the French in nearly every field of art and literature cannot be overlooked... Indeed, the history of cinema and literature would be almost nonexistent without France. Yet, the French are nearly absent when it comes to horror/thriller in art and literature...
In this French film, adapted from British author Susan Hill's 1970 novel "I'm the King of the Castle," director Régis Wargnier, with the help of the cinematography and music, manages to capture that characteristic British greyness so often seen in Susan Hill's books. And he does so without sacrificing his French identity.
David Behar and Régis Arpin play a large part in this success.
The Fly (1958)
Masterpiece
James Clavell, who masterfully adapted George Langelaan's short story for the screen, and the brilliant director Kurt Neumann, whose intriguing films leave us wondering to this day what went on in his mind... Add to that cinematographer Karl Struss, who demonstrates his mastery with CinemaScope, which was quite unconventional for its time. He was known for working with filmmakers like Charlie Chaplin, who used unorthodox methods in cinema.
The film is a stroke of genius... Even Karl Struss was surprised by the result of the film's production.
While the studio expected it to flop with its $500,000 budget, it grossed over $4 million and introduced a legend like Vincent Price to the world of horror cinema. Even when watched in 2024, this film is still a delightful cinematic masterpiece.
13 Ghosts (1960)
Robb White and William Castle
It's no surprise that this film, with the biggest names in Hollywood horror/fantasy/thriller films of the era both in front of and behind the camera, has gone down in cinematic history... But still, one must not forget that many ensemble cast films have been forgotten... What makes this film so special?
Is it the fact that the ghost scenes were shot in color in a black and white film to surprise the audience?
Or was it the studio paying the highest fee ever paid to a child actor up to that time because the director insisted on Charles Herbert, who had previously done quite well in horror/fantasy cinema, for the role of Buck?
Or is it the masterpiece of one of the best cinematographers in the history of cinema, Joseph F. Biroc?
Actually, we can say it's the incredible harmony between writer Robb White and director William Castle... All the other reasons we can list come after that...
This duo did such epic work in their time that even 50 years later, remakes of their work with much better technical capabilities could not be imitated...
I love the black and white era, and I love the horror and fantasy films of the black and white era even more.