Black Narcissus by Thomas Pynchon

“The film libraries on some of these channels.” Elmina said. “I swear. There was one on last night. I couldn’t sleep. After I saw it, I was afraid ro sleep. Have you seen Black Narcissus, 1947?” Eddie, who was enrolled in the graduate film program at SC, let out a scream of recognition. He’s been

War Starts at Midnight!

É, nem lacrimejei. Art Goes On Forever – A Tribute to The Archers Nota: Faltaram Elusive Pimpernel, The Battle of the River Plate, Oh… Rosalinda!!, Ill Met by Moonlight, One of Our Aircraft Is Missing e Spy in Black, alguns destes compreensivelmente porque não foram devidamente restaurados e seria covardia colocar perto de Narcissus e

Black Narcissus – Bastidores

Wohlbrück não pode mesmo ficar longe dessas desgraças?

Is it too late to go back to Technicolor?

Advancements in digital filmmaking are very exciting but having just seen ‘Black Narcissus’ again, is it too late to go back to Technicolor? Edgar Wright, ontem, via twitter Outro pensamento inevitável ao ver o dito cujo: por que raios os “efeitos especiais” de um filme dos anos 40 (basicamente luz, filtro e tinta) são melhores

24 Frames: Putting Out Fire with Gasoline

Um dos porquês do Cat People do Paul Schrader ter influência mais explícita de Powell & Pressburger do que propriamente de Jacques Tourneur. Embora exista muito em comum entre o cinema de Tourneur e de Powell (ambos aprenderam a fazer cinema na França, mas têm o expressionismo alemão como influência maior, tanto que certa vez

Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff (2010)

Scorsese: Some ballet enthusiasts feel that it’s not the best shooting of ballet. The best shooting of ballet, to be literal about it, would be from head to toe, Fred Astaire had in his contract that you had to keep photographing him from head to toe. But they changed that completely. They paid no attention to that. They made a film about what goes on inside the dancer’s head. It’s how the dancer, he or she, sees themselves, while they’re dancing. So you get the spirit of the dance, you get the spirit of it, and I applied that later to the boxing scenes in “Raging Bull”. What they hear, what they see. What they hear and what they see, very important.

Professor David Huxley’s laborious, licentious spotted-leopard labor day film quiz

1) Classic film you most want to experience that has so far eluded you. 2) Greatest Criterion DVD/Blu-ray release ever 3) The Big Sleep or The Maltese Falcon? 4) Jason Bateman or Paul Rudd? 5) Best mother/child (male or female) movie star combo 6) Who are the Robert Mitchums and Ida Lupinos among working movie

Let’s have the ‘Black Narcissus’ effect here!

There were scenes in Shutter Island that made me think of Powell’s Black Narcissus and I Know Where I’m Going. ‘Exactly. The coastal elements. And the cliff scene in “Black Narcissus”. Literally, there were some shots in the film when we said, “Right, let’s have the ‘Black Narcissus’ effect here!” Martin Scorsese talks ‘Shutter Island’

24 frames: A Matter of Life and Death (1946)

Assisto tanto este filme que em breve começarei a vomitar. Have you ever seen the soul? A maluca que escreveu este livro é uma especialista na área neurológica, a verdade que este livro é um dos mais inusuais sobre cinema que já tive notícia, você encontra zilhões de trabalhos sobre cinema com o ponto de

O Seu Pior Inimigo (The Small Back Room, 1949)

The Small Back Room é brilhante em sua simplicidade – ao menos no sentido de simplicidade segundo os critérios de Powell & Pressburger, sem os habituais cenários grandiloquentes, technicolor efusivo ou grandes jornadas pessoais com toque no fantástico. É um filme pequeno, com clima e aparência de noir travestido em filme de guerra, mas que

Sister Ruth is ill.

Muito me impressiona o fato de a Powell/Pressburger não serem citados devidamente, claro que existem uma pá de pessoas que idolatram e os colocam no lugar que lhes é direito, mas certamente não é o suficiente – talvez eu seja deslumbrada demais, talvez seja o mero fato que os filmes deles representam tudo que mais

Kathleen Byron (1921 – 2009)