For a brief introduction and a running list of movies covered in this project, click here 15) Mr. Turner (2014), directed by Mike Leigh J.M.W. Turner was famous for his seascapes. There’s nary a person to be found there; there are the clouds, the sun, the ships, of course the water. But people are of less interest,… Read More Better than BFI’s Top 100: 15-11
For a brief introduction and a running list of movies covered in this project, click here 40) Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983), directed by Nagisa Oshima A pair of character foils anchor this movie, which lacks the household recognition of Bridge on the River Kwai but which is superior in most aspects. (The music is no exception. Give me… Read More Better than BFI’s Top 100: 40-36
For a brief introduction and a running list of movies covered in this project, click here. 75) Gregory’s Girl (1981), directed by Bill Forsyth There’s a kid in a penguin costume running around in this movie, and I thought for sure that we would find out why, but of course we don’t. It couldn’t matter less why he… Read More Better than BFI’s Top 100: 75-71
Dir. David Lean. Starring Victor Banerjee, Judy Davis, Peggy Ashcroft In The Love Bug, Jim Douglas does not want that little car at first. If Herbie were some average automobile, then the movie would be over in five minutes. (Or, alternately, might have taken a very dark and un-Disney turn as Dean Jones plays an… Read More A Passage to India (1984)
Dir. James Ivory. Starring Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, James Fox Someone famous and distant is supposed to have said, “Hominem unius libri timeo,” or, “I fear the man of one book.” The phrase is pleasingly ambiguous. One might fear the man of “one book” because he has great learning in a subject which outstrips our… Read More The Remains of the Day (1993)
Dir. Charles Sturridge. Starring Ted Danson, James Fox, Mary Steenburgen I have long been on the record that just because something shares the same title as its source material doesn’t mean, necessarily, that it must follow the source material’s lead. In practice, what that means is that film adapters should feel real freedom to edit… Read More Gulliver’s Travels (1996)
Seeing Things Secondhand 