It’s time to cast an eye on the Criterion Collection, a distribution company renowned for giving cult, classic and world cinema a new lease of life… The art of film curation and preservation is something one company in particular seems to exceed above all else. For the niche market of cinephile collectors, Criterion also has […]
When You Need To Watch A Film Twice
Tom Jolliffe looks at when you need to watch a film a second time to fully appreciate it… A couple of days ago one of my Flickering Myth brethren Neil Calloway wrote a piece about watching classic films for the first time and finding them boring. The piece certainly got a reaction, from no less […]
How To Be Unique In Cinema
Tom Jolliffe delves into what makes a film truly unique… If you’ve watched Captain America, or Spider-Man, or another masked hero, you’ve pretty much seen a variation on the same film. Genres themselves have clearly identifiable tropes and an action film for example, will often adhere to specific action genre calling cards. That doesn’t necessarily […]
A Celebration of Janus Films
Tom Jolliffe takes a look at Janus Films, the iconic distributors of arthouse and World Cinema… It’s not often we as film goers pay much focus on film distributors. We all know the biggies. Those images that precede the big tent pole blockbusters almost seep into our synapses without much notice. Warner Bros., Universal, Disney, […]
A Beginner’s Guide To Andrei Tarkovsky
Tom Jolliffe continues our series of director beginner’s guides with Andrei Tarkovsky… Some directors have an important impact on cinema. It doesn’t always tie in with box office results, or widespread audience appeal. If you’re in the States or the UK, chances are your predominant cinematic experience revolves around American or British films. As far […]
Seven Famous Cursed Movie Productions
Disasters, terrible luck, radiation poisoning and death. We look at some famous cursed film productions… With Flickering Myth’s first foray into movie-making on The Baby in the Basket now underway, we’ve found ourselves faced with a number of problems throughout pre-production as recently covered in our pre-production update. We’ve dealt with unavoidable dropouts, unexpected costs […]
The Importance of Film Archives and Curated Selections
Tom Jolliffe looks at the importance of archiving seminal films, and giving new life to forgotten classics and cult titles…. Cinema history is etched with key figures. Mould breakers, revolutionaries, and visionaries. Fritz Lang, leading the German expressionist era. Orson Welles breaking tradition and Hollywood protocols. Maybe Brando thundering an arrow through the conventions of […]
The Art of the Visually Striking Film
Tom Jolliffe looks at the art of making visually beautiful films… Cinema is a visual medium. A way to tell stories through a combination of visuals and sound, through script and direction, and the manipulation of the editing. Some films are emotionally crushing, involving, gripping. Some are audio-visual sensory overloads. Directors can opt for a […]
Decoding Film: The Hidden Layers in Cinema
Tom Jolliffe looks at film analysis and fan theories. Do we over-analyse films? Cinema is a fascinating medium. A combination of carefully constructed (under the watchful eye of an auteur) visual imagery, combined with performance and sound. Some films have a clear and overriding message. Die Hard is Die Hard. You might pick apart some […]
Could dumbing down cinema threaten the legacy of timeless classics?
Tom Jolliffe looks at the current monopolisation of cinemas from Hollywood tentpoles, and whether timeless classics are at risk of being forgotten… The debate has raged throughout the last half year. Martin Scorsese was at the forefront. Cinemas are being overrun with Theme park rides. The cultural, dramatic and thematic impact with some of these are […]
