A Tree Grows in Brooklyn 1945 // USA // Elia Kazan Letterboxd (LINK) The epitome of Hollywood sentimentalism, and another lower-class white-family struggling in life at the turn of the century. It’s also Elia Kazan‘s debut feature, adapted from an autobiographical novel of the same name by Betty Smith. The story was shortened and focused on the few… Continue reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Elia Kazan, 1945)
The Grapes of Wrath 1940 // USA // John Ford Letterboxd (LINK) “Above all else, it is the story of a family, the way it reacts, how it is shaken by a serious problem which overwhelms it. It is not a social film on this problem, it’s a study of a family.” In John Ford’s… Continue reading The Grapes of Wrath (John Ford, 1940)
Snow Trail 銀嶺の果て 1947 // Japan // Senkichi Taniguchi 谷口千吉 Letterboxd (LINK) Mostly remembered as a film scripted by the legendary director Akira Kurosawa and featured the debut screen performance of Toshiro Mifune, SNOW TRAIL actually deserves a broader recognition than that. The storytelling is economical and fluidly paced, the bank robbery was only glimpsed… Continue reading Snow Trail 銀嶺の果て (Senkichi Taniguchi 谷口千吉, 1947)
Sanshiro Sugata 姿三四郎 1943 // Japan // Akira Kurosawa 黒澤明 Criterion Collection (LINK) / Letterboxd (LINK) Despite some scenes were cut and modified by censorship in order to fit the WWII milieu and national propaganda, Akira Kurosawa’s first feature was confidently executed with an emphasis on a man’s pursuit of enlightenment and purity. Sanshiro Sugata (Susumu Fujita)… Continue reading Eclipse Series 23: The First Films of Akira Kurosawa (1943-45)
The Big Clock 1948 // USA // John Farrow Letterboxd (LINK) THE BIG CLOCK begins with a rewinding of time, as George Stroud (Ray Milland), a crime magazine reporter hiding inside a dark lobby of a building called Janoth Publications, begins to retrace his last 36 hours and how he arrived at his present predicament.… Continue reading The Big Clock (John Farrow, 1948)
This Gun for Hire 1942 // USA // Frank Tuttle Letterboxd (LINK) I cannot stand with any film which hinged on a plot of convenience. That’s a common drawback in a lot of film noir I have seen so far yet paradoxically beloved by others. THIS GUN FOR HIRE is no exception. I won’t go… Continue reading This Gun for Hire (Frank Tuttle, 1942)
Dragonwyck 1946 // USA // Joseph L. Mankiewicz Letterboxd (LINK) Joseph L. Mankiewicz‘s directorial debut is a mess, a well-crafted mass. It tries too hard to juggle several balls at once and not a single one land itself on a satisfying place. The film starts as a Gothic romance and horror with a curse haunting… Continue reading Dragonwyck (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1946)
The Song of Bernadette 1943 // USA // Henry King Letterboxd (LINK) Assertively insightful on the meaning of faith, and the paradoxical difference between spirituality and Christian/Catholic doctrine encapsulated by the oppressive, patriarchal institution, THE SONG OF BERNADETTE tells the 19th-century story of a French teenage girl, Bernadette (Jennifer Jones), who one day sees a ‘beautiful lady’ standing near a… Continue reading The Song of Bernadette (Henry King, 1943)
#325 Kind Hearts and Coronets 1949 // UK // Robert Hamer Criterion Collection (LINK) / Letterboxd (LINK) What makes a black comedy good? I’m not an expert and I couldn’t exactly write an essay on the subject, but I would respond by urging you to watch KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS, which is assertively the best black… Continue reading #325 Kind Hearts and Coronets (Robert Hamer, 1949)
My Name Is Julia Ross 1945 // USA // Joseph H. Lewis Letterboxd (LINK) It’s like watching GASLIGHT meeting VERTIGO, except I couldn’t suspend my disbelief the entire time. Nina Foch plays Julia Ross, a woman living in a boarding house with no friend and family and her estranged ‘boyfriend’ Dennis (Roland Varno) has just been married, or… Continue reading My Name Is Julia Ross (Joseph H. Lewis, 1945)
The Films in My Life (OnCriterion) 