The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) Director: Michael Curtiz The Adventures of Robin Hood is a beautiful technicolor adventure film featuring the great Tazmanian gymnast-turned swashbuckling star, Errol Flynn, who clearly draws inspiration for his character from Douglas Fairbanks. The role was originally supposed to be cast as James Cagney, but he walked out on … Continue reading The Adventures of Robin Hood
Rembrandt
Rembrandt (1936) Director: Alexandra Korda Charles Laughton plays the great Flemish painter in this British fictionalized biopic. Korda and Laughton had previously worked together on The Private Life of Henry VIII in 1933. The film is a kind of tragedy. It begins with Rembrandt vin Rijn at the height of his success and power. He … Continue reading Rembrandt
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) Director: Walt Disney Snow White is the first feature-length Disney cartoon film. It is one of the great Disney films, and also (in real terms) it still stands as the most financially successful animated film of all time. It was nominated for Best Musical Score, and the following year … Continue reading Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
L’inhumaine
L'inhumaine (1924) Director: Marcel L'Herbier The "inhuman woman" is an experimental French silent film about a female singer in Paris. She is something of a heartless tease, with many men chasing after her at her lavish parties. One day, one man (a scientist) kills himself on account of his unrequited love for her, but she … Continue reading L’inhumaine
You Can’t Take It With You
You Can’t Take It With You (1938) Director: Frank Capra You Can't Take It With You is the winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1938. Frank Capra also won Best Director for the film. Capra was the king of the Academy Awards in the 1930s - winning Best Director for his other films … Continue reading You Can’t Take It With You
La Règle du Jeu
La Règle du Jeu (1939) Director: Jean Renoir "The Rules of the Game" is sometimes considered Jean Renoir's greatest film. He was at the height of his career, coming off the commercial success of La Bête humaine in 1938. "The Rules of the Game" was approved for one of the biggest budgets for a French … Continue reading La Règle du Jeu
Who Is Geoffrey Chaucer?
Contemporary biographers suggest Geoffrey Chaucer was born around 1340-1343 as a result of testimony he delivered at a recorded legal proceeding (a dispute between two families as to which family had the right to display a certain coat of arms) in 1386 in which he claimed to be "forty years old and more." He was … Continue reading Who Is Geoffrey Chaucer?
Aristotle on the Passions
Aristotle's Rhetoric is a book about Persuasion. Contrary to popular opinion, the Rhetoric is not a manual for how to "win an argument" regardless of truth or untruth. Instead it is a philosophical treatise, perhaps even collected notes on Aristotle's speeches about rhetoric. The text brings to light the nature of persuasion; how it may … Continue reading Aristotle on the Passions
Initial Thoughts on Xenophon’s Cyropaedia
In Xenophon's Education of Cyrus (or Cyropaedia - the latinized version of the Greek Kúrou paideía meaning "the education of Cyrus") we receive a modified account of Cyrus's nature and upbringing. It is a conscious narrative text in Xenophon's own words, not a dramatic or performed account. Like a Platonic dialogue, we see Cyrus engaged … Continue reading Initial Thoughts on Xenophon’s Cyropaedia
Chaucer, The Silent Pilgrim: Notes on the General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales
In the "General Prologue" to Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, Chaucer holds up a mirror to the standards for classical poetics as described by Plato, Aristotle, and Horace. While in the Divina Commedia, Dante is led by the great Latin poet, Virgil, reporting on his celestial journey, in The Canterbury Tales Chaucer is led by a mix … Continue reading Chaucer, The Silent Pilgrim: Notes on the General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales
