Queen Christina (1933) Director: Rouben Mamoulian Starring the famous Greta Garbo, Queen Christina is a historically inaccurate retelling of the story of Queen Christina of Sweden in the 17th Century. Christina assumed the role of Queen after the death of her father, but preferred the educated life of a scholar. Amidst pressures from her people to … Continue reading Queen Christina
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The Failure of Orestes
While many other Greek tragedies tend to reiterate already established myths and customs, Euripides's Orestes appears to be entirely his own invention. Chronologically, the plot of the play takes place after the events contained in Aeschylus's Libation Bearers. It was first performed in 408 BC, near the close of the Peloponnesian War. In Orestes, Electra recounts the story … Continue reading The Failure of Orestes
The Age of Innocence on Trial
The title of Edith Wharton's most famous and Pulitzer Prize winning novel is most likely derived from a famous painting by Sir Joshua Reynolds. The painting was created sometime between 1785-1788 (see below). Sir Reynolds did not actually title the painting, as the name was given to the work after his death. The painting was … Continue reading The Age of Innocence on Trial
The Gay Divorcee
The Gay Divorcee (1934) Director: Mark Sandrich The Gay Divorcee is a delightfully nostalgic film. It was the second of ten pairings for Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in movies. It was based on a musical of the same name. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. The film takes place on … Continue reading The Gay Divorcee
The Man Who Knew Too Much
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) Director: Alfred Hitchcock When Francois Truffaut famously interviewed Alfred Hitchcock (published in 1967), Hitchcock remarked that The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) was merely the work of an amateur. He later went on to create his own remake in 1956, which he much preferred. The film holds nothing in … Continue reading The Man Who Knew Too Much
The Covered Wagon
The Covered Wagon (1923) Director: James Cruze The Covered Wagon was the first great Western epic film. It was billed as the next big budget film, after Birth of a Nation. It was produced by Paramount Pictures. The story was adopted from the novel by Emerson Hough. The plot begins in 1848 as a caravan of … Continue reading The Covered Wagon
Zemlaya (Earth)
Zemlaya (Earth) (1930) Director: Alexander Dovzhenko Zemlaya is silent Soviet propaganda film, and is Dozhenko's best known film in the West. It is part three of his Ukraine trilogy (he only personally directed seven films during his lifetime, before focusing on novels, instead). The story loosely follows a family of farmers in Ukraine, during the … Continue reading Zemlaya (Earth)
Haxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages
Haxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages (1922) Director: Benjamin Christiansen Haxan is an odd Danish-Swedish film. Part-documentary and part-horror themed, this silent film is considered one of the creepiest horror films of the silent era - along with The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari or Nosferatu. It was censored and/or banned in Western Europe, but was celebrated in the … Continue reading Haxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages
Case Study: Neoclassicism, “The Death of Socrates”
"The Death of Socrates" or "La Morte de Socrate" is perhaps the most famous painting from a French artistic epoch dubbed the Neoclassical period. It is an oil on canvas painting, painted in 1787 by Jacques Louis David (1748-1925), one of the main creators behind the Neoclassical period. Our initial observations reveal the central action … Continue reading Case Study: Neoclassicism, “The Death of Socrates”
Thoughts on “Pre-Historic” Art
In looking back over the great arc of human art (mimesis), we encounter the earliest examples of human creation originating thousands of years ago. We are told that some 30,000 years ago prior to the first Ice Age, there was a seemingly spontaneous explosion of human creativity in Europe. This is called by modern scientists: … Continue reading Thoughts on “Pre-Historic” Art
