From Russia With Love (1963) Director: Terence Young The second James Bond film was again directed by Terence Young (he was the director of several early Bond films). After the tremendous success of 1962's Dr. No, United Artists quickly pushed for a sequel to be released, and the film was rushed to completion by October … Continue reading From Russia With Love
film
Mr. Smith Goes To Washington
Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939) Director: Frank Capra Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is Frank Capra's masterpiece, the natural parallel to his earlier Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936). This was Jimmy Stewart's fifth film, and certainly his career-defining breakthrough, after the prior year being also cast alongside Jean Arthur in Frank Capra's You Can't Take It … Continue reading Mr. Smith Goes To Washington
Stagecoach
Stagecoach (1939) Director: John Ford Stagecoach brought about a revival in the Western genre, which had largely fallen out of favor in the late '20s and '30s. The Western is a mythic depiction of the Western country and prairie, a largely historically untrue heroic story of courage and goodness in an amoral land of savages … Continue reading Stagecoach
Visages d’enfants
Visages d'enfants (1923) Director: Jacques Feyder "The Faces of Children" is a simple and beautiful film. It is a French-Swiss pastoral movie that takes place amidst the incredible landscape of the village of Saint-Luc in the mountainous Haut-Valais region of Switzerland. It is a psychological exploration, remarkably complex for the time, and it tells the … Continue reading Visages d’enfants
A Woman of Paris
A Woman of Paris (1923) Director: Charlie Chaplin Unlike Chaplin's other films, A Woman of Paris, is a tragic drama and Charlie Chaplin does not appear in the film. It was a box office failure, as many audiences came to the film expecting to see a classic Chaplin film. Its financial failings caused great pain to Chaplin at … Continue reading A Woman of Paris
La Roue
La Roue (1923) Director: Abel Gance A Victor Hugo quote begins The Wheel - "Creation is a Great Wheel which does not move without crushing someone." This epic film opens with a dramatic and cataclysmic train crash. Sisif (played by Séverin-Mars who died of a heart attack before the release of the film) the ironically … Continue reading La Roue
