As the years go by it seems ever more likely that Dario Argento will never rescale the inspired heights of his ’70s output, the hysterical horror and steely set-pieces that more than make up for wooden acting, distracting dubbing, and leaden exposition. Mother of Tears had its moments and gave one cautious hope in 2007; […]
Frame of Mind
A Visit To Bran Castle, Transylvania: Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Dracula,’ Vampires, And Horror On Display
A trip to Romania is not complete without a visit to the famed Bran Castle, located on the border of Transylvania and Wallachia. A magical place, full of iconography dealing with vampires, it came as no surprise that Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula was one of many films deserving of a mention during the castle tour. […]
Touch Of Noir: ‘Night And The City’, A Unique Hybrid Of Film Noir’s Cinematic Roots
A title can make a film, and Night and the City is the perfect title for a film noir. It is a distillation of two of the most iconic elements of film noir, a genre that flourishes in the encroaching darkness and the unfeeling industrialism of cityscapes. Those four words conjure the immoral horrors of […]
Touch Of Noir: The Doomed Everyman Of Marcel Carné’s ‘Le Jour Se Lève’
In some regards, film noir was a genre that came full circle, from the darkly brooding French films that inspired American tales of ill-fated, morally corrupt characters and back again to the French who coined the very term “film noir” and celebrated its impact as a genre. Late 1930s French cinema saw an influx of […]
Touch Of Noir: Fritz Lang’s Seduction Of Vengeance In ‘The Big Heat’
The dangers that threaten everyday people and society differ from film noir to film noir, but what unifies them is their insidious nature. Fritz Lang’s The Big Heat (1953) is undeniably a film noir of the 1950s. Its protagonist, Det. Dave Bannion (Glenn Ford), lives the suburban American dream with a good job, a beautiful, […]