The Transformational Film Lens: D. Mitry on ‘My True Fairytale’
Director D. Mitry talks with PopMatters about his debut feature film, My True Fairytale, whose story aligns with the tragic loss of his daughter.
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James Whale’s Film, ‘The Kiss Before the Mirror’, Is an Elegant Pre-Code Treat
James Whale’s pre-Code The Kiss Before the Mirror subverts the assumption of women as deceitful property
Nurse Ratched vs. Nurse Ratched
Each portrayal of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’s infamous Nurse Ratched reflects what has changed in American society’s attitudes toward women — and what has not.
Chabrol Dives into Time-Warping Fantasy with ‘Alice ou la dernière fugue’
Using Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland as the basis for his film, Claude Chabrol essays a woman's metaphysical journey into fear in his fantasy-themed Alice ou la dernière fugue.
‘Relic’ Director Natalie Erika James on Our Relatable Anxieties
Director Natalie Erika James talks with PopMatters about how she invites her audience to project their fears onto the screen in her slow burn and suspenseful horror, Relic.
The Best Classic Films on Blu-ray in 2020
Many formats have come and gone and streaming competes, to a degree, but these best classic films offered on Blu-ray in 2020 prove irresistible.
Scorsese’s ‘World Cinema Project No. 3’ Has a Filtered Gaze
Scorsese's selections for World Cinema Project No. 3 recall an attitude typical of a bygone age of film studies when professors would rationalize overlooking the reactionary politics of a film because aspects of the filmmaking itself trumped such "trivial" concerns.
How ‘Watchmen’ and ‘The Boys’ Deconstruct American Fascism
Superhero media has a history of critiquing the dark side of power, hero worship, and vigilantism, but none have done so as radically as Watchmen and The Boys.
Paul Leni’s Silent Film ‘The Man Who Laughs’ Is Serious Cinema
There's so much tragedy present, so many skullduggeries afoot, and so many cruel and vindictive characters in attendance that a sad and heartbreaking ending seems to be an obvious given in Paul Leni's silent film, The Man Who Laughs.
Decode the Pre-Code: Four Hot Early Talkies Hit Blu-Ray
Sinuous camera moves and stylish direction, endings that surely wouldn't have flown after the Code crackdown: four pre-code talkies from Cecil B. DeMille, Phil Goldstone, Victor Halperin, and Stuart Walker.
Sheena Kamal’s ‘No Going Back’ Unfurls a Thrilling Noir
Kamal's psychological thriller, No Going Back, utilizes crime-noir tropes but with purposeful deviations.
Ottessa Moshfegh’s ‘Death in Her Hands’ Is Not What It Seems
A character named Magda dies, and lives, in language only in Ottessa Moshfegh's Death in Her Hands. But then again, don't all literary characters?
