Dames is not a great film but easily attains classic status because of a trio of remarkable fantasy sequences shot by gifted choreographer Busby Berkeley.
Much of this slight 1934 musical comedy is a backstage copycat story of little significance. The enduring legacy is found in the last 34 minutes – in back-to-back-to-back musical numbers that are visually stunning and musically witty.
Joan Blondell personified the sassy, smart gold digger in 1930s Warner Bros. movies — but proved herself versatile and adaptable in a six-decade career.
When Judy Garland sang Born in a Trunk, she could have been referring to Rose Joan Blondell, who literally grew up on the road. Blondell was born in 1906 to vaudevillians and her cradle really was a trunk. At four months of age, Joan was onstage in a play; she joined the family act at age three.
Here are the most famous Peruvians from film and television – famous people from Peru and Peruvian celebrities who are internationally known as actors and actresses.
Best Action Movies of All Time is a list of my top ten action movies. Like any true top ten list, I have included films that I have a personal connection with.
I grew up during the ’80s which was dominated by action films. As a child, my initial love for cinema bloomed through films such as ’Bloodsport’, ‘Commando’, ‘Predator’, ‘Aliens’, and a host of others.
This list of 10 Good Horror Movies is like any true top ten list. It is of personal taste as opposed to critical acclaim.
Some of the films to follow, would not feature on many top 10 lists or perhaps be classed as horror at all. For me, a ‘good horror film’, taps into the viewer’s psyche by delving into the primal fears that lie within us all. This may include a sense of isolation, knowing, but not seeing, unable to escape what awaits or makes us question life after death.
I compare Braveheart to that first look into the eyes of the one who will become the love of your life. It’s the moment when your eyes meet and you know that that person will play one of the most important parts of your life. “Braveheart” is the equivalent of that look in my relationship with film music. Braveheart is one of my favorite movies of all time. It’s one of the movies I get the most emotional while watching and every scene is like an open wound that gets reopened every time I hear the music or thinking of the movie. I turn into a heavy, overloaded sack of water that starts leaking very soon.
As with every other superhero score where Hans Zimmer has been involved in the past few years, opinions flew in all directions; haters hated even more, while the Zimmer camp rejoiced in this masterpiece. For me, it’s simple. This is one of the best movies of all time, and it didn’t get the score it needed, but the score it deserved.
There was a time when film music didn’t really mean that much to me. I was familiar with Ennio Morricone, Vangelis, and Goran Bregovic, I could recognize the famous John Williams themes without knowing who wrote them and I thought the main theme from Twin Peaks was the most amazing thing I had ever heard (actually, this is the one thing that hasn’t changed since then).
“Blade Runner” is Ridley Scott’s unforgettable 1982 Sci-fi epic about a cop (blade runner, played by Harrison Ford) who has to search and terminate four replicants who have returned to Earth in search of their creator. The movie, inspired by Philip K. Dick’s novel “Do Androids Dream of electric sheep” was unlike anything people had seen before and has remained as exciting and fascinating to this day.
“Diamonds are forever” has another one of the most memorable Bond theme songs. Shirley Bassey’s unique voice gives John Barry’s music and Don Black’s lyrics just what they needed to turn into a powerful ballad. It is also one of the more easily recognizable and both the song and the title became part of popular culture. As in the case of almost every other James Bond soundtrack, there was trouble with this main theme because one of the two producers hated it and wanted it off the movie because of the innuendos in the lyrics.
Science fiction films have plots revolving around interstellar travel, alien spaceships, extraterrestrial visits, robots, time travel or highly developed mind power. Of course, there is little or no relation to the existing scientific knowledge. It is basically an exploration of possibilities. Film makers chose this genre very early in the history of films. As early as 1902, Georges Melies entertained audiences with A Trip to the Moon. Science fiction movies are often based on books and often comment on politics or actual social conditions within the backdrop of science fiction. Jurassic Park, Inception and Star Trek (2009) are a few of the popular movies that belong to this genre but are treated very differently.
Drama is a genre that offers wide scope for experimentation in movies and that is the reason perhaps that most nominations for Best Picture awards come from this genre. Usually drama deals with the emotional dilemmas of people which we come across every day. It is usually achieved by in depth characterization. Themes around which dramatic movies have been constructed ranges from racial discrimination to infidelity but basically dramas revolve around a crucial moment of conflict.
A director is at the helm when a movie is being produced. A lot depends on how a director guides the actors and technical crew in the filming and post production of a film. It is assumed that a film follows the director’s vision but notable directors have shown varying styles of direction. While some like Ingmar Bergman and Christopher Guest chose to let actors perform in their own way, some like Steven Spielberg, Victor Fleming and James Cameron want their instructions to be followed precisely.
International Film festivals have played a prominent role in garnering interest in world films. Festivals such as Cannes Film Festival, Berlinale and Toronto Film Festival have been longstanding. These Film Festivals have given a platform to many good films which would otherwise have gone unnoticed. Renowned directors, actors and producers grace the event with their presence and huge corporate sponsors promoting their brands do not miss rubbing off some glitter from these star studded events.
But the age old wisdom of all that glitters not being gold holds true for these festivals. Time and again, these festivals are marred by controversies ranging from choice of films to be screened to women artists not being awarded.
The main purpose of films is to entertain but films are also looked upon as messengers that carry ideas and beliefs to their audience. Films are an important tool of mass media and are influential in shaping people’s perceptions at a collective level by giving them a shared experience. At the same time, an outsider would form notions regarding a community based on a film.
