Does ‘the Phantom of the Auteur’ Haunt French Cinema?

The haunting presence of the auteur has long loomed over the French film industry; it was in France itself that the auteur theory as a major film discussion was first … Continue reading Does ‘the Phantom of the Auteur’ Haunt French Cinema?

A Tale of One City: Cinematic London in Contemporary British Cinema

From the expressionistic and bold portrait of London in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1927 film, The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog, through to the modern metropolis of scenic icons and … Continue reading A Tale of One City: Cinematic London in Contemporary British Cinema

Cinematic Histories: The Hybridity of the Heritage Genre in Contemporary French Cinema

Artistic historical representations of French national identity have long been an important cultural element when it comes to the French cinema exploring its own sense of self. Indeed, the very … Continue reading Cinematic Histories: The Hybridity of the Heritage Genre in Contemporary French Cinema

Subverting the Traditional Techniques of the Natural History Film: The Relationship Between Humans and Animals in Mark Lewis’s Cane Toads: The Conquest

The theatrical poster for Mark Lewis’s Cane Toads: The Conquest (2010) shows a large image of a cane toad as it stares directly into the viewer’s gaze from a low-angled … Continue reading Subverting the Traditional Techniques of the Natural History Film: The Relationship Between Humans and Animals in Mark Lewis’s Cane Toads: The Conquest

Documenting Truth: The Reinvention of Voice-over and Success of Style in Marina Goldovskaya’s Solovki Power (posted to Battleship Pretension)

CLICK HERE to read my new essay on Marina Goldovskaya’s wonderful 1998 documentary, Solovki Power, at Battleship Pretension. (and while you are there, take a look at their great site) Thank … Continue reading Documenting Truth: The Reinvention of Voice-over and Success of Style in Marina Goldovskaya’s Solovki Power (posted to Battleship Pretension)

Surrealism: Dreams and the Unconscious (Freud and Dreams That Money Can Buy)

Important note: Here is an essay that I wrote for university; within it, I apply some psychoanalytical aspects of Freud’s theory of dreams to the 1947 surrealist film, Dreams That Money Can … Continue reading Surrealism: Dreams and the Unconscious (Freud and Dreams That Money Can Buy)