Tag Archives: black-and-white film

hunters’ island (film: The Most Dangerous Game – Irving Pichel & Ernest B. Schoedsack, 1932)

Posted on September 20, 2026 by admin

The 1932 ‘The Most Dangerous Game’ represents an interesting chapter in the history of American cinema—a film that can be considered a precursor to several highly popular genres of adventure, horror, and entertainment movies. Two directors are credited on the … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged action movie, American cinema, based on a short story, black-and-white film, Ernest B. Schoedsack, Fay Wray, horror movies, Irving Pichel, Leslie Banks, survival movie | Leave a comment

life and love in the convenience store (film: Clerks – Kevin Smith, 1994)

Posted on September 16, 2026 by admin

One of the significant cinematic phenomena of the 1990s was the success of several independent American films made on very low budgets. These films launched filmmakers who would go on to become household names, well-integrated into the industry, created interesting … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged American cinema, author cinema, black-and-white film, Clerks, independent cinema, Kevin Smith, original script, social cinema | Leave a comment

a piece of life (film: C’mon C’mon – Mike Mills, 2021)

Posted on April 2, 2026 by admin

Mike Mills is one of those screenwriters-directors who have a formidable talent for bringing real life, as we know it, to the screen. I noticed this in one of his previous films – ’20th Century Women’ and this opinion was … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged author cinema, black-and-white film, docu-drama, family drama, Gaby Hoffmann, Joaquin Phoenix, Mike Mills, original script, road movies, Robbie Ryan, Woody Norman | Leave a comment

daddy’s romcom (film: The Apartment – Billy Wilder, 1960)

Posted on March 15, 2026 by admin

‘The Apartment‘ was made in 1960, a year after director Billy Wilder and his Romania-born co-writer I.A.L. Diamond had made ‘Some Like It Hot’. The success was expected and the film did even better than its predecessor, winning 5 Oscars … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged Billy Wilder, black-and-white film, Hollywood movies, original script, romantic comedy, Shirley MacLaine, The Apartment | Leave a comment

the other lives of a monster (film: Das Verschwinden des Josef Mengele – Kirill Serebrennikov, 2025)

Posted on March 13, 2026 by admin

Director Kirill Serebrennikov is a leading figure in contemporary Russian theater and film, and a man of great talent and courage. His most recent films are both author films and biographies of complex and very different personalities. The composer Tchaikovsky … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged August Diehl, author cinema, based on a book, black-and-white film, Das Verschwinden des Josef Mengele, docu-drama, German cinema, Holocaust movies, Kirill Serebrennikov, Olivier Guez, The Disappearance of Joseph Mengele | Leave a comment

outstanding and controversial cinematic experience in the mid 1930s (film: Kermeze héroïque – Jacques Feyder, 1935)

Posted on January 20, 2026 by admin

‘La kermesse héroique‘ (‘Carnival in Flanders’ in the English distribution) was a completely unexpected discovery for me, especially since I knew almost nothing about any of the directors or actors who participated in the production with the exception of Louis … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged based on a short story, black-and-white film, Carnival in Flanders, epoch movie, Françoise Rosay, French cinema, Harry Strandling Jr., historical comedy, Jacques Feyder, Kermeze héroïque, Lazare Meerson, Louis Jouvet, Marcel Carné | Leave a comment

The Gassman Show (film: Il Mattatore – Dino Risi, 1960)

Posted on December 12, 2025 by admin

Dino Risi‘s 1960 film ‘Il mattatore‘ (or ‘Love and Larceny‘ in the English distribution) belongs to a period in which comedies that were popular with the public and quality films were not disjoint categories. At a time when French cinema … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged black-and-white film, comedy, Dino Risi, Ettore Scola, Il Mattatore, Italian cinema, original script, Vittorio Gassman | Leave a comment

the dawn of the Lubitsch world (film: The Marriage Circle – Ernst Lubitsch, 1924)

Posted on December 8, 2025 by admin

‘The Marriage Circle‘ from 1924 is one of the first films of Ernst Lubitsch‘s American career. The Berlin-born film director brought to American audiences a style of romantic comedy that he would develop after the advent of sound in talking … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged black-and-white film, comedy, Ernst Lubitsch, Hollywood movies, inspired by a theatre play, Marie Prevost, silent cinema, The Marriage Circle | Leave a comment

a strong visual testimony (film: Hiroshima – Hideo Sekigawa, 1953)

Posted on October 1, 2025 by admin

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a film with such a strong visual impact as Hideo Sekigawa‘s ‘Hiroshima‘. I have no hesitation in saying that, at least in my experience, what this Japanese director, whom I didn’t know … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged black-and-white film, docu-drama, Hideo Sekigawa, Hiroshima, Japanese cinema, ww2 movies | Leave a comment

a remarkable film by a master of theatre (film: Lord of the Flies – Peter Brook, 1963)

Posted on July 21, 2025 by admin

Peter Brook was one of the greatest directors in the history of theatre, but he experimented with film in the first half of his career. ‘Lord of the Flies‘ (1963) is his second and last full-fledged venture into the world … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged amateur actors, black-and-white film, British cinema, film based on a novel, Lord of the Flies, Peter Brook, political allegory, William Golding | Leave a comment