“Leaves the door wide open for a sequel,” is a phrase that was not part of the cinematic vernacular even in the 1950s. It really does sound like something you’d say after watching a slasher movie. These films of course were very popular in the 1980s but just because you didn’t see a horror movie… [Read more…]
April 20, 2011
The 1980s were marked by the emergence of the computer into mainstream American culture. The increasing accessibility and availability of this tool made its impact on the entertainment industry in a very powerful way. In 1984 one of the most famous commercials of the year was Apple Computer’s ‘Big Brother’ a play on Orwell’s 1984.… [Read more…]
April 15, 2011
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When we think of the 90s sociopolitically you can almost draw a parallel to the kind of films that were produced. With Clinton in office the stock market more than doubled it was prosperity galore and yet there was a generation (Generation X followed by Y, how original) that could care less. There were hardly… [Read more…]
April 8, 2011
In his Biographia Literaria Samuel Taylor Coleridge* postulates how a critic’s faculties and tastes are influenced by his life experiences and exposure to art. I open with this statement because in writing about the 1980s a decade in which I was a child, I realize there can be a certain amount of filtering due to… [Read more…]
April 4, 2011
The only reason I even bring the critical reaction into the equation in this analysis is because I find many of their complaints about the film are those I’ve heard by regular movie-goers who just didn’t get it. What I find most pretentious about these reviewers is that 85 to 90 percent of these reviews… [Read more…]
April 4, 2011
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Stan Winston was a director most known for the visually engaging Pumpkinhead who later, like George Lucas, has found a niche for himself in the effects industry. Winston, however, works with robotics. His work might be slowly pushed aside by films that rely completely on CGI but his work is undoubtedly high quality and important.… [Read more…]
April 1, 2011
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John Williams has composed some of the best scores ever written. While Jerry Goldsmith has earned my admiration through some more playful scores such as Poltergeist and Gremlins, Williams has produced some emotional and dramatic scores that can’t be beat such as Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T., Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List and Jaws for… [Read more…]
March 31, 2011
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A.I. has its share of iconic images: the moon rising over the trees, a submerged New York, the tunnels leading to Rouge City, David’s eyes opening at the end but to make it a complete experience the film has to be one of sonorous grace as well. The approach to the sound design of this… [Read more…]
March 30, 2011
Janusz Kaminski has worked on every Spielberg-directed film since Schindler’s List and has been behind some of his more visually stimulating films. The photography and lighting of A.I. do so much to lend atmosphere and emotion that his responsibility was one of the biggest on the set and he excelled in assisting Spielberg create a… [Read more…]
March 29, 2011
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I have already spoken a lot about delivering lines and the inflection in an actor’s voice. This was a crucial element to the performances in this film and it was especially important when there were many characters who were animated or animatronic who had actors hired to characterize them. These performances were every bit as… [Read more…]
April 27, 2011
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