director
There aren’t many people who can claim that the woman they watched larking about on children’s morning television when they were a toddler also became of one of their favourite film directors as an adult. But that’s exactly what Andrea Arnold turned out to be, for me. For those of you who have never heard of her I can guarantee that you’ll be impressed.
When asked about who his favourite American directors were, Orson Welles replied: “I prefer the old masters; by which I mean: John Ford, John Ford and John Ford.
Over the course of history, Hollywood has given female filmmakers few chances to work on film projects. Fewer chances than their male cohorts, to be sure – no matter their experience or education. Male directors are hired invariably and without doubt, and they are featured and lauded in media frequently.
How to summarise Hayao Miyazaki in a few words? Brilliant, magical, ecologist, fantastic, cultural, wise, a true master of his art: animation.
Near the conclusion of Hellboy II, we find the eponymous hero at death’s doorstep. Hellboy is laid at the feet of his personal Angel of Death, a shrouded, veiled monstrosity whose ragged wings are festooned with a series of enormous, amber eyes. Elizabeth Sherman, Hellboy’s partner, cradles his unconscious body in a pose reminiscent of the Pietà, an aesthetic emphasized by the magical spearpoint thrust into Hellboy’s side.
Editor’s Letter Essay of week 41 Since Film Inquiry’s inception it’s been our goal to promote diversity in film. Admittedly, I always think of diversity in film in the broadest sense for Film Inquiry: include and promote women, minorities, the LGBT community – and international and independent film, too.
Producer, Director, Writer, Actor. These are just some of the labels one could attribute to Spike Jonze. Absurd, surreal, unique and diverse are just some of the few one could attach to his films.
David Lynch has one of the most polarizing bodies of work in Hollywood (though he is objectively one of the nicest and most genuine people there). His films divide audiences like they were born of a marriage between Moses and Solomon. Filled with peculiar idiosyncrasies and defiantly flaunting conventions of both genre and narrative, Lynch’s films have been stubborn in their consistency for most of his career.
British director Alfred Hitchc*ck’s reputation as the “Master of Suspense” is still familiar to moviegoers around the world 25 years after his death. Hitchc*ck’s jowly visage and drawling accent are pop culture fixtures, and his movies are endlessly imitated and even spun-off into popular TV series. However, Hitchc*ck was more than just the man who gave the world Norman Bates and that infamous shower scene in Psycho (1960).
When you think of horror movies, one name should spring to mind: Wes Craven. He reinvented the teen horror genre and made it his own, alongside creating the most feared character in the horror genre: