Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), which turns 55 on June 22nd, is best known for its performances. It features Academy Award-winning turns from Elizabeth Taylor and Sandy Dennis, as well as very effective work from Richard Burton and George Segal. But to view this film as merely a collection of great acting is to… Read more »
Entries by Jesse Pasternack
Pygmalion (1938) and the Art of Cinematic Comedy
You might expect Pygmalion, the adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s classic play, to not make great use of the formal potential of cinema. Its theatrical roots, as well as Shaw’s role in writing the screenplay, might lead you to think that the filmmakers would create a filmed version of the play that would be so… Read more »
Amarcord and the Semi-Autobiographical Childhood Memory Piece
Federico Fellini is famous for inventing the “self-portrait” genre of filmmaking. His 1961 masterpiece 8 ½, which is about a director modeled on Fellini himself, led other filmmakers to make films about themselves. Examples include but are not limited to Francois Truffaut’s Day for Night (1973), Bob Fosse’s All That Jazz (1979), and Pedro Almodóvar’s… Read more »
New IU Press Book Explores Love and Loss in Hollywood
Last month, IU Press published a fascinating book. It is called Love and Loss in Hollywood: Florence Deshon, Max Eastman, and Charlie Chaplin, edited by Cooper C. Graham and Christoph Irmscher, Provost Professor of English and Director of the Wells Scholars Program at Indiana University. Aside from a few minor/undated items, the book contains every… Read more »
The Unmistakable Character of Grey Gardens (1976)
Few documentaries have as rich a legacy as Grey Gardens. In addition to its own cult following, this film has inspired such illustrious adaptations as an HBO film starring Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore as well as a Broadway musical that won three Tony Awards. Out of all of the documentaries directed by acclaimed filmmakers… Read more »
“The Most Alive of All”: Why Children of Paradise is the Grand Epic of Poetic Realism
The original American trailer for Children of Paradise (1945) called it France’s answer to Gone with the Wind, but there are so many better ways to describe this incredible film. You could spend hours discussing its beautiful recreation of 19th century Paris or its excellent cast. But more than anything it is one of the… Read more »