Douglas Sirk melodramas are known for tackling big themes with style and intelligence, and his 1956 Fred MacMurray-Barbara Stanwyck romance is no different, as explained by Establishing Shot‘s newest regular contributor Chris Forrester. In the midst of the exceptional run of films Douglas Sirk directed in the 1950s, and nestled directly between two of his… Read more »
Jesse Pasternack reveals how the Coen Brothers turn noir elements on their head with visual gags, a rambling voiceover narration, and the iconic, carefree protagonist at the center of it all. There are few types of films which have as many distinctive characteristics as film noir. Just hearing or reading those words — “film noir”… Read more »
When a white woman is murdered in 1920s Australia, a police officer (Gary Sweet) ventures into the Outback with a small crew in search of the Aboriginal fugitive (Noel Wilton) accused of the crime. In his group are a newcomer to the country (Damon Gameau), an old sage (Grant Page), and an Indigenous tracker (David… Read more »
In Sydney, business lawyer David Burton (Richard Chamberlain) is given the pro bono assignment of defending five Aborigines accused of the murder of another tribesman. None of Burton’s clients are willing to speak about what happened, even in their own defense, and the medical examiner on the case can’t figure out how the victim died…. Read more »
Under the pretense of having a picnic, a geologist (John Meillon) takes his teenage daughter (Jenny Agutter) and 6-year-old son (Luc Roeg, director Nicolas’s son) into the Australian Outback and attempts to shoot them. When he fails, he turns the gun on himself, and the two city-bred children must contend with harsh wilderness alone. They… Read more »
A former protégée of Leonard Bernstein, an EGOT winner, the first woman to lead a major German orchestra, and considered by some to be the greatest living composer-conductor in Western classical music, Lydia Tár is on top of the world… until she isn’t. Publicly confronted with her selfish, abusive behavior, Lydia finds not only her… Read more »