In the past few years that I’ve been at IU I’ve had the opportunity to see movies on several formats at the IU Cinema. I’ve always been interested in how exactly the IU Cinema gets its hands on such a wide variety of materials. In order to learn a bit more about the process, I… Read more »
Just over 90 years ago now, Norma Jean Mortenson was born. Just under 70 years ago now, Marilyn Monroe had a Hollywood breakthrough. After modeling for years, taking on a stage name, seeing a voice coach, severely bleaching her hair, and acting in several small film roles, Monroe became a star. In fact, she went through… Read more »
Guest post by Michaela Owens. Let me start this by saying that it was a miracle I didn’t end up writing 10,000 words. When it comes to a woman named Esther Williams, I honestly can’t stop myself from blubbering. Strong, confident, funny, self-aware, and resilient, Esther Williams became an instant role model to me when… Read more »
Idiosyncratic films have an interesting relationship with genre. The fact that they are so unique separates them from more formulaic movies. But more often than not idiosyncratic films bear traces of generic structures that make them palatable to audiences. Idiosyncratic films have the potential to create their own genres, but more often than not they… Read more »
There is a kind of merry war betwixt Signor Benedick and her. They never meet but there’s a skirmish of wit between them.” Leonato in Much Ado About Nothing. Act 1. Scene 1 “Your ego is absolutely colossal” “Yeah, yeah, not bad, hows yours?” Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable in It Happened One Night
Born in Austria but raised in New York, director Josef von Sternberg is best known for a series of movies he made with Marlene Dietrich in the 1930s. Through films like Blonde Venus (1932) and Shanghai Express (1932), Sternberg established a reputation for glamour, but also for pretension. He added the “von” to his name for… Read more »