396. L’Avventura

For my final podcast, I look at how Steven Spielberg effectively remade his first feature, Firelight to deliver a message of hope. The post 401. Close Encounters of the Third Kind appeared first on Steven Benedict.

In January 1954, Francois Truffaut wrote a landmark essay on film criticism. Five years later, he put his theory into practice and cinema never been the same since. The post 400. The 400 Blows appeared first on Steven Benedict.

The gangster genre is dominated by men, but in Martin Scorsese's The Irishman the most important position is held by a woman who utters barely a dozen words. The post 399. The Irishman appeared first on Steven Benedict.

Rome Open City began filming as Auschwitz was liberated and Roberto Rossellini's film marks a crucial step in the creation of art in the wake of the Holocaust. The post 398. Rome, Open City appeared first on Steven Benedict.

Puzzling audiences ever since it premiered at Cannes in 2001, David Lynch's dark masterpiece seems to address the abuse of women in the film industry. The post 397. Mulholland Dr. appeared first on Steven Benedict.

With this modernist masterpiece, Michelangelo Antonioni told a story that abandoned its initial plot. Booed at Cannes, it paved the way for a new cinematic form. The post 396. L’Avventura appeared first on Steven Benedict.

It is said a film is made three times; writing, filming and editing. In which case, editor Walter Murch deserves enormous credit for this masterpiece. The post 395. The Conversation appeared first on Steven Benedict.

Like many Fellini films, Amarcord is a contradiction; an account of his youth yet a complete fabrication, a vivid realisation of the past, but also a dream. The post 394. Amarcord appeared first on Steven Benedict.

Four years after the advent of sound in cinema, Charlie Chaplin insisted on making a silent movie the entire plot for which hinged on not being able to see. The post 393. City Lights appeared first on Steven Benedict.

This French masterpiece avoids all the clichés of American prison films while at the same time bearing an uncanny similarity to a 1960s' Japanese action picture. The post 392. Un prophète appeared first on Steven Benedict.