In English

IN ENGLISH. Kenji Mizoguchi remains as one of Japan’s most accomplished filmmakers. His work called upon a number of influences, not just from his cinematic peers, but also from his own culture. One such influence which was prevalent throughout his life as a director was the Japanese theatre, particularly traditional noh theatre which was used as both a stylistic and narrative device. In our latest article, Paul Spicer explores this relationship by examining two of his most important works of the 1950s.

IN ENGLISH. This article is for anyone who would like to have a better grasp of the five types of voice-over found in such classics as Wings of Desire, Rashomon, and The Third Man. Richard Raskin presents an original model in plain, jargon-free language with plenty of stills, full transcription of thoughts and spoken lines, and no filler or mystification.

IN ENGLISH. Chris Marker’s La jetée (1962) has intrigued many critics, who have for the most part focused on the narrative and the form of the film. Instead of pursuing this angle, Sébastien Doubinsky explores how La jetéequestions the notions of memory, history and power through an artificial construction that goes against the conventional definition of a moving picture.

VIDEO-ESSAY. Fans of the BBC’s Sherlock very actively have taken the show to their hearts. How does Sherlock succeed in involving its worldwide audiences in the show? In this video-essay Palle Schantz Lauridsen examines audience involving strategies within and around the show.

IN ENGLISH. Preparing a book on sound design in films and television, Andreas Halskov has talked with Walter Murch about film sound, listening and technology, focusing on Murch’s sonic inventiveness and his long-standing collaborations with George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola.

IN ENGLISH. Czech and Slovak film are often seen as two sides of the same coin, but Slovak cinema actually has a unique tradition in its own right, and a Slovak aesthetic or sensibility has evolved since the earliest days of its cinematic history. Nicholas Hudac takes us through the early history of Slovak cinema, trying to pinpoint the defining features of Slovak film while placing it in a cultural and historical perspective.

IN ENGLISH. Alfred Hitchcock’s classic Notorious (1946), starring Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman and Claude Rains, demands that we explore free-floating responses to its tormented triangle of characters. In terms of genre, is it suspense thriller or romantic melodrama? Go inside, around and about the film with Adrian Martin and explore its style, meaning and form.

IN ENGLISH. The animated version of Snow White, produced by Fleischer Studios in 1933, possesses a richly multifaceted oddness. It is a bizarre film full of digressions and inconsistencies, humorously riffing on the original fairytale. Ethan de Seife analyses this wonderfully bizarre film, which combines musical digressions with elements of both surrealism and realism.

IN ENGLISH. Apichatpong Weerasethakul is a Thai filmmaker, but his work seems to exist exclusively in the consciousness of those outside his native land. In this feature, Rasmus Helms explores the director’s unique cinematic voice.