Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion: An Allegory of Decadence

A black-and-white photo of a man in a suit, arms crossed, standing in a room in which large handprints can be seen on sheets hanging from the ceiling.

|Yuval Klein| The Italian neorealism era of 1940s cinema conveyed social frustration and stories of the working class through realism and minimal-ism. In the decades after, the face of Italian cinema  would gain many dimensions and features that grew upon yet deviated from the standard. Continue reading

7 Grandmasters – According to the wisdom of Shang-Kuan Cheng, master of the Pei Mei technique

Sun Hung (Corey Yuen) fights Shang-Kuan Cheng with a brick wall in the background in "7 Grandmasters."

|Matt Clark| “A title reflects a man’s honor. You have none.” 7 Grand-masters (1977), from Taiwanese director Joseph Kuo, was advertised in US markets with the tagline “IT NEVER STOPS!” There could not be a more accurate description of the film. It’s the period tale of a martial arts… Continue reading

For Better and Worse, A.I. Artificial Intelligence is Where Spielberg and Kubrick Meet

David (Haley Joel Osment) and Gigolo Goe (Jude Law) in Rouge City—a futuristic, brightly lit environment filled with holograms and flashing lights.

|Ryan Sanderson| A lot of digital ink has been spilled over the origins of A.I. Artificial Intelligence. Writer-director Steven Spielberg never tried to pawn it off as a straight-up Stanley Kubrick enterprise (it’s one of only three films in Spielberg’s career on which he takes both credits… Continue reading

You Can Always Get Another One: A.I. Artificial Intelligence

Haley Joel Osment’s David is viewed through thick, undulating glass that distorts and doubles his image—showing each of his features, notably his eyes, half a dozen times.

|Timothy Zila| Those were the years after the ice caps had melted because of the greenhouse gases, and the oceans had risen to drown so many cities along all the shorelines of the world. Millions of people were displaced. Climates became chaotic. Governments introduced… Continue reading