We wanted to take a look at a few films that seem to really get cinematic visual storytelling. There are many great movies but actually relatively few that seem to get close to realizing the full potential of the tools of cinema…
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Interestingly, comedies are the genre that have the toughest time translating to audiences outside their country of origin (horror and actions movies on the other hand play everywhere). In some ways, this makes total sense: comedies are often based on verbal rather than visual magic so the real gut laughs will never fully be appreciated by non-native speakers. STILL, when a comedy is truly great, it is one of the most special miracles in all of cinema. Here, we look at an international selection of master-level comedies. . .
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This programmer would be grateful to really dig into one of his favorite genres: horror. What amazes me is how adaptable horror is as a genre. It has so many subgenres that it's a dark rainbow of possibilities. Horror is also an amazing vessel for so many kinds of inquiries…
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Here we celebrate 12 amazing directors that are each world-shaking discoveries to the moviemaker and movielover alike. While we have often heard the names of the greatest of the greats in the pantheon (John Ford, Akira Kurosawa, Jean Renoir, Orson Welles, Federico Fellini, Ingmar Bergman, etc.), there are many directors whose oceanically important bodies of work might not be as well known. But this is wonderful! Because now we hope to suggest them to you! First off. . .
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We wanted to post about just a few of our own personal favorite actors. And we'd love to hear about yours. This programmer has always felt actors, in many ways, are the ones taking the biggest risks in moviemaking. They're in front of the camera after all while the rest of us are behind it. And it's their performances and humanity that become the conduits into the greatest movies…
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Secret Movie Clubbers, we thought it might be instructive to post 16 of our favorite "So Crazy They're Genius" movies. This is distinct from "So Bad, They're Good". These movies, in this programmer's opinion, are truly great movies...
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Dear Secret Movie Clubbers, we decided to post about 5 movie books we absolutely love. As a moviemaker (as well as a movielover), these are the books this programmer keeps returning to for information, instruction, inspiration…
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#9 BLACK NARCISUSS (1947, dir by Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, UK) An order of nuns inherit a former brothel/harem high in the Himalayas and convert it to a convent. But the local people, sensual environment, and clash of cultures end up wreaking havoc with the nuns' plans and psyches…
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#19 THE GODFATHERS PT 1 & II (1972, 1974, dir by Francis Ford Coppola, USA) From here on in, this programmer is going to be counting certain series/trilogies as essentially 1 movie. Hopefully this doesn't feel like a cheat. For this programmer, it feels like a necessity…
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#28 FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (1963, dir by Terence Young, UK) A James Bond movie might seem strange pickings for "greatest movie of all time". But like THE WIZARD OF OZ, I humbly propose that here we see the template for the "action-adventure odyssey" movie that has full expression in the Indiana Jones movies (LAST CRUSADE re-works FROM RUSSIA down to the rats in the catacombs, speed boat chase, car chase with aerial bombs, Sean Connery casting), etc. FROM RUSSIA is the perfect Bond movie.
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TOP #35 CONVERSATION! Dear Secret Movie Clubbers, while we hunker down, Secret Movie Club thought we'd start a conversation! Across the next week, we'll post this Programmer's personal top #35 movies. A Top #10 can be limiting. A Top #35 can be revealing! We encourage you to post, chime in, share. Let's get the movie conversation going! Here we go. . .
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