BY JACK WIGHTMAN In 1931, Al Capone, America’a most notorious gangster, was sentenced to eleven years in the inescapable island jail of Alcatraz. The newly introduced inmate swaggered through his new abode and bypassed a long and hungry lunch line. A waiting convict grabbed the Chicago mob boss by the lapels, Capone sneered ‘Don’t you know who I am?’, to which the convict replied ‘if … Continue reading The Public Enemy
BY JACK WIGHTMAN Film is a format of possibility able to represent reality starkly as the Lumiere brothers originally intended, or distort the world into Méliès magic. I remember first setting my eyes on the fabulous destiny of Amelie unfolding in a Paris of impossibility on an Earth that doesn’t exist. Jean-Pierre Jeunet recreated life on his terms. Terry Gilliam, Jacque Tati’s adventures of Monsier Hulot and … Continue reading Freedom for Us
BY JACK WIGHTMAN Since first lurking from the shadows, Vampires have endured drastic and frequent transformations. Some depictions include rebellious teens, sexy playboys, addicts, apathetic rockstars, twinkling teen heartthrobs, neighbours from hell, fodder for Lincoln, strippers, interviewees and so many more. These renditions are, for the most part, painful and draining. Nosferatu is simply the beginning. The origin of of one of movies favourite and most enduring monsters. In … Continue reading Nosferatu
BY JACK WIGHTMAN Abel Gance was a visionary director with huge ambitions, excessive running times and lavish production values to faithfully create an expansive vision. Like Stroheim before him and Michael Cimino after, Gance was to be condemned with aspirations and demands greater than what many would dare risk. In 1927, Gance’s latest picture Napoleon premiered, but soon the complete form was seemingly lost. ‘It was 1953 and … Continue reading Napoleon
