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Deconstructing the machinery of cinema.

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Category: essay

animation, essayLeave a comment

“You can’t run away from trouble” | Song of the South (1946)

October 10, 2021 Grant Watson

Please note that some quotes included in this essay contain outdated and potentially offensive language. They have been included to reflect the language and culture of the time. There is no argument that, in 1937, the film producer Walt Disney … Continue reading “You can’t run away from trouble” | Song of the South (1946)

essay, opinionLeave a comment

Amazon’s MGM purchase: the franchises

May 28, 2021May 28, 2021 Grant Watson

Amazon’s US$8.45 billion dollar purchase of film studio MGM was announced this week, giving the tech company the rights to literally thousands of hours of archive content as well as a number of ongoing feature film franchises. It has led … Continue reading Amazon’s MGM purchase: the franchises

essay, horrorLeave a comment

“Mummy, there are bugs in here” | Climax (2018)

May 21, 2021 Grant Watson

It begins, oddly enough, with Gary Numan. His 1980 rendition of Erik Satie’s “Trois Gymnopédies” accompanies a stark shot of a snowfield from above. In stumbles a hysterical young woman, barely able to stand. When she falls, she convulses on … Continue reading “Mummy, there are bugs in here” | Climax (2018)

drama, essayLeave a comment

“Do you want me that much?” | Gate of Hell (1953)

February 3, 2021 Grant Watson

Readers should note that this essay substantially reveals the storyline of the film. When English-speaking audiences discovered Japanese cinema in the early 1950s, it was through a series of acclaimed period dramas including Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon and Kenji Mizoguchi’s The … Continue reading “Do you want me that much?” | Gate of Hell (1953)

comedy, essay, musicalLeave a comment

“We’re on a mission from God” | The Blues Brothers (1980)

January 17, 2021January 17, 2021 Grant Watson

‘Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Universal Amphitheatre. Well, here it is, the late 1970s, going on 1985. You know, so much of the music we hear today is pre-programmed electronic disco, we never get a chance … Continue reading “We’re on a mission from God” | The Blues Brothers (1980)

essay, science fictionLeave a comment

“What kind of help do you need?” | In the Dust of the Stars (1976)

September 27, 2020 Grant Watson

I want to tell you about In the Dust of the Stars, known in its original German as Im Staub der Sterne. It is a relatively obscure science fiction film produced in 1976. The film is many things. It is odd. It … Continue reading “What kind of help do you need?” | In the Dust of the Stars (1976)

action, essayLeave a comment

“Neither asked nor given” | Rob Roy (1995)

September 15, 2020September 15, 2020 Grant Watson

Robert Roy MacGregor was born in 1671 near Loch Katrine in Scotland’s Perthshire. As a young man, like many Scottish patriots, he was drawn to the 1689 Jacobite uprising – an armed rebellion to restore Stuart dynasty rule to the … Continue reading “Neither asked nor given” | Rob Roy (1995)

drama, essayLeave a comment

“We continue on without rest” | The Men Who Tread on the Tiger’s Tail (1945)

June 11, 2020 Grant Watson

Within Japan a number of directors are widely noted as the masters of the screen arts: Ozu, Mizoguchi, Naruse, and so on. Internationally there has only ever really been one name: Kurosawa. In a career spanning 57 years Akira Kurosawa … Continue reading “We continue on without rest” | The Men Who Tread on the Tiger’s Tail (1945)

essay, science fictionLeave a comment

“More light…” | The Black Hole (1979)

May 25, 2020May 25, 2020 Grant Watson

‘When the original Disney Black Hole movie came out,’ said astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson, ‘I was in graduate school. I was so disappointed in that film. Black holes were my favourite subject coming out of the Seventies. The movie was … Continue reading “More light…” | The Black Hole (1979)

animation, essayLeave a comment

“To infinity, and beyond!” | Toy Story (1995)

April 16, 2020June 21, 2021 Grant Watson

Twenty-five years ago film history was made when Walt Disney released Toy Story, the debut production from Pixar Animation Studios. It was the first computer-animated feature film ever produced, and not only was it a commercial and critical success it … Continue reading “To infinity, and beyond!” | Toy Story (1995)

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