Posts Tagged ‘Martin Scorsese’

By the beginning of 1920, film had already become widely popularized. There were over 20,000 locations in the United States alone that had begun to show movies. Film was already so popular, Hollywood’s Chamber of Commerce had already begun to ask acting hopefuls to try to stay out of the movies due to the overwhelming response to moving pictures. Politics were even brought into the mix when The Americanization Committee was formed. This committee, which was led by film executives and various politicians, hoped to influence a level of patriotism through the films being released. While films still played without sound, Brazil began to test out the use of records to be played during films in order to give them the sense of sound. The idea of film celebrity grew to even greater heights when two of the most famous actors of the time, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford, were wed. In addition to all this, a British teen named Archie Leach came to America. Leach would later take on the stage name, Cary Grant, and become one of the most famous actors of his generation.

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Remaking a foreign language film for an English speaking American audience can be quiet a feat. In fact, it probably should never be done as the success rate of good remakes is fairly low. Also, there are a number of issues which are created by remaking a foreign language film. Which movie do I watch first? Should I hold the remake up to the standard for the original? Of course we can not overlook the fact of a remake flopping at the box office. Then we must ask, why did you even waste money remaking it when you could have released the foreign version?

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My life as a film fan has been in a lot of ways like Forrest Gump. It started slow due to my small town setting, and I went through some spells where it seemed I’d never think straight (I saw Bird on A Wire on the big screen, and I’m pretty sure I enjoyed it). I also was thrown into the serious stuff while still young and naive (It’s cool that I compare seeing Terminator 2 as a 10-11 year old as Unforgiven is to the Vietnam War, right?), and often couldn’t understand the nuances of many “normal” things (What’s the appeal of Hook again?). Like Forrest, I worked hard to get past my restraints: I guarantee that I’ve seen more foreign films than the rest of my hometown combined. But when I’d accomplished what I wanted to, I went back to my Jenny.

That Jenny is, and always will be, my love for genre cinema. I’ve specialized in horror films, but have also found far too much joy in science-fiction, action, and even western films. While this is more than enough to make my potentially simple mind happy, it does occasionally make things difficult for the part of me that’s a student of cinema.

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Since our public launch in September, we’ve grown to well over 40,000 users, and garnered a total of more than 60 million rankings. As we approach the close of the year, and the start of a new decade, we thought we might take a moment to showcase the Top 20 films that our users have deemed to be considered the best-of-the-best from 2000-2009. So without further adieu, here are the best ranked films on Flickchart of the decade:
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departed-shining

In This Corner…

Doesn’t matter if you’re shipping up to Boston or dropping by the Overlook Hotel for a cozy winter getaway, the films in this week’s Reel Rumbles are sure to leave you blown away. For director Martin Scorsese, it was the film that finally earned him the respect of his peers. Uniting a stellar cast of hot new stars and old favorites, the auteur breathed his own style into the modern Asian classic Infernal Affairs (2002) with a tale of isolation and deception that struck chords with critics and delivered a shocking and graphic finale for audiences. But it has some stiff competition in the form of an unforgettable horror masterpiece from one of cinema’s most influential directors, Stanley Kubrick. Sharing one star and a common theme on the dangers of isolation, Kubrick’s adaptation of Stephen King’s novel emblazoned horrifying imagery into popular culture and stands as perhaps his lead’s finest hour. Believe your eyes. Watch your back. And beware of Jack Nicholson. It’s time for The Departed vs. The Shining.

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