Slaughterhouse Twelve: Robert Aldrich’s ‘The Dirty Dozen’
In the mid-1960s, director Robert Aldrich was coming up for air after the thick stew melodramas of Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte, and What Ever Happened to…
Screenwriting
‘Atlantic City’: Malle’s Nostalgic Juxtaposition of Deterioration and Renewal
When acclaimed French New Wave director Louis Malle was approached by producer Alexandre Mnouchkine with the idea for a Canadian production certified by the CRTC…
Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘Hard Eight’, AKA ‘Sydney’: “It’s Always Good to Meet a New Friend”
Paul Thomas Anderson’s debut film Hard Eight (working title Sydney, preferred by Anderson, thwarted by his backers) arose from the performance of a veteran actor…
Empire’s End: John Huston’s ‘The Man Who Would Be King’
On the occasion of John Huston’s The Man Who Would Be King screening at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in 2010 to mark star Sean…
‘L’Avventura’: Michelangelo Antonioni’s Visual Poetry and Its Impact on the World of Film
It was May 1960 when Michelangelo Antonioni’s L’Avventura first introduced itself to the public’s eye. Today, this classic of European art films is hailed as…
L.A. Breakdown, a Hitman In Crisis: Michael Mann’s ‘Collateral’
When people think of Tom Cruise, what do they see? That shit eating grin, the Scientology, star power? I prefer to think of Cruise as…
Sam Peckinpah’s original version of the screenplay for ‘One-Eyed Jacks,’ Marlon Brando’s only directorial effort
On only one occasion did Marlon Brando give directing a shot. Disappointed with the audience’s reaction, disheartened by studio interference or perhaps simply disillusioned with…
Married to the Enemy: The Pathological Obsession Beneath Michael Cimino’s ‘Year of the Dragon’
No-one does excess quite like Michael Cimino, director of Heaven’s Gate and The Deer Hunter. And when you factor in a co-writing credit by Oliver…
‘Be Inspired to Try Things, Miracles Happen When Someone Takes a Chance’: A Conversation with James Mangold
As one of the most versatile and interesting filmmakers today, James Mangold seemed like a good choice for an interview. The last film he directed,…
Intention Is Everything: Christopher McQuarrie’s ‘The Way of the Gun’
Christopher McQuarrie’s directorial debut after his Oscar-winning screenplay success with The Usual Suspects (1995), The Way of the Gun (2000) is most often described as…