Approaching Menace: The American Pathology of Martin Scorsese’s ‘Taxi Driver’
By Tim Pelan Many rightly attribute Taxi Driver’s success to screenwriter Paul Schrader, director Martin Scorsese, and method leading man Robert De Niro—together they…
Bernard Herrmann
‘The Magnificent Ambersons’: The Fascinating Story of Orson Welles’ Studio-Tainted Masterpiece
It was sometime in 1980 when Orson Welles finally sat down and agreed to watch The Magnificent Ambersons, giving in to his persuasive colleague and…
‘Marnie’: Hitchcock’s Controversial Exploration of Sexual Violence and the Complexity of the Human Psyche
The film that started out as a critical failure, labeled as the weakest link in the maestro’s string of high-quality cinematic treats, over time developed…
‘Psycho’: The Proto-Slasher that Brought On a Revolution in Cinema
The image of a shabby motel in the middle of nowhere, by-passed by any relevant roads and inhabited by disturbing, weird or antisocial characters. The…
‘Obsession’: When De Palma Stepped Out of Hitchcock’s Shadow
Released in the late summer of 1976, more than a year since the end of production due to Columbia Pictures minor objections to some of…
‘Citizen Kane’: The Astonishing Debut of Hollywood’s Greatest Wunderkind
It took a long time for Hollywood to convince Orson Welles to come to the dark side. Welles was in love with theater, and as…
‘North by Northwest’: Quite Possibly the Most Entertaining Hitchcock Ever
I want to do a Hitchcock picture to end all Hitchcock pictures, allegedly announced screenwriter Ernest Lehman, after his friend, composer Bernard Herrmann recommended him…