video essay
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VIDEO ESSAY: From Mr. Chips to Scarface: The Evolution of Walter White
"Walter's a shithead!" I had just walked in the door to the family home in Forestville, California. My dad had just finished the second season of "Breaking Bad."
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VIDEO ESSAY: BEAVER'S LODGE: EMPEROR OF THE NORTH POLE
"Emperor of the North Pole" is a favorite of mine, an exciting film as tough as old leather and as harsh as the era it depicts.
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VIDEO ESSAY: THE DARK KNIGHT MYTH
When director Christopher Nolan first conceived of his Batman film trilogy, the challenge was revitalizing a hero who had previously been buried in cinematic fantasy shtick—a de-evolution that started with Tim Burton’s promising "Batman" and ended with Joel Schumacher’s laughably bad "Batman & Robin...
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VIDEO ESSAY: Batman: The Animated Series
Children of the 80's and 90's remember this series with a fondness bordering on the familial.
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VIDEO ESSAY - Matt Porterfield and the Art of the Question
What is it that makes Putty Hill one of the more striking American independent films of recent years? Is it the genuine working class Baltimore setting, where director Matt Porterfield grew up and still lives today? Is it the cinematography by Jeremy Saulnier? Is it the ensemble of nonprofessional a...
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ON THE QT # 1: RESERVOIR DOGS
Press Play launches its new director series "On the Q.T.," about Quentin Tarantino, with a look at his debut "Reservoir Dogs" (1992). Although it earned plenty of acclaim, the film also sparked two kinds of controversy.
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VIDEO - Sight & Sound Film Poll: Nicole Brenez on THE HOUR OF THE FURNACES PART I: NOTES AND TESTIMONY ON NEOCOLONIALISM, VIOLENCE AND LIBERATION
Arguably the greatest film ever made in Latin America, HOUR OF THE FURNACES makes a compelling case for the political film - and the politics of filmmaking - when considering the greatest films of all time.
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VIDEO ESSAY: A Death Foretold: Foreshadowing in MAD MEN
"Mad Men"'s season-five death obsession dominated recaps and comments threads throughout the last 12 weeks—with good reason, as it happened.
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VIDEO ESSAY: Cocaine du Cinema
Cocaine’s presence in movies is a tricky object to dissect. Even with an awful, bloody contemporary history under its belt, cocaine seems to be the “cool” drug for modern cinematic heroes and heroines.
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VIDEO ESSAY: Sight and Sound Film Poll - Adrian Martin on Philippe Garrel's L'ENFANT SECRET
When Adrian Martin visited Chicago last May, I made certain not to miss the opportunity to record him for this video series. What distinguishes Martin's scholarship for me is his passion for all that is improbable or even impossible about the cinema. That spirit can be sensed in Martin's love of Phi...
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