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10 great natural history films
Favs/dislikes: 0:0. In 1910, audiences were mesmerised by the spectacle of a sepia- and cobalt-toned series of flowers bursting into bloom, their petals unfurling in what appeared to be real time. The Birth of a Flower (1910) by F. Percy Smith (1880-1945) was a watershed moment in the use of what we now know as timelapse, or ‘time magnification’ as this pioneer of British natural history filmmaking referred to it. Since then, filmmakers have deployed an array of techniques for bringing the natural world closer to human perception, from macro- and micro-cinematography through to illustrative animations and computer models. The camera has transported viewers to places they cannot go, from the deepest ocean floors to the sun-baking heat of the most arid deserts. Smith, however, filmed most of his material in the grandiose-sounding Southgate Studios – actually his own home, a terraced house in Enfield, north London. For him, of equal importance to the phenomena that fell beneath his lens was the technology used to fix it on film. Both aspects were the subjects of the trio of books he co-authored, Secrets of Nature (1939), Cine-Biology (1941) and See How They Grow (1952), which explain the motivation, methodology and science behind his cinematic probings of the natural world. Many of Smith’s films are included on the BFI’s Secrets of Nature DVD release from 2010. Now they have been repurposed by Stuart A. Staples and David Reeve for an immersive and hypnotic new work, Minute Bodies: The Intimate World of F. Percy Smith, featuring a suitably free-flowing and otherworldly original soundtrack by Tindersticks with Thomas Belhom and Christine Ott. This new film presents a hidden universe that is sensual, abstract and alien, yet strongly resonates with our own perceptions of the ecosystem around us. The release of Minute Bodies on Blu-ray and DVD prompts an opportunity to cast our eyes to some of the more revolutionary endeavours in the field of natural history filmmaking over the past century. -
10 Movies Inspired By Urban Legends
Favs/dislikes: 0:0. Horror flicks can easily be about anything that makes our skin crawl. From maniacs with masks and sharp objects to haunted houses populated by vengeful spirits, finding something frightening is as easy as knowing where to look. But when it comes to certain members of the genre, they need to look no farther than human superstition. Urban legends and campfire tales have been with us since the birth of language itself, so it makes sense that they would transition well from the campfire to the screen. Tales of curses, strange creatures, and boogeymen have populated the genre for decades. So let's look at ten flicks inspired by urban legends. -
10 Movies with The Best Uses of Point-of-View Shots
Favs/dislikes: 0:0. A point-of-view (POV) shot is one where the camera is positioned in such a way to give the audience the impression that they are viewing the scene as a character in the film. It creates the effect that the viewer is immersed in the action, as if he/she were directly taking part in the movie itself, as opposed to a deep-focus or master shot where the viewer is placed outside of events, passively observing like a “fly on the wall”. There are various types of POV available to the film-maker: the ‘subjective viewpoint’, for example, can be used to replicate the first-person narrative of a novel by showing the action through the eyes of the central character, whereas a more objective experience may be achieved by placing the camera cheek-to-cheek with another actor in the film to show what that character is able to see without implying that the viewer is actually taking part in their place. These kinds of shots are often followed immediately by a close-up of the character in order to show his/her reaction to what they (and the audience) have just seen — an editing combination known as “shot, reverse-shot”. A similar type of POV angle, regularly used in action movies, is where the camera is placed close to ground level alongside one of the wheels of a speeding car, adding excitement through a feeling of participation in the drama of a chase scene. POV shots have been used by directors since the dawn of cinema and they are a standard part of the film-maker’s toolkit. One of the earliest well-known uses of the technique is in Napoleon (Abel Gance,1927) when the camera was wrapped in protective padding and then violently punched around the set by a group of actors in order to recreate the ordeal of the central character being beaten up. Orson Welles originally planned in 1939 to film an entire version of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (later transplanted to the Vietnam war and shot from regular angles by Francis Ford Coppola in Apocalypse Now) entirely as a first-person narrative from the protagonist’s perspective. He discarded the idea as impractical, however, and concentrated on Citizen Kane instead; although he did later revisit the technique in 1952 when he used POV in his 1952 adaptation of William Shakespeare’s play, Othello. Some directors, such as Alfred Hitchcock, are famous for using point-of-view cinematography in many of their works to build suspense or add to the sense of fear they are trying to instil in the audience. The technique is especially beloved of horror and thriller filmmakers who can use it to show the villain’s actions without revealing the identity of the culprit. Nowadays, POV photography is everywhere and has become totally ubiquitous as just about anybody can go out and buy a Go-Pro camera, strap it to their ski- or bike-helmet and start filming away; Facebook and YouTube are full of first-person accounts of thrill-seekers hurtling down black runs or bumping along single-track mountain trails. It is the more memorable cinematic examples, however, that shall be examined in the following list. -
100 best russian films by Afisha
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20 Great Siege Movies That Are Worth Your Time
Favs/dislikes: 0:0. Certainly one of the most satisfying and exciting cinematic scenarios is the siege picture. Combining fast-paced action sequences and unforeseeable circumstances, the siege motif emerges in a number of different genre categories; action, comedy, drama, horror, science fiction, you name it. As satiating as it is protracted and impassioned these films invariably target an individual or a small group barricaded or cornered – often in a single locale – with overwhelming obstacles they must overcome, safety often a star distance away. The following list, while not exhaustive and far from complete, acts as a sort of compendium of what the siege picture can entail. From mumblegore mindfucks, populist comedies, award-winning crime capers, to indulgent arthouse favorites, siege films not only pin down protagonists, they also capture the imagination. Be careful out there, and source out your exits ahead of time, whenever possible. -
200 Most Disturbing Movies
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25 Best Japanese Anime TV Series by Film.ru
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35 best Perestroika films
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All Jules Verne Films
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The 10 Best Micro-Budget Movies of The 21st Century
Favs/dislikes: 0:0. The term “microbudget” may seem a little vague, and while many authorities on film can’t quite agree on what amount of money qualifies as a microbudget film, this list will focus on feature films made for less than $250,000 USD (or equivalent). I will mostly discuss first-time films and/or features that established their respective directors as a “new voice” or gained them a much wider global audience. With the advent of affordable, accessible and powerful filmmaking tools such as the DSLR and DV cameras and even the iPhone, an entirely new generation of filmmakers have been granted the power to make a feature film without the help of a major studio or major financial investors. While the 1980’s and 90’s saw the rise of self-funded films such as The Evil Dead, Clerks and El Mariachi, the turn of the new millennium saw the rise of the video-maker, and movements such as Mumblecore, which, spurred on by the Dogme 95 movement in Europe, led to a much wider acceptance of not only digital cinema in general, but also the use of consumer-grade cameras within mass cinema culture. Below are some of the best, most influential and most groundbreaking microbudget films made since the year 2000. While only three were shot on actual celluloid film, all are remarkable pieces of cinema that have left a lasting impression on audiences and moviemakers alike. All serve as a reminder that no matter your budget, you can craft a great movie from little more than the resources at your disposal and an iron will to create. The films are in no particular order. -
The 10 Best Movies Influenced by 20th Century Occultism
Favs/dislikes: 0:0. Aleister Crowley, an English novelist, poet, artist and “ceremonial magician” has had a acute influence on art. However, this influence is woven within the context of his philosophical religious movement, Thelema, and the impact that it has had upon its adherents (both past and present). Thelema’s influence throughout the last century is an influence that is one that persists within the shadows of culture. It developed as a re-imagining of renaissance-era philosophical law/logic that originated within the secret societies of Europe, such as Francis Dashwood’s Hellfire Club, The French Club des Hashischins (Hashish-User’s Club), the philosophy of Francois Rabelais (a Franciscan Monk, most known for his synthesis of Christian humanism with the ideals of the Greek Stoic philosophy), as well as the influence of various other hermetic orders such as the Freemasons. Crowley, influenced by the ideals of Dashwood and the humanist philosophy of Rabelais, decided to embark on a path toward the design of a hermetic order that would combine the organizational structure of such previous groups with the philosophical underpinnings of Rabelais. In this way, Crowley believed he could revive interest into what was termed ‘Magick’, a ritual practice different from stage performance what is generally termed by Thelemites as “magic”. To Crowley, the performance of ceremonial Magick was essential to the process of self-discovery and self actualization. He described the process of Magick as being the act of : “[finding out for oneself], and make sure beyond doubt, who one is, what one is, why one is …Being thus conscious of the proper course to pursue, the next thing is to understand the conditions necessary to following it out. After that, one must eliminate from oneself every element alien or hostile to success, and develop those parts of oneself which are specially needed to control the aforesaid conditions.” This process of self-discovery actualized by the practice of Magick has found its way into experimental film, blockbusters, comic books, novels, television and performance art. Thelema, though not as popular as an organized religious practice as it was in the past has seeped its way into the creation of popular media by creators like Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, H.R. Giger and Alejandro Jodorowsky. The following list of films expresses the impact that Thelema and its occult antecessors have had on film culture. -
The 13 Best Documentaries About True Crimes
Favs/dislikes: 0:0. While the human obsession with true crime might be innate, the nonfiction genre is relatively new to be taken seriously. With the recent success of the HBO series, The Jinx, and the hit podcast, Serial, true crime seems to be on everybody’s minds. Investigating crime might be inherently interesting for anybody with a taste for documentary, but there’s a moral and ethical standard that comes with any story of this kind. Also, taste plays a huge factor in whether these films stray into camp or exploitation. News hours have made their livings off society’s thirst for criminal behavior and it’s a fine line between simply reporting a dramatic occurrence and digging into the mechanics of how those illegal activities take shape. As such, an impactful, lasting true crime film has to work double-time to be respectful to the people involved, diligent about the facts, and ultimately entertaining. One wrong move and a crime film can get lost in the vortex of multitudes that have sunk to the trash heap. The following list explores nonfiction from multiple angles. Some, like The Thin Blue Line and The Central Park Five, take on wrongful convictions and the ensuing public outrage, while others excavate a botched investigation in search of a greater truth, as seen in Capturing the Friedmans. Others, like The Iceman, are crime films by process of possessing a central character who has dedicated a life to murder and having a story that’s a window into a fractured psychology. We’ve also included some that are rarely considered true crime films, Resurrect Dead: The Msytery of the Toynbee Tiles and Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, that take on subjects who are only technically committing the sorts of misconduct synonymous with standard crime stories, however, their makers smartly package them with similar mysterious handling.
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