Hangover Square
Memory loss — whether it be amnesia, dementia, or Alzheimer’s disease — has become an invisible villain in many films dating back to the early days of cinema. As a plot device, it gives the protagonist something they either must struggle to overcome or a battle to which they will ultimately succumb. When based on real life, stories about memory loss encourage us to cherish our current state of mind.
Read More
Musicals were still in fashion, Technicolor was all the rage, and the new style of crime drama filmmaking, later referred to as film noir, was making its mark. It was a great year for some great movies. Here are some of my favorite films from 1945, plus a whole bunch more that are available to rent on DVD Netflix.
Read More
Film composer Bernard Herrmann is best known for his film collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock. He created the frightening strings-only score in Psycho (1960) — which later inspired The Beatles song “Eleanor Rigby.” His swirling Vertigo (1958) score sets the mood to a strange story, and his music puts energy and intrigue into North by Northwest (1959); propelling the story forward. But outside of the eight films with Hitchcock, Herrmann created other memorable scores that you should get to know.
Read More