Directed by Ken Annakin, Andrew Marton, Bernhard Wicki, Gerd Oswald The Longest Day is a three hour World War II epic that was completely overshadowed by David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia. Both films are expansive though in different ways. While Lawrence centers on a single figure over the course of a long, arduous journey, The Longest Day focuses … Continue reading The Longest Day (1962)
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Darkest Hour (2017)
Directed by Joe Wright Darkest Hour tracks the first month after Winston Churchill has been appointed prime minister. He's a controversial figure, a politician maligned by both sides, and he has his hands full with imminent invasion of Hitler's German army. It's a pressure cooker of a movie, and it's a testament to director Joe … Continue reading Darkest Hour (2017)
Stalag 17 (1953)
Directed by Billy Wilder [EDIT: This is a long, rambling review as I try to figure out what Stalag 17 is really about. By the end I decide it's about the postwar conditions of the 1950s, specifically the red scare. It takes me a while to get there, and I still might be completely missing the … Continue reading Stalag 17 (1953)
Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock Shadow of a Doubt, like Hitchcock's Suspicion (1941), is about the deconstruction of myth, to some extent. They are similar films, following one character's increasing paranoia that someone they love is a monster. In the former, Joan Fontaine begins to worry that the man she married, played by Cary Grant, has … Continue reading Shadow of a Doubt (1943)