So what is film noir? A French term literally translating to “black film,” historians will tell you film noir was an unofficial cycle of American films released in the 40s and 50s that usually centere…
Out of Past: “The Lady from Shanghai” (1948)
Next week is Orson Welles’ birthday centennial (May 6th) and this website is going to be chock full of Welles tributes. But, let’s start the party early with his 1948 noir The Lady from Shanghai…
Out of the Past: “The Third Man” (1949)
The Vienna depicted in Carol Reed’s The Third Man no longer exists. It is a maze of sewers, back alleys, political gamesmanship, and lies. Nothing remains except for abandoned bourgeois flats, decrepi…
Maxwell’s Movie Review: Skyfall
After fifty years and twenty-three Bond films, I can safely assure you that Agent 007 is still busily pursuing anonymous henchmen aboard moving vehicles, seducing women by simply turning around and lo…