Jules R. Simion – The Cinematic Journal

Thirty-Day Movie Challenge: Part I

Jules R. Simion — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 09:45:53 +0000

Day 1: ‘Blade Runner’ (1982)

Of course, I followed this up with ‘Blade Runner 2049’ (2017), because it made all the sense in the world. Starring Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Daryl Hannah, and Harrison Ford, the film was based on Philip K. Dick’s novel, ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?’. Hampton Fancher and David Webb Peoples penned the screenplay, and Ridley Scott skilfully handled the direction. Production was problematic and plagued by an ever-increasing budget, but the end result went on to become a cult classic and a monumental landmark in the history of cinema. It garnered praise from Philip K. Dick himself, even though he only got to see the first 20 minutes prior to his death in 1982.

Trivia nugget: Rutger Hauer improvised a significant portion of his death scene speech, commonly known as the ‘tears in rain’ monologue, which Mark Rowlands described as ‘perhaps the most moving death soliloquy in cinematic history’ and represents a defining moment in Mr Hauer’s career.

‘BLADE RUNNER’ (1982), ©WARNER BROS.

Day 2: ‘Good Will Hunting’ (1997)

It won 2 of the 9 Academy Awards for which it was nominated, as Robin Williams took the Oscar home for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, and Matt Damon and Ben Affleck got theirs for Best Original Screenplay at the remarkably young ages of 25 and 27, respectively. Directed by Gus Van Sant, the film was originally set to be helmed by Mel Gibson, who dropped out. His successor, Michael Mann, was also let go after he insisted on not giving Mr Damon the lead role because he wasn’t popular enough as an actor.

Trivia nugget: Robin Williams ad-libbed the lines in the scene where he talks about his late wife’s farting antics. It’s why Damon was laughing so hard and probably why the camera was just a tiny bit shaky, too.

‘GOOD WILL HUNTING’ (1997), ©MIRAMAX

Day 3: ‘Chinatown’ (1974)

Written by Robert Towne and directed by Roman Polanski, this film is still a masterclass in dramatic storytelling, probably because of the spellbinding way in which the forlorn and enigmatic tale unfolds with a tight and splendidly tense pacing. Starring Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, and John Huston, ‘Chinatown’ won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

Trivia nugget: The film was followed by a sequel, ‘The Two Jakes’ (1990), which Towne wrote and Nicholson directed. There was supposed to be a third part, as well, but elements of the story only made it as far as being incorporated into ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’ (1988), which was advertised as a film-noir spoof and homage to ‘Chinatown’.

‘CHINATOWN’ (1974), ©PARAMOUNT PICTURES

Day 4: ‘Mystic River’ (2003)

Directed by Clint Eastwood, the film’s screenplay was penned by Brian Helgeland of ‘L.A. Confidential’ (1997) and ‘Man on Fire’ (2004) fame, based on the novel ‘Mystic River’ by Dennis Lehane. It brought Sean Penn and Tim Robbins each an Academy Award for their riveting performances, featuring some stunning acting chops by the revered Laura Linney and Marcia Gay Harden alongside Kevin Bacon and Lawrence Fishburne.

‘MYSTIC RIVER’ (2003), ©WARNER BROS.

Day 5: ‘The Accidental Tourist’ (1988)

Geena Davis won an Academy Award for her supporting role, and Frank Galati and Lawrence Kasdan earned a nod for Best Adapted Screenplay. William Hurt and Kathleen Turner execute their roles beautifully, as well, though I remain particularly fond of Amy Wright, David Ogden Stiers, and Ed Begley Jr. as Macon’s delightfully dull and neurotic siblings.

‘THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST’ (1988), ©WARNER BROS.

Day 6: ‘Barry Lyndon’ (1975)

I’m forever a fan of Ryan O’Neal. There’s something about him that just works for the characters which he has portrayed over the years, and none have been as enthralling as the titular hero of Stanley Kubrick’s insanely ambitious feature-length endeavour. Based on ‘The Luck of Barry Lyndon’ by William Makepeace Thackeray, the film won 4 Academy Awards, with Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design deservedly among them.

Trivia nugget: At one point, Kubrick’s name ended up on an I.R.A. hit list for featuring English soldiers in his Ireland scenes, reason for which the director was forced to move the entire production to England and dropped several scenes in the process.

‘BARRY LYNDON’ (1975), ©PEREGRINE/HAWK FILMS

Day 7: ‘Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles’ (1994)

I will never get enough of Tom Cruise’s mischievous Lestat and Brad Pitt’s emotionally tormented Louis. The screenplay was penned by Anne Rice, who also wrote the source material and gave the world a much more romantic take on the legendary blood-drinking monster, while Neil Jordan stepped in as director. It brought forth the immensely talented Kirsten Dunst as the vampire child Claudia, and it continues to entrance viewers with its literary charm, gory sensuality, and gorgeous costume design.

‘INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE: THE VAMPIRE CHRONICLES’ (1994), ©GEFFEN PICTURES

Day 8: ‘Dances with Wolves’ (1990)

Michael Blake published the story in novel form first in 1988 before Kevin Costner picked up the film rights for his stellar directorial debut. Aside from the fact that ‘Dances with Wolves’ won a slew of awards, including the Oscar for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay, the film offered a respectful and sympathetic depiction of the First Nations, helping boost the number of Indigenous actors in Hollywood. This led to the Sioux Nation to adopt Mr Costner as an honorary member.

‘DANCES WITH WOLVES’ (1990), ©TIG PRODUCTIONS

Day 9: ‘E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial’ (1982)

I’d almost forgotten how absolutely adorable Henry Thomas once was as Elliott. Written by Melissa Mathison and directed by Steven Spielberg, ‘E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial’ was a box office smash hit and an awards-circuit darling due to its exquisite visual and special effects, and it propelled the genre of science fiction into a more commercial section of cinematography. Ahead of its time and timeless in equal measure.

‘E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL’ (1982), ©UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Day 10: ‘The Flight of the Phoenix’ (1965)

Written by Lukas Heller and based on the eponymous novel by Elleston Trevor, ‘The Flight of the Phoenix’ is a beautiful yet harrowing tale of survival directed by Robert Aldrich and fiercely led by James Stewart, Richard Attenborough, and Peter Finch.

’THE FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX’ (1965), ©THE ASSOCIATES & ALDRICH COMPANY

Day 11: ‘The Godfather’ (1972)

This is, without a doubt, one of the greatest films ever made. It’s not a matter of opinion anymore. It’s a fact, perfectly illustrated by the countless awards it earned—among them three Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Based on the bestselling novel by Mario Puzo and written by the author in partnership with Francis Ford Coppola, ‘The Godfather’ remains one of cinema’s most important films.

Trivia nugget: The cat wandered in from one of the sets and was never intended to be in the movie. She was so content to sit in Mr Welles’ lap that her purrs interfered with some of his lines on the audio track, leading to additional editing work to deliver dialogue.

THE GODFATHER’ (1972), ©PARAMOUNT PICTURES

Day 12: ‘Casablanca’ (1942)

Sometimes, there comes a film that is a trifecta of greatness, earning the most prestigious awards for its direction, for its screenplay, and for the coveted Best Picture category in one sweeping ceremony. Director Michael Curtiz has 179 film credits to his name, yet none would remain so deeply embedded within the history of cinema as ‘Casablanca’ whilst bearing IMDb’s exceptionally green Metascore of 100.

‘CASABLANCA’ (1942), ©WARNER BROS.

Day 13: ‘His Girl Friday’ (1940)

Like many of the films of that era, this one is problematic from a racial perspective, given some of the derogatory terms used by the characters and knowingly penned by the writers (Charles Lederer, Ben Hecht, and Charles MacArthur) under the direction of Howard Hawks. With that stain on its poster, however, I must admit that ‘His Girl Friday’ is a work of art in terms of dialogue and comedic screenwriting, while Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell make a fantastic pair on the silver screen.

‘HIS GIRL FRIDAY’ (1940), ©COLUMBIA PICTURES

Day 14: ‘Jaws’ (1975)

Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb weren’t given an Oscar for their screenplay, and Steven Spielberg didn’t get one for direction, either. Yet this film remains a classic and an innovative work of cinematic art, a brilliant ‘scary movie’ with an unnatural amount of tension at every turning point. Thank the stars for Roy Scheider’s decision to ad-lib the ‘You’re gonna need a bigger boat’ line, while we’re at it.

Trivia nugget: When John Williams originally played the score for Mr Spielberg, the director laughed and said, ‘That’s funny, John, really; but what did you really have in mind for the theme of “Jaws”?’ Williams took home an Academy Award for this score.

‘JAWS’ (1975), ©UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Day 15: ‘Kramer vs. Kramer’ (1979)

Praised by Robert McKee for its brilliant dramatic storytelling and Robert Benton’s ability to convey so much detail within each sequence, ‘Kramer vs. Kramer’ is truly a titan of the big screen. The breakfast scene after Joana’s departure alone is a treasure trove of personal information and emotion. Dustin Hoffman’s exquisite acting aside, Meryl Streep is such a good thespian that I found myself genuinely loathing her character.

KRAMER VS. KRAMER’ (1979), ©COLUMBIA PICTURES

Day 16: ‘The Last Emperor’ (1987)

I’ll never forgive Bernardo Bertolucci for what he and Marlon Brando did to Maria Schneider for that infamous scene in ‘Last Tango in Paris’ (1972), but I shall give credit where it is due. ‘The Last Emperor’ is a superb and sprawling historical epic based on Pu Yi’s published autobiography, chronicling the life of China’s last monarch.

Trivia nugget: It’s one of the few motion pictures made in and about China with the full cooperation of its government—so much so that when Queen Elizabeth II tried to visit the Forbidden City during a state trip, the film’s production took priority for its immense coronation scene.

‘THE LAST EMPEROR’ (1987), ©RECORDED PICTURE COMPANY (RPC)

Day 17: ‘The Manchurian Candidate’ (1962)

While I loved Jonathan Demme’s Liev Schreiber, Meryl Streep, and Denzel Washington-led remake of the 1962 original directed by John Frankenheimer, I absolutely love the outstanding performances of Frank Sinatra, Angela Lansbury, and Laurence Harvey—the latter, especially, for his portrayal of Raymond Shaw. Another masterpiece of cinema, ‘The Manchurian Candidate’ didn’t receive any Academy Awards, but George Axelrod’s screenplay is a lesson in how tension is best delivered.

‘THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE’ (1962), ©M.C. PRODUCTIONS

Day 18: ‘Leaving Las Vegas’ (1995)

I actually read Mike Figgis’s screenplay before I saw the movie during my second year of film school. John O’Brien’s book, upon which the movie is based, was an even harder read. But I’ll admit that the feature itself was the most difficult part, as there is something absolutely gut-wrenching in Nicholas Cage’s performance. It was genuinely crushing to watch Ben Sanderson virtually drink himself to death.

‘LEAVING LAS VEGAS’ (1995), ©LUMIERE PICTURES

Day 19: ‘Nanook of the North’ (1922)

Directed by Robert J. Flaherty, ‘Nanook of the North’ is more than just a touching silent predecessor to the modern documentary. It’s the very first instance of dramatic storytelling used to narrate and edit real-life footage of one specific Inuit family living in the Arctic Circle.

Trivia nugget: Alas, despite being part of the Criterion Collection, the National Film Registry, and Roger Ebert’s list of Great Movies, many of the documentary’s scenes were staged for the purpose of showing how the Inuit lived before modern times, according to Flaherty.

‘NANOOK OF THE NORTH’ (1922), LES FRÈRES REVILLON/PATHÉ EXCHANGE

Day 20: ‘Ordinary People’ (1980)

Robert Redford’s directorial debut, understandably awarded with an Oscar. Timothy Hutton’s acting debut, deservedly awarded with an Oscar. It went on to take two more golden statuettes home—one for Best Picture, and once for Best Adapted Screenplay, and thank the stars for screenwriters like Alvin Sargent for telling such a moving story that inadvertently and effectively captures the look, the sound, and the temper of a broken American family struggling to adjust after a tragedy.

‘ORDINARY PEOPLE’ (1980), ©PARAMOUNT PICTURES

Day 21: ‘The Passion of Joan of Arc’ (1928)

Carl Theodor Dreyer didn’t allow any makeup for his actors, which only served to enhance Maria Falconetti’s devastating performance as the woman who was first a martyr before she became a patron saint of France. ‘The Passion of Joan of Arc’ was virtually the only movie Falconetti made, yet it went on to redefine silent cinema.

Trivia nugget: This film was considered lost for many years, until an almost complete print emerged in 1978 as part of a collection that an Italian priest had once used for screenings in psychiatric facilities.

‘THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC’ (1928), ©SOCIÉTÉ GÉNÉRALE DES FILMS

Day 22: ‘Q & A’ (1990)

Based on the book by Edwin Torres, I can’t say it’s the best among Sidney Lumet’s works, but it’s certainly up there. The story is so masterfully crafted that it leads this stellar cast into a memorable performance. Nick Nolte is downright terrifying. Timothy Hutton carries himself with a certain ingenuity that is mercilessly crushed by the harsh reality of corruption within New York’s police force. And Armand Assante earned himself a Golden Globe nod for his Bobby Texador.

‘Q & A’ (1990), ©REGENCY INTERNATIONAL PICTURES

Day 23: ‘Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark’ (1981)

Yet another revolutionary motion picture from Steven Spielberg by way of George Lucas, Philip Kaufman, and the illustrious Lawrence Kasdan, this first installment of Indy’s blockbuster feature series takes us on a mad chase after the fabled Ark of the Covenant in 1936, which the Nazis nefariously intend to unleash upon the world. Personally, I love Harrison Ford’s rendition of Indiana Jones and dread the day when another actor will be cast for the inevitable reboot.

‘INDIANA JONES AND THE RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK’ (1981), ©PARAMOUNT PICTURES/LUCASFILM

Day 24: ‘Schindler’s List’ (1993)

This isn’t just a Holocaust film. That tragedy serves more as a backdrop for a double portrait—of Oskar Schindler, swindler of the Third Reich, and of Amon Goeth, evil incarnate and heartless psychopath, both men born from the filthy opportunities of war. It racked up a plethora of awards, including the Oscar for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. The final scene at Schindler’s grave completely broke me. I don’t remember crying this hard since the finale of ‘Supernatural’ (2005-2020).

‘SCHINDLER’S LIST’ (1993), ©UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Day 25: ‘Tender Mercies’ (1983)

Written by Horton Foote and directed by Bruce Beresford, ‘Tender Mercies’ won Robert Duvall his only Academy Award in seven nominations. It’s like nothing else in its mixed genre of drama and romance—its quiet softness and simmering despair are everything this film needs to take a place among the greatest stories ever written for the silver screen.

‘TENDER MERCIES’ (1983), ©ANTRON MEDIA PRODUCTION

Day 26: ‘Dog Day Afternoon’ (1975)

Frank Pierson signed the screenplay for this cinematic oeuvre, based on a magazine article by P.F. Kluge and Thomas Moore, which in turn was inspired by a true event. It got Pierson a well-deserved Oscar. I mentioned ‘Q & A’ earlier as not being Sidney Lumet’s best, and I’d like to stick that specific label right here. ‘Dog Day Afternoon’ is absolutely his best.

Trivia nugget: A scene from this movie appears in the first episode of David Fincher’s ‘Mindhunter’ (2017) during a hostage negotiation training session at Quantico.

‘DOG DAY AFTERNOON’ (1975), ©WARNER BROS.

Day 27: ‘The Usual Suspects’ (1995)

In hindsight, a couple of this film’s headliners are… problematic, to say the least, yet this film cannot be forgotten nor ignored. The performances are out of this world, and that requires not only immense talent but good direction and a fantastic script. I think Bryan Singer was young and hungry when he shot this, and it shows. Every other credit of his fades in comparison. Most of the props go to Christopher McQuarrie, however, as he did win the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

‘THE USUAL SUSPECTS’ (1995), ©POLYGRAM FILMED ENTERTAINMENT

Day 28: ‘The Conversation’ (1974)

HBO is currently hiding such hidden gems in its Movies category if you scroll down enough. Written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, ‘The Conversation’ is a noteworthy mystery thriller made singular by Gene Hackman’s outstanding performance—a key moment in his career, for that matter.

‘THE CONVERSATION’ (1974), ©THE COPPOLA COMPANY

Day 29: ‘Pulp Fiction’ (1994)

Few screenwriters/directors master the art of dialogue in a feature film as skilfully as Quentin Tarantino does in ‘Pulp Fiction’. Roger Ebert went as far as comparing his hard-boiled screen prose with the likes of Raymond Chandler and Elmore Leonard. It’s easy to see why, though, as the high quality drives humour without even asking for it, so it’s no wonder Tarantino won an Academy Award for his writing. ‘Pulp Fiction’ is one of those movies that you have to watch in this lifetime—though I’d be remiss if I didn’t specify that every title in this first list is worthy of such attention and appreciation. I’ll also call it a masterpiece lacking a message.

PULP FICTION’ (1994), ©MIRAMAX

Day 30: ‘Jackie Brown’ (1997)

I made this selection on purpose, if only to end the 30-day-movie-challenge with something delightfully palatable while also comparing the aesthetics between Tarantino’s most popular film and his only adaptation. It felt appropriate since Mr Ebert brought Elmore Leonard into the conversation. The source material—the novel titled ‘Rum Punch’—serves as the foundation for my favourite Tarantino movie. I absolutely adore Pam Grier and Robert Forster; their chemistry is magnificent. On the other hand, Robert De Niro seems to have wandered into the picture, somehow, yet manages to make sense. It still befuddles me.

Trivia nugget: Tarantino was initially worried that Elmore Leonard might not like the changes he made to the story. It turns out the author actually liked the script so much, he said it was the best he’d read up to that point, and certainly among the best of the 26 adaptations of his novels and short stories.

‘JACKIE BROWN’ (1997), ©MIRAMAX

I will absolutely do this again. There are so many grand titles that are worth revisiting—or tackling for the first time, if you’re like me, and your watchlist gets occasionally engorged beyond manageability and in desperate need of slimming down. A movie a day keeps the dullness away.

The post Thirty-Day Movie Challenge: Part I appeared first on The Cinematic Journal.

Artist Spotlight: David Nutter, TV Director Extraordinaire

Jules R. Simion — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 11:00:41 +0000

The Early Days

David lost his father at a young age, and he was raised by a single mother. Growing up, the future storyteller found comfort and magic in the world of comic books. He would often cut characters out and study their angles, sometimes coming up with characters of his own—a director’s persona was gradually shaping up before he even knew it.

Alas, Mr Nutter grew up imagining himself as the next Frank Sinatra, enrolling in the University of Miami to pursue a musical education. It wasn’t long before he realized that it wasn’t a road he truly wished to take, so he enrolled in a Super 8 film class in the early ‘80s with the intention of perhaps going on to write music for movies, instead. It was during that particularly formative period that he decided to become a director, blaming Warren Beatty’s ‘Reds’ (1981) for the final nudge.

©MACALL B. POLAY/HBO

The Budding Career

‘Cease Fire’ (1985), starring Don Johnson, was David Nutter’s first credited project, the first of few features he has ever done. But it was ’21 Jump Street’ (1987-1991), created by Stephen J. Cannell and Patrick Hasburgh, and featuring a young, wide-eyed Johnny Depp, that propelled Nutter into the television industry. He directed three episodes of the series and worked on a few other projects before he was brought on to do the pilot for ‘Space: Above and Beyond’ (1995-1996), a sci-fi adventure series created by Glen Morgan and James Wong. That was his very first pilot. I suppose you never forget your first.

Shortly afterwards, Mr Nutter joined Morgan and Wong on Chris Carter’s ‘The X-Files’ (1993-2018), for which he directed 15 of what would later become some of the show’s most memorable episodes. Worth mentioning here: ‘Ice’, inspired by the John Carpenter classic ‘The Thing’ (1982); ‘Beyond the Sea’, which sees Brad Dourif delivering a most brilliant performance; ‘Firewalker’, starring the young but decidedly promising Bradley Whitford; and ‘Little Green Men’, which kickstarted the series’ second season and further cemented ‘The X-Files’ as a grand work of science fiction mystery.

©GAGE SKIDMORE/COMICCON

The Pilot Whisperer

After ‘Space: Above and Beyond’ and his work on ‘The X-Files’, David Nutter’s talents were in high demand, reason for which he was able to carefully choose what projects he wished to be involved with—a privilege few TV directors have, if you think about it. Given how well he got along with Chris Carter, it’s no surprise that Mr Nutter was asked to direct the pilot for ‘Millennium’ (1996-1999), followed by three more episodes in the series, including one of my own personal favourites, ‘Gehenna’.

A year later, he gave the feature-length format another shot with ‘Disturbing Behavior’ (1998), starring the most wide-eyed James Marsden, Katie Holmes, and Nick Stahl I’ve ever seen. In an interview with DGA’s Quarterly Magazine, Nutter described the project as ‘a terrible experience’, the worst he’s ever had. The flop was quickly smothered by another television hit, however, as Nutter was given the opportunity to shoot the pilot for ‘Roswell’ (1999-2002) and James Cameron’s ‘Dark Angel’ (2000-2002), both tremendous successes with their respective audiences.

©20TH CENTURY FOX TELEVISION

He was reunited with his beloved comic book medium soon afterward upon shooting the pilot for ‘Smallville’ (2001-2011), the first television success of superhero-inspired tales since… whew, ‘The Flash’ (1990-1991). That same year, Nutter won his first Emmy award for his directing work on ‘Band of Brothers’ (2002), a precious accolade that would later triple through another alignment with HBO.

The pilot for ‘Supernatural’ (2005-2020) sort of made history, as it spawned one of the longest running and most beloved shows of the small screen. Nutter stayed with the series for one more episode before moving on. Four years later, he directed the pilot for ‘Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles’ (2008-2009), starring Lena Headey and Summer Glau, and ‘The Mentalist’ (2008-2015), the latter remembered as high among the best scripted TV series of the entire decade. Mr Nutter only had 9 weeks to prepare, shoot, and edit the memorable episode which graced us with Simon Baker’s first and truly stellar performance as Patrick Jane.

©WBEI/WARNER BROS. TELEVISION

While I won’t be listing all of his pilots here, I will mention the work he did for ‘Arrow’ (2012-2020) and ‘The Flash’ (2014), the latter a CW reboot of the popular DC Comics speedster superhero, as both pertain to Nutter’s appreciation of the comic book medium. Of course, while he is recognized as ‘the pilot whisperer’ by most in the industry, his streak of successful firsts was broken ten years ago, when CBS chose not to pick up Rina Mimoun’s ‘The Doctor’. It hasn’t stopped him from directing exceptional episodes, though.

The Magnificent Contributions

Some of Nutter’s non-pilot works can be traced across multiple genres and networks, from his ‘100,000 Airplanes’ episode for Aaron Sorkin’s ‘The West Wing’ (1999-2006) and Michael Crichton’s ‘ER’ (1994-2009) to ‘Join the Club’ for ‘The Sopranos’ (1999-2007), which earned him yet another Emmy nod, and the 10 episodes he executed for ‘Entourage’ (2004-2011). By then, he was a darling of the Home Box Office for their serialized projects.

One of his best-loved forays into established series was the ‘Game On’ episode he did for ‘Homeland’ (2011-2020). Claire Danes’ character was tragically complicated and struggled against so many inner demons, yet she was able to go in and out of Carrie Mathison’s skin with the flip of a switch. Much like James Gandolfini before her, it became clear to Nutter that actors want to be directed, whether they’re dealing with the pilot or any of the episodes that follow.

©HBO/HOME BOX OFFICE

Every other year, John Wells and Paul Abbott’s ‘Shameless’ (2011-2021) requested David’s experienced guidance for some of its episodes. The results were as expected—hilarious, profound, and startlingly dynamic. But it was Nutter’s work on HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones’ (2011-2019) that brought him two more Emmy awards, and deservedly so.

He did 9 episodes for the ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’-inspired series, including the infamous ‘The Rains of Castamere’ and ‘The Dance of Dragons’. For the former, Nutter explained in an interview that the stakes were ridiculously high and the pressure almost crushing, as he’d been invited to do The Red Wedding earlier during season 2. By the time he got around to shooting the actual scene, the director decided to tackle the banquet massacre sequentially.

‘In some respects, I looked at it almost as an opera. It was all about how I set up the tables in the room, how I positioned who was going to sit where. […] It was sort of like dominos, where we could keep the tonality going so when we got to the really intense stuff, we were shooting it one after the other and building on top of the drama—building to a climax’, Nutter told DGA’s Quarterly Magazine. Yet it was the finale of season 5, ‘Mother’s Mercy’, that got the Emmy for Outstanding Directing.

©HBO/HOME BOX OFFICE

The Director’s Approach

For David Nutter, the craft of televised storytelling hangs on the emotional element. He won’t pick up an episode—be it a pilot or not—if the screenplay doesn’t move him, if the story being told doesn’t stir him on a deeper level. As a director, he follows the script, first and foremost, which is why the writing is so important. ‘I don’t like to be noticed. I don’t want to be someone whose shot takes you out of the dramatic sequence or takes you out of the emotional story that you’re trying to tell’, he says. The focus is always on making the story connect with the audience.

Working closely with the writers, Nutter is keen on forging tight bonds with the cast and crew, as well, which is why he dedicates a significant amount of time in dealing with the actors individually, taking them to hang around the sets and filming locations prior to the actual shooting so they can get a feel for their world and their characters within it. Over the years, he has built lasting rapports with specific industry professionals across different projects. Why, he’s done 10 pilots with editor Paul Karasick alone.

©HBO/HOME BOX OFFICE

Another aspect of his work is in the storyboard. Mr Nutter does many and plenty and more on top, in order to get as deep into the story as possible before the cameras even roll. This helps develop and illustrate the tone and attitude of the episode, which then translates into an organic cohesion between the show’s production departments—from the director of photography to the editor and the VFX technicians, to name but a few.

Given his success as a TV director, it’s normal to hear David Nutter say he is bombarded with pitches almost every day. Yet it’s the script that he’s usually interested in. Sure, the pitch might get a screenwriter through the door, perhaps, but if the story doesn’t captivate the director, he simply won’t touch it.

©HBO/HOME BOX OFFICE

And while he prefers pilots with their complete ‘birthing process’, he has also developed a keen sense of understanding for the directors that come in after him. After ‘Arrow’, Nutter arranged a big breakfast with the other directors, making sure they all sat down and watched the episode prior to starting work on the show. ‘A lot of times directors in television will come to a series, and they kind of feel like the odd man out’, he said.

He gladly references Sidney Lumet and Mark Rydell when describing his approach to helping the actors find their characters in the pilot. He declares himself a fan of rehearsals—most of the times. Other times, he says, blocking rehearsals altogether helps produce a certain kind of honesty one won’t get after a thorough repetition.

©JASON LAVERIS/FILMMAGIC

Nutter also acknowledges that there’s a common thread for the pilots of his choice. ‘I’m attracted to shows where the characters have a void in their life. It’s that deep emotional thing the audience can grasp onto that I try to bring out as a director.’

David Nutter has already established himself as the kind of specialist that any showrunner would want to work with. His devotion and detailed involvement have brought him additional executive producer credits since ‘Millennium’ on almost every episode under his care. He has directed the pilots for some of my all-time favourite series, and so I’ve learned to pay more attention to the opening credits of any show that I might be into next. There’s a chance he’ll be the creative engine behind that one, too.

The post Artist Spotlight: David Nutter, TV Director Extraordinaire appeared first on The Cinematic Journal.

The Warrior Queen II: Pop Culture’s Greatest Gift

Jules R. Simion — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 11:15:44 +0000

The Land Before Time

During the ‘60s, there was a massive influx of testosterone-powered tales of great adventures whose heroes exhilarated their audiences by killing ferocious animals with their slick revolvers before they found themselves speechless in front of a full-breasted lady that sort of… ‘didn’t belong’. From thereon, almost accidentally, the ‘wild heroine’ evolved.

Filmmakers opted for exotic or prehistoric landscapes in which to challenge their female protagonists, usually in eras when clothing was scarce, which was fine for exposing their gorgeously chiselled curves. Almost always, the leading lady was a blonde, a ‘white goddess of the jungle’—just one example of the many racial tones that consistently plagued productions of that era, as ‘white’ was perceived as code for ‘good’ and ‘black’ was considered ‘evil’.

The most memorable prehistoric warrior queen of that time is Raquel Welch as Loana in ‘One Million Years B.C.’ (1966). While it elevated her to international sex-symbol status, the film itself was a remake of a 1940 original that starred Carole Landis and Victor Mature, and most of its box-office power stemmed from the nearly gratuitous exploitation of Welch’s stunning figure—her character sports fur bikinis, heroically rescues the male protagonist Tumak, and has heated fight scenes with equally enticing cavewomen, dancing dangerously on the edge of volcanic eroticism.

Loana inadvertently falls for Tumak and leaves her beloved tribe and known world to trek across a dangerous desert beside him not as a companion but as an equal. She faces dangers and fights dinosaurs and members of the rock tribe, yet she doesn’t alienate the male audience with her warrior nature. Fundamentally, Loana is still the nurturing and composed influence of the story, smoothly sliding into the traditional and universally accepted slot usually reserved for women in film and literature.

‘ONE MILLION YEARS B.C.’ (1966), ©HAMMER FILMS

Before Welch, former model Irish McCalla had made her share of waves as a ‘wild presence’, donning leopard skins and blowing her signature buffalo horn in ‘Sheena: Queen of the Jungle’ (1955-1957). A cause for numerous wet dreams among mid-century teens, this particular depiction bears a striking resemblance to the Venus of Laussel, a Palaeolithic deity dating back 20,000 years, as identified by David Broad in his article for ‘Studies in Popular Culture’ of 1997. Like many of her warrior counterparts in television, Sheena was a product of the comic book realm, created as a female rival to Tarzan by Will Eisner and S.M. Iger.

She, too, was abandoned and raised in the jungle. She, too, displayed the perfect, powerful physical form. She, too, had a flawless sense of right and wrong. Alas, Sheena’s popularity was doomed to eventually fade, given that period’s repressive Eisenhower-McCarthy climate when social emphasis became laser-pointed on the nuclear family. The woman needed to be pushed out of the workforce that had previously welcomed her during WWII and sent back into the ‘loyal housewife’ or ‘brainless bombshell’ moulds, instead.

But while it lasted, ‘Sheena: Queen of the Jungle’ presented an indisputable appeal through Ms McCalla, a pinup dame that reminded Hollywood brass and network viewers of the Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield type that had already blown up on the silver screen. As a character, she was notedly different: innocent yet strong-willed, a fighter, and a nurturer.

‘SHEENA: QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE’ (1955-1957), ©NASSOUR STUDIOS INC.

Other notable examples of the savage woman warrior from lost ages include ‘Jungle Girl’ (1941), a fifteen-part serial based on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ novel that follows France Gifford’s Nyoka becoming a reckoning force of wilderness; ‘Saga of the Viking Women and their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent’ (1957) by Roger Corman, which sees traditional roles reversed with men kept in bondage as the women pursue their rescue; and a ton of otherwise mediocre titles that include the word ‘Amazon’ solely as an excuse to use as little costume material as possible.

The Warrior Ladies of ‘Conan the Barbarian’

The ‘70s had been brewing a comeback of the warrior queen for quite a while before Robert E. Howard’s Conan hit the big screens. The three movies that ultimately secured Arnold Schwarzenegger’s career also brought forth some phenomenally badass women, heavily influenced by ‘Wonder Woman’ (1975-1979) and ‘The Bionic Woman’ (1976-1978). At the time, there was also a steady fandom growing around the French comics of ‘Metal Hurlant’ and their English sister ‘Heavy Metal’, along with the smashing success of the ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ roleplaying game. It’s what we, today, might call a perfect storm.

‘CONAN THE BARBARIAN’ (1982), ©UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Valeria of ‘Conan the Barbarian’ (1982) was the first to combine all of the above elements, epitomizing the Viking ideal of power and beauty. Portrayed by Sandahl Bergman, she was tall, blonde, gorgeous, and a worthy match for Conan on every level. She equalled him in thievery and in lovemaking, ultimately winning his eternal devotion when she sacrificed herself to save him from James Earl Jones’s villain Thulsa Doom.

‘CONAN THE DESTROYER’ (1984), ©UNIVERSAL PICTURES

In ‘Conan the Destroyer’ (1984), the female protagonists are decidedly strong-willed. Queen Tamaris, played by Sarah Douglas, is ruthless in her desire to awake the god Dagoth and rule beside him, while teen princess Jehnna, embodied by Olivia D’Abo, is spoiled but wise to follow her instincts since Conan’s judgment is still clouded by the loss of Valeria. My absolute favourite is Grace Jones’s Zula, an incarnation of the model’s performance art—gorgeous, gender-bending, primal, and fierce as a panther.

The third film of the Conan series, ‘Red Sonja’ (1985), was a painful stretch and a box-office flop. It ended further adaptations that had been originally planned for Schwarzenegger’s iconic character even though it didn’t feature him onscreen. While still based on Howard’s stories, the film brought forth Brigitte Nielsen as the dominating female protagonist and alluring fantasy warrior. Unfortunately, the lack of acting chops and irritating attempts at annoying relief tanked the whole franchise. Fortunately, there’s a reboot on the way, penned by Joey Soloway and Tasha Huo, and featuring Hannah John-Kamen of ‘Ant Man and the Wasp’ (2018) and ‘Brave New World’ (2020) fame as Red Sonja.

‘RED SONJA’ (1985), ©DINO DE LAURENTIIS COMPANY

The Honourable Shieldmaiden

Most of the high fantasy genre is still male dominated. No surprise there, considering oeuvres such as the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien, whose Middle-Earth realm is fought over and controlled by the men of the species—human, elf, hobbit, and orc alike. We’ve got Aragorn, son of Arathorn and key protagonist. We’ve got Frodo, Sam, Pippin and Merry. We’ve got Legolas and Gimli. Gandalf and Saruman. We’ve got Elrond and Eomer and, well, you get the picture. Sure, let’s give Arwen a nod here, why not? After all, Peter Jackson did do a grand job of recalibrating Tolkien’s handful of female characters for a generation of viewers that are better accustomed to women in combat roles.

But the true warrior woman exception of ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers’ (2002) and ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’ (2003) is the incomparable Eowyn, niece of King Theoden, superbly portrayed by Miranda Otto. Demonstrating her expertise with bladed weapons early on, she comes across as an aggressive fighter unfortunately still repressed by the king and by the traditional role that she’s expected to fit into—despite death itself knocking on Rohan’s battered gates. By the climax of the trilogy’s third part, however, Eowyn has slipped into a suit of armour and joined the armies of men against the evil of Sauron. She has fought valiantly and nearly died to defend humanity’s ideals. She has resisted darkness and despair, and she has held her king in his dying moments.

‘THE LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING’ (2003), ©NEW LINE CINEMA

Xena and Her Conscience, Gabrielle

Originally designed as a companion to ‘Hercules: The Legendary Journeys’ (1995-1999), ‘Xena: Warrior Princess’ (1995-2001) went on to outgrow its brother and became a turning point in the history of television due to its exquisite development of the warrior woman archetype within that epoch and its sensible approach to depicting female protagonists, in general—as opposed to the usually objectified babes I mentioned earlier. What I found most extraordinary was the depth with which fans (most of them women) connected with the show. It was an intimate relationship that led to numerous discussion boards dissecting each episode, proving that Xena’s supporters weren’t just passive consumers but interactive viewers who later shaped and steered the show.

Once one begins to peel away at the many layers that made Sam Raimi’s work such a success, one can’t help but notice the beautiful dynamic between Lucy Lawless’ spicy Xena and Renee O’Connor’s more down-to-earth Gabrielle. The warrior and the maid. The sword and the shield. The fighter and the peacemaker. Through the entire series, Gabrielle becomes Xena’s focal point and recipient of all her affection and loyalty, leading to the protagonists splendidly complementing each other. The former is more ‘traditionally feminine’ and the latter’s conscience, a counterweight to Xena’s cruel instincts that once defined her violent past. In this show’s universe, the warrior queen carries herself with two equally beautiful faces: Xena and Gabrielle.

‘XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS’ (1995-2001), ©MCA TELEVISION

The Monster Killer

For a long time in horror films, there was a recurring pattern of the woman conceptualized more as victim than as hunter, which is why the ‘90s and the ‘00s rose in rebellion with tales of modern female protagonists who turned the trope inside out and started fighting back against the terrible monsters. See Milla Jovovich in ‘Resident Evil’ (2002), for example, who reacts with instinctive power and magnificent combat techniques when zombies and mutant beasts come to kill her.

The Gothic heroines of the past are gone. In their place come enticing femme fatales who wield stakes and blades and machine guns with remarkable ease. See Kate Beckinsale in ‘Underworld’ (2003), in which she takes on the lead not only as a woman but as a vampire—a monster hunting monsters. Clearly, the warrior queen at the turn of the new century is infinitely more complex and dons a darker side.

‘UNDERWORLD’ (2003), ©LAKESHORE ENTERTAINMENT

This new action figure was skilfully defined early on through ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ (1997-2003), winner of two Primetime Emmys and the favourite show of several generations. Joss Whedon’s cult classic wasn’t expected to do as well as it did, ultimately spawning a spinoff for David Boreanaz in the process. Truth be told, the series is one of the most ambitious feats of television that virtually reshaped parts of the creative process behind future similar monster-slashing projects. It did a spectacular job with character development, too.

The monsters were never the dominant aspect of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’. They served as bloody and exciting décor for a story whose heroine tried to wade through life as a young adult, as a misfit, as a daughter and as a friend, struggling with the common issues that made Sarah Michelle Gellar’s character so relatable and beloved by most—love, life, death, sexual experimentation, and profound self-identity crises. At times campy and worn out, the show did bring forth a protagonist that became a celebrated milestone in TV history.

‘BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER’ (1997-2003), ©MUTANT ENEMY

Not forgetting Lori Petty’s prolific ‘Tank Girl’ (1995), Diana Rigg’s statuesque, raspy-voiced Emma Peel in ‘The Avengers’ (1961-1969), Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley in ‘Alien’ (1979), Jennifer Garner’s Sidney in ‘Alias’ (2001-2006), nor Uma Thurman’s Bride in ‘Kill Bill: Vol. 1’ (2003), among many others, when addressing the warrior queens of pop culture, it’s delightfully plain to see that the film and television industry have come a long way. Sure, there’s still just as much ahead as we struggle to forge unique and original female characters, but the warrior woman has not only become more popular in recent decades… She has become downright indispensable.

The post The Warrior Queen II: Pop Culture’s Greatest Gift appeared first on The Cinematic Journal.

The Warrior Queen I: From Myth to Screen

Jules R. Simion — Fri, 04 Jun 2021 07:00:15 +0000

A Patron Saint of France

Joan of Arc was the first true woman warrior to be dealt with by the cinema and the only one to be thus honoured for the first sixty years of film history or so. If you’re wondering why that was the case, the answer will strike you as deceptively simple. Joan was canonized by the Catholic Church more than five hundred years after the same Church burned her at the stake as a heretic. She was a safe bet for filmmakers of the early 20^th century.

Maria Falconetti played the sanctified heroine in ‘The Passion of Joan of Arc’ (1928), led by prestigious Danish director Carl Dreyer. She was followed by Ingrid Bergman in Victor Fleming’s ‘Joan of Arc’ (1948) and later in Roberto Rossellini’s musical version ‘Joan of Arc at the Stake’ (1954). Jean Seberg took her on in ‘Saint Joan’ (1957), directed by Otto Preminger—which was Graham Greene’s more realistic take on the eponymous theatre play penned by George Bernard Shaw.

‘The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc’ (1999), Luc Besson’s interpretation of the gender-bending Maid of Orléans, stood out for me. It is a modern and decidedly unconventional treatment of the fabled Joan, which sees Milla Jovovich ‘in physical dimensions and in sexual intensity far removed from any of the Joans before her’, as Dominique Mainon and James Ursini describe her in ‘Modern Amazons: Warrior Women on Screen’.

‘THE MESSENGER: THE STORY OF JOAN OF ARC’ (1999), ©COLUMBIA PICTURES/GAUMONT

The Ancient Greek Amazons

For a long time, the Amazons were believed to be purely fictional, though recent archaeological discoveries place them in the northern and eastern regions of the Mediterranean. They were, in fact, identified as Scythians, and they fought, rode horses, and used bows and arrows just like the men. The Amazons were described as the archenemies of the Greeks. In fact, all Greek champions and heroes of legend, from Theseus to Achilles and Hercules, had to prove themselves by fighting powerful warrior queens—Hippolyta, Antiope, and Thessalia being listed among them.

DC Comics took the Amazon out of the myth and into their printed pages when they created Wonder Woman, one of their most popular characters and an inspiration to little girls and young women everywhere. Diana Prince made her way onto the small screen first in the ‘Wonder Woman’ (1975-1979) TV series, starring Lynda Carter and Lyle Waggoner. Much later, the heroine was brought back by Patty Jenkins with ‘Wonder Woman’ (2017) and ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ (2020), which saw Gal Gadot take over as the revered female warrior and Chris Pine as her beloved, Steve Trevor.

‘WONDER WOMAN’ (2017), ©WARNER BROS.

Boudicca and Guinevere

In English folklore, fiction and history often intertwined, giving us remarkable ladies such as Boudicca. Alas, the Iceni queen never really found a home on the silver screen, though some have tried to bring her story to life. Don Chaffey’s ‘The Viking Queen’ (1967) was a tepid adaptation, at best, and Bill Anderson’s ‘Warrior Queen’ (2003) failed to take off. Despite the honourable intentions, the fierce Boudicca will have to wait a bit longer for a filmmaker to come along and inscribe her name onto the gilded walls of pop culture.

In the meantime, Guinevere of King Arthur fame was transformed into a fierce warrior for ‘King Arthur’ (2004), Antoine Fuqua’s bold take on the English legend. Unlike previous works of literature, Keira Knightley’s Guinevere picks up a bow and arrow and fights the Romans as fiercely as every other man.

‘WARRIOR QUEEN’ (2003), ©MEDIA PRO PICTURES

The Rise of Hua Mulan

Fu Hao wasn’t the only warrior woman to stand out in China, but Hua Mulan was the more popular one worldwide. The Ballad of Mulan, a folk song dating from the Han dynasty, is among the better-known written records of the fabled heroine who took her father’s place in the army in order to serve her country and bring honour to her family. Walt Disney Animation Studios picked her up in the animated ‘Mulan’ (1998) as part of an effort to revamp their princess model and move away from the damsel-in-distress tropes that had begun to alienate audiences of those years. Jingle Ma and Wei Dong tried their hand at a live action version with ‘Mulan: Rise of a Warrior’ (2009), later followed by Disney’s own ‘Mulan’ (2020) with Niki Caro as director.

Much like Boudicca, however, it seems like this story has yet to meet a filmmaker whose creative vision might do her justice. I, for one, have found a better variant of the Chinese warrior woman archetype in epic martial arts films such as Ang Lee’s ‘Hidden Dragon, Crouching Tiger’ (2000) and Zhang Yimou’s ‘House of Flying Daggers’ (2004).

‘MULAN’ (1998), ©WALT DISNEY ANIMATION STUDIOS

Italian Folklore’s Warrior Maiden

Fantaghirò found surprising success in the ‘90s thanks to Lamberto Bava and Gianni Romoli, who drew inspiration from Italo Calvino’s ‘Italian Folktales’ as they brought forth a series of television films dedicated to the brave princess-turned-warrior.

Going against the traditions and customs of her era, Fantaghirò was literate, adventurous, and rebellious, eventually picking up a sword to save her father’s kingdom. Starring Alessandra Martines, Kim Rossi Stuart, and Brigitte Nielsen, and featuring a music score composed by Amedeo Minghi, ‘Fantaghirò’ (1991-1996) drew inspiration from other cult darlings of the high fantasy genre such as ‘Legend’ (1985) by Ridley Scott, ‘Ladyhawke’ (1985) by Richard Donner, and ‘Willow’ (1988) by Ron Howard.

‘FANTAGHIRO’ (1991), ©RETEITALIA/RAI

The Viking Valkyrie

In the Norse tradition, the shieldmaiden Brunhilde is better known as a Valkyrie, present in the Völsunga saga and the Poetic Edda. Most notably, she is central to ‘The Song of the Nibelungs’, one of the first written poems drawn from Germanic oral traditions. Instrumental in the death of the hero Siegfried after he deceived her into marrying Gunnar the Burgundian King, Brunhilde exercised tremendous power and influence, in the end transcending literature and inspiring Richard Wagner as he composed his ‘Der Ring des Nibelungen’ epic music dramas.

Hollywood has had a hard time adapting her story for the screen, however. Uli Edel’s ‘Sword of Xanten’ (2004) featuring Kristanna Loken and Alicia Witt was a flop, mainly because it was marketed as ‘the Nordic legend that inspired J.R.R. Tolkien to write the Lord of the Rings trilogy’ without even a quarter of Peter Jackson’s budget—not to mention storytelling talent.

But Brunhilde has found a different path through Marvel Studios, more recently, in Taika Waititi’s ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ (2017) and the Russo Brothers’ ‘Avengers: Endgame’ (2019). Portrayed by the monumentally talented Tessa Thompson, the character known as Valkyrie serves as a warrior and shieldmaiden of Asgard. Unfortunately, she lacks the complexities and ambitions that once got Brunhilde her own Wagner operas. Much like with Mulan and Boudicca before her, I cling to the hope that someday, someone will give Brunhilde the story she deserves.

‘THOR: RAGNAROK’ (2017), ©WALT DISNEY PICTURES/MARVEL STUDIOS

The Girl and the Dragon

In Romanian folklore, there are stories of Ileana Simziana—the youngest daughter of a king who picked up a sword and went to fight in another king’s army so she might do her sonless father proud. In one version of the myth, Ileana is said to have gone against a mighty dragon. And that’s about all I’ve got.

Honestly, I just needed a mostly unrelated lady-and-dragon segue to squeeze Emilia Clarke’s Daenerys of House Targaryen, First of Her Name and so on into the conversation. In the HBO series, while she doesn’t pick up a sword until the last season and only against the army of the dead, the Mother of Dragons still fits the mould of a warrior queen by conquering enslaved cities to liberate them and by leading her armies across the east before she turns west to take the Iron Throne.

Following closely along the broad strokes of this archetype, Daenerys has a mission, a creed that propels her forward and against ancient adversities. She fights against injustice with a focus on breaking the chains of those enslaved by the wealthy and the cruel. While she starts out as a naïve and innocent girl, Daenerys experiences tremendous suffering before she rises with her dragons and reshapes parts of Essos, proudly donning the Khal’s victory braids as she takes her Unsullied and Dothraki across the Narrow Sea.

‘GAME OF THRONES’ (2011-2018), ©HBO/HOME BOX OFFICE

‘Game of Thrones’ (2011-2019) features more warrior women beside the silver-haired dragon queen—worth praising are Brienne of Tarth, stupendously portrayed by Gwendoline Christie, and fan-favourite Arya Stark, played by Maisie Williams. The former was loosely inspired by Joan of Arc, though George R.R. Martin has mentioned Eleanor of Aquitaine and Xena the Warrior Princess as building blocks for the phenomenal Brienne.

The latter drew on the sexual revolution and on the basis of feminism itself. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Mr Martin explained that he originally envisioned the Stark sisters as two opposing forces, with Sansa as the ‘romantic medieval ideal who dreamed of […] being the mistress of a castle and perhaps a princess and a queen’, and Arya as the counter force, chafing at the roles she was pushed into and favouring sword fights over sewing and singing.

‘GAME OF THRONES’ (2011-2019), ©HBO/HOME BOX OFFICE

Ultimately, the warrior queen quintessence as painted by Hollywood follows a simple but effective recipe which uses two or more of the following: the heroine fights aggressively when she has to; she is never merely a sidekick to any man; she usually belongs to an organization or a culture of other similarly minded women; there is some display of kinship and sisterhood with her own gender, as well, and she uses the classic warrior weapons and tools; she is independent and doesn’t need a man to save her, and in several instances, she lives in a or comes from a ‘lost civilization’.

In a commercially driven society that is inclined to sexualize and objectify female protagonists to absurd levels that degrade the story’s intended realism, the warrior woman has managed to tread a fine line that pleases and intrigues almost every audience. Yes, she is beautiful and downright hypnotizing to most, but her true appeal stems from her ability to purvey justified violence.

The post The Warrior Queen I: From Myth to Screen appeared first on The Cinematic Journal.

Artist Spotlight: Cara Gee and the Art of Thespian Intensity

Jules R. Simion — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 05:00:00 +0000

Science Fiction and Space Fantasy: A Loving Study

Jules R. Simion — Mon, 01 Mar 2021 11:00:41 +0000

Space Fantasy: More Dream Than Theory

Breath-taking sights, cool-looking gizmos, fiery lasers, and eye-popping visual effects; giant spaceships, slender fighters, and extraordinary alien creatures; and an overarching sense that we, humans, are but a speck in the eye of the universe—tiny beings, yet always at the centre of a heroic adventure. That’s what space fantasy somehow always ends up being about.

‘Star Wars’ (1977, and still going)

George Lucas’s single most ambitious project didn’t just birth this terrific subgenre, it also revolutionized the special effects industry in cinema and brought the magic of space back into the national conversation. It began with the eponymous 1977 film, later retitled ‘Episode IV: A New Hope’—as the name suggests, the fourth in a series that Mr Lucas had been trying to make and consistently struggling with budget and special effects requirements. The story was simply ahead of its time.

It was followed by ‘Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back’ (1980) and ‘Episode VI: Return of the Jedi’ (1983), with Luke Skywalker’s overarching quest largely shaped by the director’s fondness of mythological theories proposed by Joseph Campbell—most of them were encompassed in ‘The Hero with a Thousand Faces’. To this day, ‘Star Wars’ is among the finest examples for the revered mythologist’s study of the hero’s journey and the stages one must go through in order to ascend and return, stronger than before and able to vanquish his foes.

‘STAR WARS: EPISODE IV – A NEW HOPE’ (1977), ©LUCASFILM/20TH CENTURY FOX

The films were so popular that more productions, both live action and animated, followed. About a decade later, Lucas was able to produce the first three features in his original collection: ‘Episode I: The Phantom Menace’ (1999), ‘Episode II: Attack of the Clones’ (2002), and ‘Episode III: Revenge of the Sith’ (2005), which ultimately reveals Darth Vader’s complicated origins.

By securing merchandizing rights at a time when studios weren’t yet embracing such potential, George Lucas found a way to monetize and further popularize his Star Wars brand and beloved characters, granting silver screen immortality to actors like Harrison Ford, Carrie Fischer, and Mark Hamill. Sequels followed after Lucas sold his rights to Disney, bringing out talents such as John Boyega, Adam Driver, and Daisy Ridley centre-stage. From there, the franchise kept growing with spinoffs and prequels—worth mentioning here are ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ (2018) and ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ (2016).

‘The Mandalorian’ (2019) is a Disney+ darling, and there are at least three more series currently in development, of which one is entirely dedicated to Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka Tano. I’ll be honest. As long as Jon Favreau and J.J. Abrams continue to be involved in one form or another, I reckon there will be plenty more to be milked from this intergalactic cow.

‘THE MANDALORIAN’ (2019), ©LUCASFILM/WALT DISNEY STUDIOS

‘The Fifth Element’ (1997)

Luc Besson created a timeless work of cinema with this futuristic epic starring Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, and Gary Oldman. It made history with its daring production design and bold costume and makeup choices. It even featured opera music by Plavalaguna, the enchanting alien diva voiced by renowned Albanian soprano Inva Mula, along with natural and fantasy motifs—the four elements with Leeloo as the enigmatic fifth, imagined alien species, and ‘magical science’ solutions represent the backbone of ‘The Fifth Element’.

‘THE FIFTH ELEMENT’ (1997), ©COLUMBIA PICTURES/GAUMONT

‘Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets’ (2017)

Luc Besson’s second foray into the futuristic realm didn’t exactly smash box office expectations, but it dreamed big and it went there. Based on the comic books by Pierre Christin and Jean-Claude Mézières, ‘Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets’ follows Major Valerian and Sergeant Laureline as they fight to save Alpha, a space station of the 28^th century where beings from different planets live together in a constant exchange of culture and knowledge. Liberal use of visual effects, fantastical alien creatures, and ‘magical science’ via fancy-looking gadgets and multiple ecosystems crammed into a single space-floating station are central to the story.

‘VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLANETS’ (2017), ©EUROPACORP

‘John Carter’ (2012)

Disney’s lesser loved attempt at space was based on a story by Edgar Rice Burroughs, titled ‘A Princess of Mars’. Much like ‘Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets’, ‘John Carter’ didn’t exactly knock most viewers’ socks off, though it did develop a kind fandom over the years. Academy Award recipient Andrew Stanton delivers a charming hero’s quest here with a Civil War vet protagonist who ends up on Mars, where he faces fascinating foes and saves a gorgeous princess. It is pretty much the silicone mould of space fantasy.

‘JOHN CARTER’ (2012), ©WALT DISNEY STUDIOS

‘Avatar’ (2009)

By imagining an alien species inhabiting the moon Pandora, James Cameron’s visual masterpiece goes farther in detail than others before it. The special effects are visually arresting, and the manic attention to detail within production and character design—not to mention world-building—left me, personally, speechless. The film does tread closer to the ‘magical’ side of cinema, but its Academy Awards for Cinematography, Visual Effects, and Art Direction were absolutely well-deserved. Viewers are soon to be treated to a sequel, too, after years of working to develop new technology for filming performance capture scenes underwater, which were necessary to bring Cameron’s story to life.

‘AVATAR’ (2009), ©20TH CENTURY FOX

Science Fiction: The Soft and Hard Kind

Unlike its pretty-looking cousin, a possible future is always at the centre of the story with science fiction. Yes, we bounce from one planet to another, and yes, we meet new alien species along the way, but all works of sci-fi draw more from Arthur C. Clarke than from Ursula K. LeGuin, in a world-building sense. The science used can be soft, mellow, or hard—the latter being a unicorn of this genre, truth be told, but regardless of accuracy, it is always central to the story and its world architecture.

‘Star Trek’ (1966, and also still going)

There is only one other creator within the cinematic realm that is as loved and revered as George Lucas, and that’s Gene Rodenberry, responsible for the resoundingly influential Star Trek universe. Its premise is simple. In the distant future, multi-species crews of the United Federation of Planets travel across galaxies on missions of peaceful exploration—the aim is ‘to boldly go where no man has gone before’. And so, a plethora of ‘what if’ scenarios are imagined. Most of the science used, such as the warp drive or the transporter, is soft science and purely, dreamy theoretical, yet it helps shape the entire narrative.

‘STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES’ (1966-1969), ©PARAMOUNT TELEVISION

The Star Trek franchise stuck mostly to the small screen at first, with the original ‘Star Trek’ series running from 1966 to 1969. It was a roaring success that gifted pop culture with unforgettable characters and memorable lines, quickly growing into a massive phenomenon that spanned movies and animated series, as well. ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ was an even bigger hit, enjoying season after season on television from 1987 until 1994, followed by additional spinoffs such as ‘Deep Space Nine’ (1993-1999) and ‘Enterprise’ (2005).

With J.J. Abrams at the helm, Rodenberry’s cosmos was rebooted through the Kelvin timeline in 2009, bringing Leonard Nimoy’s Spock back into the past to reset and reshape the destinies of Captain Kirk and the rest of the original series’ protagonists—here played by Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and Zoe Saldana, John Cho, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, and Anton Yelchin. Streamers have since picked up several series, including ‘Discovery’ (2017) and ‘Picard’ (2020).

‘STAR TREK’ (2009), ©PARAMOUNT PICTURES

‘Firefly’ (2002-2003) & ‘Serenity’ (2005)

Joss Whedon’s project brought the incomparable talents of Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, and Alan Tudyk to the small screen while also blending the grittiness of the western genre into science fiction in a way that just… made sense. Despite its hybrid nature and undeserved cancellation, the show tried honourably to use real science—one of the few who bothered at the time, actually, and that’s part of what made it so popular.

‘Serenity’ was meant to tie up loose ends after Whedon secured funding for the feature, but ‘Firefly’ retains a loyal following to this day, and for good reason. I’ll sneak some praise here for other cult classics based in outer space: ‘Babylon 5’ (1993-1998), ‘Farscape’ (1999-2003), and ‘Battlestar Galactica’ (2004-2009), which deserve love for their boldness and often surprising character complexity.

‘FIREFLY’ (2002-2003), ©20TH CENTURY FOX TELEVISION

From ‘Alien’ (1979) to ‘Prometheus’ (2012)

No one will ever forget the alien xenomorph bursting out of John Hurt’s chest in Ridley Scott’s legendary feature film. No one. But beyond the shock value, the frighteningly beautiful character design by H.R. Giger, the Academy Award-winning visual effects, and Sigourney Weaver’s illustrious performance, ‘Alien’ and its sequels were pretty good at imagining a possible future for humanity.

Yes, there could be life out there, and yes, contact might get everyone killed. More than three decades after the first ‘Alien movie’, Mr Scott took his story deeper into the realm of ‘what if’ with ‘Prometheus’, the prequel that sought to answer a greater question regarding humanity’s own starting point: what if Earth isn’t our point of origin, after all?

‘ALIEN’ (1979), ©BRANDYWINE PRODUCTIONS/20TH CENTURY FOX

‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ (1968)

Arthur C. Clarke’s most popular novel was developed concurrently with Stanley Kubrick’s iconic film, the latter considered one of cinema’s greatest feats of science fiction—ambitious and remarkable in its execution. Some of the multiple themes explored within this epic space adventure include the perils of artificial intelligence, the dangers of nuclear warfare, and the risks of technological advancement. We are capable of incredible things as a species, said both Mr Clarke and Mr Kubrick, but we are also capable of terrible things.

‘2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY’ (1968), ©METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER (MGM)

‘Interstellar’ (2014)

As far as space exploration movies go, Christopher Nolan’s oeuvre is at the top of my list for science fiction cinema. It’s a work of art and science somehow finding common ground to propose a possible future, where man must travel through a wormhole in order to secure humanity’s survival. An ambitious tale to tell through breath-taking performances from Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway, ‘Interstellar’ puts the theory of black holes acting as wormholes to the test.

The result is mind-boggling, particularly through its simulation of a Gargantua, which rendered even esteemed astrophysicist Kip Thorne (whose mathematics made the simulation possible to begin with) speechless! While there is so much we still don’t know about our universe, one thing is clear: our minds are able to transcend it, already.

‘INTERSTELLAR’ (2014), ©PARAMOUNT PICTURES/WARNER BROS.

‘The Expanse’ (2015)

Since Amazon’s exceptional science fiction series based on James S.A. Corey’s novels first streamed, HBO and Netflix have taken their own cracks at tackling the genre in an episodic structure—worth noting ‘Altered Carbon’ (2018), ‘Nightflyers’ (2019), and ‘Raised by Wolves’ (2020), mainly for their ambition of blending possible futures into fantastic, science-based (mostly!) storytelling. Alas, none reach the astounding levels ‘The Expanse’, and I’m confident in this statement for two reasons:

First, it’s the science. For obvious reasons, the protomolecule, while essential to the plot, is pure fantasy. So are the juice injections that help the human body withstand multiple-G speeds and the Epstein drive which allows for interplanetary travel—while neither is necessarily impossible, even theories fail to explain them.

‘THE EXPANSE’ (2015), ©AMAZON PRIME VIDEO/SYFY

Yet almost everything in the series is dedicated to scientific realism, and it offers an incredible foundation to build on. Space is a cruel mistress, and its varied living conditions, from the void’s lack thereof to Earth’s thriving atmosphere, show viewers the different ways in which humans might be able to survive in the future beyond our planet.

Second, creators Mark Fergus, Hawk Osby, Daniel Abraham, and Ty Franck manage to weave these scientifically-accurate realities into what I shall gladly describe as a ‘Game of Thrones in Space’, thus expanding on this possible future by studying mankind’s societal and political evolution over the span of four centuries, without skimping on the violence and intrigue. Our nature is both exploratory and destructive, and ‘The Expanse’ holds a mirror up to us in a genuinely startling fashion.

‘THE EXPANSE’ (2015), ©AMAZON PRIME VIDEO/SYFY

Of all the titles listed above, ‘The Expanse’ and ‘Interstellar’ represent a pivotal point in science fiction through their ability to convey an astoundingly coherent and potential hereafter for our species. I can only dare hope that upcoming film and TV productions will pay similar attention to the hard science upon which our very existence is built. While I will always love an epic space fantasy done right, it is truly an unforgettable experience to look at a movie or a TV series and realize that we might someday actually get that far. That our world can be bigger. Much bigger.

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A Study of Epic Fantasy on Television

Jules R. Simion — Sat, 06 Feb 2021 14:00:19 +0000

‘The Magicians’ (2015-2020): Surprisingly Epic

Learning plenty from her work with Eric Kripke on ‘Supernatural’, Sera Gamble teamed up with John McNamara to bring Lev Grossman’s novels to the small screen. When SyFy decided to invest in this show, they were probably aware of the risks—the raunchy magic tale works differently on the page than it does onscreen, yet even so, ‘The Magicians’ stands apart from the rest of the crowd. Sure, there are things I might have done differently with some of the narrative threads, but still…

Story-wise, it is daring enough to be awarded a tiny ‘epic fantasy’ badge. It’s basically ‘Harry Potter’ but with drugs, booze, ancient gods, and potty mouths. Its worldbuilding is complex and imaginative enough, borrowing elements of Greek mythology and quantum physics along the way. It also has a considerable fanbase to work with. Unlike ‘The Shannara Chronicles’ (2016-2017), which was bland and deservedly short-lived, ‘The Magicians’ survived for five seasons as it pushed its young protagonists into difficult situations that required tremendous sacrifices. In some cases, their choices came at a horrific price.

‘THE MAGICIANS’ (2015-2020), ©NBC UNIVERSAL TELEVISION

‘American Gods’ (2017): Neil Gaiman Done Right

I’m equal parts doubtful and eager whenever a Gaiman project is announced for television. It’s probably because of the emotional investment that I have in his work. Nevertheless, most of his adaptations have not disappointed, least of all ‘American Gods’, which is based on my favourite book. When it comes to ‘epic fantasy’, this story has every box ticked, albeit with one particularly worrying asterisk.

My only issue with the Starz-produced series is the studio’s inability to retain showrunners—thus losing important actors along the way. The first season, helmed by the brilliant Bryan Fuller and Michael Green, did a wicked job of transforming ‘American Gods’ into high-quality television art. But after budget-related conflicts, Fuller and Green were pushed out of the project, which led to Gillian Anderson and Kristin Chenoweth’s subsequent departure. Jesse Alexander of ‘Heroes’ (2006-2010) fame sort-of took over, though it’s still unclear as to the depth of his involvement—which didn’t last longer than the second season, anyway.

After another hiatus, ‘American Gods’ has finally returned under Charles ‘Chic’ Eglee, better known for ‘Moonlighting’ (1986-1989) and ‘The Shield’ (2004-2008), but even that isn’t without a harrowing loss. According to an expletive-laced video posted on Twitter, Orlando Jones (Mr Nancy) stated that he was fired from the series because the showrunner doesn’t understand his character. According to the actor, Eglee ‘thinks that Mr Nancy’s angry, get s—t done [attitude] is the wrong message for Black America’. Yet when I’m nervous about a Neil Gaiman adaptation, they tell me I’m overthinking…

‘AMERICAN GODS’ (2017), ©FREMANTLE/STARZ!

‘His Dark Materials’ (2019): Now That’s What I Call Epic!

Philip Pullman’s trilogy is one of the best works of fantasy I read whilst coming of age. It’s an ambitious story that follows two gifted children as they wander through a series of parallel universes and fight for freedom and survival against exceptionally dark forces. An especially appealing element is the daemon, a manifestation of the inner-self as an animal being.

Pullman once named John Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’ among the influences for ‘His Dark Materials’, abruptly rejecting any comparison to C.S. Lewis’s ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’, which he characterised as ‘blatantly racist’ and ‘monumentally disparaging of women’. Needless to say, ‘His Dark Materials’ ascends among the better works of ‘epic fantasy’, and given the author’s direct involvement, HBO’s adaptation does a better job than its feature-length and stale-cotton-candy predecessor, ‘The Golden Compass’ (2007).

‘HIS DARK MATERIALS’ (2019), ©HOME BOX OFFICE (HBO)

‘Carnival Row’ (2019): An Absolute Original

As mentioned earlier, the majority of ‘epic fantasies’ come from literature: the story was first told in print, and there were plenty of pages in which to build an imaginary world with extraordinary creatures inspired by myth and folklore. Yet Travis Beacham and René Echevarria pulled off quite the number with ‘Carnival Row’, which blends the tenebrous murder mystery with a Victorian fantasy realm in a way that just… works without a source material.

Of course, the show wouldn’t have the same appeal without Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevingne—the latter having grown visibly as a thespian since ‘Anna Karenina’ (2012). Nominated for three Primetime Emmys, the first season has garnered a hefty round of applause, and I dare hope to see the second season exceed those accolades swiftly.

‘CARNIVAL ROW’ (2019), ©AMAZON STUDIOS

‘Game of Thrones’ (2011-2019): The Undisputed Champion

Regardless of what anyone thought about the final season, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss’ adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s extraordinary ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ novel series is a masterpiece of both television and ‘epic fantasy’. It set a stellar standard to which few, if any others, might ever rise to meet. With such an ambitious source material and HBO’s deep pockets, part of what made the show work was the fearless casting—with the exception of several titular roles, most of the actors were young and fresh-faced when production started, with barely a credit or two to their names. The Stark kids had zero, for that matter.

The first five seasons brought the incredible story of Westeros and the seven kingdoms to life with exceptional detail and an overwhelming love of the cinematic craft—from filming locations to costume and set design, ‘Game of Thrones’ excelled and then some. Given the complex story and multiple main character arcs, the mere fact that D&D pulled it off with barely a hitch was an incredible accomplishment. The first five seasons, however, had the published books to rely on.

‘GAME OF THRONES’ (2011-2019), ©HOME BOX OFFICE/HBO

With extensive assistance from the author himself, the showrunners pushed through seasons six and seven mostly on their own, with an idea of how Martin saw the story evolving across the upcoming novels, ‘Winds of Winter’ and ‘A Dream of Spring’. The series didn’t fumble, managing its extensive load of characters with sufficient grace. Alas, with a fandom accustomed to nothing beneath exceptional writing, Benioff and Weiss self-sabotaged their grand conclusion by rushing toward the finish line. I wasn’t shocked by Daenerys’s psychotic twist—I paid attention since the first season when she didn’t even flinch while her brother had molten gold poured onto his head. I wasn’t disappointed by Bran becoming king, either, nor by Jon’s retreat into ‘the real North’. It sort-of made sense.

But the final season was… rushed. A few more episodes would’ve smoothed things over and tied up several important loose ends. I cried aplenty when Ramin Djawadi’s score, aptly titled ‘The Last of the Starks’, came on, and I bid the young wolves farewell, knowing their adventures wouldn’t end there. To this day, I have yet to watch anything remotely close to the production brilliance of ‘Game of Thrones’ despite its twilight flaws.

‘GAME OF THRONES’ (2011-2019), ©HOME BOX OFFICE/HBO

Of Epics to Come

Given the titanic success of ‘Game of Thrones’ and George R.R. Martin’s forays into ASOIAF-related prequels, it’s no wonder that HBO has been flirting with a couple more titles. Jane Goldman of ‘X-Men First Class’ (2011) repute was initially set to lead a successor show focused on Westeros’ descent from the bright Age of Heroes into the dreaded Long Night—there was even a pilot shot, starring Naomi Watts.

Alas, the higher powers scrapped the whole project and made way for ‘House of the Dragon’, which is due to air in 2022 and chronicles the Targaryen struggles throughout their 300-year reign since Aegon’s Conquest. So far, Matt Smith, Paddy Considine, Olivia Cooke, and Emma D’Arcy have joined the developing project—the characters they’re set to portray belong to a particular conflict in the history of Westeros, better known as ‘The Dance of Dragons’, which nearly tore the kingdoms apart and decimated the Targaryen’s dragon population. Ryan J. Condal and Miguel Sapochnik will act as writers and showrunners, working closely with George R.R. Martin.

‘House of the Dragon’ isn’t the only project in the pipeline, either, as HBO has recently greenlit a TV series adaption of ‘Tales of Dunk and Egg’, a spinoff following Dunk and Egg on their adventures throughout Westeros before they became known as Ser Duncan the Tall, Commander of the King’s Guard, and King Aegon the Fifth. Little is known about the project at this point, but I’m certainly looking forward to it. I need an ASOIAF fix, stat.

‘HOUSE OF THE DRAGON’ (2022), ©HOME BOX OFFICE/HBO

Following the cinematic success of J.R.R. Tolkien’s ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy, Amazon Studios decided to try their hand at a prequel by enlisting the talents of J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay to bring the Second Age of Middle-Earth to life for the streaming giant. It’s been in the works for a couple of years now, with casting that took place around the world and extensive negotiations with the government of New Zealand. Filming began last February in Auckland, listing Robert Aramayo, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Ian Blackburn, and Maxim Baldry among the actors involved.

Ultimately, these are exciting times… There is plenty of room for ‘epic fantasy’ in the land of TV. The stakes were set high—very high, actually, and that’s a wonderful starting point. May the upcoming series soar beyond what has already been aired and may no other showrunner ever rush and pull a D&D ever again.

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From Stage to Screen: Ten Plays Done Right

Jules R. Simion — Fri, 22 Jan 2021 13:00:46 +0000

‘One Night in Miami’ (2020)

Regina King’s recent directorial debut is a carefully calculated and elegantly executed work of theatre brought into film. Headlined by a ridiculously talented cast, the story revolves around one fictional account of a real night when four powerful figures of the Civil Rights Movement met at the Hampton House in Miami.

Kingsley Ben-Adir is brilliant as Malcolm X. Eli Goree delivers a Cassius Clay as real as the World’s Greatest himself. Aldis Hodge is impressive as Jim Brown, star footballer-turned-movie-star. And Leslie Odom Jr.’s rendition of the inimitable Sam Cooke is simply out of this world—with the voice of an angel, no less! Much like the original, ‘One Night in Miami’ is a profound conversation about race, social justice, and the constant struggles of Black Americans in a society that treated them as lesser citizens for too long. Most importantly, Regina King’s take on Kemp Powers’ 2013 play is an emotionally gutting one, powered not only by the performances but by the writing and Tammy Reiker’s distinguished cinematography.

‘A Few Good Men’ (1992)

Much like Kemp Powers, also known for his screenwriting work on ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ (2017) and ‘Soul’ (2020), Aaron Sorkin has found himself comfortable penning plays, films, and illustrious TV series alike. ‘A Few Good Men’ was the one that made a truly lasting impression upon its adaptation, under the helm of Rob Reiner.

It was nominated for four Academy Awards, offering incredible performances from a young Tom Cruise, a ferociously talented and wide-eyed Demi Moore, and the grand master of quotable movie lines during Trivia Night, Jack Nicholson. The courtroom thriller proved itself equally enthralling regardless of transposition method, showing Reiner at the top of his game.

‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ (1951)

There is a reason why Tennessee Williams, one of America’s foremost playwrights alongside Eugene O’Neill and Arthur Miller, was such a hit with Hollywood. His plays have a way of digging deep into the darkest, hottest pits of human nature, of bringing out the best and the worst from his characters. He put most of his tormented life onto the stage, using theatre as a form of expressing his truest self.

The legendary Elia Kazan, director of many of Williams’ plays, for that matter, said of him: ‘Everything in his life is in his plays, and everything in his plays is in his life’. ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ is a tempestuous work of dramatic art that brought Academy Awards to Vivien Leigh and Kim Hunter, accompanied by respectful nods to Mr Kazan’s directorial accomplishment and Marlon Brando’s spectacular acting.

‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ (1958)

The ‘50s and the ‘60s were a lush period for theatre-to-film experiments, demanding that screen actors push themselves further and further until they were awarded accolades and golden statuettes. One of those thespians was Elizabeth Taylor, and ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ would not be her only foray into such bold projects. Today, she is remembered for multiple theatrical-style performances, including Franco Zeffirelli’s ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ (1967) of William Shakespeare and ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’ (1966) of Edward Albee.

But it was her sizzling portrayal of Maggie alongside Paul Newman’s Brick that garnered endless rounds of applause, in part thanks to Richard Brooks’ ability to transform one of Tennessee Williams’s most popular plays into a veritable crown jewel of Hollywood’s Golden Age.

‘Throne of Blood’ (1957)

While I did drone on a bit back there about the many adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays and as we keep running into the guy, it would be unethical of me not to include Akira Kurosawa’s outstanding drama, which rips ‘Macbeth’ from Medieval Scotland and sews it into the troubled canvas of feudal Japan. The iconic director added significant tweaks of his own, including a modified finale and Noh drama elements—not an easy feat to accomplish, considering the overall pathos of Kurosawa’s screenplay.

Creative liberties aside, Toshirô Mifune and Isuzu Yamada’s portrayals of the Japanese Macbeth and Lady Macbeth ultimately set the film farther apart. Kurosawa adored Shakespeare’s work and had been eager to adapt it for years, but Orson Welles’s ‘Macbeth’ (1948) came out and forced him to wait before making his own version.

‘Fences’ (2016)

While it isn’t Denzel Washington’s first directorial incursion, it is certainly his best, right after ‘Antwone Fisher’ (2002) and ‘The Great Debaters’ (2007). ‘Fences’ is based on the 1985 play by August Wilson, which is set in the 1950s and explores the Black American experience and examines the country’s difficult race relations. Mr Wilson earned a Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1987 for this magnificent contribution to American theatre. Naturally, the film adaptation aimed to do the same.

It brought Viola Davis an Academy Award and a Bafta Award for her performance, and the film garnered nominations for Best Motion Picture, Best Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay—posthumously for August Wilson. One aspect of its success is likely to stem from Mr Washington’s previous work with the source material on Broadway, which gave him significant confidence to direct.

‘Amadeus’ (1984)

Milos Forman’s classic motion picture has a lengthy theatrical history. The play on which it is based was written by Peter Shaffer and first performed in 1979, inspired from an earlier short work by Alexander Pushkin from 1830, titled ‘Mozart and Salieri’, which was also used by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov as the 1897 libretto for an opera of the same name.

With Shaffer adapting his work for the screen and Forman directing—not to mention F. Murray Abraham and Tom Hulce’s dazzling performances as Antonio Salieri and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, respectively, it’s no wonder that the film was a triumph that took home not one, not two, but eight Academy Awards.

‘Glengarry Glen Ross’ (1992)

When discussing modern and contemporary American theatre, David Mamet is deservedly part of the conversation. The Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright even did the ol’ stage-to-movie dance by adapting ‘Glengarry Glen Ross’, one of his better works, for James Foley to shoot on film. Examining the lives of four desperate Chicago real estate agents who are ready to go to extreme and even illegal lengths for money, Mamet’s oeuvre first premiered at the National Theatre in London in 1983, followed by an official Broadway opening in 1984 that closed after a whopping 378 performances.

The result is an Oscar-winking timeless drama that brings some marvellous acting chops out of Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, Alan Arkin, Kevin Spacey, Ed Harris, and Jonathan Price… yes, what a line-up, indeed!

‘Dangerous Liaisons’ (1988)

Going back to 18th-century corsets and fancy wigs for a bit, I confess that the era’s decadence and penchant for malice, revenge, and seduction make for great theatre every single time. Christopher Hampton’s ‘Les Liaisons Dangereuses’ 1985 play is no exception, its plot focused on the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont, two rivals who play cruel games and use sex to humiliate and degrade.

Naturally, such a scandalous affair deserved a sparkling treatment upon transcending into the cinematic dimension. Stephen Frears of ‘The Queen’ (2006) and ‘Dirty Pretty Things’ (2002) fame directs a prodigious ensemble of esteemed actors such as Glenn Close and John Malkovich, turning ‘Dangerous Liaisons’ into one of the ‘80s’ best dramas.

‘Angels in America’ (2003)

After the titanic success of his political epic play centred on separate but connected individuals in a society struggling with the A.I.D.S. crisis in the ‘80s, Tony Kushner took his two-part Pulitzer and Tony-winning dramatic composition and transformed it into a limited series for television, with Mike Nichols directing. It earned five Golden Globes, of which four went to the cast members—Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, Jeffrey Wright, and Mary-Louise Parker, and it brought a difficult topic back in conversations across America.

While complex and mostly metaphorical in its construction, ‘Angels in America’ is a sincere and gut-wrenching take on homosexuality and AIDS, with major and minor characters designed as supernatural beings—angels and ghosts. Most importantly, the HBO series serves as a crown of glory for a play that was described by John M. Clum as ‘a turning point in the history of gay drama, the history of American drama, and of American literary culture.’

As you can imagine, there are plenty of other titles worth discussing within this creative niche, but the conclusion will always be the same: rare are the plays that work on screen, and even rarer are the writers and directors capable of taking a live performance and turning it into an Oscar-worthy work of cinema.

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The Silver Screen’s Greatest Works of Epic Fantasy

Jules R. Simion — Fri, 08 Jan 2021 06:00:55 +0000

The Lord of the Rings

This year marks two decades since the first part of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy came out, and we haven’t been the same since. It was epic fantasy done right. No, better yet, it was epic fantasy done almost perfectly! To this day, I am astonished by the faith that producers had in an otherwise inexperienced Peter Jackson. Many balked at the $300 million budget he was given to play with—but he didn’t just play with it. He built us a world and breathed life into it.

It all began with J.R.R. Tolkien, the celebrated fantasy author. ‘The Hobbit’, his first book, published in 1937, was an out-of-the-blue success. He had written it for his children, yet thanks to Susan Dagmall of George Allen & Unwin, it became a colossal bestseller beloved by younglings everywhere. Shortly afterwards, Mr Tolkien was asked to write a sequel. Excited by how his imaginary world of Middle Earth had been growing since he’d first penned ‘The Hobbit’, he eventually produced a complex mythological composition deemed too long and boring by the publisher. It was set aside and later revived, edited, and published by the author’s son, Christopher Tolkien, as ‘The Silmarillion’.

Back to his writing desk, Mr Tolkien developed ‘The Lord of the Rings’ as a direct sequel for Bilbo’s adventures. It was a darker and more mature take on an otherwise magical world. It gained an adult audience, becoming a masterpiece of modern English literature. In 1997, New Zealand native and screenwriter/director Peter Jackson won the rights to film this epic fantasy. At first, he tried to work out a deal with Miramax, but their requirements of cramming everything into a single movie would have made a mockery of Mr Tolkien’s oeuvre, so Jackson signed up with New Line Cinema instead, enlisting Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens to help write the screenplay for a proper trilogy.

‘The Fellowship of the Ring’ (2001), ‘The Two Towers’ (2002), and ‘The Return of the King’ (2003) were an incredible feat. Not only did Jackson exceed every possible expectation, he and his team revolutionized the high fantasy niche of cinema. Filmed entirely in New Zealand, the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy garnered a plethora of awards, with ‘The Return of the King’ accomplishing a record of its own—it was the first feature to win all 11 Academy Awards for which it was nominated. Thus, Tolkien’s legacy was brought to life after a rather disastrous animated attempt in 1978, setting the tone for many other filmmakers later down the road.

Perhaps most would’ve expected to see ‘The Hobbit’ be made into a movie first, but it came later as a prequel trilogy, with Martin Freeman starring as the young Bilbo Baggins. ‘An Unexpected Journey’ (2012), ‘The Desolation of Smaug’ (2013), and ‘The Battle of the Five Armies’ (2014) were grand commercial successes, though none were close to the glory of ‘The Lord of the Rings’. Maybe the novelty had worn off by the time Jackson assembled his team and cast to bring more of Tolkien’s world to the big screen. Or maybe the focus stayed too much on special effects than on the actual story.

Harry Potter

We all know the rags-to-riches story of how JK Rowling wrote and eventually published her beloved ‘Harry Potter’ series of magical fantasy. A struggling author and mum, she pushed and toiled and then pushed some more until after twelve rejections, her manuscript for ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ was finally published by Bloomsbury. The books were a worldwide phenomenon, stirring the imaginations of children and adults alike and causing queues to form outside bookstores in anticipation of upcoming volumes.

What’s not to love about the magic-imbued universe of Harry Potter? It’s got bits and pieces of everything tucked away inside an interdimensional pocket of sorts, a hidden reality to the Muggles’ world where wizards, house elves, unicorns and other extraordinary creatures live in relative harmony, with wizarding laws and order. There’s a ginormous academy of wizardry with a board of honoured professors equipped with the talent and knowledge required to shape the young minds of future wizards.

The film series launched in 2001 (what a year that was, eh?), ending its exquisite box office reign with the two-part ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’ of 2010 and 2011. Its young cast, composed of stellar talents such as Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Tom Felton, to name but a few, grew up along with their fans and captured the affection of many more along the way. Alan Rickman would forever be remembered for his performance as Professor Snape, and production companies would line up to fund the next big hits from the Potterverse.

‘FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM’ (2016), NEW LINE CINEMA

While Mike Newell, Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuarón, and David Yates directed the film series, with scripts adapted by Steve Kloves and Michael Goldenberg, JK Rowling decided to take over as screenwriter for her next endeavour within the same fictional realm, the ‘Fantastic Beasts’ prequels featuring Eddie Redmayne as a young Newt Scamander. Of course, the everlasting charm of the Potterverse—even this version from seventy years before Harry Potter—was undeniable. Alas, Mrs Rowling’s screenwriting manifested as repeatedly insufficient and rushed, thus forcing David Yates, her director of choice, to deliver below the expected threshold.

Yes, the film scores are wonderful, the actual fantastic beasts are wickedly fun, and the flair of early 20^th century American wizards is unmistakably delicious, but the prequels have fallen short of the original ‘Harry Potter’. I’ve said this before. Few novelists make good screenwriters, and few screenwriters make good novelists. Even fewer are those who can tread the line between novel and screenplay with equal proficiency.

Pirates of the Caribbean

Disney, now a streaming giant with ownership of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and everything Star Wars, understood the potential of epic fantasy since day one. Most of its empire is built on the work of Walt Disney, one of the forefathers of animation. The Disney Classics are an eternal presence on any kid’s watchlist, and their live action attempts weren’t half-bad, either—I’ll sneak a quick mention of ‘Peter Pan’ (2003) here, one of my personal favourites. But the studio’s greatest accomplishment of high fantasy brought to the silver screen is the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ film series.

Inspired by Rob Kidd’s ‘Jack Sparrow’ children’s books and based on the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ attraction at Disney’s theme parks, this franchise gave us Johnny Depp as the swashbuckling maniac we’ve all come to love, alongside a ravishingly bold Keira Knightley and an even more handsome Orlando Bloom, who traded his elf ears for a sharp rapier and a pirate ship. The films were a monumental success, with Gore Verbinski, Rob Marshall, Espen Sandberg, and Joachim Rønning as directors.

‘The Curse of the Black Pearl’ (2003), ‘Dead Man’s Chest’ (2006), and ‘At World’s End’ (2007) were box office gold. ‘On Stranger Tides’ (2011) left Ms Knightley and Mr Bloom’s characters behind, bringing Penélope Cruz centre stage as Angelica. Alas, the momentum began to wither away, and by the time Disney released ‘Salazar’s Revenge’ (2017), there wasn’t much that could keep this ship afloat, even with Knightley and Bloom’s return.

There was only so much to be drawn from the stories though. Despite not having any of the elves, orcs, goblins and other creatures that have become a staple of this genre, ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ is remembered as one of the greats of epic fantasy. And let’s not forget Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow. Everyone loved Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow.

The Dark Crystal

Eighties’ kids will remember and appreciate Jim Henson’s ample foray into epic fantasy with ‘The Dark Crystal’ (1982), a puppet-animated film which he directed alongside Frank Oz. The story takes place on a fictional planet—as one might expect, where the damaged Dark Crystal favours the onset of an age of chaos. The Gelfling Jen is our main hero, determined to restore balance to the realm of Thra and overthrow the ruling Skeksis. It is one of the few stories written directly for the screen that built itself a titanic fandom within its genre. Such an achievement is worthy of the cinematic history books.

Alas, the film wasn’t a box office darling but rather became a cult legend. It never grew into a trilogy, yet it remained insanely popular over the years, so much so that Netflix decided to gamble and invest in a prequel, ‘The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance’ (2019). Armed with 21^st century CGI assistance, beautiful puppetry, and a genuine love of Jim Henson’s work, the series was led by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews, receiving high praise from both new and familiar audiences. It may not be a giant, but it stands proudly among its peers.

The Wizard of Oz

Unlike the above titles, L. Frank Baum’s series of high fantasy novels did not receive as much generosity from Hollywood, instead building its wonderful world gradually, one yellow brick at a time. ‘The Wizard of Oz’ (1939) made history with Judy Garland as Dorothty—‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ became one of the most memorable musical pieces of the silver screen. Directed by Victor Fleming, the film was a roaring success, admired not only for its fantastic complexity but also for its brilliant execution and production design, then ultimately rewarded with two Academy Awards.

Mr Baum’s ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’ epic universe was so adored, in fact, that it spawned other authors to try and further develop stories from its original pages. In 1995, Gregory Maguire published ‘Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West’, a gorgeous retelling of the original of 1900 but from the witches’ perspective. Elphaba and Glinda became overnight sensations, eventually cast in the ‘Wicked’ Broadway musical which brought Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel’s musical talents under the spotlight.

From there, the Land of Oz grew bigger with various film and television projects—some more memorable than others. Worth mentioning are ‘The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz’ (2005), if only to give Jim Henson another kind nod; ‘Tin Man’ (2007), a slightly more sci-fi take on Dorothy’s tale featuring Zooey Deschanel, Alan Cumming, and Richard Dreyfuss; ‘Emerald City’ (2016-2017), a fantasy drama with a dark twist starring Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Vincent D’Onofrio, and Ana Ularu; and Sam Raimi’s ‘Oz the Great and Powerful’ (2013), which saw James Franco taking over as the Wizard himself.

There are many fantastical bodies of work besides those listed, of course. George R. R. Martin’s series made it to HBO in 2009, and despite the slightly fumbled final season, it is still one of the key points of reference when discussing the entire genre. Others, though extraordinarily successful in their novel form, never really got off the ground as feature films. CS Lewis, a fellow Inkling of Tolkien’s, for example, made his literary mark with ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’—yet the adaptations weren’t anywhere near Tolkien’s work and were mere shadows compared to ‘Harry Potter’. You may have noticed an absence from my list, and no, I have not forgotten about the ‘Star Wars’ franchise. However, since it is less high fantasy but more science fantasy, it belongs elsewhere.

Truth be told, one can flop by being overly ambitious with an epic fantasy tale, and there will never be enough special effects and animation technology to make up for weak characters and shoddy storytelling. In other cases, like Mr Martin’s ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’, the stories are simply too big for cinema yet perfect for a TV series. That’s something to discuss another day.

The post The Silver Screen’s Greatest Works of Epic Fantasy appeared first on The Cinematic Journal.

Twelve Christmas Specials to Melt Even Jack Frost

Jules R. Simion — Wed, 23 Dec 2020 08:00:56 +0000

I. ‘The Andy Griffith Show: A Christmas Story’ (Season 1, 1960)

The Mayberry Sheriff’s Department is best known for the wholesomeness and generosity of its characters, and the winter festivities only serve to amplify the show’s overall sense of love toward our fellow humans. ‘The Andry Griffith Show’ is a staple of television, revered as much today as it was back in the Sixties. In ‘A Christmas Story’, Sheriff Andy has no choice but to imprison moonshiner Jim in the middle of the holidays, but he also goes out of his way to make sure everyone gets to celebrate Christmas Day—he finds excuses to imprison Jim’s wife and children with him, then temporarily deputises his own family to join in on the unusual festivities.

Maybe the era depicted in the show never existed. The level of kindness portrayed feels more like a pleasant dream, but it does manage to thaw even our 21^st century hearts with its message of hope and love.

II. ‘The Twilight Zone: The Night of the Meek’ (Season 2, 1960)

Better remembered for its creepy or sci-fi-laden morality tales, ‘The Twilight Zone’ is a titan of television and a masterwork of screenwriting—well ahead of its time and always eager to leave viewers with a real chill tumbling down their spines. Yet for this Christmas special, Rod Serling abandoned the usual formula and tapped into the more palatable aspects of humanity. ‘The Night of the Meek’ follows a down-and-out department store Santa Claus named Henry, broken and turned to drinking as a means of coping with his problems. All he wants to do is to live up to his Santa Claus role, wishing for the meek to inherit the Earth.

Henry then finds himself in possession of a magical sack that automatically bestows gifts suited for each of its recipients. Even the police can’t stop this uncanny man from fulfilling his newfound mission. The story takes Henry all the way up to the North Pole as he becomes the real Saint Nicholas figure of old. For the first time, those familiar with ‘The Twilight Zone’ will appreciate its uplifting vibes, knowing that the show never made a habit of dealing in positivity.

III. ‘Moonlighting: ‘Twas the Episode Before Christmas’ (Season 2, 1985)

I’m not sure how many of you remember Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis as Maddie and David, but if you do, I salute you! ‘Moonlighting’ made its name through its avant-garde approach and playfulness with structure and form—a revolutionary of the Eighties, one might say, crisscrossing through genres almost shamelessly as it built its own unmistakable style. But it was its first Christmas-themed episode that left me smiling, a superb mixture of warm holiday sprinkles and reflexive wit topped by a dark spin on a classic tale.

A man named Joseph is killed by the criminals he testified against, and his wife Mary (see where it’s going?) abandons her baby in Agnes’ apartment. Maddie and David have no choice but to get involved, and their journey stumbles upon several eyebrow-raising characters such as three Kings. Leave it to David to point out the obvious: ‘We’re in an allegory!’. The rapid-firing banter does slow down for this episode, as even a show like ‘Moonlighting’ takes a breath to enjoy Christmas.

IV. ‘Tales from the Crypt: And All Through the House’ (Season 1, 1989)

One of HBO’s earliest contributions to pop culture was the horror/comedy show ‘Tales from the Crypt’, which consistently threaded a remarkably thin line between utterly terrifying and hilariously brutal—said ethos oozing out of every single minute of its Christmas special, too. In ‘And All Through the House’, a woman murders her husband for the insurance money, only to find herself targeted by a serial killer wearing a Santa Claus suit.

The episode descends from dark humour into blood-curdling dread, jumping back and forth between the two extremes with surprising agility. For those among us who like more gore with our cranberry sauce, this particularly gooey serving of ‘Tales from the Crypt’ does not disappoint.

V. ‘The X-Files: How the Ghosts Stole Christmas’ (Season 6, 1998)

I am often fascinated by how some of the more prolific shows manage to cross into the realm of Ol’ Saint Nick so easily. In that sense, the story often proves that it doesn’t take itself too seriously, leaving room for its characters to explore themselves while also drawing us closer with a sense of seasonal familiarity. But Chris Carter’s ‘The X-Files’ managed to pull a wickedly good special by throwing ghosts into the mix—perhaps he took a page from Charles Dickens.

‘How the Ghosts Stole Christmas’ is the show’s best Christmas episode, standalone and bold in its treatment of spectres and the holiday season, as Scully and Mulder find themselves trapped in a labyrinthine and seemingly haunted house in Maryland. It’s not an easy ride, as they struggle to keep their heads clear while the world around them devolves into insanity, and they’re even turned against one another by the resident ghosts, but Scully and Mulder break through and bring this moody ship down for something great to watch whilst snuggled beneath a fluffy blanket.

VI. ‘Huff: Christmas Is Ruined’ (Season 1, 2005)

Before the dark dramedy trend really took off in this decade that is about to end, Showtime’s ‘Huff’ was a two-season marvel and elegant precursor that revolved around psychiatrist Craig Huffstodt, brilliantly portrayed by Hank Azaria, and every aspect of his defective life. The man’s complex psyche was the true star of the series, in my opinion, and Paget Brewster was a wonderful added bonus. But it’s the Christmas special that really stood out, thus sliding into this season’s viewing list, mainly because of Thania St. John’s ability to write the disparate elements of Huff’s otherwise scattered life back together.

‘Christmas Is Ruined’ has every variant of frustration possible—the terminally ill mother-in-law, the son’s girlfriend, and Russell, the addiction-addled friend. Thrown together into the same pan, they lead to especially difficult times for the protagonist, but a cheery visit from the Homeless Hungarian, a figment of Huff’s tested imagination, manages to inject a sliver of hope inside this yule log of almost-comical dysfunction.

VII. ‘The Boondocks: A Huey Freeman Christmas’ (Season 1, 2005)

Initially, I was tempted to have the ‘Family Guy’ episode up here, but upon revisiting both, I felt as though Huey’s take on the holidays made more sense in wrapping up a year like this. Hijacking the school play and shifting its traditional tones into ‘The Adventures of Black Jesus’—co-produced by Quincy Jones and featuring the thespian skills of Denzel Washington and Angela Bassett, Huey Freeman delivers one hell of a Christmas show, and then some.

This festive bonanza doesn’t run short of clever references to ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ (1965), either, and it stays true to the show’s overarching ruthlessness, gleefully stabbing white liberal guilt in the face. It’s funny, it’s brutally honest, and it’s one of the most memorable episodes of the entire animated series.

VIII. ‘Boston Legal: The Nutcrackers’ (Season 3, 2006)

No one writes television like David E. Kelley. The man is a giant of his craft, and he has earned his place among the stars. But there is one thing that the writer of ‘Big Little Lies’ (2017-2019) and ‘The Practice’ (1997-2004) loves more than penning legal dramas, and that’s Christmas specials. Out of this cheerfully specific portfolio, my heart will forever be set on ‘The Nutcrackers’ from ‘Boston Legal’, rife with its signature witty sass.

A brilliant example of the series’ rich and zigzagging range of themes and multifaceted social issues, the Season 3 Christmas special sees Alan and Shirley involved in a case where a mother fights for custody of her daughters, both singers in a white supremacist pop band. Meanwhile, William Shatner’s unforgettable Denny Crane assists another mother as she struggles to keep custody of her anorexic daughter, and Brad and Denise work with a client who wants to sue God the almighty himself for killing her husband via a lightning strike. As expected, the entire episode packs a hefty punch and a plethora of mind-boggling moments.

IX. ‘Supernatural: A Very Supernatural Christmas’ (Season 3, 2007)

If there is one cult darling I will never get tired of revisiting, it’s Eric Kripke’s ‘Supernatural’ (2005-2020). It has been like a close friend for fifteen years and bidding the boys farewell took more tears than expected during the series finale. However, their special episodes have always been particularly fun, especially ‘A Very Supernatural Christmas’ which finds Sam and Dean investigating what appears to be some kind of Krampus monster killing innocent people.

The dark fantasy thread of the Winchesters’ investigation is lovingly weaved together with flashbacks of their own troubled childhood, spent mostly on the road and in cheap motels while their father went out hunting terrible creatures—among them the demon that killed their mother. It’s one of those rare instances where the show’s otherwise gruff and resilient heroes give us a glimpse of their younger, more fragile selves. Best served with a cup of marshmallows smothered in hot chocolate.

X. ‘Modern Family: Undeck the Halls’ (Season 1, 2009)

Redefining comedy for television, ‘Modern Family’ gathered Emmy awards and mountains of praise for its exquisitely dynamic pacing and heartfelt moments. The first Christmas with the Dunphys and the Pritchetts is sparkly and funny and absolutely brilliant despite its short format. It’s a hot mess, through and through, from a mysterious burn mark on the sofa that gets Christmas cancelled in the Dunphy household to Jay’s unsuccessful attempts to warm Gloria and Manny to his seasonal traditions and topping up with Cameron and Mitchell basically ruining the entire holiday for a mall Santa by complaining he’s ‘not jolly enough’… yes, it’s an absolutely delicious hot mess.

Each of these subplots is minutely designed for their characters with near-German precision and having Fred Willard Skype in as Phil’s dad is as wonderful as the first snow, building up to a splendid ensemble performance.

XI. ‘The Mentalist: Jolly Red Elf’ (Season 3, 2010)

There are plenty of procedural dramas and whodunit-style series to shamelessly binge on these days, but few are as well and as profoundly written as ‘The Mentalist’, one of Bruno Heller’s most successful forays in television altogether. The show follows Patrick Jane, former-psychic-turned-police-consultant who uses his exceptional skills as a mentalist to help the California Bureau of Investigation solve crimes while also looking to take down the serial killer known as Red John, who is responsible for the murder of Mr Jane’s wife and daughter.

‘Jolly Red Elf’ is not one of the best episodes, but it’s definitely a stellar Christmas special of its genre, as Jane and Lisbon’s team investigate the apparent suicide of a professional Santa while also wrestling with Agent LaRoche, who suspects Mr Jane of having been involved in the recent death of a cop killer and (unbeknownst to everyone but our chief protagonist) a Red John acolyte. The storyline carries itself gracefully over the finish line, bringing its own brand of Christmas ‘magic’ to the table.

XII. ‘Community: Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas’ (Season 2, 2010)

Dan Harmon’s comedic oeuvre ‘Community’ found its place in the halls of television masterpieces through its approach to a stunningly complex cast of characters—a band of misfits highlighted not only by the showrunner’s exquisite writing but also by the actors’ individual performances. Perhaps one of its most valuable components is Abed, the literal fourth wall between us and what was clearly never just a standard gang sitcom.

In ‘Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas’, the series gains a whole new dimension, as Abed finds himself viewing the world in stop-motion animation while becoming determined to rediscover the meaning of Christmas. As always, ‘Community’ pushes boundaries and throws in a powerful emotional note into this holiday special, remaining astonishingly self-aware throughout. That, my friends, is true greatness and no easy feat.

While this may be a difficult holiday for many of our readers, may great stories adorn the year to come and may we all step into the new decade with enough force and creativity to further shape the world of film and television. There is always room for more and better, with enough inspiration to go around for everyone. Let us be strong, keep calm and carry on.

The post Twelve Christmas Specials to Melt Even Jack Frost appeared first on The Cinematic Journal.

Jules R. Simion – The Cinematic Journal

Thirty-Day Movie Challenge: Part I

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ROBERT MCKEE, ©GENARO MOLINA/LA TIMES

Day 1: ‘Blade Runner’ (1982)

‘BLADE RUNNER’ (1982), ©WARNER BROS.

Day 2: ‘Good Will Hunting’ (1997)

‘GOOD WILL HUNTING’ (1997), ©MIRAMAX

Day 3: ‘Chinatown’ (1974)

‘CHINATOWN’ (1974), ©PARAMOUNT PICTURES

Day 4: ‘Mystic River’ (2003)

‘MYSTIC RIVER’ (2003), ©WARNER BROS.

Day 5: ‘The Accidental Tourist’ (1988)

‘THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST’ (1988), ©WARNER BROS.

Day 6: ‘Barry Lyndon’ (1975)

‘BARRY LYNDON’ (1975), ©PEREGRINE/HAWK FILMS

Day 7: ‘Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles’ (1994)

‘INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE: THE VAMPIRE CHRONICLES’ (1994), ©GEFFEN PICTURES

Day 8: ‘Dances with Wolves’ (1990)

‘DANCES WITH WOLVES’ (1990), ©TIG PRODUCTIONS

Day 9: ‘E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial’ (1982)

‘E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL’ (1982), ©UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Day 10: ‘The Flight of the Phoenix’ (1965)

’THE FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX’ (1965), ©THE ASSOCIATES & ALDRICH COMPANY

Day 11: ‘The Godfather’ (1972)

THE GODFATHER’ (1972), ©PARAMOUNT PICTURES

Day 12: ‘Casablanca’ (1942)

‘CASABLANCA’ (1942), ©WARNER BROS.

Day 13: ‘His Girl Friday’ (1940)

‘HIS GIRL FRIDAY’ (1940), ©COLUMBIA PICTURES

Day 14: ‘Jaws’ (1975)

‘JAWS’ (1975), ©UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Day 15: ‘Kramer vs. Kramer’ (1979)

KRAMER VS. KRAMER’ (1979), ©COLUMBIA PICTURES

Day 16: ‘The Last Emperor’ (1987)

‘THE LAST EMPEROR’ (1987), ©RECORDED PICTURE COMPANY (RPC)

Day 17: ‘The Manchurian Candidate’ (1962)

‘THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE’ (1962), ©M.C. PRODUCTIONS

Day 18: ‘Leaving Las Vegas’ (1995)

‘LEAVING LAS VEGAS’ (1995), ©LUMIERE PICTURES

Day 19: ‘Nanook of the North’ (1922)

‘NANOOK OF THE NORTH’ (1922), LES FRÈRES REVILLON/PATHÉ EXCHANGE

Day 20: ‘Ordinary People’ (1980)

‘ORDINARY PEOPLE’ (1980), ©PARAMOUNT PICTURES

Day 21: ‘The Passion of Joan of Arc’ (1928)

‘THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC’ (1928), ©SOCIÉTÉ GÉNÉRALE DES FILMS

Day 22: ‘Q & A’ (1990)

‘Q & A’ (1990), ©REGENCY INTERNATIONAL PICTURES

Day 23: ‘Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark’ (1981)

‘INDIANA JONES AND THE RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK’ (1981), ©PARAMOUNT PICTURES/LUCASFILM

Day 24: ‘Schindler’s List’ (1993)

‘SCHINDLER’S LIST’ (1993), ©UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Day 25: ‘Tender Mercies’ (1983)

‘TENDER MERCIES’ (1983), ©ANTRON MEDIA PRODUCTION

Day 26: ‘Dog Day Afternoon’ (1975)

‘DOG DAY AFTERNOON’ (1975), ©WARNER BROS.

Day 27: ‘The Usual Suspects’ (1995)

‘THE USUAL SUSPECTS’ (1995), ©POLYGRAM FILMED ENTERTAINMENT

Day 28: ‘The Conversation’ (1974)

‘THE CONVERSATION’ (1974), ©THE COPPOLA COMPANY

Day 29: ‘Pulp Fiction’ (1994)

PULP FICTION’ (1994), ©MIRAMAX

Day 30: ‘Jackie Brown’ (1997)

‘JACKIE BROWN’ (1997), ©MIRAMAX

Artist Spotlight: David Nutter, TV Director Extraordinaire

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©HELEN SLOAN/HBO

The Early Days

©MACALL B. POLAY/HBO

The Budding Career

©GAGE SKIDMORE/COMICCON

The Pilot Whisperer

©20TH CENTURY FOX TELEVISION

©WBEI/WARNER BROS. TELEVISION

The Magnificent Contributions

©HBO/HOME BOX OFFICE

©HBO/HOME BOX OFFICE

The Director’s Approach

©HBO/HOME BOX OFFICE

©HBO/HOME BOX OFFICE