Author Archives: wtdaniels

Director Fritz Lang’s 1927 film, Metropolis is a highly influential silent science fiction masterpiece. Metropolis depicts a highly stylized futuristic city in which a glimmering utopia rests above a dismal underworld wherein nameless laborers toil beneath the streets. Their work powers the towering aristocrats’ life of leisure in the cultured utopia.  Freder is the son of the governor ofContinue reading “Metropolis”

Director Francois Truffaut’s 1959 film, The 400 Blows seems to posit that every child lives their live on the edge of delinquency. Antoine Doinel suffers uncaring parents, and abusive teacher, and poor friends. That being said, Truffaut’s camera in this film captures the energy and optimism of youth with quick paced dolly shots and sweeping pans. PartContinue reading “400 Blows”

Director Vittorio De Sica’s 1949 film, The Bicycle Thieves is a staple of Italian postwar neorealism. Despite its academic reputation, this film remains an accessible, pleasant viewing experience. Antonio Ricci is a husband and father who is desperately trying to find work. A job putting up posters around Rome becomes available but a bicycle is a requirement.Continue reading “Bicycle Thieves”

Director Gillo Pontecorvo’s 1966 film, The Battle of Algiers is set in the 1950’s during the Algerian War in which France seeks to destroy militant cells that are fighting for Algerian independence. Early in the film we watch French troops raid a home wherein a woman, child, and two men are hiding in a wall. The camera slowlyContinue reading “The Battle of Algiers”