Woody Allen is a writer and director who bares his emotions and neuroses on screen. It’s for this very reason that so many of his films feel so personal.
Yet, as an audience, it feels harder than ever to make sense of the complicated nature that is Allen’s catalog of work, especially in light of allegations of sexual assault that have been made against him.
But still, it’s undeniable that Allen is not only one of the most prolific filmmakers in the history of cinema, but also one of the best.
In this article, we’re going to judge Allen’s work by four movie criteria: legacy, acting, filmmaking, and story.… Keep reading
You’re looking for a movie genre list, maybe for inspiration, but every list you find has too broad or hyper-specific categories that it becomes overwhelming. We’ve created the perfect movie and TV genre list that will explain the various categories of film and television with their specific subgenres, and we’ll also include helpful examples for each along the way.
Continue reading Ultimate Guide to Movie Genres — 90+ Genre Examples for Film & TV
The term “postmodernism” gets thrown around a lot. Anything that seems to buck normal conventions or breaks the fourth wall tends to receive the label, but what is postmodernism really? For this blog, we’ll look into the history of postmodernism as well as its place in the cinematic landscape today. We’ll examine several postmodern films, such as Blade Runner and The Truman Show. Get ready for a lesson both in filmmaking and philosophy 101.
Continue reading What is Postmodernism? Definition and Examples for Filmmakers
What is Surrealism in film? To understand the best Surrealist films, we need to know the basics of the term. You can probably imagine what “realism” might be — strict adherence to reality. Surrealism takes the “rules” and expectations of realism and turns them on their head; logic and reason need not apply. Filmmakers have embraced this freedom and creative expression for almost a century and produced some of the most fascinating work along the way. Let’s define Surrealism and take a closer look at some of the best Surrealist films.
Continue reading What is Surrealism? Definition and Examples for Filmmakers
What is tone? To answer that question we have to place tone in an appropriate context. Tone can refer to the intonation/pitch of acoustics, the meeting of light and shadow, the firmness of muscles, etc. — but we’re going to focus on what tone means in storytelling. Tone is how an artist feels towards the art they create — sounds simple enough right?
Well, consider this: how do we know how an artist feels? We’re going to explore that question by looking at examples from William Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe and more. By the end, you’ll know what makes tone different from mood and how to recognize it in film and literature.… Keep reading
