4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Douglas Sirk Edition


4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

128 years ago, on this date, Douglas Sirk was born in Germany.  He would start out his career as a stage director in Germany before coming to the United States in 1937.  In the U.S., he made his mark as the director of a series of lushly visualized and often over-the-top melodramas.  Never a critical favorite, Sirk was rediscovered and his reputation rehabilitated when film students and critics started to reexamine his work in the late 60s and the 70s.  Once dismissed as the maker of tawdry (if popular) melodramas, Douglas Sirk is now seen as a subversive master of irony, one who used his melodramas to comment on American society.  It’s fair to say that, without the films of Douglas Sirk, there would be no Lifetime today.

It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Douglas Sirk Films

Magnificent Obsession (1954, dir by Douglas Sirk, DP: Russell Metty)

All That Heaven Allows (1955, dir by Douglas Sirk, DP: Russell Metty)

Written on the Wind (1956, dir by Douglas Sirk, DP: Russell Metty)

Imitation of Life (1959, dir by Douglas Sirk, DP: Russell Metty)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Al Pacino Edition


4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy birthday to Al Pacino!  It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Al Pacino Films

The Godfather (1972, dir by Francis Ford Coppola, DP: Gordon Willis)

The Godfather Part II (1974, dir by Francis Ford Coppola, DP: Gordon Willis)

The Irishman (2019, dir by Martin Scorsese, DP: Rodrigo Prieto)

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019, dir by Quentin Tarantino, DP: Robert Richardson)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Richard Donner Edition


4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

Today would have been the 95th birthday of director Richard Donner.  It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Richard Donner Films

The Omen (1976, dir by Richard Donner, DP: Gilbert Taylor)

Superman (1978, dir by Richard Donner, DP: Geoffrey Unsworth)

Lethal Weapon (1987, dir by Richard Donner, DP: Stephen Goldblatt)

Scrooged (1988, dir by Richard Donner, DP: Michael Chapman)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Alien Invasion Edition


4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

The aliens are here …. or are they?

4 Shots From 4 Alien Invasion Films

It Came From Outer Space (1953, dir by Jack Arnold, DP: Clifford Stine)

It Conquered The World (1956, dir by Roger Corman, DP: Fred E. West)

Starman (1984, dir by John Carpenter. DP: Donald M. Morgan)

Predator (1987, directed by John McTiernan, DP: Donald McAlpine)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Jack Nicholson Edition


4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

Today is Jack Nicholson’s 88th birthday!

Though he has pretty much retired from acting, Jack Nicholson remains a screen icon with a filmography that is a cinema lover’s dream.  He’s worked with everyone from Roger Corman to Stanley Kubrick to Milos Forman to Martin Scorsese and, along the way, he’s become a symbol of a very American-type of rebel.  Though often associated with the counter-culture, his style has always been too aggressive and idiosyncratic for him to be a believable hippie.  Instead, he’s one of the last of the beats, an outsider searching for meaning in Americana.

Over the course of his career, Nicholson has won three Oscars and been nominated for a total of 12.  He’s the only actor to have been nominated in every decade from the 1960s to the 2000s.  He is an actor who epitomizes an era in filmmaking, actually several eras.  It’s been 15 years since he last appeared in a movie but Jack Nicholson will never be forgotten.

4 Shots From 4 Jack Nicholson Films

Psych-Out (1968, dir by Richard Rush, DP: Laszlo Kovacs)

Carnal Knowledge (1971, dir by Mike Nichols, DP: Giuseppe Rotunno)

The Shining (1980, dir by Stanley Kubrick, DP: John Alcott)

The Departed (2006, dir by Martin Scorsese, DP: Michael Ballhaus)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Another Special Texas Edition


4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

Today is San Jacinto Day, which means that it is once again time for….

4 Shots From 4 Texas Films

Slacker (1990, dir by Richard Linklater, DP: Lee Daniel)

Bottle Rocket (1996, dir by Wes Anderson, DP: Robert Yeoman)

Office Space (1999, dir by Mike Judge, DP: Tim Suhrstedt)

Primer (2004, dir by Shane Carruth)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Edie Sedgwick Edition


4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

Today would have been Edie Sedgwick’s 82bd birthday.  Unfortunately, she died under tragic circumstances in 1971, after having briefly found fame as a model, a “youthquaker” (as some in the media called her), an actress, and Andy Warhol’s muse.  Her tragic life is often held up as a cautionary tale and perhaps it is.  For all of her talent and her appeal (not to mention that sharp wit that made her an outsider in the 60 but which would have made her a fascinating interview subject in 2025), Edie was far too often exploited by those who should have been protecting her.  She was too beautiful not to be famous but, at the same time, too sensitive not be hurt by the experience.  She’s truly a tragic figure but, because she also epitomizes everything that the New York underground art scene in the 60s represents in the popular imagination, she’s also an inspiring one.  Edie lives forever as a symbol and a muse.  Personally, I’ve been fascinated by her life for as long as I can remember.

In honor of Edie’s birthday, here are:

4 Shots From 4 Edie Sedgwick Films

Vinyl (1965, dir by Andy Warhol)

Beauty No. 2 (1965, dir by Andy Warhol)

Poor Little Rich Girl (1965, dir by Andy Warhol)

Lupe (1966, dir by Andy Warhol)

4 Shots From 4 Biblical Films


4 Shots from 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots from 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

4 Shots From 4 Biblical Epics

David and Bathsheba (1951, dir by Henry King. DP: Leon Shamroy)

The Ten Commandments (1956, dir by Cecil B. DeMille, DP: Lloyd Griggs)

Ben-Hur (1959, dir by William Wyler, DP: Robert Surtees)

The Bible (1966, dir by John Huston, DP: Giuseppe Rotunno)

4 Shots From 4 Films: The James Woods Edition!


Today is the 78th birthday of James Woods, one of the great actors of his generation. Capable of completely disappearing into his roles, Woods is known for his unmatched intensity and diversity. He can play anything from a badass action hero to the most evil scum of society, from a mentally handicapped adult to the most intelligent man in the room. He’s been one of my favorite actors since I first discovered him in the late 80’s in the movie BEST SELLER (1987). While he’s won multiple Emmy awards and Golden Globes, the fact he’s never won an Oscar for his acting skills is beyond my comprehension. As he was an Executive Producer of OPPENHEIMER (2023), I particularly enjoyed that film’s Oscar success! Happy Birthday Mr. Woods! Thanks for the countless hours of entertainment you’ve brought into my life! 

ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA (1984)

SALVADOR (1986)

THE HARD WAY (1991)

GHOSTS OF MISSISSIPPI (1996)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Eric Roberts Edition


4 Shots from 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots from 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

Happy birthday, Eric Roberts!

4 Shots From 4 Eric Roberts Films

Star 80 (1983, dir by Bob Fosse, DP: Sven Nyvkist)

The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984, dir by Stuart Rosenberg, DP: John Bailey)

Runaway Train (1985, dir by Andrei Konchalovsky, DP: Alan Hume)

The Dark Knight (2008, dir by Christopher Nolan, DP: Wally Pfister)