6 Shots From 6 Films: Special Robert Duvall Edition

Posted on January 5, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

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!

Today, we celebrate the 91st birthday of one of the finest American actors out there, Mr. Robert Duvall. Ever since he made his film debut in 1962’s To Kill A Mockingbird, Duvall has been a regular presence in American cinema. He’s an actor who has appeared in some of the best American films ever made (The Godfather, Network, Apocalypse Now, To Kill A Mockingbird, Tender Mercies, and others) and he’s played a wide variety of characters. He’s been everything from a lawyer to a cowboy to a network executive to a professional criminal to a cop and he’s never been less that convincing. He’s got a filmography about which anyone would be jealous. And, at an age when most actors have retired, Duvall is still working and taking the occasional part.

On a personal note, I have to say that, for someone who was born in California, raised in Maryland, and who started his career in New York, Robert Duvall is one of the few actors to have perfected both the Southern and the Southwestern accent. Whenever I see him playing a Texan, I always have to remind myself that he’s not actually from around here.

In honor of Robert Duvall’s birthday, here are….

6 Shots From 6 Robert Duvall Films

To Kill A Mockingbird (1962, dir by Robert Mulligan, DP: Russell Harlan)

MASH (1970, dir by Robert Altman, DP: Harold E. Stine)

Apocalypse Now (1979, dir by Francis Ford Coppola, DP: Vittorio Storaro)

True Confessions (1981, dir by Ulu Grosbard, DP: Owen Roizman)

The Apostle (1997, dir by Robert Duvall, DP: Barry Markowitz)

The Judge (2014, dir by David Dobkin, DP: Janusz Kamiński)

4 Shots From 4 Carlos Saura Films: Los Golfos, Carmen, Taxi, Tango

Posted on January 4, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today, we celebrate the 90th birthday of Spanish director Carlos Saura. Born in Huesca, Spain in 1932, Saura began his career directing documentaries in the 50s and has been directing feature films since the early 60s. Saura was originally known as a neorealist, which was not necessarily the safest thing to be when you were a filmmaker in Francisco Franco’s Spain. His later films have relied more on symbolism and surreal imagery to comment on both Spanish history and culture. He’s also acclaimed for his dance films. 12 of Saura’s films have competed at Cannes and three of his films were nominated for the Oscar for Best International Film.

In honor of Carlos Saura’s career and vision, it’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Carlos Saura Films

Los Golfos (1962, dir by Carlos Saura, DP: Juan Julio Baena)

Carmen (1983, dir by Carlos Saura, DP: Teo Escamilla)

Taxi (1996, dir by Carlos Saura, DP: Vittorio Storaro)

Tango (1998, dir by Carlos Saura, DP: Vittorio Storaro)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Sergio Leone Edition

Posted on January 3, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Sergio Leone (1929 — 1989)

93 years ago today, Sergio Leone was born in Rome, Italy. The son of actor/screenwriter Vincenzo Leone and silent actress Edvige Valcarenghi, Sergio was born into the Italian film industry. He began his career in the post-war rebuilding period, working as an assistant to Vittorio De Sica and, as an assistant director, for American films that were shot in Italy. (Albeit uncredited, he worked on two Oscar-nominated Biblical epics, Quo Vadis and Ben-Hur.)

After making his directorial debut with The Colossus of Rhodes, Leone went on to direct the films that would change the face of international cinema. Though he was hardly the first director of Spaghetti westerns, he was was the first to achieve far-reaching acclaim. With the Dollars Trilogy, he made Clint Eastwood a star and Eastwood has often said that the majority of what he knows about directing, he learned from working with Leone and later Don Siegel. Leone went on to direct the brilliant Once Upon A Time In The West and Once Upon A Time in America, two epic visions of American history that, sadly, were not initially treated well by their distributors.

Though Leone is only credited with directing eight films, his influence cannot be underestimated. As both a visual artist and a cultural and political commentator, his films continue to influence directors to this day.

For that reason, it’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Sergio Leone Films

For A Few Dollars More (1965, dir by Sergio Leone, DP: Massimo Dallamano)

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly (1966, dir by Sergio Leone, DP: Tonino Delli Colli)

Once Upon A Time In The West (1968, dir by Sergio Leone, DP: Tonino Delli Colli)

Once Upon A Time In America (1984, dir by Sergio Leone, DP: Tonino Delli Colli)

4 Shots From 4 Oscar Micheaux Films

Posted on January 2, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

One hundred and thirty-eight years ago, on this date in 1884, Oscar Micheaux was born in Metropolis, Illinois. Starting his career as a writer and an investor, Oscar Micheaux eventually moved into the film industry. At a time when theaters were still segregated and black characters were regularly portrayed by white actors in blackface, the African-American Micheaux founded his own studio, financed his own movies, and distributed them himself. Micheaux’s films dealt directly with themes of systemic racism and the struggle of blacks to get ahead in American society. Many of Micheaux’s early films were designed as an “answer” to D.W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation while his later films deal with themes of inequality and corruption among both the police and the clergy.

Micheaux gave roles to talented black performers like Paul Robeson, actors who faced limited prospects in Hollywood during the silent and early sound eras. (Even the white characters in Micheaux’s films were played by light-skinned blacks, a reverse of Hollywood’s unofficial policy of using white actors in dark makeup to play black characters.) Unfortunately, many of Micheaux’s films are now lost but the few films that remain present a look at black life in America during the early decades of the 20th century.

In honor of the man and his legacy, Through the Shattered Lens presents….

4 Shots From 4 Oscar Micheaux Films

WIthin Our Gates (1920, dir by Oscar Micheaux)

The Symbol of the Unconquered (1920, dir by Oscar Micheaux)

Body and Soul (1925, dir by Oscar Micheaux)

Murder in Harlem (1935, dir by Oscar Micheaux)

8 Shots From 8 Films You Should Watch In 2022

Posted on January 1, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today is the start of a new year and it’s also a day to start thinking about which film you’re going to discover over the course of the next 12 months! Below are my suggestions for 8 films that, if you haven’t already watched them, you should definitely make time to watch before 2023 rolls around!

8 Shots From 8 Film For 2022

It (1927, dir by Clarence Badger, DP: H. Kinley Martin)

The Rules of Game (1939, dir by Jean Renoir, DP: Jean Bachelet)

Portrait of Jennie (1948, dir by William Dieterle, DP; Joseph H. August)

Chappaqua (1966, dir by Conrad Rooks, DP: Etienne Becker, Robert Frank, and Eugene Schufftan)

An American Hippie in Israel (1972, dir by Amos Sefer, DP: Ya’ackov Kallach)

Strange Behavior (1981, dir by Micahel Laughlin, DP: Louis Horvath)

The Two Orphan Vampires (1997, dir by Jean Rollin, DP: Norbert Marfaing-Sintes)

A Field in England (2013, dir by Ben Wheatley, DP: Laurie Rose)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Charles Bronson Birthday Edition

Posted on November 3, 2021 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today is the 100th anniversary of the birth of an actor who is very popular here at the Shattered Lens, Charles Bronson! In honor of the momentous occasion, we now pay tribute to the one and only Bronson with….

4 Shots From 4 Charles Bronson Films

Death Wish (1974, dir by Michael Winner, DP: Arthur Ormitz)

Mr. Majestyk (1974, dir by Richard Fleischer DP: Richard Kline)

Breakheart Pass (1975, dir by Tom Gries, DP: Lucien Ballard)

10 To Midnight (1983, dir by J. Lee Thompson, DP: Adam Greenberg)

4 Shots From 4 George Romero Films

Posted on October 31, 2021 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Happy Halloween! Today, we pay tribute to the patron saint of American horror, George Romero! We’ve watched Night of the Living Dead! Now, it’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 George Romero Films