Today is a special day here at the Shattered Lens as we celebrate the birthday of Dario Argento!
Now, we’ve got a lot of Argento-related stuff scheduled for October so, for today, I’m just going to share one of the best scenes from one of my favorite Argento films, 1975’s Deep Red. This scene features what is seriously the creepiest puppet that I’ve ever seen.
In this scene from 1967’s Barefoot in the Park, Robert Redford and Jane Fonda show us how to enjoy a honeymoon.
I was 15 years old when Michael Keaton took over the role of Batman. That was a big deal at the time. He’s had a lot of great roles, but I’ll always love him as the superhero of my youth.
Enjoy my friends!
In honor of Werner Herzog’s birthday, today’s scene that I love comes from one of his best films. 1972’s Aguirre, The Wrath of God not only established Herzog as a major filmmaker but it also showed that he was the director who could get the best out of the notoriously difficult Klaus Kinski.
In this scene, Kinski plays the mad conquistador, Aguirre. Lost with his men in the Amazon, Aguirre establishes control over the dwindling expedition.
The Caine Mutiny (1954, dir by Edward Dmytryk, DP: Franz Planer)
Today’s scene that I love comes from 1954’s The Caine Mutiny.
In this scene, Captain Queeg (Humphrey Bogart) is cross-examined by Barney Greenwald (Jose Ferrer). The court martial concerns whether or not an officer under Queeg’s command was justified in taking over the ship from Queeg. Greenwald, tasked with defending the head mutineer, knows that the only way to win the case is to expose Queeg himself as a paranoid and unstable officer. Greenwald does his job but he’s not happy about it.
This scene, directed by Edward Dmytryk, features both Bogart and Ferrer at their absolute best.
Today’s scene that I love comes from the surrealistic 1968 musical, Head. It features Davy Jones dancing with the wonderful Toni Basil.
Enjoy and try not to cry because it’s a seriously sad song.
I first saw Salma Hayek when her character was introduced in DESPERADO (1995). It’s fair to say I’ve considered her one of the most beautiful women in the world ever since. Happy Birthday, Salma, and enjoy my friends!
Today’s scene that I love comes from Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. In this scene, the very first nuclear bomb is detonated and history is changed forever. Nolan captures the mix of pride and outright horror as the most deadly weapon of all is tested for the very first time. In much the same way that some of us cannot resist the chance to stare directly at a solar eclipse, Cillian Murphy’s Oppenheimer cannot help but stare directly at what he has helped to create.
Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy birthday to director James Nguyen! Today’s scene that I love comes from Nguyen’s masterpiece, 2010’s Birdemic: Shock and Terror!
Those who claim that Brian De Palma stole too much from Hitchcock obviously never met James Nguyen.
One of my favorite actors, James Coburn, was born on August 31, 1928, and he passed away on November 18, 2002. To celebrate and acknowledge the legend’s birthday, I thought I’d share one of my favorite scenes, and that’s his character’s introduction in THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN. What makes the scene so impressive is that it comes in on the heels of the badass intro of Bernardo O’Reilly (Charles Bronson) and somehow manages to top it. Enjoy!
Through the Shattered Lens 