4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Pier Paolo Pasolini 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!

103 years ago, on this date, Pier Paolo Pasolini was born in Italy.  His controversial films and his mysterious death continue to inspire debate to this very day.  Both the man and his works were full of intriguing contradictions.  Pasolini was an atheist who made one of the best Biblical films ever made.  He was a communist who made films that celebrated individual freedom and who had little use for the upper class liberals who made up much of the European counterculture of the 1960s.  In the end, he was an artist unafraid to challenge all assumptions, whether they were found on the right or the left.  His final film, Salo, was the most controversial of his career.  It was also projected to be the first part of a trilogy, though those plans were ended by Pasolini’s murder.

It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Pier Paolo Pasolini Films

Accatone (1961, dir by Pier Paolo Pasolini, DP: Tonino Delli Colli)

The Gospel According To St. Matthew (1964, dir by Pier Paolo Pasolini, DP: Tonino Delli Colli)

The Hawks and The Sparrows (1966, dir by Pier Paolo Pasolini, DP: Mario Bernardo and Tonino Delli Colli)

Salo (1975, dir by Pier Paolo Pasolini, DP: Tonino Delli Colli)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special New Orleans Edition


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

Today, the Shattered Lens pays homage to the greatest of Mardi Gras cities, New Orleans!

4 Shots From 4 New Orleans-Set Films

Easy Rider (1969, dir by Dennis Hopper, DP: Laszlo Kovacs)

Zandalee (1990, dir by Sam Pillsbury, DP: Walt Lloyd)

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008, dir by David Fincher, DP: Claudio Miranda)

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009, dir by Werner Herzog, DP: Peter Zieitlinger)

 

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special George Miller Edition


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

Today the Shattered Lens wishes a happy birthday to one of our favorite people, George Miller!  The doctor-turned-director began his cinematic career with 1979’s Mad Max and he’s gone on to become one of the most influential and important filmmakers out there.  In honor of George Miller’s birthday, here are….

4 Shots From 4 George Miller Films

Mad Max (1979, dir by George Miller, DP: Dave Eggby)

The Road Warrior (1981, dir by George Miller, DP: Dean Semler)

Babe: Pig In The City (1998, dir by George Miller, DP: Andrew Lesnie)

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015, dir by George Miller, DP: John Seale)

8 Shots From 8 Films: Special Lisa Marie’s Favorite Best Picture Winners Edition


8 Shots From 8 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, 8 Shots From 8 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

My list of my favorite Best Picture winners is a fluid one.  There are a few — like All About Eve, It Happened One Night, the two Godfathers — that are always on the list.  I love these four films with all my heart.  Then there are films like No Country For Old Men that I think about and say, “Of course that’s going on the list!”  There are other films that have snuck up on me.  Until I was making out this list, I didn’t realize how much I truly did like Coda.

Anyway, here’s my top 8!

8 Shots From 8 Oscar-Winning Films

It Happened One Night (1934, dir by Frank Capra, DP: Joseph Walker)

Casablanca (1942, dir by Michael Curtiz, DP: Arthur Edeson)

All About Eve (1950, dir by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, DP: Milton R. Krassner)

West Side Story (1961, dir by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, DP: Daniel L. Fapp)

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

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

No Country For Old Men (2007, dir by Joel and Ethan Coen, DP: Roger Deakins)

CODA (2021, dir by Sian Heder, DP: Paula Huidobro)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Ania Pieroni Edition


Today is the birthday of Italian actress Ania Pieroni.

You may not recognize the name but, if you’re a fan of Italian horror, chances are that you’ve seen Ania Pieroni at least once.  Even though she only has 11 credits listed on the imdb and apparently made her last film over 30 years ago, Ania Pieroni achieved screen immortality by playing key roles in three of the greatest Italian films ever made.

In Dario Argento’s Inferno, she was the first actress to play the mysterious Mother of Tears.

In Lucio Fulci’s The House By The Cemetery, she played the mysterious housekeeper and nanny who, in one of the film’s most memorable scenes, nonchalantly mops up a huge pool of blood before subsequently losing her head in the house’s basement.

And then, in Argento’s Tenebrae, she played the unfortunate shoplifter who pays a steep price for not paying for Peter Neal’s latest novel.

Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy birthday to Ania Pieroni with….

4 Shots From 4 Ania Pieroni Films

Inferno (1980, dir by Dario Argento)

The House By The Cemetery (1981, dir by Lucio Fulci)

Tenebrae (1982, dir by Dario Argento)

Fracchia vs Dracula (1985, dir by Neri Parenti)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Elizabeth Taylor 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 the birthday of one of the greatest films stars ever, Elizabeth Taylor!  And you know what that means.  It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Elizabeth Taylor Films

A Place in the Sun (1951, dir by George Stevens, DP: William C. Mellor)

Suddenly, Last Summer (1959, dir by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, DP: Jack Hildyard)

Cleopatra (1963, dir by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, DP: Leon Shamroy )

Boom! (1968, dir by Joseph Losey, DP: Douglas Slocombe)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special James Wan 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, we wish a happy birthday to one of the directors who brought the horror genre back to box office life in the aughts and 2010s, James Wan!  It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 James Wan Films

Insidious (2011, dir by James Wan, DP: John Leonetti))

The Conjuring (2013, dir by James Wan, DP: John Leonetti)

Aquaman (2018, dir by James Wan, DP: Don Burgess)

Malignant (2021, dir by James Wan, DP: Michael Burgess)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Neil Jordan 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 Irish director Neil Jordan!  It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Neil Jordan Films

The Company of Wolves (1984, dir by Neil Jordan, DP: Bryan Loftus)

Interview With A Vampire (1994, dir by Neil Jordan, DP: Philippe Rousselot)

In Dreams (1999, dir by Neil Jordan, DP: Darius Khondji)

Byzantium (2012, dir by Neil Jordan, DP: Sean Bobbitt)

6 Shots From 6 Films: Special Twins Peaks Edition


6 Shots From 6 Films is just what it says it is, 6 shots from 6 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 6 Shots From 6 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

It is Twin Peaks Day, after all.

6 Shots From 6 Films: Special Twin Peaks Edition

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992, dir by David Lynch, DP: Ron Garcia)

Twin Peaks: The Pilot (1989, dir by David Lynch, DP: Ron Garcia)

Twin Peaks 2.7 “Lonely Souls” (1990, dir by David Lynch, DP: Frank Byers)

Twin Peaks The Return Part Three (2017, dir by David Lynch, DP: Peter Deming)

Twin Peaks: The Return Part 15 (dir by David Lynch, DP: Peter Deming)

Twin Peaks: The Return Part 18 (2017, dir by David Lynch, DP: Peter Deming)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Terence Fisher 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, we celebrate the 121st anniversary of the birth of the great British film director, Terence Fisher.  Though Fisher worked in all genres, he is best remembered for the horror films that he directed for Hammer Studios.  Along with proving that there was still an audience for horror, he also helped to make stars out of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee.

It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Terence Fisher Films

The Curse of Frankenstein (1957, dir by Terence Fisher, DP: Jack Asher)

The Horror of Dracula (1958, dir by Terence Fisher, DP: Jack Asher)

The Curse of the Werewolf (1961, dir by Terence Fisher, DP: Arthur Grant)

Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell (1973, dir by Terence Fisher, DP: Brian Probyn)