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 Films
The Red Shoes (1948, dir by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, DP: Jack Cardiff)
Saturday Night Fever (1977, dir by John Badham, DP: Ralf D. Bode)
Flashdance (1983, dir by Adrian Lyne, DP: Donald Peterman)
Chicago (2002, dir by Rob Marshall, DP: Dion Beebe)
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!
Controversial French director Roger Vadim was born 97 years ago today. It’s time for….
4 Shots From 4 Roger Vadim Films
And God Created Woman (1956, dir by Roger Vadim, DP: Armand Thirard)
Blood And Roses (1960, dir by Roger Vadim, DP: Claude Renoir)
Spirits of the Dead: Metzengerstein (1968, dir by Roger Vadim, DP: Claude Renoir)
Barbarella (1968, dir by Roger Vadim, DP: Claude Renoir)
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, on what would have been his 82nd birthday, the Shattered Lens pays tribute to Texas’s own, Tobe Hooper!
The Austin hippie who redefined horror and left thousands of yankees terrified of driving through South Texas, Tobe Hooper often struggled to duplicate both the critical and the box office success of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It’s only been in the years since his death that many critics and viewers have come to truly appreciate his unique and subversive vision.
Down here, in Texas, we always believed in him.
It’s time for….
4 Shots From 4 Tobe Hooper Films
Eggshells (1969, dir by Tobe Hooper, DP: Tobe Hooper)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974, dir by Tobe Hooper, DP: Daniel Pearl)
Salem’s Lot (1978, dir by Tobe Hooper, DP: Jules Bremmer)
Lifeforce (1985, dir by Tobe Hooper, DP: Alan Hume)
Henry King (1886 — 1982)
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.
Henry King was born 139 years ago today. He was born in Virginia and, though he may no longer be a household name, he was one of the busiest and most versatile directors of Hollywood’s Golden Age. He began his career during the silent era, directing his first film in 1918. He continued to work all the way through 1962, working in every genre and directing at least 8 Oscar-nominated performances. He was also one of the founders of the Academy. In short, Henry King was an important figure in the early years of Hollywood. If you’ve ever studied classic film or just spent a weekend or two watching TCM, there’s a good chance that you’ve seen at least one Henry King film.
Like many of the top directors from Hollywood’s Golden Age, Henry King was prized for being a professional. In the years when the studios ruled Hollywood and before directors became known as auteurs, King was someone who could be trusted to make an effective film with the minimum amount of behind-the-scene drama. He was someone who could move from genre to genre and from theme to theme. He was skilled at getting the best performances from his actors and he knew how to visually tell a story and keep the action moving. He knew how to engage the audience and his best films hold up surprisingly well.
In honor of Henry King and his career and legacy, here are…
4 Shots From 4 Henry King Films
In Old Chicago (1938, dir by Henry King, DP: J. Peverell Marley)
The Song of Bernadette (1943, dir by Henry King, DP: Arthur C. Miller)
Wilson (1944, dir by Henry King, DP: Leon Shamroy)
David and Bathsheba (1951, dir by Henry King. DP: Leon Shamroy)
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, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy birthday of one of the most important and independently minded filmmakers of the past 40 years, Jim Jarmusch!
It’s time for….
4 Shots From 4 Jim Jarmusch Films
Stranger Than Paradise (1984, dir by Jim Jarmusch, DP: Tom DiCillo)
Down by Law (1986, dir by Jim Jarmusch, DP: Robby Muller)
Dead Man (1995, dir by Jim Jarmusch, DP: Robby Muller)
The Dead Don’t Die (2019, dir by Jim Jarmusch, DP: Frederick Elmes)
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.
96 years ago today, Radley Metzger was born in New York, New York. After serving as a photographer in the U.S. Air Force, Metzger went into film distribution. He brought European “art” films to the United States and booked them in various grindhouse theaters. Like so many film distributors and producers, Metzger eventually realized that he could make a lot more many by making his own films. In the late 60s and the early 70s, Metzger was one of the pioneers of the adult film industry. He directed adult films that were distinguished by their strong sense of composition, intelligent storylines, and their sense of characterization.
Unfortunately, Metzger’s films were a bit too arty for the adult crowd and too explicit for the mainstream critics. Still, over the years, Metzger’s work has been rediscovered and appreciated by open-minded film lovers and by people like me who just happen to like artistically-minded decadence.
Today, we honor Radley Metzger with….
4 Shots From 4 Radley Metzger Films
Camille 2000 (1969, dir by Radley Metzger, DP: Ennio Guarnieri)
The Lickerish Quartet (1970, dir by Radley Metzger. DP: Hans Jura)
Score (1974, dir by Radley Metzger, DP: Frano Vodopivec)
Barbara Broadcast (1977, dir. Radley Metzger, DP: Chico Carter)
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, on what would have been his birthday, we take the time to pay tribute to one of our favorite directors. Needless to say, when it comes to David Lynch, there’s an embarrassment of riches.
Here are….
20 Shots From David Lynch
Eraserhead (1977, directed by David Lynch, DP: Frederick Elmes and Herbert Cardwell)
The Elephant Man (1980, dir by David Lynch, DP: Freddie Francis)
Dune (1984, dir by David Lynch, DP: Freddie Francis)
Blue Velvet (1986, dir by David Lynch, DP: Frederick Elmes)
Twin Peaks: The Pilot (1990, dir by David Lynch, DP: Ron Garcia)
Twin Peaks 1.3 “Zen or the Skill To Catch a Killer” (1990, dir by David Lynch, DP: Frank Byers)
Wild At Heart (1990, dir by David Lynch, DP: Frederick Elmes)
Twin Peaks 2.7 “Lonely Souls” (1990, dir by David Lynch, DP: Frank Byers)
Twin Peaks 2.22 (1991, dir by David Lynch, DP: Frank Byers)
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992, dir by David Lynch, DP: Ron Garcia)
On The Air 1.1 “The Lester Guy Show” (dir by David Lynch, DP: Ron Garcia)
Lost Highway (1997, dir by David Lynch, DP: Peter Deming)
The Straight Story (1999, dir by David Lynch, DP: Freddie Francis)
Rabbits (2002, dir by David Lynch, DP: David Lynch)
Mulholland Drive (2000, dir by David Lynch, DP: Peter Deming)
Twin Peaks: The Return Part 3 (dir by David Lynch, DP: Peter Deming)
Inland Empire (2006, dir by David Lynch, DP: David Lynch)
Twin Peaks: The Return Part 8 (2017, dir by David Lynch, DP: Peter Dening)
Twin Peaks: The Return Part 18 (2017, dir by David Lynch)
What Did Jack Do? (2017, dir by David Lynch, DP: Scott Ressler)
by Debbie Hughes
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.
216 years ago today, Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts. From his humble beginnings as the son of two struggling actors, Poe would go on to become one of the first great American writers. (It’s been said that, when Charles Dickens first traveled to the United States in 1842, he specifically wanted to meet Edgar Allan Poe. Unfortunately, it appears that popular story my not be true but it’s still a good story.) Poe was controversial in life and even his death generated more questions than answers but no one can deny his strength as a poet and as a prose writer. Both the detective and the horror genres owe a huge debt to Edgar Allan Poe.
Today, in honor of Edgar Allan Poe’s legacy, TSL presents 4 shots from 4 films that were inspired by the work of Edgar Allan Poe!
4 Shots From 4 Films
The Fall of the House of Usher (1960, dir by Roger Corman, DP: Floyd Crosby)
The Raven (1963, dir by Roger Corman, DP: Floyd Crosby)
The Masque of the Red Death (1964, dir by Roger Corman, DP: Nicolas Roeg)
The Pit and the Pendulum (1990, dir by Stuart Gordon, DP: Adolfo Bartoli)
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 92nd birthday to British director John Boorman.
Boorman is one of those great director who sometimes doesn’t seem to get as much credit as he deserves. An undeniably idiosyncratic director, Boorman easily moved from genre to genre and who brought his own individual style to each of his films. Sometimes, critics and audiences responded to that vision and sometimes, they didn’t. And yet even Boorman’s so-called failures have come to be appreciated over the years. Zardoz is a cult classic. Even The Exorcist II: The Heretic is not quite the disaster that some insist. If nothing else, it’s one of the strangest studio productions to ever be released.
At his best, Boorman is one of the most influential directors of all time. How many neo-noirs have ripped off the look and the feel of Point Blank? The ending of Deliverance has been imitated by a countless number of horror films and, indeed, every backwoods thriller owes a debt to Boorman’s film about four businessmen spending a weekend canoeing. Excalibur is one of the most elegiac of all the Arthurian films while Hope and Glory retains its power to make audiences both laugh and cry with its portrayal of life on the British homefront during World War II. Meanwhile, films like The General and The Emerald Forest gave underrated characters actors like Powers Boothe and Brendan Gleeson a chance to shine.
So today, in honor of the career and the legacy of John Boorman, here are….
8 Shots from 8 John Boorman Films
Point Blank (1967, directed by John Boorman, DP: Philip H. Lathrop)
Deliverance (1972, directed by John Boorman, DP: Vilmos Zsigmond)
Zardoz (1974, directed by John Boorman, DP: Geoffrey Unsworth)
The Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977, dir by John Boorman, DP: William A. Fraker)
Excalibur (1981, dir by John Boorman, DP: Alex Thomson)
The Emerald Forest (1985, dir by John Boorman. DP: Philippe Rousselot)
Hope and Glory (1987, dir by John Boorman, DP: Philippe Rousselot)
The General (1998, dir by John Boorman, DP: Seamus Deasy)
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, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy 77th birthday to one of this site’s favorite filmmakers and a patron saint of the independent spirit, the great John Carpenter!
In honor of the man and his legacy, here are….
6 Shots From 6 John Carpenter Films
Halloween (1978, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Dean Cudney)
The Fog (1980, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Dean Cudney)
Escape From New York (1981, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Dean Cundey)
The Thing (1982, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Dean Cundey)
Prince of Darkness (1987, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Gary B. Kibbe)
They Live (1988, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Gary B. Kibbe)
Through the Shattered Lens 