4 Shots From 4 Films: Special 1967 Edition

Posted on March 7, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

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 take a look at a classic cinematic year. It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 1967 Films

Something Weird (1967, dir by Herschell Gordon Lewis, DP: Andy Romanoff)

Bonnie and Clyde (1967, dir by Arthur Penn, DP: Burnett Guffey)

Who’s That Knocking On My Door (1967, dir by Martin Scorsese, DP: Michael Wadley and Richard Coll)

Point Blank (1967, dir by John Boorman, DP: Philip H. Lathrop)

8 Shots From 8 Films: Special John Boorman Edition

Posted on January 18, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

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 Shots From 4 Films: Special Walter Hill Edition

Posted on January 10, 2024 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 here at the Shattered Lens wish a happy 82nd birthday to the great director Walter Hill.

Walter Hill is one of those legendary figures who has a devoted cult of fans but it still seems like he’s never quite gotten all of the opportunities and the acclaim that he deserved. Perhaps because so many of his films are considered to be genre pieces, they were often not appreciated until a few years after they were first released. But for film lovers and film students, Walter Hill is one of the most important directors of the past 50 years.

Today, we celebrate with….

4 Shots From 4 Walter Hill Films

The Driver (1978, dir by Walter Hill, DP: Philip H. Lathrop)

The Warriors (1979, dir by Walter Hill, DP: Andrew Laszlo)

Streets of Fire (1984, dir by Walter Hill, DP: Andrew Laszlo)

Last Man Standing (1996, dir by Walter Hill, DP: Lloyd Ahern II)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Wes Craven Edition

Posted on October 13, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

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 is all about letting the visuals do the talking.

This October, I am going to be using our 4 Shots From 4 Films feature to pay tribute to some of my favorite horror directors, in alphabetical order! That’s right, we’re going from Argento to Zombie in one month!

Today’s director is the great Wes Craven!

4 Shots From 4 Wes Craven Films

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984, dir. by Wes Craven, DP: Jacques Haitkin)

Deadly Friend (1986, dir by Wes Craven, DP: Philip H. Lathrop)

Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994, dir by Wes Craven, DP: Mark Irwin)

Scream (1996, dir by Wes Craven, DP: Mark Irwin)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Wes Craven Edition

Posted on August 2, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

83 years ago today, Wes Craven was born in Cleveland, Ohio. Craven started his career as an academic, teaching high school English. However, realizing that there was more money to be made in the film industry, Craven changed careers. By his own admission, he started his career directing “hardcore, X-rated films” under a pseudonym and it has been rumored that he was a member of the crew of the first “porno chic” film, Deep Throat. Eventually, Craven broke into the mainstream with some of the most influential and often controversial horror films ever made. From being denounced for the original Last House On The Left to changing the face of horror with A Nightmare on Elm Street to becoming something of a revered statesman and a beloved pop cultural institution with the Scream franchise, Wes Craven had a truly fascinating career.

In honor his films and legacy, it’s time for….

4 Shots from 4 Wes Craven Films

The Hills Have Eyes (1977, dir by Wes Craven, DP: Eric Saarinen)

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984, dir. by Wes Craven, DP: Jacques Haitkin)

Deadly Friend (1986, dir by Wes Craven, DP: Philip H. Lathrop)

The People Under The Stairs (1991, dir by Wes Craven, DP: Sandi Sissel)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Jack Smight Edition

Posted on March 9, 2021 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Though the name Jack Smight might not be a familiar one in the way the name of some directors are, this filmmaker was responsible for some of the most “fun” movies of the 60s and 70s. He was born 96 years ago, on this date, in Minnesota and he passed away in 2003. In between that time, he directed television shows, movies, and he was responsible for popularizing the deathless phrase, “The stewardess is flying the plane?”

In honor of Jack Smight, here are….

4 Shots From 4 Jack Smight Films