Classic and James Bond films unite
Sherlock Holmes is, arguably, the most famous literary detective in history. Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce made fourteen Holmes films for 20th Century Fox and Universal Pictures, Robert Downey Jr starred as the gentleman sleuth twice, the BBC made a very successful series that modernised the character, and that’s not even mentioning the numerous radio… Continue reading A Royal Conspiracy: Murder by Decree (1979)
My late father was French-Mauritian, a distinction that he always made very clear to people. And I think that is perhaps why he was such a devotee of Agatha Christie’s famous Belgian detective. My father took great delight in the parts where British characters insulted Poirot by calling him a French so and so, and… Continue reading You’re the Top!: Diana Rigg in “Evil Under the Sun” (1982)
Whilst most people think of James Cameron’s blockbuster when anyone brings up the sinking of the RMS Titanic, the Roy Ward Baker, Rank distributed film, A Night To Remember, put in place many of the things that would later make Cameron’s film what it was. Cameron was influenced in his crafting of the film by… Continue reading Tragedy for the masses: A Night to Remember (1958)
I must say that I am utterly humbled and thrilled by the calibre of entries that Paul and I have had for this Blogathon. I would like to thank each and every blogger who took the time to write a wonderful, thoughtful contribution to our Blogathon. We hope to do it again next year, and… Continue reading A Thank You to Our Costume bloggers
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that Jane Austen is one of the greatest, and most influential, authors to ever live. Her six completed novels have been translated into about thirty five languages, and Pride and Prejudice alone has sold some 20 million copies. In addition to being one of the best selling authors of… Continue reading Passion and Perseverance: Sense and Sensibility (1995)
I am incredibly excited about this particular Blogathon because not only is it dedicated to one of my favourite genres, costume films, but it’s also the first Blogathon that I am cohosting with the wonderful Paul from Silver Screen Classics. This is bound to be a wonderful two days of reading about some of the… Continue reading The Bonnets and Bustles: Costume Blogathon has arrived!
Based on Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ famous epistolary novel Les Liaisons dangereuses, Stephen Frears’ 1988 film Dangerous Liaisons is undoubtedly one of the best costume dramas ever made. Whilst that may sound like an overstatement, it really isn’t. Every aspect of the film’s production is utter perfection, from Frears’ direction, to the performances of the… Continue reading The Danger of Desire: Dangerous Liaisons (1988)
Costume films are one of the most popular and endearing genres of the medium. They have been made since the silent era, right through to the modern day and have changed and shifted as cinema and society has. The costume films that are made at a certain time often reflect the feelings and focus of… Continue reading Announcing The Bustles and Bonnets: Costume Blogathon
The Sound of Music is one of the most successful and famous films of all time. It's unlikely that you do not know the film, unless perhaps, unlike me, you did not watch it on video until the title song became a bit wonky from overuse. Whenever one thinks of the film, Julie Andrews and… Continue reading A Beautiful Baroness: Eleanor Parker in “The Sound of Music”
The story of Anastasia, the supposed last living member of the Russian royal family, is famous the world over. The hope that one last symbol of pre-Communist Russia exists/existed, is one that has lived on in the collective imagination for a long time. Twentieth Century Fox made the film twice, once in 1956 and again… Continue reading The Last Romanov: Anastasia (1956)
Pale Writer 