Classic and James Bond films unite
I cannot recall the first time I watched Airport. But I know that it was a very, very long time ago, and that I absolutely loved every moment of it, from the incongruously brilliant casting of Dean Martin as an airline pilot, the heavy banged beauty of Jaqueline Bisset, to the stowaway with a heart… Continue reading Star studded disaster: Airport (1970)
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)
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)
Almost immediately after its 1997 release, it became fashionable to dislike, criticise or “hate on” Titanic. This isn’t something specific to this juggernaut historical blockbuster. The trend of massively commercially successful movies that also garner critical acclaim in spite of their commercial success, stretches pretty far back, and there are ample examples. But Titanic is… Continue reading Why Titanic Isn’t Actually Terrible
Ah Charlie’s Angels. The epitome of what was termed “jiggle TV” in the late 70s and early 80s. I think you can understand why it was given that rather dubious term if you think hard enough. But in my opinion, and for many women who watched the film at the time of its airing, it… Continue reading Black Panther: Timothy Dalton in Charlie’s Angels
The Brontë Sisters are incredibly famous. I don’t think this point can be overstated. Their contribution to the English literary canon, especially Gothic literature, has influenced countless authors, filmmakers and musicians (I’m looking at you, Kate Bush.) They revolutionised a genre that had been seen as low brow, melodramatic trash for almost a century, and… Continue reading Jane, Jane: Timothy Dalton in Jane Eyre (1983)
Okay so Florence Nightingale is probably the most famous nurse to ever live, with good reason, as she pretty much revolutionised the field by introducing sanitation measures (seriously, wash your hands) in hospitals, and establishing the first secular nursing school in the world. A famous lithograph of Nightingale from a painting by Henrietta Rae. So,… Continue reading The Man Who Loved the Lady with the Lamp: Timothy Dalton in “Florence Nightingale” (1985)
The year that Mannequin had its nationwide release, Joan Crawford was featured on the list of actresses termed as "Box Office Poison". It was a list that featured Katherine Hepburn, Kay Francis, Norma Shearer and John Barrymore, to name but a few. It was a list that is now largely seen as being inaccurate, or… Continue reading The Working Man: Spencer Tracy in “Mannequin” (1937)
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)
The human soul is naturally inclined towards seeking comfort, that lovely feeling of reassurance that the world holds hope and wonder, that things once broken can be mended, that not all that is lost, is lost forever. As a child, my comfort film was Gone with the Wind. It was a film that filled me with the… Continue reading The Comfort of Classics: Five Favourites
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