if you’re interested in film theory ~*academically*~ this is the place to start. makes everything else make more sense later bc everyone in the field has read metz.
some other personal favorites: from caligari to hitler - siegfried kracauer, the classical hollywood cinema - david bordwell/janet staiger/kristen thompson, heavenly bodies: film stars and society - richard dyer (all of these are sort of historical-theoretical but that was my focus in college lol)
Mar 6, 2024
Related Recs
🎞
'Mozart in Love' and 'The Vanity Tables of Douglas Sirk' are particular favorites.
Dec 19, 2023
i was put onto the gospel of michael mann by a brilliant tumblr mutual bux (who’s writing on film & music, rock & power pop specifically, continues to influence & amaze me) . i love his impressionistic romances & the space & mood he creates in his work . i’d begin with miami vice (2006 - theatrical cut) it starts with an incredible club scene featuring numb/encore that brings you immediately & vividly into the digital noir world that mann creates , the romance is beautiful & emotional & incredibly believable & it leans into the feeling of the movie rather then the specific details of the plot (though he’s famous for his meticulously researched characters)
the wachowski’s are often overlooked in the auteur conversation maybe because of their genre filled catalogue , i’d start with speed racer (2008) because there is still literally nothing like it , ahead of it’s time on release & still is now . accompany your viewing of any of their movies with the essays from sensing transgender by cael keegan . i was lucky enough to see him introduce a screening of the matrix a few years ago & his examination of their full body of work is definitely worth reading
this video about satoshi kon changed the way i thought about editing & cuts in movies & the way his work flows & also how he revisits the same themes throughout his movies makes it rewarding to work through his catalogue . start with perfect blue (1997) it’s a classic for a reason , & then tokyo godfathers (2003) because it is sentimental & beautiful .
[i know this is 3 sorry 🙇‍♀️]
Sep 4, 2024
đź’ż
A fan of his films… maybe not the man himself…
Also anything on criterion to be honest.
Would throw in Jean Luc Godard, Krzysztof Kieślowski, Agnes Varda etc.
Feb 15, 2024
Top Recs from @americaninperil
📸
I don’t always want to post them but I find that getting into the habit of taking lots of photos, good and bad, both with people in them and not, makes me want to keep them safer than just on instagram. that’s my emotional support folder… get away from her…
Nov 21, 2024
Mar 11, 2024
đź—Ľ
I’ve been very slowly making my way through the satoshi kon filmography (like very slowly,,, I first watched perfect blue three years ago) and honestly this one might be my favorite?? a found family film through and through, which I am a gigantic sucker for. three homeless people find a baby in a dumpster and set out on a quest to find her parents, no matter the result. I think I was more receptive to it because it takes place on christmas eve and I was already feeling fresh nostalgia for a christmas eve that had just happened a few days before… but I loved being in the world this film builds. a gross, hidden tokyo built upon the backs of small kindnesses. will absolutely watch again next year because I haven’t stopped thinking about it, wanting to return to that world for a few minutes.
Jan 4, 2025