The Big Picture Magazine
There is something sordid about the atmosphere of a small-time, small-town carnival. Comedians trapped in tragic roles. The performers may be under the limelight, but it is the dim light of a would-be only in hope, because they are always on the way towards something bigger but are often left bitter beyond any hope of […]
In this episode Gabriel and Tom are joined by Jez Conolly, co-author of a new book about the 1966 John Frankenheimer film Seconds; a nightmarish journey into sci-fi paranoia that is now considered a classic of post-McCarthy era American cinema. Part noir thriller and part body horror, the film – which initially flopped at the […]
It is perhaps unusual to deal with Akira Kurosawa’s masterpiece Rashomon (Japan, 1950) and another film in such a short article. However, when I watched Hirokazu Kore-Eda’s After Life (Wandafaru raifu, Japan, 1998), I was immediately struck by the parallels between this film and Rashomon. Both deal with memory, the relativity of all things, and […]
In this latest episode of The Big Picture podcast, Gabriel and Tom discuss and dissect Albert Brooks’ 1985 cult comedy Lost in America, about a successful but dissatisfied yuppie couple who drop out of the rat race and take to the open road. With his trademark sardonic wit, Brooks’ film takes aim at the false […]
You may have met a man – quite young – A brisk-eyed youth, and highly strung: One whose desires And inner fires Moved him as wires … -From “So Various,” Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) The role of Gawain in David Lowery’s The Green Knight (2021) offers Dev Patel the opportunity to display a round table smorgasbord of […]
Following the young yakuza Kohji (Yusuke Iseya) from Japan to Canada, the action of François Rotger’s The Passenger (2005) takes place on two continents. Kohji, who has fallen out of favour with his mentor Naoki Sando (Yosuke Natsuki) because the latter surprised him in bed with his daughter Hiroko (Kumi Kaneko), is given a chance […]
In this second episode of The Big Picture Podcast, Gabriel and Tom discuss two films that explore the nature of ego and the often fraught journey a person takes from fear and doubt to self realisation. Agnes Varda’s 1962 French new wave masterpiece Cléo from 5 to 7 (Cléo de 5 à 7) and Paolo […]
It was September when A Streetcar Named Desire, the film, premiered in New York City. The year was 1951. Almost exactly seventy years ago. Marlon Brando had reprised his role from the Tennessee Williams Broadway play of the same name that had propelled him to the attention and acclaim of theatre goers and critics alike. […]
“You can understand why someone would rob a house if they’re broke, but to rob…children of their lives [is] far more insidious…” Wes Craven states in his director’s commentary for the R-rated 1991 film, The People Under the Stairs. Loosely based on a true occurrence, Craven’s “horror noire” examines the irony of its Mother (Wendy […]
