Sometimes an artist's greatest works arise out of a short whirlwind of creative activity, a kind of concentrated period of labor. For example, Faulkner produced his most acclaimed novels in the short span of eight years. Carol Reed is another prime example -- between 1947 and 1952, this director mad

Dark, Moody, Sublime, Tense

When artists come together in a spirit of union, they inevitably need a pulpit from which to expound their theories. For the Brits making films in the late '40s and early '50s, that pulpit was Sequence. Many filmmakers of the Free Cinema Movement and the British New Wave found the pages of this journ

Dark, Lyrical, Violent, Visceral, Young british/kitchen sink/free cinema

Hayao Miyazaki (宮崎 駿, Miyazaki Hayao) is a prominent director of many popular animated feature films. He is also the co-founder of Studio Ghibli, an animation studio and production company. He remained largely unknown to the West, outside of animation communities, until Miramax released his

Anime & manga, Dark, Dystopic, Layered, Mythic, Pioneering

You might not know it, but you've already watched one of his movies: "Reservoir Dogs" is a note-perfect rendition of the Chow Yun-Fat vehicle that was Ringo Lam's first big hit, "City on Fire." The original thriller is the story of an undercover cop who finds honor among jewel thieves. Stories of hon

Dark, Hong kong action, Implosive, Kinetic, Physical force, Repetitive, Violent