Katharine Hepburn was an exceptional woman on and offscreen. Quick-witted, unconventional, with an iconic accent and some plain old don’t-give-a-damn attitude, Hepburn was bouncing from Hollywood to Broadway and leaving behind trail of dropped jaws, both in admiration and in shock. With The Philadelphia Story stage production she gained the credibility to finally make it in Hollywood; she returned to the silver screen for a film adaptation of the play, co-starring with Cary Grant and James Stewart. It was a smashing hit that boosted her career, for good. Then came the years of collaborations with Spencer Tracy and numerous awards – Hepburn was finally recognised for the film goddess she had been all along.
The first rule breaker on this list is Lorelai Gilmore, a character from the tv show Gilmore Girls. In the hands of talented writer Amy Sherman and actress Lauren Graham, she took center stage as a peculiar and captivating woman with a strange sense humour. Her character flaws were all on display, like the ones of a real person would be: impatient, indecisive, at times insecure, with periodic stages of terrible judgment and constant mood swings. But there was a warmth and goodness about this unbelievably fast speaker (I swear some episodes were like a modern screwball comedy) that had me hooked, and more often than not felt like a mirror.
An essential part of Hitchcock’s early works, Notorious was one of the director’s attempts at film noir, and arguably his best. The film is littered with talent: not only was Hitchock directing a script written by the great Ben Hecht, but also actors Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant were co-starring in it, with Claude Rains in a supportive role. It is also graced with many iconic and highly symbolic shots, accomplished with the help of cinematographer Ted Tetzlaff.
It’s simply too cool a trilogy, with an insanely famous, talented and gorgeous cast, and a wicked soundtrack. Sometimes I wonder if it really happened.
Haha, cheated! Oh it was too perfect, I couldn’t resist. The former was the king of cool, the most handsome bad boy of the 60s, and you can fully enjoy his iconic ways in The Great Escape, Papillon, Bullit, and The Thomas Crown Affair. The latter is one of the most exciting directors working today, author of Hunger, Shame, and Twelve Years a Slave.
My introduction to british cinema remains one of the most impressive film experiences so far. This is England is a funny, disturbing and powerful film. Also worth a watch is the mini-series, simply spectacular.
I’ve already written two rather lengthy posts about this one – I think that speaks for the quality of it, and for how much I love both the film and the novel. brilliant, brilliant, brilliant.
Vertigo is often regarded as Hitch’s best and was recently voted Greatest Movie of All-Time. I only hope I can still catch it in the big screen next week.
Another director who has forged his own unique style is Woody Allen. You can go ahead and watch one of his films, expect a mere variation of his early works and still call it a hit, but Allen has managed to improve and innovate with films such as noirish Match Point and the recent Midnight in Paris. Whether he has become a travelling agent or not I don’t really care. His latter works still pull some good laughs, and I’m sure sooner or latter he will please those of us who feel let down. And if I feel like reviving some his finest artistic moments, all I have to do is turn to Annie Hall, Manhattan, Hannah and her Sisters, etc, etc, etc.
Second and last rule breaker: The X-Files. Technically, this is a half-breaker, for there were three X-Files movies. Admittedly, this is not about them, but you can’t blame me (they’re not exactly great).
Yann Tiersen is a marvellous french musician and composer. My favorite of his works is the soundtrack for Good Bye Lenin.