Film Persona

  Stanley Kramer's "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" With civil rights and racial tensions heating up in the 1960s, Hollywood made an effort to reflect the state of social life in America. One such example of a film is 1967's " Guess Who's Coming to Dinner ." Starring Sidney Poitier, Katharine Houghton, Spencer Tracy, and Katharine Hepburn, the film centers around a mixed-raced couple introducing their partners to their parents for the first time. The film is a far cry from Poitier's " In the Heat of the Night " from the same year. Outright, even dangerous, racists aren't the issue here. Rather, its the fear of public perception by progressive parents. The dramatic differences between these two films require their respective genre and approach to the subject matter. In this case, the trepidation of the characters must be ironed out through consistent discussion and consideration (whereas the former mostly deals in action).  For the mos...

  Larisa Shepitko's "Wings" What struck me most about Larisa Shepitko's 1966 film " Wings " is that it feels like a work coming from an aging direction. Given its subject matters involving aging, nostalgia, regrets, and and feeling out of touch and underappreciated from the current generation, " Wings " does not feel like the work of a director in her 20s. Of course, Shepitko is more prominently known for her 1977 film " The Ascent ," but " Wings"  is a beautiful debut that demonstrates her unique ability to communicate tone and feeling. The film centers on a former fighter pilot, Nadezhda, who now spends her 40s living a quiet but unfulfilling life as the principal of a trade school. Once considered a hero of World War II, Nadezhda struggles to connect with the generation that follows her. Despite giving her time and energy for her public service, she is constantly met with derision from others. As she struggles to connect with...

  Jean-Pierre Melville's "Le Samourai" At the crossroads between the French Nouvelle Vague and the New Hollywood movements lies one particular film: 1967's " Le Samourai ." Of course, its eccentricities play in certain New Wave arena, but the film was far more influential overseas in America, where it was used for many templates of aesthetic for certain New Hollywood pictures. " Le Samourai " is a film that has been re-modeled and its visual style used time and time again, making it one of the more influential films to come out of an already potent decade. The film centers on a hitman named Jef Costello. He lives in a single-room Paris apartment and keeps only a small bird as any sort of engagement. After carrying out the contract killing of a nightclub owner, he is brought in by the police as a suspect. However, the alibi created by Jef is airtight, along with the added benefit of one of the witnesses claiming that it wasn't him. However, the ...

  Mike Nichols's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" There are some films adapted from Broadway productions that far outshine their source. The 1966 film " Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" is perhaps one of those films. Not only did the film feature Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in the greatest performances of their career, it was iconic Hollywood director Mike Nichols's debut feature. The film was a major success and earned Academy Award nominations aplenty. It even had the distinguished accolade of being one of the films, along with Michelangelo Antonioni's " Blow-Up " of the same year to force the MPAA to adopt a film rating system due to their excessive profanity.  The film centers on a college professor, George, and his wife, Martha. George works as a history professor in a small New England college which is head by Martha's father. After a late night out, the two begrudgingly welcome the company of Nick and his wife Honey ...

  Arthur Penn's "Bonnie and Clyde" Many film scholars and historians consider Arthur Penn's 1967 film " Bonnie and Clyde " to be one of the first films of the New Hollywood era. It was one of the film that shed the more conservative traditions of Hollywood in favor of more rebellious and counterculture cinematic taboos. It use of criminal sympathy and upfront depictions of sex and violence promoted other films to do the same - ushering in the 1970s. The film takes place during the Great Depression, which seemingly justifies the attitudes of our protagonists' criminal spree. After Clyde meets Bonnie in a small Texas town, their attraction is immediate - and so is their unlawful behavior. After spending the majority of the film building their posse and robbing various banks, the pair of anti-heroes and facing imminent capture and possible death. " Bonnie and Clyde " set itself apart from standard Hollywood affairs for many reasons. One of those r...

  Jean-Pierre Melville's "Le Deuxieme Souffle" By 1966, the 'gangster flick' was a nostalgic genre of film that wasn't too prevalent in the modern landscape. Particularly, the French gangster flick, which had its heyday fairly recently, as that style held prominence in the 1950s, before the explosion of New Wave cinema. So, when Jean-Pierre Melville released " Le Deuxieme Souffle ," a modern gangster film, it breathed life into the stagnant genre - while also exploring the possibility for the genre to go in the modern age. This exploration opened the door for late 60s political and crime films, and even created a new landscape in the 70s with the array of crime films that were to come - especially in the U.S. The film feature an ensemble of various characters, but mostly centers on Gu - a widely respected gangster in the French underworld. He is widely known for never giving the police any information on his accomplices, which is why he is in prison ...