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La Dolce Vita (1960)

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  Federico Fellini's "La Dolce Vita" The famed Italian poet and director Pier Paolo Pasolini once said that Federico Fellini's 1960 masterpiece " La Dolce Vita " was too important to be discussed in the usual way one discusses a film. I absolutely agree. " La Dolce Vita " is not only a monolith in cinematic history - it set a new precedent for how films could be constructed. Its DNA lies in the very components of modern cinematic convention. The themes and narrative beats remain as relevant today as they were in 1960, lending the film a remarkable sense of timelessness. To call " La Dolce Vita " a masterpiece almost feels like an understatement.  The film departs from traditional narrative structure, unfolding instead through a series of interconnected episodes. Marcello Mastroianni stars as Marcello Rubini, a tabloid journalist who aspires to write literature. Navigating the glamorous yet hollow world of Rome's café society, he spend...
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The Silence (1963)

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  Ingmar Bergman's "The Silence" There's something very bemusing about Ingmar Bergman's 1963 film " The Silence ." Based on the title, along with the notion that it is the final installment in a trilogy of films centered around 'the absence of God,' I went in believing that it would be emotionally devastated. What I received instead was confusion. Typically, this is a turn off for people. Not I. Confusion, as long as it doesn't signify a convolution in the plot, allows me to enjoy the film on an emotionally deeper level. Despite not completely understanding " The Silence ," I was enthralled by it.  Because the film was released in a post-" Hiroshima Mon Amour ," post-" L'Avventura " world, Bergman gets to craft something with a bit of modernity. By this, I mean the 'plot' is a bit more like the anti-plots found in an Antonioni film.  Two sisters, one with a 10-year-old son, arrive at a hotel in a fict...
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Oliver Twist (1948)

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  David Lean's "Oliver Twist" After the success of David Lean's 1946 adaption of Charles Dickens classic 1861 novel " Great Expectations ," Lean decided once again to adapt a classic work by Dickens. This time, his focus was on the 1837 novel, " Oliver Twist ." His 1948 adaptation once again proved that Lean was able to take Dicken's classic work and visualize it for the big screen.  Centering on a young orphan boy in 19th century England, " Oliver Twist " details the boy's plight as he is hired out as an apprentice after asking a cruel taskmaster for a second serving of gruel. Falling in with a street urchin and a criminal, the boy's fate between wealth and poverty hangs in the balance when his kindly benefactor decides to take him in. From all of the Charles Dickens adaptations I have seen, I have come to the conclusion that I am not a fan of Dicken's work. I know, blasphemous. From " Great Expectations " to ...
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