“Dillinger had recently undergone plastic surgery to alter his face and to try to remove his fingerprints. But Public Enemies does not dare to depict that kind of desperation and that determination to survive under any circumstances.”
Essays · Historical & Epic · Music & Musicals
“Not frustration of a desire of the subject, but frustration by an object in which his desire is alienated and which the more it is elaborated, the more profound the alienation from his jouissance becomes for the subject.”
“There are no good and bad men; there are only damaged men … “
Historical & Epic · Writers & Critics
“The king-times are fast finishing. There will be blood shed like water, and tears like mist. But the peoples will conquer in the end. I shall not live to see it, but I foresee it.”
Samson, meet Adam; Delilah, meet Eve
Historical & Epic · Movies · Reviews
What’s Greek history without distortions, inaccuracies, and falsehoods? In the western Aegean, in a narrow pass by the Gulf of Malis, 300 Spartans and their Hellenic allies, led by King[…]
“The Coppola ideal is a young girl trapped in fustiness: she can be an object of voyeurism without a trace of lewdness, and remain spiritually intact even when accessorized.” Sofia[…]
“Her English accent wanders around her mouth like a playful ice cube.” Have pity on The Return of the Soldier. Shot in England in 1982, the film did not get[…]
“In short, completely normal.” A great deal of how the Third Reich presented itself and how we have come to know it is visual. Early on, the Nazis understood the[…]
These “noble savages” — and the issues they embody — deserve better
It all started when his mother washed his balls
Drama · Historical & Epic · Reviews
Criterion’s double-feature DVD features two minor works by two major auteurs
Activist & Political · Essays · Historical & Epic
Enjoy your myths that’s what they’re there for
Poor boy, long way from home
Master and Commander wants to raise your mast
Animation · Historical & Epic · War
The famed doofus of WWII propaganda cartoons served purposes patriotic and perfidious
“Invincible” Herzog does it again
Essays · Historical & Epic · Reviews
Parker’s “ode to bathroom humor” plumbs surprising depths Contemporary American comedy evades realistic treatment of social issues, opting instead for escape from these issues. That the bulk of racial representation[…]
Documentaries · Historical & Epic
The artistic underpinnings of Nazi terror The puzzle of Hitler and the Holocaust continues to twist in and out of the popular consciousness like a particularly hardy virus, most recently[…]
