Film Nitrate

"Can duty ever mean accepting the crime?" Many films have a fairly straightforward production process, following well-trod paths ensuring things running smoothly from inception through to the film's final release. Some, however, can have a truly tumultuous time, and it's the sign of a great filmmaker that they can deal with all of the obstacles that are presented to them, and not only prevent them from ruining the film, but use it as motivation to ensure they completely dedicate themselves to try and produce the best possible film. Watching the great French Resistance film Le Silence de la mer it's not at all apparent that there were any production issues at all, but in reality director Jean-Pierre Melville had almost insurmountable problems to contend with. And that's before the cameras had even started rolling. The film is an adaptation of an illegal novel written by Jean Bruller (under the pseudonym of Vercors) at the height of the German occup...

The best "children's films" should be accessible to both children and adults, and certainly in recent cinema the Pixar films have been a great example of this cross-generational appeal. Children love them because they can relate to the characters in the film and they tell a good story, but the best children's films are equally adored by adults because it takes them back to a more innocent time, and they can often relate on a different level to the story. When I was a kid I loved Don Bluth's animation An American Tail (1986) because it told a great adventure story, and also looked amazing. I didn't watch it again for years, but now I can appreciate that it's basically telling a story about Russian-Jewish immigrants starting a new life in the USA, only to discover that it's not quite the land of opportunity that they were expecting. Obviously when I was seven years old, this went right over my head: I was far too busy singing the catchy songs to con...

When watching classic films, it can often be hard to approach them objectively. For instance, when I went to see Metropolis for the first time last winter, I was expecting a lot from it, because I'd read so much about it. Similarly now, when I watch anything by Murnau or Ozu, I'm expecting a lot from them. Of course, this is inevitably going to lead to disappointment. I can remember going to the cinema to see Superman Returns a few years ago, encouraged by a review declaring it "the best film ever!". Again, it wasn't a bad film, but I couldn't watch it and enjoy it as much, because I was always expecting the moment to come when it suddenly transformed into "the best film ever!". That moment never came, and I left disappointed. However, sometimes (and it's nowhere near as often), a film that you haven't really heard anything about, that's not been made by a well-known director, can come along and completely blow you away. French dire...