Film Commentary Archive
Movies, movies and more
Ali Kayn says: Which brings me to the point, (you knew I had one), that the popular sites of web increasingly reflect the popular interests, including (you guessed it) MOVIES. (Click here for more...)
Desperately Seeking Australian Movies
Terry Frost says: Some time in November, it came to my mind that most Australian film buffs are woefully ignorant on the subject of Australian film of the past. A lot of people think that things started here with Judy Davis and Gillian Armstrong. Popular culture encourages this kind of temporal myopia, so it isn't entirely your fault. Blame it on the boogie. (Click here for more...)
Celluloid Immortality
Ali Kayn says: "...the work of writers endures as long as there are printed copies. The work of playwrights like Shakespeare, Arthur Miller, Sam Shepard (yes, he's a writer) continues through the years, even centuries, and we can learn and appreciate and understand from their insights. But the work of actors and directors is fleeting. A performance exists in a moment of time, and then is gone. Unless it is recorded - by film, by videotape, by digital camera, whatever.
(Click here for more...)
Kundun: The Story behind the Story
Tim Richards writes: Tibet. To Western minds its name evoked a sense of wonder, of Shangri-La nestled in the tranquil mountains of the Himalayas. Not many would actually travel to it, but we were comforted to know it was there. (Click here for more...)
What's your Best Line?
Ali Kayn says: Movie making is a co-operative process. Sometimes the co-operative process means a lot of dipsticks in suits who haven't read the script delivering pontifications from across the desk, or producers like the Australian ABC executive who said, "I write, but I don't type". Yeah, right. As Isaac Asimov once pointed out, ideas are easy. Fresh, fun, challenging ideas are great, yes, but the work is in the crafting of the script: in the structure, and the timing, and the dialogue. (Click here for more...)
Cry Baby Movies
Pauline Benzies Laing writes: Cinema Nova is running "Cry-Baby" sessions, where babies are invited to bring their parents and enjoy a film together. We went, along with eight-month old Benjamin (and his mum Joan) and had a thoroughly good time. (Click here for more...)
Video Immortality
Ali Kayn says: Each year we lose members of the entertainment industry. The annual role call reminds us all of our own mortality, and of our great good fortune that they lived in the time of film and video and digital memories. Unlike the greats of the previous centuries, many of the talents of the twentieth century will not be lost. While we should all be grateful that these talents lived in our times, we can also be glad that their works will continue to delight, and perhaps enlighten, us and those who follow us through time. (Click here for more...)
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Published in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 
Filed: May-1998