The Public Enemy (1931)

The Public Enemy (altered to Enemies of the Public in the UK) is a 1931 American Pre-Code Crime film directed by William A. Wellman. The film follows the life of a young man's life in the criminal underworld in prohibition-era urban American.

The film was selected in 1988 for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

Starring: James Cagney, Jean Harlow, Edward Woods, Joan Blondell, Donald Cook, Leslie Fenton, Beryl Mercer, Robert Emmett O'Connor, Murray Kinnell, Mae Clarke, Frank Coghlan Jr., Frankie Darro, Snitz Edwards, Douglas Gerrard, Robert Homans, Eddie Kane, Mia Marvin, Sam McDaniel, Helen Parrish, Lee Phelps, Russ Powell, Purnell Pratt and Lucille Ward.

The screenplay: The screenplay is based on a novel written by two former street thugs, John Bright and Kubec Glasmon, who are said to had witnessed some of Al Capone's murderous gang rivalries in Chicago. The novel was not published and was titled Beer and Blood

Cinematography: Devereaux Jennings

Editing: Ed McCormick

- The editing, like in most black and white films, was subtle and smooth. The jump cuts and fades from one scene to a next were brilliantly done. So well, in fact, that I often didn't notice. It played out like a well written book might.

Costume: Costume design by Edward Stevenson and Wardrobe department Earl Luick

- The costumes used were a collection of fashionable and regular clothes from the 1917s. The main attention to costume was to the main characters where you judge their lifestyle instantly by the way they are dressed. Firstly, as children, they were wearing worn and tattered clothing, and with the way they spoke and presented themselves told of the middle or lower class upbringing. This was later enhanced by who they hung out with, knew and their family home.
The costumes remain around this state until the character's statuses change and they go 'up in the world', earning money, however illegally it's done, and buying finer clothes whilst hanging around a different class of people.

Visual effects:

Acting performance:

Sound design: David Mendoza

Production design: A lot of the characters shown in the film were based on actual people. Edward Woods was originally cast in the lead until the director decided James Cagney would be more effective and switched the two actors, there was also another reason for the switch and that was because of the sound technology used, it was superior to what had been used in earlier films and made it no longer imperative to have an actor in the lead who had impeccable enunciation. James Cagney was seen as uncouth compared to Edward Woods which helped to target the working class audiences during the Great Depression.

Within the scene where Mike Powers punches his brother Tom, the director privately took Donald Cook aside and explained his desire for authenticity in the reaction and asked the actor to really hit James Cagney. Donald Cook agreed and did as he had been asked, perhaps a little too well, and hit James Cagney so hard that he actually broke one of James Cagney's teeth. In spite of this, James Cagney stayed in character and played the rest of the scene. Another incident well documented was the fact that live ammunition was used in the scene where Tom Powers ducks around a corner of a building to take cover from machine gun fire; the use of live ammunition was common practice at that time. The bullets struck the wall of the building at the position where James Cagney's head had been just a moment prior.

The one thing that remains in my mind from the entire film, is not what most people would pick themselves which would most probably be the grape fruit scene, as it is famous and often talked about. What got stuck in my mind and had me questioning everything the film had shown and was about, was the ending. The ending is so sudden, so shocking, that it both astonished and enraged me. Is Tom dead? What does his death prove or accomplish? Why was his body taken to his mother's house, what does that signify? Was it a statement? Was it meant to give a message? Was the message to the family or to the audience? What will his brother do? The emotions shown on his brother's face when the body was returned, were of panic, sadness, anger, revenge and lastly defeat. 

Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)

Kind Hearts and Coronets is a 1949 British Black Comedy film directed by Robert Hamer that is loosely based on the 1907 novel Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal by Roy Horniman. The title comes from Tennyson's 1842 poem Lady Clara Vere de Vere: "Kind hearts are more than coronets, and simple faith than Norman blood."

The American abertation was censored. The dialogue between Louis and Sibella was altered to downplay the adultery between them somewhat; derogatory lines about the Reverend were taken out; and in the nursery rhyme "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe", the word sailor replaced the word nigger. Ten seconds was added to the ending, showing Louis' memoirs being discovered before he could get them; which is implied in the original film in any case. 

In 2011, the film was digital restored and re-released in selected British cinemas.

Starring: Dennis Price, Valerie Hobson, Joan Greenwood, Alec Guinness, Audrey Fildes, Miles Malleson, Clive Morton, John Penrose, Cecil Ramage, Hugh Griffith, John Salew, Eric Messiter, Lyn Evans, Barbara Leake, Peggy Ann Clifford, Anne Valery and Arthur Lowe.

The screenplay: The screenplay was written by Robert Hamer and John Dighton

Cinematography: Douglas Slocombe

Editing: Peter Tanner

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The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976) - Own Time Viewing

The Seven-Per-Cent Solution is a 1976 Universal Studio Sherlock Holmes film which is directed by Herbert Ross and written by Nicholas Meyer. It is based on Meyer's 1974 novel with the same name. The plot of the film is that Dr. Watson finds out that Sherlock Holmes has become delusional as a result of his addiction to cocaine. He therefore arranges for Holmes to journey to Vienna to be treated by none other than Sigmund Freud. However, during the course of his treatment, Holmes becomes embroiled in investigating a kidnapping case with international implications, as Freud unravels and then finally uncovers a large personal secret suppressed in Holmes' subconscious.

Starring: Nicol Williamson, Robert Duvall, Alan Arkin, Georgia Brown, Samantha Eggar, Charles Gray, Jeremy Kemp, Joel Grey, Laurence Olivier, Vanessa Redgrave.

The screenplay:

Cinematography: Oswald Morris

Editing: Chris Barnes

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Sound design: Stephen Sondheim wrote the song for the film, "The Madame's Song" but that was later recorded as "I Never Do Anything Twice" on the Side By Side By Sondheim cast recording.

Production design: The Production Designer was James Bond veteran Ken Adam. The film was made at Pinewood Studios with location shots in the UK and Austria, including the Austrian National Library. The tennis match/duel between Freud and Von Leinsdorf was filmed on one of the historic real tennis courts at the Queen's Club in West Kensingtion, London.

Opening Night (1977)

Opening Night is an American drama film written and directed by John Cassavetes. The film is about a Broadway actress named Myrtle Gordon as she rehearses for her latest play, which is about a woman who is unable to admit that she is ageing. She then witnesses the death of a very obsessive, adoring young fan and begins to confront the personal and professional turmoils the she faces in her own life.

Apparently Pedro Almodóvar repeats the film's accident scene in his own film All About My Mother as the centre of the dramatic conflict.

John Cassavetes struggled to distribute Opening Night in America as a number of preview screenings had negative effects. It opening on December 25th, 1977, at the Fox Wilshire Theatre in Los Angeles where it was played to almost empty rooms and closed in February, having never been commercially shown elsewhere. Screenings in New York in March were also ignored and disliked. The film was only picked in 1991, two years after Cassavetes' death, by an American distributor. 

It was then entered into the 28th Berlin International Film Festival where Gena Rowlands, who played lead, won the Silver Bear for Best Actress.

Film critic Dan Schneider wrote about the film's narrative structure:

"Many critics have taken this film to be a portrait of an alcoholic...But this is wrong, for alcohol isn’t her problem - nor is her chain smoking. They are merely diversions from whatever thing is really compelling her to her own destruction, and much to Cassavetes’ credit, as a storyteller, he never lets us find out exactly what's wrong with Myrtle, and despite her coming through in the end, there's no reason to expect that she has really resolved anything of consequence. This sort of end without resolution links Cassavetes directly with the more daring European directors of the recent past, who were comfortable in not revealing everything to an audience, and forcing their viewers to cogitate, even if it hurts."

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Life of Pi (2012) - Own Time Viewing

Life of Pi is an adventure drama film directed by Ang Lee and based on a novel of the same name by Yann Martel and the adapted screenplay by David Magee. The film, the story, moves around a boy named Piscine Molitor aka Pi who survives a shipwreck where his family dies, and is stranded on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker in the Pacific Ocean.

The screenplay: The screenplay was by David Magee and was adapted by the 2001 novel of the same name by Yann Martel.

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Visual effects: The lead in visual effects company is Rhythm & Hues Studies (R&H). Artist Abdul Rahman said that, "the special thing about Life of Pi is that it was the first time we did something called remote rendering, where we engaged our cloud infrastructure in Taiwan called CAVE (Cloud Animation and Visual Effects)." The Supervisor of R&H VFX Bill Westenhofer said that Ang Lee "knew we had done the lion in the first Narnia movie. He asked, 'Does a digital character look more or less real in 3D?' We looked at each other and thought that was it pretty good question."

Other visual effects studios that worked on the film included MPC, yU+co, Buf, Crazy Horse Effects, Look Effects, Christov Effects, Lola VFX, Reliance Mediaworks, and Sterep D.

- The effects were quite spectacular. The CGI Tiger, Ocean and the lights were most enthralling, and I believe it was best to include such wondrous and imaginative effects because it goes well with the 'storytelling' that is going on in the film. Though it is never stated and left up to the viewers to believe if it was the real story or not, it was still a story and within stories without other people spectating, anything can happen or something can be made more poetic or morphed a certain way by the mind or arrogance. When you remember something, it changes, whether you notice or not, you never remember something exactly the same each time, something always differs. The added beautification to what could be a horrific and terrible story, really draws people in. Whenever something has more meaning and many layers that are hidden behind words or objects, it flares interest, creativity and drive to find out more in the audience.

Acting performance: 3,000 young men auditioned for the lead and in October 2012 Ang Lee chose to cast Surai Sharma, a student of 17 and an acting newcomer. Once he had the role, Surai Sharma was put through training in ocean survival, yoga and meditation. After two months Gérard Depardieu was cast to play the role of the Chef, Irrfan Khan to play the adult Pi and Adil Hussain to play Pi's father. Tobey Maguire would have played "a reporter" but Ang Lee cut him from the film and reshot them with Rafe Spall in a role that was referred later as the Writer.

- The acting was fantastic. The actor Surai Sharma, who played the lead role of the young Pi, was brilliant, the work, training and thought that went into the character was really seen on screen. I really felt for the character, empathised and worried, and couldn't wait for it to all turn out well.

Sound design: The music was composed by Mychael Danna, who wrote the music to Ang Lee's film The Ice Storm and Ride with the Devil.

- The sound was a great highlight of the film, it was wonderfully edited, merged and attached to the right scenes, creating the perfect atmosphere. As the film is very fantastical, the music mimicked this brilliantly. 

Production design:

This film is, in my opinion, fascinating and fantastic! Not only is the plot, the story, enthralling, but the acting performance and the special effects really added to the atmosphere. 

The story can also be taken two ways and at the end it leaves the audience wondering which one is the actual truth. It also shows that when given a choice between brutality with humans and brutality animals, we take it better if it were with animals because we can just excuse it as nature. 

Late Spring (1949)

(To be added to)

O, Brother: Where Art Thou? (2000)

O, Brother: Where Art Thou? is a 2000 Comedy film written, produced, edited and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. The film is set in 1937 within rural Mississippi during the Great Depression and follows the story loosely based on Homer's Odyssey. The title of the film is reference to the 1941 film Sullivan's Travels where the protagonist wants to direct a film about the Great Depression called O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Starring: George Clooney, Tim Blake Nelson, John Turturro, Chris Thomas King, John Goodman, Holly Hunter, Charles Durning, Daniel von Bargen, Wayne Duvall, Ray McKinnon, Michael Badalucco, Stephen Root and Lee Weaver. 

The screenplay: Joel and Ethan Coen

Cinematography: Roger Deakins

Editing: Roderick Jaynes and Tricia Cooke

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Sound design: Noted producer and musician T-Bone Burnett worked with the Coens when the script was still being worked on, and the soundtrack was recorded before filming commenced. The music was originally conceived as a major component of the film and not just as a background to support.

A lot of the music in the film is contemporary folk music, including that of Virginia Bluegrass singer Ralph Stanley. For this the film received positive reviews and the American folk music soundtrack won a Grammy for Album of the Year in 2001. The original band soon became popular afterwards and the country and folk musicians who were dubbed into the film, such as John Hartford, Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch, Chris Sharp and others, joined together to perform the music from the film in a Down from the Mountain concert tour which was filmed for TV and DVD.

The music selection also includes religious music which include Primitive Baptist and traditional African-American gospel, notably the Fairfield Four, an a cappella quartet that dates back to 1921, appearing in the soundtrack and as gravediggers towards the end of the film.

Production design: The idea for the film was spontaneous and work on the script began way before the start of production in December 1997 and was half-written by May 1998. Joel Coen said in an interview in 2000 that he came to Phoenix to offer the lead role to Clooney in which Clooney agreed immediately without reading the script, staring that he liked even the least successful Coen's films. One of the most notable features of the film is its use of digital colour correction to give the film a sepia-tinted look. Cinematographer Roger Deakins said that "Ethan and Joel favoured a dry, dusty Delta look with golden sunsets. They wanted it to look like an old hand-tinted picture, with the intensity of colour dictated by the scene and natural skin tones that were all shades of the rainbow."

While real-life politics were taken and used in the film, there are obvious differences between the characters in the film and historical political figures.