I?m reeling with the delight and the unexpected impact of discovering a rare artist of immense depth and humanity — Krzysztof Kieslowski, the Polish movie director who gave the world his famous Three Colors Trilogy (Blue, White, Red) and the 10-film series Decalogue, among many others.
A chain smoker and a hopeless workaholic, Kieslowski (pronounced kisch-loaf-ski) died of a massive heart attack at the young age of 54 in 1994 not before, however, he showed us what a transformative, moving and humanizing experience watching movies can be.
Dan Rather bowed out of CBS after serving 44 years as a reporter and (since 1981) an important news anchor.
Dan Rather was a reporter?s reporter whom I?ve admired greatly. But I also believe that he would be still anchoring his news desk today (June 2006) if he could only rein in his political impulses.
Those were the same liberal impulses that led him to challenge on-air President Richard Nixon in 1974, Vice President George H. W. Bush in 1998, and influenced him to approve the broadcast of a false document on President George W. Bush?s military background in 2004.
Plot points are linear links that make up the chain of traditional Aristotelian 3-act dramatic structure. This classic structure worked well in Hollywood for almost a century now. Although young movie makers are forcing the limits of this structure, plot points still rule the day as the ?tent poles? that hold up of the circus of our dreams. Here are the plot points of Red (1994), a part of the Kieslowski trilogy, as I see them.
Red (1994)
Starring: (Irene Jacob), Jean-Louis Trintignant (The Judge), Jean-Pierre Lorit (Auguste Bruner)
Directed by: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Writers: Krzysztof Kieslowski, Krzysztof Piesiewicz
Is it possible to think about ?Godfather? and not also think about Al Pacino?
In the role of Michael Corleone (Godfather Part II, 1975), the reluctant-hero of the mafia epic, Pacino has become a legend of movie history.
Born in South Bronx, New York on April 25, 1940, Pacino has given us such unforgettable performances as those in Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Serpico (1973), Scarface (1983), Sea of Love (1989), Frankie and Johnny (1991), Donnie Brasco (1997), The Merchant of Venice (2004) and Two For The Money (2005).
The TV industry has lost one of its most successful producers. Aaron Spelling, 83, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants, has made it from a poor kid to the creator of such unforgettable shows as the CHARLIE’S ANGELS, DYNASTY, and THE LOVE BOAT has passed away in Los Angeles, as a result of a stroke.
Early on, Spelling’s writing ability worked very well for him. A small and frail kid often harassed at school, he had a nervous breakdown at the age of 8 and that’s when took it to reading while recuperating in bed. Soon he was inventing stories to himself and putting them on paper as well.
Plot points are linear links that make up the chain of traditional Aristotelian 3-act dramatic structure. This classic structure worked well in Hollywood for almost a century now. Although young movie makers are forcing the limits of this structure, plot points still rule the day as the ?tent poles? that hold up of the circus of our dreams. Here are the plot points of Thieve’s Highway (1949), as I see them.
Thieve’s Highway (1949)
Starring: Richard Conte, Valentina Cortese, Lee J. Cobb
Directed by: Jules Dassin
Writers: A. I. Bezzerides (Screenplay and Novel)