gillian may armstrong ( born 18 december 1950 ) is an award-winning australian feature film and documentary director , who specializes in period drama .

her films often feature female perspectives and protagonists .

gillian armstrong

gillian armstrong was born on december 18 , 1950 in melbourne , victoria , australia as gillian may armstrong . she is a director and producer , known for
gillian armstrong on the set of my brilliant career . image courtesy of hlamgt .
director gillian armstrong : ‘orry deserved a film . photograph : tim baure / supplied
navigating the documentaries of gillian armstrong here you can find some information on armstrong’s documentaries . only some of the links work though .
collins , felicity , “the films of gillian armstrong” , the moving image , no . 6 , 1999
“an interview with gillian armstrong” , urltoken . note : this page no longer seems to be there .
with the headline : at tea with : gillian armstrong ; a lucky director ' s daring career .
' gillian armstrong ' , in internet movie database ( imdb ) , amazon . com , urltoken . details
collins , felicity , the films of gillian armstrong , st . kilda , victoria , australia , 1999 .
gillian armstrong didn ' t just open the door for female directors , she ripped it right off the hinges .
stratton , david ,
gillian armstrong ,
in international film guide ( london , hollywood ) , 1996 .
swebster , andy ,
filmography : gillian armstrong ,
in premiere ( new york ) , november 1997 .
gillian armstrong , director of
women he ' s undressed .
photo by tim baure / courtesy wolfe video
' armstrong , gillian ' , the australian women ' s register , national foundation for australian women , urltoken . details
grieve , a . ,
gillian armstrong returns to eden ,
in cinema papers ( melbourne ) , may 1987 .
, held from 3 - 21 august . kate jinx will be in discussion with gillian armstrong after the screening on 11 august
collins , felicity , “the films of gillian armstrong” , the moving image , no . 6 , published by atom , australia , 1999
gillian armstrong returns to eden ,
an interview with a . grieve , in cinema papers ( melbourne ) , may 1987 .
harker , p . ,
gillian armstrong and three times three ,
in cinema papers ( melbourne ) , november , 1988 .
jo kennedy as jackie mullins – a singer with ‘that little something extra’ – in gillian armstrong’s 1982 rock musical starstruck . photograph : nfsa
mordue , mark ,
homeward bound : a profile of gillian armstrong ,
in sight and sound ( london ) , autumn 1989 .
in gillian armstrong ' s film women he ' s undressed , costume designer orry - kelly is played by darren gilshenan ( centre ) .
more than 99 . 9 percent of people with the first name gillian are female .
photo : with 1979 ' s my brilliant career , gillian armstrong became the first australian woman to direct a feature film in almost 50 years .
gillian armstrong’s films are showing at the 2017 melbourne international film festival : starstruck on 11 august and high tide on 13 august . more details .
the brilliant career of gillian armstrong ,
an interview with mary hardesty , in dga ( los angeles ) , september - october 1995 .
gillian armstrong says her last theatrical feature , death defying acts , starring catherine zeta - jones and guy pearce , was not a happy experience .
director gillian armstrong writes about the screening of a new preservation print of her 1992 film ' the last days of chez nous ' at the nfsa .
armstrong , gillian : interviewed by graham shirley : oral history , 22 november 2011 - 11 january 2012 , 1050278 ; national film and sound archive . details
gillian armstrong was born on december 18 , 1950 in melbourne , victoria , australia as gillian may armstrong . she is a director and producer , known for my brilliant career ( 1979 ) , not fourteen again ( 1996 ) and little women ( 1994 ) . she is married to john pleffer . they have two children .
armstrong , gillian : interviewed by margaret pomeranz at popcorn taxi : 21 . 11 . 2001 , 21 november 2001 , 522597 ; national film and sound archive . details
gillian armstrong’s starstruck is an energetic rock musical comedy , with a kitsch aesthetic that feels like ladies and gentlemen , the fabulous stains , but if the protagonist were cyndi lauper .
award - winning director gillian armstrong has achieved success as the director of my brilliant career , oscar and lucinda , little women , charlotte gray and the last days of chez nous .
gillian armstrong : i said , who is orry - kelly , i am ashamed to admit . i had never heard of him . ( laughs ) i have since made up for that !
the pioneering women program at this year’s miff contains not one , but two films directed by reputed filmmaker gillian armstrong : the musical starstruck ( 1982 ) and the drama high tide ( 1987 ) .
with the great gillian armstrong set to interview the dressmaker director , jocelyn moorhouse , on stage as part of sydney’s vivid festival , we name - check a collection of our favourite australian female filmmakers .
director gillian armstrong says she has not made a feature film in almost a decade because the best drama writers have moved to tv and
12 - year - old executives
are running movie studios .
’s senior film historian , graham shirley , reflects on gillian’s films and career ahead of this weekend’s repeat screenings of her engaging films .
gillian armstrong was a guest at miff2017 and featured on the pioneering women : in conversation talking pictures event . her films starstruck ( 1982 ) and high tide ( 1988 ) played as part of the pioneering women program .
featuring interviews with tony kushner , ousmane sembene , jeanette winterson , andres serrano , faye myenne ng , vernon reid , gillian armstrong , andrew macnair , laurie carlos , srinivas krishna , mira schor , and barbara hammer .
here , revered australian film director gillian armstrong talks about being amongst the “chosen few” at film school ; her amazement at learning of unsung australian cinema hero orry - kelly ; and the importance of costume design on any director’s work .
i caught up with gillian armstrong during a break in her busy schedule . we discussed hollywood ' s golden days , falling way - down research rabbit holes , and how bette davis became kelly ' s on - set co - conspirator .
gillian armstrong adds her own personal flair to the proceedings by having actor darren gilshenan portray orry - kelly . this brings life to the film in what otherwise could have been just a collection of film clips or archival interviews . let it be known… orry - kelly was a gay man and as jane fonda in the documentary put it so directly , “he was out . ” here for the rage monthly is an in - depth , thoughtful and fun interview with director gillian armstrong .
armstrong , g . ( 2012 ) . social media to boost student employability . the guardian .
spoke by armstrong by phone from sydney , days before her film ' s stateside dvd debut .
when director gillian armstrong was studying film in 1968 there was no australian film industry . a series of smart moves , lucky turns and an abundance of creative talent landed her in the front seat of the industry just as it was taking off again .
asked her age , gillian armstrong does not immediately answer . she pushes her smooth blond hair away from her face with blunt , sensible fingers and smiles . she takes her time .
just say early 40 ' s ,
she finally replies .
shocking then to realize that this flourishing of australian women directors came after a near fifty year gap , a gap that began after paulette mcdonagh’s now lost 1933 film two minute silence and finally ended in 1979 with gillian armstrong’s debut film my brilliant career .
or gillian armstrong , making documentaries is like writing detective stories . “you try to find out about this person and then get him right . ” yet even for the accomplished director , following the trail of costume designer orry - kelly was a challenge .
he was incredibly famous in the 1930s and 40s . whenever he came back to australia it was ' our orry from hollywood . . . ' once that golden age faded so did his fame . - - director gillian armstrong on designer orry - kelly
' edens lost ' - screenplay by seymour from the novel by sumner locke elliott . annotated drafts of screenplay and associated correspondence , 1981 - 82 , with gillian armstrong , sumner locke elliott and margaret fink . annotated copy of paperback version of the novel
this weekend , arc cinema has two screenings of the first two documentaries produced by gillian armstrong with the stars of love , lust and lies at age 14 in smokes and lollies ( 1976 ) and age 18 fourteen’s good , eighteen’s better ( 1980 ) .
an example of the tongue - in - cheek approach taken by gillian armstrong in
women he ' s undressed
: a boy plays the young orry - kelly . kiama is the port town where o - k grew up . photo courtesy wolfe video
armstrong believes there is currently a need for affirmative action for women in senior roles in the industry .
in 2001 armstrong directed the feature film charlotte gray , starring cate blanchett . based on the novel by sebastian faulks , it is another of armstrong ' s films that centres around a strong female protagonist .
gilliam armstrong’s 1971 graduating short film the roof needs mowing , from the vca film and television film archive .
acclaimed australian director gillian armstrong’s latest documentary women he’s undressed honors the work and life of another aussie ; film fashion designer orry - kelly . his name might not ring any immediate bells , but any admirer of classic hollywood movies has surely seen his costume designs over the years .
tags : based on a book , biography , drama , films by women , gillian armstrong , my brilliant career , rebecca hirsch garcia , romance , women directors theme week bookmark the permalink . follow comments with the rss feed for this post . both comments and trackbacks are closed .
gillian armstrong is talking about her dislike for documentaries . it’s not , er , entirely what i was expecting , given that she has forged an internationally acclaimed , award - winning path in the genre and she is in fact talking to me on the eve of premiering a new one .
gave birth to her 1st child , a daughter billie armstrong , with her husband john pleffer . [ 1986 ]
one of australia’s best known filmmakers , gillian armstrong , has been one of the most respected women in her field since making 1979’s unapologetically feminist period film , my brilliant career . along with praise for armstrong and her star , then - newcomer judy davis , the film earned an oscar nomination for best costume design . since then , armstrong has made a career out of telling stories about modern , intelligent , complicated women from the past in films such as little women and oscar and lucinda , both of which also earned nominations for costume designs .
armstrong confessed to one plus one that she was among the many australians who had not heard of the gregarious hollywood legend .
gillian armstrong was the first woman in australia to direct a feature length film since the mcdonagh sisters in the 1930s . her debut film , my brilliant career ( 1979 ) was an outstanding achievement for a first time director and was met with critical and popular acclaim . an adaptation of miles franklin ' s autobiographical novel about an independent woman , set in the 1890s , it was the first of armstrong ' s many films with strong female characters .
armstrong has made a significant contribution to the australian film industry and culture and is a role model and inspiration to all filmmakers . “at her best” , molly haskell has written , “gillian armstrong cuts closer to the core of women’s divided yearnings than any other director . ” ( 20 ) we have much to learn from her and our film culture has been greatly enriched by her . she should be interviewed , documented and celebrated as an australian artist and treasure .
martin and her husband baz were the only australians armstrong uncovered who recognised orry - kelly’s genius . “after strictly ballroom they were asked to edit an issue of vogue australia and they did a story on orry , ” armstrong says . “catherine’s a huge fan . ”
ms . armstrong has only been seated for a few minutes but it is already a shock to be reminded that she is of average height . gillian armstrong seems tall .
that ' s exactly what one of the foreign journalists at the news conference i just came from said !
she laughs as she settles into a chair with her back to the room .
you ' re so small ! you ' re so young ! you ' re so pretty !
armstrong : absolutely , and that was what i told her , that she looked stunning in those films . and i meant it .
australian film makers series . gill armstrong talks with mike carlton . , 19 april 1979 , 5725 ; national film and sound archive . details
david armstrong , house on edgewood street , 1996 , gelatin silver print , 40 × 30 inches . all photos courtesy matthew marks gallery .
her debut feature - length film my brilliant career kickstarted armstrong ' s career and became one of many films she made with strong female leads .
born in melbourne in 1950 , armstrong attended a local high school before studying at swinburne technical college where she discovered and pursued her passion for film .
armstrong says she has a couple of scripts and drama projects
on the go
but she is in no rush to get another production out .
there’s a fantastically surreal moment early on in women he’s undressed , a new documentary from celebrated filmmaker gillian armstrong that attempts to unravel why so few australians know the name of orry - kelly , the three - time oscar - winning costume designer extraordinaire responsible for such sartorial excellence as worn by ingrid bergman in in casablanca , marilyn monroe in some like it hot and bette davis in jezebel .
gillian armstrong’s debut my brilliant career was the first australian feature to be directed by a woman in nearly half a century and set the path for an outstanding international career . as she looks forward to a festival screening not just of her own films but daughter billie pleffer’s graduating film from the victorian college of the arts , she explains why she’s become a vocal advocate for more women in the industry .
armstrong discusses orry - kelly , the premiere costume designer of hollywood ' s golden age , and stories from behind the scenes of classic - film sets .
little women
grew on me . at first , i was grumpy , thinking it was going to be too sweet and devout . gradually , i saw that gillian armstrong ( whose credits include
my brilliant career
and
high tide
) was taking it seriously . and then i began to appreciate the ensemble acting , with the five actresses creating the warmth and familiarity of a real family .
producer margaret fink invited armstrong to direct my brilliant career , based loosely on a book by miles franklin . the story centres around sybilla , whose ambition it is to become a writer . “i have always known that i should be a writer , ” she states , perhaps echoing armstrong’s own desire for a creative career .
armstrong cast two unknowns in the lead roles : sam neill as harry beecham and judy davis as sybilla melvin . the film launched davis’ career . armstrong’s choice of unknowns was cause for concern with those funding the film but she was vindicated after the release of the film . however , armstrong upset her critics when sybilla refused to marry harry , despite several proposals from him . greater union ( the company who distributed and exhibited the film and so had a significant financial interest in the film ) , were worried that the female audience would be dissatisfied . so armstrong added a line at the end with sybilla saying “i’m so near loving you , ” implying some sort of ambiguity . the conflict between career , creativity and marriage is a developing theme in armstrong’s work and this is merely her first commentary on it .
i have an 11 year old grand - daughter who is interested in being a film director , she has actually entered tropfest junior for the first time this year and i would really like a contact with m / s gillian armstrong via email to request that she contact my grand - daughter as a source of inspiration . can you help with the email contact ? ? regards , ( m / s ) norma alexander jp
as our time winds down gillian armstrong speaks a fact that is true regardless of color or gender . it remains the driving force of artists , and given all the restrictions , unseen biases , the crapshoot of getting anything made , it has to be the driving force :
i am still passionate about the work . if it doesn ' t play out the way you want , you have to find another way .
with her passion for australian stories , armstrong believes real life is better than fiction , and is driven to ask questions about who we are and what shapes us .
i spoke with armstrong at this year’s tribeca film festival about discovering orry - kelly , his remarkable career , and the importance she places on costumes as a filmmaker .
armstrong says she has no qualms with the script writers moving across to the small screen as she is a huge fan of shows like olive kitteridge and the bridge .
beyond that ms . armstrong is not quite sure what she would like to do .
i have some scripts i ' m reading - - i haven ' t decided ,
she says noncommittally . will it be in hollywood ? ms . armstrong , whose hollywood experiences have not been an unmitigated joy , won ' t say .
despite such challenges , armstrong ' s husband , john pleffer , is her rock , who comfortably performed the role of father and house husband before the term became mainstream .
armstrong , g . ( 2012 ) . # twittercritter : extending the reach of studio . in association of architectural educators conference . nottingham trent university , nottingham , uk .
speaking to armstrong now , it ' s hard to imagine her as the young , inexperienced director that broke onto the scene with my brilliant career . during her first screening at cannes , armstrong was so certain her film would bomb that she bolted out of the theatre . since then , she has established herself as a successful working director .
with my brilliant career ( 1979 ) , gillian armstrong became the first australian woman in 50 years to direct a film . let ' s just pause and hold onto that statistic .
there were three sisters in the 1930 ' s who used family money to do society dramas . one was a producer , one was a director and one starred , so i wasn ' t the first woman to do it in australia ,
she notes archly .
reilly jj , armstrong j , dorosty ar , emmett pm , ness a , rogers i , et al . early life risk factors for obesity in childhood : cohort study .
played by then unknown jo kennedy in her debut role , jackie mullens is the lead character in gillian armstrong’s 1982 rock musical extravaganza starstruck – the film maker’s second feature after my brilliant career . released in local cinemas around the same time as puberty blues , mad max and the still too - little - seen monkey grip , starstruck made a splash at the box office – but has been all too hard to get a hold of in the post - vhs years .
following the success of my brilliant career , armstrong directed the australian rock - musical starstruck ( 1982 ) which proved her ability to tackle more contemporary and experimental subject matter and styles .
gillian’s five documentaries on three adelaide women ( kerry , josie and diana ) , starting with smokes and lollies in 1976 and now with love lust and lies , symbolises the change to australia since the 70s . a thematic cousin to the british seven up ! series of documentaries that began in 1964 , gillian’s is the only set of australian films that has gone back to the same people five times to capture not only a snapshot of those people at the time of filming but also the changes to them , their lives , lifestyles , attitudes , children and partners between each film .
armstrong ' s last film was the 2007 british - australian co - production , death defying acts , which starred guy pearce as harry houdini and catherine zeta - jones as mary mcgarvie .
gillian armstrong : well , the first thing was when damien approached me and i said , “who’s orry - kelly ? ” he gave me this outlet and i saw the list of wardrobe he had made in films . my first reaction was , “oh my god , i can’t believe it’s the same person who did all these iconic films . yes , i’ve seen them but i put them somewhere in the back of my mind… 42 nd street and casablanca , auntie mame and so on .
since then i have seen all of armstrong’s films as they were released and have run retrospectives of her australian films for my friends and family , though i was unaware of her work in documentary or that she has worked extensively in the us . this research is an opportunity to revisit films of my childhood and to explore the influence armstrong has had on australian cinema and culture .
. “one of the key things about being a visual artist is actually trying to remember , or to not lose , what you had in the beginning , ” armstrong told filmink in 2006 .
is , well , pretty much brilliant . based on the epochal book by miles franklin , the film tells of sybylla melvyn ( judy davis ) , an early 20th century burgeoning female writer who chooses her career over marriage . the film remains gillian armstrong’s best and most fully realised work , while its feminist themes ( coupled with the fact that it was the first australian feature film directed by a woman in nearly fifty years ) set the tone for the director’s own groundbreaking career , which includes fine australian works such as
in 1975 , armstrong began the first in a series of documentaries following the lives of three working class girls from adelaide over several decades – a concept similar to michael apted ' s seven up films .
1910 - 1969 , an american in paris , behind the screen : how gays and lesbians shaped hollywood , cary grant , cary grant gay , documentary , full service : my adventures in hollywood and the secret sex live of the stars , gillian armstrong , good stuff : a reminiscence of my father , les girls , mrs . soffel , my brilliant career , orry - kelly , randolph scott , randolph scott gay , scotty bowers , some like it hot , the last days of chez nous , women he ' s undressed
comprises over 600 pieces of correspondence pertaining to personal and business matters ; notebooks ; research notes ; drafts of published and unpublished screenplays , novels , and plays including the one day of the year ; reviews ; newspaper clippings ; photographs ; printed material ; papers relating to alan seymour ' s travels and domestic life . major correspondents include seymour ' s sisters , nieces , nephews , ron baddeley , sumner locke elliot , margaret fink , gillian armstrong , michael thornbill , katharine brisbane , brandon lunney , shiela geddes and laurence collinson .
it is easy to imagine that armstrong was filled with a similar feeling as she crafted her debut film . women filmmakers today still face an uphill battle having their work financed and distributed . at this point in time , gender parity for directors , at least in the u . s . , seems like an unrealistic dream . but at the time in which armstrong was filming , it wasn’t even a matter of a few women directors fighting to get in the room to pitch their ideas to studios or struggling for financing . in armstrong’s case , there was very little australian cinema to speak of and a gap of nearly 50 years separating her from the last feature length australian film directed by a woman . like her audacious main character , armstrong carved her work out of pure ambition , uncertain of the future but willing to try .
in 1994 , armstrong achieved her greatest hollywood success with little women , starring winona ryder , susan sarandon , gabriel byrne , christian bale , claire danes and kirsten dunst . this adaptation of louisa may alcott ' s novel of the same name was one of the most popular films of the year , and emphasises armstrong ' s focus on portraying the intimate lives of strong female characters and their relationships with one another .
ms . armstrong was unimpressed with the accolades and unimpressed with herself :
i know that making a film is a team effort , and it was only my second film . why would i want the stress and strain with a whole lot of strangers ?
ms . armstrong turned down every hollywood offer , staying in australia to make a deliberately small film about a teen - ager trying to become a rock star .
of course , i was 11 or 12 then , but the novel seems to have grown up in the meantime - - or maybe director gillian armstrong finds the serious themes and refuses to simplify the story into a
family
formula .
little women
may be marketed for children and teenagers , but my hunch is it will be best appreciated by their parents . it ' s a film about how all of life seems to stretch ahead of us when we ' re young , and how , through a series of choices , we narrow our destiny .
as high - tech companies start offering women the chance to put their fertility on ice , christine armstrong talks to a range of high - flying mothers about whether it ' s best to have children early or late .
armstrong : right . she was a woman who would throw off her hat and gloves and run outside , getting her dress dirty . and that was somewhat true of judy davis’s character in my brilliant career as well .
oscar and lucinda is based on the book by australian writer peter carey and celebrates , yet again , the collaboration between armstrong , beauman , turnbull , arrighi and simpson . armstrong describes it as “an epic and odd love story that also deals with faith and fate and chance . ” ( 14 ) it begins with the lush production values of little women , demonstrating the breadth of experience these filmmakers bring to their collective craft . the cast support the story well , and armstrong once again shows her intuition for picking stars by casting ralph fiennes ( before he became famous for the english patient [ anthony minghella , 1996 ] ) as oscar , and cate blanchett as lucinda .
armstrong’s films demonstrate a diversity and breadth of story - telling . she has alternated between shooting in australia and the us , between period and contemporary drama , films for theatrical release and television and also between documentary and drama .
when i made my first feature film , being a woman was all anyone ever asked me about . it really , really annoyed me and i found it quite sexist in the end . i thought , ‘you know what – i’m just me and this is a gillian armstrong film’ . not all women are going to do the same films and the same stories , and i was really put in this box , because it was a feminist story in a lot of ways , they thought that’s all i ever wanted to talk about . so yes , initially it was frustrating to talk about .
armstrong ' s first feature length film , my brilliant career ( 1979 ) , an adaptation of miles franklin ' s novel of the same name , was the first australian feature length film to be directed by a woman for 46 years . armstrong received six awards at the 1979 australian film awards ( previously the australian film institute awards , or afi ' s ) , including best director and the film was nominated for an academy award in best costume design .
her research interests are in the use of big data consumer analytics and have been supported by a range of research funders ( daera , invest ni ) . gillian has published in a range of academic journals , including the international small business journal , the journal of small business and enterprise development and was part of the ref 2014 business and management studies unit of assessment .
armstrong has directed eight feature length dramas , two feature length documentaries and many short films . i will briefly describe the feature films of most importance to the australian film industry . further information is available through references listed in the bibliography .
the scones appear , finally . ms . armstrong scoops up some strawberry jam and a bit of whipped cream and sighs .
there ' s nothing like a fresh scone ,
she says before returning to the business at hand .
what ' s happened to drama in the last 12 years , is that all the drama writers have left the feature industry and gone to tv and [ are ] writing for hbo , showtime and netflix ,
armstrong says .
“if they’d had an oscar for costume design before 1949 , he definitely would have outdone catherine , ” armstrong bets . “all those early films he did with bette , they would have been ringing it in . that was bad luck . ”
gillian is currently head of the department of accounting , finance and economics within the ulster university business school . the department has a strong professional practice focus , whilst also ensuring active engagement in applied research . it has a staffing complement of 30 academic staff and works closely with the professional and financial services sectors to actively support the supply of skills and the attractiveness of northern ireland as a location to do business . the department’s professional accreditations and reputation for high quality teaching and student support continues to secure long standing partnerships with overseas universities , particularly in china . long standing partnerships have been established with dongbei university of finance and economics ( dufe ) , south china agricultural university ( scau ) and more recently , with hebei geo university ( hui ) , where gillian is a visiting professor .
it turns out that the pedigree behind the footage is rather illustrious . gillian armstrong of my brilliant career , oscar and lucinda and charlotte gray fame helmed the women he ' s undressed . while exploring her current concentration on documentaries , talk led to the many minor infringements that women directors endure that can accumulate to become unseen hurdles in their quest to direct film . at a time when only 6 % of films are directed by women and only one woman has won a best director oscar , ( kathryn bigelow ) , the conversation resonated , and may help to shine a light on entrenched mindsets and issues that have nothing to do with gender .
will the success of
little women
mean that she now has that power ? ms . armstrong answers carefully .
i haven ' t spoken to my lawyer so i don ' t know . but certainly promotional success gives artistic power .
whilst mainly known for her feature length work , armstrong has also had considerable success as a documentary film maker . unfolding florence : the many lives of florence broadhurst ( 2006 ) , earned armstrong a nomination for the grand jury prize at the 2006 sundance film festival . additionally , her series of films that have documented the lives of three women she first met as teenagers in adelaide in 1975 for smokes and lollies has continued with four subsequent documentaries , all of which have been met with positive reviews .
despite the difficulty and randomness of this film , armstrong presents a warm , compassionate view of the lives of these women and their daughters . by the final film , she has started interviewing the next generation of children , who are by now teenagers , and the film is so emotionally compelling that one wonders how she can stop here . armstrong says this film is the final part of the series , but perhaps one day her own daughters will continue the story of the teenagers and their lives . ( 9 )
born in melbourne in 1950 , armstrong attended her local high school before going to swinburne technical college , originally intending to study theatre design ; however she soon found her passion in film . after completing her degree at swinburne , armstrong moved to sydney to pursue work in the film industry . despite some early setbacks she gained valuable experience as an assistant editor at kingcroft . her further education was completed when she was one of 12 students selected as the inaugural class at the australian film and television school in sydney .
“at the end of the ' 60s , suddenly there was easy rider and midnight cowboy , ” armstrong says . “everything was gritty , with ripped blue denim and handheld cameras . the golden age was gone and dead , bette davis and barbara stanwick were passé . ”
armstrong was always modest when discussing her achievements but there can be no denying that she was a trailblazer for women in the film industry . prior to her success , many women were encouraged towards continuity or administrative roles . armstrong herself had to battle with many in the male dominated industry in the 1970s and 1980s . she has spoken of her frustration at all the males in her graduating class at swinburne receiving job offers from film australia and the abc . when she asked the abc for work they were only interested in her typing speed .
kelly ' s personal life and career were each fascinating in their own right . armstrong would struggle to pack it all into a 99 - minute film .
the amount of work he ' s done was also extraordinary ,
she added . for her film , armstrong had the unenviable task of narrowing down kelly ' s 300 film resume - - including casablanca , some like it hot , and les girls - - to a few movies that best represent him .
so to really choose the top , i think we chose , finally about 20 - 25 films ,
she said . throw in kelly ' s celebrity relationships - - bette davis and cary grant to name a few - - and his battles with drinking and you have what armstrong describes as ,
a very rich story .
embarking on a detective - like mission to uncover every detail of orry - kelly’s life , armstrong and her team poured over letters , interviews and biographies from contemporaries including davis , with whom he forged an enduring relationship . she considered him her right arm at warner bros .
perhaps best known for her 1994 adaptation of little women , armstrong continues to work in film to this day , and has directed cinematic luminaries like cate blanchett , catherine zeta - jones , kirsten dunst , and diane keaton . by anyone’s standards she has had a brilliant career .
armstrong ' s research wasn ' t limited to dusty old books . she also watched countless hours of classic films in search of imagery that best represents kelly ' s talents . armstrong stated ,
i had to start selecting clips that i thought , ' well this would be great to show his talent in this area or that area . ' i did a lot of movie watching and finally caught up with a lot the classics of the golden age . a lot of them i had never seen all the way through . that was very enjoyable .
made on a tiny budget and heavily subsidized by the australian film commission , the award - winning the singer and the dancer was a precocious study of the toll men take on women ' s lives that marked the onset of armstrong ' s mature style . on the strength of this and one hundred a day , producer margaret fink offered armstrong the direction of my brilliant career . daunted at first by the scale of the project and a lack of confidence in her own abilities , she accepted because she
thought it could be bungled by a lot of men .
the movie may leave sybylla and the audience forever waiting and wondering as to whether she was able to write her way to a better life . but in terms of armstrong and her career , the answer is much clearer . my brilliant career became a seminal part of what was later termed the australian new wave ( a movement that also included george miller and his mad max series , the first film of which coincidentally was also released in 1979 ) . armstrong and the film went on to play in competition at the cannes film festival , something that to this day is exceedingly rare for women directors . the film would go on to be nominated for an oscar , a bafta , a golden globe and win several awards at the australian film institute ( afi ) awards including best director for armstrong making her the first of many female best director afi winners .
armstrong , g . ( 2016 ) . reusing rumours : a review of research citing barriers to adaptive reuse stemming from building code . in proceedings of the aasa 2016 9th international conference : project to practice : innovating architecture ( pp . 7 pages ) . university of technology , sydney .
you don ' t get your good marks ,
she says bitterly ,
and it gets taken over .
she retreated to australia to make
the last days of chez nous ,
on a very low budget .
and ,
says ms . armstrong triumphantly ,
i had total control over it .
the film , which won a number of awards in australia , did well in most of the united states .
except ,
adds ms . armstrong ,
new york - - thank you vincent canby , who hated it .
armstrong also spoke to costume and set designer catherine martin , who eclipsed kelly in 2014 as the australian with the most oscars in their career . martin credits kelly with setting the path for her and other award - winning australian costume designers kym barrett and michael wilkinson , who appear in the film . indeed there have been numerous successful australian costume designers who followed kelly including janet patterson and luciana arrighi , who both worked with armstrong . armstrong herself set out to be a costume or set designer . “i realised i only had about six ideas . i tried them out in art school and that was the end . ” instead she channeled her love of design into her films , from her breakout hit my brilliant career to oscar and lucinda and little women through to her acclaimed documentary unfolding florence : the many lives of florence broadhurst , and now women he’s undressed .
despite the success of these more commercial films , it was armstrong ' s lesser - known documentary unfolding florence : the many lives of florence broadhurst ( 2006 ) which earned her the most critical recognition during the 2000s and a nomination for the grand jury prize at the sundance film festival .
at that time ms . armstrong was single , had no children , and told one interviewer that she thought directing and children were incompatible because directing required such an enormous commitment . today she says she has two daughters , 6 and 9 , and a husband whose name she will not reveal .
i was thrilled to sit down with armstrong last month on the eve of the sydney film festival 2015 , where her new film women he’s undressed made its world premiere – and opens in cinemas across australia this week . to hear more from the filmmaker herself , read our full chat below .
in many ways little women is the convergence of armstrong’s film making experiences . armstrong says , “little women is a film i was personally affected by when watching it , but i don’t think my approach to the film was in any way consciously different to that of any of my other films . ” ( 13 ) it includes all of her themes and motifs from earlier films , including scenes of children playing the piano together , oranges , cherished kittens , a desire for some other better life and unrequited love . jo and sybilla both lean on gates at the threshold of their family homes .
it is the story of unrequited love , restrained passion and friendship between men and women , which i believe is at the heart of all armstrong films . sybilla can never marry harry , anymore than jo could marry laurie . and lucinda is fated to lose oscar with no more than a kiss between them . they will love each other dearly but never be more than friends or mates . of her own partner , armstrong says , “i’ve been lucky that i’ve had a partner who has really made the sacrifice . it is thanks to his generosity that i’ve achieved the balances . ” ( 17 )
over and over , armstrong praises her actors and her production crew . she tells me that , as with karvan’s surfing lessons , jo kennedy had to learn to walk the tightrope for starstruck . to armstrong , every person on the set is an equal , so i asked her how she felt about the evolution of women’s roles in the film industry . armstrong refuses to be categorised as a ‘woman director’ it’s a label that she has been entangled with since she directed her first feature , my brilliant career , forty years ago . quite rightly , she feels as though the term itself is sexist , and discourages people from asking her about her work as a person . still , she acknowledges that the industry has a long way to go . “to think we’ve only increased the number of women directors so slightly , something is definitely wrong . ” there are times when she wishes she could have been credited as g . armstrong instead , if only to avoid unconscious bias . “unconscious bias is a poison” , she says seriously . “when my first features came out , all anyone ever asked me was : what was it like to be a ‘woman director’ ? well , actually , that hasn’t changed . ”
( 1973 ) , with its striking , well - composed black - and - white images and an atmosphere that compellingly drew audiences back into the sydney of the early 1930s . out of all 12 students , i think that gillian was always the most thorough when it came to preparing for a shoot . her attention to detail was highly impressive , and i remember one veteran cameraman telling me he had never before worked with a director so decisively able to express what they wanted .
armstrong and her team were thrilled with the discovery , quickly polishing them up to shoot for the film . but the director confesses they’d hoped to find a much - gossiped about memoir the costume designer was rumoured to have been writing . in it , kelly was said to spill the beans on his long - standing but secret friendship with actor cary grant . their relationship is at the heart of the film . “it’s a story about friendship and loyalty , ” says armstrong . “it’s a story about two young mates starting out and helping each other , it’s about fame , money , power and homophobia . ”
her quest not to be seen as more or less , but simply to be able to demonstrate her talent , reflects kelly’s story . an openly gay man at a time when studios demanded that their heads of costumes departments be married , orry never hid his sexuality . that he was close friends with archie leach – the two arrived in new york together and shared an apartment for years – has led to much speculation . gillian doesn’t back away from the implications that some may draw .
so there was something , as we started to explore and find out about who was orry - kelly , he kept reminding me so much of my oldest best friend . we met at swinburne in the dark room when we were both learning photography , when we were both 18… . he died too young , four years ago . he was a wonderful photographer , an exhibition of his work was at the national portrait gallery . ( see gillian’s own portrait in the exhibition here . )
her first american film ,
mrs . soffel
( 1984 ) , featured diane keaton as a turn - of - the - century warden ' s wife who abandons her children and respectability to go on the road with an escaped convict ( mel gibson ) . ms . armstrong was pleased with the film , but although it was a critical success it was not a hit at the box office . her next american film ,
fires within ,
was a disaster that ms . armstrong describes as
a total waste of my life .
when the film did not do well with a preview audience it was recut .
“this man deserves to be known in his own country , ” armstrong says , hoping women he’s undressed and an up - coming book will help to restore orry - kelly’s legacy . “the original premise was simple , ‘how did this person from nowhere make it in hollywood ? ’ but we found out so much more . ”
saying no is not hard for ms . armstrong , who has been doing so ever since
my brilliant career
established her as a force to be reckoned with . the movie , about a young australian woman at the turn of the century who rejects love for literary ambition , was a hit . hollywood came calling .
when
starstruck
opened in new york in 1982 , janet maslin of the new york times noted its
dizzy , impudent high - spirited glory
and opined that ms . armstrong
may be an original .
ms . armstrong seemed set on proving it . she went around giving interviews dressed in a large fuzzy blue sweater dress decorated with colored beads , a black and white polka dot blouse , black tights and blue suede shoes . her blond hair was cut in a punk shag . faced with the tailored woman in subdued brown silk who now sits across the table pouring tea , it is hard to imagine . other things have also changed .
“with orry there was a great deal of input into the character , and that’s what bette really liked about him , and why they became a team , ” armstrong says . “they had to fight against the studio , because they always wanted to make her look glamorous in inch - thick makeup and bleach her hair like jean harlow .
due to her tenacity and talent , armstrong broke down barriers and led the way for other women to participate in the film industry and is often credited as an inspiration for many women , not only directors but composers , designers and cinematographers . she continues to enjoy her own brilliant career and has a new feature film due in 2013 .
a struggle with alcoholism , exacerbated by his conscription at 46 into the us army during wwii , may have taken the shine off his later years – he was also fired from wb for punching out an executive - but armstrong notes that in the dying days of his career , the curtain was coming down on the end of an era .
what she also has is a man around the house .
my girls have a fantastic dad ,
she says .
he ' s taken leave when i ' m shooting . it helps .
she also thinks it helps to have a producer who ' s a woman : when ms . armstrong ' s younger daughter started school during pre - production for
little women ,
the producer , denise di novi , said ,
you ' ll always regret it if you ' re not there for her first day of school .
ms . armstrong flew home .
and denise said , ' no male producer would ever have allowed you to go . '


dark fields ( also douglas schulze 's dark fields and the rain ) is a 2009 american horror film directed by douglas schulze , written by kurt eli mayry and douglas schulze , and starring david carradine , dee wallace stone , richard lynch , ellen sandweiss , and sasha higgins .

dark fields ( 2009 film )

we’d love your help . let us know what’s wrong with this preview of the dark fields by alan glynn .
originally the film was titled ,
farmer brown
, but renamed
dark fields
to be more scarier in its marketing . but the new name to
dark fields
is a very odd name choice , because the film never has one scene in a field , it largely takes place in a farmhouse .
“the quiet arrangement” ( 2009 ) directed by david c . snyder released by hwic filmworks
dennis cutchins , “adaptations in the classroom : using film to ‘read’ the great gatsby” , literature film quarterly 2003 , online at urltoken accessed 11 march 2009 .
the dark fields is a high - concept , highly original thriller , a pharmaceutical faust that is page - turning and thought - provoking in equal measure .
doug schulze ' s dark field . . . has been added to your cart
, accessed 21 february 2009 . i also found useful information in judith s . baughman , “fitzgerald and the movies” ,
michael jones , “baz lurhmann eyes ‘great gatsby’” , variety , posted 18 december 2008 . urltoken , accessed 10 july 2009 .
dark fields is an interesting mix of b - movie plot , and big - budget acting and filmmaking . this results in a movie that deserves its direct - to - video release , but is still worth seeing . douglas schulze shows an incredible amount of talent with dark fields , and reminds viewers that quality should be expected , even from low - budget , independent films .
dark fields is a movie starring david carradine , richard lynch , and dee wallace . follows three generations of a curse farming community that turn to human sacrifice to appease an evil that haunts the rain .
film slate is a resource for tips on screenwriting and the appreciation of film and television storytelling .
this article explores the relationship between film and international law by reference to the feature film zero dark thirty ( 2012 ) . the authors examine this film in the context of international law , while also considering related questions of genre , torture , gender and targeted killing .
in 1998 , maren ade began studying film production and direction in munich . during her studies , she co - founded the film production company komplizen film . in 2004 , maren ade first film , the forest for the trees , premiered in toronto and won the special jury award at the sundance film festival . in 2009 , her second film everyone else received the silver bear for best film and for best actress . maren ade third film , toni erdmann , debuted in competition at the 2016 festival de cannes and won numerous awards like the european film award . as a producer , she worked on productions like tabu by miguel gomes and sleeping sickness by ulrich köhler .
film slate is a resource for tips on screenwriting and the appreciation of film and television storytelling . - film slate is your resource for the art and appreciation of cinematic storytelling .
alan glynn is a graduate of trinity college . his first novel , the dark fields , was released in march 2011 as the movie limitless by relativity media . he is also the author of graveland , winterland and bloodland , for which he won the 2011 irish book award . urltoken
when the term “ambitious” is brought up during a review of an independent , low - budget film , the submodifier “too” usually precedes it . every once in a while , though , a filmmaker comes along that has the talent and ability to make an ambitious project , as well as a successful one , and director douglas schulze does just that with dark fields .
the other reason to watch dark fields is because of the job done by cinematographer lon stratton . stratton and schulze use a ton of different filming techniques to tell the story , and these help keep the audience engaged . the duo uses a lot of unique shots without going overboard , and almost every moment in the film seems necessary to tell the story , which is the mark of talented filmmakers .
bruce jackson is james agee professor of american culture and suny distinguished professor at university at buffalo . his most recent book is pictures from a drawer : prison and the art of portraiture ( temple university press , 2009 ) . he and diane christian have conducted the buffalo film seminars since 2000 .
in “the three film versions of the great gatsby” , note 5 , supra .
in “the three film versions of the great gatsby” , note 5 , supra .
saw this last night and think you’ve captured the experience . “dark fields” is unique , committed to its purpose , and impressive . the talent behind it is obvious . director schulze is a visual craftsman . recommended especially for fans of brooding gothic horror , but also to anyone who wants a break from the “been there done that” of most dvd product .
the hangover star bradley cooper is now set to replace shia labeouf in neil burger’s ( the illusionist ) upcoming thriller , dark fields . the film is an adaptation of the alan glynn book of the same name , and will feature a script by eclectic screenwriter , leslie dixon ( the thomas crowne affair , mrs . doubtfire , hairspray ) . the film is among many projects cooper has signed on for post - hangover ( which is strange , because i still know the guy best as sydney bristow’s best friend on alias ) .
the uvm film club hosted a student film festival on may 1 , 2018 . students from all majors submited their ideas to be screened , judged , and awarded various prizes .
great review . i agree that this is an extremely unique film worth checking out . it’s refreshing to see a story in a horror film ( what a novel idea lol ) . the film has cult appeal written all over it . i streamed it on - line
interview : writer / director l . gustavo cooper talks about his latest horror film , ‘june’
i saw the trailer to the film limitless some time ago , and thought “cool – that looks excellent” and then didn’t get a chance to see it at the flicks , so when i saw the book cheap on kindle ( a cool £1 ) i thought i’d give it a bash . i didn’t realise that the book had actually been re - released under a different name to tie - in with the film . the book was originally published in 2001 and was called the dark fields . i have to admit , i was completely drawn in right from the very beginning . eddie spinola
founded in 1999 , senses of cinema is one of the first online film journals of its kind and has set the standard for professional , high quality film - related content on the internet .
the story is intriguing and unpredictable enough to keep the viewer interested for the full runtime of the movie , but the construction of the plot finds some hiccups as the movie progresses . there are a few unexplained elements that only appear late in the film , and feel out of place from the world that is created through the first two - thirds of the film . exactly what the citizens become when a sacrifice isn’t made is unclear as well : are they vampires , or something else ? there is even one moment in the film where the sick citizens look almost like zombies , which i think is more coincidence than a directorial choice . these muddy issues , as well as other unfilled plot holes , hinder dark fields , just as they would for any film , low - budget or not .
during the opening credits they make a point to let us know this is douglas schulze ' s dark fields . well mr . schulze your movie fucking sucks ! if you want to claim it you ' re free to do so , but it still fucking sucks ! i should be afraid of a hat ? fuck you douglas schulze ! the scariest things about this film are the uneventful story and the atrocious acting especially by the female lead . don ' t waste your time with douglas schulze ' s piece of shit .
alan glynn wrote the novel
the dark fields
which was later changed into
limitless
. this book is a definite page - turner for me . i am reading this book after seeing the movie several months ago . i notice that many parts were interpreted in the movie and i am recieving a whole new insight on the plot of the story . it is interesting to see the differences between the film and the book . limitless is a great example of the word automaton . the dictionary definition for automaton states the followin
this film is not currently playing on mubi but 30 other great films are . see what’s now showing
film and television studies offers a major and a minor —both explore all aspects of film and television from production to history to theory . we offer deep faculty expertise in the rapidly developing artforms of film and television , and skillfully integrate their perspectices into a modern liberal arts education . housed in the english department , our classes explore the aesthetic , technological , historical , theoretical and cultural aspects of film and television .
darren aronofsky was born and raised in brooklyn . after attending harvard for film theory and the american film institute to study live - action and animation filmmaking , he made his … [ read more . . . ]
2010 ( ? ) : film , presumably in pre - production , to be directed by baz luhrmann .
out of gas on a dark country road and forced to seek help at a farmhouse , five teenagers on their way to a rock concert step into a nightmare as they ' re hunted by a twisted killer with an ax .
scott morse is a storyteller with one foot in the world of comics and the other in the world of film .
and as i sat there brooding on the old , unknown world , i thought of gatsby’s wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of daisy’s dock . he had come a long way to this blue lawn , and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it . he did not know that it was already behind him , somewhere back in that vast obscurity beyond the city , where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night .
intermediate level courses concentrate on contemporary issues , genre , history , and theory , as well as film and video production .
advanced level seminars bring together the student ' s knowledge through exploring a specific topic in depth , studying for example ; the works of one director , global and european cinema , women in film , race and television , or violence in film .
“literature and film” , bulletin of the midwest modern language association , 4 : 1 ( spring 1971 ) , p . 14 .
basic introductory courses expose students to concepts needed to begin studying film and television , including an overview of historical and theoretical concerns .
good , but very different from the movie . recall that this book was originally named
the dark fields
and written by a brooding irishman . don ' t expect the same story arc or ending as you find in a hollywood movie named
limitless .
all that said , i enjoyed the movie and the book for different reasons . they tell different stories and tell them in different ways . in the movie , robert de niro has a line that goes something like
your powers are unearned to date . nothing is unearned .
i thought this
the novel was published by jonathan cape , london , 1969 ; the film , directed by karel reisz , was released in 1981 .
in collaboration with thevermont international film festival the fts program offers a 1 - credit course each fall structured around the of the festival .
the man , the myth , the legend , slash is launching a crowdfunding campaign for his second feature film , the hell within . also : details on both the dark below fantasia world premiere and vintage tomorrows comic - con 2015 screening . the hell within : press release :
iconic guitarist slash announced today that he will produce his second feature film “ the hell within ” and is looking to engage fans in the making of the film from start to finish . fans will have a variety of unique on - going incentives and exclusive rewards that will be offered starting today and expanding through every stage of the film’s completion at thehellwithin . com . the campaign commences today with a selection of opportunities with more to be unveiled over the coming weeks . many of the rewards will provide unprecedented access behind the scenes of both “ the hell within ” film and slash ’s concerts . on - going reward opportunities include : private screenings , premiere tickets ,
the film sounds like a trippy technothriller , and burger has proven able to acquit himself well to more fantastical stories with the illusionist . cooper also has some genre experience with midnight meat train , but then again there’s no telling how watered down this film adaptation will be from glynn’s novel .
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the uvm film & television studies program has teamed up with stowe story labs , a nonprofit that helps promote emerging talent from around the world .
when the drought - stricken farming community of perseverance resorts to child sacrifice to bring healing rains to their land , a terrible curse is unleashed , that haunts their bloodlines for generations . more than a century later , one of their descendents is struck by a horrible affliction and must commit an unspeakable act of murder to remove the curse once and for all . mpaa rating : r 2009 dead wait productions , llc
branden has been a film fan since he was young , roaming the halls of blockbuster video , trying to find the grossest , scariest looking vhs covers to rent and watch alone in the basement . it wasn ' t until recently , though , that branden started seeking out the classics of cinema , and began to develop his true passion for the art form . branden approaches each film with the unique perspective of having studied the art from the inside , having both a bachelor ' s and master ' s degree in acting . he has been a film critic since 2010 , and has previously written for inside pulse movies , we love cult , and diehard gamefan . his biggest achievement as a film critic , to date , has been founding cinefessions and turning it from a personal blog to a true film website , housing hundreds of film and television reviews , and dozens of podcasts .
the eye of the film , on the other hand , as is the case in all film and for all photographs , is the lens . even in the few films that use the gimmick of having the camera - eye in the space presumably occupied by the character - eye ( such as robert montgomery’s lady in the lake and the early scenes of delmer daves’ dark passage , both 1947 ) , the point of view is that of the lens . it’s just that in those few films the lens and the central character happens to be occupying the same spot . that’s a gimmicky and limiting way to shoot a movie , which is why the device has been so rarely utilized in fiction film for anything longer than a few shots . ( 12 )
film producer and alum john kilik ( hunger games , dead man walking , foxcatcher ) makes regular returns to uvm for screening films and talking to students .
a chance encounter with his ex - brother in law will change eddie spinola ' s life forever . from hack writer to stockmarket wizard , he ' s riding high and loving it , all thanks to a tiny pill . now , if only he could get gennady , the russian mobster off his back , but as it turns out that ' s the least of his problems . mdt - 48 is like viagra for the brain , supercharging eddie ' s intellectual abilities . there ' s only one problem , he ' s discovered - it ' s going to kill him . the dark fields is a tightly written novel , lavish in detail and background knowedge . the book , like the drug , will leave you craving more .
it influenced stephen king ' s seminal horror novel , the shining , and was the basis for a 1976 film starring karen black and oliver reed . valancourt books is now paying tribute to one of the most notable haunted house stories ever put to paper with their new edition of robert marasco ' s burnt offerings , featuring an introduction by stephen graham jones . if you haven ' t picked up a copy yet , we have an excerpt from the 1973 horror novel in our latest round - up , along with details on how you can be a volunteer at this year ' s stanley film festival and a look at images from the great lakes - set horror film , the dark below , which recently wrapped principal photography . burnt offerings :
ben and marian rolfe are desperate to escape a stifling summer in their cramped and noisy queens apartment , so when they get the chance to rent a mansion in upstate new york for
1974 film : screenplay by francis ford coppola ; directed by jack clayton . paramount . robert redford as gatsby , mia farrow as daisy , sam waterston as nick , bruce dern as tom .
the uvm film club is dedicated to producing and critiquing films as well as expanding the community ' s awareness of cinema as a medium . check out their club and other media clubs at uvm .
while considered to lie outside the highly policed boundaries of film noir , films like douglas sirk’s written on the wind and powell and pressburger’s the red shoes nevertheless share many of noir’s stylistic and thematic tropes .
when filmmakers are trying to make a film version of a written narrative ( as opposed to merely using a written narrative as starting point for another narrative entirely ( 8 ) ) , they take from written narrative things they can use that are particular to film in order to approximate or otherwise accomplish what occurred on the page . that is always a work of major translation . “film takes from literature” , wrote andrew sarris , “as from nature , that which is cinematically accessible . what is then projected on the screen is not literature ( nor nature ) but a restructured entity full of light on shadow . ” ( 9 )
have suggested that farrow’s acting is the film’s weakest link . john simon noted at the time of the film’s release , ‘mia farrow , whose voice is all crooning and squawking , embodies daisy’s superficiality , but not her charm and attraction . ’ simon’s view , though it is somewhat typical , completely misreads both the text and the film and ignores fundamental differences between fitzgerald’s prose and clayton’s imagery . farrow is , in fact , the perfect daisy . she epitomizes exactly what readers come to understand about daisy by the end of the novel . the nature of her character is simply made too clear too soon . ” ( 17 )
can a film be effective without memorable visuals ? possibly yes , but the films that have achieved immortality have almost always been borne of a balance between the words on the … [ read more . . . ]
last weekend , at san francisco’s castro theatre , the film noir foundation kicked off its fourteenth annual noir city celebration . the focus of this year’s festival , which showcases twenty - five favorites of the genre , is cinema’s fascination wit…
winner of a spirit of independence prize at the 2008 sundance film festival , chusy haney - jardine’s collection of three comic vignettes involves a relationship that threatens to go sour when a woman consistently beats her boyfriend at tennis , an elder gentleman’s epiphany , and a young girl whose curiosity gets the best of her . writing for cinematical , james rocchi approved quite heartily of the film back during its debut , though it may have been too absurdist for a wider release .
ever since his korean box office record breaking joint security area in the year 2000 , park chan - wook’s diverse body of work has garnered recognition both at home and abroad . these include his successes at the festival de cannes in 2004 with the grand prix for old boy and the jury prize for thirst in 2009 . in 2013 , park chan - wook expanded his œuvre to include english language films with stoker and also produced korean filmmaker bong joon - ho’s snowpiercer . in 2016 , park chan - wook returned to cannes in competition with the handmaiden and won the vulcan prize , once again establishing him as one of the most significant talents working in cinema today .
was an excellent read . very similar yet so different to the film ( limitless ) . good ending , brillant writing . delivery was quick and efficient . the book was in perfect condition . will be purchasing from this seller in the future .
born in 1981 , fan bingbing rose to fame in 1998 with the mega - hit tv series my fair princess . in 2003 , she starred in cell phone , which became the highest - grossing chinese film of the year . since then , she has starred in many films , most notably lost in beijing ( 2007 ) , buddha mountain ( 2011 ) , stretch by charles de meaux ( 2011 ) and double xposure ( 2012 ) . in 2014 , she participated in the hollywood blockbuster x - men : days of future past . in 2016 , she starred in i am not madame bovary and received the san sebastian film festival best actress award as well as the 11th asian film best actress award . fan is selected for the 2017 time 100 .
paolo sorrentino , director and screenwriter , was born in naples in 1970 . seven of his 8 films have been presented in competition at the festival de cannes , where il divo won the prix du jury in 2008 . in 2014 , his film la grande bellezza ( the great beauty ) won the oscar and golden globe for best foreign language film , as well as a bafta . in 2016 , la giovinezza ( youth ) gained an oscar nomination and won three european film awards . in 2016 , he made his first tv series : the young pope . he has also published a novel “hanno tutti ragione” in 2010 , and two collections of short stories : “tony pagoda e i suoi amici” ( 2012 ) , and “gli aspetti irrilevanti” ( 2016 ) .
craig mccall’s labor of love documentary cameraman : the life and work of jack cardiff , a darling of the film festival circuit over the past year , opens today in new york and in a couple of weeks in los angeles . a vastly entertaining , richly detaile…
the 1949 film was basically a star vehicle for alan ladd . the script doesn’t adapt the novel ; it pillages it . the novel , as wheeler winston dixon points out ( 7 ) , is one of penetration : things and characters are introduced and chapter by chapter we learn more about them , but in this film no question outlasts its moment and everything is explained in flashback as soon as it is introduced . in the novel , for example , nick realizes daisy was driving the car that killed myrtle wilson only when gatsby lets slip in a later conversation that he grabbed for the wheel ; in the 1949 film , we see it as it happens , so there is nothing that needs to be revealed . the plot isn’t so much simple as it is simple - minded .
born in 1974 in london . hadid studied visual art and philosophy . she then enrolled in the film graduate program at columbia university in new york . in addition to making films , tala hadid works as a photographer . she currently lives in marrakech , morocco .
french composer and multiple oscar - and grammy - winner michel legrand is scoring orson welles ’ final film , “ the other side of the wind , ” variety has learned . this will mark legrand’s second welles project . the veteran composer , whose work includes “ yentl , ” “summer of ’42 , ” “ the thomas crown affair ” and “ the umbrellas of cherbourg , ” scored welles’ last completed film , “ f for fake , ” in 1974 . welles died in 1985 . legrand , 86 , has been secretly working on the film since december . orchestral recording began on monday in belgium and will continue with a jazz ensemble later this week in paris . the composer calls it “one of the most exciting and delicate scores” he has written in his 60 years of working in movies . “i asked myself constantly , ‘how would orson have reacted ? ’ the very subject of the film touched me : the idea of the passage of time , the renewal of inspiration . i am proud to be the link between these two welles films .
the slow march of the late david carradine’s final films continues with doug schulze’s horror film ( originally called “the rain” ) about a family farm cursed over three generations to sacrifice one of their own to bring rain . dee wallace stone and richard lynch co - star .
a new york film festival selection in 2008 , this documentary is the end product of alexander olch’s attempt to finish what his mentor , the late filmmaker richard p . rogers , had started by collecting over 200 hours of footage from his life to make his autobiography .
1949 film : screenplay by cyril hume and richard maibaum ; directed by elliott nugent . paramount . alan ladd as gatsby , betty field as daisy , macdonald carey as nick , barry sullivan as tom , howard da silva as wilson , and shelley winters as myrtle .
two - time academy award nominee jessica chastain has emerged as one of hollywood’s most sought after actresses of her generation . she has received numerous nominations and accolades for her work , in kathryn bigelow’s zero dark thirty , a most violent year by j . c . chandor , the disappearance of eleanor rigby by ned benson and ridley scott’s the martian . jessica chastain launched a production company freckle films . she is currently in production for susanna white’s period drama woman walks ahead and will be seen in xavier dolan’s the death and life of john f . donovan
within a year of its first publication in 1925 , the great gatsby was a successful broadway play ( script by owen davis ) and a silent film ( based on davis’ play ) directed by herbert brenon . ( 5 ) three sound versions followed : 1949 ( directed by elliott nugent ) , 1974 ( jack clayton ) and 2000 ( robert markowitz ; made for a & e - bbc tv ) . australian director baz luhrmann has reportedly acquired the rights to make one more film version of fitzgerald’s novel and hopes to begin production in 2010 . ( 6 )
it ' s a beautifully shot and composed indie horror film which strays from the standard , boring slasher and / or torture porn elements so prevalent in the genre and actually delivers a story ! with characters and plot ! it is at the end of the day a low budget film so it ' s not perfect but it ' s still a lot better than most of the crap released direct to dvd in order to keep a steady stream of new arrivals on the shelves . best parts : the cinematography , score , production design and richard lynch and ellen sandweiss ' acting least impressive parts : some of the cg effects aren ' t great , story is kinda slow and some of the other acting is a bit stiff overall it has some flaws but makes up for them by being a tremendously ambitious and interesting classic style horror film .
2000 television film : teleplay by john mclaughlin ; directed by robert markowitz . a & e - bbc . mia sorvino as daisy , toby stephens as gatsby , paul rudd as nick , martin donovan as tom , francie swift as jordan baker , and heather goldenhersh as myrtle buchanan .
i picked the movie tie - in version of this novel at a secondhand store under the title
limitless
. i had seen the film when it was in theatres and decided to give the book a go . i went into it not expecting much . it was a great film , but somehow i couldn ' t see it being a compelling read , but i was pleasantly surprised . the book reminds me a little of
american psycho
or
fight club
. it ' s hip , sleek , addictive . despite his obvious flaws i found the main character immediately likable and wanted him
when this thriller premiered at tribeca this past spring , alison willmore wrote , “the second film from writer / director josh sternfeld ( “winter solstice” ) has ambitions reaching beyond being a straightforward police procedural , ” though critics , including her , were mixed about the end result . nick stahl and rachel nichols star as small - town sleuths who investigate a botched home invasion case that claims the life of a young child in an affluent community and enflames class divisions when the main suspects are from the poorer community nearby . grace gummer , meryl streep’s second daughter to go into the family profession , makes her film debut .
it is possible to read the internal dating as an error by fitzgerald or as fitzgerald economically letting us know that nick was taking longer to write his story than it had taken him to experience it . fitzgerald scholar matthew j . bruccoli comments on the two dates : “in chapter i nick states that he ‘came back from the east last autumn’ – that is , after gatsby’s murder which occurred around labor day 1922 . at the end of the novel nick remarks that he remembers the events of the day of the murder ‘after two years . ’ this inconsistency is probably fitzgerald’s lapse ; but it is possible that he added a year to the time scheme to account for the time nick was writing the book . ” in “getting it right : the publishing process and the correction of factual errors—with reference to the great gatsby ” , urltoken , accessed 13 march 2009 .
the voice and point of view of fitzgerald’s novel – both of them nick’s – aren’t just the device through which the novel is presented ; they contain essential information that tells us what the novel is about and how to regard the actions that transpire in it . the voice telling the story in the novel knows how the story will end ; the nick we see in the film does not . subtract nick’s narrative voice and point of view and you’ve got fitzgerald’s plot , but not the story fitzgerald told . that voice and point of view are characters in the novel in the same sense that colour and mis en scène are characters in a film .
writers control the density of information , the amount of detail about any character , scene or action , but the reader determines the pace at which that information is encountered , the amounts of it encountered at any one time , and the order in which things are read . readers can pause whenever they like , reread something already read , skip ahead or shift to a scanning mode when the narrative seems to be dragging , just like viewers watching a film on dvd . but viewers watching a film in a theatre or when broadcast are wholly subject to the filmmaker’s choices about how much time shall be spent with each part of the narrative and the order in which those parts are encountered . if they miss a line of dialog or a piece of action because their attention wandered or because they had to go to the toilet , they will , unless they ask someone what was just said , go through the rest of the film not knowing what that line or piece of action was .
being sent a library copy is really poor , and this is what i was sent . the quality was not good either . my goal in buying this copy was to buy a book without an actor ' s face sprawled across the cover because a film version recently came out , so i paid more . wish i hadnt .
odd list simon brew ryan lambie 17 feb 2014 - 06 : 24 whether they ' re bleak , shocking or sad , the endings to these 22 movies have haunted us for years . . . warning : there are spoilers to the endings for every film we talk about in this article . so if you don ' t want to know an ending for a film , then don ' t read that entry . it ' s probably best to start by talking about what this article isn ' t . it ' s not a list of the best movie endings , the best twists , the most depressing endings or anything like that . instead , we ' re focusing here on the endings that seeped into our brain and stayed there for some time after we ' d seen the film . the endings that provoke in an interesting way , and haunt you for days afterwards . as such , whilst not every ending we ' re going to talk about here is a flat out classic - although lots of them are
imagine a drug that makes your brain function with perfect efficiency , tapping into your most fundamental resources of intelligence and drive , releasing all the passive knowledge you’d ever accumulated . a drug that made you focused , charming , fast , even attractive . eddie spinola is on such a drug . it’s called mdt - 48 , and it’s viagra for the brain - a designer drug that’s redesigning his life . but while mdt is helping eddie achieve the kind of success he’s only dreamed about , it’s also chipping away at his sanity - splitting headaches , spontaneous blackouts , violent outbursts . and now that he’s hooked and his supply is running low , eddie must venture into the drug’s dark past to feed his habit . what he discovers proves that mdt , once a dream come true , has become his worst nightmare .
gurinder chadha ’s hit film bend it like beckham is being readied for the west end stage and following a host of auditions and workshops , the cast for the highly anticipated stage version bend it like beckham the musical has been formally announced . natalie dew will play football crazy jess with lauren samuels as jules , a player with the harriers , a local women’s football team , and jamie campbell bower as their coach joe . the three young leads will be supported by some familiar faces , including comedian ronni ancona who plays paula , jules’s mum , with jamal andréas as jess’ good friend tony . preeya kalidas who appeared in the original film as one of the cousins , will take on the role of pinky , jess’ sister and tony jayawardena andnatasha jayetileke take on the all important roles of her parents , mr and mrs bhamra . jess needs extra time . she is facing
in addition to already sterling editions of “steamboat bill jr . ” and “the general” on blu - ray , kino is releasing yet another buster keaton classic in high definition with this comedy where he takes a train ride to claim his inheritance and discovers it is nothing like he thought it would be . there’s a score by carl davis , a making - of documentary , a 49 - minute alternate cut of the film called “hospitality” and more .
imagine a drug that makes your brain function with perfect efficiency , tapping into your most fundamental resources of intelligence and drive , releasing all the passive knowledge you ' d ever accumulated . a drug that made you focused , charming , fast , even attractive . eddie spinola is on such a drug . it ' s called mdt - 48 , and it ' s viagra for the brain - a designer drug that ' s redesigning his life . but while mdt is helping eddie achieve the kind of success he ' s only dreamed about , it ' s also chipping away at his sanity - splitting headaches , spontaneous blackouts , violent outbursts . and now that he ' s hooked and his supply is running low , eddie must venture into the drug ' s dark past to feed his habit . what he discovers proves that mdt , once a dream come true , has become his worst nightmare .
rene russo starred alongside brosnan in the 1999 classic film “ the thomas crown affair ” come back every day at 8 : 30 a . m . est to watch people now streaming live from time inc . headquarters in new york city , and rebroadcast at 11 : 30 am est . get the absolute latest in celebrity news , real - life people stories & the best of fashion and food . want even more ? watch clips from yesterday’s people now .
starting this weekend on march 12th , phobiafest is coming to the city of troy—no , not that one—troy , michigan ! the event will feature over 20 rare film screenings , several fright - filled events , and special guests like courtney gains ( children of the corn ) and many more . press release : metro detroit will face its fears this weekend march 12 & 13th as phobiafest invades the city of troy . jam packed with over two dozen rare or never before seen film screenings , 25 exhibitors and a dozen fear based events , phobiafest promises something for all your fears . in the screening room dario argento ’s razor wielding tenebre plays with never before seen footage . followed by the world premiere documentary yellowcard on the making of argento ’s masterpiece . in addition 4 trailers will world premiere over the weekend starting with the monster show cable series with star wolfman mac on hand . meg foster ( star of john carpenter ’s they live
new to blu - ray : the jeff bridges - rachel ward romance “against all odds” , the 1997 animated flick “anastasia” , “awakenings” , wayne wang’s 2005 children’s film “because of winn dixie , ” john huston’s “the bible” , the eddie murphy remake of “dr . dolittle , ” , “ernest goes to camp / ernest goes to jail” , “flicka” , “random hearts” , the 2005 cg animated “robots” , “scary movie 4” , “stand by me” , “the times of harvey milk” ( criterion )
other aspects of the film i enjoyed included the make - up effects and the soundtrack . i almost got a little queasy in the fingernail scene . i did get queasy in the aforementioned teeth - filing scene . the make - up effects used to show the “disease” afflicting the townspeople was spot on , especially in its later stages . the soundtrack did what it was supposed to do : accentuate the action in the movie and it was never too overpowering or out of place .
under the presidency of the spanish director , screenwriter and producer pedro almodóvar , the jury for the 70 th festival de cannes will be made up of eight key figures from the film industry , coming from all over the world . these four women and four men will help pedro almodóvar select from among the films in competition . the winners will be announced on sunday 28 th may at the closing ceremony , following which the palme d’or will be awarded in the presence of the winning team .
i watched the film adaptation ( limitless ) before reading the book . usually it is the other way around for me . i thought the book went into the social impact of the drug much better than the movie did . it accomplished this partly by delving into the experience of other users , besides the protagonist . the main premise , as other reviewers have noted , is a new designer drug that enhances the intelligence . the main character , eddie spinola , lives an uninspiring life as a contract writer hurrying to m
after writing all this out i’ve suddenly come to a realization : i enjoyed this movie ! i had no idea . it just kind of snuck up on me i suppose . i think it was able to do that because of my only criticism of the film . i thought that the pacing kind of dragged a little . other than that , it has all the elements of a movie that i enjoy . it’s well thought out , it’s filmed well , its story is intriguing , and i enjoyed the performances . what else could you ask for ?
and likewise with the film versions of f . scott fitzgerald’s the great gatsby . as long as nick – whose continuing revelation of information to us is at the heart of the novel – is in the films a primarily inessential character , just someone hanging around , the films are not gatsby on screen but a different story entirely . it may look as if those scenes have the same number of characters as the counterpart scenes in the novel , but they don’t . they have one more character and they haven’t a clue what should be done with him .
i picked this book up on a whim as i had seen the film a while ago and hadn ' t realised that it was actually based on a book . the story is told from the point of view of eddie spinola , your average heading towards mid - life crisis type of guy , who is suddenly given the chance to turn his life around with a mystery drug provided by his ex brother in law . the sudden improvement in his ability to think and do things that seemed to be beyond him before provides for an exhilarating ride as he explores t
i watched the film a few years ago and didn ' t even realise it was a book . i was a bit sceptical at first but it ' s fantastic . the story kicks in straight away and it ' s written in a way that makes you really feel the effects of the drug in eddie ' s system . he goes from being a struggling , jaded writer to frankly an amazing , intellectual , knowledge hungry and often scary person under mdt ' s effects . the story is well thought out and even though there are technical bits in there about stock markets and
if you were offered a pill that would make you smarter , more focused and infinitely more productive , would you take it ? would you bother to ask about the side effects first ? protagonist eddie spinola isn ' t initially told what this tiny pill will do for - - or to - - him , but he knocks back the mdt - 48 anyway , and his life immediately becomes a thrilling ( and unmanageable ) roller coaster . i ' ve not seen the movie ,
limitless ,
based on this book by alan glynn . the film previews got me interested in the
this was very similar to the movie . i had actually seen limitless before i read the book and as i ' d loved the film wasn ' t sure at all how the book would hold up . i loved it . the books about a new super drug that allows you to preform 200 % but there is a major downside . the come down is a total bitch ! i loved the characters , and its was wonderful seeing in my mind bradley cooper as eddie spinola . the book moves at a fast pace and when the deaths and confusion start it go from good to excellent .
on june 26 , 1968 , steve mcqueen and faye dunaway ' s heist film the thomas crown affair hit theaters , touting itself with a tagline of
a thrill - a - minute deal for a million dollars !
the hollywood reporter ' s original review is below . like richard lester and tex avery , norman jewison continues to prove himself among the most facile and appropriative of the two - dimensional directors , paring the elements of character , plot and motive to promote entertainments in which the vogues of unrestrained directorial technique are ultimately the star , protracted commercials in which the director is both progenitor and featured product . with the mirisch . . .
if baz luhrmann or whoever is the next filmmaker to take gatsby on thinks the plot is what the novel is really about – a mysterious rich guy with a lingering love for a flighty society lady who tries to get her away from her playboy husband but only gets the husband’s mistress and himself killed – he should acknowledge that’s what he’s up to , get rid of nick and do with gatsby what no filmmaker has yet done : make a movie that works . and if he understands the centrality of nick’s narration to fitzgerald’s novel and wants to make a film of that , he should deal with that voice and character as something more than mere decoration .
on june 26 , 1968 , steve mcqueen and faye dunaway ' s heist film the thomas crown affair hit theaters , touting itself with a tagline of
a thrill - a - minute deal for a million dollars !
the hollywood reporter ' s original review is below . like richard lester and tex avery , norman jewison continues to prove himself among the most facile and appropriative of the two - dimensional directors , paring the elements of character , plot and motive to promote entertainments in which the vogues of unrestrained directorial technique are ultimately the star , protracted commercials in which the director is both progenitor and featured product . with the mirisch presentation of the . . .
1926 : owen davis’ play , directed by george cukor , which opened 2 february 1926 at the ambassador theater in new york and ran for 112 performances . it was a play in a prologue and three acts set in louisville , kentucky , in 1917 and long island in 1925 . [ 1 ] 1926 : film based on davis’ play , script by becky gardiner ; adaptation by elizabeth meehand ; directed by herbert brenon . warner baxter as gatsby , lois wilson as daisy , neil hamilton as nick , georgia hale as myrtle , william powell as george wilson , hale hamilton as tom , and carmelita geraghty as jordan . produced by jesse l . lasky and adolph zukor .
multi - award winning artist agnès jaoui joined forces with jean - pierre bacri to develop a theatre and film style of which kitchen with apartment and family resemblances were first to meet with success . they worked with alain resnais on smoking / no smoking and same old song . in 2000 , agnès jaoui directed the taste of others which won four césar . she wrote and directed look at me , which won best screenplay award at the 2004 festival de cannes , followed by let’s talk about the rain ( 2008 ) and under the rainbow ( 2013 ) . she is a singer , and her latin “canta” album won a victoire de la musique award in 2007 . she can be currently seen in aurore by blandine lenoir .
but filmmakers meddle with the structure of well - known and - loved works of fiction at their peril : it’s not just that audiences note the absence of key parts that aren’t there or are mutilated ; a film audience will accept anything if it works – and , with only a few exceptions , most filmgoers haven’t read the original anyway . the difficulty arises when major structural changes in the process of adaptation turn a narrative that works perfectly well in one medium into a narrative that works badly or not at all in another , when the filmmakers fail to find the structural device that will let them move the narrative from page to screen . and that is precisely what happened with each of the three sound versions of the great gatsby .