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The Films Of Nicolas Cage: A Retrospective

  • By The Playlist Staff
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  • March 23, 2013 12:07 PM
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  • 23 Comments
Features
Yes, the career of Nicolas Cage has taken what one can argue is a serious nosedive in recent years. His frightening hairline has become the butt of endless jokes, his personal life is always a mess (he named his son Kal-El after Superman and he's on his third wife), and his take-a-paycheck career choices of late (seemingly endless riffs on "Taken" that barely get theatrical releases, things like "Seeking Justice," "Stolen," "Trespass," and on the way, a reboot of bonkers Biblical apocalypse flick "Left Behind" ) have made him an even bigger laughing stock (maybe the tax problems and reported ridiculous spending habits explain these terrible tendencies).
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More: Nicolas Cage, Retrospective, Features, Feature, Kick Ass, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans

The Films Of Powell & Pressburger: A Retrospective

  • By Oliver Lyttelton
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  • March 19, 2013 4:49 PM
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  • 12 Comments
Features
For much of their lifetimes, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger never got the due they deserved. Powell was as English as you could get, who'd worked his way up through the film industry, before coming to the attention of British film magnate Alexander Korda. Pressburger, meanwhile, was Hungarian Jewish by birth, who'd come to Germany in the 1920s to work as a screenwriter, moving to Paris, and then England when the Nazis came to power, and again was working for Korda. When the two met in 1939, there was an instant kinship. They shared a similarly uncompormising and original take on filmmaking, and were soon working hand in hand, sharing credit as writers, directors and producers under the banner of their The Archers production company.
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More: Features, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, Retrospective

Retrospective: The Films Of Steven Soderbergh

  • By The Playlist Staff
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  • February 5, 2013 1:03 PM
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  • 8 Comments
Features
If there are two things that mark out the career of director Steven Soderbergh, they arguably could be described as a willingness to fail and a constant routine of creative calisthenics. A process-rather-than-results person, he has, over the last 24 years, been one of the most daring, unpredictable and restless filmmakers around. His output has run the gamut of everything from indie relationship drama to star-packed heist movies, from experimental, micro-budget thrillers to philosophical sci-fi, and from melancholy coming-of-age to kick-ass action.
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More: Features, Steven Soderbergh, Retrospective

The Films Of Spike Lee: A Retrospective

  • By The Playlist Staff
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  • August 10, 2012 4:05 PM
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  • 32 Comments
Features
If this weekend feels special for movie fans, it's not because of the trio of big-name blockbusters hitting theaters, it's because it sees a new dramatic feature -- the first in four years -- from Spike Lee, one of the most talented, idiosyncratic, maddening and controversial American filmmakers of the last thirty years. It's a rarity for a director to be instantly, iconically recognizable, but Lee's one of the exceptions, gaining visibility through starring roles in his early films, a famous appearance in a Nike ad alongside Michael Jordan, and plenty of moments when he's spoken his mind and caused an uproar.
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More: Spike Lee, Red Hook Summer, Retrospective, Features, Feature

The Films Of Christopher Nolan: A Retrospective

  • By Oliver Lyttelton
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  • July 19, 2012 2:04 PM
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  • 25 Comments
Features
We can all agree at this point that a certain sub-set of Christopher Nolan's fans are out of hand, what with the death threats to critics and all. But even if we were one of those who didn't like "The Dark Knight Rises," or indeed the rest of Nolan's output, we suspect that we'd still be glad he existed. While some might find his movies humorless (though we'd disagree), or chilly (though we'd disagree), or overly rigid (we'd... mostly disagree), but no one else is making films like Christopher Nolan, taking nine figures of Warner Bros.' money, pairing it with big ideas and concepts, and making resoundingly entertaining and thought-provoking blockbusters.
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More: Christopher Nolan, The Essentials, Features, The Dark Knight Rises, Retrospective

The Films Of Robert Bresson: A Retrospective

  • By The Playlist
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  • April 18, 2012 1:40 PM
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  • 4 Comments
Features
“We are still coming to terms with Robert Bresson, and the peculiar power and beauty of his films,” Martin Scorsese said in the 2010 book “A Passion For Film,” describing the often overlooked French filmmaker as “one of the cinema’s greatest artists.”
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More: Robert Bresson, Features, Retrospective

The God Of Carnage: The Complete Films Of Roman Polanski

  • By Oliver Lyttelton
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  • December 16, 2011 2:54 PM
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  • 12 Comments
Features
With a career marked by controversy and tragedy, triumphs and disasters, that Roman Polanski has shaken off personal obstacles and professional setbacks is a feat in itself.
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More: Features, Feature, Roman Polanski, Carnage, Retrospective

Retrospective: The Films Of Werner Herzog

  • By The Playlist Staff
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  • April 29, 2011 5:21 AM
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  • 10 Comments
Few filmmakers have had as varied, or colorful, a career as Werner Herzog. A man that Francois Truffaut, who should know, once called "the most important film director alive," Herzog has been knocking out classics, in both the fictional and documentary worlds, for over 40 years now. Perhaps still best known for his tempestuous relationship with Klaus Kinski, with whom Herzog produced many of his very best films, the director's oeuvre goes far beyond those five, from minor classics to eye-opening documentaries, from classics of German cinema to a star-driven remake of an Abel Ferrera film.
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More: Feature, Werner Herzog, The Cave Of Forgotten Dreams, Retrospective

The Films Of Claire Denis: A Retrospective

  • By The Playlist Staff
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  • November 19, 2010 5:56 AM
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  • 3 Comments
Features
The IFC Center in New York City recently ran a retrospective of French director Claire Denis’s laudable films—the most expansive retrospective of her work that NYC has ever seen—to commemorate the theatrical release of “White Material” this Friday. On the occasion, we have also decided to look back at some of her most noteworthy features.
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More: Foreign Films, Feature, Foreign Directors, White Material, Claire Denis, Retrospective

The Films Of Tony Scott: A Retrospective

  • By Drew Taylor
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  • November 10, 2010 7:49 AM
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  • 10 Comments
Features
One thing we know for certain: Tony Scott is bold to the point of absurdity.
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More: Films, Actors, Feature, Tony Scott, Retrospective

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