Cinema Scholars

Introduction

Sparkling dialogue is not the trademark of traditional action movies. Potsy Ponciroli’s Motor City attempts to cultivate an action film nearly devoid of any dialogue, and it sort of works. What starts as a novelty begins to feel like a crutch. This is not a film that has been widely publicized for its conceit, but it doe...

Introduction

Fifty years have passed since a modest, low-budget film about a down-and-out Philadelphia club fighter first flickered across screens. Rocky, released in 1976, remains one of the greatest and most satisfying underdog stories ever committed to cinema. Written by and starring a then-unknown Sylvester Stallone and directed ...

Introduction

Spider-Man has been the everyman of the Marvel Universe since his first appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15 in 1962. The Fantastic Four may be Marvel’s first family, but Spider-Man has always been the story of an ordinary young man suddenly gifted with extraordinary powers and choosing to use that gift responsibly. Peter Parker faces the s...

Introduction

Since his first feature hit theaters in 1996, Paul Thomas Anderson has built a body of work that stands apart from most of what comes out of the studio system. His movies run long, feature big ensembles, and dig into messy human lives with a mix of humor, heartbreak, and ambition. They do not always turn a profit, but they earn respect from criti...

Robert Archibald Shaw was born on August 9, 1927, in Westhoughton, Lancashire, England, which was once a center for coal, cotton-spinning, and textile manufacturing. His father, Doctor Thomas Archibald Shaw, was a chronic abuser of alcohol who had taken his own life when Robert was only twelve years old. His mother, Doreen Nora, was a nurse born in Swaziland.

B...