There’s something inside you that you didn’t want there. It might kill you. You know you can’t live with the fall out of it, and the very existence of it inside you is traumatizing.
You’re watching Alien, of course. Or The Thing. Or Slither, or The Bay, or Viral, or Malignant, or–
….where does parasitical horror stand now, really in a post-Roe America? Because while of course, a human fetus isn’t a parasite in the scientific or traditional sense, it’s still an intrusion into the body that not everyone wants there or is happy about, let alone safe with.
My state has now banned abortion even in the cases of situations such as ectopic or molar pregnancy. For anyone unfamiliar with these terms: a molar pregnancy is when the fetus becomes a tumor. Not a potential child, to be entirely and crystalline clear: a tumor. And an ectopic pregnancy is in which the fetus develops outside the womb. Neither are viable. Both will kill the pregnant parent.
When Roe was overturned, I flashed back to the scene in Prometheus where Noomi Rapace’s character had to have the alien parasite removed. She sat in the medical machine, demanding an abortion for the inhuman creature which had taken residence in her uterus.
But just like the system which she found herself in, our system was also not designed for women and others with uteruses. It took reifying the situation to one a cis man might face for her to receive treatment. It’s not the most delicate metaphor in Prometheus, nor the most impactful at the time, but…now in the shadow of the SCOTUS decision and various trigger laws going into effect throughout the states? It’s horrifyingly real, in ways we thought were behind us.
Allow me to get a bit personal.
I grew up a fan of horror. I always get looks outside the South or even in the South by the younger crowd when I tell them the first movie I remember wanting to watch over and over with childish glee wasn’t a Disney film, but was Ernest Scared Stupid. And as I grew up and consumed more horror media, I noticed it, like all media, reflected a lot of what society had to say about itself. It’s very telling really.
Alien. The Fly. The Exorcist. Rosemary’s Baby.
There’s something inside you that you didn’t (necessarily) want there. It might kill you. You know you can’t live with the fall out of it, and the very existence of it inside you is traumatizing.
Even in horror, the scariest thing we can all imagine, even cis men, is the loss of autonomy of our own bodies.
This isn’t to discount the countless valid stories of parents of wanted pregnancies, who lose what would have become a beloved child to tragedy beyond their circumstances–who are then victimized more by a system that holds no grounds for nuance. I cannot imagine the pain, the suffering that causes, the sheer mental fortitude and bravery required to go on. I remember the far off pained look and the quiet embarrassment of my mother telling me about her miscarriages quietly during my adolescence, as if speaking of them as more than a whisper would be enough to invite more shame.
But that isn’t my story and I feel it might ring hollow or disingenuous, even though I want to stand and scream for them as well.
So here’s my story:
I was born in the late 80s in Nashville to a biological mother who already had teenage children, and a biological father who already had a different wife and possibly children of their own. From what little I know, they knew each other from work. He had a position of power over her, which he abused. We won’t go into more detail–no more is known by me, and no more is needed. My biological mother made the choice, or was perhaps cajoled, I truly do not know, into giving me up for adoption through a Christian adoption agency.
I was adopted by a couple in rural TN, who–for all our fussing and fighting at times–do love me very much. I can’t fault them there. And due to this I grew up, like one might imagine, thinking the only choice–adoption–was as clear and easy as day.
And then I started getting sick. As I got older I got sicker. Needed surgery in my late teens to fix problems usually relegated to 50+ year old alcoholics even though I never drank more than a glass of white wine my whole life up till that point. Took till my twenties to figure out I had a genetic disorder that affects every system of my body–reproductive included.
I’d wanted to be a parent, up to that point, even though pregnancy sounded kinda scary. I’d realized by that age that not evrything was black and white, and I was nominally pro-choice, but still somehow in my mind, I guess I thought abortions were for other people. And I’d done everything “right”–never acted on being bi, and never questioned why the label “girl or woman” had chafed my whole life.
But then the doctor was saying words like “rupture” and “hemorrhage.” “Growth restriction” and “collapse.”
“Fifty percent chance of heritability.”
I remembered dislocated ribs on the playground. Fainting just standing up after a long lecture because my veins are too fragile to regulate blood pressure some days. Throwing up pure stomach acid before tests, not because of anxiety, but because my esophagus won’t function properly on the bad days.
There’s something inside you that isn’t you. You didn’t invite it in. It might kill you.
And I knew that even despite what I’d thought I wanted most of my life, I couldn’t let it kill anyone else either. I knew in that moment, if birth control failed, I’d get an abortion without hesitating. And in that moment, I knew whatever little judgment I may have held onto for others didn’t have a leg to stand on.
No one’s judgment really does.
Because they know it’s a horrifying situation to be in. Frankly I’m tired of pretending they don’t. Art reflects life, and since the dawn of the genre of horror, its many male authors have known the same thing:
The horror isn’t the whispers in the woods at night. Not always.
Much much more often, it’s the loss of autonomy. The loss of feeling full personhood. The gaslighting by society telling you you’re crazy for not being happy about it. The complete and total lack of help by anyone around you capable of giving any significant aid.
It’s interesting to think of where horror might go from this point in regards to parasitical elements. Even prior to the overturn of Roe, directors of such films did seem to have an inkling of what such horror reflected in our culture and how it might be received differently by roughly half the populace. With the advent of a new more socially aware generation of horror directors and films thereof, it seems impossible to avoid as a subject going forward.
There’s something inside you that you didn’t want there. It might kill you. You know you can’t live with the fall out of it, and the very existence of it inside you is traumatizing.
Don’t let them make excuses. Don’t believe the lies. They’ve told us this whole time they know.
We don’t have to make them know.
We have to make them afraid too, somehow.
Afraid to be voted out, afraid to be the bad guys of history, afraid to lose every ounce of the credibility that they’ve tried to make for themselves.
They are the monsters of these stories. It’s time we fight back.
There’s something outside you that isn’t you. You didn’t invite it in, but it’s trying to take your choices.
DISCLAIMER: This article also appeared on my now long dead WordPress blog. All of the writing, sans quotes, is original to me.
Trauma is a universal language. Like written and oral language, it is often passed down generation to generation. We all hear the stories, though we may not understand them. However, there is not–I would argue–any greater intergenerational trauma than the pain placed upon a person by an abuser or an attacker. Whether we are discussing institutionally crafted traumas such as genocide or slavery, more intimate yet pervasive issues such as long-term domestic abuse, or even single instance traumas which last a lifetime, the damage brought on by such pain is incredibly long lasting and indelible upon the psyche of a family or a people.
On May 23, 2016, John Carpenter announced to the world that he would be returning to the Halloween franchise as executive producer for a new foray into a reimagined nightmare. With the new film ignoring all of the previous Halloween canon save for the first installment, fans were excited but skeptical as to how Carpenter would pull off a Michael Myers story with both Michael and his protagonist counterpart Laurie being in their sixties. What fans wanted was a fantastic sequel to a beloved horror franchise; Carpenter certainly delivered on that. He also delivered something unexpected: a bold look into how trauma affects not just survivors, but their families as well. I would hope, by writing this, to not only justify the actions of Laurie Strode as a logical conclusion of severe trauma, but examine how that trauma passed itself down to both her daughter Karen and granddaughter Allyson within the confines of the Halloween (2018) universe.
While further study is warranted, initial findings point to the heritability of trauma, particularly with regards as to how it affects the nurture bond between parent and child (Kaitz, et. al., 2009). Horror as a genre is not unfamiliar with depictions of intergenerational trauma, either. As Lowenstein (2005) questions: where would horror be without reliance upon reactionary terrors to historical and contemporary traumas?
The historical trauma that the original Halloween movie franchise builds upon is women’s intergenerational trauma with regards to the male monster figure (Connelly, 2007). Michael Myers, or The Shape, is the prototypical figure of male violence within the slasher genre. Proceeded only by famous non-franchise slashers such as Psycho (1960), Black Christmas (1974) and The Town that Dreaded Sundown (1976), Michael Myers became – mostly by default – the first and most defining figure for the slasher subgenre. With few exceptions, many slasher killers would begin to follow the model set by Michael: a mask, a slow looming walk, and a seeming immortality. Beyond even these characteristics, the genre also became defined by its victims–or rather its survivors. As the slasher movie shifts from the view of the hunter to the view of the hunted, it also shifts from the perspective of male to female.
Carol Clover (1993) originated the term Final Girl for this trope; the Final Girl survives the killer and is the last one left to tell the story. The Final Girl does this by setting herself apart from the average horror movie girl; not only is the Final Girl generally perceived as virginal, she is often perceived as tomboyish, though not tomboyish enough to be a credible threat to actual male power (Clover, 1996). While Clover derides Laurie in the original film somewhat as a more passive Final Girl who ultimately needs rescuing by the male Dr. Loomis, she does not deny that Laurie meets the model of the Final Girl for the time period. Laurie fights back against Michael, wounding him and confusing him at various points in the chase. It is only Michael’s functional immortality that keeps him alive past the climax of the movie. When Dr. Loomis arrives seemingly miraculously and manages to put a stop to Michael by somehow firing seven shots from a revolver, Laurie is saved and the movie seems to be over. Of course, a startling reveal of the empty ground where Michael should lie subverts this idea and makes room for multiple sequels.
Of course, the sequels all became moot with the announcement of the new 2018 film. Denying such key original plot points as Michael being Laurie’s older brother, the film instead focuses on Laurie’s lasting reaction to trauma. Laurie, in her adulthood, became a recluse. Her marriage failed as she reacted to trauma by becoming a survivalist, a lifestyle she then attempts to force on her daughter until Karen is removed from her custody at age twelve. Her house is isolated; her backyard is a gun range. Laurie’s kitchen even has a secret secured entrance down to a hidden cellar, which becomes of great plot importance at the climax of the film.
In interviews prior to the 2018 film’s release, Jamie Lee Curtis spoke a great deal of Laurie’s initial denial of trauma, her feelings of freakishness, and her survivor’s guilt. Curtis went on to defend Laurie’s behavior as a reaction to untreated trauma. While she never justifies the trauma Laurie put her daughter Karen (and Karen’s daughter Allyson) in by proxy, the effect of untreated trauma in Laurie is not difficult to see manifested in her daily life.
Like many people who suffer from an untreated trauma, Laurie ends up unintentionally passing down said trauma through the women in her family. This is most readily apparent in Karen, whose unhappy marriage and blasé denial of potential danger bely a past overshadowed by a survivalist education and emotional trauma. While Allyson is more distant from the trauma, it is obvious that Laurie’s pain impacts her a great deal.
This form of intergenerational trauma is one of the first of its kind within the horror genre. While movies like Hereditary certainly explore intergenerational trauma within a family (and Hereditary is likely my favorite film of all time), the way Halloween does so while brilliantly giving homage to its source material is unsurpassed in my opinion.
I hope you’ve enjoyed things so far. Thank you for your patience while I got this out of my system.
Startling sapphire blues, sickly citrine yellows, and raging ruby reds define the gemtone soaked world of the Italian giallo horror film. Add in a mix of Italian classical music blended with high strung electronic music and screeching sound effects and you have a recipe for giallo–the razorwire tense balance of horror and crime thriller that defined the genre.
The name comes from the cheap horror thriller novels at the time, often known for their bright yellow covers (with giallo translating to yellow in Italian). While not all of the giallo films on this list fit squarely into horror in the traditional sense, all of them have a deep sensibility of the genre, particularly with the other the top camp quality of the acting and design. There’s an air of the erotic ever-present to giallo film, even moreso in some ways than the American sexploitation film movement that made movies such as Deep Throat enter the cultural lexicon.
The movies below are all giallo films that define the genre to me personally. As with all of my list articles, I do not rank hierarchically, I only discuss things I have seen, and I fully admit that all of my choices are subjective matters of opinion.
DISCLAIMER: Some of the text is copied from a prior list of the same theme that I wrote for a different blog years ago. All text is original to me, but may have appeared on the web prior under a different pseudonym.
Tenebrae / Unsane (1982)
Tenebrae is a far more subdued film than some of the more action or bloodsoaked examples of the giallo genre, more murder mystery than supernatural romp. The plot sounds almost like a Stephen King novel, and it plays out not dissimilarly to what one would expect from thriller authors like Patricia Cornwell.
An author goes on a book tour of Rome, promoting his latest mystery novel, when a series of murders begins. Clearly inspired by the author’s books, he and two detectives must get to the bottom of the film’s main mystery before another life is lost.
Tenebrae is one of Argento’s more complex works, dealing with unique themes not deeply explored but definitely present in other aspects of his ouevre: deviancy, sexual repression, voyeurism, and deep-seated trauma. The film is Argento’s critical self-examination after accusations of misogyny after the film Suspira (1977). The film’s major theme of guilt transference–the author blaming himself for being the killer’s inspiration–is perhaps the clearest reflection of this. I would say that despite the murder of women, Tenebrae also has feminist themes, with the killer’s hatred of liberated women being framed as not only evil, but also a symptom of a sick society, not only inhibited but outright diseased by what we now call toxic masculinity. It dares the viewers not to become the voyeur of these murders, but to rather be disgusted as they should, while still tempting the viewer into aligning with the perverted, patriarchal views of both society and the killer.
Tenebrae is a beautiful, psychological horror film that any fan of the genre should see at least once.
Torso has a strange dynamic with American horror in that it both borrows from and lends to one of our horror culture’s most long-standing film traditions: God’s prettiest little idiots making the worst possible choices. Though the first half meanders with much of its violence veering well into outright, unsubtle misogyny, the twist ending pays off in a fairly satisfying way that many giallo mysteries don’t conclude with when attempting a twist.
Its visuals and writing are unique enough to the sensibilities of director Sergio Martino that the film has significant artistic value, and its influence on the genre of giallo for films that followed cannot be underestimated. Being able to get past the first half is an achievement, but one that’s worth attempting for fans of the genre.
Black Sunday (1960)
My personal favorite of Mario Bava’s films, Black Sunday is also one of his first. Opening on a brilliant shot and imaginative execution scene during the witch hunts of the 1600s, the majority of the film takes place in a small Moldavian province in the 1800s. When the executed witch is accidentally woken from her slumber by a pair of clumsy traveling doctors, she begins a rampage of revenge that should culminate in her finally regaining her body in the form of her great-great-grandniece. Can the handsome young doctor save his newly beloved in time or will she be permanently erased in favor of the evil witch?
Both young maiden and old witch are played brilliantly by the preeminent scream queen Barbara Steele. With her unique beauty, she captures the viewer as both characters and all of the men surrounding her become secondary. The only film on this list filmed in black and white, Steele’s dramatic looks are enough color to capture audiences in a way that many of the colorful giallo beauty queens cannot. For any fans of classic horror, Black Sunday is required viewing.
Deep Red / Profondo Rosso (1975)
After a psychic giving a lecture has a strange vision relating to an unidentifiable member of her audience, she becomes the first seen victim of the film’s demented serial killer. When musician Marcus discovers her body, he becomes embroiled with the police in the investigation of the strange, black-gloved figure. As the brilliant but deranged killer begins leaving horrific clues for the police and Marcus, they begin closing in on a suspect. But do they have the right man? Or is the real killer more clever than they know?
In this film, Argento crafted several unique murders, designed to relate to real-life painful experiences that would be familiar to the audience. “Not everyone knows how it feels to be shot, but everyone knows the feeling of striking oneself into furniture” (Argento, paraphrased). Seen more as a cult classic than a critical success, Argento’s attempts at relatability nonetheless entertain an invested audience, and it’s worth a watch to see one of Argento’s early, transitional films.
When the ill-tempered diva playing Lady Macbeth in a daring new production of Macbeth is mysteriously injured outside of the theater, her role goes to her ingenue understudy. Following the tradition of the original Phantom, she is viewed opening night by a strange, looming figure in one of the closed theater boxes. Soon after, the ingenue’s boyfriend is gruesomely murdered. This is an Argento film after all; bright red blood is not only de jour, but necessary. As the body count in the theater rises, the Phantom comes closer to catching his prize. Can ingenue Betty and her manly costar Marco stop the Phantom and escape in time?
By far Argento’s most commercially successful film, Opera is a sharp, gory take on a legitimately, psychosexually-obsessed Phantom. It follows the formula of the core story in many important ways, but diverges beautifully in its horror. Whether you’re a fan of the Phantom, or just a fan of giallo, Opera is a fun, nasty little viewing that you should treat yourself to.
Blood and Black Lace (1964)
One of Italy’s most popular exports is its fashion, and in Blood and Black Lace, Bava brilliantly combines fashion with fear. When various fashion models working for the same fashion house begin being hunted and killed, it’s up to the police to solve the mystery before it’s too late.
The strength of this film is truly in its beautiful costumes and set pieces. Everything about this film is utterly lavish, and seeing it be destroyed in the name of creating this film is horrific enough on its own. One scene involving a pale, dark-haired model in a blood red coat being stalked, is the film’s most iconic moment; it truly brings home the exact feeling the entire movie is trying to create. The film also truly incorporates the mystery and crime-thriller aspects of giallo, letting the audience know exactly how much of a founding father of the genre Bava was.
Probably one of the most famous giallo films, and certainly the most famous of Argento’s works, Suspiria is one of the most brilliantly made films of all time, let alone this list. The story follows an ingenue arriving at a strange ballet school in the Black Forest of Germany. She begins to see strange things on the grounds and in her windows. Soon other girls begin going missing. It’s up to her to get down to the bottom of this supernatural mystery.
The first of Argento’s “Three Mothers” witchcraft trilogy, Suspiria is a cult classic and a highly influential gem of the horror genre. Its vibrant colors and creative filming techniques give the film a highly unique look that many have imitated, but few successfully. It is bolstered a good deal by its incredible, almost all female cast. Rotten Tomatoes ranks it number 41 on their top 100 list of greatest horror movies of all time, and my only disagreement is that I would put it higher. While the reimagining is also fantastic, it’s a stark departure from the source material, making the original very much worth seeing and letting it stand–or en pointe–on its own.
In The Folds Of The Flesh (1970)
Y’all this movie is wild, I ain’t even gonna try to play with y’all about that. The name alone makes it sound like softcore at minimum and given the inherent eroticism of the genre of giallo, that’s not….entirely inaccurate. Directed by Sergio Bergonzelli, the film flips the usual giallo script by the mystery being the identity of the victim as opposed to the killer. The visuals are colorful and contain many nods to pop art sensibilities, the strength and singularity of In The Folds Of The Flesh is it’s storytelling framing itself in a way apart from other giallo of the time.
It also wastes no time bogging itself in too much exposition; you absolutely spend every second on a frenetic ride through the plot, which makes the gruesome murder feel urgent as it should–a rarity in a genre that sometimes meanders in odd places. It certainly doesn’t shy away either from showing plenty of naked flesh either, making sure to emphasize the eroticism of its name while never demurring from more gruesome elements either.
The unofficial sequel to Suspiria, Inferno is the second entry in the Three Mothers trilogy. It follows the tale of a woman living in a New York City high rise apartment, who discovers the book “The Three Mothers” in the basement. In the book, she discovers the tale of the three Mothers of Sorrow, and their temples. She begins to suspect that the apartment building she lives in may be the home of one of these Mothers. Begging her brother Marc to come home from Rome, she is overwhelmed by horrible visions of the dark Mother haunting her. As strange deaths begin occurring within the building, it becomes a race against time to stop the Mother before it’s too late.
While not as constantly visually stunning as Suspiria, Inferno has a subtlety to it that I greatly enjoy. Its visually stunning scenes are brilliantly arresting against the stark grayness of the dark apartment high rise. It’s a truly worthy successor to the masterpiece of Suspiria, one that I enjoy greatly. While the third entry into the series, Mother of Tears, isn’t a very good finisher to the brilliant series, it’s definitely important to not forget Inferno after watching it’s more famous sister film.
Don’t Torture a Duckling (1972)
Directed by Lucio Fulci this is a film that is a bit more challenging than the others in the victimology of the killer. A child killer is on the loose in a small Italian town, and as the case baffles investigators, suspicions and tensions rise, causing the villagers to begin to turn on each other. This darkness is symbolized through a heavy departure from the defining visuals of other giallo films, Fulci’s included; it eschews vibrant colors and slick visuals in favor of more naturalistic color palettes and grittier set pieces.
While the killer is fairly obvious upon reveal, Fulci expertly weaves so many convincing red herrings into the story that it’s never overly predictable or stale. One of the perspective characters is truly vile, adding to the unease of the tension crafted by the film. While the finale is…a bit of a misstep that veers into the comedic, it doesn’t entirely ruin what the film built prior.
Directed by Lamberto Bava and produced by Dario Argento, Demons is a wickedly fun horror film to watch with a large group of friends. If you’re lucky like me and happen to have a vintage theater near you (in my case, one that specializes in vintage horror films), it’s definitely worth springing for tickets if you happen to see this come up on the marquee.
Demons is an 80s, technicolor nightmare. After a large and varied group of people are offered free tickets to a film screening, they crowd the mysterious theater, only to soon discover the horror within. The theater hides a dark secret and the movie-goers soon begin becoming possessed by demons! It becomes a fight against the hoard as one young couple begins battling their way out of the theater by any means necessary.
The set design, costuming, and hair of this movie are hilarious. Intentionally so to a degree. The film is so raucously stuck in the 80s that it’s like watching a wonderful time capsule of blood and guts. The film lays it on thick with both the gore and the over-the-top acting. It’s incredibly fun, and it should definitely be watched with company to fully enjoy how amazing it is.
Okay so teeeechnically not a giallo film, but hear me out.
Often referred to as Italy’s unofficial (or rather unlicensed) sequel to George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead, Zombi 2 tells the story of a Caribbean island haunted by voodoo-powered zombies. After her missing father’s boat turns up in New York Harbor with nothing but a zombie aboard, a horrified Anna becomes determined to find out what happened to her father. Journeying to the Caribbean with a cadre of companions, she discovers a doctor researching voodoo rituals and zombies in a hospital overrun with strangely ill patients. Once the zombies corner them all in the hospital, it becomes a fight for their lives.
Known primarily for its infamous “shark fighting a zombie” scene, Zombi 2 is a fun, campy take on the Dawn of the Dead universe. While not filled with the biting social commentary of the original Romero films, Fulci’s take on the universe is energetic and nasty. Originally censored in several countries, it’s recently gained somewhat of a cult following for its non-stop action horror scenes and the brilliant makeup design of the zombies.
Don’t Look Now (1973)
After the tragic death of their young daughter to an accidental drowning at their English countryside estate, a couple move to Venice for the husband’s work to try to distance themselves from the site of the tragedy. As the wife and the women she meets sense doom on the horizon, the husband and other men of the film try to rationalize away such feminine superstitions, only to be proven drastically wrong by the film’s gruesome and outright strange conclusion.
One of the most cinematically striking films on this list, Don’t Look Now soaks the viewer more in water imagery than saturated colors; however, the use of water as imagery muttered with bright pops of color (particularly red) serve to make this film all the more stunning. Though it occasionally gets reduced to remembrance for the odd twist ending and the possibly real scene of sexual intimacy between the married-off-screen husband and wife costars, the film has an oddly feminist message regarding believing women, even though the framing is odd to say the least. It’s an amazing film which stands apart from many others of the giallo style, and I highly recommend it to even those who do not typically enjoy the genre.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Berberian Sound Studio (2012) Kill, Baby, Kill! (1966) The Bird With the Crystal Plumage (1970) Black Sabbath (1963) Phenomena (1985) Lisa and the Devil (1973) The Beyond (1981)
“It’s been reported that once inside the theater, a number of moviegoers vomited at the very graphic goings-on on the screen. Others fainted, or left the theater, nauseous and trembling, before the film was half over. Several people had heart attacks, a guard told me…”– Judy Klemesrud, “They Wait Hours to Be Shocked”, NYT, Jan. 27, 1974
We’ve always been unduly fascinated with horror so visceral that it invokes a physical response. Fainting, swooning, vomiting, and other semi-apocryphal tales dot the historical landscape of certain horror giants. The above quote regarding a particular viewing of The Exorcist embodies this phenomenon, if not defines it in the mind of fans when we discuss such instinctual physical reactions to horror media.
Despite The Exorcist being the quintessential icon of this trope in modern days though, it was hardly its progenitor. No, that honor goes to a strange little theater in the Pigalle district of Paris, France at the turn of the century in 1897.
Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol (The Theater of the Great Puppet)–no one contemporary to the founding of the smallest theatrical venue in Paris could have possibly guessed the lasting impact of the place upon its opening. The tiniest theater in the disreputable stage district would eventually become so associated with horror, particularly the splatterpunk genre, that it would become a generic term for all bloodsoaked visual performance art. What initially was viewed as an obstacle–the architecture of the chapel which the building housed prior–only became a boon, with the theatergoers getting a sacreligious kick out of the confessional booths becoming viewing boxes for the irreverent plays. To top off the aesthetic, the theater was named for Guignol, a puppet character made famous in the region of Lyon for combining slapstick comedy with incisive political commentary.
Founder Oscar Méténier founded the theater with the intent to focus on plays about characters eschewed by polite society: criminals, sex workers, beggers, and others of the oppressed class. He had, for a time, followed his father’s footsteps in policing, but had a deep desire to devote himself to the arts. He viewed the Grand Guignol as a place where naturalistic performance could be encouraged (as opposed to the romanticism popular at the time). Méténier wrote and directed dozens of plays himself, with his most famous being La Puissance des Ténèbres–a translated modification of Leo Tolstory’s five-act play, The Power of Darkness. However, this adaptation was never performed at the Grand Guignol (from what I could find), despite the main characters being criminals or unfortunate people, fitting the theme of many other Guignol plays.
Méténier used his time as a police officer to inspire many of the brutal crime-fueled plays. Patrons of the Grand Guignol could expect to see five to six short plays for the evening, often horror plays alternated with bawdy comedies (a practice called “hot and cold showers”). The horror plays were bloody affairs, usually relying on natural explanations for the horror–crime, insanity, or panic–rather than the supernatural or paranormal often seen in the more romantic gothic plays elsewhere.
The main mastermind behind the plays was librarian, novelist, and playwright André de Latour, comte de Lorde. His fascination for the study of horror was infamous, with his friends dubbing him Prince de la Terreur (prince of terror) in the 1920s. He collaborated often with the famed psychologist Alfred Binet, co-creator of the IQ testing process, particularly on plays or other works which involved themes of criminal insanity and panic disorders.
Even the famed author Gaston Leroux, who penned Phantom of the Opera, wrote plays for the theater. Perhaps, his concept for the opera ghost haunting the dark patron boxes came from the architecture of the Grand Guignol?
While Méténier billed his plays as naturalistic, this label would seem odd to us today looking at the heightened melodramatics of the plays. As such, the term guignol as a disambiguation would come to be associated with films and plays which embodied the spirit of camp (i.e. deliberately exaggerated and theatrical behavior or style). The term Grande Dame Guignol in particular became a byword for horror productions who made use of the skills of aging actresses who might otherwise be overlooked by major productions–an excellent example of this would be the psychological drama What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, starring Bette Davis and Joan Crawford as aging sister actresses.
One Grand Guignol grand dame who embodied this more than any other was Paula Maxa, one of the Grand Guignol’s best-known performers overall. Known as “the most assassinated woman in the world”, Maxa played the victim frequently in the literal sense. Her characters were murdered more than 10,000 times in at least 60 different ways and suffered sexual assault at least 3,000 times. She would have a few more empowered roles as she grew older, but her legacy as a doomed progenitor of the scream queen was sealed with such a resume.
Beyond that, the Grand Guignol gave rise to the popular image of the mad scientist. Despite André de Lorde having decent working relationships with some doctors, it was clear he had some of the same contemporary suspicions as others of medical institutions and many who worked within them. Many of his plays categorized medical researchers as mad men, held only in esteem due to the social contract and the hope that their deranged research might bring some useful fruit. It never did. The plays of de Lorde influenced the trope so heavily in popular culture that it can likely be pointed to as the reason Victor Frankenstein changed so drastically from the novel in other portrayals on stage and in film–which in turn influenced the trope from there on.
Of course, the Grand Guignol influenced horror as an entire genre as well. Until that point, horror was viewed as solely escapism: stories of fantasy with ghosts, witches, and fictional creatures which were (usually) defeated by the end of the tale. In contrast, the stories of de Lorde and his cohorts frightened audiences with tales that were exaggerated, yes, but still within the realm of possibility. While the psychological did often devolve to mindless violence in the theater, it still frightened audiences with the reality of possibility. The Grand Guignol audience became known to be as rowdy as the goings on on-stage, with guests fainting, heaving, or screaming and fleeing from their seats.
To quote Jason Colavito in his text Knowing Fear: Science, Knowledge and the Development of the Horror Genre: “Horror became a vehicle for ideas and philosophy where deep insights gave way to spectacle, and spectacle to violence and gore, until in the end little was left but the gore.”
An English version of the Grand Guignol opened in London in 1908 and again in the 1920s, under the direction of Jose Levy. It featured stellar talents on stage, including performances by Sybil Thorndike and Noël Coward. Several of these plays were filmed and still exist at the BFI National Archive. The Grand Guignol has had massive influences on British horror, particularly as the play morphed into the film as production studios such as Hammer Films opened their doors.
There was also the technical engineering aspect of the theater which made it so unique. Actor and effects artist Paul Ratineau pioneered countless illusions still built off of in horror productions: fake blood that congealed under stage light, realistic false eyeballs, and makeup which melted like an acid burn. Why, the man even invented a method of artificially flaying another actor alive live on stage! It’s no wonder that it’s difficult to believe all of the tales of faintings are apocryphal–after all, the sound of artificial skin ripping and tearing as it was shredded from the body surely elicited an audience reaction.
This, combined with the gimmick of advertising an on-site doctor to help those of weak constitution who passed out at the sight of such violence, sold countless tickets to the box office.
Until it didn’t.
Despite its resonant influence on culture, the horrors of the Grand Guignol would soon pale. The site that was once as popular a destination for tourists to the City of Lights as the Eiffel Tower would have a dramatic fall off of patronage. It was not due to lack of creativity on behalf of the directors, though, nor could it wholly be blamed on the rise of films alone. Rather it was the horrifying creativity of real world forces, as World War I ripped across Europe, bringing with it untold horrors that had never been witnessed or imagined before. It only struggled more after World War II; no one could laugh at horror after the revelations of what happened at the German labor camps.
As recorded by Time Magazine in 1962: “We could never equal Buchenwald,” said [the theater’s] final director, Charles Nonon. “Before the war, everyone felt that what was happening onstage was impossible. Now we know that these things, and [so much] worse, are possible in reality.”
The Grand Guignol shuttered its doors that year.
Its legacy lives on in countless ways, inspiring horror movies from the birth of film all the way until horror movies in 2022. Without the Grand Guignol, there were be no Herschel Gordon Lewis inventing the splatter film, no Dario Argento and other craftsmen of giallo, no New French Extremist horror movement, no modern genre of “horror torture porn” (though some would argue that might be for the better).
Beyond all that, anytime a film advertises with the lurid promise that someone, somewhere passed out or vomited while viewing, therein lies the spirit of Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol: the blood, the insanity, the gore, the gimmick, and the legacy.
Horror is a genre often associated with the disgusting and vile, as opposed to anything approaching the aesthetics of beauty. In fact, one could argue that many films of the genre focus on the destruction of the concept: a once beautiful house falls into decay and becomes haunted, a gorgeous young woman is disfigured or destroyed by the forces of darkness, even institutions such as marriage (which should be positive) are oft corrupted by evil and betrayal. In short, anything seen as aesthetically valuable and pleasing in mainstream thought is annihilated.
There’s something to be said about horror as iconoclasm, especially in the context of the ongoing “culture wars.” From the “video nasties era” and “Satanic Panic” to today’s weird repeat cultural obsession with Satanic conspiracy in all aspects of culture that they conveniently disagree with, horror has responded in a reactionary way. Whether it goes far enough even is debatable, but that’s not the focus of the article today.
Today, we’re looking at those films which buck the norm and have a sublime sense of beauty about them or at least a unique and pleasing aesthetic vibe that contrasts greatly with the horror of the story and the aesthetics of the genre as a whole.
DISCLAIMER: As with all lists going forward, all of my choices are subjective and personal to my own experience! It’s possible that if you think a film should be here, that it would fit, but I just haven’t seen it or didn’t enjoy it personally. Art is a personal thing, and my dislike of something isn’t a condemnation of anyone else’s like or love of something.
Also these aren’t in hierarchical order, I just kinda threw em all on there. They all fit the prompt!
Love Witch (2016)
The Love Witch (2016, dir. Anna Biller) has a richly vintage aesthetic that does a wonderful job of throwing the viewer out of time and having any sense of surety or balance on when the film is actually taking place. Set in modern-day southern California, the film follows a recently widowed young witch on her increasingly unhinged journey of using spells and magic to get men to fall in love with her.
One of the last movies to be filmed on 35mm Technicolor to invoke the most iconic horror films of the 60s and 70s, The Love Witch also leans into the vintage aesthetic through costuming, set design, and makeup. The vibe is so immaculately convincing that the inclusion of modern elements such as forensic DNA analysis throws the viewer off via a sense of anachronism–despite the film fully taking place in the 2010s!
In addition to that, the film is steeped in feminist analysis with Biller confirming that The Love Witch uses camp as a genre staple to examine the inherent narcissism of the femme fatale trope. The witch Elaine is the dissection of Biller’s deep dive into women’s self-help books wherein she noticed a common theme of advice: never love a man more than he loves you. Biller examines the logical if over-the-top conclusion of obsessive love at the consequence of loss of self, and does so in such a beautiful way that it’s almost easy to overlook some of the more viscerally disgusting elements of the film, particularly the murders.
Suspiria (1977), (2018)
Look, I know that the two Suspirias have such vast aesthetic disparities that it’s almost a cop out to judge them on one bullet point. But….both pretty. That’s it. That’s the entire argument, and no I will not be taking counterarguments at this time. Both the original Dario Argento film and the “reimagined” update directed by equally Italian director Luca Guadagnino have entirely different aesthetic sensibilities while both injecting a sense of otherworldly beauty into the world of witches, occult, and dance as artform.
The original film was shot using anamorphic lenses to emphasize the set pieces. The color theory of the 1977 version is the truly iconic element of it though, which the use of imbibition Technicolor prints only enriched. It was one of the final feature films to be processed in Technicolor, using one of the last machines available in Italy. In addition, the set pieces themselves contribute to the film’s aesthetics in a massive way; dripping with colors like everything else, every room of the Tanz Dance Akademie has a sinister vibe to it, even if it is only the setting for “safe scenes.”
In contrast, the 2018 version of Suspiria uses color sparsely and with deliberate intention, particularly the rich red that Argento used as a primary thematic color in the original film. By taking the film and placing it in more modern times, without it being contemporary, Guadagnino uses the gloomy brutalism and stark utilitarian designs of Soviet occupied East Berlin to make the pops of color…well, pop! The updated film is also more brutal, but still sticks to this aesthetic choice of rationing red; one of the most upsetting moments of violence in the film contains no blood (or so little that my brain didn’t register it upon viewing).
Despite seeming to be aesthetic opposites, the two versions of Suspiria are actually two partners in an odd waltz of visuals, and I couldn’t discredit either in favor of the other.
Blood and Black Lace (1964)
The fashion industry is cutthroat, a well-known fact if the two fashion based horror films on this list are anything to go by. The OG fashion house horror though, is Blood and Black Lace directed by Mario Bava, another master of the giallo horror film. One could describe the film as a mass market crime thriller novel cover come to life, with a pulp sensibility grounding the film amongst the otherwise glamorous world of haute couture.
Whereas Suspiria (1977) created a genre-defying style for a giallo horror, Bava’s Blood and Black Lace worked more as genre-defining. Even Martin Scorcese would credit the crime noir horror as being foundational for his future directional and aesthetic choices.
Helter Skelter (2012)
Based on the manga of the same name by Kyoko Okazaki, Helter Skelter follows the story of Ririko, a supermodel who has undergone head to toe plastic surgery to stay on the cutting edge of her modeling career. However, her body soon begins to break down, causing Ririko’s mental state to do the same. As police close in on a potential medical trafficking ring behind the dangerous and deadly plastic surgeon’s office, an unhinged Ririko begins lashing out at other women who present themselves as rivals.
The film is saturated in bright colors and rich with symbolism surrounding beauty as industry. Without the same preachiness found in lesser horror films, Helter Skelter asks its audience to consider: how complicit are we as consumers in the gradual destruction of the influencers we’ve commodified?
The Company of Wolves (1984)
Fairytale reimaginings have a large following, particularly fans of dark reimaginings. Company of Wolves is a 1984 British gothic fantasy horror film, directed by Neil Jordan, which was adapted from the fairytale reimaginings of British literary icon Angela Carter. The story tells Red Riding Hood with more sympathy for the wolves, reminding the human viewers that we are not above monstrosity ourselves through a series of acted out parables.
The set and costume design beautifully mix the delicacy and femininity associated with fairytales while still incorporating the darkness and harshness of the gothic and beastial, sometimes in very creative ways. The wedding reception with the wolves is one of the most iconic images from the film and beautifully summarizes its overarching aesthetic.
While I tend to roll my eyes at anyone who says Ari Aster’s 2019 horror film Midsommar was so unique because of its use of broad daylight horror (Texas Chainsaw Massacre anyone?), that isn’t to sell its aesthetic beauty short. Aster has a way of setting a scene that makes it very clear why he’s one of the most watched and applauded new directors in the genre.
Going well beyond just the choice to film in daylight, Aster chooses to take the bright and happy aesthetics of the Scandinavian countryside, mix them with bright colors and lurid floral pieces, and still give us one of the most intense and visceral works of the last several decades. The way the film shifts from dull and dire at the beginning to almost neon brightness by the finale camouflaging the sinister ending with the scent of smoke and flower petals.
The Cell (2000)
What can I say about director Tarsem Singh that hasn’t already been said or wouldn’t devolve into a Mean Girls-inspired Regina George praise segment for the director?? He has some of the most iconic looks of film based on storyboards alone, with a visual sensibility that rivals (if not surpasses in some ways) that of Alejandro Jorodowsky.
While this film is often overlooked due to the presence of Jennifer Lopez and Vince Vaughn in the starring roles, it is still powerfully a Singh film, utilizing the film’s narrative to create extraordinary visuals for the dreamscape Lopez’s psychiatrist enters to psychoanalyze Vince Vaughn’s killer character.
Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula (1992)
I couldn’t overlook this film: between the well planned storyboarding and direction of Francis Ford Coppola, the iconic costume design of Eiko Ishioka, and the amazing team behind the set production and photography, it’s no wonder that the film is looked to as the second most iconic Dracula film, behind on the 1931 adaptation which introduced the world to stage actor Bela Lugosi.
The film defined an aesthetic for any gothic horror film to follow, as well as many other films both as homage and parody. Without it, we wouldn’t have a ton of media or at least not the same way we ended up getting it. For that alone, this film’s aesthetic is iconic!
What can I say about Mandy besides “psychedelics sure are a thing”? Not that director Panos Cosmatos was on them during filming or during any part of the process, just that the entire two hour run time of the film feels like everything those old anti-drug PSAs warned me about. The vivid colors of the film swirl chaotically around staging and set design that feels straight out of surrealist art pieces. Is the movie any of the things critics claim regarding interpretation? Maybe? I’ve seen it three times, and I sure don’t know!
But it’s so pretty and chaotic and almost dadaist in the level of nonsensical yet compelling visuals, that one almost doesn’t care what else can get out of it. Beyond that: what each viewer gets out of it will be different but due to the anarchy of it all. The only agreed upon premise? A mad drug lord brutally kills Nic Cage’s character’s wife, who then embarks on an apocalyptic, blood-soaked journey of revenge.
The Color Out of Space (2019)
I’d ask what it is about Nic Cage that lends himself to such unhinged films, but I have long ago decided that Nic Cage just does what he wants and I respect him for that artistically even if some of his decisions in and out of film are questionable. However, I have to say his decision to work with infamously deranged auteur filmmaker Richard Stanley on his return to the director’s chair? Inspired. Especially considering how utterly perfect the ensuing adaptation of H. P. Lovecraft’s standalone horror novella The Color Out of Space actually ended up being.
The special effects and the aesthetics are pure Lovecraft, adapting the insanity of the indescribable perfected by that weird ole racist Rhode Islander who took his phobias and prejudices and somehow still defined a genre. What was previously thought to be unfilmable came to vivid life on screen in a cosmically terrifying and beautiful way, and it needs more recognition than it currently has.
One could argue that there are other more visually stunning or unique German horror films, both of this era and afterwards. However, there’s something almost ethereal about the filmmaking aesthetic of Vampyr, the whole film feeling like a dreamscape punctuated by moments of nightmare.
It defined the aesthetics of horror for decades afterward even into the modern day with the camera tricks it utilized. Film in general, really, was changed with the unique for the time ways that actors were framed by principle photography and lens tricks.
The Village (2004)
Okay so, hear me out. Hear me out. Is the movie actually that good? Not really. The twist isn’t terrible, but so much of the movie relies on lazy writing and outright ableism (a terrible trope that permeates so many of Shyamalan’s films) that I can’t actually praise it overall as I have the others. But visually? It’s a gorgeous movie, and probably the most visually interesting of any of M. Night’s films.
With the rich color symbolism, unique costuming, and interesting framing (which admittedly falters in the ending), it’s probably the most “film” instead of “movie” of the director’s oeuvre, which is why the disappointing twist ending and the ableist tropes that continued to plague his works are so disappointing.
A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (2014)
Ana Lily Amirpour directed this modern Iranian feminist take on the vampire legend with such a unique vision that many who view it can recognize some of the specific shots without any other context. The girl in hijab riding a skateboard under stark streetlights, the antagonist guy driving a car with his cat just hanging out in the backseat, focus on putting everyone’s eyes in the most sharp focus possible–even the cityscape of the fictional Bad Town is full of character.
Despite being in black and white, the film oozes a vitality normally only associated with use of vivid colors, and it’s to the point I truly believe that color would have made the film overwhelming because of how powerfully framed Amirpour’s shots and vision are. That she throws in many cultural touchstones such as music posters, record sleeves, and recognizable-yet-not cosmetics add to the uncanny valley vibes of the real-world adjacent Bad Town.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Darling (2015) The Neon Demon (2016) Kwaidan (1964) The Shining (1980) Don’t Look Now (1973) Vampyros Lesbos (1971) The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
What do you all think? Do you agree with these choices? Disagree? Have additions that I may not have thought of? If you would like to discuss it, leave a comment! I’d love to hear from y’all!


Moscow, Russia – October 7, 2008 – Sistema (LSE: SSA), the largest public diversified corporation in Russia and the CIS, which manages fast growing companies operating in the consumer services sector, today announced the launch of movie and TV production at Russian World Studio (RWS) in St Petersburg.
RWS is a subsidiary of Sistema and one of the leading Russian film and TV production companies.
The construction of the first phase of movie production facilities in St Petersburg was completed in July 2008 with a total investment of US$ 100 million. The total production studio space encompasses 11,000 square metres, including 6 shooting stages, Dolby Premier dubbing suite, 8 video editing suites, 3 sound editing suites, 2 dubbing suites and a rerecording suite. Sistema plans to build the largest shooting stage in Europe with 2,000 square metres of space, including full service production facilities for movies and TV programmes.
The production studio currently has an annual capacity to shoot 20 projects, including up to 7 movies and TV series simultaneously. RWS has presently in production 3 movies as well as programmes for 5 channels of Stream-TV.


Polini Group Italia is pleased to announce its participation as Top Sponsor in the film Bejbis, Polish remake of the famous “Sons” masterpiece of the late Italian film director Mattia Torre.
Polish film director Andrzej Saramonowicz has “loved the original film to such an extent that he wants to pay homage to it” and for this reason has fully embraced the project and decided to take it home. In addition, this film closes its acclaimed trilogy that began with the brilliant Testosteron (Men) and continued with the great success of Ladies (Women).
Polini Group Italia, which has always had a strong interest and bond with the Polish market, has decided to actively support the project by becoming a top sponsor of what will be a sure success at the box office. Success that has attracted the interest of even the largest online streaming player. Netflix Global is in dash for the spread of the work in the rest of Europe.
But that’s not all: the film has as exclusive distribution partner the giant Vision Distribution, a strong Italian production and distribution film agency.
The Premiere of the film will take place on Wednesday, October 19 in Warsaw, where Polini Group Italia will be present with its products to entertain the more than 1,000 invited guests among VIPs, influencers and audiences of great occasions. The film will be released on Friday 21 October in 270 Polish cinemas. The film features Polini products in what can be considered a fun and stimulating product placement operation of the iconic bottles in the Polini Group catalogue.


I was going to title this post “A Well Deserved Break” but seeing as we only just closed the first show of the 2nd Season, that seemed a little indulgent.
Wow, what an experience reasons to be pretty was! A great cast, a great script, awesome audiences with so much to say. It seems that we choose a somewhat polarizing piece of theatre to open the 2nd Season with. Our amazing patrons had some very thoughtful and insightful things to say about our production and we were glad to hear them all. Although, we were very surprised at the amount of times we heard “Loved this production! Loved the actors, the direction, the set, the costumes, everything! But I HATED the script.” Even more surprising? Every single patron who told us that was a man. What the?
Our dear friend and supporter, Susan, told us we could write a thesis on that alone. She’s probably right!
In case anyone was wondering, the most oft heard comment from our female patrons was “This play feels so good!!!” Truly.
So DCRT is taking an unofficial “break” until rehearsals begin for Wooden Snowflakes in November. However, because we don’t really understand the meaning of the word “break”, we will actually be working with Fourth Wall Productions in conjunction with SCRAP Productions to produce Ash Tree, a lovely theatre for young audiences piece written by one of our favorite playwrights and dear friend Georgina Hernandez Escobar. Associate Artistic Director Frank Green joins the cast of this incredible show for a limited engagement at the end of the month.
There are several reasons why you should check out this stunning show if you are in the 505:
1. Ash Tree is intelligent and honest theatre for young audiences. This isn’t your run of the mill, fuzzy bunny suit, dumbed down children’s theatre. This is the type of theatre that will create the audiences of tomorrow. Come see what professional theatre for young audiences looks like.
2. This is a site specific show! Want a lovely evening of theatre in an even lovelier setting? Then be sure to join us!
3. Duke City Rep doesn’t throw it’s support behind any old playwright. We choose the material and the projects we work on very carefully so you know this is going to be worth your time.
4. Ok, if these reasons above haven’t quite convinced you of why you should be sure to check this show out, here’s one last go: Admission to this show is Free. FREE. You get to see this show for absolutely nothing but the gas it takes to get you there! And since it’s outdoors, you can bring a picnic, you can bring your blankets and you can enjoy some AMAZING theatre for audiences of all ages and you can do it all for FREE!!!
ARGH! It’s so exciting, we can barely control ourselves over here!
Wanna know more? Follow the link! http://mim.io/dc3581
And be sure to be on the lookout for Wooden Snowflakes opening in December. We’ll be in a different venue for this production: Kosmos aka The Factory on 5th!
See you at the theatre!


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Aamir Khan is all set to release his passion project Laal Singh Chaddha in less than two weeks. It is a remake of Tom Hanks’ classic film, Forrest Gump (1994) and the internet is buzzing with netizens comparing the visuals of Aamir’s film, as evident in the trailer, with that of the original film. During a media interaction, a journalist asked Aamir Khan if he was inspired by Tom Hanks’ performance while shooting. To which, Aamir Khan gave an answer that surprised everyone!
Aamir Khan revealed that he was not sure whether Advait Chandan, who had only made Secret Superstar (2017), will be able to direct a film of this kind. So, he asked Advait to direct 7-8 key scenes from the film as a test shoot. He was free to form his own small team for it. Aamir, however, insisted that he’ll not act in this mock shoot.
Meanwhile, Junaid Khan had just returned home after studying acting in the USA. Aamir asked him to play the lead character of Laal Singh Chaddha in this test shoot. The superstar felt that he’ll kill two birds with one stone – through the test shoot, he’ll learn not just about Advait Chandan’s directing abilities but also Junaid Khan’s acting abilities.
The shoot did happen. When Aamir Khan and his ex-wife Kiran Rao saw the final cut, Aamir said that they were blown away. They were also highly impressed with Junaid’s acting. This is when Aamir decided to launch his son in and as Laal Singh Chaddha! Aamir Khan showed the film to many people in his circle like Karan Johar, Mansoor Khan, Satyajit Bhatkal, Svati Chakravarty etc and they all agreed with Aamir on this. On top of it, Aamir had grown his beard for six months to play the role. After watching Junaid’s performance, he even shaved off his beard, as he was certain that he is no longer doing the film.
However, Aamir Khan revealed that two people disagreed – one was the writer of the film, Atul Kulkarni, and the other was Aditya Chopra. Aditya Chopra remarked that Laal Singh Chaddha is not a plot-heavy film. Instead, it’s an episodic fare and one should not launch debutants in such a type of a film. Both felt that Aamir Khan should himself play the lead in Laal Singh Chaddha. Aamir found merit in Aditya Chopra’s argument and decided to take on the role. He once again grew his beard.
Aamir Khan then answered that therefore, he wasn’t inspired by Tom Hanks; instead, it was Junaid Khan who inspired him. Aamir Khan observed that Junaid got the sur of Laal Singh Chaddha right as just like the character, he’s also an innocent person. Thanks to him, he understood how to play the part.
So did Junaid Khan feel bad about losing on to such a big film despite playing the part flawlessly? Surprisingly, Aamir Khan revealed that Junaid was fine with it. In fact, Aamir stated that Junaid himself was not in favour of doing the role. “Junaid bahut practical hai,” said Aamir and explained that his son explained to him that he shouldn’t be cast in a film with such a huge budget!
Interestingly, Aditya Chopra later offered Junaid Khan a film titled Maharaja and it is now going to be his debut film. It is expected to be released in the first half of 2023.


Running time: 13min
Country/region: Canada (French)
Director: Giovana Olmos
Cinematographer: Vjosana Shkurti
Editor: Pablo Pugliese
Showing as part of Selected Shorts.
Synopsis: A transgender teen prepares for his acting debut while his friends and chosen family band together to help remove him from a difficult living situation. A short documentary about coming out and coming-of-age in a small mountain town.
CineYouth Film Fest presented by the Chicago Int’l Film Festival, 2018 ★ Out-look Award winner
Festival du Film Étudiant de Québec, 2018 ★ Prix Antitube
Ivy Film Festival, Brown University, 2018 ★ Best international film
Fem Tour Truck International Feminist Video Art Festival, Multi-city (Spain, Portugal, United Kingdom, Ecuador & Colombia), 2018 ★ Best short film
Urbanworld Film Festival, NYC, 2018 ★ Honorable Mention – Best Young Creator


adjective1. (of a story) told by a narrator:Interspersed throughout the movie are diegetic scenes in which the offscreen present-day protagonist comments—usually scathingly—on the behavior of his former self.2. happening within or being the created world of a story:Diegetic sound—the creaking timbers of a ship at sea, the cries of gulls on the beach—pulls the viewer into the world of the movie.In the Marvel cinematic universe, multiple separate superhero films take place within a single diegetic world.
Diegesis (/ˌdaɪəˈdʒiːsɪs/; from the Greek διήγησις from διηγεῖσθαι, "to narrate") is a style of fiction storytelling that presents an interior view of a world in which:1. Details about the world itself and the experiences of its characters are revealed explicitly through narrative.
2. The story is told or recounted, as opposed to shown or enacted.
3. There is a presumed detachment from the story of both the speaker and the audience.In diegesis, the narrator tells the story. The narrator presents the actions (and sometimes thoughts) of the characters to the readers or audience. Diegetic elements are part of the fictional world ("part of the story"), as opposed to non-diegetic elements which are stylistic elements of how the narrator tells the story ("part of the storytelling").
In contrast to mimesis
Diegesis (Greek διήγησις "narration") and mimesis (Greek μίμησις "imitation") have been contrasted since Plato's and Aristotle's times. Mimesis shows rather than tells, by means of action that is enacted. Diegesis is the telling of a story by a narrator. The narrator may speak as a particular character, or may be the invisible narrator, or even the all-knowing narrator who speaks from "outside" in the form of commenting on the action or the characters.
In Book III of his Republic (c. 373 BC), Plato examines the "style" of "poetry" (the term includes comedy, tragedy, epic and lyric poetry): All types narrate events, he argues, but by differing means. He distinguishes between narration or report (diegesis) and imitation or representation (mimesis). Tragedy and comedy, he goes on to explain, are wholly imitative types; the dithyramb is wholly narrative; and their combination is found in epic poetry. When reporting or narrating, "the poet is speaking in his own person; he never leads us to suppose that he is any one else"; when imitating, the poet produces an "assimilation of himself to another, either by the use of voice or gesture". In dramatic texts, the poet never speaks directly; in narrative texts, the poet speaks as him or herself.
In his Poetics, the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle argues that kinds of "poetry" (the term includes drama, flute music, and lyre music for Aristotle) may be differentiated in three ways: according to their medium, according to their objects, and according to their mode or "manner" (section I); "For the medium being the same, and the objects the same, the poet may imitate by narration—in which case he can either take another personality as Homer does, or speak in his own person, unchanged—or he may present all his characters as living and moving before us" (section III).
In filmmaking the term is used to name the story depicted on screen, as opposed to the story in real time that the screen narrative is about. Diegesis may concern elements, such as characters, events, and things within the main or primary narrative. However, the author may include elements that are not intended for the primary narrative, such as stories within stories. Characters and events may be referred to elsewhere or in historical contexts and are therefore outside the main story; thus, they are presented in an extradiegetic situation.
For narratologists all parts of narratives—characters, narrators, existents, actors—are characterized in terms of diegesis. For definitions of diegesis, one should consult Aristotle's Poetics; Gerard Genette's Narrative Discourse: An Essay in Method (Cornell University Press, 1980); or (for a readable introduction) H. Porter Abbott's The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative (Cambridge University Press 2002). In literature, discussions of diegesis tend to concern discourse/ sjužet (in Russian Formalism) (vs. story/ fabula).
Diegesis is multi-levelled in narrative fiction. Genette distinguishes between three "diegetic levels". The extradiegetic level (the level of the narrative's telling) is, according to Prince, "external to (not part of) any diegesis." One might think of this as what we commonly understand to be the narrator's level, the level at which exists a narrator who is not part of the story being told. The diegetic level or intradiegetic level is understood as the level of the characters, their thoughts and actions. The metadiegetic level or hypodiegetic level is that part of a diegesis that is embedded in another one and is often understood as a story within a story, as when diegetic narrators themselves tell a story.
The classical distinction between the diegetic mode and the mimetic mode relates to the difference between the epos (or epic poetry) and drama. The "epos" relates stories by telling them through narration, while drama enacts stories through direct embodiment (showing). In terms of classical poetics, the cinema is an epic form that utilizes dramatic elements; this is determined by the technologies of the camera and editing. Even in a spatially and temporally continuous scene (mimicking the theatrical situation, as it were), the camera chooses where to look for us. In a similar way, editing causes us to jump from one place (and/or time) to another, whether it be elsewhere in the room, or across town. This jump is a form of narration; it is as if a narrator whispers to us: "meanwhile, on the other side of the forest". It is for this reason that the "story-world" in cinema is referred to as "diegetic"; elements that belong to the film's narrative world are diegetic elements. This is why, in the cinema, we may refer to the film's diegetic world.
"Diegetic", in the cinema, typically refers to the internal world created by the story that the characters themselves experience and encounter: the narrative "space" that includes all the parts of the story, both those that are and those that are not actually shown on the screen (such as events that have led up to the present action; people who are being talked about; or events that are presumed to have happened elsewhere or at a different time).
Thus, elements of a film can be "diegetic" or "non-diegetic". These terms are most commonly used in reference to sound in a film. Most soundtrack music in films is non-diegetic; heard by the audience, but not by the characters. Some films reverse this convention; for example, Baby Driver employs diegetic music, played by the characters on music devices, to which many of the film's action scenes are set. These terms can also apply to other elements. For example, an insert shot that depicts something that is neither taking place in the world of the film, nor is seen, imagined, or thought by a character, is a non-diegetic insert. Titles, subtitles, and voice-over narration (with some exceptions) are also non-diegetic.
In video games
In video games "diegesis" comprises the narrative game world, its characters, objects and actions which can be classified as "intra-diegetic", by both being part of the narration and not breaking the fourth wall. Status icons, menu bars and other UI which are not part of the game world itself can be considered as "extra-diegetic"; a game character does not know about them even though for the player they may present crucial information. A noted example of a diegetic interface in video games is that of the Dead Space series, in which the player-character is equipped with an advanced survival suit that projects holographic images to the character within the game's rendering engine that also serve as the game's user-interface to the player to show weapon selection, inventory management, and special actions that can be taken.
Diegetic music or source music is music in a drama (e.g., film or video game) that is part of the fictional setting and so, presumably, is heard by the characters. The term refers to diegesis, a style of storytelling.
The opposite of source music is incidental music or underscoring, which is music heard by the viewer (or player), intended to comment on or highlight the action, but is not to be understood as part of the "reality" of the fictional setting.
Source music was sometimes used as scores from the earliest days of Hollywood talkies, in some cases—e.g., The Public Enemy (1931)—using it to the exclusion of any underscoring; or in Touch of Evil (1958), where there is proportionately more source compared to underscore.
Film sound and music
If the characters in the film can (or could) hear the music the audience hears, then that music is called diegetic. It is also called source music by professionals in the industry. It is said to be within the narrative sphere of the film. For instance, if a character in the film is playing a piano, or turns on a CD player, the resulting sound is diegetic. The cantina band sequence in the original Star Wars is an example of diegetic music in film, with the band playing instruments and swaying to the beat, as patrons are heard reacting to the second piece the band plays.
By contrast, the background music that cannot be heard by the characters in the movie is termed non-diegetic or extradiegetic. An example of this is in Rocky, where Bill Conti's "Gonna Fly Now" plays non-diegetically as Rocky makes his way through his training regimen finishing on the top steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art with his hands raised in the air.
Songs are commonly used in various film sequences to serve different purposes. They can be used to link scenes in the story where a character progresses through various stages toward a final goal. If it is synchronized with the action, as in the "Good Morning" dance sequence from Singin' in the Rain, it is said to be Mickey Mousing.
A combination of these concepts in film sound and music is known in the industry as source scoring—a blending of diegetic source music, such as a character singing or playing an instrument, with non-diegetic dramatic scoring.
There are other varying dimensions of diegesis in film sound, for example, metadiegetic sound, which are sounds imagined by a character within the film, such as memories, hallucinatory sounds, and distorted perspectives.
Another notable condition of diegesis is cross-over diegesis, which is explored in the book Primeval Cinema - An Audiovisual Philosophy by Danny Hahn, in which he describes it as "blending/transforming a sound or piece of music from one spectrum of diegesis to another – from diegetic to non-diegetic space". The sci-film 2BR02B: To Be or Naught to Be is an example of cross-over diegetic music in film, with Schubert's Ave Maria playing over separate shot sequences as non-diegetic music, but then later showing it to come from a gramophone in a hospital waiting room. The music also becomes diegetic with the assistance of audio engineering techniques, having its reverberation undergo change to match the room's characteristics and indicate a spatial location from the surround speakers. Even though Ave Maria reappears extensively as diegetic music, its inclusion was treated as non-diegetic by the film-makers, the song being a bespoke recording by soprano Imogen Coward to match the film's tone, and the film being edited to her recording. The recording itself was timed to include a layer of narrative commentary for audiences familiar with the German lyrics.
This distinction may also be made explicit for comic effect, a form of breaking the fourth wall. For example, the first appearance of Kermit the Frog in The Muppets is accompanied by what initially appears to be a stock "heavenly choir" sound effect, which is then revealed to be coming from an actual church choir singing on a passing bus.
In musical theatre, as in film, the term "diegesis" refers to the context of a musical number in a work's theatrical narrative. In typical operas or operettas, musical numbers are non-diegetic; characters are not singing in a manner that they would do in a naturalistic setting; in a sense, they are not "aware" that they are in a musical. In contrast, when a song occurs literally in the plot, the number is considered diegetic. Diegetic numbers are often present in backstage musicals.
For example, in The Sound of Music, the song "Edelweiss" is diegetic, since the character (Captain von Trapp) is performing the piece in front of other fictional characters at a gathering. In "Do-Re-Mi" the character Maria is using the song to teach the children how to sing, so this song is also diegetic. In contrast, the song "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?" is non-diegetic, since the musical material is external to the narrative, it being a conversation that would in a naturalistic setting take place as simple speech.
In both the 1936 and the 1951 film versions of Show Boat, as well as in the original stage version, the song "Bill" is diegetic. The character Julie LaVerne sings it during a rehearsal in a nightclub. A solo piano (played onscreen) accompanies her, and the film's offscreen orchestra (presumably not heard by the characters) sneaks in for the second verse of the song. Julie's other song in the film, "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", is also diegetic. In the 1936 film, it is supposed to be an old folk song known only to blacks; in the 1951 film, it is merely a song that Julie knows; however, she and the captain's daughter Magnolia are fully aware that Julie is singing. When Julie, Queenie, and the black chorus sing the second chorus of the song in the 1936 version, they are presumably unaware of any orchestral accompaniment, but in the 1951 film, when Magnolia sings and dances this same chorus, she does so to the accompaniment of two deckhands on the boat playing a banjo and a harmonica. Two other songs in the 1936 Show Boat are also diegetic: "Goodbye, My Lady Love" (sung by the comic dancers Ellie and Frank), and "After the Ball", sung by Magnolia. Both are interpolated into the film, and both are performed in the same nightclub in which Julie sings "Bill".
In the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the episode entitled "Once More, with Feeling" toys with the distinction between diegetic and non-diegetic musical numbers. In this episode, the Buffy characters find themselves compelled to burst into song in the style of a musical. The audience is led to assume that this is a "musical episode", in which the characters are unaware that they are singing. It becomes clear that the characters are all too aware of their musical interludes, and that determining the supernatural causes of the singing is the focus of the episode's story. On the same show, the episode entitled "The Body" was presented without any non-diegetic music at all, in order to convey the reality of the theme of death within the family that it portrays.
The musical The Phantom of the Opera offers an interesting example of ambiguity in distinguishing between diegetic and non-diegetic music. At the end of Act 1, Christine and Raoul sing "All I Ask of You", and the Phantom, having eavesdropped on them, reprises the song shortly after. Narratively, there is no reason for the characters to be singing, and so these numbers would appear to be non-diegetic. However, in Act 2, within the opera "Don Juan Triumphant", which the Phantom composed, not only are Christine and Raoul's words repeated, but they are sung to the same tune they used, suggesting that the eavesdropping Phantom heard them to be singing, rather than speaking, their conversation. To define "All I Ask of You" as either diegetic or non-diegetic is therefore not straightforward.
In film, diegesis refers to the story world, and the events that occur within it. Thus, non-diegesis are things which occur outside the story-world.
A non-diegetic insert is a film technique that combines a shot or a series of shots cut into a sequence, showing objects represented as being outside the space of the narrative. Put more simply, a non-diegetic insert is a scene that is outside the story world which is "inserted" into the story world. Diegetic could also refer to sound in media or film studies.
Examples1. Three images shown during the disastrous opening night of the play in The Band Wagon, as a metaphor to highlight how much of a flop the show is.
2. Sky sequences shown in Gus Van Sant's Elephant.
3. Most famously in The Great Train Robbery a bandit, either following the character's death or before the narrative began, shot his gun directly at the audience.
4. Starting scene of Charlie Chaplin's film Modern Times.non-diegeticNon-diegetic music in a film or TV programme is played over the action for the people watching to hear, rather than being part of the action and heard by the characters.
If you don’t recognize the term, you definitely recognize the device. Diegetic music in a show - be it television, film, or even opera - is essentially music that the characters hear as well as the audience. In film and TV, often we realize that music is diegetic because it stops when a character switches off a radio, or pulls headphones out of their ears.
By design, most of the music in opera is non-diegetic, meaning the characters in opera do not hear it. But often composers will get creative with the medium of opera, using the music itself to bring the audience closer to the character’s experience.
We’ve come up with a few great examples of diegetic music in opera, and how the device can offer comic relief, dramatic irony, and even shows within the show.
The most obvious use of diegetic music in opera comes in the “show-within-a-show” device, where a character is giving a performance as part of the plot. It happens in Don Giovanni, when Giovanni, armed with a guitar and a sultry baritone, serenades a woman from outside her window. It happens in Le nozze di Figaro, when Cherubino sings his little ditty, “Voi che sapete” for a meager audience of Susanna and the Countess. In Manon Lescaut, diegetic music comes with the musicians hired to entertain the leading lady; in Tannhäuser it’s found in the the whole Minnesinger scene.
Or if you prefer, Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier has a moment of diegetic opera music within an opera, as the Italian Singer shows up to serenade the Marschallin.
Using diegetic music can also be a great opportunity for some comic relief. There’s the adorable scene in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream where the fairies make a little band of themselves, providing some dance music for Bottom. There’s also the cute moment in Les contes d’Hoffmann with Fritz, the well-meaning-but-deaf-as-a-doorknob servant, who tries out his singing talents to disappointing results.
One of our favourites, though, is the much-needed moment of lightness in Wagner’s Siegfried, when Siegfried tries to imitate a bird song with a reed pipe (we always think of the English horn player that gets to show off their best “bad” sound). In the midst of a story full of magic and beauty, Siegfried’s awkward honking is a great reminder that the hero is very much a bored, curious teenager making unnecessary noise. Wagner wavers between diegetic and non-diegetic music throughout this scene, creating a stark difference between what Siegfried experiences, and the reality of the world around him.
Siegfried switches to playing his horn, and fares much better. Perhaps the coolest part of this moment is how Wagner brings us out of the diegetic music, and into some of the most awesome non-diegetic music of the opera (ie. Dragon music at 1:58:48!).
In true operatic fashion, diegetic music can amplify the intensity of a scene that’s already tugging at your heartstrings. In Act III of La traviata, we hear the happy strains of a Carnavale parade, outside Violetta’s room where she’s dying of tuberculosis. In case we needed more reasons to cry, Verdi is maximizing the contrast between the lonely life of a dying young woman, and the life-goes-on sounds of bustling Paris. In Act I of Tosca, Scarpia conceals his lust and vengeance within the sounds of the Te Deum, hiding in plain sight as a heathen among the pious, and singing his own version of worship (Tosca, really) to the same tune as the truly god-fearing.
One of the most moving examples of this diegetic music technique is in that shattering finale of Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites. The nuns sing the “Salve Regina” as they are led hopelessly to the guillotine; one by one, the voices peter out, and Poulenc even adds the horrific sound of a guillotine, as though he wants to make you wince and weep.


Abigail breslin and jake t austin dating
"The more time you spent in an environment like that, with such bravery and such courage, it makes you want to spend more time there." , he said that beginning a new project always makes him feel a bit vulnerable.
"I always feel a bit vulnerable when I begin a new project, especially when I'm playing a character with either a troubled past or unique personality," he said.
She is the daughter of Kim and Michael Breslin, a telecommunications expert, computer programmer, and consultant.
She has two older brothers, Ryan and Spencer, who are also actors.
That can bring and open the doors to so many new families, hopefully.
That's just what I'm looking forward to." #17: He wants a girl comfortable in her own skin.
The film already picked up accolades at the Cleveland International Film Festival, Lighthouse International Film Festival and St.
However, the actress claims that they never were a couple.Her other film roles include Little Miss Sunshine (2006), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, No Reservations (2007), Nim's Island (2008), Definitely, Maybe (2008), My Sister's Keeper (2009), Zombieland (2009), Rango (2011), August: Osage County (2013), The Call (2013), Ender's Game (2013), and Perfect Sisters (2014).Abigail Breslin was born on April 14, 1996 in New York City.Austin (along with 20 smokin' hot Instagram photos! Austin's character on #5: Austin embraces his Puerto Rican heritage.Austin loves being Latino, although he admits he doesn't speak Spanish fluently.


- Why did they kill Mary Winchester again?
- Why did Azazel kill Mary?
- Does Jack kill God?
- How did Azazel die?
- What is Azazel?
- Is Azazel Lucifer’s son?
- Did Michael actually leave Dean’s body?
- How did Mary Winchester die in Season 14?
- Who does Sam Winchester marry?
- What did Dean’s father whisper to him?
- Do the Winchesters forgive Jack?
- Who killed Azazel?
- What is the secret about Sam in Supernatural?
- Do Dean and Sam find what killed their mom?
- How did Jack kill Mary Winchester?
- Why did Azazel want Sam?
- Why does Dean blame Castiel for Mary’s death?
- What does John whisper to Dean in the hospital?
Why did they kill Mary Winchester again?


My name is Matt (Matthew) Planer, and I'm currently based out of Los Angeles, CA. I was born and raised in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. Please go visit there, it's truly beautiful. From there I moved to Boston, MA to attend Emerson College for a degree in Cinematography. I started working professionally in the Camera, Grip, and Electric Departments in the film industry during June 2015 in Boston, MA. I spent my last semester (Spring 2017) studying and working in the sunny Los Angeles. I graduated from Emerson in May 2017, and quickly returned to LA where I have lived ever since.
Currently, I am working in the Grip and Electrical Departments in the film industry here in LA. My passion lies in Cinematography, which I pursue in both my personal and professional time. Over the coming years, I hope to be able to support myself solely from my Cinematography work.
My hope is that this website will serve as my creative platform for both my professional and personal work. I plan to share my professional Cinematography pieces, along with collections of my personal photography in hopes to market and promote myself to the free world. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you'd like to collaborate!


Today I did something a little bit different. I sneezed and farted at the same time. I anticipate the ramifications lasting for quite some time, but I am fully vaccinated so you don’t have to worry. The other thing I did was close my eyes and pick a record at random out of my stack. The soundtrack to Quentin Tarantino’s wildly entertaining film, Death Proof appeared in my hand.
I could talk about this film ad nauseum, and I have actually visited the Texas Chili Parlor in Austin Texas and sat where Kurt Russel sat in his depiction of Stuntman Mike grotesquely eating a large plate of nachos in the movie. Those of you familiar with the film will remember the scene and for those who haven’t I highly suggest it, and soon you can talk about it on our sister app TriYou—movies, books, music, tv and you!.
On to the album.
This one does have a really great design and packaging complete with a tri-color red, clear and black vinyl, with a beautiful picture of Jungle Julia on the inner-sleeve. I love soundtracks on vinyl largely for that reason, the packaging merges my love of music and movies and now with most all my viewing through streaming services, it’s nice to have something movie related that I can hold in my hand, stroke and finger.
On to the music. I should mention I love all the music in every one of Tarantino’s films, and this one is high on the list. As with many or even most soundtracks that I enjoy, the majority of songs on here are tunes that I don’t own or would even listen to otherwise. The exception of this one is T-Rex’s Jeepster. In the film the song that originally struck me the most was, Hold Tight!—by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky Mick and TIch. Here it is from the movie:
Brilliant right? It also features Jack Nitzsche who has worked with, among many others, Neil Young and the Rolling Stones, below is a collage featuring the Last Race by Nitzsche,
And while watching the film there is a song by Willie Deville, It’s So Easy, that I thought was ZZ top and did not find out who it was (or had forgotten) until I bought the record–another reason I like soundtracks, discovery! I think the music on the album is superb and even better when watching the film. The only other filmmakers that I look forward to their soundtracks as much as I do Tarantino’s are Wes Anderson and Paul Thomas Anderson—AND Vanilla Ice.


Verifica: "Amleto" di Shakespeare
In which Act does Hamlet's monologue take place?
“To die, to sleep; / To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there's the rub...”. In these verses Hamlet shows his fear of death because of its uncertainty: it is not sure that, after death, a man can find relief, as in sleep, because nightmares can occur.
How is life represented in Hamlet’s monologue?
At the end of the monologue, Hamlet decides to commit suicide, but he’s stopped by Ophelia.
“Hamlet” can be considered:
Which other plays can be considered in the same category as “Hamlet”?
The modernity of “Hamlet” consists in the fact that Hamlet is an impulsive character, who understands the power of thought and words, useful in defeating the injustices of life?
What is the name of the fake play staged to reveal Claudius’ actions?
Esercizio su William Shakespeare


Recently I watched Citizen Kane, the 1941 landmark movie that was written and directed by the late Orson Welles. He also brilliantly plays the leading role in this timeless classic.
This is not the first time I watched this picture, but its the first time I was able to watch it by choice. Huh? Let me explain. I was forced twice to watch this movie over the years. The first was back in high school, and the second as part of a college class. Let me tell you something straight away. Setting aside the fact that as a teenager and young adult I had an attention span that lasted as long as it took to type this sentence, being forced to watch anything gives you a different perspective then if you choose to watch.
Watching it now by choice and without the shortcomings of youth it was a whole different experience. When I think of the word "Rosebud", it suggests many things to me on an emotional and intellectual level. The search one goes through in life for meaning, the longing for simpler times, the dwelling on an event or events that were forever life altering. This man of power and wealth and influence was thinking of something so simple on his deathbed, that it staggers the mind. That sled represented the cross-roads of his life, and when you finally know what "Rosebud" means, it brings the whole first scene into sharp focus.
What would have happened to his life had he come back from playing with his sled and there was nobody to take him away? What would have become of him? I think we all face these events in life where things come into sharp focus. What would have happened if I had called her? Or if I had not fallen? Questions such as these we all face, and that's why this movie is brilliant.
It makes the timeless point about money not buying happiness. About the longing for simpler times in our lives, and about the choices me make for good or ill. Certain movies have that timeless quality about them because they don't speak only to the era they were made in, but speak more about us as human beings. Era's change, decades go by, technology changes the lives of society but humans will always be humans.
We live in an era where filmmakers believe in the theory of the lowest common denominator. Lets take generic people in to see generic films that concentrate on the eyes more than the mind. If they would only realize that the "eyecandy" is secondary to story then we would have more wonderful films. Citizen Kane succeeds and is timeless because it stimulates the brain, and makes you ask questions about your own life.
Shame we hardly ever get that from the films of today.


58 years ago, on September 4, 1965, the premiere of the renowned film "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors" by Sergei Parajanov took place at the "Ukraine" cinema in Kyiv - one of the iconic events in Ukrainian cinema.
But the prehistory of Ukrainian cinema dates back to 1893 when Joseph Timchenko, even before the Lumière brothers, invented and constructed a prototype of a modern movie camera and a projection apparatus. He also conducted the world's first film shoots. From November 7 to December 20, 1893, two films, "Cavalry Horses" and "Blacksmith's Helper," were showcased at the "France" hotel in Odessa.
However, the true breakthrough in Ukrainian cinema occurred in 1925 when the film "Battleship Potemkin" was released, which is still considered one of the greatest films in world cinema.
It's also worth mentioning the name of Oleksandr Dovzhenko, who became a central figure in Ukrainian cinema. His films, such as "Zvenyhora," "Arsenal," and "Earth," gave rise to a new direction in cinema - "Ukrainian poetic cinema." The latter of these films made it into the top 12 films of all time and nations, as determined by a survey at the Fifth World Exhibition in Brussels in 1958.
And in 2014, the premiere of the film "The Tribe" took place, which became the world's first film without words, where sign language became the primary means of communication. The film was released in theatres in dozens of countries and was presented at over 100 film festivals worldwide, receiving over 40 awards, including the European Film Award and three prizes at the Cannes Film Festival.
Over these more than one hundred years of Ukrainian cinema history, there have been numerous developments and milestones, and today our film industry is recognized and respected worldwide. May this history continue to flourish, bringing us new and unforgettable masterpieces of cinematic art.