Podcasts Steven Benedict

Many films enjoy exaggerated reputations, but it is almost impossible to underestimate the beauty, truth and importance of Vittorio De Sica's Bicycle Thieves. The post Bicycle Thieves appeared first on Steven Benedict.

Rear Window, Vertigo, Blowup, Weekend, the Zapruder film and The Conversation are all to be seen and heard in Brian De Palma's Blow Out. The post Blow Out appeared first on Steven Benedict.

How did a blasphemous, homosexual, Marxist, atheist manage to make the greatest film about the life of Jesus Christ? The post The Gospel According to Matthew appeared first on Steven Benedict.

Originally titled A Girl, a Photographer and a Beautiful April Morning, Michelangelo Antonioni's Palme d'Or winner is still as enigmatic fifty years on. The post Blowup appeared first on Steven Benedict.

William Shakespeare, Sigmund Freud, Ingmar Bergman and John Cassavetes are just some of the disparate influences on view in Thomas Vinterberg's masterpiece. The post Festen appeared first on Steven Benedict.

We are told we watch horror films because they offer a vicariously thrilling, and thus safe experience. I don’t believe that. I believe horror films are instructive. The post Alien appeared first on Steven Benedict.

Described as the most evil film ever made, Henri George Clouzot's masterpiece resembles Hemingway, Hitchcock, neo-realism and Casablanca. The post The Wages of Fear appeared first on Steven Benedict.

David Cronenberg's adaptation of George Langelaan's short story is appropriately, a fusion of Icarus, Prometheus, Frankenstein and Beauty and the Beast. The post The Fly (1986) appeared first on Steven Benedict.

While Paolo Sorrentino’s film follows in the footsteps of Federico Fellini and Michelangelo Antonioni, its quest arrives at a very surprising answer. The post The Great Beauty appeared first on Steven Benedict.

Francois Truffaut once claimed ‘cinema’ and ‘Britain’ were incompatible. Powell and Pressburger proved him wrong. The post A Matter of Life and Death appeared first on Steven Benedict.

Un Chien Andalou is barely seventeen minutes long, features mutilation, dismemberment and lots of insects. Yet, it is one of the most influential films ever made. The post Un Chien Andalou appeared first on Steven Benedict.

Jonathan Demme’s film is a classic because its Little Red Riding Hood plot mines the moral depths of its central characters. The post The Silence of the Lambs appeared first on Steven Benedict.

In ancient Greece, all violence took place off stage. How can filmmakers show the violence of the Holocaust without exploiting the memory of the victims? The post Ida appeared first on Steven Benedict.

Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of Anthony Burgess’ novel is still relevant today because the Ludovico Technique is conversion therapy: Pray Away The Gay. The post A Clockwork Orange appeared first on Steven Benedict.

Released in 1950, Max Ophuls' adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler's scandalous play is a landmark exhibition of theme and style operating in perfect harmony. The post La Ronde appeared first on Steven Benedict.

For thousands of years, drama theorists from Aristotle to Robert McKee have been telling writers that plot is everything. But is that all there is to drama? The post Does Plot Matter? appeared first on Steven Benedict.

In adapting Karen Blixen's short story, Gabriel Axel chose to omit the politics and focus on the religious parable. But really, it works best as a recipe for life. The post Babette’s Feast appeared first on Steven Benedict.

This hit from 1944 delivered one of the all-time classic Yuletide songs - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - as well as redefined the musical genre. The post Meet Me in St. Louis appeared first on Steven Benedict.

With his Palme d'Or winning masterpiece, Jacques Demy wove more than a musical. He delivered a story worthy of tragic opera. The post The Umbrellas of Cherbourg appeared first on Steven Benedict.

As Hollywood found the formula for the modern blockbuster, Warren Beatty embarked on a project examining the origins of American communism. The post Reds appeared first on Steven Benedict.