The Magnificent Ambersons Are The Centerpiece of A Well-Done Orson Welles Directorial Effort

For any director, doing a follow-up directorial project to a particularly acclaimed piece of work is a daunting prospect, one that some filmmakers have exceled in (like Marielle Heller) while other filmmakers (like Dan Gilroy) found more mixed results in the same scenario. For Orson Welles, this was a particularly tricky scenario for him back in the early 1940's as he was preparing his directorial follow-up to a little-known movie called Citizen Kane. Though plagued by controversy in its initial release, Citizen Kane was still garnering acclaim and had set the bar high for whatever he did next, which turned out to be a motion picture adaptation of The Magnificent Ambersons.

Harold And Maude Uses Dark Comedy In Service Of A Soulful Exploration Of Its Lead Characters

In the vein of Bringing Up Baby and Citizen Kane, Harold and Maude was not well-liked upon its initial theatrical release. Critics and audiences alike were puzzled by this movie and it's easy to see why, this is certainly a strange movie, one with an unorthodox sense of humor that may not be for everyone. But just like those two aforementioned classics, Harold and Maude has managed to endure throughout the decades and hasn't just become an acclaimed classic but also a motion picture that holds a special place in the hearts of countless people. Count me in as one of those people because Hal Ashby's 1971 directorial effort is an outstanding piece of work with a macabre sense of humor and a thoughtful heart.

Loving Vincent Paints An Intriguing Portrait of An Iconic Painter

 

Hand-drawn animations woefully low presence on the American film scene has seen a mild form of a reprieve this year thanks to The Red Turtle, Your Name. and now the Vincent Van Gogh tribute Loving Vincent, which is brought to life entirely by watercolor paintings that have been created by around 115 painters. Yep, the entire film is rendered through the distinctive art style that Van Gogh was famous for. Interestingly, Vincent Van Gogh is already dead when Loving Vincent gets its story started which takes place shortly after the iconic painters demise and has Van Gogh's mailman, Postman Roulin (Chris O'Dowd) entrusting his son Armand Roulin (Douglas Booth) to return the letter to Vincent's brother.