On the 25th of September 1989, American filmmaker, photographer, performance artist, and pioneer of underground cinema Jack Smith died in New York City, New York. From the early 1960s through most of the 1980s, he was a key figure in American avant-garde film and theatre. His works, marked by a deceptively playful camp sensibility, combine […]
Category Archives: Cinema
The World’s First Cartoon: Fantasmagorie
posted by ArtLark
On the 17th of August 1908, Fantasmagorie, the first fully animated feature film was released in Paris by the Gaumont company. Created by Emile Cohl, Fantasmagorie is considered one of the masterpieces of animated cinema and of early cinema as a whole. Done in a white-on-black style, reminiscent of a film negative, the film broke […]
Amir Naderi: Iranian Cinema after the Revolution
posted by ArtLark
On the 15th of August 1946, Iranian film director, screenwriter and photographer Amir Naderi was born in Abadan, Iran. He is considered one of the major directors of Iranian cinema before and after the Iranian Revolution (1978-79). Orphaned at a very young age, he was raised by a maternal aunt until he was old enough […]
Luis Buñuel’s ‘Un Chien Andalou: Logic in the Illogical
posted by ArtLark
On the 29th of July 1983, one of the most outstanding filmmakers of the twentieth century, Luis Buñuel died in Mexico City, Mexico. The Spanish film director has always been associated with the Surrealist movement and such talents as Salvador Dali, Max Ernst, René Magritte and Paul Éluard. The 1929 film Un Chien Andalou, produced […]
Pearls of Swedish Cinema: Jan Troell’s ‘The Flight of The Eagle’
posted by ArtLark
On the 23rd of July 1931, Swedish film director Jan Troell was born in Limhamn, Malmö, Sweden. As the holder of a Best Picture prize at the Berlin Film Festival, a Golden Palm nomination at Cannes and an Oscar nomination for Best Picture, Troell is regarded as one of the world’s most distinguished filmmakers, yet outside Europe, […]
Donald Duck and Wartime Propaganda
posted by ArtLark
On the 9th of June 1934, Donald Duck debuted in Disney’s The Wise Little Hen, which was part of the Silly Symphonies series of theatrical cartoon shorts. The anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet, dressed in a blue sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie, is […]
Dennis Hopper: The Man Who Went Looking For America…
posted by ArtLark
On the 29th of May 2010, American actor, filmmaker, photographer, and artist Dennis Lee Hopper died in Venice, California. Known in Hollywood for his insolent behaviour, Hopper made his debut on film in two roles with James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause (1955) and Giant (1956). After Dean’s death, and major falling out with […]
‘Pink Narcissus’: Gay Fantasy vs Reality
posted by ArtLark
On the 24th of May 1971, the American arthouse drama film by James Bidgood, Pink Narcissus, was released in New York City. The film focuses on the life of a handsome male prostitute, played by Bobby Kendall, immersed in his erotic fantasies. Like the mythological character of Narcissus, he is obsessed by his own beauty […]
‘Raja Harischandra’, the First Indian Feature Film
posted by ArtLark
On the 3rd of May 1913, the first all-Indian feature film, Raja Harischandra, was first shown to the public at Bombay’s Coronation Cinema, Girgaon. This 40-minute silent film, directed by Dadasaheb Phalke, was so successful that more copies had to be soon produced and sent out to rural areas, where the public could experience for […]
‘Heart of Darkness’ in ‘Citizen Kane’
posted by ArtLark
On the 1st of May 1941, the American drama film Citizen Kane, had its premiere in New York City. The film co-written, directed, produced by, and starring Orson Welles, has been considered by many of the fans and film critics one of the best, if not the best, motion pictures of all time. The day […]