Category Archives: Cinema

May 03

‘Raja Harischandra’, the First Indian Feature Film

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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 […]

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May 01

‘Heart of Darkness’ in ‘Citizen Kane’

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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 […]

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April 30

In the Footprints of Hollywood Fame

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On the 30th of April 1927, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford became the first celebrities to leave their footprints in the concrete of the Grauman Chinese Theater forecourt at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard (Walk of Fame). During construction, the owner Grauman ordered an extremely hard concrete to be laid by Jean Klossner, who later became known […]

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April 29

Alfred Hitchcock, Psycho and the Question of Madness

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On the 29th of April 1980, Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock died aged 80 in Bel Air, California. Justifiably crowned with the title of the master of suspense, he produced and directed some of the most iconic films in the history of world cinema. The magazine MovieMaker, for example, has described him as the most influential […]

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February 27

Elizabeth Taylor and the Holocaust: The Story of Montage by Jean-Luc Godard

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On the 27th of February 1932, Elizabeth Taylor was born in Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, England. She was born with a rare condition called distichiasis, which in her case manifested itself as double rows of eyelashes around her eyes. She was blessed by nature with something that most women would normally dream of – a […]

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February 26

Silent Cinema Gems: ‘The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari’

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On the 26th of February 1920, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, the first German Expressionist film and one of the earliest horror movies in history, had its première in Berlin. The film was directed by Robert Wiene and based on a screenplay by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer. “In film history, few films have cast a […]

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February 22

Andy Warhol’s Love Affair with Television

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On the 22nd of February 1987,  Pop artist Andy Warhol suddenly died in his sleep at the age of 59 in NYC – the cause was an undiagnosed arrhythmia following a routine gallbladder operation. In addition to his iconic multimedia work which generally gets all the exposure, Warhol was a highly prolific filmmaker. Between 1963 […]

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February 05

Kim Ki-young and His Korean Femme Fatales

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On the 5th of February 1998, Korean film director Kim Ki-young and his wife Kim Yu-bong were killed in a house fire in Seoul, South Korea. The death came unexpectedly and in the moment of Kim Ki-young’s artistic ‘resurrection’ and rehabilitation as one of the most significant Korean film directors. In fact, after a period […]

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January 25

Godzilla: The Nuclear Monster

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On the 25th of January 1970, Eiji Tsuburaya, the Japanese special effects director, died in Sukagawa, Fukushima, Japan. Known for his immaculate experimentation in the field of cinematic special effects in his time, Tsuburaya brought new quality into the Japanese science-fiction genre. He began his career in filmmaking as a cinematographer at the Nippon Cinematograph […]

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January 21

How ‘Three Songs about Lenin’ Finished Dziga Vertov

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Today we celebrate the 90th anniversary of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin’s death. The famous communist leader, politician and political theorist died on the 21st of January 1924, aged 53, at his estate at the Gorki settlement (later renamed Gorki Leninskiye). He was one of the leading political figures and revolutionary thinkers of the 20th century. His […]

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