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The 50 Best Movie Screenplays of All Time

What makes a brilliant script? Is it quotable lines? Is it nuanced dialogue? Or is it just the ability to move the story along and not get in the way? When looking back through the history of screenwriting, there are plenty of iconic films based on previous work; the Writer’s Guild of America voted Casablanca …

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The 50 Best Romantic Comedies of All Time

Welcome to our epic list of the best romantic comedies of all time… 50 of them. 50. Moonrise Kingdom (2012) Most of Wes Anderson’s films could be described as romantic comedies, but his 2012 effort stands out, as its central story focuses on young love and the need to find acceptance. In Anderson’s world, while …

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FNC 2013: ‘L’amour est un crime parfait’ is a chilling and clever thriller

Set in the icy backdrop of the Swiss Alps, L’amour est un crime parfait (Love is the Perfect Crime) is a dark thriller that blurs the lines between fantasy and reality. With a rich emphasis on the link between man, literature, and landscape, the film takes its audience for a chilling ride.

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‘The Lost Weekend’ is a nightmarish vision of chronic alcoholism

The Lost Weekend Directed by Billy Wilder Written by Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder 1945, USA Billy Wilder’s films are perfection. From Double Indemnity to Some Like It Hot, Wilder never made a bad film. And while his earlier films are some of my absolute favorites, I had always skipped over The Lost Weekend. Put …

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‘Sunset Boulevard’ is a lament about the film industry and a great story

Sunset Boulevard (Also known as Sunset Blvd) Directed by Billy Wilder Written by Charles Bracket and Billy Wilder U.S.A., 1950 In cinema, as in life, the past informs and shapes the present, which in turn does the same for the future. One cannot concentrate too much on the present or risk losing sight on the …

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‘Double Indemnity’ shows a cool cat’s frightening dual nature

Double Indemnity Directed by Billy Wilder Written by Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler U.S.A., 1944 There is a perverse sort of delight a film viewer can extract from witnessing the fall of someone too cool for school. How many times have vintage film noirs featured a protagonist which always had the right words to say …

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SOS Staff Gateway Films: Susannah Straughan – ‘Sunset Blvd.’

Throughout November, SOS staffers will be discussing the movies that made them into film fanatics. (click here for the full list) Sunset Blvd. Directed by Billy Wilder Written by Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder 1950 – USA You must remember this. For me the love affair with movies began with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall …

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Worth Remembering: William Holden (1918-1981) and Glenn Ford (1916-2006) – Golden Boys 

By most accounts, Harry Cohn was a royal son of a bitch. For the uninformed, Harry Cohn was co-founder of Columbia Pictures, and the autocratic ruler of the studio from its founding in 1919 until his death in 1958.  He was vulgar, crass, tyrannical, a screaming, foul-mouthed verbal bully i.e. a royal son of a …

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Five Underseen Classic Hollywood Comedies

Inspired by the recent Sound on Sight radio show on Preston Sturges, I have decided to supplement the work of one of the great comic directors by providing a list of under seen and generally under appreciated comedies from Preston Sturges’ era. Whereas most connoisseurs will be familiar with his work, as well as films …

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Hooch ‘n’ Harmonies

Undertones: Volume 2 In the 1940s the consumption of alcohol was predominantly glamorised on the silver screen. Starlets sipped sensuously on their g & t’s whilst detectives downed shots of whiskey before departing the office on a hot lead. If this was an accurate portrayal of the time, one has to ask how the hell …

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