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‘The Phantom Carriage’ (Victor Sjostrom, 1921)

The Phantom Carriage (1921) Directed by Victor Sjostrom Written by Selma Lagerlof and Victor Sjostrom Cinematography by Julius Jaenzon For many, the tired face and defeated body of Victor Sjostrom became synonymous with mortality in Ingmar Bergman’s pivotal film, Wild Strawberries. Few know that he was not only Bergman’s mentor but one of cinema’s greatest …

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Sound Upon Sound: The Conversation

Undertones: Volume 11 Having the misfortune of being dwarfed by the releases of the critical and commercial giants, The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather II (1974), The Conversation (1974) stands as somewhat of an under-appreciated gem in the Francis Ford Coppola filmography. Though lauded by critics upon its release, it was not a hit at …

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Scores from Outer Space

Undertones: Volume 6 The classic science fiction film emerged during a period of great societal paranoia in the US in the early 1950s. The post-WW2 environment saw an increased concern with nuclear armament and a fear of the infiltration of communism on the American way of life. Essentially, the sci-fi film was Hollywood’s great metaphor …

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Sweet Sadism: Angelo Badalamenti’s Score for Blue Velvet

Undertones: Volume 5 Removing the veneer of squeaky-clean suburban American life to reveal its seamy underbelly, David Lynch’s 1986 film, Blue Velvet, is a modern masterpiece and perhaps the most crystallized example of Lynch’s filmic vision. Concerned with the misadventure of a clean-cut teen called Jeffrey (Kyle MacLachlan) who upon discovering and subsequently investigating a …

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The Drone of Dead Man

Undertones: Volume 4 Jim Jarmusch’s transcendental western, Dead Man (1995), is the tale of a spiritual and physical journey taken by an ordinary man named William Blake (Johnny Depp) sometime in the later part of the 19th century. Travelling to a frontier town called Machine, Blake hopes to be given a job as an accountant …

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Hooch ā€˜nā€™ 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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