With 1975's "Barry Lyndon," Stanley Kubrick took the constraints of the novelistic period piece and tore them apart. This adaptation of William Makepace Thackeray's novel "The Luck of Barry Lyndon" follows the rules of the so-called costume drama, the repression and restrained manners, and turns them into something else. The movie is chaotic and bitterly ironic, establishing and exploring two of Kubrick's most compelling characters over the course of its three hours.
Just before its making, Kubrick had previously explored the far reaches of space with "2001: A Space Odyssey" and the chilling causes and effects of violence with "A Clockwork Orange." Watching his movies gives the impression of a vast openness, not just in the compositions but in the staging of the characters and the viewer's flexibility of interpretation. His movies were massive and unpredictable simultaneously, inventing whole new worlds and visual languages out of nowhere. In search of something new,...
Just before its making, Kubrick had previously explored the far reaches of space with "2001: A Space Odyssey" and the chilling causes and effects of violence with "A Clockwork Orange." Watching his movies gives the impression of a vast openness, not just in the compositions but in the staging of the characters and the viewer's flexibility of interpretation. His movies were massive and unpredictable simultaneously, inventing whole new worlds and visual languages out of nowhere. In search of something new,...
- 1/21/2023
- by Anthony Crislip
- Slash Film
Like all the best TV opening titles, Harlots’ comical, brazen credits sequence announces its personality in miniature. A collage-style animation set to modern music, it shows cut-out characters from William Hogarth’s 18th-century painting series A Harlot’s Progress clustered around a giant, luridly colored female nude. They tuck into her crevices, canoodle on her mountainous behind, nestle between her buttocks, and peep out over the top of two plump hillock breasts. In the shadow between her thighs, female prisoners toil (just another day at the mine), and finally, she’s on her back, legs spread wide as the show’s title appears dead centre: Harlots. Come on in.
It’s a bold start that announces Harlots’ defiantly effervescent approach to a period and industry – sex work in the 18th century – that could in other hands be wall-to-wall syphilis and woe. It uses Hogarth’s instructive moralism for its own ends,...
It’s a bold start that announces Harlots’ defiantly effervescent approach to a period and industry – sex work in the 18th century – that could in other hands be wall-to-wall syphilis and woe. It uses Hogarth’s instructive moralism for its own ends,...
- 8/5/2020
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
Louisa Mellor Jul 11, 2019
With season 3 out now, Harlots is an excellent period drama with a top-notch cast. Here's why...
This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
Like all the best TV opening titles, Harlots’ comical, brazen credits sequence announces its personality in miniature. A collage-style animation set to modern music, it shows cut-out characters from William Hogarth’s 18th-century painting series A Harlot’s Progress clustered around a giant, luridly colored female nude. They tuck into her crevices, canoodle on her mountainous behind, nestle between her buttocks, and peep out over the top of two plump hillock breasts. In the shadow between her thighs, female prisoners toil (just another day at the mine), and finally, she’s on her back, legs spread wide as the show’s title appears dead center: Harlots. Come on in.
It’s a bold start that announces Harlots’ defiantly effervescent approach to a period...
With season 3 out now, Harlots is an excellent period drama with a top-notch cast. Here's why...
This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
Like all the best TV opening titles, Harlots’ comical, brazen credits sequence announces its personality in miniature. A collage-style animation set to modern music, it shows cut-out characters from William Hogarth’s 18th-century painting series A Harlot’s Progress clustered around a giant, luridly colored female nude. They tuck into her crevices, canoodle on her mountainous behind, nestle between her buttocks, and peep out over the top of two plump hillock breasts. In the shadow between her thighs, female prisoners toil (just another day at the mine), and finally, she’s on her back, legs spread wide as the show’s title appears dead center: Harlots. Come on in.
It’s a bold start that announces Harlots’ defiantly effervescent approach to a period...
- 7/11/2019
- Den of Geek
A day after her brother-in-law Prince Harry announced his engagement to Meghan Markle, Kate Middleton was all smiles as she stepped out for the first time since the big engagement news.
“William and I are absolutely thrilled,” she told reporters early Tuesday at the Foundling Museum in London. “It’s such exciting news. It’s a really happy time for any couple and we wish them all the best and hope they enjoy this happy moment.”
The royal mom was at the museum to learn more about the way it uses art and creativity as a means to support and engage children and vulnerable families.
“William and I are absolutely thrilled,” she told reporters early Tuesday at the Foundling Museum in London. “It’s such exciting news. It’s a really happy time for any couple and we wish them all the best and hope they enjoy this happy moment.”
The royal mom was at the museum to learn more about the way it uses art and creativity as a means to support and engage children and vulnerable families.
- 11/28/2017
- by Simon Perry
- PEOPLE.com
Sci-Fi and Comic Book Shows Are Getting Serious Awards Attention: How Bold DPs are Changing the Race
Call them the Dp disruptors: “Legion,” “Stranger Things,” “Westworld,” “The Handmaid’s Tale,” and “Taboo.” It’s one thing to be for cinematography to be cinematic, but quite another to provoke. Here’s a look at the cinematography that was used to explore the impacts of tyranny and hate, of societies turned upside down and against humanity.
“Legion”
After re-imagining “Fargo” as a nightmarish crime anthology, Noah Hawley stripped the superhero iconography out of Marvel’s “Legion” by concentrating on schizophrenia and paranoia. Dan Stevens’ troubled mutant, David Haller, proves to be an unreliable narrator, unable to grasp the difference between reality and imagination, who meets the girl of his dreams (Rachel Keller) in a mental hospital and discovers that his psychological instability is a result of special telepathic power.
Cinematographer Dana Gonzales (“Fargo”) liked a story that demanded a shift from naturalistic to heightened. “And there’s a love...
“Legion”
After re-imagining “Fargo” as a nightmarish crime anthology, Noah Hawley stripped the superhero iconography out of Marvel’s “Legion” by concentrating on schizophrenia and paranoia. Dan Stevens’ troubled mutant, David Haller, proves to be an unreliable narrator, unable to grasp the difference between reality and imagination, who meets the girl of his dreams (Rachel Keller) in a mental hospital and discovers that his psychological instability is a result of special telepathic power.
Cinematographer Dana Gonzales (“Fargo”) liked a story that demanded a shift from naturalistic to heightened. “And there’s a love...
- 5/26/2017
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Comic-Con International has announced the nominations for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards for 2015. The nominees, chosen by a blue-ribbon panel of judges, highlight the wide range of material being published in comics and graphic novel form today, from companies big and small, in print and on line. The awards will be given out during a gala ceremony on Friday, July 10 during Comic-Con International: San Diego.
Best Short Story
“Beginning’s End,” by Rina Ayuyang, muthamagazine.com
“Corpse on the Imjin!” by Peter Kuper, in Masterful Marks: Cartoonists Who Changed the World (Simon & Schuster)
“,” by Lee Bermejo, in Batman Black and White #3 (DC)
“,” by Max Landis & Jock, in Adventures of Superman #14 (DC)
“When the Darkness Presses,” by Emily Carroll, http://emcarroll.com/comics/darkness/
Best Single Issue (or One-Shot)
Astro City #16: “Wish I May” by Kurt Busiek & Brent Anderson (Vertigo/DC)
Beasts of Burden: Hunters and Gatherers, by Evan Dorkin...
Best Short Story
“Beginning’s End,” by Rina Ayuyang, muthamagazine.com
“Corpse on the Imjin!” by Peter Kuper, in Masterful Marks: Cartoonists Who Changed the World (Simon & Schuster)
“,” by Lee Bermejo, in Batman Black and White #3 (DC)
“,” by Max Landis & Jock, in Adventures of Superman #14 (DC)
“When the Darkness Presses,” by Emily Carroll, http://emcarroll.com/comics/darkness/
Best Single Issue (or One-Shot)
Astro City #16: “Wish I May” by Kurt Busiek & Brent Anderson (Vertigo/DC)
Beasts of Burden: Hunters and Gatherers, by Evan Dorkin...
- 4/24/2015
- by Luana Haygen
- Comicmix.com
The following is a list of all comic books, graphic novels and specialty items that will be available this week and shipped to comic book stores who have placed orders for them.
Abstract Studios
Rachel Rising #24, $3.99
Action Lab Entertainment
Skyward #6 (Cover A Jeremy Dale), $2.99
Skyward #6 (Cover B Randy Green), $2.99
Antarctic Press
Gold Digger #209, $3.99
Archie Comic Publications
Best Of Archie Comics Betty And Veronica Volume 1 Tp, $9.99
Betty And Veronica Double Digest #222, $3.99
Sonic The Hedgehog Select Volume 9 Games Tp (not verified by Diamond), $11.99
Attaboy’S Yumfactory
Hi-Fructose Magazine Quarterly #31, $7.95
Avatar Press
Caliban #1 (Facundo Percio Design Sketch Incentive Cover), Ar
Caliban #1 (Facundo Percio Regular Cover), $3.99
Caliban #1 (Facundo Percio Terror Cover), $3.99
Caliban #1 (Facundo Percio Wraparound Cover), $3.99
Crossed Badlands #51 (Christian Zanier Red Crossed Incentive Cover), Ar
Crossed Badlands #51 (Christian Zanier Regular Cover), $3.99
Crossed Badlands #51 (Christian Zanier Wraparound Cover), $3.99
Crossed Badlands #51 (Gabriel Andrade Torture Cover), $3.99
Crossed Badlands #51 (Jacen Burrows Fatal Fantasy Cover), $3.99
God Is Dead #10 (German...
Abstract Studios
Rachel Rising #24, $3.99
Action Lab Entertainment
Skyward #6 (Cover A Jeremy Dale), $2.99
Skyward #6 (Cover B Randy Green), $2.99
Antarctic Press
Gold Digger #209, $3.99
Archie Comic Publications
Best Of Archie Comics Betty And Veronica Volume 1 Tp, $9.99
Betty And Veronica Double Digest #222, $3.99
Sonic The Hedgehog Select Volume 9 Games Tp (not verified by Diamond), $11.99
Attaboy’S Yumfactory
Hi-Fructose Magazine Quarterly #31, $7.95
Avatar Press
Caliban #1 (Facundo Percio Design Sketch Incentive Cover), Ar
Caliban #1 (Facundo Percio Regular Cover), $3.99
Caliban #1 (Facundo Percio Terror Cover), $3.99
Caliban #1 (Facundo Percio Wraparound Cover), $3.99
Crossed Badlands #51 (Christian Zanier Red Crossed Incentive Cover), Ar
Crossed Badlands #51 (Christian Zanier Regular Cover), $3.99
Crossed Badlands #51 (Christian Zanier Wraparound Cover), $3.99
Crossed Badlands #51 (Gabriel Andrade Torture Cover), $3.99
Crossed Badlands #51 (Jacen Burrows Fatal Fantasy Cover), $3.99
God Is Dead #10 (German...
- 3/31/2014
- by Adam B.
- GeekRest
The following is a list of all comic books, graphic novels and specialty items that will be available this week and shipped to comic book stores who have placed orders for them.
Abrams
Adventure Time A Totally Math Poster Collection Sc, $19.95
Abstract Studios
Rachel Rising #24 (not verified by Diamond), $3.99
Antarctic Press
Gold Digger Gold Brick III Reminted Edition Tp (not verified by Diamond), $50.00
Ninja High School #176, $3.99
Archie Comic Publications
Best Of Archie Comics Betty And Veronica Volume 1 Tp (not verified by Diamond), $9.99
Aspen Comics
Bubblegun #5 (Of 5)(Cover A Mike Bowden), $3.99
Bubblegun #5 (Of 5)(Cover B Mirka Andolfo), $3.99
Avatar Press
Crossed Badlands #50 (Christian Zanier Red Crossed Incentive Cover), Ar
Crossed Badlands #50 (Christian Zanier Regular Cover), $3.99
Crossed Badlands #50 (Christian Zanier Torture Cover), $3.99
Crossed Badlands #50 (Christian Zanier Wraparound Cover), $3.99
Crossed Badlands #50 (Jacen Burrows Amazons Cover), $3.99
Crossed Badlands #50 (Jacen Burrows Pure Art Incentive Cover), Ar
Crossed Badlands #50 (Jacen Burrows True Romance Cover), $3.99
Crossed Badlands #50 (Matt...
Abrams
Adventure Time A Totally Math Poster Collection Sc, $19.95
Abstract Studios
Rachel Rising #24 (not verified by Diamond), $3.99
Antarctic Press
Gold Digger Gold Brick III Reminted Edition Tp (not verified by Diamond), $50.00
Ninja High School #176, $3.99
Archie Comic Publications
Best Of Archie Comics Betty And Veronica Volume 1 Tp (not verified by Diamond), $9.99
Aspen Comics
Bubblegun #5 (Of 5)(Cover A Mike Bowden), $3.99
Bubblegun #5 (Of 5)(Cover B Mirka Andolfo), $3.99
Avatar Press
Crossed Badlands #50 (Christian Zanier Red Crossed Incentive Cover), Ar
Crossed Badlands #50 (Christian Zanier Regular Cover), $3.99
Crossed Badlands #50 (Christian Zanier Torture Cover), $3.99
Crossed Badlands #50 (Christian Zanier Wraparound Cover), $3.99
Crossed Badlands #50 (Jacen Burrows Amazons Cover), $3.99
Crossed Badlands #50 (Jacen Burrows Pure Art Incentive Cover), Ar
Crossed Badlands #50 (Jacen Burrows True Romance Cover), $3.99
Crossed Badlands #50 (Matt...
- 3/24/2014
- by Adam B.
- GeekRest
Landmark painting Le Moulin de la Galette was once owned by man who inspired James Bond's famous villain
A painting that made Vincent van Gogh's name will go on sale this month after almost half a century hidden away in private ownership.
Le Moulin de la Galette depicts a windmill against a sunny sky above Montmartre in Paris. It was first shown in public in Amsterdam, 15 years after Van Gogh's death. Later it was the proud possession of the powerful American industrialist who inspired Ian Fleming to create his arch-villain Auric Goldfinger, the quintessential enemy of James Bond, whose closest companion was a fluffy white cat.
Van Gogh painted the work in April 1887 at a key point in the development of his vibrant, colourful style. During a two-year period, just after he had moved to Paris to live with his brother, Theo, the impoverished painter moved away from...
A painting that made Vincent van Gogh's name will go on sale this month after almost half a century hidden away in private ownership.
Le Moulin de la Galette depicts a windmill against a sunny sky above Montmartre in Paris. It was first shown in public in Amsterdam, 15 years after Van Gogh's death. Later it was the proud possession of the powerful American industrialist who inspired Ian Fleming to create his arch-villain Auric Goldfinger, the quintessential enemy of James Bond, whose closest companion was a fluffy white cat.
Van Gogh painted the work in April 1887 at a key point in the development of his vibrant, colourful style. During a two-year period, just after he had moved to Paris to live with his brother, Theo, the impoverished painter moved away from...
- 3/2/2014
- by Vanessa Thorpe
- The Guardian - Film News
A new film animates classic artworks by Caravaggio and others to try and shake them out of passivity. But isn't that where their power lies?
Reading on mobile? Click to view
What does it take to get a 21st-century audience excited about oil paintings? Well, they are all a bit … still, aren't they? Walking through an art museum, you pass so many landscapes and portraits that sit there in unmoving passivity.
But what if they moved? Rino Stefano Tagliafierro's film Beauty begins with slides of 19th-century landscape paintings. Then a couple of birds fly over a painted lake. Uh-huh. From there, we are taken on a rollercoaster ride through pre-20th century European art, from Bouguereau's waxy nudes – animated so that they actually cavort – to Caspar David Friedrich's desolate winter vision of a ruined abbey whose sun, in this version, eventually sets.
Since the theme is beauty, we see some...
Reading on mobile? Click to view
What does it take to get a 21st-century audience excited about oil paintings? Well, they are all a bit … still, aren't they? Walking through an art museum, you pass so many landscapes and portraits that sit there in unmoving passivity.
But what if they moved? Rino Stefano Tagliafierro's film Beauty begins with slides of 19th-century landscape paintings. Then a couple of birds fly over a painted lake. Uh-huh. From there, we are taken on a rollercoaster ride through pre-20th century European art, from Bouguereau's waxy nudes – animated so that they actually cavort – to Caspar David Friedrich's desolate winter vision of a ruined abbey whose sun, in this version, eventually sets.
Since the theme is beauty, we see some...
- 1/20/2014
- by Jonathan Jones
- The Guardian - Film News
Terry Gilliam once told a story of how he dealt with animator’s block while working on the first series of Monty Python, and how his refuge was the National Gallery. There the painting would leap out at him, talk to him, throw their own ideas from the walls right at him. These trips to the galleries inspired the graphical nonsense which peppered the Pythons’ sketches, including a certain Bronzino foot which would become a very famous appendage.
In the first in a series of videos filmed by Tate Britain director Christopher Nolan discusses his own relationship with the art world and in particular with the works of Francis Bacon and their influence on one of the main grotesques in his Dark Knight Trilogy.
Also interviewed are Mike Leigh and Ken Loach, these videos can be found below along with others here at the Meet Tate Britain section of the website.
In the first in a series of videos filmed by Tate Britain director Christopher Nolan discusses his own relationship with the art world and in particular with the works of Francis Bacon and their influence on one of the main grotesques in his Dark Knight Trilogy.
Also interviewed are Mike Leigh and Ken Loach, these videos can be found below along with others here at the Meet Tate Britain section of the website.
- 11/28/2013
- by Jon Lyus
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
An interesting connection between Tim Burton's Batman and Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight has just come to light as the folks at the newly refurbished Tate Britain sent me some videos featuring directors such as Nolan, Mike Leigh and Ken Loach talking about how certain artists inspired their work. To begin, for Nolan he focuses on the work of Francis Bacon, revealing how he couldn't find the right words to describe the look he wanted for the smeared clown make-up on Heath Ledger's Joker so he turned to a book of Bacon's art to relay his vision to Ledger's make-up artist, John Caglione Jr.. While it's always interesting to see a filmmaker's inspiration, what's even more interesting about this, to me, is the connection it draws between Nolan's Joker and Jack Nicholson's turn as the Joker in Burton's 1989 film. Just below is the Tate Britain short with Nolan,...
- 11/26/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
If you’ve ever wondered how Heath Ledger’s Joker came by that tortured visage of his, the newly refurbished Tate Britain is the place to go. The venerable gallery has launched three short YouTube films linking film and art. This one sees Christopher Nolan pull the thread from the Joker back to his inspiration, Francis Bacon, a mainstay at the Pimlico picture palace. Click below to hear Nolan’s thoughts on the great artist and his influence on Heath Ledger and Dark Knight makeup artist John Caglione’s work. Interestingly, the director also takes the chance to reiterate his fidelity to celluloid, drawing parallels between the analogue image and the handmade quality of Bacon’s work. “It’s inherently a little sterile”, Nolan says of the digital image. “There’s a little bit more of a barrier between what you’re trying to do and reaching an audience”. Alongside...
- 11/26/2013
- EmpireOnline
Best-selling author and journalist Jonathan Alter (The Center Holds: Obama and His Enemies, The Defining Moment: Fdr’s Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope) explains what it has been like to go Hollywood and produce a pilot for Amazon – Alpha House, created by Garry Trudeau (Doonesbury). Alter explains the real-life roots of the show and what it was like to work with Trudeau, as well as with an amazing cast led by John Goodman. And those cameos! (Might there be more Stephen Colbert? Read on.)
For most of my life I’ve been a political animal. My mother was a politician in Chicago, I was an intern in the Senate and the White House in the 1970s, and for the last two decades I’ve written a column about politics (first for Newsweek, now for Bloomberg View), authored books about presidents and gabbed about the events of the day on NBC News and MSNBC.
For most of my life I’ve been a political animal. My mother was a politician in Chicago, I was an intern in the Senate and the White House in the 1970s, and for the last two decades I’ve written a column about politics (first for Newsweek, now for Bloomberg View), authored books about presidents and gabbed about the events of the day on NBC News and MSNBC.
- 4/24/2013
- Hollywonk
American auteur director Stanley Kubrick, who helmed such films as 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, and Full Metal Jacket, is legendary among cinephiles for his unique, obsessively symmetrical imagery. And now, a fan has paid homage to the late icon’s visual style with a new supercut on Vimeo. The title, “Kubrick: One-Point Perspective,” refers to the graphic terminology for a vanishing point that directly faces the viewer. One-point perspective, normally applied to painting and architecture, is a technique with which Kubrick was intimately familiar: he worked for years as a photographer for Look magazine before transitioning to filmmaking,...
- 8/30/2012
- by Josh Stillman
- EW.com - PopWatch
Hey Gang! Comic-Con International has unveiled the full schedule for Saturday July 24th! If you thought Thursday and Friday were insanely awesome and crazy, wait until you see what's planned for Saturday! There is a ton of great stuff going on that you're going to want to see! We've got all Marvel film panel with Thor, Captain America and The Avengers. There's also Green Lantern, Cowboys & Aliens, Sucker Punch, Harry Potter, Paul, and a ton of other great stuff! And if you aren't able to make it out to Comic-Con this year don't worry we got your back, and will be covering everything we possibly can. I've highlighted all the events we hope to cover. If you're going to comic-con we will be having a little meet up. The details for that will be revealed soon. Now check out the full schedule below and start planning out your Comic-Con geekdom.
- 7/10/2010
- by Venkman
- GeekTyrant
Left, Henry Hudson’s Whitechapel Galley Loo; right, Marc Quinn and Hudson. When an exhibition is called “Crapula,” you might imagine a crude affair, but British artist Henry Hudson’s new show at 20 Hoxton Square Projects, in London, proves to be quite the opposite. A sophisticated crowd—to say the least—took in the opening party last week at Alexander Dellal’s East London gallery. Socialite Countess Debbie von Bismarck, actress-model-painter Meredith Ostrom, and the gallery owner’s mother, Andrea Dellal, were just some of the keen viewers on Thursday night, along with a top selection of London artists, such as Sue Webster, Tim Noble, Keith Coventry, Hugo Wilson, and Piers Jackson. Inside the airy white showroom were depictions of lavatories at some of London’s most prestigious galleries and museums—the Tate Modern, National Portrait, Serpentine, Victoria and Albert, and Courthauld—drawn in chalk on old-fashioned school blackboards. There...
- 6/7/2010
- Vanity Fair
Stevie Wonder hits the UK, Toy Story goes 3D, and it's the last ever Big Brother – our critics pick the unmissable events of the season
Pop
Stevie Wonder
Anyone who can't face braving Glastonbury to see the Motown legend's Sunday-night set can head to London's Hyde Park for this headlining show. It's likely to be heavy on the hits, but a little too heavy on the audience participation, if complaints from disgruntled punters at Wonder's recent shows are anything to go by. And be warned: Jamiroquai seems to have been enticed out of retirement to provide support. Hyde Park, London W2, 26 June. Box office: 020-7009 3484.
T in the Park
This beloved Scottish festival is prized as much for its atmosphere as its lineup. And they're certainly wheeling out the big hitters this year: Eminem, Muse, Kasabian, Jay-z, Black Eyed Peas, Florence and the Machine, La Roux, Dizzee Rascal and Paolo Nutini,...
Pop
Stevie Wonder
Anyone who can't face braving Glastonbury to see the Motown legend's Sunday-night set can head to London's Hyde Park for this headlining show. It's likely to be heavy on the hits, but a little too heavy on the audience participation, if complaints from disgruntled punters at Wonder's recent shows are anything to go by. And be warned: Jamiroquai seems to have been enticed out of retirement to provide support. Hyde Park, London W2, 26 June. Box office: 020-7009 3484.
T in the Park
This beloved Scottish festival is prized as much for its atmosphere as its lineup. And they're certainly wheeling out the big hitters this year: Eminem, Muse, Kasabian, Jay-z, Black Eyed Peas, Florence and the Machine, La Roux, Dizzee Rascal and Paolo Nutini,...
- 5/24/2010
- The Guardian - Film News
Some say dictatorships spur dissident artists to be truly adventurous, but the strongest art comes from freedom – as our upcoming general election reminds us
There's a glib view that dictatorships are good for artistic life. On the one hand, they throw public money at cinema, architecture and monumental sculpture, producing mounds of propagandist kitsch, of course, but also providing the wherewithal for real talents to learn their trade. This has been spectacularly true of cinema in the Soviet Union and Iran. On the other hand, they make the life of the creative dissident truly adventurous, stimulating a defiant heroism that western writers in the late Soviet era found inspiring.
But as we celebrate what is – let's not forget – the greatest collective act ever invented by human beings, a free election, it's worth noting that such claims for totalitarianism's cultural strength are daft. Let's begin with visual art. Britain was not...
There's a glib view that dictatorships are good for artistic life. On the one hand, they throw public money at cinema, architecture and monumental sculpture, producing mounds of propagandist kitsch, of course, but also providing the wherewithal for real talents to learn their trade. This has been spectacularly true of cinema in the Soviet Union and Iran. On the other hand, they make the life of the creative dissident truly adventurous, stimulating a defiant heroism that western writers in the late Soviet era found inspiring.
But as we celebrate what is – let's not forget – the greatest collective act ever invented by human beings, a free election, it's worth noting that such claims for totalitarianism's cultural strength are daft. Let's begin with visual art. Britain was not...
- 4/7/2010
- by Jonathan Jones
- The Guardian - Film News
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