Comparative Examination

Comparative Examination: Unrelated and Archipelago

MikeDawson — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 02:11:24 -0700

Joanna Hogg might be name with which you are unfamiliar; this article will hopefully go some way towards rectifying this.

Comparative Examination: El Mariachi, Desperado and Once Upon a Time in Mexico

MikeDawson — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 03:12:26 -0700

WARNING: Contains Spoilers for El Mariachi and Desperado

In 1992, twenty-five year old American filmmaker Robert Rodriguez embarked on a film project that would not only fast track his career to superstar director status but would also inspire an entire generation of filmmakers to go out and make their own films with their own money. The story is a remarkable one of triumph over adversity and also acts as lesson in creative and lateral thinking. For the uninitiated, Rodriguez wrote, directed and co-produced El Mariachi for a grand total of $7,000.

Comparative Examination: El Mariachi, Desperado and Once Upon a Time in Mexico - Podcast

Left_Field_Cinema — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 23:33:38 -0700

Robert Rodriguez took the film world by storm in 1992 with his $7,000 budgeted feature film El Mariachi. The film is an excellent example of low budget filmmaking and what can be achieved with very little money. The sequels Desperado (1995) and Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003) are less impressive despite the substantial increase in budgets.

Written and presented Mike Dawson.

Comparative Examination: La belle et la bête and Beauty and the Beast

MikeDawson — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 08:33:33 -0700

It is, as the title song written by the late, great Howard Ashman puts it, a tale as old as time. While nowadays a romantic cliché, the fact of the matter remains that the story of a beautiful self-less peasant woman, a cursed selfish prince and the transformative power of the love between the two of them has been around for centuries, reaching back even further than Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve's original French rendition published in 1740.

Comparative Examination: The Shining and The Dead Zone

MikeDawson — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 02:57:27 -0700

When one looks at the overall work of a specific filmmaker in order to determine his status as an auteur, questions of originality, authorship and whether specific films fit into an overall schemata come into play. If a director does something completely different from his normal line of work and lacks aspects that are common in his overall body, is it a "true" film in his filmography?

Comparative Examination: Cannibal Holocaust and The Blair Witch Project

Left_Field_Cinema — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 04:44:43 -0700

WARNING: Contains spoilers for both films throughout.

Sir Isaac Newton famously remarked in a letter to his rival Robert Hooke: “If I have seen a little further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants”, implying that every scientific success is based entirely on the success of those who have come before. This statement can, and regularly is, transposed into other areas of human endeavor such as philosophy or art.

Comparative Examination: Cannibal Holocaust and The Blair Witch Project - Podcast

Left_Field_Cinema — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 09:05:49 -0700

Originality vs. Good Filmmaking is explored in this edition of Left Field Cinema as we compare Ruggero Deodato's Cannibal Holocaust (1980) and Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez's The Blair Witch Project (1999), two horror classics with the same conceit at their hearts.

Written and presented by Mike Dawson.

Comparative Examination: Last Night and Armageddon

MikeDawson — Wed, 05 May 2010 01:12:28 -0700

WARNING: Contains Spoilers for Both Films Throughout

The question as to what makes a Canadian film distinctly Canadian has always been an issue for Canadian filmmakers, particularly in regards to their American counterparts. Despite the progress the Canadian film industry has made in getting their films seen by their own people, they still have to compete with the Americans in getting their films noticed.

Comparative Examination: 24 Hour Party People and Control

Left_Field_Cinema — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 01:08:57 -0700

WARNING: Contains Spoilers For those unaware of the history of Joy Division

Two British films with common themes and characters but which approach their subjects from entirely differing perspectives and virtually opposite aesthetics. The first is Michael Winterbottom’s 24 Hour Party People, which was produced in 2002.

Comparative Examination: 24 Hour Party People and Control - Podcast

Left_Field_Cinema — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 01:06:06 -0700

Comparing and contrasting the differing approaches to a shared subject matter as found in the films of Michael Winterbottom and Anton Corbijn which surround Joy Division and Factory Records.