Laura (1944)

Laura (1944) has always been held up as a classic and a key title when it comes to the genre of film noir. What I was surprised by was, in comparison to say Raymond Chandler adaptations, there is something sophisticated about this film, a drawing room mystery rather than a plunge into the dark, gritty […]

A Matter Of Life And Death (1946)

SBS OnDemand adding several films by British directors Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger is a real treat for any lover of cinema, and a great chance for myself to catch up on the titles that I’d not seen. What strikes me, and I’m sure many others, about A Matter Of Life And Death (1946) is […]

Detour (1945)

Detour (1945) always seemed like the ultimate example of film noir to me on account of the mythos around it; that it wasn’t a big studio picture, that it was low budget and shot quickly, and that its lead star would later in life would be involved in Hollywood true crime gossip (was it an […]

Bicycle Thieves (1948)

Ever since the writer character Vincent D’Onofrio played in The Player went to a screening of Bicycle Thieves (1948; Ladri di biciclette aka The Bicycle Thief), championing it as true cinema, I always felt guilty for never having seen it. After copping a DVD copy, and letting it sit on a shelf for a long […]