Author Archives: Adam Call Roberts

About Adam Call Roberts

I'm counting down through the list of 1,000 Greatest Films. Follow my journey here.

Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles

Posted on May 2, 2013

Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975) dir. Chantal Akerman Jeanne Dielman is a long film.  It is a slow film.  It is long and slow because the film — unlike everything else in the titular character’s life … Continue reading →

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Close-Up

Posted on April 27, 2013

Close-Up (1990) dir. Abbas Kiarostami Film buff Hossain Sabzian pretends to be famous Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf, and tells a family he intends to make a documentary about them.  They believe him at first, but soon the truth is uncovered. … Continue reading →

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The Mexican War Journal of Thomas James Dunn

Posted on March 8, 2013

War did not come at a convenient time for my great-x5-grandfather Thomas James Dunn. His son was only a month old and his family was facing an uncertain future while they prepared for a dangerous migration. He was being asked … Continue reading →

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A Woman Under the Influence

Posted on February 12, 2013

A Woman Under the Influence (1974) dir. John Cassevetes Gena Rowlands plays Mabel, an all-American housewife who suffers from mental illness.  She’s functional, and doesn’t seem dangerous.  The only real problem is that other people find her very annoying.  Usually characters … Continue reading →

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Shoot the Piano Player

Posted on January 19, 2013

Tirez sur le pianiste (Shoot the Piano Player) (1960) dir. François Truffaut Shoot the Piano Player was Truffaut’s second feature film, after The 400 Blows.  Godard’s Breathless, which Truffaut wrote an initial treatment for, was released the same year.  The two helped … Continue reading →

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Cléo de 5 à 7

Posted on January 19, 2013

Cléo de 5 à 7 (1961) dir. Agnès Varda Varda’s Cléo is part of the ‘Left Bank’ of the French New Wave.  The Left Bank, including Alain Resnais (Hiroshima mon amour, Last Year at Marienbad) and Chris Marker (La Jetée) was … Continue reading →

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Wavelength

Posted on October 28, 2012

Wavelength (1967) dir. Michael Snow Wavelength is the vanguard of “structural film” – a movement in the mid-20th Century of simplified filmmaking.  Director Michael Snow uses the zoom, the iris, diegetic sound and other techniques, but keeps the camera pointed … Continue reading →

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Day of Wrath

Posted on September 23, 2012

Day of Wrath (1943) dir. Carl Theodor Dreyer Day of Wrath, a movie about 17th Century women accused and condemned of witchcraft, was made during the Nazi occupation of Denmark, and released just months after the Nazis dissolved the Protectorate … Continue reading →

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Daisies

Posted on September 22, 2012

Daisies – Sedmikrásky (1966) dir. Věra Chytilová Sedmikrásky (or Daisies) is the iconic feminist, absurd film from the Czechoslovak New Wave.  Director Věra Chytilová comes from the grand tradition of Dada — she doesn’t so much break from traditional film convention as she … Continue reading →

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Shoah

Posted on September 15, 2012

Shoah (1985) dir. Claude Lanzmann The 9 1/2 hour film Shoah consists of eyewitness testimony of those who participated in and were the victims of the slaughter of 6 million European Jews by the Nazi regime.  Claude Lanzmann interviews survivors, … Continue reading →

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