Adaptation · Nº 01
Why Rebecca (1940) Turns Murder into an Accident
Why did Hitchcock’s Rebecca change murder into an accident? Follow the Production Code dispute and the questions left after Maxim explains the death.
Journal series
See Films Differently
A little knowledge can completely change what you see on screen.
Film within a film · Nº 02
The Real Film Behind Norma’s Past in Sunset Boulevard
The film Norma watches is Queen Kelly. See how Gloria Swanson’s real performance becomes a fictional star’s past, with a modern Minions comparison.
What to watch next · Nº 03
After No Longer Human, Watch The Face of Another
Read No Longer Human? Watch The Face of Another next, and compare Yōzō’s account of clowning with the way Teshigahara shows one man under two appearances.
Film craft · Nº 04
Why PlayTime’s Doorman Keeps Opening a Door Without Glass
Why does PlayTime’s doorman keep opening a broken door? Separate the passage from the gesture with Don Norman’s distinction between affordances and signifiers.
Film craft · Nº 05
Love Toy Story? Discover the Living Doll in A Christmas Dream
Love Toy Story? Discover A Christmas Dream, an eleven-minute black-and-white short where an old rag doll turns a piano into music, skating and play.
Narrative · Nº 06
When a Confession Still Has a Punchline
Neff confesses, Gillis mocks himself, and Harry Lime jokes about his victims. Read how wit admits failure, manages sympathy and evades responsibility.
Film craft · Nº 07
Minions and Silent Comedy: Why the Jokes Work Beyond Words
Why can Minions make sense without translation? Follow their looks, voices and mistakes alongside Chaplin’s The Gold Rush and Keaton’s One Week.
Film history · Nº 08
When the Backgrounds in Old Films Become the Main Attraction
Why can an old film's shopfronts and passing traffic become as absorbing as its story? Look again with People on Sunday and A Trip Down Market Street.
Film craft · Nº 09
What Is Deep Focus? Meaning and Film Examples
What is deep focus in film? Learn how it differs from shallow focus, deep-space staging and rack focus, with clear examples from Citizen Kane.
Film history · Nº 10
What Is Nitrate Film? Why Old Film Burns and What Survives
Nitrate is the flammable plastic base of much early cinema. Learn how it differs from safety film, why films disappear, and what restoration can preserve.
Film language · Nº 11
Why Were Silent Films Tinted? Blue Scenes, Amber Light and Restored Colour
Blue night scenes and amber interiors often belong to a silent film’s original presentation. Compare tinting with toning and learn why restorations differ.
Film history · Nº 12
What Is a Talkie? When Movies Started Talking
A talkie is a film with recorded, synchronised speech. See how The Jazz Singer, Blackmail and Modern Times changed what audiences could hear.
Film language · Nº 13
What Is an Intertitle? Intertitles vs Subtitles
Intertitles are text cards inserted between film images. See how they differ from subtitles, convey dialogue or narration, and change the rhythm of silent films.
Film craft · Nº 14
Why Are Old Movies Square? Aspect Ratios and Black Bars Explained
Why old films look square, what 4:3 and Academy ratio mean, and why the black bars on your TV may be keeping the whole picture intact.
Film craft · Nº 15
Why Do Actors in Old Movies Sound Different?
Hear the difference between an old-film accent, a performance and a recording, with Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn and two comedies from 1940.
Film history · Nº 16
What Is Pre-Code Hollywood? The Hays Code and the Films
What does pre-Code Hollywood mean? Understand the Hays Code, the change in 1934, and the dialogue, endings and restored versions of three films.
Adaptation · Nº 17
What Is Rashomon Based On? The Two Stories Behind the Film
Rashomon draws on two Akutagawa stories. Compare In a Grove with the gate story, and see how Kurosawa changes both — including the film’s ending.
Cinematography · Nº 18
Was Birdman Filmed in One Shot? Long Takes and Hidden Cuts
Birdman joins separate takes to look continuous. Compare its hidden cuts with Rope and Touch of Evil, and see what long takes do with space, time and suspense.
Cinematography · Nº 19
What Is a Dutch Angle? Definition and Film Examples
A Dutch angle rolls the camera sideways. See how it differs from a pan or tilt, and how The Third Man and Batman use canted framing for different effects.
Physics · Nº 20
Why Do Wet Roads Look Darker?
Why do wet roads look darker yet shine under street lights? Explore the optics, then see the effect in the black-and-white thriller The Third Man.
Film history · Nº 21
How Did Silent Films Have Music? Live Scores, Cue Sheets and Why Editions Sound Different
Silent films usually had live music from a pianist, organist, ensemble or orchestra. Learn how cue sheets worked and why modern editions can sound different.
Film history · Nº 22
How TV Made It’s a Wonderful Life a Christmas Classic
It’s a Wonderful Life became a Christmas ritual through television repetition—then rights control turned its abundance into an annual appointment.
Film craft · Nº 23
Why Do Silent Films Look Sped Up? Frame Rate Explained
Silent films can look too fast at the wrong frame rate. Learn how capture, projection and restoration shape motion—and why there was no single silent speed.
Film craft · Nº 24
Why Was Some Like It Hot Filmed in Black and White?
Some Like It Hot was not black-and-white because colour was unavailable. Wilder preferred it; monochrome also protected the disguises and made 1929 cohere.
Start here · Nº 25
Why Watch Black-and-White Films Today?
Black-and-white films do more than remove colour: they reshape light, faces, texture and space. Here is what to look for, and where a beginner can start.
Film analysis · Nº 26
Why Is Casablanca So Great?
Why is Casablanca so great? Its romance, wit and music all drive Rick to one ending: he proves his love for Ilsa by helping her leave with Laszlo.
Film craft · Nº 27
Why Was Night of the Living Dead Shot in Black and White?
Colour was too expensive—but black-and-white made Night of the Living Dead look like news, sharpened its effects and made its ending feel like evidence.
Film analysis · Nº 28
Why Is Tokyo Story So Moving?
Tokyo Story moves us without villains or grand speeches. Its ordinary delays, quiet rooms and imperfect kindness turn family love into irreversible regret.
Film craft · Nº 29
Why Does The Wizard of Oz Change to Colour?
Why does The Wizard of Oz change from sepia to colour? See how the doorway shot worked, why the film saves Technicolor for Oz, and what it changes.
Film analysis · Nº 30
What Happened to Juror 3's Son in 12 Angry Men?
Juror 3 says his son hit him in the face and that they have not seen each other for two years. See why that history drives his final vote.
Cinematography · Nº 31
Why Does The Third Man Look Crooked?
The Third Man uses Dutch angles — a deliberately tilted camera — to make postwar Vienna feel unstable. See how crooked shots alter space, trust and moral balance.
Film Music · Nº 32
Movie Songs That Stay After the Film Ends
Five unforgettable songs in movie scenes—from Saturday Night Fever and Pig to Sing Street, Love Me Tonight and San Francisco—and what each one changes.
Ethics & Technology · Nº 33
Before AI Welfare: What Did We Owe the Monsters?
Can AI suffer or have moral status? We do not know. Classic movie monsters show how purpose, resemblance, speech, control and consent distort our judgement.
Physics · Nº 34
How Did the Dambusters’ Bouncing Bomb Work?
The Dambusters’ bomb combined about 232 mph, a 60-foot release, a shallow impact angle and backspin. Rain and shock waves reveal the fluid mechanics.
Narrative · Nº 35
Who Gets to Stay Until the End?
Plot armour is the sense that a story needs a character’s body alive. Narrative survival asks a different question: can the film afford to lose their role?
Art & Preservation · Nº 36
Ecce Homo Restoration: What Was Lost—and What Gained Value
Borja’s 2012 Ecce Homo intervention obscured García Martínez’s painted surface. Viral fame then created visitor and social value—but did not repair the loss.
Perception · Nº 37
Can You Taste a Masterpiece?
Why is Citizen Kane considered a masterpiece—and is it overrated? Its greatness lies in accumulated precision, not guaranteed pleasure or reputation.
Adaptation · Nº 38
Who Gets to Tell Frankenstein’s Story?
Mary Shelley lets the unnamed Creature tell his own story. The 1931, 1935 and 2025 films redistribute his speech and agency — changing who appears monstrous.