Prepping for Valentine’s Day with A&F’s “Top 25 Films on Marriage”

Last updated on: March 17, 2017 at 3:11 pm By Joseph Susanka

A group of bloggers from Patheos’ Movie Channel — including Jeffrey Overstreet and Peter Chattaway, two cinematic commentators I’ve been following for most of my Internet life — are also regular contributors to Image Journal/the Arts & Faith Forums. (The inimitable Steven D. Greydanus is a regular there, as well, but he has somehow managed to elude us. For the moment.) Yesterday — I wonder why they picked early February? — they released their third “Top 25” list: The Arts & Faith Top 25... Read more

Reacting to The Resignation

Last updated on: January 19, 2015 at 12:44 pm By Joseph Susanka

Yes. If a Pope clearly realizes that he is no longer physically, psychologically, and spiritually capable of handling the duties of his office, then he has a right and, under some circumstances, also an obligation to resign. — Benedict XVI My Latin’s undeniably rusty, so as I listened to Papa Benedetto’s announcement this morning, I had little to go on behind inflection. And he sounded tired to me; incredibly tired, and deeply emotional — a reminder of the great courage... Read more

Cinematically-Influenced Ear Worms for Your Friday Afternoon

Last updated on: March 17, 2017 at 3:11 pm By Joseph Susanka

Yesterday, as I sailed blithely along to the harmonious strains of the complete cello concerti of Luigi Boccherini, a Peter Weir film broke out. …I love it when that happens. The piece in question is the Passa Calle from LB’s “La Musica Notturna delle Strade di Madrid.” And here it is: I recommend the entire quintettino, of course, which is available over on YouTube. If you’re looking for the aforementioned breakout moment, it’s 7:55. (And yes, Jordi Savall and his... Read more

A Quasi-Conversation with Sir Ian McKellen

Last updated on: March 17, 2017 at 3:11 pm By Joseph Susanka

Ian McKellen is one of those folks to whom I would happily listen as he read the proverbial phone book. My first brush with His Lordship remains one of my favorite cinematic portrayals — Chauvelin from The Scarlett Pimpernel (1982) — and his voice is an enormous factor in that role; indeed, in any of his performances. Not particularly deep or stentorian, but so smooth. So mellow. And as clear as crystal. Luckily, we’ve got a whole lot more of... Read more

Taking Old-Time Baseball Literally

Last updated on: January 26, 2015 at 3:18 pm By Joseph Susanka

On a day when our own beloved Tom McDonald highlights (and then waxes most interestingly upon) yesterday’s borderline unbelievable historical discovery, I’ve got my own little historical tidbit to share: They found an old baseball. Really, really old. During the War Between the States, the game was played on the battlefields and even in wartime prison camps. Baseball was, after all, portable, and even amid the horrors of war, soldiers sometimes found opportunities to play on the vast open fields where they needed only a bat, a ball,... Read more

Righting One of Oscar’s Greatest Wrongs

Last updated on: February 20, 2015 at 5:22 pm By Joseph Susanka

View image | gettyimages.com Thanks to the Variety series on this year’s Oscar-nominated cinematographers, I am reminded of one of my cinematic life’s most painful, inexplicable truths: Roger Deakins has never won an Oscar. As someone who has seen none of the 2012 films in question, I can’t speak to Deakins’ worthiness in this particular contest. Where I to find myself in the “Predict As If Your Life Depends On It” scenario, I’d bet that Claudio Miranda’s work on Life of... Read more

Living More With a Whole Lot Less

Last updated on: February 2, 2015 at 11:56 am By Joseph Susanka

While browsing through Vimeo’s “Staff Picks” a few days ago, I happened across the following highly improbable phrase, instantly deserving of inclusion in my “Humans Are Endlessly Interesting” file (which seems perpetually filled to bursting): Richard is the fascinating story of a travelling piano tuner who chooses to live outdoors. I’ve always loved piano tuners. The white-mustachioed, soft-spoken fellow who stopped by the house to attend to our beloved baby grand was a fantastic combination of patience, precision, and musicality. I... Read more

No Commentary Necessary — “Paperman” Edition (UPDATED)

Last updated on: March 17, 2017 at 3:11 pm By Joseph Susanka

If there was ever a more appropriate invocation of the “No Commentary” heading, I have yet to see it. (Also, full-screen HD is so strongly suggested for this one as to be almost mandatory.) Introducing a groundbreaking technique that seamlessly merges computer-generated and hand-drawn animation techniques, first-time director John Kahrs takes the art of animation in a bold new direction with the Oscar®-nominated short, “Paperman.” (Thanks to /Film for the heads-up.) UPDATE: Sadly, the short is no longer available. Well, it... Read more

Learning to Live with My Brahms Ambivalence

Last updated on: March 17, 2017 at 3:11 pm By Joseph Susanka

They say admitting you have a problem is the first step, so I’m coming clean: I’m ambivalent on the matter of Brahms. I enjoy some of his music a great deal — his First Symphony is a favorite, in no small part because its finale was the first piece of music I single-handedly identified on the radio despite my father’s protestations that I was incorrect, and yes, COMPETITIVE! — but I find many of his compositions overwritten. I’ve always gravitated... Read more

“Liberty Valance” and the Obligations of Progress

Last updated on: August 21, 2015 at 10:41 am By Joseph Susanka

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of watching and then discussing John Ford’s inestimable The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance with a group of college students. By the end of the evening, the film had further cemented its position as My Favorite Ford not simply because of its technical and cinematic excellence — has there ever been a better instance of meta-casting than Wayne’s Doniphon? — but because it is an absolute treasure-trove of ideas, and as discussable as... Read more