Coleman, Ornette (1930–2015)
Ornette Coleman was an American jazz alto saxophonist and composer, considered one of the founders of the avant-garde movement in jazz, which he began performing…
Search Results 2,151 - 2,175 of 2,223
Benjamin, Walter (1892–1940)
Walter Bendix Schönflies Benjamin was a philosopher, essayist and literary critic associated with the Institut für Sozialforschung (Frankfurt Institute for Social Research). Initially trained in…
Film Noir
Hollywood of the 1940s and 1950s saw the emergence of ‘film noir’, a cycle of fatalistic crime thrillers, often produced as ‘B’ movies and distinguished…
Underground Cinema
‘Underground’ is a label applied to the outer fringes of the radical film spectrum: films whose form, subject matter, or both, challenge conventional cinematic habits.…
Fantasia (1940)
Fantasia is an animated American film produced by Walt Disney. The film consists of eight animated segments, of which ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’ is the most…
Mills, Florence (1895 or 1896–1927)
Florence Mills was a leading African American performer of the Harlem Renaissance. Born in Washington, D.C. in the mid-1890s, Mills was raised in Harlem, New…
City films
This entry surveys the history and aesthetics of the city symphony film (or city film). It traces its intellectual and aesthetic origins in the late…
Horváth, Ödön von (Edmund Josef von Horváth) (1901–1938)
Born in Fiume to an aristocratic family, Horváth went to school in Budapest and Vienna and studied German literature and theatre in Munich. He left…
Schroeter, Werner (1945–2010)
In the late 1960s, Werner Schroeter taught himself to handle a camera and shot his first shorts on Super 8 and 16 mm that were…
Beauty and the Beast (1946)
Beauty and the Beast [La Belle et la Bête] is a black-and-white French film directed by Jean Cocteau. Based on the fairy-tale by Jeanne-Marie Leprince…
Documentary
Documentaries involve self-conscious reflections on modern life. Early newsreels and actualities displayed film’s capacity to document events and everyday life as they happened, leading viewers…
The Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (1954)
The Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome is a short experimental film by American filmmaker Kenneth Anger, celebrated for its provocative subject matter, surrealistic editing, and…
Triumph of the Will (1935)
Triumph des Willens (Triumph of the Will) is a black and white propaganda film made by German filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl. The film documents the 1934…
Harrison, Wallace Kirkman (1895–1981)
New York stands as a global city today in great part thanks to the landmark collaborations of American modern architect Wallace Kirkman Harrison (1895–1981), whose…
Vertigo (1958)
Vertigo is a psychological thriller directed and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, based on D’entre les morts [The Living and the Dead], a 1954 crime novel…
Fry, Edwin Maxwell (1899–1987)
Edwin Maxwell Fry, architect of modern British design and liberal social theory, brought insight to early 20th century Britain and to the global community. Fry’s…
Sert, Josep Lluís (1902–1983)
The Catalan architect Josep Lluís Sert i López brought the modernist aesthetics of the Mediterranean to the Charles River, Massachusetts as Director of the Harvard…
Cinema Nôvo
This entry describes the history and aesthetic concerns of the Brazilian cinema nôvo movement, active from the 1950s to the 1970s. It discusses some of…
Marx, Karl (1818–1883)
Karl Marx (1818–1883) was a revolutionist, socialist, philosopher, journalist and social theorist, best known for his Communist Manifesto, co-written with his friend and collaborator Friedrich…
Auden, Wystan Hugh (1907–1973)
Wystan Hugh Auden (1907–1973) was an essayist, librettist, anthologist, teacher, and, above all, poet, active in the literary cultures of both Britain (c.1927–1939) and the…
Robinson, Jacqueline (1922–2000)
A Franco-British dancer, teacher, choreographer and historian, Jacqueline Robinson is one of the key figures of modern dance in France. Born in London, educated in…
De Sica, Vittorio (1901–1974)
Considered one of the fathers of neorealism, Vittorio De Sica was an eclectic filmmaker and actor. He started his career as a director delving into…
Dulac, Germaine (1882–1942)
Germaine Dulac (born Charlotte Elisabeth Germaine Saisset-Schneider) directed more than thirty films bearing the traces of Impressionism, Cinéma Pur, Surrealism, and Abstraction. She is known…
Fellini, Federico (1920–1993)
Known for his dreamlike, picaresque, and baroque style, full of satire and melancholy, Fellini is considered one of the most influential Italian filmmakers since the…
Kurosawa, Akira (1910–1998)
The Japanese director Kurosawa Akira has been internationally celebrated as one of the most important filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa’s career started when…