Halloween Tips from Jean Renoir's The Rules of the Game (1939)
Seventy-five years ago,Jean Renoir filmedThe Rules of the Game (1939) ...Jean Renoir as a bear, with Nora Gregor andMarcel Dalio to his right in folk costume.In the spirit of the season, I offer some...
View ArticleHorror of Dracula Has Risen From the Grave!
CLICK HEREFOR THE HORROR OF DRACULAPODCASTFive years ago, Kevin B. Lee invited Christianne Benedict and me to talk about Horror of Dracula(1958) for a podcast on his now-dormant blog Shooting Down...
View ArticleNotes for an Essay Series on Winsor McCay's Gertie the Dinosaur
Winsor McCay'sGertie the Dinosaur (1914)Turns 100!Gertie peeks out.The world’s oldest animated dinosaur, Gertie, turned 100 this year. Gertie made her world debut in February 1914, with the animated...
View ArticleAnnunciation Essays: Meditation on Robert Campin’s Mérode Altarpiece
Annunciation bloggingfor Advent 2014:The Mérode Altarpieceby the Workshop of Robert CampinAnnunciation Triptych (Merode Altarpiece)Workshop of Robert Campin (Netherlandish, ca. 1375-1444, Tournai)Date:...
View ArticleAnnunciation Essays: Meditation on Jan van Eyck's The Annunciation
Annunciation Bloggingfor Advent 2014:The Annunciationby Jan van EyckFade in. An angel appears before Mary. The angel makes a surprising proposal, Mary responds with a question, the angel reassures...
View ArticleMeditation on Henry Ossawa Tanner's The Annunciation
Annunciation Bloggingfor Advent 2014:Henry Ossawa Tanner’sThe AnnunciationThe Annunciation by Henry Ossawa Tanner,1898, oil on canvas, 57 x 71 1/4 inches,Philadelphia Museum of Art.Detail, The...
View ArticleNativity Essays: Meditation on Botticelli's Virgin Adoring the Child
Nativity bloggingfor the Season of Christmastide 2014-15:Sandro Botticelli'sThe Virgin Adoring the ChildThe Virgin Adoring the Child by Sandro Botticelli,1480/90, tempera on panel, 23 3/16 in....
View ArticleNativity Essays: William Blake and a Gnostic-Style Manger Scene
Nativity Bloggingfor the Season of Christmastide 2014-15:William Blake’sThe NativityThe Nativity by William Blake,1799 or 1800, tempera on copper, 10 3/4 x 15 1/16 in.,gift of Mrs. William Thomas...
View ArticleMenotti's Epiphany: Amahl's Roots in Hieronymus Bosch
Epiphany Blogging:Hieronymus Bosch’sThe Adoration of the Magiand Gian Carl Menotti’sAmahl and the Night VisitorsThe Adoration of the Magi by Hieronymus Bosch,ca. 1470-75, oil and gold on wood, 28 x 22...
View ArticleThomas Merton and I Share a Fire Watch
Trappist Bloggingin Honor of Thomas Merton's100th Birthday:Essay 1 of 6 on"Fire Watch, July 4, 1952,"the epilogue of The Sign of JonasPart One: Thomas Merton, WriterThomas Merton would have turned 100...
View ArticleLearning to Walk in the Dark with Thomas Merton
Trappist Bloggingin Honor of Thomas Merton's100th Birthday:Essay 2 of 6 on"Fire Watch, July 4, 1952,"the epilogue of The Sign of JonasPart 1: Valuing the DarknessThe Monk by the Sea by Caspar David...
View ArticleThomas Merton and Bob Dylan Riffing on Isaiah
Trappist Bloggingin Honor of Thomas Merton's100th Birthday:Essay 3 of 6 on"Fire Watch, July 4, 1952,"the epilogue of The Sign of JonasPart One: Isaiah, Dylan, and MertonKingdoms are poised to fall in...
View ArticleThomas Merton and Vincent van Gogh Under the Stars
Trappist Bloggingin Honor of Thomas Merton's100th Birthday:Essay 4 of 6 on"Fire Watch, July 4, 1952,"the epilogue of The Sign of JonasThomas Merton’s spiritual embrace of the night sky in “Fire Watch,...
View ArticleThomas Merton and a Hedgehog on the Hero's Journey
Trappist Bloggingin Honor of Thomas Merton's100th Birthday:Essay 5 of 6 on"Fire Watch, July 4, 1952,"the epilogue of The Sign of JonasPart One: Fear of the DarkIn Yuri Norstein's enchanting animated...
View ArticleThomas Merton, William Blake, and I Contemplate Eternity
Trappist Bloggingin Honor of Thomas Merton's100th Birthday:Essay 6 of 6 on"Fire Watch, July 4, 1952,"the epilogue of The Sign of JonasMy son Terry overlooking the Grand Canyon.The things of Time are in...
View ArticleFirst Men in the Moon: Cavor in Quarantine
21 Essays is a proud participant inFor the Love of Film: The Film Preservation Blogathon,May 13-17, 2015LET'S RAISE SOME MONEY!!!If you like this blog... if you like science fiction...if you support...
View ArticleSelenites and Skeletons
21 Essays is a proud participant inFor the Love of Film: The Film Preservation Blogathon,May 13-17, 2015LET'S RAISE SOME MONEY!!!If you like this blog... if you like science fiction...if you support...
View ArticleFirst Men in the Moon: History Repeats
21 Essays is a proud participant inFor the Love of Film: The Film Preservation Blogathon,May 13-17, 2015LET'S RAISE SOME MONEY!!!If you like this blog... if you like science fiction...if you support...
View ArticleThe Music Behind the Harryhausen Movies
Selenite-blogging, essay 4 of 5 blog entrieson First Men in the Moon (1964)Part One: A Salute to Laurie JohnsonThe great movie composers inevitably seem to get associated with one particular score—the...
View ArticleRay Harryhausen Goes to Heaven
Selenite-blogging, essay 5 of 5 blog entrieson First Men in the Moon (1964)Ray Harryhausen Goes to HeavenJoseph Cavor (Lionel Jeffries) approaches the lunar staircasein First Men in the Moon (1964).“I...
View ArticleBeowulf as a Read-Aloud
London blogging:Essay 1 of 10 onten artifacts that I saw while on vacationin London in summer 2015.Once upon a time, I read Beowulfas a bedtime read-aloud to my son. I read it in the Seamus Heaney...
View ArticleMary Anning's Icthyosaur
London blogging:Essay 2 of 10 onten artifacts that I saw while on vacationin London in summer 2015.Drawing by Everard Home for the Royal Society depicting theIcthyosaurus skull found by Mary and Joseph...
View ArticleThe Fallen Idol (1948) at Wonders in the Dark
Bobby Henrey in The Fallen Idol (1948).Sometimes as adults, we forget how lonely and confusing childhood can be. Produced in England in 1948, The Fallen Idol(1948) resonates long after its final scene...
View ArticleInvaders from Mars (1953) at Wonders in the Dark
Helena Carter in Invaders from Mars (1953)Count me in as an Invaders from Mars boy. (Are there Invaders from Mars girls? All the Invaders from Mars obsessives whom I know are baby boomer male nerds....
View ArticleThe Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953) at Wonders in the Dark
The Rhedosaurus attacks a lighthouse inThe Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953).This is about the day Jean Renoir watched The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. I’m not making this part up. He went to a...
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