Apr 24 2022
Happy birthday to the illustrious Shirley MacLaine, born on this day April 24, 1934 in Richmond, Virginia. In celebration, I’m sharing one of my favorite Shirley MacLaine classics, Gambit, starring the exceptional duo of MacLaine and Michael Caine. Between the superb acting and the wonderful 1960’s design, I can’t help but be drawn to it. And …
Apr 20 2022
Ivan’s Childhood (aka My Name is Ivan) was made in 1962, and is widely regarded as one of the most skillfully crafted films of all time. It is directed by Andrei Tarkovsky and stars a young Nikolay Burlyaev. The film delves into the impact of war on young Ivan, a twelve year old orphan who befriends …
Apr 18 2022
Actress Hayley Mills was born on this day, April 18, 1946, in London, England. Her child acting career began with her debut performance in the 1959 crime drama Tiger Bay, for which she won the “BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer.” A year later she starred in the Disney classic Pollyanna (1960), and quickly became one of …
Apr 13 2022
Today we have another wonderful Yuri Norstein film, Hedgehog in the Fog. Norstein is best known for this animation, as well as his Tale of Tales. Hedgehog in the Fog was directed by Norstein, written by Sergei Kozlov, with music by Mikhail Meyerovich. It was produced by Soyuzmultfilm in 1975. It is the story of a hedgehog and a bear cub who …
Apr 06 2022
The enigmatic sci-fi film Stalker, released October 20, 1982, is arguably Andrei Tarkovsky’s most haunting piece. It’s a quiet, slow drip of a film that was based on the 1972 short story Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. In an unknown place and time lies a heavily guarded desolate wasteland, shrouded in secrecy, called The …
Apr 04 2022
Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky was born on April 4, 1932, in Zavrazhye, Soviet Union. His mother, Maria Vishnyakova, attended the Maxim Gorky Literature Institute and worked as a corrector, and his father was the renowned poet Arseny Alexandrovich Tarkovsky. Andrei Tarkovsky is well known for his reflective, natural, and dreamlike themes and sequences, as well …
Mar 30 2022
Known as one of Disney’s “Nine Old Men” of core animators, artist and Imagineer Marc Davis was born on this day March 30, 1913 in Bakersfield, CA. With vivacious character illustrations, Davis inserted his humor in several Disney park attractions and designed many of Disney’s most beloved characters, including Snow White, Bambi, Thumper, Flower, Mr. Toad, …
Mar 23 2022
“I can’t afford to hate anyone. I don’t have that kind of time.” -Akira Kurosawa Film legend Akira Kurosawa was born on this day March 23, 1910 in the Shinagawa ward of Tokyo, Japan. He is widely regarded as one of the finest filmmakers of all time, and has influenced many filmmakers to come after him. His …
Mar 02 2022
In solidarity with the people of the Ukraine and all of the brave Ukrainians and Russians opposing this war, may you find love and peace 🕊️ Instead of the usual Soviet Film Wednesday post, today I am sharing a Ukrainian lullaby as thoughts of the Ukraine weigh on my mind. This beautiful film was created as …
Feb 27 2022
Disney imagineer and animator Rolly Crump was born on February 27, 1930 in Alhambra, California. Inspired at the young age of three by the Disney Silly Symphony short, Three Little Pigs, Crump began drawing in 1933. He started working with Disney in 1952, doing “inbetweening” or “tweening” to provide the illusion of smooth movements between film frames. …