Film History

This Quarter in Film History

Lost in Translation

September 1, 2010

Roberto Rossellini’s Open City (Roma, Cittá Aperta), which premiered in Italy 65 years ago in September 1945, revolutionized the perception and marketing of foreign films in America when it opened in New York just five months later. […]

This Quarter in Film History

Eisenstein on the Breach

November 1, 2010

The Battleship Potemkin, or Potemkin as it is generally known, galvanized filmmakers around the world because of the audacity of its film editing––especially in the iconic Odessa Steps massacre. Its impact on editors and directors since its premiere in Moscow on Christmas Eve, 1925 is immeasurable. […]

Tail Pop

David Lean’s ‘The Bridge on The River Kwai’

November 1, 2010

Unlike many of my colleagues, I did not grow up a film nut. I was a sports nut, particularly baseball, and following my parents’ lead, a Gershwin, Sinatra and Broadway musical nut. For me, movies were fun, but nothing like watching the Yankees lose (a rare occurrence) or pretend- ing I was Frank, or Oscar Levant playing “Rhapsody in Blue” before a rapt audience at Carnegie Hall. […]

This Quarter in Film History

Hitchcock Railway

January 1, 2011

The signature Alfred Hitchcock thriller frequently involves an innocent person accused of a politically motivated murder committed by twisted villains who are terrorists, Nazis, fascists or Communists. […]

This Quarter in Film History

Blue Grit

January 1, 2011

During the transition week between the Jimmy Carter and the Ronald Reagan presidencies 30 years ago this January, Hill Street Blues premiered on the NBC net- work. […]

Tail Pop

Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960)

March 1, 2011

Viewing the shower scene for the first time, I don’t think I was aware of its status as one of the most famous sequences in cinematic history. Little did I know that my fascination (and later my career) in editing would be traced back to this moment in time. […]