The entwined subjects of time passing and landscapes changing have always been synonymous with the work of Chinese director Jia Zhang-ke; his latest feature, Mountains May Depart, expands these ideas to a point that exists beyond any previously established horizon. The film may well be Jia’s most ambitious to date, in this respect: it spans three decades …
So in many respects, here and elsewhere, and again, it does admittedly come down to what could be done in the 1950s versus the 1970s, Rainer Werner Fassbinder is indeed like Douglas Sirk, but like Douglas Sirk turned up to 11.
The two versions of Imitation of Life are equally worthwhile for their historical significance, their aesthetic divergences, and their narrative variations. It’s a great cinematic case study in adaptation and modernization.
Always inventive, never repetitive, Rainer Werner Fassbinder was among the world’s most fascinating filmmaking figures, responsible for several masterworks. Among them, ‘Ali’ may be the best of the best.
“All That Heaven Allows stands as the defining work of Sirk’s career, the greatest of his films made in the midst of a decade in which he turned conventional ‘women’s pictures’ or ‘weepies’ into profound, virtually unparalleled conflicts played out in domesticated arenas.”
Between the time he directed his last film — Imitation of Life, in 1959 — and his death in 1987, Douglas Sirk managed to see his critical stock rise considerably. His work, specifically his 1950s work for Universal, went from being dismissed as soapy fluff to being reevaluated as sly, barbed condemnations of the social values …
Imitation of Life Directed by Douglas Sirk 1959, USA Costume Designer: Bill Thomas Sirk’s legacy of aesthetic influence has become increasingly apparent in the last few years as being chief influences for films like Far From Heaven and television series like Mad Men. The popularity of the latter series in particular has inspired a revival …