Never Mind Pop Film

Cinema lost a true great when it was announced that legendary cinematographer Gordon Willis passed away. Gordon Willis was responsible for some of the greatest looking pictures of all-time over the course of his 31 year career. His trademark shadow-play is instantly recognizable, even if movie watchers aren’t aware of his the man behind the camera, they know the works of Gordon Willis.

In what must be considered one of the greatest runs ever in the history of cinema, from 1971 to 1977 Willis worked on Klute, The Godfather, The Parallax View, The Godfather Part II, All the President’s Men and Annie Hall. Those films accumulated 39 Oscar nominations between them, with three of them winning Best Picture—The Godfather (1972), The Godfather Part II (1974) and Annie Hall (1977)—yet Willis himself was not nominated for any of his work on those films.

Shockingly, he never won an Academy Award for his cinematography, but in 2009 Willis received an honorary Academy Award along with fell…

Few people could have anticipated during the course of adapting Mario Puzo’s best-sellerThe Godfatherto the big screen that it would become a lasting legacy in cinema. Forty-plus years have passed since its theatrical release, yet it stands the test of time as not only one of the greatest depictions of a crime family, but as one of the best films ever made. The audience is introduced to the Corleone family during the wedding of patriarch Vito’s only daughter. We learn something about the family members as each vignette coalesces into a portrait of organized crime. Francis Ford Coppola chronicles the ins-and-outs of the organized crime business, from Vito’s fair-handed rule over his territory to Michael’s cruel, calculating and lasting reign over New York City and eventually Nevada. When Vito bare survives an attempt on his life, the family quickly seeks to fill the power vacuum left by his absence.  Keep reading at Movie Mezzanine!

Characters that sound unique are rarely found in cinemas. Globalization has made most voices recognizable to moviegoers all over the world. Very few characters make one turn their head and go "huh?", so one when such characters present themselves, we have to take notice.

Bane - Tom Hardy
Of the many discussed items of The Dark Knight Rises this summer, Tom Hardy's voice for the masked villain was easily the most popular. What was it? Scottish? Indian?

Anton Chiguhr - Javier Bardem
Another villain with a voice hard to detect. While Bardem slipped between accents in scenes, no one was really wondering anything other than "what is he going to do with that cattle prod?"

Batman - Christian Bale
Bale's growl that he used as Caped Crusader has been described as many things: a mix between Clint Eastwood and a Gorilla, a severe case of bronchitis, and induced by childhood nightmares. All I know is, it is the best Batman voice done.

Vito Corleone - Marlon Brando
One of …

Some of the best lines in cinema history are completely made up on the spot. Here are twenty-five of the best unscripted movie quotes of history.