Author: Taylor Cuddihy

Taylor continues his silent era binge with another gem to vouch for. This time its a satirical yet understated Harold Lloyd slapstick romantic comedy, aptly titled Girl Shy. We’re staying in the silent era this week for a look at an underrated film starring one of the great comedians of American silent cinema, Harold Lloyd. After witnessing Sunrise…

Taylor dishes on F.W. Murnau’s 1927 classic, an elemental but visually dazzling example of silent cinema’s prescience. The film is expressionistic and truly innovative. This week, we’re taking another trip to the silent era to discuss one of the most highly acclaimed films not only of the silent period but of all time: F.W Murnau’s…

Our final piece on Marlon Riggs covers his posthumously released documentary, “Black Is…Black Ain’t.”  Taylor wraps up Riggs’ legacy and his zeal for black activism. “I think we have such an obsession with naming ourselves because during most of our history we’ve been named by somebody else.” – Angela Davis One of the core ideas…

Taylor continues with his retrospective on Marlon Riggs. This week, he examines his documentary Color Adjustment, an examination of black representation on television. Color Adjustment (1991) finds Marlon Riggs picking up where he left off in Ethnic Notions (1986), which ended with a brief discussion of images of Black life on the American television of the 70s…

Taylor continues his deep dive into the late, great Marlon Riggs. This time around, he examines the performative flair of his quintessential documentary Tongues Untied. Last week I mentioned that Riggs sought to challenge popular discourses surrounding masculinity, blackness, and homosexuality. This goal is immediately clear in Tongues Untied (1989), which abandons the more traditional…

Taylor begins a multi-part series of essays on the influential and captivating work of experimental documentarian, Marlon Riggs. Today he looks at his film Ethnic Notions. We’re moving ahead in time this week with the first in a series of essays about documentarian and activist Marlon Riggs. Riggs’ work in the 80s and 90s focused on the…

This week, Taylor gives us a taste of an underrated screwball classic–one of many hilarious satires in the filmography of the Hollywood legend, Preston Sturges. Continuing from last week’s Buster Keaton discussion, this week I’m spotlighting another great comedic filmmaker by looking at one of Preston Sturges’ best and most underrated films, Christmas in July…

Taylor hits us up with another fantastic old school recommendation. This week, we get two for the price of one: analysis of a couple late Keaton shorts.  This past week, The Giornate del Cinema Muto, a silent film festival that takes place every year in Pordenone, Italy, announced that it would be employing an online format this…

Taylor Cuddihy begins a new series on his favorite Classic Hollywood gems. First up, a supernatural romance with a beautifully shot backdrop of New York.  One of the joys of delving into classical Hollywood films is appreciating the gorgeous black and white cinematography that has all but vanished from mainstream movies since colour took hold…