Film Reviews

Michael Caton-Jones’s Scandal (1989) dramatizes one of the most sensational political controversies in modern British history: the 1963 Profumo affair, in which a cabinet minister’s liaison with a young showgirl became the flashpoint for a broader collapse of public trust in the British establishment.

Oliver Stone’s Born on the Fourth of July (1989) is a harrowing, deeply personal, and politically charged film that stands as one of the most powerful anti-war dramas in American cinema. Based on the autobiography of Vietnam War veteran Ron Kovic, the film charts his journey from patriotic zealot to paraplegic war hero turned radical activist.

Franco Zeffirelli’s 1967 adaptation of William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew is a riotous, visually extravagant, and unashamedly theatrical film. Starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor at the height of their volatile real-life romance, the film turns the Bard’s problematic comedy into an electrifying battle of the sexes, a lush Renaissance spectacle, and a showcase for its leading couple’s magnetic chemistry.

Among the various incarnations of A Star Is Born—a story told across decades of Hollywood history—the 1954 version stands as arguably the most emotionally powerful and artistically accomplished. Directed by George Cukor and starring Judy Garland in a triumphant comeback role opposite James Mason, the film is both a dazzling showbiz musical and a devastating character study about fame, self-destruction, and personal sacrifice.

A quintessential example of the Gainsborough melodramas that captivated wartime British audiences, Fanny by Gaslight (released in the U.S. as Man of Evil) is a moody, emotionally charged Victorian tale of passion, class, scandal, and survival.

The Desert Fox is a striking and unusually nuanced war biopic that challenges the wartime cinematic trend of one-dimensional enemy portrayals. Directed by Henry Hathaway, this 1951 film offers a compelling dramatization of the final years in the life of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, one of Nazi Germany's most respected—and controversial—military leaders.

Daring swordfights, mistaken identities, simmering romance, and revolution all collide in MGM’s lush Technicolor spectacle Scaramouche (1952), a spirited adaptation of Rafael Sabatini’s 1921 novel. Directed by George Sidney, the film captures the adventurous essence of the swashbuckling genre, delivering an opulent and thrilling experience filled with theatrical bravado and breath-taking fencing sequences.

In the middle of wartime Britain, when audiences yearned for solace, escapism, and romance, Gainsborough Pictures delivered a series of sweeping melodramas—and among them was Love Story (1944), a film that elegantly combines wartime anxiety, doomed love, and classical music into a richly sentimental drama.

The 1940 film adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, directed by Robert Z. Leonard and starring Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier, stands as an intriguing fusion of Regency wit and 1940s Hollywood gloss.

The Prince and the Showgirl is a unique cinematic artifact, notable not only for its content but for the behind-the-scenes drama that surrounds its production. Directed by and starring Laurence Olivier and co-starring Marilyn Monroe, the film represents a collision of Old World theatrical gravitas and New World Hollywood charisma.

Few biographical films manage to merge the soul of an artist with the artistry of cinema as successfully as Lust for Life, the 1956 adaptation of Irving Stone’s novel on Vincent van Gogh. Under the dynamic direction of Vincente Minnelli and bolstered by a career-defining performance from Kirk Douglas, the film is not merely a retelling of Van Gogh’s life—it is a vivid and compassionate descent into the tormented psyche of a man for whom art was both salvation and suffering.

Adapting Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick—arguably one of the most challenging and symbolically dense novels in American literature—is an ambitious endeavour for any filmmaker. In 1956, legendary director John Huston, fresh off a string of successful literary adaptations (The Maltese Falcon, The African Queen), took on the leviathan.

Twelve O’Clock High is far more than just another World War II combat film. Released in 1949 and directed by veteran filmmaker Henry King, it is a sober, intelligent, and deeply affecting portrayal of military leadership under extreme duress. It eschews bombast and melodrama in favour of a grim realism and moral nuance that was rare in Hollywood’s post war era.

Few films of the late 1950s capture the intersection of glamour, family comedy, and romantic fantasy quite like Houseboat (1958). At its core, this is a classic romantic comedy wrapped in the trappings of post war family life, delivered with a dash of European elegance and American sentimentality.

In the golden age of romantic comedies, Every Girl Should Be Married (1948) stands out as a brisk, bright, and mischievously subversive entry. Directed by Don Hartman and starring Cary Grant alongside Betsy Drake—who would later become his real-life wife—the film explores courtship, gender roles, and the institution of marriage with a humorous, lightly satirical touch.

Blending wartime antics with sharp comedy and a splash of romantic absurdity, Operation Petticoat (1959) is one of the most endearing military comedies to emerge from the post-World War II era. Directed by the rising star Blake Edwards, produced by Robert Arthur, and starring Cary Grant and Tony Curtis, this film delivers a buoyant mix of slapstick, satire, and character-driven humour—anchored in one of the most outlandish premises of any WWII film: a pink submarine.

Elegant, witty, and drenched in mid-century glamour, Indiscreet (1958) is a prime example of sophisticated romantic comedy done right. Directed with charm and breezy precision by Stanley Donen (of Singin’ in the Rain fame), and boasting the incomparable chemistry of Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant, the film is a delightful blend of grown-up mischief, theatrical flair, and continental style. Based on Norman Krasna’s 1953 play Kind Sir, it manages to feel both timeless and distin

In 1927, Charles Lindbergh became a global hero by completing the first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean, from New York to Paris. Three decades later, one of Hollywood’s finest directors, Billy Wilder, undertook the ambitious task of translating this defining moment in aviation history to the big screen.

When Doctor Dolittle premiered in 1967, it aspired to be the next great Hollywood musical extravaganza in the tradition of My Fair Lady and The Sound of Music. With Rex Harrison reprising his unique brand of speak-singing charm, lavish production values, and exotic locales, 20th Century Fox mounted a grand, ambitious adaptation of Hugh Lofting’s beloved children’s books.

In the golden age of 1970s disaster films—where ordinary people faced extraordinary circumstances—Skyjacked (1972) soared into theatres as one of the earlier examples of aviation thrillers that would culminate in genre landmarks like Airport (1970) and Airport '75.