Art · Cinema · Museums · Pop Culture · Humour
As everyone knows, the portraits of Hogwarts' former headmasters, famous wizards and other eminent figures of the magical world hang in Dumbledore's office. But look closely, and among these sorcerers you will find Ivan the Terrible, as painted by Vasnetsov. Nor is that the only discovery the
Faith · Cinema · Pop Culture · Humour
Chris Hemsworth in a dress recalls how the cunning Thrym thought he would marry the fairest of the goddesses, Freyja, whom he demanded as ransom for Thor's stolen hammer, only to discover beneath the bridal veil a monster in a gown: Thor himself had arrived in the guise
NB! · Cinema · Observations · Humour
Cinema · Observations · Mores · Humour
A post-Soviet person, raised in a standard-issue flat behind an iron door with three locks, itself set over a wooden door upholstered in leatherette, with a bolt, a latch and a little hook, cannot grasp the true horror of American films, in which the most terrifying things (a
Cinema · Books · Observations
One of the finest screen adaptations of Dostoevsky was made by Ivan Pyryev in 1958. Alas, the unfinished two-part film "The Idiot" was not duly appreciated in its day. The general mood after its release was such that Pyryev abandoned the idea of shooting the second part.
Cinema · Moscow · Observations · People
I remember first meeting People's Artist of the Soviet Union Yulia Borisova, as I waited by the stage door for Lyudmila Maksakova, to have a word with her after the performance. The door opened and up the steps came a slight, slender Yulia Borisova with a small bouquet
Cinema · Pop Culture · Humour
Barbie's friend Midge, 1962 edition. Midge was conceived as a less flamboyant version of Barbie, with lighter make-up, less showy clothes and the looks of a woman not quite so grown-up as Barbie. The outcome is what you see here: a dame with pursed lips and
Architecture · Art · Cinema · London · Humour
Does the statue of Gandalf in an English abbey ring no bells? In fact, this is how in 1755 the sculptor Alexander Cederbach envisaged the figure of Diogenes of Sinope for the adornment of Lacock Abbey in the county of Wiltshire in England. The lantern in the sage's
Cinema · Books · Observations · Mores
I am reading Werner Herzog's memoirs, "Every Man for Himself and God Against All", and have reached the chapter "Wives, Children". We are already close to the end of the book, after the chapters on his youth, childhood dreams, film shoots and how he
NB! · Cinema · Observations
Carl Theodor Dreyer's "Vampyr" of 1932 is an indisputable classic of the horror film, and a treasure-house of the earliest special effects besides. If you are in the mood for a certain refined dread and a Victorian chill, I recommend it for your viewing.
Archive · Cinema · Observations · People · Humour
The Napoleon signature on the poster of the much-discussed film can easily be read as "Locomotive" In fact Napoleon more often signed himself Bonaparte, and at different periods of his life the signatures scarcely resemble one another. But there were locomotives too, in 1804 and 1805, for
Cinema · Paris · Pop Culture
Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni in Robert Altman's 1994 film Prêt-à-Porter, or Ready to Wear, about the backstage world of fashion shows, featuring the leading celebrities of the day and a great many witty cameos. This is the 17th joint film for the legendary duo of