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Kafka (film)
''Kafka'' is a 1991 mystery thriller film directed by Steven Soderbergh. Ostensibly a biopic, based on the life of Franz Kafka, the film blurs the lines between fact and Kafka's fiction (most notably '' The Castle'' and '' The Trial''), creating a Kafkaesque atmosphere. It was written by Lem Dobbs, and stars Jeremy Irons in the title role, with Theresa Russell, Ian Holm, Jeroen Krabbé, Joel Grey, Armin Mueller-Stahl, and Alec Guinness. It was partially filmed on location in Prague. Released after Soderbergh's critically acclaimed debut '' Sex, Lies, and Videotape'' it was the first of what would be a series of low-budget box-office disappointments. It has since become a cult film, being compared to Terry Gilliam's ''Brazil'' and David Cronenberg's ''Naked Lunch''. Plot Set in the city of Prague in 1919, ''Kafka'' tells the tale of an insurance clerk who gets involved with an underground group after one of his co-workers is murdered. The underground group, responsible for bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steven Soderbergh
Steven Andrew Soderbergh (; born January 14, 1963) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer and editor. A pioneer of modern independent cinema, Soderbergh is an acclaimed and prolific filmmaker. Soderbergh's directorial-breakthrough indie drama '' Sex, Lies, and Videotape'' (1989) lifted him into the public spotlight as a notable presence in the film industry. At 26, Soderbergh became the youngest solo director to win the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, and the film garnered worldwide commercial success, as well as numerous accolades. His breakthrough led to success in Hollywood, where he directed the crime comedy '' Out of Sight'' (1998), the biopic '' Erin Brockovich'' (2000) and the crime drama '' Traffic'' (2000). For ''Traffic'', he won the Academy Award for Best Director. He found further popular and critical success with the ''Ocean's'' trilogy and film franchise (2001–18); ''Che'' (2008); '' The Informant!'' (2009); '' Contag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Castle (novel)
''The Castle'' (german: Das Schloss, link=no, also spelled ''Das Schloß'' ) is the last novel by Franz Kafka. In it a protagonist known only as "K." arrives in a village and struggles to gain access to the mysterious authorities who govern it from a castle supposedly owned by Count Westwest. Kafka died before he could finish the work and the novel was posthumously published against his wishes. Dark and at times surreal, ''The Castle'' is often understood to be about alienation, unresponsive bureaucracy, the frustration of trying to conduct business with non-transparent, seemingly arbitrary controlling systems, and the futile pursuit of an unobtainable goal. History Kafka began writing the novel on the evening of 27 January 1922, the day he arrived at the mountain resort of (now in the Czech Republic). A picture taken of him upon his arrival shows him by a horse-drawn sleigh in the snow in a setting reminiscent of ''The Castle''. Hence, the significance that the first fe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Flemyng
Benjamin Arthur Flemyng (3 January 1912 – 22 May 1995), known professionally as Robert Flemyng, was a British actor. The son of a doctor, and originally intended for a medical career, Flemyng learned his stagecraft in provincial repertory theatre. In 1935 he appeared in a leading role in the West End, and the following year had his first major success, in Terence Rattigan's comedy '' French Without Tears''. Between then and the Second World War he appeared in London and New York in a succession of comedies. On the outbreak of war in 1939 Flemyng volunteered for the Royal Army Service Corps, and served with distinction, winning the Military Cross. After the war he continued to appear in light comedies, but also took on more serious roles in plays by T. S. Eliot, Graham Greene, John Whiting and others. He toured Australia, Britain, Canada, India, South Africa and the US in a wide range of parts, from comedy to classic drama. Flemyng's broadcasting was principally in two tele ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Simon McBurney
Simon Montagu McBurney (born 25 August 1957) is an English actor, playwright, and theatrical director. He is the founder and artistic director of the Théâtre de Complicité, London. He has had roles in the films ''The Manchurian Candidate'', ''Friends with Money'', ''The Last King of Scotland'', '' The Golden Compass'', '' The Duchess'', ''Robin Hood'', ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1'', ''Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'', ''Magic in the Moonlight'', '' The Theory of Everything'', and '' Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation''. He plays Cecil the choirmaster in BBC's ''The Vicar of Dibley''. Early life McBurney was born in Cambridge, England. His father, Charles McBurney, was an American archaeologist and academic of Scottish descent. His paternal great-grandfather was American surgeon Charles McBurney, who was credited with describing the medical sign McBurney's point. Simon McBurney's mother, Anne Francis Edmondstone (née Charles), was a British secretary of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keith Allen (actor)
Keith Howell Charles Allen (born 2 September 1953) is a Welsh actor, pantomime star and television presenter. He is the father of singer Lily Allen and actor Alfie Allen, and brother of actor and director Kevin Allen. Early life Allen was born on 2 September 1953 in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales, the second of three childrenYou ask the questions (Such as: Keith Allen, how do you feel about being every soccer hooligan's favourite pop star?) , '''', 31 May 2000. Retri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brian Glover
Brian Glover (2 April 1934 – 24 July 1997) was an English actor and writer. He worked as a teacher and professional wrestler before commencing an acting career which included films, many roles on British television and work on the stage. His film appearances include '' Kes'' (1969), '' An American Werewolf in London'' (1981) and '' Alien 3'' (1992). Described by ''The New York Times'' as a "robust character actor" who played "gruff but likable roles", he had a "string of roles playing tough guys and criminals". He once said, "You play to your strengths in this game, and my strength is as a bald-headed, rough-looking Yorkshireman". Glover was also known as the voice of the Tetley tea commercials. ''The Independent'' described him upon his death as "one of Britain's best-loved actors". Early life and wrestling career Glover was born at the Women's Hospital, Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire and he lived in Sheffield until 1937 when his parents moved to Lundwood near Barnsle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate oceanic climate, with relatively warm summers and chilly winters. Prague is a political, cultural, and economic hub of central Europe, with a rich history and Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architectures. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia and residence of several Holy Roman Emperors, most notably Charles IV (r. 1346–1378). It was an important city to the Habsburg monarchy and Austro-Hungarian Empire. The city played major roles in the Bohemian and the Protestant Reformations, the Thirty Years' War and in 20th-century history as the capital of Czechoslovakia between the World Wars and the post-war Communist era. Prague is home to a number of well-known cultural attractions, many of which survived t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naked Lunch (film)
''Naked Lunch'' is a 1991 surrealist science fiction drama film written and directed by David Cronenberg and starring Peter Weller, Judy Davis, Ian Holm, and Roy Scheider. It is an adaptation of William S. Burroughs' 1959 novel of the same name, and an international co-production of Canada, Britain, and Japan. The film was released on 27 December 1991 in the United States by 20th Century Fox, and 24 April 1992 in the United Kingdom by First Independent Films. It received positive reviews from critics, but was a box office flop, garnering only $2.6 million out of a $17–18 million budget due to a limited release. It won numerous honours, including the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Director and seven Genie Awards, notably Best Motion Picture. ''Naked Lunch'' has since become a cult film, acclaimed for its surrealistic visual and thematic elements. Plot In 1953, Exterminator William Lee finds that his wife Joan is stealing his supply of insecticide to use a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Cronenberg
David Paul Cronenberg (born March 15, 1943) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror genre, with his films exploring visceral bodily transformation, infectious diseases, and the intertwining of the psychological, the physical and the technological. Cronenberg is best known for exploring these themes through sci-fi horror films such as '' Shivers'' (1975), '' Scanners'' (1981), '' Videodrome'' (1983) and '' The Fly'' (1986), though he has also directed dramas, psychological thrillers and gangster films. Cronenberg's films have polarized critics and audiences alike; he has earned critical acclaim and has sparked controversy for his depictions of gore and violence. ''The Village Voice'' called him "the most audacious and challenging narrative director in the English-speaking world". His films have won numerous awards, including the Special Jury Prize for ''Crash'' at the 1996 Cann ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brazil (1985 Film)
''Brazil'' is a 1985 dystopian black comedy film directed by Terry Gilliam and written by Gilliam, Charles McKeown, and Tom Stoppard. The film stars Jonathan Pryce and features Robert De Niro, Kim Greist, Michael Palin, Katherine Helmond, Bob Hoskins, and Ian Holm. The film centres on Sam Lowry, a low-ranking bureaucrat trying to find a woman who appears in his dreams while he is working in a mind-numbing job and living in a small apartment, set in a dystopian world in which there is an over-reliance on poorly maintained (and rather whimsical) machines. ''Brazil''s satire of technocracy, bureaucracy, hyper-surveillance, corporatism and state capitalism is reminiscent of George Orwell's 1949 novel '' Nineteen Eighty-Four'' and has been called Kafkaesque and absurdist. Sarah Street's ''British National Cinema'' (1997) describes the film as a "fantasy/satire on bureaucratic society", and John Scalzi's ''Rough Guide to Sci-Fi Movies'' (2005) describes it as a "dystopia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terry Gilliam
Terrence Vance Gilliam (; born 22 November 1940) is an American-born British filmmaker, comedian, animator, actor and former member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam has directed 13 feature films, including '' Time Bandits'' (1981), ''Brazil'' (1985), '' The Adventures of Baron Munchausen'' (1988), '' The Fisher King'' (1991), '' 12 Monkeys'' (1995), '' Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas'' (1998), '' The Brothers Grimm'' (2005), ''Tideland'' (2005), and '' The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus'' (2009). Being the only Monty Python member not born in Britain, he became a naturalised British subject in 1968 and formally renounced his American citizenship in 2006. Gilliam was born in Minnesota, but spent his high school and college years in Los Angeles. He started his career as an animator and strip cartoonist. He joined Monty Python as the animator of their works, but eventually became a full member and was given acting roles. He became a feature film director in the 1970s. Mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cult Film
A cult film or cult movie, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage in repeated viewings, dialogue-quoting, and audience participation. Inclusive definitions allow for major studio productions, especially box-office bombs, while exclusive definitions focus more on obscure, transgressive films shunned by the mainstream. The difficulty in defining the term and subjectivity of what qualifies as a cult film mirror classificatory disputes about art. The term ''cult film'' itself was first used in the 1970s to describe the culture that surrounded underground films and midnight movies, though ''cult'' was in common use in film analysis for decades prior to that. Cult films trace their origin back to controversial and suppressed films kept alive by dedicated fans. In some cases, reclaimed or rediscovered films ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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