Lucky to see a beautiful print of this to better appreciate the work of Christopher Challis but also the great underwater photographers. Plot is pretty basic but the central mystery of the treasure is engaging enough, thriller elements are well done including a memorable fight scene between two opposing henchman. Robert Shaw always a pleasure, and Nick Nolte makes a great impression in his first starting role. Much has been made of Jacqueline Bisset's wet t-shirt in the opening scene,…

Maybe the best film of 1934.

Dietrich, with relatively few lines, is brilliant at charting her character's rise from naiveté to absolute control over each successive scene. By the end, she seems to have everyone in her orbit wrapped around her finger. Her response to being threatened by her husband's mistress is a prolonged, silent gaze of amusement, contempt, and threat as she makes her way across the room and exits. Iconique!

There are too many brilliant montages to list,…

70mm presentation (highly recommended)

Unsurprisingly, this shares similar aesthetic DNA with The Brutalist as well as some corresponding themes/subject matter. Brady Corbet's 2024 film might have more frequent highs, but Mona Fastvold's is less messy, and maintains a steadier hand through its final stretch. She certainly delivers a number of majestic images with tableau and geometric compositions, but also truly standout tracking shots as well (drops of blood in the snow and a hand reveal is one of the year's…

I'll stand by what I've said many times before: in terms of visual storytelling with widescreen compositions, Lucas is nearly without peer in genre filmmaking. Only Carpenter is in this rarefied air. The wordless (or near wordless scenes) stand out the most for me. Anakin and Padme waiting in separate rooms across the city for the fate of the galaxy to be decided, connected only by their worry; Order 66; the montage at the end including that beautiful funeral procession…