Film Studies  http://birthmoviesdeath.com/news

 

 

 

My friend Ross' mom worked here in the 70's and she used to let us in free so I saw all the best movies for the price of popcorn and a pop.  Thanks, Lill.  Thanks, Ross.  I luv movies because of you.  In the old days, it was just one huge beautiful 50's style theatre with a wraparound balcony.  Amazing!  Thanks Gauthier family, especially PAUL.

 

 

 

Freddy's favourite movies:

 

1.  The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly (the best soundtrack ever):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-S7YW0FLRhs (and a story that never, ever gets old)

2.  Beetlejuice (best Halloween date movie ever, and don't say the B word 3 times)

3.  The Terminator (James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger:  need I say more?  K.  Crash, boom, bang!)

4.  Freaks (Oh, the twisted horror, and in 1932!)

5.  Alien (In space, no one can hear you scream...but I can, sitting right next to you!)

6.  Aliens (Those fricking Xenomorphs are tough to kill, and so's their MOMMA!)

7.  Let the Right One In (sad, cute, friendly, geeky vampire love story that'll burn you down)

8.  What We Do In the Shadows (a hilarious satire on the vampire genre, or is it?)

9.  The Godfather, I and II (best period set pieces ever, and the story about a Mafia family in crisis is cool too)

10.  Saving Private Ryan (best wartime action ever filmed, and true to the dot; Dunkirk a close second)

11.  Cinema Paradiso (I laughed, I cried, I love movies!)

12.  Goodfellas (No such thing!)

13.  Chinatown (film noir redux, and oh the payoff for a little patience!; schedule an appointment with your Psychologist)

14.  Psycho (book another visit to your shrink; Norman!)

15.  Birds (of a feather can peck your freaking eyes out; based on a true story)

16.  The French Connection (drug crime action in gritty 70's New York; best car, man chase ever)

17.  One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (We're all nuts; it's just that they lock some of us up, often the wrong ones)

18.  Cool Hand Luke ("what we've got here is a failure to communicate."  You can say that again, and, ever seen anyone eat 50 eggs at once?) 

19.  The Defiant Ones (black and white and chained together escaping the Fuzz)

20.  To Kill A Mockingbird (a classic is so many ways, and so necessary these days)

21.  The Great Escape (true story of mostly Canadians and Brits escape from Stalag Luft 3 in the most ingenious way, and then the Gestapo)

22.  Sunset Boulevard (opens with a dead screenwriter in a swimming pool, and tells us how he got there)

23.  The Great Dictator (Chaplain mocking Hitler, both born within days of each other)

24.  12 Angry Men (best jury movie ever)

25.  Star Wars (the Wild West in Space)

26.  2001:  A Space Odyssey (Kubrick and Clarke must have been dropping acid)

27.  The Shining (King and Kubrick scare me, and the cast!)

28.  Apocalypse Now (Heart of Darkness.  So.  Much.  Darkness.)

29.  Platoon (USA fighting for its soul in the 'Nam, and losing it.)

30.  Full Metal Jacket (We make ordinary men into killing machines, so why are we surprised when they start killing; Tet Offensive crapshow)

31.  American Graffiti (nostalgic naive innocence 'Merica in '62, with cool hot rods and everyone's grad night story in there somewhere)

32.  Rocky (Adrian!  Stallone.  Can.  Act?)

33.  Reservoir Dogs (Tarantino's best movie.  Period.)

34.  Pan's Labyrinth (scary fairy tale about fascist Spain left me hating fascists even more; truly freaky monsters, human and otherwise.)

35.  Das Boot (I'm claustrophobic, especially watching a submarine movie where I'm hoping for...Nazis???) 

36.  Downfall (Hitler's last few days in his crappy little bunker; true to the dot)

37.  Nobody Is My Name (a goofy spaghetti western satirizing the master Sergio Leone, whose One Upon A Time In the West it mocks)

38.  Nosferatu (the first Dracula story and copyright infringement saga, stolen from Bram Stoker and well done, so there's that)

39.  Midnight Express (ever been in a Turkish prison for trafficking drugs?  Now you can experience it without having to do it)

40.  Double Indemnity (film noir's signature movie makes one wonder:  why do good men fall for bad women and then do stupid stuff?)

41.  Baby Driver (with a nod to the French New Wave, and Tarantino, with driving sequences, soundtrack, and intensity second to none) 

42.  The Dark Knight (Ledger's Joker is the best interpretation of a cartoon character of all time, and Bale's Batman is second)

43.  LA Confidential (the most accessible of James Ellroy's Los Angeles crime sagas; from arguably the best crime novel ever written to become one of the best crime movies ever made)

44.  The Road Warrior (George Miller's post-apocalyptic Aussie car chase extravaganza:  The Ayatollah of Rock N' Rolla!  Sequel to Mad Max, which is also a crazy ride and Mel Gibson's 2nd film)

45.  Deadpool (the anti-hero graphic novel hero: smart, vulgar, sassy, nasty, and filmed in Vancouver!)

 

Freddy's 10 favourite Canadian movies:

 

1.  The Fast Runner (Inuit saga that makes you marvel at so many things, like, building igloos for families of 20, and intimacy in said igloos?)(also coolest chase scene in Canadian film; any film?)

2.  Going Down the Road (Goofy Newfoundlanders head to Toronto; what could go wrong?)

3.  The Fly (human morphs into a fly and it's intriguingly tragic and GROSS!)

4.  Smoke Signals (indigenous humour and insight; we know nothing about colonialization)

5.  The Triplets of Belleville (unique animation with few no? few words)

6.  Away from Her (I hate getting old but it's good to know love doesn't)

7.  Black Robe (Jesuits in Quebec in the 1700's; spreading the gospel isn't as easy as it looks)

8.  The Sweet Hereafter (sadness upon sadness after a school bus crash; filmed in Spences Bridge)

9.  Passchaendale (The Great War's sacrifices should never be forgotten, and this film helps us remember them well enough)

10.  A History of Violence (Cronenberg's most accessible movie; if crazy USA style organized crime wanton violence is accessible to you)

 

 

 

 

 

Film history websites:

 

In 3 minutes:  https://vimeo.com/89445851

 

Edgar Wright's, the director of Shaun of the Dead and Baby Driver, favourite website.  https://mubi.com/lists/edgar-wrights-favorite-movies

 

The best films of all time:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_considered_the_best  

The best 100 foreign films of all times:  http://www.imdb.com/list/ls000107883/

 

The best 50 Canadian movies ever made:  http://www.imdb.com/list/ls000107883/

 

Paranoia Will Destory Ya:

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/conspiracy_thrillers/2017/09/paranoia_on_screen_from_1930s_gangster_films_to_today_s_cop_tv_serials.html?wpsrc=sh_all_mob_em_ru

 

The Worst Movies Made by the Best Directors:  http://www.thisisinsider.com/worst-movies-made-by-iconic-directors-2018-4?utm_content=buffere572c&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer-insider-twitter

 

 

 

Genres:

 

Film Theory:  What is Genre?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uavggssb_rM&t=52s

 

 

Science Fiction:

 

Film Theory:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4A1z_AymRM&t=26s

 

Overview of sci-fi:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3F3_lhUNlPI

 

How the view of the future changed in film over 80 years:  http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2017/09/future_depiction_in_movies_and_tv_over_80_years_video.html

 

 

History of early sci-fi part 1:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfTv4Knq6bw

Sci-fi in the 50's part 2:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVjwEStyfLU

Sci-fi in the 50's Part 3:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Posf3jOPCk

 

Top 10 sci-fi movies of all time:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8xAuN_nHNc

 

100 Best Robot Movies of all time (Blade Runner is #1):  https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2015/11/the-100-greatest-movie-robots-of-all-time.html?a=1

 

9 best alien encounter films:  https://moviepilot.com/p/alien-encounter-movies-like-life/4232540

 

15 best dystopian future movies (The Island isn't on the list but it's good too):  http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2011/10/the-15-bleakest-dystopian-futures-in-movies/metropolis

 

 

 

 

Horror:

 

5 Minute Film School on The Shining:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8pUy7Jxips

Working with Kubrick on The Shining was terrifying:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlV4UMRLGiY

Yes it was:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24Z6G1fqL0Y

 

Westerns:

 

Film theory:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHARlbUktEA

 

Crime:

 

Film Theory:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GSSxzLhec0

 

Comedy:

 

Film Theory:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzHekO4Xw_0

 

War:

 

Film Theory:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5zPL8YN7Mw

 

 

 

 

Screenwriting Websites:

 

There might be some "honest" language and adult situations on these websites.

 

Moviemaker website:  https://www.moviemaker.com/category/archives/moviemaking/screenwriting/

 

free scriptwriting software, please sign up:  https://www.celtx.com/logout.html

 

History of Script Format:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5I3Tq9j29c

 

http://nofilmschool.com/2016/06/5-things-need-be-your-screenplay-first-10-pages

 

http://channel101.wikia.com/wiki/Channel_101_Wiki  (overall amazing resource with tons of information)

 

http://channel101.wikia.com/wiki/Tutorials  (lessons on beginning your journey to being a screenwriter)

 

https://screencraft.org/2013/01/17/10-scripts-read-die-and-sooner/  (10 scripts to read before you die)

 

http://www.simplyscripts.com/

 

screenwriting format:  http://www.simplyscripts.com/WR_format.html

 

Advice from screenwriters:  https://screencraft.org/2016/03/08/watch-9-minutes-of-screenwriting-advice-that-screenwriters-need-to-hear/

 

3 Act structure explained:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIGYtzR-Ylw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6QD5Pbc50I&t=36s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7oi_V7JXCg

10 best 3 act movies ever at NoFilmSchool:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgk6e8gWDbk&app=desktop

 

 

3 Act Structure analyzed for The Incredibles:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmAxWh6xMYA

3 Act structure analyzed for the Dark Knight:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnUAdEj3fe4

3 Act Structure for Frozen:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vciAi-xgRUQ

 

5 Minute Film School (A person with a problem) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ba7bIaTYNdw

 

Screenplay formatting 5 basic elements Friday 101:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZszextv6yE&index=3&list=PL-paPoCRZQDNQtix7pl-e3MoKESXdB-ru

 

Advanced formatting friday 101:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=403el1Tzk8E

 

Screenplay formatting from Rocket Jump Film School:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CjlKQclsWo

part2:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGDSxyLkgPU

 

29 Screenwriting Mistakes:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyFHlxdOSsw

 

Syd Field website:  https://sydfield.com/

 

Save the Cat! website:  http://www.savethecat.com/

 

Save the Cat tools:  http://www.savethecat.com/category/tools

 

Save the Cat beat sheets:  http://www.savethecat.com/beat-sheets-alpha

 

Getout! beat sheet:  http://www.savethecat.com/beat-sheets/get-out-beat-sheet

 

Writing a great fight scene:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9LGsUv9ePI

 

Writing a great car chase:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8O_orAIDrI

 

The first great car chase from Bullitt:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vNvc9n1ikI

 

How to write a screenplay agents will love:  https://goodinaroom.com/blog/how-to-write-a-screenplay-agents/

 

Long Distance screenwriting:  http://www.scriptmag.com/features/columns/alternate-routes/alternate-routes-long-distance-networking

 

Good In A Room screenwriting tips and video from experts:  https://goodinaroom.com/blog/writing-process-videos/

 

Some reality therapy for us dreamers:  Myth: My First Script Will get produced | Hollywood Therapy:  https://blogs.psychcentral.com/hollywood-therapy/2017/12/myth-your-first-script-will-get-produced/

 

What Are Your Real Chances of Screenwriting Success?:  

http://www.scriptmag.com/features/career-features/what-are-your-real-chances-of-success?utm_source=wir&utm_campaign=scr-jvb-wir-170711&utm_content=955811_EDT_SM-WIR170711%20Tues%20Script%20Week%20in%20Review&utm_medium=email

 

The 20 Script Must-Haves:  http://www.flyingwrestler.com/2017/01/20-script-must-haves/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Treatments:

 

Generate your script idea:  https://www.bmyers.com/public/807.cfm

 

A useful treatment site:  http://www.movietreatments.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Storyboarding:

 

Intro to Storyboarding Rocket Jump Film School:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQsvhq28sOI

 

For people who can't draw Friday 101w:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ux_Em1lVsjI

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pitching your idea:

 

moviepitch.com with Bob Kosberg:  http://www.moviepitch.com/#/

 

 

How to pitch to  Hollywood executive:  http://filmtrooper.com/123-pitch-hollywood-executive-stephanie-palmer-good-room/

 

pitching tips from Ron Howard:  https://goodinaroom.com/blog/5-ways-to-pitch-like-ron-howard/

 

How to Pitch a Screenplay - Hollywood Pitch Festival:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4HSqKrqkIk

 

The Art Of Pitching A Movie Idea Using The Rule Of 3 by Marc Scott Zicree:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6Lc-_tSN1c

 

Virtual Pitchfest:  https://virtualpitchfest.com/

 

Greenlightmymovie pitch site:  http://www.greenlightmymovie.com/wordpress/wp-content/cache/page_enhanced/www.greenlightmymovie.com///_index.html_gzip

 

How to pitch, from Greenlightmymovie:  https://vimeo.com/44625007

 

My pitch for SADIE AND THE SASQUATCH:  SADIE AND THE SASQUATCH pitch.mp4