About Us:
We are not a business but a study site, looking at popular storylines as a basis for critical
viewing [more here].
Below are our main feature
pages online so far.
Most Recent Blog Posts:
On
The Road At 60
-The ‘road trip’ storyline is still rolling along, 60 years after Kerouac’s
classic work was published.
Sixty years ago this month, in September 1957, Jack Kerouac’s On The Road was
finally published. I say ‘finally’ as it took a while to find a publisher. The 4
road trips it covered, mostly between New York and San Francisco via Denver, had occurred back
in 1947-50. Using notebooks kept on these trips, Kerouac compiled his account in 1951 in a single
month of almost nonstop typing on a 120-foot long roll of paper (supposedly @100wpm - he didn’t
even put in paragraph breaks), reliving the experience fuelled by Benzedrine. He hoped for a
film version, but it would be a long time coming - another 45 years, but in that interval, the
'road-trip' storyline became established in American cinema ... [read
on]
From The Mountains Of Kong To The Mountains Of Madness
-In putting together our feature case-study page for the 'expeditionary' storyline on how writers have adapted the key 'gateway barrier' scene, it's notable how the conception has expanded from [often exaggerated] natural features, such as cliffs or gorges, to psychological, cultural or spiritual obstacles. [read on].
The Lost World Redux
The 1925 Lost World, the grand-daddy of expeditionary-storyline films, but long available only
in a cut-down version, was issued September 19 on a multi-region Blu-ray which is the fullest
restoration thus far. [read
more]
Before ... When & Where
Next Time?
Decision-time is approaching as to whether there should be another film in the ‘Before’ series,
cinema’s longest-running scripted-conversation drama. And if there is to be another, what will
the story setup and setting be? [more]
'Something lost ...
and waiting for you. Go!'
-On the Expeditionary Storyline #1 [more]
Dunkirk x 3
A new film about the May 1940 evacuation combines three storylines - the ‘castaways’ storyline, the ‘fateful flight’ storyline, and the ‘decisive’ battle storyline. [more]
The
'Submarine Mission' Storyline:
Introductory page
A-Z Titles Page
Standard Scenes page
10 Titles For Further Study
The 'Midwinter Crisis' Storyline:
Introductory page
Setting The Scene In The Bleak Midwinter’ feature page
The 'Outpost Command Crisis' Storyline
Introductory page
InterTitle Historical Review Part 1
The Expeditionary Storyline
Introductory page
Titles A-Z Page
Case Study Page: The 'Gateway Barrier' Scene
The Subject Of Subs
There are dozens of storylines in existence (I already have notes on over 50) but I decided to do the The ‘Submarine Mission’ storyline first up. Now you might think this is because I have some special interest in the subject of subs, but... [more]
Cold War On Ice
-On Ice Station Zebra as the epitome of the ‘submarine mission’ genre [more]
"Dive Dive Dive"
-Delving Into The Depths Of The ‘Submarine Mission’ Film [more]
Autumn Break
I'm all submarined out at present.... As they used to say on Monty Python, time now for something completely different... something seasonal. [more]
'Tis The Season To Be Thanksgiving
On the 'Midwinter Crisis' Storyline, #2 (of 12 blog posts covering the 12 days of 'Xmas crisis' story setups) [more]
The Coming Of The Snow
On the 'Midwinter Crisis' Storyline, #3 [more]
Xmas, That's A Wrap
On the 'Midwinter Crisis' Storyline, #4 [more]
The Quiet Christmas Crisis
On the 'Midwinter Crisis' Storyline, #5 [more]
The Xmas Holidays Filmfest, 1946-2016
On the 'Midwinter Crisis' Storyline, #6 [more]
The Xmas Blues, Or The Bah-Humbug Effect
On the 'Midwinter Crisis' Storyline, #7 [more]
The Midwinter Walkabout
On the 'Midwinter Crisis' Storyline, #8 [more]
O Come All Ye Fearful - The Xmas Ghost Story Tradition
On the 'Midwinter Crisis' Storyline, #9 [more]
'Dead Time' - The Dead Of Winter
On the 'Midwinter Crisis' Storyline, #10 [more]
New Year's Eve, That's A Date
On the 'Midwinter Crisis' Storyline, #11 [more]
Twelfth (& Final) Night
On the 'Midwinter Crisis' Storyline, #12 [more]
Blue Sky Viewing
-While some like the idea of 'blue sky thinking', at this grey time of year I prefer 'blue sky viewing.'
(Lead-in to the 'Outpost Command Crisis' Storyline) [more]
“Sometimes reality is too complex. Stories give it form.”
- Jean-Luc Godard