Features : See Film Differently

Top 10 of 2011
Friday 16.12.2011
As 2011 draws to a close, it's time to look back and take stock of the films we've seen this year. Whether Hollywood blockbusters, Australian crime dramas, English spy dramas or classic American indies, these are our picks for the best of the year's cinema. Don't agree? Head to Facebook and let us know...
From Page to Screen
Wednesday 16.11.2011
With Andrea Arnold’s update of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights due out this week, we take a look back at some of the crucial dos and don'ts when it comes to adapting a classic novel.
Here's Johnny!
Wednesday 16.11.2011
Johnny Depp returns to the screen this week with a stellar performance in Withnail & I director Bruce Robinson’s highly anticipated adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson’s The Rum Diary. Here we revisit five of the man’s most memorable performances.
Twilight Cheat Sheet
Wednesday 16.11.2011
It’s probably fair to say there’s very little that isn’t already known about the Twilight series, what with its legion of fans constantly scouring the web for sources of information. But with millions eagerly awaiting the imminent arrival of Breaking Dawn Part One this week, we decided to pick out some of our favourite Twihard facts.
Tintin's Survival Guide
Friday 28.10.2011
With Steven Spielberg’s star-spangled 3D adaptation of The Adventures of Tintin out in cinemas, See Film Differently takes a look back at Hergé’s much-loved source material in order to set about crafting Tintin and Snowy’s nifty How To guide to navigating an array of potential pitfalls and hot spots.
How to Shoot... Home-Grown Horror
Wednesday 19.10.2011
With Paranormal Activity 3 hitting cinemas on October 21st, we’ve been inspired to compile our ultimate guide to helping you create your own found-footage horror masterpiece. Follow these 10 simple steps, and you’ll be well on your way to viral success
Rising Stars
Wednesday 19.10.2011
Gus Van Sant's Restless hits cinemas later this month - October 21st to be precise - so to tie in with its release See Film Differently has decided to take a quick look at five of the hottest new talents emerging from the world of cinema today. With several of their films screening at the 55th BFI London Film Festival this month, it’s the perfect time to cast an eye over their contributions so far and see what's next in the pipeline.
London Film Festival - Ones to Watch
Wednesday 05.10.2011
With the BFI London Film Festival just a few short weeks away, See Film Differently casts its eye over this year's programme and picks out 10 prospective highlights. Here's our definitive guide to what to look out for from October 12-27.
Nicholas Winding Refn's Drive
Wednesday 28.09.2011
In amongst the auteur royalty jostling for position at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, one director stood out. Sitting conspicuously amongst the usual suspects – Almodóvar, the Dardenne brothers, Takashi Miike, Lars von Trier – was Nicolas Winding Refn, the Danish punk who’d earned comparisons to Scorsese at the age of 26 after his debut, Pusher, lit up the mean streets of Copenhagen.
Morgan Spurlock
Wednesday 28.09.2011
Morgan Spurlock isn't selling out; he's buying in. That's the excuse he's given for the plethora of sponsors that have tagged their logos and slogans all over his new documentary POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold.
End of the Road 2011
Wednesday 28.09.2011
One field, four days, 27 films... Behind the scenes at the LWLies Cinedrome during the End of the Road festival in Dorset.
Don’t Go Down to the Woods Tonight
Wednesday 21.09.2011
Norwegian director André Øvredal’s Troll Hunter is the cult hit of the year. Set in the woods of Norway’s rugged hinterland, this story about a group of film students who become embroiled in a hunt for Norway’s mythical monsters has inspired us to consider the scariest backwoods horror movies of all time.
Pedro Almodóvar
Wednesday 21.09.2011
Earlier this summer, See Film Differently was granted an exclusive audience with legendary Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar at the headquarters of his production company, El Deseo, in Madrid.
Gary Oldman
Wednesday 14.09.2011
From sharp-suited drug pusher to wizarding outlaw to Gotham watchman, Gary Oldman has established himself as one of cinema’s most versatile character actors over the past two decades. Now he’s slipping into spy mode for Let the Right One In director Tomas Alfredson’s star-studded adaptation of John le Carré’s 1974 novel Tinker Tailor Solider Spy. See Film Differently rendezvoused with Oldman recently to discuss the making of the film.
Locations of Love
Wednesday 14.09.2011
With Woody Allen’s sumptuous Midnight in Paris released in cinemas on October 7, See Film Differently considers the most romantic cities in cinema, and the films that made their reputation.
Ryan Gosling
Wednesday 14.09.2011
Like his uncaged antihero in Drive, Ryan Gosling is a wanted man. At the time of print he’s promoting three films (Drive, Crazy, Stupid, Love, The Ides of March), shooting his next (The Place Beyond the Pines) and prepping two more (Only God Forgives, The Gangster Squad).
Pedro Almodóvar
Friday 02.09.2011
With The Skin I Live In sending chills down cinemagoers’ spines, See Film Differently catches up with Spain’s most celebrated cine luminary to discuss the bones of his tantalising body horror.
Audrey Tautou
Friday 02.09.2011
She has starred as many a pretty-Polly in France, and enjoyed a fleeting stint in Hollywood with conspiratorial blockbuster The Da Vinci Code in 2006. But when the camera stops rolling Audrey Tautou is not one to revel in her stardom, as See Film Differently found out recently when we met up to chat about reuniting with Pierre Salvadori for Beautiful Lies.
James Marsh
Friday 02.09.2011
Filmmaker James Marsh is well known for his innovative docu-dramas and his last, Man on Wire, won a fistful of awards – including the Oscar for Best Documentary – back in 2008. His latest film, Project Nim, explores an experiment undertaken in the 1970s to see if humans could teach chimpanzees to communicate through sign language and construct grammatical sentences. SFD spoke to the director about approaching his most sensitive subject material yet.
The Skin I Live In
Friday 02.09.2011
Pedro Almodovar's new shocker follows a plastic surgeon wreaking revenge on his daughter's tormentors. We get under the skin of this dark, disturbing film by looking at five film locations guaranteed to deliver a fright.
Cowboys and Aliens
Thursday 18.08.2011
With Jon Favreau pitting laser beams against lassos in his genre-bending actioner, See Film Differently candidly matches up the toughest sci-fi and western stars. Ding! Ding!
Super 8 – Call of the Child
Thursday 18.08.2011
Superstar director JJ Abrams revisits his childhood with Super 8, a sci-fi thriller set in the late ’70s. He's part of a generation whose nostalgia is beginning to shape and mould modern cinema. Here we look at how past lives are being relived on screen in new and surprising ways.
Project Nim – Animal Magic
Thursday 18.08.2011
The story of an ape raised as a human in a bizarre 1970s experiment makes for one of the most unusual documentaries of all time. But it's not the first doc to have taken a serious look at our (sometimes twisted) love for animals. See Film Differently counts down the top five.
Studio Ghibli – Behind the Magic
Thursday 04.08.2011
Arrietty is the latest addition to the roster of Japan's most revered animation studio, Studio Ghibli. See Film Differently pays tribute to the studio's founder, Hayao Miyazaki and goes behind the scenes at the studio's enchanted museum in Tokyo.
Harry Potter's Yorkshire
Friday 22.07.2011
As the Harry Potter saga draws to a stunning conclusion, See Film Differently revisits this much-loved icon of British film, and spends time in the Yorkshire National Park that offered an incredible backdrop to the events in Deathly Hallows Part I and II.
Interview with Jesse Eisenberg
Wednesday 20.07.2011
After turning heads for his portrayal of über geek Mark Zuckerberg in last year’s The Social Network, See Film Differently catches up with Jesse Eisenberg to chat about his new role, as a Hassidic Jew in Holy Rollers, being funny and not being the coolest guy in Hollywood.
Stand Up Comedians and Movies
Wednesday 20.07.2011
As Ben Miller's Brit flick dives head first into the murky world of stand-up comedy, See Film Differently celebrates the most successful stand-up comedians to make it in the movies.
The Big Debate
Monday 11.07.2011
Bridesmaids might have wooed critics upon its theatrical release, but is its failure to leave its mark at the box office a sign that the wheels of the Judd Apatow bandwagon have finally come off?
Toy Stories
Monday 11.07.2011
With the Autobots and Decepticons set to duke it out for a third installment in Michael Bay's epic franchise, See Film Differently compiles a list of the most successful toy-inspired movies.
Asif Kapadia takes on Senna
Wednesday 22.06.2011
The man behind Senna, BAFTA winning British director Asif Kapadia, spoke to See Film Differently recently about overcoming the challenges of taking on one of sport’s most iconic figures.
Kaboom
Wednesday 22.06.2011
Eleven months after being awarded the inaugural Queer Palm at the Cannes Film Festival, See Film Differently meets Gregg Araki on launch day of the 25th BFI London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, where Kaboom – the film that won him the accolade – is about to cut the ribbon.
Countdown to Zero
Wednesday 22.06.2011
Countdown to Zero is a graphic reminder of the risks we take when we play with nuclear power, whether in the guise of energy or weaponry. See Film Differently speaks to writer and director Lucy Walker about what it means to be facing the end of the world.
Rio Breaks
Wednesday 22.06.2011
In an exclusive piece written for See Film Differently, Vince Medeiros, the writer and producer of surf documentary Rio Breaks (released in cinemas on June 3), reveals what it takes to shoot on location in Rio de Janeiro’s fearsome favelas.
The Golden Age of Animation
Thursday 16.06.2011
The latest animation giant to chop its way into cinemas, Kung Fu Panda 2 is a wonderful addition to the golden age of animation we’re currently experiencing. But what films from this rich era stand out the most? See Film Differently trawls through the annals of contemporary animation, from American studio gems to independent French masterpieces, Japanese favourites to Eastern European mavericks, to recommend the must-see features for adults and children alike.
Documenting Film Differently
Thursday 16.06.2011
With Senna doing laps of the film circuit, we consider those documentaries that have followed the See Film Differently mandate and brought a fresh and challenging perspective to their subject.
Low Budget and on Location
Thursday 16.06.2011
Home to the nymph Calypso in Homer’s Odyssey, Gozo, an island off of the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean, has long attracted story tellers. Today, a small British crew is shooting an independent film named for the island itself. See Film Differently joined them on location to share the experience.
X-Men: First Class
Thursday 02.06.2011
With X-Men: First Class the latest British blockbuster making waves in the film world, See Film Differently charts the rise of director Matthew Vaughn and four other prominent homegrown talents.
Stanley Kubrick: The Man Who Saw Film Differently
Thursday 02.06.2011
As we gear up for the June 2 See Film Differently screening of A Clockwork Orange at Brunel University, we celebrate the enduring influence of one of cinema’s greatest icons.
Art Director on A Clockwork Orange
Thursday 02.06.2011
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of A Clockwork Orange, See Film Differently interviewed Art Director Peter Wentworth-Sheilds to get some insight into the location stories behind the film.
The Big Debate
Friday 27.05.2011
Is The Hangover Part II the most eagerly awaited sequel of the summer or just a lazy cash-in and a payday for its cast? See Film Differently asks whether Hollywood’s sequel production line has finally gone too far.
Rumbles in the Jungle
Friday 27.05.2011
“Do you know where you are? You’re in the jungle baby!” Thus spoke Axl Rose in Guns ‘n’ Roses’ misleading ’80s mega hit. But over the years it’s true that some of the world’s finest actors have found themselves in remote locations questioning the wisdom of signing-on for months of shooting in horrible conditions alongside deadly animals and crazy directors. Yet the results can be incredible. As the daddy of all jungle movies, Apocalypse Now, is re-released in cinemas on May 27 in a pristine new print, we pick our best of the jungle genre.
Fairy Tales and Films
Friday 13.05.2011
Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke’s Red Riding Hood is getting pretty poor reviews from critics, so we sweep it to one side and recommend the five best fairy tale inspired films.
Hollywood Holidays
Friday 13.05.2011
With Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides released in cinemas this month, Little White Lies editor Matt Bochenski celebrates a special movie genre. No, not the pirate film, but those movies that only got made because the actors fancied an all-expenses-paid trip to somewhere sunny.
The Curse of Oscar
Friday 13.05.2011
Natalie Portman’s role in awful medieval ‘comedy’ Your Highness is further proof that winning a Best Actress Oscar isn’t always the smartest career move for a Hollywood A-lister.
Luc Besson
Thursday 12.05.2011
Everything that there is to love about a Luc Besson film is in his latest, The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec. Based on the comic book series by Jacques Tardi, it’s an all-action flight of fantasy led by an extremely attractive, no shit-taking heroine who takes on mummified Pharaohs, pterodactyls and some creepy bad guys, all because she wants to save her sister. We met up with the legendary French director to talk about adapting the film, how his style is not American and foreseeing black presidents.
Attack the Block
Friday 06.05.2011
Joe Cornish's Attack the Block is the latest in a long line of game-changing British sci-fi movies. See Film Differently pays tribute to the dreamers, mavericks and visionaries who made Britain a key player in cinema's space race.
Battle everywhere
Monday 18.04.2011
With Battle: Los Angeles released in cinemas, See Film Differently celebrates the top five places that have been destroyed by cinema’s science-fiction bad guys.
Dragon Studios
Monday 18.04.2011
Jonathan English’s medieval drama Ironclad is the first big-budget movie ever to be filmed entirely on location in Wales. It was made possible by the creation of Dragon Studios, but all is not rosy in the land of the leek.
Helen Mirren
Monday 18.04.2011
Having cut her acting teeth on stage with the Royal Shakespeare Company in the late ’60s, it seems fitting that Helen Mirren is instrumental in Julie Taymor’s very modern version of The Tempest in the 400th anniversary of the play.
Joanna Hogg
Monday 18.04.2011
A few years back, Joanna Hogg, a middle-aged, single woman, seemed like just another reasonably successful director plodding along on the TV circuit. She’d done well at film school, casting a then unknown Tilda Swinton in her final short film, but the highlights of her career from then on were Casualty, an Eastenders special and London’s Burning.
Richard Ayoade
Monday 18.04.2011
Richard Ayoade’s Submarine first surfaced at last year’s London Film Festival. Like when the HMS Astute ran into Skye, everyone went crazy for it. Ayoade’s been on British screens for years; as Dean Learner in Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, as Maurice Moss in The IT Crowd and as Ned Smanks in Nathan Barley.
Marion Cotillard
Monday 18.04.2011
From skipping girlfriend to scorned wife, Marion Cotillard’s roles have mirrored her maturing process as an actress. Starring alongside some of the biggest names in Hollywood she has, nonetheless, managed to retain an umbilical connection to France. For her new role in Guillaume Canet’s Little White Lies, Cotillard has rubbed the stars from her eyes, appearing with an all-French ensemble.
Once Upon A Time in the Midlands
Monday 18.04.2011
The story of a social worker from Nottingham who uncovered a shocking tale of UK orphans being shipped to Australia, Oranges and Sunshine was shot on location primarily in the East Midlands, a region that is fast becoming a real hub of UK filmmaking, with both established directors and first-timers like Jim Loach choosing to shoot there. Jim being the son of legendary British filmmaker Ken Loach (Kes, Route Irish), the East Midlands has always been akin to hallowed turf, and it’s perhaps not surprising that Loach junior decided to film his debut feature there. But what is it about this region that is attracting the British creative talents of today? We spoke to one of its most famous filmmaking sons recently to find out.
Pulled Towards Outer Space
Monday 18.04.2011
Gravity can't hold Duncan Jones. And no wonder he finds himself pulled towards outer space - the son of the man who fell to earth almost has a cosmic birthright to discover if the truth is out there. Leading what feels like a British sci-fi renaissance after his impressive 2009 debut, Moon, Jones is part a new wave of filmmakers reaching for the stars. His new sci-fi thriller, Source Code, may have all the hallmarks of a big bucks Hollywood affair, but its heart and soul are defiantly British. We sat down with Jones recently to retrace his rise to prominence and discuss what the future holds for homegrown science-fiction cinema.
Ken Loach's Britain
Friday 01.04.2011
With his new Liverpool-set film Route Irish released in cinemas, we draw of a cinematic map of Britain as seen through the filmmaking lens of Ken Loach.
Swansea Cinema Story
Friday 01.04.2011
Craig Roberts and Yasmine Paige, the young stars of smash hit Brit flick Submarine, offer an insiders guide to filming in the unlikely location of Swansea.
Werner Herzog on Location
Friday 01.04.2011
When it comes to filming in authentic locations, nobody does it better than cinema’s king of crazy, Werner Herzog. As he uncovers 30,000-year-old cave paintings in southern France for his latest film, we remember the German director’s best location-based adventures.
Javier Bardem - Part 3
Wednesday 26.01.2011
Volkswagen See Film Differently presents the third and final part of an exclusive interview with Javier Bardem in which he discusses what it's like for an actor to film on location.
Private Fears, Public Places
Friday 21.01.2011
Two new documentaries, Catfish and Enemies of the People, see filmmakers taking their camera into the most private location of all: the home. The question for cinema is whether such intrusions can be justified by the outcome, or whether some locations represent boundaries that should never be transgressed.
Howard Hawks: The Myth-Maker
Monday 17.01.2011
In our third See Film Differently Profile about the people whose vision and genius changed cinema forever, we turn the spotlight on director Howard Hawks, as his most famous film, The Big Sleep, prepares for a theatrical re-release on December 31.
Hollywood in the UK
Monday 17.01.2011
Hollywood just can't get enough of the UK. That's why some of the biggest - and most American - films hitting our screens in 2011 were actually filmed right here in our green and pleasant land. Don't believe us? Here's the proof...
Top 10 War Movies
Thursday 13.01.2011
'War, eh? What is it good for? Absolutely nothing! Except, perhaps, providing the most compelling, harrowing and affecting stories of tragedy and triumph ever committed to film. A key factor in telling such stories with authenticity is the choice of filming location, and here are ten war movies that really hit the mark...
Future Now - have Hollywood's promises come to pass?
Thursday 13.01.2011
Where's my hoverboard, that's what I want to know? Cinema is a persuasive and often inspirational medium, but sometimes it's just plain irresponsible. Like in Back To The Future 2 (1989), when it promised us hoverboards by 2015. I just hope its going to deliver.
Javier Bardem - Part 2
Thursday 13.01.2011
Volkswagen See Film Differently presents the second part of an exclusive interview with Javier Bardem in which he discusses what it's like for an actor to film on location. The final part will be released in the run up to the film's release on January 28th.
Hell and High Water Venice on Film
Wednesday 22.12.2010
Watching Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie struggling to compete with the scenery in The Tourist - those opulent Renaissance palaces and waterways of the jewel of the Adriatic, Venice, I was reminded of a conversation some twelve years ago with the director Peter Weir.
Peter Weir's Journey
Wednesday 22.12.2010
Peter Weir's The Way Back is the epic tale, based on a true story, of a group of prisoners who escaped from a Siberian Gulag and made their way on foot across the Mongolian steppes and over the Himalayas to freedom. Here, the Australian director reveals some of the challenged of shooting in extreme locations.
Pittsburgh Stories
Wednesday 22.12.2010
Paul Haggis' new film The Next Three Days is a brilliantly tense thriller in which Russell Crowe must break his wife out of prison. But for all its Hollywood leads, the film's real star is the location of Pittsburgh. Here, Haggis explains how and why he filmed in America's steel town.
Worlds of Invention
Wednesday 22.12.2010
Joseph Kosinski's TRON: Legacy - released in cinemas on December 17 - is a thrilling vision of our virtual future set in a location constructed entirely from bits and bytes. It is part of the illustrious heritage of the science-fiction genre, which has taken us to some of the most stunning locations imaginable. Here, we recall five of our favourites.
Inception - Location Location
Wednesday 22.12.2010
"It's an action adventure that spans the globe," said writer/director Christopher Nolan, as he tried to explain his head-spinning thriller Inception. Jetting between four continents and six different countries, Inception might take place in dreamland but it's actually a breathtaking trip around the real world. Armed with $160 million blockbuster budget, Nolan didn't blow it on special effects, he blew it on plane tickets.
Where Writers Write
Wednesday 22.12.2010
When, where and how is the best time, place and way to write? We talk to Noel Clarke and Paul Haggis to find out what gets their creative juices flowing...
Javier Bardem - Part 1
Wednesday 08.12.2010
Volkswagen See Film Differently presents Javier Bardem. Part I sees Bardem talking about the unique experience of working on set in Barcelona.
As Good as the Book
Thursday 02.12.2010
Novel ideas in film are few and far between. No, scratch that: original ideas are few and far between. Novels are a different matter. Often snapped up by eager Hollywood producers even before publication, novels are prized far more highly than spec scripts... That's not saying much: so are comic books, 70s TV shows, Saturday Night Live skits and videogames.
Top 10 Michael Caine Films
Thursday 02.12.2010
There's just no stopping Michael Caine. Storming into his seventh decade on film, this great British institution shows no signs of slowing down. As Batman's reliable butler in The Dark Knight, Leo DiCaprio's father-in-law in Inception, and a vigilante pensioner in Harry Brown, Sir Michael's as good as he's ever been. Which is really rather good indeed, as this Top Ten list demonstrates...
Turning The Camera On Locations
Thursday 02.12.2010
A guide to the people and places behind the movies
Top 10 Houses in Film
Wednesday 24.11.2010
Inspired by the release of Mike Leigh's latest offering, Another Year, a film that centres around the family and 'home', it has inspired us to chart (in no particular order) the top 10 houses as seen on screen...
Science But Not Fiction
Wednesday 24.11.2010
From a sprawling South American rubbish dump to a four-kilometre-deep nuclear waste facility designed to last 100,000 years, a new wave of documentaries are showing us the kind of visions that used to exist only in the mind of science-fiction set designers. But these ethereal, alien locations are both real and haunting.
Rethinking Utopia
Wednesday 17.11.2010
Swedish cinema has been revitalised by a series of global successes in the last few years. But they force us to question our assumptions about this apparently benign country.
James Cameron Profile
Wednesday 17.11.2010
He is the master of Hollywood and self-proclaimed 'King of the World'. James Cameron has pushed action cinema beyond the realms of the possible, transforming the very nature of the art form.
An American Assassin In Italy
Wednesday 17.11.2010
Photographer-turned-director Anton Corbijn reveals how he scouted the beautiful countryside locations for his stunning Italian-set movie The American starring George Clooney.
American Gothic
Monday 08.11.2010
Matt Reeves' Let Me In relocates seminal Scandinavian horror Let The Right One In from Sweden to America. He explains how he found the right locations to fit the film.
Changing Locations
Monday 08.11.2010
Remaking a film by transplanting the location (often to the US) and slapping a few zeroes onto the budget is a pillar of the modern movie industry. It makes money (but not always a lot), it makes sense (see previous comment), but does it make for good cinematic experience?
Inside The Arbor
Monday 08.11.2010
The Arbor, a new film from artist/filmmaker Clio Barnard, takes us deep into the heart of one of Britain's most deprived estates. We have the inside story of this unique location shoot.
The Changing Face of Wall Street
Monday 08.11.2010
Michael Douglas can't go out for dinner in New York without getting patted on the back by a hedge-fund manager. They all want to say thanks to their hero. Without Gordon Gekko and Wall Street, they wouldn't be where they are today. And, arguably, neither would the financial world.
Creating Worlds
Thursday 21.10.2010
Stephane Aubier and Vincent Patar, co-directors of Belgian animation A Town Called Panic, explain the inspiration behind the bizarre locations in their stop-motion animation.
London Calling
Thursday 21.10.2010
As the London Film Festival gets under way, Adrian Wootton, chief executive of Film London, explains why the nation's capital is the new centre of the filmmaking universe.
Orson Welles Profile
Thursday 21.10.2010
In the first of our series celebrating the artists who changed cinema forever by seeing film differently, we revisit the career of Citizen Kane director Orson Welles.
Top 10 Werewolves
Thursday 21.10.2010
Here we go lupe da lupe! Is it a man? Is it a wolf? Is it a hideous hybrid of the two, hacking its way through the local populace? (Is it some iffy CGI and/or a bloke in an unrealistic furry suit...?) Probably all of the above - beware the Top 10 Werewolves...
Rhys Ifans
Monday 04.10.2010
Rhys Ifans excels as notorious dope smuggler Howard Marks in Mr. Nice. He explains how coming home helped him put on the performance of his career.
Seeing is Believing
Monday 04.10.2010
Restrepo is the latest in a long line of documentaries whose use of location footage hammers home the message that cinema is "truth 24 frames-a-second".

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