Top Japanese Movies

Some of the best Japanese movies that rank high on the list of a connoisseur of world cinema include the following:

• Tokyo Story (1953 film directed by Yasujiro Ozu)
• Seven Samurai (1954 film directed by Akira Kurosawa)
• Ikiru (1952 film directed by Akira Kurosawa)
• Ugetsu (1953 film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi)
• Godzilla (1954 film directed by Ishiro Honda)

The different genres of Japanese cinema:

Japanese cinema has been divided into a number of identifiable genres, based on a number of parameters. Arguably the most famous genres include Samurai cinema, anime (animation) movies, literary adaptations, experimental cinema, Yakuza (mobster) movies, J-horror movies, and New Cinema.

Broadly, Japanese movies have been divided into the following genres: anime films (animated movies, a Japanese stronghold), Jidaigeki films (period pieces that roughly correspond to the Edo period), Samurai cinema (also referred as chambara, and is a subgenre of Jidaigeki), Ninja movies, Cult horror, J-horror, Kaiju movies (based on monsters), Pink films (soft porn movies with an artistic influence), Yakuza (about Yakuza mobsters) movies, Seishun eiga (films that mainly portray teenagers), Gendaigeki (films about the modern age, also referred to as  New Cinema) and last but by no means the least, Shomingeki (films about plebeians, in other words, films about common working class people).

The 1950s and the 2000s have been the most productive phase for Japanese cinema, producing some of the best and most critically appreciated top Japanese movies. The Academy Awards or the Oscars are perhaps the highest distinction that is given to movies in the United States of America. Brilliant works of world cinema are also acknowledged in the category of Best Foreign Language Film. This is one of the highest distinctions that a movie can receive. Japan has the highest distinction of receiving this prestigious award for a record 4 times in the history of Academy Awards, and Japanese films have also been nominated in this category 12 times. Apart from the Academy Awards, Japanese films have been showered with honors in a number of foreign film festivals. Good Japanese cinema that is screened in the top film festivals like the Berlin International Film Festival, Moondance Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, and others still continue to draw in the crowds. Japanese cinema has won many accolades, and has found acclaim among the toughest critics of world cinema. Akira Kurosawa is considered to be one of the greatest film makers of all time. A number of talented film makers in the present cite Akira Kurosawa and films made by Akira Kurosawa as their influence and inspiration to go into film making. The Japanese film industry also provides a good launch pad for young talents to make their foray in the film industry. A number of highly respected veterans of Japanese cinema are patronized by many film appreciation societies in the world.

The Japanese films that have received rave reviews, awards and critical acclaim in film festivals around the world include the following:

• Rashomon (1950 film directed by Akira Kurosawa, Academy Honorary Award at the 24th Academy Awards, Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival)

Photo by Wikimedia Commons

• Gate of Hell (1953 film directed by Teinosuke Kinugasa, Palme d’Or at the 1954 Cannes Film Festival, 1955 Academy Honorary Award for Best Foreign Language Film)

Photo by Wikimedia Commons

• Samurai, the legend of Musashi Miyamoto (1954 film directed by Hiroshi Inagaki, 1955 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film)

• The Burmese Harp (1956 film directed by Kon Ichikawa, nominated for 1957 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film)

• Kwaidan (1964 film directed by Masaki Kobayashi, Special Jury prize at 1965 Cannes Film Festival)

• Departures (2008 film directed by Yojiro Takita, Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars in 2009)

The latest Japanese films that have been critically acclaimed include the following:

Caterpillar (2010 film by Koji Wakamatsu, acclaimed at the 60th Berlin International film festival) and Outrage (2010 film by Takeshi Kitano, critically acclaimed at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival).

Top Japanese Movies- Top Ten Japanese Movies:

According to popular opinion, ratings and critical acclaim, the top Japanese movies include the following:

• Seven Samurai (1954 masterpiece, directed by Akira Kurosawa)

Photo by Wikimedia Commons

• Tokyo Story (1953 film directed by Yasujiro Ozu)

Photo by Wikimedia Commons

• Ikiru (1952 film directed by Akira Kurosawa)

Photo by Wikimedia Commons

• Floating Clouds (1955 film directed by Mikio Naruse)

Photo by Wikimedia Commons

• A fugitive from the Past (1965 film directed by Tomu Uchida)
• Rashomon (1950 film directed by Akira Kurosawa)

Photo by Wikimedia Commons

• Intentions of Murder (1964 film directed by Shohei Imamura)

• Twenty Four Eyes (1954 film directed by Keisuke Kinoshita)

Photoby Wikimedia Commons

• Tales of Ugetsu (1953 film directed by K. Mizoguchi)

Photo by Wikimedia Commons

• Red Beard (1965 film directed by Akira Kurosawa)

A mere glance at this list would reveal why Akira Kurosawa is considered by many to be one of the greatest film directors of all time. In any comprehensive list of world cinema or a list of top Japanese movies of all time, many masterpieces by Kurosawa would feature. Akira Kurosawa is also famous for directing an epic movie, Ran. It was released in the year and was made at a budget of 12 million dollars, and became the most expensive Japanese movies. Top Japanese movies are a hit among people all over the world. Japanese Samurai, fighting and animation movies are loved by millions of people, and these are probably the most commercially successful genre of movies.

Most Expensive Movie

This Canadian-born director enthralled filmgoers across the world with his $500 million years-in-the-making sci-fi epic, “Avatar.” You don’t agree with this figure?

Determining the final cost of the film is a trick in itself.  As you would have seen, there have been wildly different reports published, ranging from $230 million to nearly $500 million. But recent estimates put the final costs at about $310 million – only that of production, excluding marketing and other costs.

Was Avatar worth it?

Critics say that hundreds of millions of dollars is too much to spend on a film with a bunch of blue aliens.  They find it over-priced and feel that money could have been spent much better elsewhere. But then Hollywood is not known for it’s economizing, it’s known for its excess. Wonder how the production cost of a film affects your enjoyment of it?  It is to James Cameron’s credit, that viewers were completely taken in by the movie and all thoughts of the price tag vanished after the credits rolled.

Cameron’s 3-D science fiction film, “Avatar,” was distributed by 20th Century Fox.  James Gianopulos, CEO of Fox Filmed Entertainment said, “It is the most expensive film we’ve made, but now, having the luxury of hindsight, it is money well spent, so I’m not concerned about it.”

Photo by flickr.com

Fox is happy, as “Avatar” grossed $601.1 million in just 47 days, and it took 252 days for Titanic to cross the $600 million mark. The total estimated worldwide gross for Avatar is over $2.782 billion.

If the projected numbers are right, “Avatar’s” budget exceeded that of the most expensive movie ever made, and that crown was held by “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” with an estimated budget of $300 million.  But this is nothing new for Fox, as it has been here with Cameron with “Titanic” (1997), his previous feature, with an estimated $200 million.  That investment paid off big time when the film bagged nearly $2 billion worldwide, along with a clutch of awards including the Oscar for the best director going to Cameron himself.

Generally, whenever there is talk about a movie budget, the talk usually involves the production costs, which includes the cost of building the sets, special effects, hiring actors, and this includes their diet needs too. The marketing costs are not taken into consideration.

Photo by flickr.com

So, if you read about the Pirates of the Caribbean movie costing $300 million, they are not talking about the cost of advertising Johnny Depp’s face on all the billboards in town.  Where Avatar is concerned, it is a known fact that the production costs have been shared with other investors: Ingenious Film Partners and Dune Capital Management.  The News Corporation has also carried a smaller share of the production cost. This is done to hedge the risk.  The filmmakers were also at an advantage due to the tax credit they received in New Zealand, where they shot about a third of the film.  So, they got to save $30 million here.

The marketing budget is again taken care of by Fox, and this tally’s up to about $150 million.  We’re not including this in the cost of the film. How does one account for the 3D cameras and the motion capture tools used by the director to create the amazing world of Avatar?  Most of these expenses are also not included in the $310 million. The price tag would certainly be higher if Cameron’s financial contribution and others were included. Along with the global marketing expenses, “Avatar” may have very well have costed the $500 million, as many reports stated.

But from the movie industry’s perspective, “Avatar” is the most expensive movie ever made in more ways than one. They say that the film’s ability to motivate cinema owners to change to 3D screens and ushering in a new era of mass 3D-movie watching; is of exceptional value.  Rumors go that Cameron has already sketched out the storylines for two more Avatar films.  Well, going by his track record, it’s hard not to think BIG!

Literary Adaptations and Academy Awards

The 81st Oscars and “Slumdog Millionaire,” a film based on the book of the same name reiterated the love Oscars had for movies based on novels. A glance at the coveted trophies reveals that, most literary adaptations have been hugely successful.

Of course, these victories are often surrounded by countless debates. Book lovers complain that their favorite author’s works on the celluloid is not a faithful adaptation; while movie buffs say the adaptation is “incredibly better than its novel counterpart.” This endless struggle to meet the readers’ expectations does not dampen the spirit of filmmakers, and the proof lies in the books that have seen unparalleled success when transformed into celluloid dreams.

There is one thing I want to point out, that the adaptations listed here have been successful in terms of winning the Academy Awards.  They are listed in order of the number of Oscars they received.

Photo by cliff1066

Check out the list!  If nothing else, these are great films worth watching, if you haven’t already. The books make great reading too.

Ben-Hur (1959), 11 Oscars

Director: William Wyler

Book: “Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ” by Lew Wallace published in 1880

The novel was a phenomenal best-seller, and when Gone with the Wind was published in 1936, the sales plummeted. But the release of this hugely successful adaptation led to a dramatic increase in sales.

William Wyler’s Technicolor blockbuster was made with the largest budget in movie history in its day. “Ben-Hur” won eleven Oscars; William Wyler, the director, received an Oscar for the Best Film and Charlton Heston walked away with the Best Actor award. Judah Ben-Hur, a rich Jewish nobleman, devoted to his faith and people, is separated from his family and sent to the galleys by his Roman tribunal friend Messala, accused of attempted murder. Ben-Hur, who is innocent, returns to seek revenge in a chariot race, which took three months to film and is considered to be one of the most spectacular action sequences ever filmed.  There are other brilliant scenes that make sure the viewer’s attention does not flat, such as the battle of the galleys and the crucifixion of Christ.

Photo by ilaiyaraaja

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), 11 Oscars

Director: Peter Jackson

Book: “The Return of the King” being the third part of The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkein published in 1955

Tolkien’s books have attracted millions of teenage boys around the globe. “Lord of the Rings” became the most popular work in 20th century literature and has influenced music and popular video games.

But it was Peter Jackson’s fantasy-adventure film trilogy that brought Tolkien’s Middle Earth to life.  The film was one of the greatest box-office successes of all time. “The Return of the King” won eleven Oscars and swept the Oscars in 2004. Winning the Best Picture award was a record for a fantasy film. Amazing cinematography, great actors, exciting battles, mesmerizing magic and brilliant music combined to offer us the world of Hobbits as we’d never imagined it.

Photo by SALEMIALA

Gone with the Wind (1939), 10 Oscars

Director: Victor Fleming

Book: “Gone with the Wind” by Margaret Mitchell published in 1936

“Gone with the Wind,” the book, would rate right on top for me.  It is the most popular novel of its time and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1937.  For those of you who have not read the book, this is one book I strongly recommend; and I promise, it will hold your interest till the end.

Victor Fleming’s rendition of “Gone with the Wind” won ten Oscars (8 in the main categories, such as Best Direction and Best Actress and two special awards). Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Olivia de Havilland and Leslie Howard excelled in their characters. The story is about the American Civil War and Scarlett O’Hara who survives the hardships of the war and takes charge when the chips are down.  The film’s depiction of the romance between Scarlett and Rhett, and Scarlet’s unfulfilled love for Ashley Wikes won over audiences. Although, the Hollywood version was splendid and won many awards, many felt that it still did not do justice to Margaret Mitchell’s best seller.

Photo by cinema_lasuperlativ2

Out of Africa (1985), 7 Oscars

Director: Sydney Pollack

Book: “Out of Africa” by Isac Dinesen (Karen Blixen) published in 1938

When Isac Dinesen authored “Seven Gothic Tales,” her first publication, she was a mystery and people thought she was a man.  With “Out of Africa,” her memoirs, readers were fascinated to learn that she was a Danish baroness, named Karen Blixen. They were attracted to her mysterious life as nobody knew much about her.

Biographies attract filmmakers and audiences alike. Sydney Pollack’s immensely popular version starred Meryl Streep and Robert Redford and is more of a love story rather than a direct adaptation. “Out of Africa” won seven Oscars and Meryl Streep’s amazing performance won her an Oscar, along with awards for the Best Director, Picture and Cinematography. This fascinating film traces the life of Danish writer Karen Blixen who is better known as Isak Dinesen. She travels to Kenya to be with her husband but falls in love with an English adventurer.  The film revolves around their stormy relationship at a coffee plantation, in early twentieth century Africa. The film is a feast for the eyes, and is unforgettable for its depiction of the breathtaking beauty of Africa. This is a great example of a film being more famous than the book that inspired it.

Photo by beastandbean

Schindler’s List (1993), 7 Oscars

Director: Steven Spielberg

Book: “Schindler’s List” (Schindler’s Ark) by Thomas Keneally published in 1982

Thomas Keneally, the Australian novelist, won the Booker Prize for Schindler’s List, but the main recognition came in the form of Steven Spielberg’s adaptation.  This is a true story and is the result of Keneally’s chance encounter with a Jewish worker saved by Schindler, who related the story and helped Keneally interview other survivors.

Audiences from around the world were stunned by the mastery displayed by Spielberg, and the film was lauded as one of the best about the Holocaust. A box office success, “Schindler’s List” won seven Oscars, including Best Director and Best Picture. The film, starring Ben Kingsley, Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes, is based on a true story of a German, Oskar Schindler, who saves thousands of Jews from concentration camps in Nazi Germany, during the holocaust.  Spielberg’s brilliant decision to film it in black and white was applauded as the right move.

Photo by Flowereye

The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), 7 Oscars

Director: David Lean

Book: “The Bridge on the River Kwai” by Pierre Boulle published (English version) in 1954

The story goes that French writer Pierre Boulle’s book incorrectly mentioned that the bridge was on River Kwai when in reality it was on Mae Khlung river. When David Lean’s film came out, thousands of tourists were said to have gone to see the bridge over the River Kwai. To resolve this issue, the river Mae Khlung had to be renamed Kwae Yai for several miles.

This stands testimony to how David Lean’s epic World War II adventure, captured the imagination of the public and brought Peter Boulle’s remarkable but lesser known novel to life. “The Bridge on the River Kwai” won seven Oscars in all major categories, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Music and Best Actor.  Its theme song, “Colonel Bogey March,” is an old World War II whistling tune that became a huge hit. The movie deals with a company of British soldiers headed by Colonel Nicholson (portrayed by Alec Guiness), who were taken prisoners by the Japanese in World War II. Alec Guiness shot to fame for his brilliant acting!  Filmed in the breathtaking locales of Ceylon, it is considered as one of the best cinematic experiences of all time.

Photo by Susanlenox

Dances with Wolves (1990), 7 Oscars

Director: Kevin Costner

Book: “Dances with Wolves” by Michael Blake published in 1988

Michael Blake, author and screen writer also won the Golden Globe and the Silver Spur awards for “Dances with Wolves,” which is his first. Prior to that, Blake was stuck with unproduced screenplays and worked as a dishwasher in a Chinese restaurant. Costner, who he first met in 1981, called him to write the screenplay for a film based on this novel, and the rest is history.

This film made Kevin Costner, who produced, directed and acted in it, famous worldwide. “Dances with wolves” won seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. The film was lauded for the positive portrayal of Native American life and the engrossing story of a white soldier that mans a post singlehandedly, and becomes a part of the Lakota Sioux community.  Unfortunately, Costner did not experience this sort of directorial success after this.

Photo by yolandajabonillo

Forrest Gump (1994), 6 Oscars

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Book: “Forrest Gump” by Winston Groom published in 1986

Winston Groom’s novel sold a decent 40,000 copies by itself. But his life changed forever when Paramount bought the rights in 1994. A re-release of the novel sold more than 1.7 million copies.

Director Robert Zemeckis seems to have fallen in love with the Forrest Gump character and gave it his all, turning the novel into a most memorable work. Winner of 6 Oscars, including Best Actor (Hanks) and Best Picture, “Forrest Gump” is the story of a slow-witted Southern man, who hilariously navigates through a life filled with adventure and achieves success. Forrest’s assertion, “life is like a bowl of chocolates,” has become part of the American language.

Photo by raphabuneco

One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), 5 Oscars

Director: Milos Forman

Book: “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest” by Ken Kesey published in 1962

Ken Kesey worked as a night attendant on the psychiatric ward of a hospital to earn extra money.  He was convinced that the patients were locked into a system that was opposite to therapeutic, and this provided the key to this novel, which is one of the best-known American novels of the 60s.

“One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest was the first to win all five major Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Screenplay, since 1934. The story is about Randal McMurphy portrayed by Jack Nicholson, a petty criminal who feigns insanity to shift to a mental institution from prison. He instigates the other patients to stand up against the oppressive Nurse Ratched.  This soul-wrenching movie is ranked as the best film of the 70s by many.

Photo One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest

The Silence of the Lambs (1991), 5 Oscars

Director: Jonathan Demme

Book: “The Silence of the Lambs” by Thomas Harris published in 1988

This extremely popular bestseller is Thomas Harris’ second that features Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a psychiatrist and a serial killer with cannibalistic tendencies. The character of “Buffalo Bill” is said to be based on five real-life serial killers: Ed Gein, Ted Bundy, Gary Ridgway, Edmund Kemper and Gary Heidnik.

Jonathan Demme weaved his magic for this dark psychological thriller in such a way that you will not forget it for a long time. Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins won great praise for their excellent portrayals of Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lecter. “The Silence of the Lambs” swept all major Oscar categories but the Academy was criticized for this. Seven nominations translated into five wins for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Screenplay. To date, this is the third film to win in all top five. This is certainly no mean feat considering the film featured a cannibal!

Photo by aboutnici

Movie-makers continue to search their bookshelves for material. For one thing, the books already have an audience of their own, and these fans are easily transformed into movie viewers, eager to see how their favorite book was interpreted by the filmmaker. This ensures the film is not a disaster. Filmmakers opine that it is difficult to find top-quality screenplays, and the best stories are often found between the covers of a novel.

Caroline Welz is a German citizen who was born in Germany in the year 1986, on the 6th of July. She could have been an ordinary person, but as it turns out, she is not. Caroline Welz is an extremely tall girl, taller than most girls her age, and taller than most other girls. In fact she is as tall as 2.06 metres.

For people who do not understand metres, she is exactly 6 feet and 9 inches tall. At 6 feet and 9 inches, she is easily one of the tallest women in the world at present. She is presently twenty four years old. Her almost abnormally huge height has never been a problem or a hindrance for her. She suffers from a condition known as gigantism, which is a hormonal disorder which occurs most probably due to the excessive secretion of a particular hormone from the pituitary gland.

Caroline Welz, is called Caro in endearingly. At 206 centimetres tall, Caroline Welz is one the tallest women the woman and she happens to be the tallest woman in Germany. She is famous worldwide because of this fact, and she even has a web page devoted to her on Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Caroline Welz is so tall that just her legs are fifty one inches high which is almost 130 centimeters. She wears custom made footwear since her the size of her feet is 15 by the United States standards, and 48 by European standards, which is abnormally large, and never seen for a woman of normal size.

Here are some facts about Caroline Welz, or Caro, who happens to be the tallest woman in Germany, and one of the tallest women in the world-

• Date of Birth- 6th of July, 1986
• Place of Birth- Cologne, Germany
• Height- 206 cm (which is almost 6 feet 9 inches)
• Weight- 117 kg (or 259 lbs)
• Shoe Size- 15 (US) and 48 (EU)
• Eye colour- Blue
• Hair colour- Black
• Ethnicity or Origin- German

She even has a personal website of her, the address of which is http://www.grossefrau.de/

She has a number of fans worldwide who are regular visitors of her website.

Born on the 6th of July in 1986, in North Rhine- Westphalia, Caro or Caroline Welz is the tallest woman in Germany, and one of the tallest in the world. But being almost gigantic in height has not affected Caroline Welz’s choice of career. Professionally, Caroline is a tailor and is also a part-time model. Her tallness is aptly described as stunning. She makes quite an impression when she weaves through traffic or appears in public.

People pause to look at the towering woman in admiration and even awe, for she creates quite an impression. She’s taller than most doors and entrances, and has to bend down to pass through. That’s quite a sight for most people. She has appeared on television and has been interviewed by magazines quite a number of times. There are a number of her videos on You Tube demonstrating her striking tallness. She is quite a popular figure, and has a number of fans worldwide, who adore their tall Caro.

The term disability relates itself to any kind of limitation within the activity capacity of an individual. Being disabled in some way is not greater than or less than equal to the term unable to do something.  Disability within an individual is a complex situation as it maybe present from birth or have been acquired though the life span of a person living in conditions- both mental and environmental that are not suitable.

However, as the rise of individualism brought out the best in each, respective of what they were best at, we take a look at people who have taken disability within their stride and contributed to the world of music in ways which awe mankind. Take it from the Past and the Present, from disabilities like Diabetes, Microtia, Blindness, Multiple Sclerosis, these people have made it big.

Ray Charles

Originating from the U.S, this man is famous for his contribution to a beautiful mix in music- from the blues to the gospels. His genre of music is redefined as the 1ST African-American who punched in the country sounds to pop music. This singer, composer, pianist and keyboardist was blind and yet had the life of a musician and a bandleader. Not to mention he could perform the saxophone and trombone equally well. He worked for famous companies like the Warner Bros and Concord. With a variety of public appearances, this man has made it to a sensational popularity. With his blindness not coming in the road to success, he has adapted it all and moved on ahead with a mind blasting career.

Photo by Alan Light

Bret Michaels

Talk about sweet poison, Bret Michaels, suffering from Type1 Diabetes, is the lead singer of the band called Poison. Originating from the U.S, Pennsylvania this man belonged to one of the most famous metal bands of the 80’s. His area of excellence was the glam metal and hard rock genres of music. A lot of his music has been used in movie and productions and studio albums and tv series as well. He has acoustic versions of his songs with a variety in mixes. His music career began with a band in Paris and eventually moved onto what we know today as Poison in the Los Angeles. He had a variety of ventures with celebrities of his time which comprised of various sound tracks by him along with his personal self featuring in those productions as well.

Photo by Wendy C. Photography

Kenny G

After being rejected from the University of Washington’s Music program, this man today happens to be the most famous saxophone player ever.  He redefined the whole notion of jazz in unbelievable manner. His most famous record being breathless, Kenny G is a Grammy winner as well. He plays not only the saxophone but the alto and tenor as well. His most famous labels are Arista and Concord. His disability being asthma isn’t a block on the path of his career as we can see that he has the world record of playing the longest note on the saxophone.

Photo by kktp_

Rick Allen

After a full arm amputation, this man has a custom made drum kit so as to not let his disability come in the way of his music career. He plays the snare with his foot and is back on stage with an album that sold more than 20 million copies. Allen fondly known as the thunder god belongs to the English band called the Def Leppard. His areas of excellence are mainly the hard rock and metal genres. Rick Allen started off as a percussionist and is know one of the most famous drummers of the world.

Photo by 12rfrankford

Paul Stanley

Paul Stanley or Stanley Eisen was the famous rhythm guitarist of the rock band Kiss, this man was born with Microtia which is a rare disease where a congenital deformity would make the pinna almost invisible or extremely small. But this disability did not ever stop him from being the incredible musician with a record of 100 million records sold world wide. He has also been the spokesman for About Face, an organization that brings support to individuals with facial differences.

Photo by Steve Gray

Itzhak Perlman

For many in the world Itzhak Perlman has been one of the youngest virtuoso violin players of many great talents. He contracted polio at age 4 but made a quick recovery, speeding into his career as one of the greatest treasures in the world of classical music. He walked with crutches and now he generally uses a scooter to get around. He has been playing the violin for quite sometime now and have been given the title of “Sir” in recent times.

Photo by bo mackison

Edgar Winter

This American blues musician had experimented with multiple instruments and has come with various new and interesting concepts contributing to the world of music. He contracted albinism or extreme sensitivity to light at an early age. Even with his conditions Winter had always made his stage performances in very lit up areas showing where passion rules, there is no stopping of any debilitating disease.

Photo by Carl Lender

Jacqueline du Pre

Jacqueline du Pre was a British cellist who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at the age of 28. She was one of the greatest players of the cello and was associated with Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E Minor. But her career had to be cut short due to her disease and even led to premature death. Her masterful performance astounded the world and her sudden demise was a great loss in the world of classical music.

Photo by artofspanish

Tony Lommi

Tony Lommi was initially a jazz guitarist who suffered partial amputation of his fingers while working in a sheet metal factory as a teenager. But he was inspired to pursue his career after hearing a record from a similarly injured jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. He wore plastic covers to his damaged areas and played on the guitar. He even played guitar by replacing them with banjo strings creating astounding and unusual music. He later formed the band Black Sabbath creating greater influence all over the world.

Photo by The Brighton Centre

Ludwig Van Beethoven

The master classical pianist and one of the greatest wonders in the world of music was deaf himself for the last 25 years of his life. He started showing his incredible genius at a very early age. Beethoven’s work has and will forever remain one of the finest in the world of classical music. He continued with his incredible work and compositions even through his later stages of debilitating deafness. That really takes the work of the gods to create such incredible music without the function of being able to hear them properly!

Photo by Doc Kazi

Michael Bolton

Famous pop singer, who has influenced the world with his soulful compositions and performances, suffers from deafness in one ear. In fact partial tinnitus or some amount of deafness has been quite a concern for many musicians across the world. Michael Bolton has worked through these conditions in him self and continued being the great musician that he was meant to be, stirring the hearts of millions.

Photo by Heiko_baby

Cher

Pop diva and actress, Cher, suffered from dyslexia from an early age. Yet she went on to be this remarkable star that the world has known, overcoming the limitations that we posed in her path. Many talented musicians, actresses and scientists in the world with incredible gifts have had the stumbling blocks of dyslexia or ADD or even learning deficiency in some form or the other. Goes to show that many gifts stay hidden underneath the layers of such initial problems which prove to be simple to overcome when ridden with the passion of riding the dream one is meant to fulfill on earth.

Photo by wikimedia.org

The silent film era was a unique experience in itself. The dialogues help to retain the attention of the audience. Without it only the masters like Charles Chaplin could hold the crowd together for hours. This requires very consistent expertise, direction and editing with story backup. The set decoration and the landscape scenes also need minute attention to compensate the sound and lead the viewers to follow the story as intended. The few who created these silent master pieces were real genius people. They understood the public moods better.

Birth of a Nation (1915)

Birth of a Nation is directed by D. W. Griffith. This silent film is roughly three hours long. The viewers like it despite the length and stay completely absorbed from the beginning to the end. This civil war time movie is seemingly divided in two phases. The story is about two families each living in north and south zones. The circumstances lead these friends to fight for the opposite sides in the war. The scenes picturized at the country side are very near to being realistic. The costumes match the civil war day pattern and the support atmosphere carries a fantastic resemblance to the old era, literally reviving the old memories of the time. The actors are portrayed black faced suiting the characters they resemble.

Photo by sweetgarbage

The second half of the silent movie shows the reconstruction process after the war. The alarming and the awesome scenes of the war make the film a master piece keeping the audience completely engulfed in the events shown. The Lincoln’s assassination is very realistically picturized depicting very similar surroundings. Both the lead characters Mae Marsh and Henry B. Walthall looked more dashing and beautiful than they actually are. The musical backup of the events was excellent, playing the original civil war time tunes. The silent film is one of the best.

The Dragon Painter (1919)

This silent film is based on a Japanese fairy tale. A brilliant artist, Tatsu lives in the mountains and is commonly known as the ‘Dragon Painter’. The artist is dressed in tattered clothes and only paints dragons in the hope to find his ‘Enchanted Princess’ who has been turned into a dragon by the spirits a 1000 years age.

A master artist in Tokyo lives with his only daughter and happens to be looking for an artist assistant who could further his family traditions. The two master artists are introduced to each other but the single minded is only interested in his Princess to come to life. Then Tatsu observes the master’s daughter resembles his dream princess and vouches to become apprentice only after marrying his daughter. The old master agrees and the practical life pursuits start for Tatsu. He now has to learn the talent again beyond dragon princess.

Photo by Mgmax

The film has been much appreciated on the whole as entertaining and beautifully screened. The jungle scenes and the tinted print offers enchanting fantasy atmosphere. The emotions within add a romantic touch to the story.

Stella Maris (1918)

Photo by wikimedia.org

The theme of this film is intelligently chosen. The story rotates around two ’look alike’ girls of about the same age, but living in almost different and opposite social exposure.

Stella Maris is a beautiful girl of a well to do family. She avails all comforts of life but is paralyzed since childhood and lives in a dream world, totally cut-off from the real outside world. Her companion is a Teddy dog along with all types of dolls and toys.

Unity Blake is the other ugly looking girl housed in a London orphanage. A woman adopts Unity from the orphanage and takes home. Unity finds the woman is a drunkard woman and probably wanted a house servant. Her husband, John Risca introduces himself to bed-ridden Stella as a princely guy living in a castle and is unmarried. Stella starts loving him.

One day some naughty street boys snatch the night meal from Unity, who is then thrashed by the woman as she reaches home. The woman is jailed for three years while John adopts Unity to compensate the injustice done to her. Stella is able to walk after a lucky surgical operation. She walks beyond the door and peeps outside to find misery, hunger and crime in abundance. By coincidence both Stella and Unity love John. But he only loves Stella and also that he cannot separate himself from his old wife who is released from prison and lives alone.

The dream story is filmed fantastically turning the circumstances quite realistically. The costumes and the makeup is the best. The beautiful Stella in contrast to Unity, the ugly duckling with small eyes, darkened teeth and untidy lifestyle.

Peter Pan (1924)

The Peter Pan film is based on a fantasy play by J. M. Barrie. The opening scene is a nursery where Nana nurse, a big dog gets three nice children, Wendy, John and Michael, who are now ready to go to bed. Form the bedside window they see a boy, Peter Pan looking for his shadow with a moving light ball, Tinker bell. Peter Pan wants to stay young to enjoy life forever. They become friends and Pan offers to teach flying and take them to the Never Never Land for Wendy to pose mother and tell stories to the Lost Boys there. The make believe forest is full of pirates, red skins and friendly mermaids. Jealous Tinker prompts the lost boys to kill Wendy. Wendy is saved and the boys build a house for her. They play fantasy games and Wendy tells the boys stories.

Photo by Margie QQ

Peter cuts the hand of evil captain Cook and fed it to the crocodile. The revenging pirates attack the children. Back home the children’s mother is very sad and waiting for her own children’s return.

The fantasy portraying and landscaping is tremendous. The special effects on fantasy charm are engulfing. A beautiful entertainment film on the whole.

A Trip to the Moon (1902)

This is the hard work of George Melies, who is a known pioneer of fantasy films and proves his best. He was a professional magician and used his techniques to produce a very memorable film.

His fantastic astronauts reach the moon by magical flight. They walk and enjoy the trip in ordinary clothes and sleep in blankets in the cold. The stars bearing human faces peep on them joyfully astonished. The moon creatures are converted into smoke puffs by the magic of Melies.

Photo by Kapungo

The communication effects are produced by intelligent editing taking typical hints from fictional stories. The film is a great feat of humor mixed with fantasy.

October (1927)

This film was a master piece by Sergei Eisenstein. It is based on the October Revolution in Russia. People also recall it as Ten Days that Shook the World. The Soviet Union sponsored this film to commemorate the Tenth anniversary of the October Revolution. The legendary director made tremendous efforts for this master piece as assigned by the Russian Government. All history was recreated in detail to recall the events as they happened. The party policy is vivid, but the main credit goes to the director as to how he used the unlimited resources in the best way. A real good experimentation completed.

Photo by bagapierrot

The documentary has dramatized how Lenin became the mastermind with the other revolutionary leaders as consultants. The film was made at the actual locations in Petrograd (renamed Leningrad/ Stalingrad and St. Petersburg). The film gathers great appreciation by special featuring of the ‘Storming of the actual Winter Palace’. The director proved his worth by producing the film according to the expectations of the sponsorers.

City lights (1931)

The film represents the Chaplin super mark. He is the producer, director, music composer, editor and the lead role actor. He is known for his perfection and in this particular film he achieved it to the utmost high. This film took three years to complete and was released in 1931. Reportedly Chaplin was not satisfied with certain aspects of the stage and shut down production till the proper solution was found. This shows his commitment to his profession. The laughter that results from his acts, even decades after is because of the perfect fine tuning of his actions through excellent editing.
The film is about a blind girl surrounded in unfavorable social conditions. The humor starts at the opening dedication ceremony scene where things get mixed up and messed up that ends in the funniest boxing match full of laughter and humorous scenes. No doubt Chaplin is at his best.

Photo by puppetmister

Modern times (1936)

This film by Charles Chaplin ranks among the top. This is about the western civilization and their economic and social setup. He humorously takes on the authority figures defying their policies. A few scenes are really amazing like a diabolic feeding machine. In another one the labor union is seen catching in on him as he picks up a dropped flag of the construction company. The beauty lies in his silent, tactical and typical movements that keep the attention of the audience in tact.

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The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)

The film is renowned for its extraordinary photography in Dutch style. The lead actress Maria Falconetti’s extreme passionate acting is another landmark of the film. In the crying scene the tear streaks on the face with intense absorbing feelings were so pronounced and deep that the actress never acted again. There is much more in the film.

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The film remained lost for some time. The complete original version was found in 1986 in a Dutch mental institution. Those who had missed can view the engulfing experience on DVD.

Red Lily (1924)

This film is full of emotions and sad feelings. The scene opens in a small village in Britain. Jean Marline liked and loved each other since childhood. The girl’s father dies. She being alone moves to her relatives, who are poor and unfriendly. The family was a drunkard father, wife and many children. The drunkard man tries to whip to seduce the girl who is forced to flee to her old home and unites with Jean. They go to Paris to live their. The shear hard luck they lose each other and separate again. The film reveals their individual experiences there after in the vast crime ridden city of Paris.

Photo by The Happy Wanderer Memorial

The photography is well up to the mark and enhanced by bright tinted shades of different colors. The actors did their roles well and displayed passionate emotions through out. The music support was well coordinated.