Features and reviews

Discover the latest from the BFI, the UK’s lead organisation for film, television and the moving image.

Features

Richard Burton’s power was in his weakness

Behind the booming voice and tabloid scandals, the most enduring performances by Burton – born 100 years ago – were studies in vulnerability.

By Chloe Walker

Richard Burton’s power was in his weakness

Rarities of British cinema

The White Unicorn: a “tale of babies, boudoirs, lingerie, misunderstanding husbands”

By Josephine Botting

The White Unicorn: a “tale of babies, boudoirs, lingerie, misunderstanding husbands”

Features

Around the world in melodrama: 9 countries, 45 essential films

By Camilla Baier, John Berra and others

Around the world in melodrama: 9 countries, 45 essential films

Features

Ryan Coogler’s advice to young filmmakers: “Find people that are kind of your level, who could use your help”

By Aminah Alhamdu

Ryan Coogler’s advice to young filmmakers: “Find people that are kind of your level, who could use your help”

Object of the week

Object of the week: Production design for The L-Shaped Room

By Nathalie Morris

Object of the week: Production design for The L-Shaped Room

Festivals

The power of film: co-founders Ginta Gelvan and Johanna von Fischer on the international film festival 16 Days 16 Films

By Baneet Sarai

The power of film: co-founders Ginta Gelvan and Johanna von Fischer on the international film festival 16 Days 16 Films

Then and now

The Ealing comedy that shows how the Wirral used to be: The Magnet at 75

By Adam Scovell

The Ealing comedy that shows how the Wirral used to be: The Magnet at 75

From the Sight and Sound archive

“I want a formally perfect film”: Pier Paolo Pasolini on the making of Salò

By Gideon Bachmann

“I want a formally perfect film”: Pier Paolo Pasolini on the making of Salò

Object of the week

Object of the week: A hand-painted still for Michael Powell’s Hebridean romance The Edge of the World

By Alex Prideaux

Object of the week: A hand-painted still for Michael Powell’s Hebridean romance The Edge of the World

Where to begin

Where to begin with Lucile Hadžihalilović

By Leigh Singer

Where to begin with Lucile Hadžihalilović

Features

The phantom that birthed Hollywood monster movies: The Phantom of the Opera at 100

By Craig Ian Mann

The phantom that birthed Hollywood monster movies: The Phantom of the Opera at 100

From the Sight and Sound archive

Loosening the knot: on the set of Zhang Yimou’s To Live

By Tony Rayns

Loosening the knot: on the set of Zhang Yimou’s To Live

Features

How Rock Hudson became Hollywood’s square-jawed prince of 1950s melodrama

By Chloe Walker

How Rock Hudson became Hollywood’s square-jawed prince of 1950s melodrama

Object of the week

Object of the week: The oldest film in our archive

By Bryony Dixon

Object of the week: The oldest film in our archive

Where to begin

Where to begin with Lynne Ramsay

By Brogan Morris

Where to begin with Lynne Ramsay

Obituaries

Lindsey Vickers obituary: onetime feature director behind rediscovered British horror The Appointment

By Vic Pratt

Lindsey Vickers obituary: onetime feature director behind rediscovered British horror The Appointment

From the Sight and Sound archive

Escape artist: Lynne Ramsay’s Morvern Callar

By Linda Ruth Williams

Escape artist: Lynne Ramsay’s Morvern Callar

Railway 200

Train cels: how British animators have captured the enduring appeal of railway travel

By Jez Stewart

Train cels: how British animators have captured the enduring appeal of railway travel

Object of the week

Object of the week: The Polish poster for Sidney Poitier drama To Sir, with Love

By Nathalie Morris

Object of the week: The Polish poster for Sidney Poitier drama To Sir, with Love

Features

“I have been rather brutal with the text”: behind the scenes on Terence Davies’s art of adaptation

By Marc David Jacobs

“I have been rather brutal with the text”: behind the scenes on Terence Davies’s art of adaptation

Obituaries

Peter Watkins obituary: radical British filmmaker behind The War Game and Punishment Park

By William Fowler

Peter Watkins obituary: radical British filmmaker behind The War Game and Punishment Park

From the Sight and Sound archive

“It’s alive!”: the gothic tradition’s enduring legacy on screen

By Rhidian Davis

“It’s alive!”: the gothic tradition’s enduring legacy on screen

Object of the week

Object of the week: The toy theatre and cut-out characters created for Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet

By Nathalie Morris

Object of the week: The toy theatre and cut-out characters created for Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet

Then and now

Zombies in the Lake District: how locations from The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue look today

By Adam Scovell

Zombies in the Lake District: how locations from The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue look today

Where to begin

Where to begin with Theo Angelopoulos

By Michael Brooke

Where to begin with Theo Angelopoulos

Rarities of British cinema

Son of a Stranger: a forgotten British B-movie from the industrious Danziger brothers

By Josephine Botting

Son of a Stranger: a forgotten British B-movie from the industrious Danziger brothers

From the Sight and Sound archive

The House of Mirth: a Wharton adaptation that rivals Scorsese’s

By Philip Horne

The House of Mirth: a Wharton adaptation that rivals Scorsese’s

Obituaries

Ken Jacobs obituary: giant of the American avant-garde working at the limits of perception

By William Rose

Ken Jacobs obituary: giant of the American avant-garde working at the limits of perception

Where to begin

Where to begin with Terence Davies

By Hannah Gatward

Where to begin with Terence Davies

Object of the week

Object of the week: The milk churns that rewrote film history

By Rebecca Vick

Object of the week: The milk churns that rewrote film history