Dr. Vincent M. Gaine is a film and television researcher. His first book, Existentialism and Social Engagement in the Films of Michael Mann was published by Palgrave MacMillan in 2011. His work on film and media has been published in Cinema Journal and The Journal of Technology, Theology and Religion, as well as edited collections including The 21st Century Superhero and The Directory of World Cinema.
A warrior with no cause and no companions other than his sword and his guilty conscience. A mentor who lost his faith upon witnessing his protégé’s descent into bloodlust and murder. A prince who betrays his family for power and will crush anyone who opposes him. A young man who learns honor, courage and humility…
There is a subgenre within American independent cinema of rural Americana, films that depict a section of American society that exists between the familiar towering cityscapes of New York and Los Angeles and the empty expanse of the Western. Rather than being set in wild or agricultural areas, films like “Winter’s Bone,” “Frozen River” and…
J. C. Chandor’s New York drama, A Most Violent Year, is a misleadingly titled film, as its timeframe only covers a month and there is very little physical violence. While the title references the exceptionally high crime rate of New York in 1981, the film itself is an intriguing study of different types of violence,…
There is a sub-genre of the war film that focuses on those away from combat. These films do not display the horrors of warfare or the camaraderie of men under fire, but instead the dramas of those left behind or serving their country behind the lines. Such a film is Testament of Youth, based on…
