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Few things, you’ll surely agree, are more exciting than a swash-buckling big-screen battle of sword-wielding opponents. As with actual human history, some of the greatest and most significant disputes in film history have been resolved at sword-point. The rich canon of bladed throwdowns gets a loving tribute in Gunaxin’s listicle of 10 Memorable Movie Swordfights, [...]

Bound as they are to the shaky territory of racial politics, movies about ethnic mobs are both highly specific and can stand for the experiences of just about any immigrant community. Also, a disproportionate number of them have been directed by Martin Scorsese (at right).
Still, some of our favorite films take these small groups as [...]

Alongside news that the abstinence-preaching vampire romance novel adaptation Twilight took the top spot at this week-end’s box office, New York Times super-critic Manohla Dargis narrates a historical survey of vampire movies that, like their main characters, haven’t really aged. Before exploring the cultural graveyard for undead treats, Dargis covers the vampire canon (vamnon?):

Nosferatu (F.W. [...]