April 2019 THE ReelYour favourite yearly Talk film magazine MUST READ Remembering Exploring German Expressionism! Stan Lee! The age old method of communicating reality Famed comic writer and leader of Marvel Comics died A walk through Shatranj ke Khiladi! last year at 95 The nuances of Satyajit Ray’s popular film Exclusive Review: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse The Lion King Aladdin After being forced into Aladdin, an Arabian exile, Simba joins hands street urchin, finds a with Timon and Pum- magic lamp containing baa to face his destiny as a genie. He tries to im- a King. press the Sultan and his daughter. Avengers: Endgame After half of all life in the uni- verse was killed due to the ac- tions of Thanos ithe remaining Avengers and their allies must reassemble to revert the actions in one last stand. Shazam! Joker We all have a superhero In 1981, a failed stand- inside us, it just takes a bit up comedian turns to a of magic to bring it out. life of crime and chaos In Billy Batson’s case, by in Gotham City, slowly shouting out one word - rising to become a SHAZAM. frightening legend. Index Editorial 5 WORLD In Memoriam: Stan Lee 9 The Era of German Expressionism 14 INDIA Remembering Shatranj ke Khiladi 17 In Memoriam: The Bengal Godard 20 Spring in Indian Cinema: October 23 REVIEW Review: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 27 Editorial The Appreciation They Deserve! Films constitute one of the most important parts of our life. We get excited when a new Avengers movie comes out, and spend quality amount of time for it. The essence of filmmaking is also one of the most advanced means of communication. Since the time cinema was born, many filmmakers from the director to the sound editors to visual effects have experimented with it to better relate with the supervisor to the cinematographer and so on, plays a audience, and use it as a form of education and vital role in the completion of the film. creating awareness as well. While we are quick to judge between good films and When we talk about the aspect of filmmaking in bad films, we have to also be alert of the intrinstic India, especially the area of Bollywood, there is an amount of workload the crew has to go through to cre- unmistakable influence of the Western filmmaking ate a film. Films are an art form, they are like science. ideologies. Filmmakers like Satyajit Ray, Ritwik They always necessitate the requirements of various Ghatak and Mrinal Sen have incorporated the tra- experimentations and tinkering to vivify the audience. ditions of expressionism and neorealism in their Films are also a part of the commercial film, they in- films. Over the years, the Bollywood cinemat- volve various tactics of subtle marketing. Therefore, ic field has come a long way from the first talkie they involve a lot of money as well and are one of the Alam Ara in 1931, exploring a plethora of themes highest earning fields of the world. of romance, slapstick comedies and grim drama. The question remains, as of today, what does the In the April edition of The Reel Talk, we attempt to Indian audience expects from Bollywood? focus on the various aspects of filmmaking and cin- ema done by eminent personalities of global cine- The influence of films have been strong from a ma. This will include the age old techniques which very long time. Even today, we still remember were employed in the process of filmmaking which the enigmatic persona of Amitabh Bachchan’s changed the face of cinema. This edition will also try characters in numerous films, like Sholay, Mard to explore the era of silent films aka the 1920s, and etc, the thrilling action and dialogues of Mithun the various forms of expressions created in the films. Chakraborty’s films, the beauty emanated from the characters played by actresses like Waheeda If you would like get your article featured in the next Rehmann and Asha Parekh, the aura of melan- edition of the magazine or have some queries or opin- choly in Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali trilogy, ions about our articles, email us your piece of mind at they all remain fresh in our minds. It is safe to say [email protected]. Please visit the ‘The that, the period of 1950s-1980s were a golden era Reel Talk’ website for more updates about our future of our films. editions and articles. Happy Film Watching! What is always important to understand that while Warm Wishes, we enjoy the films, it is also mandatory to learn the efforts made by individuals to complete a film- Aveek Banerjee making process. A film is a collaborative process, Student, VIPS it cannot be initiated by any one person alone. Each and every person involved in the process, 5 The Reel Talk thereeltalk.com “I am one of the few people who tragedy as well as joy. find the expression of melancholy exquisitely beautiful, to find beauty Although not an immediate fan of in all forms of art, and to find love the contemporary Bollywood films, in the simplest of interactions.” Mittal has a certain attraction for some of the rare expressive films. Rashee Mittal is a journalism stu- In her recent article, she talks about dent at Vivekananda Institute of her experience watching the film Professional Studies, and is a blog- October, by Shoojit Sircar. Highly ger by passion. Her blog ‘An Un- proficient in English literature, she rhymed Poem’ is included in one really knows a way with words that of the most trending blogs online. can influence the hardest of person- Some of her blogs include Novem- alities. ber Rains, Beauty Behind Words etc. Mittal will be coming out with her latest book titled ‘The Caged Black Mittal’s works are mostly focused Shama’. The book will include all on surreal forms of story-telling, of her old and new blogs, and her which emanate a feeling of peace- upcoming memoirs as well. Her fulness, sometimes a slight wistful book will be aiming to reach the emotion in the minds of the read- college going masses. The book is ers. The main expertise of her writ- set to be released on April 30, 2019 ings lie in expressing melancholia at Vivekananda Institute of Profes- and strong reminescence, invoking sional Studies. Mr. Arup Bandhopadhyay is a is one of the highest selling books scientist by profession, and a fiction in West Bengal. His other works are writer by passion. At the day time, based on the lives of Ernest Hem- he works at the Central Soils and ingway and Emperor Akbar, all of Materials Station. Overnight, the whom recieved rave reviews. fervour of literature engulfs him. “I enjoy exploring new things Mr. Bandhopadhyay is a prolific which are oblivious to most of the science writer in the arena of Ben- people. It is a constant search for gali literature. He has published nu- new stories to tell, new thresholds merous stories and articles in differ- to cross.” ent web magazines. The depiction of his works are in all sorts of vari- When touching the topic of his eties, but mainly he has focused on short stories, Mr. Bandhopadhyay writing stories for children. employs a witty sense of humor in almost all his works based on ev- Also a thorough researcher, Mr. eryday struggles, which have the Bandhopadhyay has also managed capability to reduce the readers in to blend his scientific abilities with tears of laughter, while at the same his unique sense of witty storytell- time, retaining the serious tension ing, resulting in the publication of of the present. He has explored al- his book ‘Evergreen Hawking’, most all genres of literature, and is based on the works of renowned a reputed member of the Bengali physicist Stephen Hawking, which literature community. The Reel Talk thereeltalk.com 6 WORLD In Memoriam: Stan Lee It was a sad day on November 12 last year for Marvel Studios has gained a worldwide recognition comic book fans as one of the most influential com- in the film industry, none of which would have been ic writers of America and the driving force behind possible without Stan Lee. Lee himself has appeared the Marvel Comics, Stan Lee passed away at the in various cameos in all Marvel movies like X-Men, age of 95. Lee is an inspiration for most of the pop- Spider-Man and the mainstream Marvel Cinematic ular culture, and a lot of the modern entertainment Universe. Let’s have a look at Stan Lee’s dignified ca- industry, indebted to him expressed their sadness of reer which revolutionized the comic book industry as his departure. well as the film industry. Lee in his career at Marvel Comics introduced Stan Lee was born as Stanley Martin Lieber, and ad- a number of pulp-fiction superheroes like Spi- opted the name ‘Stan Lee’ later in his life. He was der-Man, Fantastic Four, Black Panther, Hulk, Iron born in December 1922. As a teenager, he would often Man, X-Men etc. which gained massive praise and write articles and obituaries for various newspapers. recognition from the masses and resulted in cine- Lee joined the Timely Comics, which later became matic representations of these superheroes. Spi- Marvel Comics, in 1939 as an assistant under Martin der-Man become the most popular and iconic com- Goodman., and became the interim editor in 1941 fol- ic book characters in the world, and has different lowing his work.