The Film Historians Notebook
@filmhistoriansnote.bsky.social
James studies film history with a focus on how cinema evolves across eras, genres, and cultural shifts. He writes about the stories behind the screen—how films are made, how they’re remembered, and why they still matter.
“....It seems that this type of Englishman is only too quick to measure the other fellows social inferiorities…
“I loved England, but it was impossible for me to live there... I had a disquieting feeling of sinking back into a depressing commonplaceness.”
Charles Chaplin, 1964
“I loved England, but it was impossible for me to live there... I had a disquieting feeling of sinking back into a depressing commonplaceness.”
Charles Chaplin, 1964
February 8, 2026 at 6:51 PM
“....It seems that this type of Englishman is only too quick to measure the other fellows social inferiorities…
“I loved England, but it was impossible for me to live there... I had a disquieting feeling of sinking back into a depressing commonplaceness.”
Charles Chaplin, 1964
“I loved England, but it was impossible for me to live there... I had a disquieting feeling of sinking back into a depressing commonplaceness.”
Charles Chaplin, 1964
Unman, Wittering and Zygoe (1971)
Dir. John Mackenzie
A British psychological drama/thriller adapted from a 1958 BBC radio play by Giles Cooper.
A new teacher arrives at a remote boys’ boarding school to replace a missing colleague - but what happened to the previous teacher?
Dir. John Mackenzie
A British psychological drama/thriller adapted from a 1958 BBC radio play by Giles Cooper.
A new teacher arrives at a remote boys’ boarding school to replace a missing colleague - but what happened to the previous teacher?
February 8, 2026 at 10:58 AM
Unman, Wittering and Zygoe (1971)
Dir. John Mackenzie
A British psychological drama/thriller adapted from a 1958 BBC radio play by Giles Cooper.
A new teacher arrives at a remote boys’ boarding school to replace a missing colleague - but what happened to the previous teacher?
Dir. John Mackenzie
A British psychological drama/thriller adapted from a 1958 BBC radio play by Giles Cooper.
A new teacher arrives at a remote boys’ boarding school to replace a missing colleague - but what happened to the previous teacher?
In Which We Serve (1942)
Dir. Noel Coward & David Lean
A patriotic wartime drama inspired by the real-life sinking of the British destroyer HMS Kelly, commanded by Lord Louis Mountbatten.
It’s considered one of the most important British propaganda films of WWII.
Dir. Noel Coward & David Lean
A patriotic wartime drama inspired by the real-life sinking of the British destroyer HMS Kelly, commanded by Lord Louis Mountbatten.
It’s considered one of the most important British propaganda films of WWII.
February 8, 2026 at 10:55 AM
In Which We Serve (1942)
Dir. Noel Coward & David Lean
A patriotic wartime drama inspired by the real-life sinking of the British destroyer HMS Kelly, commanded by Lord Louis Mountbatten.
It’s considered one of the most important British propaganda films of WWII.
Dir. Noel Coward & David Lean
A patriotic wartime drama inspired by the real-life sinking of the British destroyer HMS Kelly, commanded by Lord Louis Mountbatten.
It’s considered one of the most important British propaganda films of WWII.
Top films for the year 1973…sometimes real classics in here.
February 7, 2026 at 9:23 AM
Top films for the year 1973…sometimes real classics in here.
Friday Night Film:
Finding Harmony: A King’s Vision, 2025 Dir. Nicholas Brown.
A surprisingly intimate portrait of King Charles. The film traces his lifelong devotion to the natural world as a way of being. His worldview is both holistic and transcendental, rooted in a spiritual harmony with nature.
Finding Harmony: A King’s Vision, 2025 Dir. Nicholas Brown.
A surprisingly intimate portrait of King Charles. The film traces his lifelong devotion to the natural world as a way of being. His worldview is both holistic and transcendental, rooted in a spiritual harmony with nature.
February 6, 2026 at 7:53 PM
Friday Night Film:
Finding Harmony: A King’s Vision, 2025 Dir. Nicholas Brown.
A surprisingly intimate portrait of King Charles. The film traces his lifelong devotion to the natural world as a way of being. His worldview is both holistic and transcendental, rooted in a spiritual harmony with nature.
Finding Harmony: A King’s Vision, 2025 Dir. Nicholas Brown.
A surprisingly intimate portrait of King Charles. The film traces his lifelong devotion to the natural world as a way of being. His worldview is both holistic and transcendental, rooted in a spiritual harmony with nature.
We need to talk, and we need to talk honestly.
— Kazuo Ishiguro, The Remains of the Day
Filmed at Dyrham Park, South Glosc.
— Kazuo Ishiguro, The Remains of the Day
Filmed at Dyrham Park, South Glosc.
February 6, 2026 at 7:49 PM
We need to talk, and we need to talk honestly.
— Kazuo Ishiguro, The Remains of the Day
Filmed at Dyrham Park, South Glosc.
— Kazuo Ishiguro, The Remains of the Day
Filmed at Dyrham Park, South Glosc.
As we approach Mel Brooks centenary - I'm going to go out on a limb and I’m going to state that I prefer the 2005 remake of The Producers to the Original.
The Producers, 2005 Dir. Susan Stroman
Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Uma Thurman and Gary Beech.
youtu.be/u36iNj52rac?...
The Producers, 2005 Dir. Susan Stroman
Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Uma Thurman and Gary Beech.
youtu.be/u36iNj52rac?...
The Producers (2005) Official Trailer - Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick Movie HD
YouTube video by Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers
youtu.be
February 6, 2026 at 7:48 PM
As we approach Mel Brooks centenary - I'm going to go out on a limb and I’m going to state that I prefer the 2005 remake of The Producers to the Original.
The Producers, 2005 Dir. Susan Stroman
Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Uma Thurman and Gary Beech.
youtu.be/u36iNj52rac?...
The Producers, 2005 Dir. Susan Stroman
Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Uma Thurman and Gary Beech.
youtu.be/u36iNj52rac?...
Fans of Hitchcock, Grant, Fontaine and films in general can read my take on RKOs "Suspicion", 1941
medium.com/@hiddeninhis...
medium.com/@hiddeninhis...
Reappraising Hitchcock’s Suspicion
A Festival, a Forgotten Gem, and a Personal Curiosity.
medium.com
January 12, 2026 at 5:37 PM
Fans of Hitchcock, Grant, Fontaine and films in general can read my take on RKOs "Suspicion", 1941
medium.com/@hiddeninhis...
medium.com/@hiddeninhis...
In Lambeth there is a small museum which survives purely as a Charity and is dedicated to film and it's history.It was the former Workhouse and was where Charlie Chaplin entered as a child with his mother in 1896. Worth a visit.
cinemamuseum.org.uk/visit/
cinemamuseum.org.uk/visit/
January 10, 2026 at 9:20 AM
In Lambeth there is a small museum which survives purely as a Charity and is dedicated to film and it's history.It was the former Workhouse and was where Charlie Chaplin entered as a child with his mother in 1896. Worth a visit.
cinemamuseum.org.uk/visit/
cinemamuseum.org.uk/visit/
My friend used to say resolutions (and lent) are not about giving up what's bad for you - but rather taking up something that's good for you.
However, tonight I will be seeing in the new year in style with my loved ones.
Have a very Happy New Year.
However, tonight I will be seeing in the new year in style with my loved ones.
Have a very Happy New Year.
December 31, 2025 at 7:08 PM
My friend used to say resolutions (and lent) are not about giving up what's bad for you - but rather taking up something that's good for you.
However, tonight I will be seeing in the new year in style with my loved ones.
Have a very Happy New Year.
However, tonight I will be seeing in the new year in style with my loved ones.
Have a very Happy New Year.
Push me down and I’ll lie still,
quiet in the dust and night.
But keep on pressing past my will
and I’ll rise again toward the light.
For every weight you lay on me,
I learn the shape of my own might.
Pressure carves what I will be
and still I rise toward the light.
- Me. 2025
quiet in the dust and night.
But keep on pressing past my will
and I’ll rise again toward the light.
For every weight you lay on me,
I learn the shape of my own might.
Pressure carves what I will be
and still I rise toward the light.
- Me. 2025
December 30, 2025 at 10:02 PM
Push me down and I’ll lie still,
quiet in the dust and night.
But keep on pressing past my will
and I’ll rise again toward the light.
For every weight you lay on me,
I learn the shape of my own might.
Pressure carves what I will be
and still I rise toward the light.
- Me. 2025
quiet in the dust and night.
But keep on pressing past my will
and I’ll rise again toward the light.
For every weight you lay on me,
I learn the shape of my own might.
Pressure carves what I will be
and still I rise toward the light.
- Me. 2025