he first great category of cinematic epics are the silent epics. The first American epic was early cinematic pioneer D. W. Griffith's Biblical spectacle Judith of Bethulia (1914), a little known four-reel feature film weaving together two Apocryphal stories about the 40-day Assyrian siege of the walled Judean city of Bethulia. Griffith's most influential and complex film, noted for its technical virtuosity and dynamic editing (although controversial for its southern point of view) was the first blockbuster film The Birth of a Nation (1915). It reproduced the Civil War and Reconstruction Periods (including various battles, Lincoln's assassination, and the aftermath) and told of the war's effects upon two families (the Northern Stonemans and the Southern Camerons) with a specific ideological slant that distorted its historical veracity. This almost three-hour film's screenplay was based upon Thomas Dixon's novel and play The Clansman.

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In the 1930s and early 40s, American sound films with hybrid science fiction/horror themes included an oddball collection of mad scientist films, with memorable characters who created mutated or shrunken creatures:

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Serial Films are some of the earliest forms of film during the silent era through to the 1950s, often episodic in form (usually with 12-15 parts) and simplistic in plot, that were shown over a period of weeks or years. The multi-part films consisted of episodes that could be anywhere between fifteen and twenty minutes in length. The segments were presented one chapter at a time in weekly installments over the course of time. Serials were usually included during the shorts projected in a neighborhood movie theatre, offered before the feature film, B-western, or Saturday afternoon 'kiddie' matinee. They were often scheduled along with lots of cartoons, newsreels, other two-reelers, and theatrical trailers/previews.

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The action/adventure film first became popular with weekly Saturday serials, running in installments that often had 'cliff-hanging' endings to entice viewers to return for the next show. Heroine Pearl White in the 20-episode The Perils of Pauline (1914) was the first major super-star of the silent serials. Besides Pearl White, there were other queens of the sound serials, including Kay Aldridge (as jungle Queen Nyoka in Nyoka and the Tigermen (1942)) and Linda Stirling (in the 12 part serial Zorro's Black Whip (1944) and as the "Tiger Woman" in another 12-episode serial, Perils of the Darkest Jungle (1944)).

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The acting duo of Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake was first teamed in the superb early noir thriller This Gun For Hire (1942) (with the tagline: "He's dynamite with a gun or a girl"). From the novel A Gun For Sale by renowned British novelist Graham Greene, the moody noir featured Ladd in a star-making role (his first lead role) as a ruthless, cat-loving, vengeful, unsmiling San Francisco professional hit-man named Raven working for a peppermint-candy loving fat man Willard Gates (Laird Cregar) and his wheelchair-bound Nitro Chemicals executive Alvin Brewster (Tully Marshall) - both double-crossers who were selling secrets to foreign agents (the Japanese). Ladd was paired with popular wartime pinup star Lake as nightclub showgirl singer Ellen Graham, his hostage (and unbeknownst to him working as a federal agent).

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To Hitchcock's tribute, there are a number of Hitchcock-like thrillers from other notable directors. All of these films serve up thrilling tales of terror, intrigue, menace, revenge, obsession, and insanity:

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Starring Mel Gibson
Jodie Foster
Anton Yelchin

Review:

Depression is a difficult condition to explore in modern American cinema because no one wants to be around depressed people. We can see characters be sad, but only if they were happy before and will rally and be happy again by the time the movie ends. But an honest look at someone suffering from depression is rare and on that count The Beaver deserves acclaim. Unfortunately, despite the confidence of Kyle Killen’s script, director Jodie Foster never manages to bring a thoughtful vision the film. Even worse, no chemistry is developed between the characters, which is a serious issue when you’re making an intimate family drama. Individually, the actors do a terrific job, but the story never finds the emotional core that ties them together.

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Stars: Lea Thompson, Wendie Malick and Hunter Allan


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Cast
Kevin Sorbo as Aedan
Whitney Able as Xia
Melissa Ordway as Princess Tanis
Sarah Ann Schultz as Malia
Janelle Giumarra as Rajan
Inbar Lavi as Alana
Jennifer Siebel Newsom as Queen Ma'at
Ralf Moeller as General Hafez
Matthew Willig as Giant Iberian
Lee Horsley as Talon

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We have a blast with Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried and Andrew Niccol for the little known In Time.

Justin Timberlake...really? YEP! The multi-talented actor who turned in a terrific performance in The Social Network, joins Red Riding Hood's Seyfried in the Niccol-directed and written film which also stars Cillian Murphy, Vincenet Kartheiser, Alex Pettyfer, Johnny Galecki and Olivia Wilde.

Download Comic-Con 2011 - IN TIME Press Conference Images with Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried and director Andrew Niccol