Picturehouse Blog

The Souvenir Part II is part of a long tradition of films about films and filmmaking: it's a world that plenty of beloved filmmakers often come back to, feeding into the world of cinema through cinema itself.  Fancy delving further into the world of 'film on film'? Here's some more great titles to explore.

The Souvenir Part II (2022)

Joanna Hogg's unconventional sequel to her semi-autobiographical 2019 film, focuses on Julie's (Honor Swinton-Byrne) process of making a final year film based on a tumultuous relationship. We get to see how Julie interprets moments of her life into her film, and Hogg thoroughly breaks down the mechanics of filmmaking – from the production and sets to the editing process – without losing any of the emotion required, providing a truly beautiful portrait of an artist's life.

The Souvenir Part II is in cinemas now. 

Book tickets now.

8 1/2 (1963)

A famous Italian director with writer's block attempting to make a science fiction film, 8 1/2  happens largely inside the mind of Guido Anselmi (Marcello Mastroianni). His past and present relationships intermingle in a fantastical world where we see screen tests, the inner-working of sets, and plenty of other elements – all of which have already happened in the film he's making.

Winning the Oscar in 1964 for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Costume Design, 8 ½ is considered one of the greatest and most influential films of all time. Plus, to add an extra meta layer, it's a film about making a film that later inspired the Broadway musical Nine – which was then made into another film, 2009's Nine, starring Daniel Day-Lewis. (Confused yet?)

Cinema Paradiso (1990)

Equally beloved is Cinema Paradiso, a true celebration of cinema (and we know this is true better than anyone – it won our first Members' Vote last year in a landslide). The film follows filmmaker Salvatore Di Vita (played by three different actors at three stages of his life), who recalls his childhood memories of falling in love with film. We get to see him bond with Alfredo, the projectionist at his local cinema, and we learn how this shaped his path in adulthood. We also get to see Salvatore start to create films when he's a teenager: the true beginnings of a filmmaker. Winner at the 1990 Academy Awards for Best Foreign Film, Cinema Paradiso broke boundaries and is a tribute to nostalgia as well as film itself.

Singin' In The Rain (1952)

Starring Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor, along with Debbie Reynolds in her first major role, Singin' In The Rain is a musical based on the transition from silent film to "talkies" in the 1920s – a huge shift in the industry that changed the face of filmmaking forever. Gene Kelly's debonair leading man is the star of 'The Duelling Cavalier' – that is until The Jazz Singer, the first real 'talkie' (named for the real, groundbreaking 1927 musical), starts getting rave reviews. 

The focus of Singin' In The Rain shifts to what filmmakers and actors thought about during this time in film, such as the juxtaposition between an actor's voice and their singing ability, and shaped how we think about what makes a film star with its wit and movie magic. The film's iconic selection of songs help uplift its message, and embraces the best parts of Hollywood. Singin' In The Rain has been a major inspiration for many films about filmmaking such as The Artist and La La Land – proving its place as a staple in cinema history.

Sunset Boulevard (1950)

Sort of a darker sibling to Singin' In The Rain, the equally-acclaimed and beloved Sunset Boulevard takes its name from a street in California that runs through Hollywood – and is widely regarded as one of the greatest films ever made about it.

It focuses on struggling screenwriter Joe Gillis (played by William Holden) who meets former silent film star Norma Desmond (played by silent film legend Gloria Swanson). She's had some difficulties trying to make a comeback because of the transition to 'talkies', and asks Joe to help her write a script that'll make her a star again. Norma's in denial about the fact that her career is over – and quickly becomes obsessed with Joe. Casting Swanson in this role is a stroke of genius: a layer of metatextuality that feels personal to her, and adds to an already excellent piece of filmmaking. 

The Player (1992)

A star-studded satire with appearances ranging from Jeff Goldblum to Whoopi Goldberg, Robert Altman's The Player follows Hollywood executive Griffin Mill (Tim Robbins), whose experience of the industry is quite literally cut-throat: he receives death threats from a writer whose scripts he rejected, and sets out to find out who it is.

The film's 8-minute long-take opening sequence alone is an iconic example of film within film, with an off-screen director calling 'Action!' to let the audience know that the film is about to begin. We also get an inside look into what happens in the production business itself, with Griffin taking us along through everything from film pitches to exhibitor viewings. References to sequels, iconic movie plots and shots, well-known stars and the great directors of the past abound.

Throughout the film we're asked to sympathise with Griffin, and his accidental axing of his would-be assassin's scripts shows him as a pawn in a much larger war – one between the truth and lies, between movies as blockbusters and movies as an art form. The Player uses Hollywood as a metaphor for greed in the 1980s, with an ending that questions real and happy endings. Unsurprising, coming for a filmmaker that was notoriously 'anti-Hollywood'.