STACK #251 September 2025

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Wes Anderson is one of the most instantly recognisable filmmakers working today. Since his 1996 debut Bottle Rocket , he’s crafted whimsical, offbeat worlds filled with quirky characters and visual precision. From The Royal Tenenbaums to The Phoenician Scheme , his unique style is unmistakable. Here are three of the key trademarks that define his singular cinematic voice. Colour palette When you think of The Darjeeling Limited , you picture greens and yellows. With The Grand Budapest Hotel , it’s reds and pinks. Often pastel in tone, Anderson’s films are visually defined by carefully controlled colour palettes that enhance mood, character, and storytelling. His use of colour is as deliberate as it is distinctive. Storybook structure Anderson often structures his films like storybooks, complete with chapter titles, prologues, and narrators. From The Royal Tenenbaums to The French Dispatch , this literary approach adds formality, whimsy, and a sense of nostalgia. His narration - dry, deliberate, and omniscient - guides viewers through each tale with both clarity and ironic detachment. Frequent collaborators Wes Anderson’s films are filled with familiar faces, reflecting his trusted circle of collaborators. Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Tilda Swinton, and Jason Schwartzman appear time and again, while composer Alexandre Desplat and cinematographer Robert Yeoman help shape the distinctive tone, making each film unmistakably Andersonian in look, sound, and spirit. WES ANDERSON

Labyrinth . The puppetry, the set design, the crushing stress of navigating a

SEPTEMBER

maze on a time limit. Hoggle! When people say filmmaking is magic, they’re referencing this film specifically! What’s one of your all-time favourite films, and why? You could try telling me Hot Fuzz isn’t the perfect film, but you’d be wrong. The comedic timing is on point, the chemistry astounding. It is a masterclass in set up and pay off. No moment on-screen is wasted. What’s one of your all-time favourite TV series, and why? I was already obsessed with the characters in The Musketeers , so getting to spend multiple swashbuckling episodes with them is a win win for me. That the costumes are especially gorgeous for a costume drama is icing on the cake. What have you been watching lately that you’d recommend? My week wasn’t complete without The Fifth Element . It’s got everything a vision of the future should have: a beautiful colour palette, boundless optimism against great evil, and Bruce Willis in a tank top with a gun.

’ s ROVING REPORTER

BETH GLEESON @ JB Cranbourne Home, VIC

What’s the best thing about working at JB? I’d say the people are the best part. Especially my colleagues who I love, and they love me back. 100%, ten out of ten, the best of the best. What’s a movie you saw as a child that has left a lasting impression on you? All my thoughts lead back to Jim Henson’s

FUN FACT

The Pixar movies A Bug’s Life , Monsters, Inc. ,

Finding Nemo, and Wall-E were all conceived over a single lunch in the summer of 1994.

QUIZ

Q3 This classic thriller features character Jane Hudson serving up a dead rat at mealtime for her sister Blanche - title please. Q4 In which movie did Robert De Niro feature as a bounty hunter? Q5 Who is James Bond’s CIA counterpart? Q6 The 1978 fantasy movie Heaven Can Wait, starring Warren Beatty, is a remake of a 1941 film in which a man is taken to heaven by mistake. Name the title? Q7 Name the three actors

who were considered the star triumvirate of the Warner Bros 1930/40’s cycle of gangster movies? Q8 Back at their Mexican border hideout, who discovers that their stolen loot is only worthless metal washers? Q9 Name the computer system that wages war against humanity in the Terminator movies. Q10 “Your eyes are full of hate, Forty-one. That’s good. Hate keeps a man alive” is a famous quote from which 1959 classic movie?

IN DEVELOPMENT

Q1 In which western movie does a sheriff keep calling Richard Harris’s character the Duck, instead of the Duke? Q2 “What we do in life echoes in eternity” is the poster tag of which movie?

Fresh off the success of Beetlejuice , director Tim Burton is set to revive Attack of the 50 Foot Woman for Warner Bros, with Australian star Margot Robbie in talks to star and produce. The original film, released in 1958, was part of a wave of sci-fi B-movies featuring abnormally-sized humans. A remake followed in 1993, starring Daryl Hannah and directed by Christopher Guest, and another in 2012 titled Attack of the 50 Foot Cheerleader . Burton’s unique style could make this the best adaptation yet.

AUGUST 2025 (Issue 250) ANSWERS - A1. Katharine Hepburn for The Lion in Winter and Barbara Streisand for Funny Girl (both 1969) A2. Mickey Mouse (1932) - his Oscar was collected by Walt Disney A3. The Music Box (1932) A4. Mickey Rooney A5. Alfred Hitchcock A6. The baby in the baptism scene A7. Wings (1927) A8. Brad Pitt A9. Sam, played by Dooley Wilson A10. Joel McCrea

80 SEPTEMBER 2025

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