Occupying our blogroll for some time now has been the website Senses of Cinema, and, to be honest ArtsWom love this site, so we thought we’d make it our showcase.

Senses of Cinema has the tagline, ‘an online journal devoted to the serious and eclectic discussion of cinema,’ and that perfectly encompasses what the site is and does. This, however, a showcase article it does not make… so where to begin… err… the beginning?

It all began for the Australian-based journal in 1999 and, eight years on, Senses of Cinema is stronger than ever. The sites ability to appeal to its niche audience of the cinephile is the key. It is neither exclusive nor superior about the fact; there is interesting reading for the casual cinephile or the thirty-films-a-week super-cinephile. Be warned though, if the world does not feel like a better place when the lights go down and the titles run, Senses of Cinema might not be your Saturday night at the movies. This however, is why it does what it does so well.

A simple and pure mission statement goes some way to explain how many-a-time, ArtsWom has let afternoons slip by reading the thoughts of film scholars/enthusiasts on a particular cinematic subject or singular silver screen treat. Take as an example the essay on Sergio Leone by Daniel Edwards or this month’s feature piece by David C. Ryan, Dreams of Postmodernism and Thoughts of Mortality: A Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Retrospective of Blade Runner. The Blade Runner article is a deeply detailed and enlightened piece of work, and is a great thought-provoker for anyone about to revisit Ridley Scott’s dark and richly textured interrogation of what it is to be human.

New feature pieces arise quarterly with each issue and there is a vast archive of past articles. Other great sources of film knowledge on Senses of Cinema include the extensive top ten lists and database of great directors. The later offers superbly written biographical information, punctuated with comprehensive understanding on correlations between the life perspective of auteur’s and the themes of their work.

ArtsWom uses the site on a regular basis, searching for more knowledge prior to the viewing of any film. Enter almost any title (found nothing on Ken Russell’s Lair of the White Worm; I feel a contribution coming on) you like in the search facility and get back analysis and study of the kind you just can’t get easily anywhere else other than university libraries.

Senses of Cinema is a site that absolutely needs to be in the favourite’s list of web savvy film fans the world over. Their chosen name gives proof that they do not merely watch cinema, but feel it…