Reader, you have been lied to! Film history is littered with unfairly maligned classics, whether critics were too eager to review the making of rather than the finished product, or they suffered from underwhelming ad campaigns or general disinterest. Let’s revise our takes on some of these films from wrongheaded to the correct opinion.
In 1972, Peter Bogdanovich, Francis Coppola, and William Friedkin were three of the hottest directors in Hollywood thanks to finding the sweet spot between art and box office with “The Last Picture Show,” “The Godfather,” and “The French Connection,” respectively. With their newfound clout, the young auteurs formed The Directors Company, a partnership based at Paramount, where they were given complete creative freedom to make anything they wanted as long as they worked within modest budgets. The first movie the deal yielded, “Paper Moon,” was a hit, Bogdanovich’s third in a row after “Picture Show...
In 1972, Peter Bogdanovich, Francis Coppola, and William Friedkin were three of the hottest directors in Hollywood thanks to finding the sweet spot between art and box office with “The Last Picture Show,” “The Godfather,” and “The French Connection,” respectively. With their newfound clout, the young auteurs formed The Directors Company, a partnership based at Paramount, where they were given complete creative freedom to make anything they wanted as long as they worked within modest budgets. The first movie the deal yielded, “Paper Moon,” was a hit, Bogdanovich’s third in a row after “Picture Show...
- 5/15/2024
- by Jim Hemphill
- Indiewire
From the very early days of cinema, the love triangle has been a staple of romantic comedies and heartbreaking dramas alike. In its classic form, there’s either two guys and two girls both interested in the same girl or guy, who finds themself torn between the two possibilities. Fizzy screwball comedies usually ended with the love triangle resolving in favor of the lead; see, for example, how Katharine Hepburn’s free-spirited heroine in 1938 comedy “Holiday” steals Cary Grant from under the nose of her own sister (Doris Nolan). In dramas, the ending tends to be a tad more bittersweet, leading to iconically devastating moments like Humphrey Bogart saying goodbye to Ingrid Bergman before she hops on a plane to escape to safety with her husband Victor (Paul Henreid) during the climax of “Casablanca.”
However a love triangle ends, its clear why the formula is such a repeating trope in...
However a love triangle ends, its clear why the formula is such a repeating trope in...
- 5/8/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
Luca Guadagnino believes filmgoers will endorse his Zendaya movie Challengers because it delivers “a canon of Hollywood golden age comedy – seductive fun with queerness.” The movie’s “big sell” is a shot of Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor kissing one another in various configurations.
Challengers is establishing itself as a Gen Z “date movie,” with a 75% female audience, mostly under the age of 24. Its high-powered social media campaign triggered a $25 million opening weekend globally, defying the pre-summer box office torpor.
The movie has also been well received by Gen Z reviewers who are faithful to their lexicon of film criticism – male characters are approvingly deemed “heteroflexible,” females “polyamorous,” etc.
It was a surprise to his fans that Guadagnino, an Italian filmmaker, set out to make an American-set sports movie (he is not a sports fan) about a tennis world to which he was alien. As with his other films,...
Challengers is establishing itself as a Gen Z “date movie,” with a 75% female audience, mostly under the age of 24. Its high-powered social media campaign triggered a $25 million opening weekend globally, defying the pre-summer box office torpor.
The movie has also been well received by Gen Z reviewers who are faithful to their lexicon of film criticism – male characters are approvingly deemed “heteroflexible,” females “polyamorous,” etc.
It was a surprise to his fans that Guadagnino, an Italian filmmaker, set out to make an American-set sports movie (he is not a sports fan) about a tennis world to which he was alien. As with his other films,...
- 5/2/2024
- by Peter Bart
- Deadline Film + TV
“More stars than there are in heaven” was once the slogan for Hollywood’s largest studio. Larger-than-life celebrities like Judy Garland, Clark Gable, Fred Astaire, Katharine Hepburn, Jean Harlow and Gene Kelly were common fixtures at MGM. Today, MGM is an IP outpost purchased by Amazon for $8.5 billion in 2022, but in its day, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer had the biggest lot in Hollywood and produced some of the most extravagant films. Located in Culver City, MGM’s famously sprawling lot began as it grew from the 40 acres owned by Samuel Goldwyn. The legendary MGM property was 3 miles long and housed more than 45 buildings and 14 stages, in addition to numerous outdoor sets that would be built over the years.
MGM was home to countless classic films, and in 1939 alone, the studio backed the timeless fantasy The Wizard of Oz and distributed the Oscar-winning Gone With the Wind, the Ernst Lubitsch/Greta Garbo comedy Ninotchka,...
MGM was home to countless classic films, and in 1939 alone, the studio backed the timeless fantasy The Wizard of Oz and distributed the Oscar-winning Gone With the Wind, the Ernst Lubitsch/Greta Garbo comedy Ninotchka,...
- 4/29/2024
- by Chris Yogerst
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
by Christopher James
Billy Dee Williams was present at a screening of Lady Sings the Blues for a Q&a as part of a tribute to him at the TCM Film Festival.It wouldn’t be a trip to the TCM Film Festival if I didn’t catch some of the great romances of yesteryear.
In particular, the enemies to lovers romantic comedy troupe was alive and well. Ernst Lubitsch’s The Shop Around the Corner provides the foundation for this trope. Decades later, Doris Day and Rock Hudson would use this dynamic to great success in many collaborations, including the bonkers comedy Send Me No Flowers. Romance isn’t all fun and games though. The Billie Holliday biopic Lady Sings the Blues borrows less from the biopic genre and focuses more on the troubled relationship between Holliday (Diana Ross) and Louis McKay.
Did all these pairs sell us on their celluloid love?...
Billy Dee Williams was present at a screening of Lady Sings the Blues for a Q&a as part of a tribute to him at the TCM Film Festival.It wouldn’t be a trip to the TCM Film Festival if I didn’t catch some of the great romances of yesteryear.
In particular, the enemies to lovers romantic comedy troupe was alive and well. Ernst Lubitsch’s The Shop Around the Corner provides the foundation for this trope. Decades later, Doris Day and Rock Hudson would use this dynamic to great success in many collaborations, including the bonkers comedy Send Me No Flowers. Romance isn’t all fun and games though. The Billie Holliday biopic Lady Sings the Blues borrows less from the biopic genre and focuses more on the troubled relationship between Holliday (Diana Ross) and Louis McKay.
Did all these pairs sell us on their celluloid love?...
- 4/28/2024
- by Christopher James
- FilmExperience
Much has been made about the smoky sexiness of Luca Guadagnino's "Challengers," notably the brief threesome scene near the beginning of the movie. While the scene is plenty sexy, it constitutes the bulk of the on-screen physicality of "Challengers," and it is, perhaps disappointingly, relegated to about 90 seconds of tongue kissing; Guadagnino's film is not the bisexual throuple film the ad campaign would have you believe it is.
Instead, it's a soapy, recognizably classical love triangle about three bitter souls who were never able to get over that fateful make-out session. The three players involved were promising tennis champions in high school. There's Tashi (Zendaya), the hotshot celebrity that is already being courted by marketers. There's Patrick (Josh O'Connor), the rough-hewn, stubble-encrusted stud. And there's Art (Mike Faist), the talented jokester whose magic shell quickly hardens into a crunchy layer of jealousy. "Challengers" follows them, via flashbacks, through their...
Instead, it's a soapy, recognizably classical love triangle about three bitter souls who were never able to get over that fateful make-out session. The three players involved were promising tennis champions in high school. There's Tashi (Zendaya), the hotshot celebrity that is already being courted by marketers. There's Patrick (Josh O'Connor), the rough-hewn, stubble-encrusted stud. And there's Art (Mike Faist), the talented jokester whose magic shell quickly hardens into a crunchy layer of jealousy. "Challengers" follows them, via flashbacks, through their...
- 4/26/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
When prospective students of the University of Southern California visit the school, tour guides like to point out several noteworthy landmarks on campus: Heritage Hall and its multiple Heisman trophies on display, the symbolic Tommy Trojan statue and Norris Cinema Theatre, where students of all majors congregate each Thursday night to watch and discuss cinema with famed film critic Leonard Maltin.
The class, officially titled Ctcs-466: Theatrical Film Symposium, was founded by a fellow critic, Arthur Knight, in the early 1960s. He proposed filmmakers bring their latest work to campus for youthful, eager minds to absorb and discuss. Stewardship of the class passed to L.A. Times critic Charles Champlin in 1985, and eventually, the opportunity to take over one of USC’s most popular electives was presented to Maltin.
Maltin, Variety’s Educator of the Year, along with hundreds of students have since convened for 26 years in the oldest screening...
The class, officially titled Ctcs-466: Theatrical Film Symposium, was founded by a fellow critic, Arthur Knight, in the early 1960s. He proposed filmmakers bring their latest work to campus for youthful, eager minds to absorb and discuss. Stewardship of the class passed to L.A. Times critic Charles Champlin in 1985, and eventually, the opportunity to take over one of USC’s most popular electives was presented to Maltin.
Maltin, Variety’s Educator of the Year, along with hundreds of students have since convened for 26 years in the oldest screening...
- 4/24/2024
- by Sharareh Drury
- Variety Film + TV
While it was fascinating to see the results of the 2022 Sight & Sound poll, we’re just as curious to see what lies outside the established canon. As part of a comprehensive project at the essential resource They Shoot Pictures, Don’t They?, Ángel González polled nearly 839 critics on the best films that didn’t receive a single vote on the Sight & Sound poll, which they’ve now compiled into a massive Beyond the Sight & Sound Canon, which initially features 1,030 films but expands to a whopping 14,558 total films.
As a preview, we’ve collected the films that received at least 20 votes in this new poll, which is 263. It’s led by Spike Jonze’s Her, and they’ve also noted the directors that were most represented. Fritz Lang leads the pack with eight films mentioned, while François Truffaut has seven, and Anthony Mann, Clint Eastwood, Eric Rohmer, John Ford, Samuel Fuller,...
As a preview, we’ve collected the films that received at least 20 votes in this new poll, which is 263. It’s led by Spike Jonze’s Her, and they’ve also noted the directors that were most represented. Fritz Lang leads the pack with eight films mentioned, while François Truffaut has seven, and Anthony Mann, Clint Eastwood, Eric Rohmer, John Ford, Samuel Fuller,...
- 4/8/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Joshua Logan’s Paint Your Wagon can be viewed as one of the last gasps of a dwindling Hollywood studio system, as well as a precursor to the New Hollywood. The film, with its expansive anamorphic vistas of the American Northwest, bears some superficial similarities to Michael Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate, which is often historicized as the end of the New Hollywood, given how it bankrupted United Artists. But in contrast to the profound sadness with which Cimino regards America’s history of violence, Logan’s musical romp takes a lighthearted approach to the process of resettlement, and it’s propelled by the contrasting personalities of Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood as bickering and tussling gold prospectors.
Paint Your Wagon straddles multiple genres at once, suggesting something like a western-inflected musical riff on Ernst Lubitsch’s Design for Living. The crux of the story concerns Ben Rumson (Marvin), a ne...
Paint Your Wagon straddles multiple genres at once, suggesting something like a western-inflected musical riff on Ernst Lubitsch’s Design for Living. The crux of the story concerns Ben Rumson (Marvin), a ne...
- 3/25/2024
- by Clayton Dillard
- Slant Magazine
Cineastes the world over know about the scandal surrounding F.W. Murnau's horror classic "Nosferatu." It's clearly an adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, "Dracula," but Murnau infamously didn't obtain the rights to adapt Stoker's book into a screenplay. He changed the names of the characters -- most notably Count Dracula was changed into Count Orlock -- but that didn't stop Stoker's estate from suing Prana Film, the production company. Every copy of "Nosferatu" was ordered to be destroyed. Thanks to shiftlessness in this task, however, several prints survived, and audiences can enjoy and be terrified by "Nosferatu" to this day. For my money, it's one of the scariest movies ever made. ("The Lighthouse" director Robert Eggers is currently remaking it.)
In Rolf Giesen's 2019 book "The Nosferatu Story: The Seminal Horror Film, Its Predecessors and Its Enduring Legacy," the premiere of "Nosferatu" is described in detail, and Prana...
In Rolf Giesen's 2019 book "The Nosferatu Story: The Seminal Horror Film, Its Predecessors and Its Enduring Legacy," the premiere of "Nosferatu" is described in detail, and Prana...
- 3/18/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
It’s fair to say that Sean Price Williams, director of last year’s “The Sweet East” and cinematographer on everything from the Safdies’ “Good Time” to Kristen Stewart’s music videos for Boygenius, has an appreciative, eclectic eye for great filmmaking. He’s honed it through his work, of course, but also through compiling a massive list of movies to watch. What initially started as a recommendation list, ever-evolving over the years and being handed out to Williams’ friends and colleagues, is now a fully-fledged book from Metrograph Editions.
To butcher an Ernst Lubitsch quote, there are a thousand “1000 Movies To Watch” type books, but now there’s really only one.
What’s interesting about the pocket-sized guide is that, unlike a lot of movie recommendation books, Williams isn’t interested in leading the reader with flowery explanations about why someone might or should love any one particular film.
To butcher an Ernst Lubitsch quote, there are a thousand “1000 Movies To Watch” type books, but now there’s really only one.
What’s interesting about the pocket-sized guide is that, unlike a lot of movie recommendation books, Williams isn’t interested in leading the reader with flowery explanations about why someone might or should love any one particular film.
- 3/15/2024
- by Sarah Shachat
- Indiewire
While David Zaslav and Bob Iger’s tax-optimization strategy of deleting films and TV shows from their streamers has triggered plenty of agita among creators, the custodians of Hollywood’s digital era have an even greater fear: wholesale decay of feature and episodic files. Behind closed doors and NDAs, the fragility of archives is a perpetual Topic A, with pros sweating the possibility that contemporary pop culture’s master files might be true goners, destined to the same fate as so many vanished silent movies, among them Alfred Hitchcock’s second feature, The Mountain Eagle, and Ernst Lubitsch’s Oscar-winning The Patriot.
It’s underscored by initiatives such as Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation. “The preservation of every art form is fundamental,” the industry icon says on a video on the organization’s web site. For the business, these are valuable studio assets — to use one example, the MGM Library...
It’s underscored by initiatives such as Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation. “The preservation of every art form is fundamental,” the industry icon says on a video on the organization’s web site. For the business, these are valuable studio assets — to use one example, the MGM Library...
- 3/15/2024
- by Gary Baum and Carolyn Giardina
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For regular updates, sign up for our weekly email newsletter and follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSDahomey.Mati Diop’s Dahomey (2024), a documentary about the repatriation of artifacts plundered by French colonists to the present-day Republic of Benin, won the Golden Bear at the Berlinale. It is only the second film from the African continent to take the festival’s top prize.The Berlinale has filed criminal charges against activists who hacked the festival’s Instagram account on Sunday to post calls for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, which the festival deemed “anti-Semitic.”The festival has also released a statement disavowing the acceptance speeches of award winners who used their platform to speak out against the occupation and war. Such speeches included those by Ben Russell and Guillaume Cailleau, whose Direct Action won Best Film in the Encounters section, and by Yuval Abraham,...
- 2/29/2024
- MUBI
“I’ve seen Paris, France, and Paris, Paramount Pictures,” Ernst Lubitsch said, or so they say, “and on the whole I prefer Paris, Paramount Pictures.”
The great director’s preference for the Hollywood city of lights over the French one expresses a common enough affinity for illusion over reality, but the studio in question was not chosen for alliteration alone. If gritty Warner Bros. specialized in mean streets and threadbare apartments and glitzy MGM spent big on grand hotels and emerald cities, Paramount transported moviegoers into realms of dreamy exoticism, allegedly set in Vienna, Budapest or St. Petersburg, but conjured with better-than-the-original costuming, set design, lighting and dialogue. In an age before jumbo jets, who was to quibble over verisimilitude?
A new version of Paramount looks to be a-borning: Controlling stakeholder Shari Redstone may put her company on the auction block. Whatever conglomerate or mogul buys the assets, it’ll...
The great director’s preference for the Hollywood city of lights over the French one expresses a common enough affinity for illusion over reality, but the studio in question was not chosen for alliteration alone. If gritty Warner Bros. specialized in mean streets and threadbare apartments and glitzy MGM spent big on grand hotels and emerald cities, Paramount transported moviegoers into realms of dreamy exoticism, allegedly set in Vienna, Budapest or St. Petersburg, but conjured with better-than-the-original costuming, set design, lighting and dialogue. In an age before jumbo jets, who was to quibble over verisimilitude?
A new version of Paramount looks to be a-borning: Controlling stakeholder Shari Redstone may put her company on the auction block. Whatever conglomerate or mogul buys the assets, it’ll...
- 2/29/2024
- by Thomas Doherty
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Mother and the Whore.Jean Eustache orbited the world of criticism without ever fully falling into it. His intellectual biographer, Alain Philippon, describes him as a marginal figure at Cahiers du Cinéma in the 1960s and yet actively involved in the debates unfolding in its offices.1 Though Eustache was close with future Cahiers editor-in-chief Jean-Louis Comolli and the magazine championed his films from the start, his critical output was minuscule. He started contributing to Cahiers only after completing his first short, Bad Company (1963). Even then, he wrote little, publishing a few brief pieces on some early films by Paul Vecchiali, Jean-Daniel Pollet, and Costa-Gavras. Luc Moullet would later admit that prior to Bad Company, he thought him the only person at Cahiers “that had absolutely nothing to do with the movies.”2 Indeed, Eustache was often at the offices to pick up his wife, who was employed as a secretary at the magazine.
- 2/26/2024
- MUBI
Film Festival
Restored classic films from Ernst Lubitsch, Stanley Kubrick and Roman Polanski are among eight older titles set to play at next month’s Hong Kong International Film Festival.
Lubitsch’s 1920 farce “Kohlhiesel’s Daughters,” will be presented with a live music accompaniment by the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble. And, despite rumors to the contrary, Kubrick’s first feature, “Fear and Desire,” has been preserved intact and will play at the festival with nine minutes of previously deleted footage. It forms an anti-war pair with Polanski’s 2000 Nazi occupation tale “The Pianist.”
Others selected include Michelangelo Antonioni‘s “Il Grido”; Manoel d’Oliveira’s “Madame Bovary” adaptation “Abraham’s Valley”; Arturo Ripstein’s director’s cut of “Deep Crimson,” restored in 4K with an additional 25 minutes of content; Jacques Rivette’s “L’Amour Fou”; and “The Dupes,” by Tewfik Saleh.
Format
Screentime New Zealand will adapt hit property format “Location,...
Restored classic films from Ernst Lubitsch, Stanley Kubrick and Roman Polanski are among eight older titles set to play at next month’s Hong Kong International Film Festival.
Lubitsch’s 1920 farce “Kohlhiesel’s Daughters,” will be presented with a live music accompaniment by the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble. And, despite rumors to the contrary, Kubrick’s first feature, “Fear and Desire,” has been preserved intact and will play at the festival with nine minutes of previously deleted footage. It forms an anti-war pair with Polanski’s 2000 Nazi occupation tale “The Pianist.”
Others selected include Michelangelo Antonioni‘s “Il Grido”; Manoel d’Oliveira’s “Madame Bovary” adaptation “Abraham’s Valley”; Arturo Ripstein’s director’s cut of “Deep Crimson,” restored in 4K with an additional 25 minutes of content; Jacques Rivette’s “L’Amour Fou”; and “The Dupes,” by Tewfik Saleh.
Format
Screentime New Zealand will adapt hit property format “Location,...
- 2/23/2024
- by Patrick Frater and Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The Academy’s tendency to award trophies to Holocaust movies has long been whispered about — and even occasionally joked about by cheeky comedians.
In 2009, shortly after Kate Winslet won a Golden Globe for her performance as a former Auschwitz guard in “The Reader,” presenter Ricky Gervais pointed to her in the audience and deadpanned, “I told ya, do a Holocaust movie; the awards come.”
Winslet, who would go on to receive an Academy Award for her part in Stephen Daldry’s film, had several years earlier appeared on Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s HBO comedy “Extras” as an actor who stars in a film about the Holocaust in the hopes that it will earn her an Oscar.
The night of the Globes, Winslet laughed at Gervais’ ribbing, as did many in the crowd. It was a much a jab at the industry as much as it was at her.
“The spoof wasn’t entirely wrong,...
In 2009, shortly after Kate Winslet won a Golden Globe for her performance as a former Auschwitz guard in “The Reader,” presenter Ricky Gervais pointed to her in the audience and deadpanned, “I told ya, do a Holocaust movie; the awards come.”
Winslet, who would go on to receive an Academy Award for her part in Stephen Daldry’s film, had several years earlier appeared on Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s HBO comedy “Extras” as an actor who stars in a film about the Holocaust in the hopes that it will earn her an Oscar.
The night of the Globes, Winslet laughed at Gervais’ ribbing, as did many in the crowd. It was a much a jab at the industry as much as it was at her.
“The spoof wasn’t entirely wrong,...
- 2/16/2024
- by Whitney Friedlander
- Variety Film + TV
Clockwise from top left: Notting Hill (Universal Pictures), Love & Basketball (New Line Cinema), Amelie (20th Century Fox),Say Anything (Ugc-Fox Distribution)Graphic: The A.V. Club
Running through the airport to stop a lover’s flight. Making a big speech in front of a crowd of strangers. Picking the perfect song for a serenade.
Running through the airport to stop a lover’s flight. Making a big speech in front of a crowd of strangers. Picking the perfect song for a serenade.
- 2/12/2024
- by Mary Kate Carr, Gabrielle Sanchez, and Saloni Gajjar
- avclub.com
Not much is funny about those terrifying early days of Covid, when the world was cloaked in an apocalyptic doom and the president was telling us to inject bleach. But in “Stress Positions,” Theda Hammel miraculously finds the funny side of lockdown, mining the masks, Purell and social distancing that defined that unhappy era for physical comedy.
“Those gestures are like balloons, and they’re filled with the sense of danger and a sense of peril,” Hammel says of the Sundance-bound film that she directed and co-wrote. “And as soon as the urgency drains away, these behaviors seem ridiculous.”
“Stress Positions,” which follows a 30-something gay man named Terry (John Early) who is trying — and largely failing — to look after his injured Moroccan nephew Bahlul (Qaher Harhash) when the pandemic hits, also wants to use the all-too-recent past to skewer millennial mores. In Early, her friend and frequent collaborator, Hammel found the perfect muse.
“Those gestures are like balloons, and they’re filled with the sense of danger and a sense of peril,” Hammel says of the Sundance-bound film that she directed and co-wrote. “And as soon as the urgency drains away, these behaviors seem ridiculous.”
“Stress Positions,” which follows a 30-something gay man named Terry (John Early) who is trying — and largely failing — to look after his injured Moroccan nephew Bahlul (Qaher Harhash) when the pandemic hits, also wants to use the all-too-recent past to skewer millennial mores. In Early, her friend and frequent collaborator, Hammel found the perfect muse.
- 1/18/2024
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
February––particularly its third week––is all about romance. Accordingly the Criterion Channel got creative with their monthly programming and, in a few weeks, will debut Interdimensional Romance, a series of films wherein “passion conquers time and space, age and memory, and even death and the afterlife.” For every title you might’ve guessed there’s a wilder companion: Alan Rudolph’s Made In Heaven, Soderbergh’s remake, and Resnais’ Love Unto Death. Mostly I’m excited to revisit Francis Ford Coppola’s Youth Without Youth, a likely essential viewing before Megalopolis.
February also marks Black History Month, and Criterion’s series will include work by Shirley Clarke (also subject of a standalone series), Garrett Bradley, Cheryl Dunye, and Julie Dash, while movies by Sirk, Minnelli, King Vidor, and Lang play in “Gothic Noir.” Greta Gerwig gets an “Adventures in Moviegoing” and can be seen in Mary Bronstein’s Yeast,...
February also marks Black History Month, and Criterion’s series will include work by Shirley Clarke (also subject of a standalone series), Garrett Bradley, Cheryl Dunye, and Julie Dash, while movies by Sirk, Minnelli, King Vidor, and Lang play in “Gothic Noir.” Greta Gerwig gets an “Adventures in Moviegoing” and can be seen in Mary Bronstein’s Yeast,...
- 1/11/2024
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For regular updates, sign up for our weekly email newsletter and follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSSambizanga.For the past six years, the Belgian film journal Sabzian has invited a guest to deliver an annual “State of Cinema” address. This year’s speaker will be Alice Diop. She will deliver her text on Thursday, December 7, in Brussels, alongside a screening of Sarah Maldoror’s film Sambizanga (1972). Learn more on Sabzian’s website, recently sleekly redesigned for the publication’s tenth anniversary. You can also watch previous State of Cinema speeches on Sabzian’s Screening Room, including last year’s address by Wang Bing.Recommended VIEWINGOutwardly from Earth's Center.Streaming on e-flux until November 30 is Outwardly from Earth’s Center (2007), a short pseudo-documentary by filmmaker and artist Rosa Barba. The film details the experiences of the inhabitants of a fictitious offshore island as...
- 11/29/2023
- MUBI
As the Butterscotch Stallion turns 55, we look back at his most memorable roles, from a courageous navy officer to a cute sports car to a doltish male model
This was a late-period Peter Bogdanovich film, a screwball spin on Ernst Lubitsch, that had Imogen Poots as the golden-hearted sex worker trying to break into show business. She walks into an audition in front of a big-shot Broadway director and realises he is the man to whose Manhattan hotel room she had gone the night before. And that director is played by Owen Wilson, with that good-natured, halting Texas drawl which was to feature to some degree in all of his performances. He is a pretty bland nice guy here – a default mode he sometimes goes into a bit too easily.
This was a late-period Peter Bogdanovich film, a screwball spin on Ernst Lubitsch, that had Imogen Poots as the golden-hearted sex worker trying to break into show business. She walks into an audition in front of a big-shot Broadway director and realises he is the man to whose Manhattan hotel room she had gone the night before. And that director is played by Owen Wilson, with that good-natured, halting Texas drawl which was to feature to some degree in all of his performances. He is a pretty bland nice guy here – a default mode he sometimes goes into a bit too easily.
- 11/16/2023
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Among the myriad reasons we could call the Criterion Channel the single greatest streaming service is its leveling of cinematic snobbery. Where a new World Cinema Project restoration plays, so too does Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight. I think about this looking at November’s lineup and being happiest about two new additions: a nine-film Robert Bresson retro including L’argent and The Devil, Probably; and a one-film Hype Williams retro including Belly and only Belly, but bringing as a bonus the direct-to-video Belly 2: Millionaire Boyz Club. Until recently such curation seemed impossible.
November will also feature a 20-film noir series boasting the obvious and the not. Maybe the single tightest collection is “Women of the West,” with Johnny Guitar and The Beguiled and Rancho Notorious and The Furies only half of it. Lynch/Oz, Irradiated, and My Two Voices make streaming premieres; Drylongso gets a Criterion Edition; and joining...
November will also feature a 20-film noir series boasting the obvious and the not. Maybe the single tightest collection is “Women of the West,” with Johnny Guitar and The Beguiled and Rancho Notorious and The Furies only half of it. Lynch/Oz, Irradiated, and My Two Voices make streaming premieres; Drylongso gets a Criterion Edition; and joining...
- 10/24/2023
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Seven takes on the hits and misses of the 80th Venice International Film Festival, from the reviewers at THR Roma, The Hollywood Reporter‘s first European-language edition, on the hottest Venice titles so far.
Dogman, by Luc Besson Caleb Landry Jones in ‘Dogman’
“A bizarre and powerful work that has the stigmata of the best Besson, the one that allows us to glimpse the force, total and invincible, behind a helpless, placid and fragile appearance. Dogman is kitschy and moving as that Caleb Landry Jones who tears you apart when he wears, in his playful and necessary disguises, the most difficult mask: himself.
“Dogman is Besson’s cinema reclaiming its space after losing it for 20 years, it is the desire to excel and excel without the excuse and fear of showing itself in all its talent. Because measure and subtraction are sometimes just an alibi.”
— Boris Sollazzo
El Conde, by...
Dogman, by Luc Besson Caleb Landry Jones in ‘Dogman’
“A bizarre and powerful work that has the stigmata of the best Besson, the one that allows us to glimpse the force, total and invincible, behind a helpless, placid and fragile appearance. Dogman is kitschy and moving as that Caleb Landry Jones who tears you apart when he wears, in his playful and necessary disguises, the most difficult mask: himself.
“Dogman is Besson’s cinema reclaiming its space after losing it for 20 years, it is the desire to excel and excel without the excuse and fear of showing itself in all its talent. Because measure and subtraction are sometimes just an alibi.”
— Boris Sollazzo
El Conde, by...
- 9/3/2023
- by Boris Sollazzo, Manuela Santacatterina, Alberto Crespi and Fabio Ferzetti
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
For an admirer of his work, writing about a new movie by Roman Polanski is like facing a minefield of unsolvable questions: Can this film be judged like the others given the director’s criminal record and tarnished reputation? Is it possible to praise a work of art if certain parts of an artist’s life are reprehensible, or should the two be separated? Should Polanski still be allowed to make movies? Should this movie even be written about?
Those questions would be harder to answer if Polanski, who’s now 90, made something on the level of say, Chinatown or Rosemary’s Baby. Or even something like The Tenant or Frantic or Repulsion or his debut feature, Knife in the Water, which came out over 60 years ago and earned him his first Oscar nomination.
But the director’s latest, The Palace, leaves little room for ambiguity. It’s the worst thing...
Those questions would be harder to answer if Polanski, who’s now 90, made something on the level of say, Chinatown or Rosemary’s Baby. Or even something like The Tenant or Frantic or Repulsion or his debut feature, Knife in the Water, which came out over 60 years ago and earned him his first Oscar nomination.
But the director’s latest, The Palace, leaves little room for ambiguity. It’s the worst thing...
- 9/2/2023
- by Jordan Mintzer
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It was more than a little heartening to see Roger Corman paid tribute by Quentin Tarantino at Cannes’ closing night. By now the director-producer-mogul’s imprint on cinema is understood to eclipse, rough estimate, 99.5% of anybody who’s touched the medium, but on a night for celebrating what’s new, trend-following, and manicured it could’ve hardly been more necessary. Thus I’m further heartened seeing the Criterion Channel will host a retrospective of Corman’s Edgar Allan Poe adaptations running eight films and aptly titled “Grindhouse Gothic,” though I might save the selections for October.
Centerpiece, though, is a hip hop series including Bill Duke’s superb Deep Cover, Ghost Dog, and numerous documentaries––among them Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest, making Michael Rapaport a Criterion-approved auteur. Ten films starring Kay Francis and 21 Eurothrillers round out series; streaming premieres include the Dardenne brothers’ Tori and Lokita,...
Centerpiece, though, is a hip hop series including Bill Duke’s superb Deep Cover, Ghost Dog, and numerous documentaries––among them Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest, making Michael Rapaport a Criterion-approved auteur. Ten films starring Kay Francis and 21 Eurothrillers round out series; streaming premieres include the Dardenne brothers’ Tori and Lokita,...
- 7/19/2023
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Billy Wilder was the six-time Oscar winner who left behind a series of classically quotable features from Hollywood’s Golden Age, crafting sharp witted and darkly cynical stories that blended comedy and pathos in equal measure. Let’s take a look back at 25 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Wilder was born to a family of Austrian Jews in 1906. After working as a journalist, he developed an interest in filmmaking and collaborated on the silent feature “People on Sunday” (1929) with fellow rookies Fred Zinnemann, Robert Siodmak and Edgar G. Ulmer. With the rise of Adolph Hitler, Wilder fled to Paris, where he co-directed the feature “Mauvaise Graine” (1934). Tragically, his mother, stepfather and grandmother all died in the Holocaust.
After moving to Hollywood, Wilder enjoyed a successful career as a screenwriter, earning Oscar nominations for penning 1939’s “Ninotchka” and 1941’s “Hold Back the Dawn” and “Ball of Fire.” He...
Wilder was born to a family of Austrian Jews in 1906. After working as a journalist, he developed an interest in filmmaking and collaborated on the silent feature “People on Sunday” (1929) with fellow rookies Fred Zinnemann, Robert Siodmak and Edgar G. Ulmer. With the rise of Adolph Hitler, Wilder fled to Paris, where he co-directed the feature “Mauvaise Graine” (1934). Tragically, his mother, stepfather and grandmother all died in the Holocaust.
After moving to Hollywood, Wilder enjoyed a successful career as a screenwriter, earning Oscar nominations for penning 1939’s “Ninotchka” and 1941’s “Hold Back the Dawn” and “Ball of Fire.” He...
- 6/17/2023
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
The Daughters of Fire.Three square images, placed side by side on the screen. The full frame is as wide as CinemaScope, which Fritz Lang famously said was only suitable for snakes and funerals. On the left, a woman stares forward as she stalks, like a Jacques Tourneur character, toward no certain destination; as she does so—singing, half her face shrouded in shadow—she passes through a seemingly endless corridor of ash, an ever-rotating carousel of clay streaked with wisps of fire. In the center frame, another woman lies prone, bent over on the shores of a volcanic beach. The sea laps in apocalyptic, dusky light behind her, the horizon stretches out to the limits of vision; uncertainly, she heaves her body upright to sit as she sings. In the far-right frame, another woman peers out from around a doorframe, staring into the camera, also singing in direct counterpoint with the other two women,...
- 6/14/2023
- MUBI
The films of Maïwenn, like Maïwenn herself, tend to be divisive.
When they’re good, such as in the writer-director-actress’ breakthrough second feature, Polisse, they’re filled with hotblooded ensemble performances that channel the kinetic energy of John Cassavetes. When they’re not, such as in her last effort, DNA, they feel like overblown arthouse selfies where Maïwenn is the only star.
Either way, they hardly leave you indifferent, which is why the director’s biggest project yet, a $22.4 million biopic of the legendary 18th century French courtesan Jeanne du Barry, can seem so surprising. Sumptuously made and with enough jaw-dropping costumes — several of them courtesy of Chanel, one of the film’s sponsors — to warrant a separate runway show, Maïwenn’s lavish feature is also, well, kind of bland.
It has a great setting, with many scenes shot in and around the real Palace of Versailles, and a great setup,...
When they’re good, such as in the writer-director-actress’ breakthrough second feature, Polisse, they’re filled with hotblooded ensemble performances that channel the kinetic energy of John Cassavetes. When they’re not, such as in her last effort, DNA, they feel like overblown arthouse selfies where Maïwenn is the only star.
Either way, they hardly leave you indifferent, which is why the director’s biggest project yet, a $22.4 million biopic of the legendary 18th century French courtesan Jeanne du Barry, can seem so surprising. Sumptuously made and with enough jaw-dropping costumes — several of them courtesy of Chanel, one of the film’s sponsors — to warrant a separate runway show, Maïwenn’s lavish feature is also, well, kind of bland.
It has a great setting, with many scenes shot in and around the real Palace of Versailles, and a great setup,...
- 5/16/2023
- by Jordan Mintzer
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
When Twa Flight 3, a twin-engine DC-3 concluding its cross-country route from Indiana to Burbank, California, slammed into Potosi Mountain just outside of Las Vegas in the early evening of January 16, 1942, the movies lost its greatest screwball comedienne.
Carole Lombard was 33 years old, and had just weathered a run of tepidly received dramas to reclaim her stature as one of Hollywood's most dependably hilarious performers via Alfred Hitchcock's "Mr. and Mrs. Smith." She was about to receive another round of critical acclaim for her turn as the Polish theater diva Maria Tura in Ernst Lubitsch's masterful "To Be or Not to Be." She was married to Rhett Butler himself, Clark Gable, and had committed herself to the war effort (she'd been in her home state of Indiana to host a war bond rally). Lombard was as beloved and consequential an actor as there was in the industry, and, just like that,...
Carole Lombard was 33 years old, and had just weathered a run of tepidly received dramas to reclaim her stature as one of Hollywood's most dependably hilarious performers via Alfred Hitchcock's "Mr. and Mrs. Smith." She was about to receive another round of critical acclaim for her turn as the Polish theater diva Maria Tura in Ernst Lubitsch's masterful "To Be or Not to Be." She was married to Rhett Butler himself, Clark Gable, and had committed herself to the war effort (she'd been in her home state of Indiana to host a war bond rally). Lombard was as beloved and consequential an actor as there was in the industry, and, just like that,...
- 5/13/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Sam Heughan, Priyanka Chopra Jonas in Love AgainImage: Screen Gems
There are a number of positive things that can be said about Love Again. It is always in focus. Bucking the current trend toward cinematic bloat, it manages to keep its running time below an hour and 45 minutes (albeit just...
There are a number of positive things that can be said about Love Again. It is always in focus. Bucking the current trend toward cinematic bloat, it manages to keep its running time below an hour and 45 minutes (albeit just...
- 5/5/2023
- by Andy Klein
- avclub.com
Romantic comedies have been around since the beginning of the film industry, but they’ve had a bit of an up-and-down run over the years. From their heyday in the 1990s to Netflix’s recent efforts to bring them back into mainstream popularity, we thought it was time to take stock and make a list of the ten best romantic comedies ever.
Related: 10 Best Comedies of All Time, Ranked by Viewers
We compiled a top 10 list and crunched numbers until we arrived at our ultimate list. As you’ll see below, this is an eclectic mix that includes everything from black-and-white classics to modern blockbusters. Each one fits the American Film Institute’s definition—a genre in which “the development of a romance leads to comic situations”—but more importantly, they’re all funny movies with romantic happy endings.
10 Highest-Rated Romantic Comedies on IMDb The Artist (2011) – 7.9 The Shop Around the Corner...
Related: 10 Best Comedies of All Time, Ranked by Viewers
We compiled a top 10 list and crunched numbers until we arrived at our ultimate list. As you’ll see below, this is an eclectic mix that includes everything from black-and-white classics to modern blockbusters. Each one fits the American Film Institute’s definition—a genre in which “the development of a romance leads to comic situations”—but more importantly, they’re all funny movies with romantic happy endings.
10 Highest-Rated Romantic Comedies on IMDb The Artist (2011) – 7.9 The Shop Around the Corner...
- 3/29/2023
- by Buddy TV
- buddytv.com
Well folks, it's that time yet again. With March coming to an end, that means that streamers like Netflix, Amazon Prime and HBO Max are shuffling their catalog around for April. HBO Max is consistently bringing great new things to the platform each month — and fan favorite series like "Succession," "A Black Lady Sketch Show," and "Titans," will make their return too — but I've always been more concerned with the films and shows that depart. The streamer's monthly cull with be an especially extensive one this moth; quite a few must-sees are leaving the platform in April. Landmark romantic comedies like "Bringing Up Baby," seminal classics like "Citizen Kane" and dystopian dramas like "The Book of Eli" will all be headed away this month. As ever, we do still have some time before some of these go bye-bye, so make sure to check out these titles before they're phased out.
- 3/24/2023
- by Lyvie Scott
- Slash Film
One of the most time-consuming aspects of being a cinephile is worrying about the health and longevity of TCM. The venerable broadcast television channel dedicated to classic Hollywood cinema has grown since its 1994 launch into a kind of preservationist and enthusiast's empire that includes an annual film festival, an original film distribution arm, a releasing imprint, and a slew of diverse programming initiatives (not to mention a wine club). TCM certainly seems to be in better health than most entities dedicated segments of the film ecosystem that are -- by virtue of not being focused on the biggest, brightest, latest thing -- not exactly profit drivers. It has survived both a massive merger between AT&T and its parent company, Time Warner, and a subsequent divestment of AT&T and acquisition by Discovery in all but five years, after all.
But the brand's new overlord, Warner Bros. Discovery, shelving completed films...
But the brand's new overlord, Warner Bros. Discovery, shelving completed films...
- 3/23/2023
- by Ryan Coleman
- Slash Film
One thing most cinephiles can agree on is that Tilda Swinton is a mystifying gift to the film industry. In addition to delivering consistently excellent performances in almost every movie and cast she joins, the Oscar-winning actress has long been a champion of the sort of unique films that without her involvement might otherwise never get made.
From her repeat collaborations with auteurs like Wes Anderson and Bong Joon-ho to her risky roles in experimental projects like “The Souvenir” series, Swinton is an extremely familiar face for fans of arthouse cinema. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Tony Gilroy’s “Michael Clayton”: a crowd-pleasing George Clooney legal thriller from 2007. And yes, she scared the hell out of millennials as the White Witch in Disney’s “The Chronicles of Narnia.” Hell, she’s in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
But it’s Swinton’s...
From her repeat collaborations with auteurs like Wes Anderson and Bong Joon-ho to her risky roles in experimental projects like “The Souvenir” series, Swinton is an extremely familiar face for fans of arthouse cinema. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Tony Gilroy’s “Michael Clayton”: a crowd-pleasing George Clooney legal thriller from 2007. And yes, she scared the hell out of millennials as the White Witch in Disney’s “The Chronicles of Narnia.” Hell, she’s in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
But it’s Swinton’s...
- 3/21/2023
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
Nancy Meyers is still searching for a new home for her film after parting ways with Netflix over budget concerns. But in the meantime, the director of rom-com classics like 2006’s The Holiday and Something’s Gotta Give has dropped some hints on Instagram, revealing details about her movie, confirming the title, and sharing its origin.
Deadline reported that Scarlett Johansson, Owen Wilson, Penelope Cruz and Michael Fassbender were in talks to star, but that the proposed Netflix budget — which sources say was coming in around $130 million — was causing issues. Sources say that while the studio was fine with $130 million, Meyers was fighting for $150 million, with $80 million of that going to above-the-line costs.
The film is titled Paris Paramount, which we were first to tell you about in April 2022. It tells the story of an above-the-line filmmaking duo who reunite (begrudgingly) on set after falling in and out of love with each other.
Deadline reported that Scarlett Johansson, Owen Wilson, Penelope Cruz and Michael Fassbender were in talks to star, but that the proposed Netflix budget — which sources say was coming in around $130 million — was causing issues. Sources say that while the studio was fine with $130 million, Meyers was fighting for $150 million, with $80 million of that going to above-the-line costs.
The film is titled Paris Paramount, which we were first to tell you about in April 2022. It tells the story of an above-the-line filmmaking duo who reunite (begrudgingly) on set after falling in and out of love with each other.
- 3/19/2023
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Film industry observers have been captivated in recent weeks by the ongoing negotiations surrounding Nancy Meyers’ upcoming romantic comedy “Paris Paramount.” The film, which is set to star Scarlett Johansson, Penelope Cruz, Owen Wilson, and Michael Fassbender, was originally set up at Netflix with a reported budget of $130 million. But disagreements about the film’s final budget (Meyers and her team were reportedly seeking an additional $20 million) eventually led Netflix to scrap the project.
Now “Paris Paramount” is being shopped to other studios, with Warner Bros. reportedly in the mix. And if nothing else, the negotiations have attracted plenty of additional attention for the film. Meyers has been a reliable hitmaker for decades, directing smart romantic comedies like “What Women Want,” “It’s Complicated,” and “Something’s Gotta Give.” But if “Paris Paramount” is ever completed, it will likely be her highest profile project in quite some time.
Meyers took to her...
Now “Paris Paramount” is being shopped to other studios, with Warner Bros. reportedly in the mix. And if nothing else, the negotiations have attracted plenty of additional attention for the film. Meyers has been a reliable hitmaker for decades, directing smart romantic comedies like “What Women Want,” “It’s Complicated,” and “Something’s Gotta Give.” But if “Paris Paramount” is ever completed, it will likely be her highest profile project in quite some time.
Meyers took to her...
- 3/18/2023
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
Critics can debate just how diverse the 2023 Oscars really were. Alongside a record number of winners of ethnically Chinese and Indian decent — including Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, director-screenwriter Daniel Kwan and producer Jonathan Wang for Everything Everywhere All At Once, and a best song trophy for “Naatu Naatu” composer M.M. Keeravaani and lyricist Chandrabose — the 95th Academy Awards includes just a single Black winner, costume designer Ruth Carter, who picked up her second Oscar for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and just one Oscar for a Latino filmmaker, going to Mexican director Guillermo del Toro for his animated feature Pinocchio.
On one measure, however, the 2023 Oscars get top marks. This year’s event was one of the most globally diverse in the event’s history.
Winners in 13 of 24 Oscar categories hailed from outside the U.S. — 15 if you include Ke Huy Quan, (who was born in Vietnam and immigrated...
On one measure, however, the 2023 Oscars get top marks. This year’s event was one of the most globally diverse in the event’s history.
Winners in 13 of 24 Oscar categories hailed from outside the U.S. — 15 if you include Ke Huy Quan, (who was born in Vietnam and immigrated...
- 3/17/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
For all the theatre connoisseurs waiting with bated breath for a dramatic yet light-hearted delight, you can now look forward to ‘Baaghi Albele’ now in its second run produced by Aadyam Theatre for its 6th season. The Hindi-Punjabi play is a farce directed by the acclaimed theatre director Atul Kumar.
Set in Ludhiana, Punjab, in North India, Baaghi Albele showcases its narrative through a satirical comedy. The play explores the struggle of artists and intellectuals in a time of government repression and reflects on the relevance of art and artists in contemporary times. It follows the journey of husband and wife actors Johny and Minnie Makhija as they find themselves at the centre of a dangerous situation when a soldier from an underground rebel organisation seeks their help. With the threat of prosecution and death looming, the couple, along with their troupe of actors, must use their wit and theatrical...
Set in Ludhiana, Punjab, in North India, Baaghi Albele showcases its narrative through a satirical comedy. The play explores the struggle of artists and intellectuals in a time of government repression and reflects on the relevance of art and artists in contemporary times. It follows the journey of husband and wife actors Johny and Minnie Makhija as they find themselves at the centre of a dangerous situation when a soldier from an underground rebel organisation seeks their help. With the threat of prosecution and death looming, the couple, along with their troupe of actors, must use their wit and theatrical...
- 3/6/2023
- by Glamsham Editorial
- GlamSham
It is my experience that one gets a far richer, stranger cinema education in pursuing the careers of actors, that group defined first by (assuming luck shines upon them) two or three era-defining films and then so much that dictates their industry—pet projects, contractual obligations, called-in favors alimony payments, auteur one-offs, and on and on. Few embody that deluge of circumstance better than Michelle Yeoh and Isabelle Huppert, both of whom are receiving spotlights in March. The former’s is a who’s-who of Hong Kong talent, new favorites (The Heroic Trio), items we can at least say are of interest (Trio‘s not-great sequel Executioners), etc.
Huppert’s series runs longer, and notwithstanding certain standards that have long sat on the channel it adds some heavy hitters: Hong’s In Another Country, Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate, Breillat’s Abuse of Weakness, Hansen-Løve’s Things to Come. And, of course,...
Huppert’s series runs longer, and notwithstanding certain standards that have long sat on the channel it adds some heavy hitters: Hong’s In Another Country, Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate, Breillat’s Abuse of Weakness, Hansen-Løve’s Things to Come. And, of course,...
- 2/22/2023
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Steven Spielberg, director of countless blockbusters, delivered a blockbuster speech accepting the Golden Bear for lifetime achievement at the Berlin Film Festival.
The filmmaker said that despite directing for six decades, directing “Duel” and “Jaws” felt like “last year.” “I know a lot more about moviemaking than I did when I directed my first feature film at 25. But the anxieties and the uncertainties and the fears that tormented me as I began shooting ‘Duel’ have stayed vivid for 50 years, as if no time has passed. And luckily for me, the electric joy I feel on the first day of work as a director is as imperishable as my fears, because there’s no place more like home for me than when I’m working on a set,” Spielberg said.
“I also feel a little alarmed to be told I’ve lived a lifetime because I’m not finished, I want to keep working.
The filmmaker said that despite directing for six decades, directing “Duel” and “Jaws” felt like “last year.” “I know a lot more about moviemaking than I did when I directed my first feature film at 25. But the anxieties and the uncertainties and the fears that tormented me as I began shooting ‘Duel’ have stayed vivid for 50 years, as if no time has passed. And luckily for me, the electric joy I feel on the first day of work as a director is as imperishable as my fears, because there’s no place more like home for me than when I’m working on a set,” Spielberg said.
“I also feel a little alarmed to be told I’ve lived a lifetime because I’m not finished, I want to keep working.
- 2/22/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The relationship between fathers and sons is complicated. It can be tough, tender, loving, combative, disappointing, violent, the stuff of Shakespearean and even Greek tragedy. It’s little wonder there have been countless films exploring fathers and sons including “East of Eden,” “Finding Nemo,” “Back to the Future,” “Field of Dreams,” “Nebraska,” “Fences,” “Beginners” and “Kramer vs. Kramer.”
One of the most indelible is Martin Ritt’s “Hud,” which celebrates its 60th anniversary. And time hasn’t diminished the power of this unapologetic drama starring Paul Newman, Melvyn Douglas, Patricia Neal and Brandon De Wilde.
Newman had played characters of questionable morality such as his Oscar-nominated turn “Fast” Eddie Felsen in 1961’s “The Hustler,” but he had never played anyone quite like Hud, the ultimate heel who never met a bottle of booze he wouldn’t drink or a married woman he didn’t seduce. Living on a cattle ranch in a tiny,...
One of the most indelible is Martin Ritt’s “Hud,” which celebrates its 60th anniversary. And time hasn’t diminished the power of this unapologetic drama starring Paul Newman, Melvyn Douglas, Patricia Neal and Brandon De Wilde.
Newman had played characters of questionable morality such as his Oscar-nominated turn “Fast” Eddie Felsen in 1961’s “The Hustler,” but he had never played anyone quite like Hud, the ultimate heel who never met a bottle of booze he wouldn’t drink or a married woman he didn’t seduce. Living on a cattle ranch in a tiny,...
- 2/16/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Agnès Varda, the late New Wave cinema legend, is the subject of “Viva Varda!,” a documentary boasting exclusive archive footage and interviews by filmmakers such as Atom Egoyan and Audrey Diwan. Mk2 Films is co-representing the documentary feature with Cinétévé Sales.
“Viva Varda!” will be first portrait of the Honorary Oscar recipient that’s not directed by Varda herself. The last film she directed was “Varda par Agnes,” a documentary shedding light on her own experiences as a filmmaker. Her sprawling career and legacy will be celebrated this fall at the French Cinémathèque.
Pierre-Henri Gibert, a film buff who’s made several documentaries about filmmakers, including Jacques Audiard, explored different aspects of Varda’s life and body of work and conducted insightful interviews with friends, family, and collaborators, including Varda’s children, Rosalie Varda and Mathieu Demy, along with Sandrine Bonnaire, Patricia Mazuy and Jonathan Romney, among others.
“Viva Varda!
“Viva Varda!” will be first portrait of the Honorary Oscar recipient that’s not directed by Varda herself. The last film she directed was “Varda par Agnes,” a documentary shedding light on her own experiences as a filmmaker. Her sprawling career and legacy will be celebrated this fall at the French Cinémathèque.
Pierre-Henri Gibert, a film buff who’s made several documentaries about filmmakers, including Jacques Audiard, explored different aspects of Varda’s life and body of work and conducted insightful interviews with friends, family, and collaborators, including Varda’s children, Rosalie Varda and Mathieu Demy, along with Sandrine Bonnaire, Patricia Mazuy and Jonathan Romney, among others.
“Viva Varda!
- 2/16/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
It may feel like throuples are a distinctly modern romantic arrangement – but this couldn’t be further from the case.
In fact, consensual non-monogamy, such as a ménage à trois, goes back centuries. It can even be found in the bible.
Recently, David Haye has been the subject of speculation surrounding his private life, with fans claiming that the ex-boxer is in a three-way relationship with model Sian Osborne and The Saturdays singer Una Healy.
On Valentine’s Day, Haye appeared to confirm the rumours, with Healy also sharing a coy message on Instagram alluding to the relationship.
When it comes to depictions of polyamorous relationships in film and TV, good examples have traditionally been few and far between.
But that’s not to say there haven’t been any – from pre-code classics to modern indie dramas, there are plenty of films and TV series which place the spotlight on...
In fact, consensual non-monogamy, such as a ménage à trois, goes back centuries. It can even be found in the bible.
Recently, David Haye has been the subject of speculation surrounding his private life, with fans claiming that the ex-boxer is in a three-way relationship with model Sian Osborne and The Saturdays singer Una Healy.
On Valentine’s Day, Haye appeared to confirm the rumours, with Healy also sharing a coy message on Instagram alluding to the relationship.
When it comes to depictions of polyamorous relationships in film and TV, good examples have traditionally been few and far between.
But that’s not to say there haven’t been any – from pre-code classics to modern indie dramas, there are plenty of films and TV series which place the spotlight on...
- 2/15/2023
- by Louis Chilton
- The Independent - Film
For most of Hollywood history, the romantic comedy was a staple of theatrical moviegoing. From the glory days of Ernst Lubitsch (“Trouble in Paradise”) and George Cukor (“Adam’s Rib”) in the classical studio era to the onslaught of Julia Roberts, Matthew McConaughey, and Reese Witherspoon vehicles in the 1990s and early 2000s, pretty people saying funny things while falling in love was a consistent and reliable form of big screen entertainment. In the last few years, however, the genre largely moved to streaming, with studio slates leaning disproportionately toward comic book movies and other preexisting IP while reserving slots devoted to more modestly budgeted fare for horror films.
Yet the theatrically released, well-resourced romantic comedy made a glorious return to the big screen in 2022 with “Ticket to Paradise,” director Ol Parker’s hilarious and sweetly moving George Clooney and Julia Roberts vehicle. The movie has many pleasures, from Clooney and...
Yet the theatrically released, well-resourced romantic comedy made a glorious return to the big screen in 2022 with “Ticket to Paradise,” director Ol Parker’s hilarious and sweetly moving George Clooney and Julia Roberts vehicle. The movie has many pleasures, from Clooney and...
- 2/12/2023
- by Jim Hemphill
- Indiewire
There's one thing you can say about every single Academy Award nominee: whether they're good films or bad films, beloved or obscure, they are officially in the history books. Future movie lovers will read about them and, often, watch them out of either passionate interest or mild curiosity, decades later.
And that's a very good thing because a lot of the films that are nominated for the Oscars fall into obscurity pretty quickly. We may remember most of the Best Picture winners, for example, but what about the other films in contention? "Casablanca" won Best Picture at the 16th Academy Awards and it's a film most people can quote directly, even if they've never watched it before. But there's a good chance that many of its fellow nominees that same year — films like "The Human Comedy," "The More the Merrier," and "Watch On the Rhine" — aren't nearly as well known today.
And that's a very good thing because a lot of the films that are nominated for the Oscars fall into obscurity pretty quickly. We may remember most of the Best Picture winners, for example, but what about the other films in contention? "Casablanca" won Best Picture at the 16th Academy Awards and it's a film most people can quote directly, even if they've never watched it before. But there's a good chance that many of its fellow nominees that same year — films like "The Human Comedy," "The More the Merrier," and "Watch On the Rhine" — aren't nearly as well known today.
- 2/9/2023
- by William Bibbiani
- Slash Film
Mel Brooks was born in 1926, prior to the advent of talkies and television. He grew up worshiping the vaudevillian likes of Groucho Marx, Al Jolson, and George Jessel. Given the anarchic, anything-for-a-laugh quality of his best movies, you'd think Brooks' allegiances would be tightly aligned with Groucho. But while he's on the record with his affection for the Marx Brothers' work, he was especially enamored of Eddie Cantor.
For most people in this day and age, Cantor is a name more than a personality. The worst that can be said about him is that he was a song-and-dance man who, like Jolson, mimicked African-American entertainers in blackface to bolster his appeal. But Cantor was a born, trailblazing Jewish entertainer, and his comedic rambunctiousness kicked down the door for people like Brooks, who lacked the patience to craft a meticulously structured screwball masterpiece like Ernst Lubitsch's "Trouble in Paradise" or...
For most people in this day and age, Cantor is a name more than a personality. The worst that can be said about him is that he was a song-and-dance man who, like Jolson, mimicked African-American entertainers in blackface to bolster his appeal. But Cantor was a born, trailblazing Jewish entertainer, and his comedic rambunctiousness kicked down the door for people like Brooks, who lacked the patience to craft a meticulously structured screwball masterpiece like Ernst Lubitsch's "Trouble in Paradise" or...
- 1/19/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Germany has given the world some of its finest filmmakers, Lotte Reiniger, Ernst Lubitsch, Douglas Sirk, Wim Wenders, and Rainer Werner Fassbinder, to name but a few, as well as groundbreaking movements like German Expressionism and New German Cinema. The country has also produced some of the best horror movies in history, from terrifying silent classics about the supernatural to gripping crime thrillers and nerve-shredding cyberpunk tales.
While it's impossible to cover the depth and breadth of German horror movies in a short list, we can touch on some of the greats. Listed below are the 12 best German horror movies. All of these films prove that horror has always been political, mining the fears and anxieties of the times in which they were created to make a point about the world around us and that the genre has always been — and always will be — a vital part of movie history.
While it's impossible to cover the depth and breadth of German horror movies in a short list, we can touch on some of the greats. Listed below are the 12 best German horror movies. All of these films prove that horror has always been political, mining the fears and anxieties of the times in which they were created to make a point about the world around us and that the genre has always been — and always will be — a vital part of movie history.
- 1/15/2023
- by Jessica Scott
- Slash Film
After “Peter van Kant,” French director François Ozon goes many shades lighter to revisit gender and power dynamics in “The Crime Is Mine,” a lush ensemble comedy set in 1930s Paris.
Loosely inspired by the 1934 play by Georges Berr and Louis Verneuil, the film tells the story of Madeleine, a pretty, young and penniless actress, who is accused of murdering a famous producer. Helped by her best friend Pauline, a jobless lawyer, she is acquitted on the grounds of self-defense and becomes a star, as well as a feminist icon.
“The Crime Is Mine,” produced by Mandarin Cinema, brings together a sprawling cast, led by a pair of up-and-coming actors, Nadia Tereszkiewicz (“Forever Young”) and Rebecca Marder (“Simone”), alongside Isabelle Huppert, Fabrice Luchini, André Dussolier, Dany Boon and Félix Lefebvre. The movie has been sold by Playtime in many key markets.
Ozon discussed his new film with Variety following its...
Loosely inspired by the 1934 play by Georges Berr and Louis Verneuil, the film tells the story of Madeleine, a pretty, young and penniless actress, who is accused of murdering a famous producer. Helped by her best friend Pauline, a jobless lawyer, she is acquitted on the grounds of self-defense and becomes a star, as well as a feminist icon.
“The Crime Is Mine,” produced by Mandarin Cinema, brings together a sprawling cast, led by a pair of up-and-coming actors, Nadia Tereszkiewicz (“Forever Young”) and Rebecca Marder (“Simone”), alongside Isabelle Huppert, Fabrice Luchini, André Dussolier, Dany Boon and Félix Lefebvre. The movie has been sold by Playtime in many key markets.
Ozon discussed his new film with Variety following its...
- 1/14/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Ernst Lubitsch's 1940 Christmas comedy "The Shop Around The Corner" has a bit of everything: petty workplace drama, an affair, and a most unlikely romance, making for a combination that is both sweet and acidic at once. Everything in it is graced with the so-called "Lubitsch touch," a precise set of innuendo and body language that turns funny or sentimental material into something far greater, and the warmth and melancholy of the holiday only heighten that complex feeling. It also is probably the second-best James Stewart-led Christmas movie, just beneath "It's a Wonderful Life."
While "Shop" would sadly be the only Lubitsch movie with James Stewart playing the lead, the actor's typical affability and relaxed posture made him a natural fit for Lubitsch's sensibilities. Few of the director's other leading men, whether they were Gary Cooper or Don Ameche, could match what Stewart could suggest with a raised eyebrow.
While "Shop" would sadly be the only Lubitsch movie with James Stewart playing the lead, the actor's typical affability and relaxed posture made him a natural fit for Lubitsch's sensibilities. Few of the director's other leading men, whether they were Gary Cooper or Don Ameche, could match what Stewart could suggest with a raised eyebrow.
- 1/13/2023
- by Anthony Crislip
- Slash Film
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