It Happened Tomorrow
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1944 / 1.33:1 / 85 min.
Starring Dick Powell, Linda Darnell, Jack Oakie
Cinematography by Archie Stout, Eugen Schüfftan
Directed by René Clair
René Clair takes a trip through The Twilight Zone in It Happened Tomorrow, the story of a reporter’s perilous adventure with a different kind of time machine. Like Clair’s I Married a Witch and The Ghost Goes West, this 1944 fantasy is lighter than air but its feet are planted firmly on the ground. Dick Powell plays Larry Stevens, a struggling journalist with a literal dead end job—he writes obituaries for The Evening News. Linda Darnell is Sylvia Smith, a stage performer who predicts fortunes with the help of Oscar Cigolini, né Smith, her showboating uncle played by Jack Oakie. Sylvia isn’t the only one with insight into the future, Larry gets in on the act when he’s handed a...
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1944 / 1.33:1 / 85 min.
Starring Dick Powell, Linda Darnell, Jack Oakie
Cinematography by Archie Stout, Eugen Schüfftan
Directed by René Clair
René Clair takes a trip through The Twilight Zone in It Happened Tomorrow, the story of a reporter’s perilous adventure with a different kind of time machine. Like Clair’s I Married a Witch and The Ghost Goes West, this 1944 fantasy is lighter than air but its feet are planted firmly on the ground. Dick Powell plays Larry Stevens, a struggling journalist with a literal dead end job—he writes obituaries for The Evening News. Linda Darnell is Sylvia Smith, a stage performer who predicts fortunes with the help of Oscar Cigolini, né Smith, her showboating uncle played by Jack Oakie. Sylvia isn’t the only one with insight into the future, Larry gets in on the act when he’s handed a...
- 5/22/2021
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
The name talent attached makes this late- Weimar thriller a must-see proposition: Billy Wilder, Robert & Curt Siodmak, Franz Waxman. Their dark murder farce resembles what would later become the self-aware Black Comedy. The trouble begins when a suicidal nice guy can’t pull the trigger, and hires a crook to do the job for him. The satire is clever but the execution is awkward — the filmmakers set up big laughs that the heavy German filming style doesn’t deliver. Just the same, the situations seem extremely progressive, ahead of their time.
The Man in Search of his Murderer
Blu-ray
Kino Lorber Kino Classics Kino Repertory
1931 / B&w / 1:33 flat / 97 min. / Der Mann, der seinen Mörder sucht; Jim, der Mann mit der Narbe, Looking for his Murderer / Street Date April 6, 2021 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Heinz Rühmann, Lien Deyers, Raimund Janitschek, Hans Leibelt, Hermann Speelmans, Friedrich Hollaender, Gerhard Bienert, Roland Varno.
The Man in Search of his Murderer
Blu-ray
Kino Lorber Kino Classics Kino Repertory
1931 / B&w / 1:33 flat / 97 min. / Der Mann, der seinen Mörder sucht; Jim, der Mann mit der Narbe, Looking for his Murderer / Street Date April 6, 2021 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Heinz Rühmann, Lien Deyers, Raimund Janitschek, Hans Leibelt, Hermann Speelmans, Friedrich Hollaender, Gerhard Bienert, Roland Varno.
- 4/13/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
No, it’s not the story of the 18th President of the United States. Kirk Douglas must have been a big hit in Rome, starring in one of the first and best of the Italo epic ‘classics,’ before the musclemen cornered the market. Homer’s tale of the husband who took ten years to come back from Troy is given real star power, a splendid production and best of all, an intelligent script. This disc looks a lot better than the ragged earlier DVD, plus it offers a superior Italian language soundtrack. And don’t forget Gary Teetzel’s recommendation: as an adaptation of The Odyssey, it’s right up there with O Brother Where Art Thou!
Ulysses
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1954 / Color / 1:37 flat Academy / 94 104 117 min. / Street Date November 17, 2020 / Ulisse / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Kirk Douglas, Silvana Mangano, Anthony Quinn, Rossana Podestà, Jacques Dumesnil, Daniel Ivernel, Sylvie, Franco Interlenghi,...
Ulysses
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1954 / Color / 1:37 flat Academy / 94 104 117 min. / Street Date November 17, 2020 / Ulisse / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Kirk Douglas, Silvana Mangano, Anthony Quinn, Rossana Podestà, Jacques Dumesnil, Daniel Ivernel, Sylvie, Franco Interlenghi,...
- 11/21/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
There’s no movie quite like Robert Rossen’s adaptation of the J.R. Salamanca book: mental illness and disturbance is neither simplified nor jammed into a preconceived pattern. There is a strong mythical element to Jean Seberg’s enigmatic Lilith, who at times seems the breathing incarnation of elemental human forces — I would imagine the Greeks believed certain ‘disturbed’ persons to be inhabited by the Gods. The equal star of the show is the cameraman Eugen Schüfftan, an artist whose near-expressionist images fill the imagination.
Lilith
Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1964 / B&W / 1:85 / 114 min. / Street Date April 22, 2019 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £15.99
Starring: Warren Beatty, Jean Seberg, Peter Fonda, Kim Hunter, Anne Meacham, Jessica Walter, Gene Hackman, James Patterson.
Cinematography: Eugen Schüfftan
Film Editor: Aram Avakian
Original Music: Kenyon Hopkins
From a novel by by J.R. Salamanca
Written, Produced and Directed by Robert Rossen
Writer/director Robert Rossen’s Lilith...
Lilith
Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1964 / B&W / 1:85 / 114 min. / Street Date April 22, 2019 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £15.99
Starring: Warren Beatty, Jean Seberg, Peter Fonda, Kim Hunter, Anne Meacham, Jessica Walter, Gene Hackman, James Patterson.
Cinematography: Eugen Schüfftan
Film Editor: Aram Avakian
Original Music: Kenyon Hopkins
From a novel by by J.R. Salamanca
Written, Produced and Directed by Robert Rossen
Writer/director Robert Rossen’s Lilith...
- 4/27/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Foreplays is a column that explores under-known short films by renowned directors. Georges Franju's La première nuit (1958) is free to watch below.La première nuit (The First Night) began from an idea by singer, actress, and writer Marianne Oswald, who worked (with Rémo Forlani) on what would become the script of Georges Franju’s first fully fictional short film. The protagonist is a ten-year-old boy (Pierre Devis) who, every day, is diligently driven, back and forth, from home to school. One morning, through the car window, the boy sees a beautiful, blonde-haired girl (Lisbeth Persson) exiting the subway. In the evening, when the classes are over, the hero outsmarts his chauffeur and follows the girl into the metro. Her train, however, departs before he’s able to jump on. The boy starts wandering alone, traveling from station to station, until the metro closes its doors. He falls asleep and sees the girl,...
- 6/19/2018
- MUBI
At last, an expressionist silent classic that takes full advantage of cinematic principles. The legendary E.A. Dupont goes in for subjective-emotional effects of which Hitchcock would approve, and cameraman Karl Freund and effects wizard Eugen Schüfftan pull off spectacular visuals and special effects. No wonder this was a huge hit in America, it’s way ahead of its time (and ours, in some ways).
Varieté
Blu-ray
Kino Classics
1925 / Color tinted / 1:33 Silent Ap / 95 min. / Street Date August 22, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Emil Jannings, Maly Delschaft, Lya De Putti, Warwick Ward, Alice Hechy, Georg John, Kurt Gerron.
Cinematography: Karl Freund, Karl Hoffman
Art Director: Alfred Junge, Oscar Friedrich Werndorff
Visual Effects: Eugen Schüfftan
Original Music: Erno Rapee
From the book Der Eid des Stephan Huller by Felix Hollaender
Produced by Erich Pommer
Written and Directed by E. A. Dupont
We carefully studied this show in film school, in a mangled...
Varieté
Blu-ray
Kino Classics
1925 / Color tinted / 1:33 Silent Ap / 95 min. / Street Date August 22, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Emil Jannings, Maly Delschaft, Lya De Putti, Warwick Ward, Alice Hechy, Georg John, Kurt Gerron.
Cinematography: Karl Freund, Karl Hoffman
Art Director: Alfred Junge, Oscar Friedrich Werndorff
Visual Effects: Eugen Schüfftan
Original Music: Erno Rapee
From the book Der Eid des Stephan Huller by Felix Hollaender
Produced by Erich Pommer
Written and Directed by E. A. Dupont
We carefully studied this show in film school, in a mangled...
- 7/4/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Sometimes a movie is simply too good for just one special edition… Savant reached out to nab a British Region B import of Georges Franju’s horror masterpiece, to sample its enticing extras. And this also gives me the chance to ramble on with more thoughts about this 1959 show that inspired a score of copycats.
Eyes Without a Face (Bfi — U.K.)
Region B Blu-ray + Pal DVD
Bfi
1959 / B&W / 1:66 widescreen / 90 min. / The Horror Chamber of
Dr. Faustus, House of Dr. Rasanoff, Occhi senza volto / Street Date August 24, 2015 / presently £10.99
Starring: Pierre Brasseur, Edith Scob, Alida Valli, Francois Guérin,
Béatrice Altariba, Juliette Mayniel
Cinematography: Eugen Schüfftan
Production Designer: Auguste Capelier
Special Effects: Charles-Henri Assola
Film Editor: Gilbert Natot
Original Music: Maurice Jarre
Written by Pierre Boileau, Thomas Narcejac, Pierre Gascar, Claude Sautet from a novel by Jean Redon
Produced by Jules Borkon
Directed by Georges Franju
Savant has reviewed Eyes Without a Face twice,...
Eyes Without a Face (Bfi — U.K.)
Region B Blu-ray + Pal DVD
Bfi
1959 / B&W / 1:66 widescreen / 90 min. / The Horror Chamber of
Dr. Faustus, House of Dr. Rasanoff, Occhi senza volto / Street Date August 24, 2015 / presently £10.99
Starring: Pierre Brasseur, Edith Scob, Alida Valli, Francois Guérin,
Béatrice Altariba, Juliette Mayniel
Cinematography: Eugen Schüfftan
Production Designer: Auguste Capelier
Special Effects: Charles-Henri Assola
Film Editor: Gilbert Natot
Original Music: Maurice Jarre
Written by Pierre Boileau, Thomas Narcejac, Pierre Gascar, Claude Sautet from a novel by Jean Redon
Produced by Jules Borkon
Directed by Georges Franju
Savant has reviewed Eyes Without a Face twice,...
- 4/11/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Here’s a real gem — a ‘classic’ Chekhov story turned into a compelling tale of lust and murder. George Sanders and Linda Darnell shine as a judge and the peasant girl who intrigues him; Edward Everett Horton is excellent cast against type in a dramatic role.
Summer Storm
DVD
Sprocket Vault / Kit Parker
1944 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 106 min. / Street Date October 20, 2009 (I’m a little late) / available through Sprocket Vault / 14.99
Starring: George Sanders, Edward Everett Horton, Linda Darnell, Anna Lee, Hugo Haas, Lori Lahner, Sig Ruman, Robert Greig, Byron Foulger, Mike Mazurki, Elizabeth Russell.
Cinematography: Archie Stout, Eugen Schüfftan
Art Direction: Rudi Feld
Collaborating Editor: Gregg G. Tallas
Original Music: Karl Hajos
Written by Roland Leigh, Douglas Sirk (as Michael O’Hara), Robert Theoren based on the play The Shooting Party by Anton Chekhov
Produced by Seymour Nebenzal
Directed by Douglas Sirk
Douglas Sirk, born Hans Detlef Sierck, had a pretty amazing career.
Summer Storm
DVD
Sprocket Vault / Kit Parker
1944 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 106 min. / Street Date October 20, 2009 (I’m a little late) / available through Sprocket Vault / 14.99
Starring: George Sanders, Edward Everett Horton, Linda Darnell, Anna Lee, Hugo Haas, Lori Lahner, Sig Ruman, Robert Greig, Byron Foulger, Mike Mazurki, Elizabeth Russell.
Cinematography: Archie Stout, Eugen Schüfftan
Art Direction: Rudi Feld
Collaborating Editor: Gregg G. Tallas
Original Music: Karl Hajos
Written by Roland Leigh, Douglas Sirk (as Michael O’Hara), Robert Theoren based on the play The Shooting Party by Anton Chekhov
Produced by Seymour Nebenzal
Directed by Douglas Sirk
Douglas Sirk, born Hans Detlef Sierck, had a pretty amazing career.
- 3/18/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
This past weekend, the American Society of Cinematographers awarded Greig Fraser for his contribution to Lion as last year’s greatest accomplishment in the field. Of course, his achievement was just a small sampling of the fantastic work from directors of photography, but it did give us a stronger hint at what may be the winner on Oscar night. Ahead of the ceremony, we have a new video compilation that honors all the past winners in the category at the Academy Awards
Created by Burger Fiction, it spans the stunning silent landmark Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans all the way up to the end of Emmanuel Lubezki‘s three-peat win for The Revenant. Aside from the advancements in color and aspect ration, it’s a thrill to see some of cinema’s most iconic shots side-by-side. However, the best way to experience the evolution of the craft is by...
Created by Burger Fiction, it spans the stunning silent landmark Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans all the way up to the end of Emmanuel Lubezki‘s three-peat win for The Revenant. Aside from the advancements in color and aspect ration, it’s a thrill to see some of cinema’s most iconic shots side-by-side. However, the best way to experience the evolution of the craft is by...
- 2/6/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
There are so many reasons to recommend Something Wild (1961) to today's audiences that it becomes difficult to choose one. It is as timely and disturbing as the day that it was made and equally as insightful about sexual assault. Yet it is also challenging in ways that invite viewers to think long and hard before discussion. Such complexity` is also reflected in the way the film uses the form to tell its story. Beautiful cinematography by Eugene Schüfftan, a breathtaking opening title sequence from Saul Bass, and an evocative score by the legendary Aaron Copeland signal Something Wild as an important, though largely forgotten indie film. But its haunting treatment of a difficult subject makes it a timeless classic. Kudos Criterion. New York college...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 1/24/2017
- Screen Anarchy
To most, American independent cinema began in the late 1980’s-early 1990’s. With the rise of names like Spike Lee, Richard Linklater, Kelly Reichardt and Quentin Tarantino, American Independent film has been the breeding ground for some of cinema’s greatest artists, and fostered some of cinema’s greatest artistic achievements. However, for anyone with even a surface level interest in independent film, knowledge of its deeper, decade-spanning history here in the Us is quite clear.
Dating back to the very birth of cinema, independent artists of every race, creed, gender and sexual orientation have been creating films looking at specific experiences. However, many of these films, from the silent era to more modern times (Kelly Reichardt’s River Of Grass only just last year saw a real release outside of festival appearances) have gone relatively unseen.
One of these films even comes from a prestigious pedigree. A product, of sorts,...
Dating back to the very birth of cinema, independent artists of every race, creed, gender and sexual orientation have been creating films looking at specific experiences. However, many of these films, from the silent era to more modern times (Kelly Reichardt’s River Of Grass only just last year saw a real release outside of festival appearances) have gone relatively unseen.
One of these films even comes from a prestigious pedigree. A product, of sorts,...
- 1/21/2017
- by Joshua Brunsting
- CriterionCast
Something Wild
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 850
1961 / B&W / 1:66 widescreen 1:37 flat Academy / 113 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date January 17, 2017 / 39.95
Starring: Carroll Baker, Ralph Meeker, Mildred Dunnock, Jean Stapleton, Martin Kosleck, Charles Watts, Clifton James, Doris Roberts, Anita Cooper, Tanya Lopert.
Cinematography: Eugen Schüfftan
Film Editor: Carl Lerner
Original Music: Aaron Copland
Written by Jack Garfein and Alex Karmel from his novel Mary Ann
Produced by George Justin
Directed by Jack Garfein
After writing up an earlier Mod disc release of the 1961 movie Something Wild, I received a brief but welcome email note from its director:
“Dear Glenn Erickson,
Thank you for your profound appreciation of Something Wild.
If possible, I would appreciate if you could send
me a copy of your review by email.
Sincerely yours, Jack Garfein”
Somewhere back East (or in London), the Actors Studio legend Jack Garfein had found favor with the review. Although...
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 850
1961 / B&W / 1:66 widescreen 1:37 flat Academy / 113 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date January 17, 2017 / 39.95
Starring: Carroll Baker, Ralph Meeker, Mildred Dunnock, Jean Stapleton, Martin Kosleck, Charles Watts, Clifton James, Doris Roberts, Anita Cooper, Tanya Lopert.
Cinematography: Eugen Schüfftan
Film Editor: Carl Lerner
Original Music: Aaron Copland
Written by Jack Garfein and Alex Karmel from his novel Mary Ann
Produced by George Justin
Directed by Jack Garfein
After writing up an earlier Mod disc release of the 1961 movie Something Wild, I received a brief but welcome email note from its director:
“Dear Glenn Erickson,
Thank you for your profound appreciation of Something Wild.
If possible, I would appreciate if you could send
me a copy of your review by email.
Sincerely yours, Jack Garfein”
Somewhere back East (or in London), the Actors Studio legend Jack Garfein had found favor with the review. Although...
- 1/10/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The Criterion Collection has announced its slate for January, 2017, with offerings from Howard Hawks (“His Girl Friday”), Rainer Werner Fassbender (“Fox and His Friends”), Jack Garfein (“Something Wild”), and Ousmane Sembène (“Black Girl”). Check out the covers for the films below as well as synopses provided by the Criterion Collection. For more information on the special features and technical specs of each of these films, visit the Criterion Collection website.
Read More: The Criterion Collection Announces December Titles: ‘Heart of a Dog,’ ‘The Exterminating Angel’ and More
“His Girl Friday” (Available January 10)
One of the fastest, funniest, and most quotable films ever made, “His Girl Friday” stars Rosalind Russell as reporter Hildy Johnson, a standout among cinema’s powerful women. Hildy is matched in force only by her conniving but charismatic editor and ex-husband, Walter Burns (played by the peerless Cary Grant), who dangles the chance for her to scoop...
Read More: The Criterion Collection Announces December Titles: ‘Heart of a Dog,’ ‘The Exterminating Angel’ and More
“His Girl Friday” (Available January 10)
One of the fastest, funniest, and most quotable films ever made, “His Girl Friday” stars Rosalind Russell as reporter Hildy Johnson, a standout among cinema’s powerful women. Hildy is matched in force only by her conniving but charismatic editor and ex-husband, Walter Burns (played by the peerless Cary Grant), who dangles the chance for her to scoop...
- 10/14/2016
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
Douglas Sirk's first American movie came out so well that Prc sold it to MGM, earning Sirk a promotion out of the Poverty Row studios. John Carradine is excellent - and underplays! -- as the Hangman of Prague who moonlights as a depraved sex criminal. But the context in this wartime propaganda movie is serious -- it commemorates the Nazi murder of an entire Czech town. Hitler's Madman DVD-r The Warner Archive Collection 1943 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 84 min. / Street Date December 1, 2015 / available through the WBshop / 18.95 Starring Patricia Morrison, John Carradine, Alan Curtis, Howard Freeman, Ralph Morgan, Ludwig Stössel, Edgar Kennedy, Al Shean, Elizabeth Russell, Jimmy Conlin, Ava Gardner, Natalie Draper, Victor Kilian, Otto Reichow, Peter van Eyck, Hans Heinrich von Twardowski, Blanch Yurka. Cinematography (Eugen Schüfftan, credited as Technical Advisor), Jack Greenhalgh Film Editor Dan Milner Second unit and uncredited production designer Edgar G. Ulmer Original Music...
- 12/22/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
From George Melies through to Peter Jackson and Jj Abrams' Star Wars film, the rise, fall and rise of practical effects explored...
From the very earliest days of cinema, practical effects have been the big draw for audiences. The very first films may have wowed the crowds with images of trains pulling into a station, but it was the fantastical made real that fired the imaginations of millions, and led to film as we know it - narrative flights of fancy which have entertained and made us gasp for well over 100 years. But the last 25 years have seen practical effects fall by the wayside.
Digital effects created in a computer took over, and allowed filmmakers to dream even bigger. But practical effects are beginning to make a comeback. Some of this is due to audiences feeling the CG burnout; no longer quite believing what they’re seeing, resulting in...
From the very earliest days of cinema, practical effects have been the big draw for audiences. The very first films may have wowed the crowds with images of trains pulling into a station, but it was the fantastical made real that fired the imaginations of millions, and led to film as we know it - narrative flights of fancy which have entertained and made us gasp for well over 100 years. But the last 25 years have seen practical effects fall by the wayside.
Digital effects created in a computer took over, and allowed filmmakers to dream even bigger. But practical effects are beginning to make a comeback. Some of this is due to audiences feeling the CG burnout; no longer quite believing what they’re seeing, resulting in...
- 8/12/2015
- by simonbrew
- Den of Geek
Shanks FX’s latest instructional video centers on the in-camera effect of projection mapping. Beginning with the “beam of light ” effect, created by cinematographer and VFX artist Eugen Schüfftan (Metropolis, Eyes Without a Face), Joey Shanks demonstrates how with a camera, a one way mirror, a projector and a computer at the controls, you can create the illusion of a three-dimensional conic light. Shanks also explains how to render a light tunnel on an one-dimensional black board. Good low-budget techniques to keep in your backpocket for sci-fi, dream sequences and the like.
- 6/25/2014
- by Sarah Salovaara
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Shanks FX’s latest instructional video centers on the in-camera effect of projection mapping. Beginning with the “beam of light ” effect, created by cinematographer and VFX artist Eugen Schüfftan (Metropolis, Eyes Without a Face), Joey Shanks demonstrates how with a camera, a one way mirror, a projector and a computer at the controls, you can create the illusion of a three-dimensional conic light. Shanks also explains how to render a light tunnel on an one-dimensional black board. Good low-budget techniques to keep in your backpocket for sci-fi, dream sequences and the like.
- 6/25/2014
- by Sarah Salovaara
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Star Wars is important not just as a pop culture phenomenon, but also because the original trilogy was so innovative in its storytelling and production. Here is a list commemorating the top 25 aspects of movie making that Star Wars has forever changed.
Movies that usher in a new era of filmmaking are very rare. They exceed expectations not just because they are entertaining or have memorable stories, but because they expand our expectations as far as what movies are capable of. The original Star Wars trilogy is one collection of such films. A New Hope especially was a film that effectively raised the bar as far as what movies were capable of. The following is a list of the most important things that Star Wars has taught us about making movies. Audiences everywhere are forever indebted.
Each month the Cinelinx staff will write a handful of articles covering a specified film-related topic.
Movies that usher in a new era of filmmaking are very rare. They exceed expectations not just because they are entertaining or have memorable stories, but because they expand our expectations as far as what movies are capable of. The original Star Wars trilogy is one collection of such films. A New Hope especially was a film that effectively raised the bar as far as what movies were capable of. The following is a list of the most important things that Star Wars has taught us about making movies. Audiences everywhere are forever indebted.
Each month the Cinelinx staff will write a handful of articles covering a specified film-related topic.
- 5/5/2014
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (G.S. Perno)
- Cinelinx
From its humble beginnings six years ago, Mono No Aware has grown into a major annual expanded cinema event, as well as a wonderful organization promoting a deep appreciation for the art of filmmaking.
The 7th annual edition of Mono No Aware’s signature event will screen for two nights at Lightspace Studios in Brooklyn, New York on December 6 and 7. Both nights feature one-time-only cinematic performances utilizing 16mm, 8mm and 35mm film projection, as well as “alternative light” projections, performed live by filmmaking artists.
The one performance that the Underground Film Journal highly recommends is Jodie Mack‘s “Let Your Light Shine,” featuring an abstract animated film watched through special prismatic glasses worn by audience members. The Journal experienced a screening of “Let Your Light Shine” in Los Angeles that we considered might be the future of cinema.
Other performances include, also on the 6th, a return by Mono No Aware regular Joel Schlemowitz,...
The 7th annual edition of Mono No Aware’s signature event will screen for two nights at Lightspace Studios in Brooklyn, New York on December 6 and 7. Both nights feature one-time-only cinematic performances utilizing 16mm, 8mm and 35mm film projection, as well as “alternative light” projections, performed live by filmmaking artists.
The one performance that the Underground Film Journal highly recommends is Jodie Mack‘s “Let Your Light Shine,” featuring an abstract animated film watched through special prismatic glasses worn by audience members. The Journal experienced a screening of “Let Your Light Shine” in Los Angeles that we considered might be the future of cinema.
Other performances include, also on the 6th, a return by Mono No Aware regular Joel Schlemowitz,...
- 11/25/2013
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
I hadn't heard of Georges Franju's Eyes Without a Face until last year, following a screening of Holy Motors in Cannes when someone noted how Edith Scob was wearing a similar white mask (see here) to the one she wore throughout all but a few minutes of Eyes, where she plays the scarred daughter of a high profile Paris surgeon (Pierre Brasseur). Come to learn, the film's influence is more widespread than that, including films such as Pedro Almodovar's Skin I Live In, the mask for Michael Myers in John Carpenter's Halloween and even Tim Burton's Batman as Jerry Hall wears a mask to cover her face playing The Joker's secret lover, Alicia Hunt. Little did Alicia know, her plunge out the window was decided almost 30 years earlier. Described as a horror, the adjectives "lyrical" and poetic are also associated with this film and both are incredibly appropriate.
- 10/8/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
The French film industry has always been among the worlds most important……at least to film studies professors. Most French movies are either funded by the French government or made with the support of government-linked media companies. Filmmakers face little market pressure in the creative process. That helps explain why they’re so boring!
Starbuck opens this weekend so we here at We Are Movie Geeks have decided to post this article about our favorite French films. Okay, so Starbuck is technically a Canadian film shot in Quebec, but its French language so, in our eyes that makes it French! The Hollywood remake is already in the can. It stars Vince Vaughn. The remake was originally tilted Dickie Donor but they’ve changed it to Delivery Man, so you just know they’ve screwed it up bad. This list may not line up with that of your typical French Cinema scholar.
Starbuck opens this weekend so we here at We Are Movie Geeks have decided to post this article about our favorite French films. Okay, so Starbuck is technically a Canadian film shot in Quebec, but its French language so, in our eyes that makes it French! The Hollywood remake is already in the can. It stars Vince Vaughn. The remake was originally tilted Dickie Donor but they’ve changed it to Delivery Man, so you just know they’ve screwed it up bad. This list may not line up with that of your typical French Cinema scholar.
- 4/30/2013
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Above: Max Ophüls' Komedie om geld. Image courtesy of Cineteca di Bologna.
The 26th edition of Il Cinema Ritrovato is over—like the end of a dream. If you are lucky enough, and not so fond of sleeping and eating, and also have little social bonds that allow you the minimum of lingering with fellow cinephiles, then you would be able to see only 10 percent of the films shown at the festival. As much as it's a festival of discovery and cinephilia, it’s also a festival of guilt and regrets since you ineluctably miss many things.
Il Cinema Ritrovato is a miniature of life that among all the beautiful things you have to choose, and every decision grants you a piece of the truth. But all the images, all the pieces of this broken mirror in which we see ourselves is as valid as what the person next to me,...
The 26th edition of Il Cinema Ritrovato is over—like the end of a dream. If you are lucky enough, and not so fond of sleeping and eating, and also have little social bonds that allow you the minimum of lingering with fellow cinephiles, then you would be able to see only 10 percent of the films shown at the festival. As much as it's a festival of discovery and cinephilia, it’s also a festival of guilt and regrets since you ineluctably miss many things.
Il Cinema Ritrovato is a miniature of life that among all the beautiful things you have to choose, and every decision grants you a piece of the truth. But all the images, all the pieces of this broken mirror in which we see ourselves is as valid as what the person next to me,...
- 7/6/2012
- MUBI
The French gave us the word “demimonde” – literally, half the world. But what it has come to mean in English, or so says Webster, is “a distinct circle or world that is often an isolated part of a larger world.”
Storytellers have always held a fascination with the dark side of human nature; that part of the psyche which is normally restrained and leashed, taught to be obedient, held in check – as Conrad wrote in Heart of Darkness – by the reproving looks of our neighbors. After all, what was Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde but a probing of that other, id-driven half and the entrancing appeal of doing what one wants instead of what one should.
Film is no different than literature, and from its beginning the movies have produced a rich vein of stories about society’s fringe dwellers, those who operate by necessity,...
Storytellers have always held a fascination with the dark side of human nature; that part of the psyche which is normally restrained and leashed, taught to be obedient, held in check – as Conrad wrote in Heart of Darkness – by the reproving looks of our neighbors. After all, what was Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde but a probing of that other, id-driven half and the entrancing appeal of doing what one wants instead of what one should.
Film is no different than literature, and from its beginning the movies have produced a rich vein of stories about society’s fringe dwellers, those who operate by necessity,...
- 5/27/2012
- by Bill Mesce
- SoundOnSight
Something Wild
Directed by Jack Garfein
Written by Jack Garfein and Alex Karmel
USA, 1961
For an era as socially untactful as the 1960’s, Jack Garfein’s Something Wild, a story about a young rape victim struggling with the aftermath of her attack, must’ve been nothing short of avant-garde. As daring and inventive as it might’ve been, the film’s fractured tone, contrived melodramatic conflict and anachronistically iniquitous conclusion have made it an exhausting, glib, and outdated look at sexual assault.
In New York, Mary Ann Robinson (Carroll Baker) is raped while on her way home from work. As a result, she lives her life in extreme anguish. Alone, misunderstood, and marginalized, she is eventually pushed to the brink, but when a seemingly good Samaritan saves her, Mary finds herself at the mercy of his dubious intentions.
The first 15 minutes of the film, which contains no dialogue and a nominal score,...
Directed by Jack Garfein
Written by Jack Garfein and Alex Karmel
USA, 1961
For an era as socially untactful as the 1960’s, Jack Garfein’s Something Wild, a story about a young rape victim struggling with the aftermath of her attack, must’ve been nothing short of avant-garde. As daring and inventive as it might’ve been, the film’s fractured tone, contrived melodramatic conflict and anachronistically iniquitous conclusion have made it an exhausting, glib, and outdated look at sexual assault.
In New York, Mary Ann Robinson (Carroll Baker) is raped while on her way home from work. As a result, she lives her life in extreme anguish. Alone, misunderstood, and marginalized, she is eventually pushed to the brink, but when a seemingly good Samaritan saves her, Mary finds herself at the mercy of his dubious intentions.
The first 15 minutes of the film, which contains no dialogue and a nominal score,...
- 5/7/2012
- by Justin Li
- SoundOnSight
They outraged the authorities on release. But the two films, made before and during the second world war, are now considered classics – and will be re-released this month. Our critics consider their impact
Ryan Gilbey on Le Quai des Brumes
It's easy now to call Marcel Carné's Le Quai des Brumes a masterpiece. When the film was released in 1938, such a view was more contentious. In the wake of the collapse of France's Popular Front government, the film was seen as exacerbating the mood of despair creeping into the left. Jean Renoir labelled it "counter-revolutionary". The Motion Picture Herald concluded: "One will be sorry that such art and talents have been used for such a trite and sordid story, which includes not a decent or healthy character." The Vichy government denounced it as "immoral, depressing and detrimental to young people", and declared that if the war was lost, Le Quai des Brumes...
Ryan Gilbey on Le Quai des Brumes
It's easy now to call Marcel Carné's Le Quai des Brumes a masterpiece. When the film was released in 1938, such a view was more contentious. In the wake of the collapse of France's Popular Front government, the film was seen as exacerbating the mood of despair creeping into the left. Jean Renoir labelled it "counter-revolutionary". The Motion Picture Herald concluded: "One will be sorry that such art and talents have been used for such a trite and sordid story, which includes not a decent or healthy character." The Vichy government denounced it as "immoral, depressing and detrimental to young people", and declared that if the war was lost, Le Quai des Brumes...
- 5/3/2012
- by Ryan Gilbey, Philip Oltermann
- The Guardian - Film News
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) has unveiled its list of 10 Most Influential Silent Films in celebration of Michel Hazanavicius’ ode to the silent era, The Artist, which won three Golden Globes® Sunday night, including Best Picture . Musical or Comedy, Best Actor . Musical or Comedy for Jean Dujardin and Best Original Score. The Artist also picked up 12 British Academy Film Award nominations. The Weinstein Company will expand its release of The Artist nationwide on Friday.
TCM’s list of 10 Most Influential Silent Films spans from the years 1915 to 1928 and features such remarkable films as D.W. Griffith’s groundbreaking (and controversial) The Birth of a Nation (1915), which revolutionized filmmaking techniques; Nanook of the North (1922), a film frequently cited as the first feature-length documentary; Cecil B. DeMille’s epic silent version of The Ten Commandments (1923); Sergei Eisenstein’s oft-imitated Battleship Potemkin (1925), which took montage techniques to an entirely new level; and Fritz Lang’s...
TCM’s list of 10 Most Influential Silent Films spans from the years 1915 to 1928 and features such remarkable films as D.W. Griffith’s groundbreaking (and controversial) The Birth of a Nation (1915), which revolutionized filmmaking techniques; Nanook of the North (1922), a film frequently cited as the first feature-length documentary; Cecil B. DeMille’s epic silent version of The Ten Commandments (1923); Sergei Eisenstein’s oft-imitated Battleship Potemkin (1925), which took montage techniques to an entirely new level; and Fritz Lang’s...
- 1/18/2012
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Chicago – Does it say something about the current market of Blu-rays that nine of our top ten releases of the year (and, honestly, most of the runner-ups considered) are for catalog releases and special editions instead of films produced in the current era? More and more often, modern releases seem kind of lackluster. Throw on a featurette, maybe a deleted scene or two, and put it on the shelf.
More often, it is the anniversary editions, special release, and, of course, The Criterion Collection that lives up to the true potential of the format. Critics Matt Fagerholm and Brian Tallerico have assembled their ten best of 2011, all of which should be added to your collection as soon as possible. Or ask Santa if you think you’ve been good enough this year.
Matt Fagerholm’s Five Best Blu-rays of 2011
5. “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Photo credit: Paramount...
More often, it is the anniversary editions, special release, and, of course, The Criterion Collection that lives up to the true potential of the format. Critics Matt Fagerholm and Brian Tallerico have assembled their ten best of 2011, all of which should be added to your collection as soon as possible. Or ask Santa if you think you’ve been good enough this year.
Matt Fagerholm’s Five Best Blu-rays of 2011
5. “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Photo credit: Paramount...
- 12/7/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
People on Sunday Directed by: Robert Siodmak & Edgar G. Ulmer Written by: Billy Wilder, Robert Siodmak & Curt Siodmak Starring: Erwin Splettstößer, Brigitte Borchert, Wolfgang von Waltershausen In the late 1920's, a group of young filmmakers would marry documentary techniques with fiction to create People on Sunday, a silent film utilizing non-actors to tell a scripted story about a relaxing weekend in pre-Hitler Berlin. The project is considered a work of genious by many and jumpstarted the long and illustrious careers of those involved, including a young Billy Wilder. When tracing the lineage of the French New Wave [1] and New Hollywood [2] eras of filmmaking, you're likely to end up coming across this seminal piece of German cinema. The story is simple: four friends plan to meet for a day at the beach on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Wolfgang is a wine salesman who courts a young girl named Christl, a film extra.
- 7/31/2011
- by Jay C.
- FilmJunk
Directors: Robert Siodmak and Edgar G. Ulmer Writer: Billy Wilder Cinematographers: Eugen Schufftan and Fred Zinneman Stars: Erwin Splettstosser, Brigitte Borchert, Wolfgang von Waltershausen, Christl Ehlers Studio/Running Time: Criterion, 73 min. The pleasures derived from watching People on Sunday are both universal and particular to only one instant in both cinema and world history. Its story, two men and two women going out for a lazy Sunday together looking for love or at least sex before returning to work for another week, is completely timeless. Its simple longing and lust for life are easily identifiable and its characters ring...
- 7/7/2011
- Pastemagazine.com
Chicago – One of the most important home entertainment releases of the year is Criterion’s high-definition restoration of Robert Siodmak and Edgar G. Ulmer’s “People on Sunday,” an extraordinary filmic landmark from 1930 that is a must-see for any self-respecting cinephile. Watching it for the first time, I felt like I was witnessing nothing less than the birth of independent cinema.
Coming out on the heels of “city symphony” pictures such as Walter Ruttman’s 1927 opus “Berlin: Symphony of a Great City,” and Dziga Vertov’s 1929 classic “Man With a Movie Camera,” “Sunday” blended the stylistic flourishes of avant-garde documentaries with experimental narrative structures. At its core are five non-actors playing characters loosely based on themselves, and the film’s witty prologue notes that after production wrapped, they all returned to their regular jobs.
Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
A triumphant success with critics and audiences alike, this silent German masterwork united a group of brilliant unknowns,...
Coming out on the heels of “city symphony” pictures such as Walter Ruttman’s 1927 opus “Berlin: Symphony of a Great City,” and Dziga Vertov’s 1929 classic “Man With a Movie Camera,” “Sunday” blended the stylistic flourishes of avant-garde documentaries with experimental narrative structures. At its core are five non-actors playing characters loosely based on themselves, and the film’s witty prologue notes that after production wrapped, they all returned to their regular jobs.
Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
A triumphant success with critics and audiences alike, this silent German masterwork united a group of brilliant unknowns,...
- 7/7/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
"It's easy to enjoy Raffaello Matarazzo's melodramas for the campy excess of their acting and story lines," blogs Dave Kehr, "but it's more productive to take them seriously, I think — to see how cleanly and elegantly Matarazzo presents this bezerko material, with a visual style that reminded Jacques Lourcelles of Lang, Dreyer and Mizoguchi, and how perfectly engineered his narratives are, with every outlandish episode incorporated into a serene, symmetrical structure. The new Matarazzo box set (my New York Times review is here) from Criterion's budget Eclipse line contains four of Matarazzo's seven films with the towering star couple Amedeo Nazzari and Yvonne Sanson (literally — Matarazzo's mise-en-scene somehow makes them seem larger, both physically and emotionally, than any of the other characters on the screen), all subtitled in English for the first time: Chains (1949) [image above], Tormento (1950), Nobody's Children (1952) and The White Angel (1955)."
"Though immensely popular, the films were dismissed by...
"Though immensely popular, the films were dismissed by...
- 6/30/2011
- MUBI
It always manages to amaze me how fast the months fly by, it seems like only yesterday we were announcing the May 2011 Criterion Collection titles, and here we are with June’s. This month continues Criterion’s recent trend of increasing the new titles selection, and bringing an amazing director to the Eclipse Series.
Let’s go through all of the new titles first this time. Earlier this year, Criterion released their “wacky new years” drawing, hinting at a couple of titles that we are finally getting to see made official this June. In that drawing we had an image of Marilyn Monroe with Albert Einstein’s head, hinting at Nicolas Roeg’s film, Insignificance. This will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on June 14. In that drawing, we also had the infamous glowing briefcase, hinting at Robert Aldrich’s Kiss Me Deadly (which also screened last year at the...
Let’s go through all of the new titles first this time. Earlier this year, Criterion released their “wacky new years” drawing, hinting at a couple of titles that we are finally getting to see made official this June. In that drawing we had an image of Marilyn Monroe with Albert Einstein’s head, hinting at Nicolas Roeg’s film, Insignificance. This will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on June 14. In that drawing, we also had the infamous glowing briefcase, hinting at Robert Aldrich’s Kiss Me Deadly (which also screened last year at the...
- 3/15/2011
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
Rating: 5.0/5.0
Chicago – Not since the restoration of Orson Welles’s “Touch of Evil” has a butchered cinematic classic been brought to such startling new life as “The Complete Metropolis.” Though Fritz Lang’s 1927 masterpiece “Metropolis” may never be restored to its original cut, this latest theatrical re-release is as close as film preservationists have ever gotten to recreating the legendary science-fiction epic in its entirety.
The twenty-five minutes of new footage added to this cut of “Metropolis” are nothing short of miraculous, especially in light of how they were found. Two summers ago, a 16mm back-up copy of the film’s original 35mm nitrate print was discovered in Buenos Aires. Though the print was badly damaged, it offered a wealth of missing scenes, as well as a complete blueprint for the film’s editing. Despite its permanently scratched surface, the Murnau Foundation decided to add the new material into the...
Chicago – Not since the restoration of Orson Welles’s “Touch of Evil” has a butchered cinematic classic been brought to such startling new life as “The Complete Metropolis.” Though Fritz Lang’s 1927 masterpiece “Metropolis” may never be restored to its original cut, this latest theatrical re-release is as close as film preservationists have ever gotten to recreating the legendary science-fiction epic in its entirety.
The twenty-five minutes of new footage added to this cut of “Metropolis” are nothing short of miraculous, especially in light of how they were found. Two summers ago, a 16mm back-up copy of the film’s original 35mm nitrate print was discovered in Buenos Aires. Though the print was badly damaged, it offered a wealth of missing scenes, as well as a complete blueprint for the film’s editing. Despite its permanently scratched surface, the Murnau Foundation decided to add the new material into the...
- 6/3/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.