Due to the deliberately mysterious nature of the film, potential spoilers for "Foe" follow.
The premise of Garth Davis' turgid sci-fi mope-fest "Foe" is intriguing on paper. It's 2065, and the world is dying. Water and food are in short supply, and the government is experimenting with station-bound space colonies. Junior (Paul Mescal) is to be recruited for a two-year space mission that would keep him away from his long-suffering wife Hen (Saoirse Ronan). In exchange, the government has offered to outfit Hen's home with a pre-programmed clone of Junior, designed to keep her company.
From the premise, one might assume "Foe" plays out like a speculative "Twilight Zone" thought exercise, or perhaps a wicked/fun grim morality tale like one might encounter in "Tales from the Crypt." But, dear readers, let me assure you that "Foe" does nothing intriguing. Indeed, the bulk of Davis' pity party is little more than extended scenes of meandering,...
The premise of Garth Davis' turgid sci-fi mope-fest "Foe" is intriguing on paper. It's 2065, and the world is dying. Water and food are in short supply, and the government is experimenting with station-bound space colonies. Junior (Paul Mescal) is to be recruited for a two-year space mission that would keep him away from his long-suffering wife Hen (Saoirse Ronan). In exchange, the government has offered to outfit Hen's home with a pre-programmed clone of Junior, designed to keep her company.
From the premise, one might assume "Foe" plays out like a speculative "Twilight Zone" thought exercise, or perhaps a wicked/fun grim morality tale like one might encounter in "Tales from the Crypt." But, dear readers, let me assure you that "Foe" does nothing intriguing. Indeed, the bulk of Davis' pity party is little more than extended scenes of meandering,...
- 10/3/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
James Bond fans won’t have to experience any serious absence of their favorite secret agent even though 007’s new thriller, No Time to Die, has had its release delayed by the coronavirus pandemic from this month to November.
Fortunately, in addition to Pluto TV’s 24/7 Bond channel (which offers up 18 films with limited commercials), Amazon Prime in the Us is now making 21 Bond movies — basically everything up until the current Daniel Craig era — available starting April 1, all in 4K Ultra-High Definition. There’s currently no word on whether or not Amazon UK will follow suit.
The movies are (in alphabetical order):
A View to a Kill (1985)Diamonds Are Forever (1971)Die Another Day (2002)Dr. No (1962)For Your Eyes Only (1981)From Russia with Love (1964)Goldeneye (1995)Goldfinger (1964)Licence to Kill (1989)Live and Let Die (1973)Moonraker (1979)Never Say Never Again (1983)Octopussy (1983)On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)The Living Daylights (1987)The Man with the Golden Gun...
Fortunately, in addition to Pluto TV’s 24/7 Bond channel (which offers up 18 films with limited commercials), Amazon Prime in the Us is now making 21 Bond movies — basically everything up until the current Daniel Craig era — available starting April 1, all in 4K Ultra-High Definition. There’s currently no word on whether or not Amazon UK will follow suit.
The movies are (in alphabetical order):
A View to a Kill (1985)Diamonds Are Forever (1971)Die Another Day (2002)Dr. No (1962)For Your Eyes Only (1981)From Russia with Love (1964)Goldeneye (1995)Goldfinger (1964)Licence to Kill (1989)Live and Let Die (1973)Moonraker (1979)Never Say Never Again (1983)Octopussy (1983)On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)The Living Daylights (1987)The Man with the Golden Gun...
- 4/1/2020
- by Don Kaye
- Den of Geek
Amazon Prime Video is offering a slew of escapist fare in April, including the first 20 films in the James Bond franchise. Relive all those iconic movie moments by the first five men to play 007: Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan.
This global streaming service is also debuting the new sci-fi series “Tales From the Loop” based on the book of the same name by Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag. And fans of the crime drama “Bosch” will be looking forward to season 6 of the series based on the Michael Connelly character.
Below is the full schedule of everything that is coming to Amazon Prime Video in April 2020. Unlike Netflix, Amazon does not disclose the shows and movies leaving the service in any given month.
See Netflix schedule: Here’s what is coming and leaving in April
Available April 1
Bangkok Dangerous
Bird of Paradise
Blind Husbands...
This global streaming service is also debuting the new sci-fi series “Tales From the Loop” based on the book of the same name by Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag. And fans of the crime drama “Bosch” will be looking forward to season 6 of the series based on the Michael Connelly character.
Below is the full schedule of everything that is coming to Amazon Prime Video in April 2020. Unlike Netflix, Amazon does not disclose the shows and movies leaving the service in any given month.
See Netflix schedule: Here’s what is coming and leaving in April
Available April 1
Bangkok Dangerous
Bird of Paradise
Blind Husbands...
- 4/1/2020
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
Welcome to an April that’s sure to be unlike any other. Usually this time of year means getting outdoors in the nice weather or catching a baseball game or two. Obviously 2020 had different plans for us all. Now Amazon Prime has unveiled its new releases for April 2020 to give us an idea of what indoor entertainment options we have.
April 2020 is pretty thin on original series for Amazon Prime. Thankfully two of the few launches are big ones. Sci-fi anthology series Tales from the Loop launches on April 3 and looks to be quite bingeable. Amazon Prime is no stranger to sci-fi anthologies thanks to Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams but this one seems to kick it up a notch. Arriving on April 17 is the sixth season of Bosch as well.
April 1 sees the mass availability of a new crop of stock films for the service. Notable options include...
April 2020 is pretty thin on original series for Amazon Prime. Thankfully two of the few launches are big ones. Sci-fi anthology series Tales from the Loop launches on April 3 and looks to be quite bingeable. Amazon Prime is no stranger to sci-fi anthologies thanks to Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams but this one seems to kick it up a notch. Arriving on April 17 is the sixth season of Bosch as well.
April 1 sees the mass availability of a new crop of stock films for the service. Notable options include...
- 3/26/2020
- by jbindeck2015
- Den of Geek
Good news for those in self-isolation — Amazon Prime Video is out with its list of everything new coming to the streaming service in April.
There are a handful of new Amazon originals to look forward to. “Tales from the Loop,” out April 3, explores the people who live in a town above ‘The Loop,’ a machine built to unlock the mysteries of the universe. Season 6 of “Bosch,” starring Titus Welliver, comes April 17. Original Amazon films include “Les Miserables,” “Invisible Life,” and “Selah and the Spades.”
Recent releases coming next month also include “The Lighthouse” starring Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe, “Rambo: Last Blood,” and “Hotel Artemis.” Other highlights include several classic James Bond films.
Also Read: AMC Furloughs 600 Corporate Employees, Including CEO
Here’s the full list of everything new coming in April:
April 1
Movies
A View to a Kill (4K Uhd) (1985)
Bangkok Dangerous (2010)
Bird Of Paradise (1932)
Blind Husbands (1919)
Broken Blossoms...
There are a handful of new Amazon originals to look forward to. “Tales from the Loop,” out April 3, explores the people who live in a town above ‘The Loop,’ a machine built to unlock the mysteries of the universe. Season 6 of “Bosch,” starring Titus Welliver, comes April 17. Original Amazon films include “Les Miserables,” “Invisible Life,” and “Selah and the Spades.”
Recent releases coming next month also include “The Lighthouse” starring Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe, “Rambo: Last Blood,” and “Hotel Artemis.” Other highlights include several classic James Bond films.
Also Read: AMC Furloughs 600 Corporate Employees, Including CEO
Here’s the full list of everything new coming in April:
April 1
Movies
A View to a Kill (4K Uhd) (1985)
Bangkok Dangerous (2010)
Bird Of Paradise (1932)
Blind Husbands (1919)
Broken Blossoms...
- 3/25/2020
- by Margeaux Sippell
- The Wrap
As Disney quietly disappears huge swathes of film history into its vaults, I'm going to spend 2020 celebrating Twentieth Century Fox and the Fox Film Corporation's films, what one might call their output if only someone were putting it out.And now they've quietly disappeared William Fox's name from the company: guilty by association with Rupert Murdoch, even though he never associated with him.***The coming of sound cost the American film industry plenty: it forced them to soundproof their stages, refit their theaters, and it rendered a fair few actors unemployable, by reason of heavy accents or lack of facility with the English language. In fact, one of the founders of 20th Century Fox was the comedy star Raymond Griffith, whose damaged vocal cords prevented him speaking above a croak, and who made the transition to writing and producing when he saw the writing on the wall. But on the other hand,...
- 3/18/2020
- MUBI
Bowling Green State University has removed actress Lillian Gish’s name from a campus theater because of her part in D.W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation.
Gish starred in the 1915 silent film, which was adapted from a novel and play, The Clansman. It is considered a landmark of film history, with many firsts – first close-up, fade-outs, and the longest film made to that point. However, it is full of racist imagery and plot lines, and venerates the Ku Klux Klan, who ride in to save the day.
Students at Bowling Green requested the change. After a study, it was agreed to change the name.
But this week, such stars as James Earl Jones, Helen Mirren, Martin Scorsese and several leading film scholars released an open letter calling for Bowling Green to retain Gish’s name on the theater. She shared billing with her sister on the theater name. Both were Ohio natives,...
Gish starred in the 1915 silent film, which was adapted from a novel and play, The Clansman. It is considered a landmark of film history, with many firsts – first close-up, fade-outs, and the longest film made to that point. However, it is full of racist imagery and plot lines, and venerates the Ku Klux Klan, who ride in to save the day.
Students at Bowling Green requested the change. After a study, it was agreed to change the name.
But this week, such stars as James Earl Jones, Helen Mirren, Martin Scorsese and several leading film scholars released an open letter calling for Bowling Green to retain Gish’s name on the theater. She shared billing with her sister on the theater name. Both were Ohio natives,...
- 6/22/2019
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
The college censorship debate has reached Hollywood. More than 50 prominent artists, writers, and film scholars are supporting the restoration of the names of the Gish sisters, Dorothy and Lillian, to a film theater at Bowling Green State University in Ohio.
The letter accuses the university of making “a scapegoat in a broader political debate.” Among those signing their names are James Earl Jones, Helen Mirren, Martin Scorsese, George Stevens Jr., Bertrand Tavernier, Malcolm McDowell, Lauren Hutton, Joe Dante, and Taylor Hackford. The letter is a response to Bowling Green’s May 3 decision to change the name of the Gish Theater because of Lillian Gish’s acting role in D. W. Griffith’s incendiary 1915 silent film “The Birth of a Nation.”
“The Birth of a Nation” has been called one of the most racist films ever made, and it’s credited with leading to the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan in America.
The letter accuses the university of making “a scapegoat in a broader political debate.” Among those signing their names are James Earl Jones, Helen Mirren, Martin Scorsese, George Stevens Jr., Bertrand Tavernier, Malcolm McDowell, Lauren Hutton, Joe Dante, and Taylor Hackford. The letter is a response to Bowling Green’s May 3 decision to change the name of the Gish Theater because of Lillian Gish’s acting role in D. W. Griffith’s incendiary 1915 silent film “The Birth of a Nation.”
“The Birth of a Nation” has been called one of the most racist films ever made, and it’s credited with leading to the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan in America.
- 6/19/2019
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Six random things to celebrate on this day (May 13th) in showbiz history...
1919 It's the centennial today of the silent film Broken Blossoms starring Lillian Gish (which you can watch in full on YouTube), an interracial weepie romance with Richard Barthelmess in "yellow face" as a Chinese Man that Gish falls for. Some critics consider it D.W. Griffith's best film.
Valentino and Rambova
1922 Silent film superstar Rudoph Valentino, who made millions swoon all over the world, weds costume and set designer Natacha Rambova at the age of 27. Valentino would then be arrested for bigamy since he'd been divorced for less than a year at the time (which was legally a no-go back then in California)...
1919 It's the centennial today of the silent film Broken Blossoms starring Lillian Gish (which you can watch in full on YouTube), an interracial weepie romance with Richard Barthelmess in "yellow face" as a Chinese Man that Gish falls for. Some critics consider it D.W. Griffith's best film.
Valentino and Rambova
1922 Silent film superstar Rudoph Valentino, who made millions swoon all over the world, weds costume and set designer Natacha Rambova at the age of 27. Valentino would then be arrested for bigamy since he'd been divorced for less than a year at the time (which was legally a no-go back then in California)...
- 5/13/2019
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
An Ohio cinema has removed ‘Gish’ from its name due to her role in notorious 1915 film The Birth of a Nation. Cultural myopia – or proof of newly enlightened times?
Lillian Gish, the “first lady of American cinema”, starred in more than 100 films between 1912 and 1987, including greats such as Broken Blossoms and The Night of the Hunter, and pioneered many of the techniques essential to cinema acting – especially mesmerising closeups. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, an AFI Lifetime Achievement award and an honorary Oscar. But now, more than 25 years since her death aged 99, her stock appears to have fallen. The trustees of a student union in Ohio have voted unanimously to remove the name of Gish and her sister Dorothy from a university cinema because of one film that she appeared in, the notoriously racist The Birth of a Nation.
Dw Griffith’s 1915 film epic is still dangerous,...
Lillian Gish, the “first lady of American cinema”, starred in more than 100 films between 1912 and 1987, including greats such as Broken Blossoms and The Night of the Hunter, and pioneered many of the techniques essential to cinema acting – especially mesmerising closeups. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, an AFI Lifetime Achievement award and an honorary Oscar. But now, more than 25 years since her death aged 99, her stock appears to have fallen. The trustees of a student union in Ohio have voted unanimously to remove the name of Gish and her sister Dorothy from a university cinema because of one film that she appeared in, the notoriously racist The Birth of a Nation.
Dw Griffith’s 1915 film epic is still dangerous,...
- 5/10/2019
- by Pamela Hutchinson
- The Guardian - Film News
A popular (and legitimate) knock against the movie industry today is that big-budget blockbusters are squeezing out smaller, independent films. Put another way, Hollywood math favors massive spectacles that fill stadium seating; consequently, there's simply less opportunity for lower-budgeted personal or human stories that explore relationships, culture, and society. Even though indies are far cheaper to make, they don't yield remotely the same level of revenue. Stupid math!
Fortunately, the emergence of cash-flush, independent studios like Netflix and Amazon -- who've cultivated diverse, niche audiences -- are bucking the status quo. They're betting that multi-platform, worldwide streaming services are the secret sauce to unlocking success in smaller films, which the monolithic, risk-averse studios wouldn't otherwise touch. It's a huge win for film buffs and cinema lovers, who maybe aren't seeing their interests reflected in the typical summer or holiday fare.
Related: Soon You Will Be Able To Choose Your Own...
Fortunately, the emergence of cash-flush, independent studios like Netflix and Amazon -- who've cultivated diverse, niche audiences -- are bucking the status quo. They're betting that multi-platform, worldwide streaming services are the secret sauce to unlocking success in smaller films, which the monolithic, risk-averse studios wouldn't otherwise touch. It's a huge win for film buffs and cinema lovers, who maybe aren't seeing their interests reflected in the typical summer or holiday fare.
Related: Soon You Will Be Able To Choose Your Own...
- 5/3/2017
- by David Kozlowski
- LRMonline.com
This is one of those weird videos that doesn't really qualify as a supercut, and doesn't really qualify as a video essay either. But regardless of categorization, editor Jacob T. Swinney's selection of 100 shots — one from each of the past 100 years of cinema history — is very cool to watch. Added bonus: it played at this year's Tribeca Film Festival. Hans Zimmer's masterful "Time," from the Inception soundtrack, does a lot of the heavy lifting, but Swinney makes some excellent choices here and this is well worth a few minutes of your time. Find a full list of the movies used below:
A journey through the past 100 years of cinema--the most memorable shot from each year (in my opinion). While many of these shots are the most recognizable in film history, others are equally iconic in their own right. For example, some shots pioneered a style or defined a genre,...
A journey through the past 100 years of cinema--the most memorable shot from each year (in my opinion). While many of these shots are the most recognizable in film history, others are equally iconic in their own right. For example, some shots pioneered a style or defined a genre,...
- 6/17/2016
- by Ben Pearson
- GeekTyrant
100 years of film history seems like a really long time, but what happens when it’s squeezed in a 6-minute timeframe? Well, the answer to this question is provided by Baltimore-based filmmaker Jacob T. Swinney. He managed to create a beautiful montage that includes 100 iconic movies and some of their most captivating scenes. Some of the titles are: Frankenstein, Casablanca, Sherlock Junior, Broken Blossoms, Psycho, A Nightmare in Elm Street, The Breakfast Club, Jurassic Park, The Shawshank Redemption, Gladiator, and so on.
Jacob T. Swinney is also famous for his other movie supercuts, such as First and Final Frames and Iconic Shots by Steven Spielberg.
Here’s what he has to say about his latest piece of creativity:
A journey through the past 100 years of cinema–the most memorable shot from each year (in my opinion). While many of these shots are the most recognizable in film history, others are...
Jacob T. Swinney is also famous for his other movie supercuts, such as First and Final Frames and Iconic Shots by Steven Spielberg.
Here’s what he has to say about his latest piece of creativity:
A journey through the past 100 years of cinema–the most memorable shot from each year (in my opinion). While many of these shots are the most recognizable in film history, others are...
- 4/16/2016
- by Katie Mikova
- GeekTyrant
Of the Big Three new wavers of German cinema—Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Werner Herzog and Wim Wenders-- who “came of age” as it were in the ‘70s, when I was in college and my own stake in the movies was budding into something more learned and substantial than what it was when I first discovered my love for them, Herzog has emerged as the director who most speaks to me now as an adult. I think that’s true at least in part because when his movies do speak to me it never feels like a one-sided conversation. I feel like I’m in there engaging in a push-pull with Herzog’s ability to seduce me (disarm me?) with his simplicity of approach, an ability which rarely seems satisfied to consider subjects from the less-perverse of two perspectives, and his tendency to rhapsodize and harangue and sidestep visual motifs...
- 12/19/2015
- by Dennis Cozzalio
- Trailers from Hell
It’s hard to believe that a film which advocates slavery and demeans black people could have a 100% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and yet this is a fact. Since its release in 1915, The Birth of a Nation has been lauded both as a work of genius, and as the epitome of bigotry. How can it be both? Cinelinx takes a look back at the highly controversial film, The Birth of a Nation on its 100th anniversary.
In 1915, D. W. Griffith was one of the hottest up-and-coming directors of the fledgling film industry, with a plan to create the first big budget film epic ever. He did just that, and for decades his magnum opus was considered to be one of the greatest films ever made, and many still believe that. However, in modern times, it has become more renowned as the most racist film in movie history. Despite the politically incorrect content,...
In 1915, D. W. Griffith was one of the hottest up-and-coming directors of the fledgling film industry, with a plan to create the first big budget film epic ever. He did just that, and for decades his magnum opus was considered to be one of the greatest films ever made, and many still believe that. However, in modern times, it has become more renowned as the most racist film in movie history. Despite the politically incorrect content,...
- 11/19/2015
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (Rob Young)
- Cinelinx
Since any New York City cinephile has a nearly suffocating wealth of theatrical options, we figured it’d be best to compile some of the more worthwhile repertory showings into one handy list. Displayed below are a few of the city’s most reliable theaters and links to screenings of their weekend offerings — films you’re not likely to see in a theater again anytime soon, and many of which are, also, on 35mm. If you have a chance to attend any of these, we’re of the mind that it’s time extremely well-spent.
Film Society of Lincoln Center
To commemorate her passing, free screenings of Chantal Akerman‘s Jeanne Dielman (on 35mm) and her self-portrait Chantal Akerman by Chantal Akerman will screen for free on Friday.
Hou Hsiao-hsien‘s The Boys from Fengkuei will play on Friday night, with Hou making an appearance.
Museum of the Moving...
Film Society of Lincoln Center
To commemorate her passing, free screenings of Chantal Akerman‘s Jeanne Dielman (on 35mm) and her self-portrait Chantal Akerman by Chantal Akerman will screen for free on Friday.
Hou Hsiao-hsien‘s The Boys from Fengkuei will play on Friday night, with Hou making an appearance.
Museum of the Moving...
- 10/9/2015
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Charles Brackett ca. 1945: Hollywood diarist and Billy Wilder's co-screenwriter (1936–1949) and producer (1945–1949). Q&A with 'Charles Brackett Diaries' editor Anthony Slide: Billy Wilder's screenwriter-producer partner in his own words Six-time Academy Award winner Billy Wilder is a film legend. He is renowned for classics such as The Major and the Minor, Double Indemnity, Sunset Blvd., Witness for the Prosecution, Some Like It Hot, and The Apartment. The fact that Wilder was not the sole creator of these movies is all but irrelevant to graduates from the Auteur School of Film History. Wilder directed, co-wrote, and at times produced his films. That should suffice. For auteurists, perhaps. But not for those interested in the whole story. That's one key reason why the Charles Brackett diaries are such a great read. Through Brackett's vantage point, they offer a welcome – and unique – glimpse into the collaborative efforts that resulted in...
- 9/25/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Jim Jarmusch, progenitor of quiet, low-key, talky indies you almost never see today (except from him), shares his ten favorite movies (hat tip: Open Culture). The iconic American indie still makes movies in black-and-white, which is reflected in his love of Ozu, Bresson, Griffith and most everybody on this list, a near-perfect menagerie of genres and styles, Euro art movies and American classics. 1. "L’Atalante" (1934, Jean Vigo) 2. "Tokyo Story" (1953, Yasujiro Ozu) 3. "They Live by Night" (1949, Nicholas Ray) 4. "Bob le Flambeur" (1955, Jean-Pierre Melville) 5. "Sunrise" (1927, F.W. Murnau) 6. "The Cameraman" (1928, Buster Keaton/Edward Sedgwick) 7. "Mouchette" (1967, Robert Bresson) 8. "Seven Samurai" (1954, Akira Kurosawa) 9. "Broken Blossoms" (1919, D.W. Griffith) 10. "Rome, Open City" (1945, Roberto Rossellini) Read More: Toh! Ranks the Films of Jim Jarmusch...
- 6/10/2015
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Thompson on Hollywood
Gay Talese in China: Through The Looking Glass at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in front of Anna May Wong's Travis Banton dress from Alexander Hall's Limehouse Blues. Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
The Grandmaster director Wong Kar Wai, as artistic director of China: Through The Looking Glass, magically merges film with fashion and the museum's collection. Michelangelo Antonioni's Chung Kuo - Cina, Jiang Wen's In the Heat Of The Sun, Yonggang Wu's The Goddess, Zhang Yimou's Hero, Ang Lee's Lust, Caution, Hou Hsiao-Hsien's Flowers Of Shanghai, D.W. Griffith's Broken Blossoms, Sergio Leone's Once Upon A Time In America, Richard Quine's The World Of Suzy Wong, Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor, Vincente Minnelli's Ziegfeld Follies and Wong's The Hand From Eros, are among the clips selected that tie in beautiful layers of meaning.
John Galliano for House of Dior Haute Couture yellow...
The Grandmaster director Wong Kar Wai, as artistic director of China: Through The Looking Glass, magically merges film with fashion and the museum's collection. Michelangelo Antonioni's Chung Kuo - Cina, Jiang Wen's In the Heat Of The Sun, Yonggang Wu's The Goddess, Zhang Yimou's Hero, Ang Lee's Lust, Caution, Hou Hsiao-Hsien's Flowers Of Shanghai, D.W. Griffith's Broken Blossoms, Sergio Leone's Once Upon A Time In America, Richard Quine's The World Of Suzy Wong, Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor, Vincente Minnelli's Ziegfeld Follies and Wong's The Hand From Eros, are among the clips selected that tie in beautiful layers of meaning.
John Galliano for House of Dior Haute Couture yellow...
- 5/18/2015
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
This is a tale of chance encounters.1) René Clair is in London, making The Ghost Goes West (1935). Something of a flaneur, he has strolled down to the East End, and his noctivagation leads him to a Limehouse pub which strikes him with an intense but mysterious feeling of déjà vu."Of course!" he suddenly thinks. "D.W. Griffith: Broken Blossoms!" The pub is the very image of Griffith's Hollywood recreation of Victorian London from his 1919 film.And there, at the bar, sits D.W. Griffith himself. Clair approaches this mirage and learns that Griffith is in London to direct a remake of Broken Blossoms at Twickenham Studios. Drink is taken.2) All this comes from screenwriter Rodney Ackland's bittersweet memoir of his work in British cinema, The Celluloid Mistress, co-written with Elspeth Grant. He further explains that his idolisation of Griffith prompted him to volunteer his services in any capacity as...
- 4/16/2015
- by David Cairns
- MUBI
Loretta Young films as TCM celebrates her 102nd birthday (photo: Loretta Young ca. 1935) Loretta Young would have turned 102 years old today. Turner Classic Movies is celebrating the birthday of the Salt Lake City-born, Academy Award-winning actress today, January 6, 2015, with no less than ten Loretta Young films, most of them released by Warner Bros. in the early '30s. Young, who began her film career in a bit part in the 1927 Colleen Moore star vehicle Her Wild Oat, remained a Warners contract player from the late '20s up until 1933. (See also: "Loretta Young Movies.") Now, ten Loretta Young films on one day may sound like a lot, but one should remember that most Warner Bros. -- in fact, most Hollywood -- releases of the late '20s and early '30s were either B Movies or programmers. The latter were relatively short (usually 60 to 75 minutes) feature films starring A (or B+) performers,...
- 1/6/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Honorary Oscars have bypassed women: Angela Lansbury, Lauren Bacall among rare exceptions (photo: 2013 Honorary Oscar winner Angela Lansbury and Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award winner Angelina Jolie) September 4, 2014, Introduction: This four-part article on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Honorary Awards and the dearth of female Honorary Oscar winners was originally posted in February 2007. The article was updated in February 2012 and fully revised before its republication today. All outdated figures regarding the Honorary Oscars and the Academy's other Special Awards have been "scratched out," with the updated numbers and related information inserted below each affected paragraph or text section. See also "Honorary Oscars 2014 addendum" at the bottom of this post. At the 1936 Academy Awards ceremony, groundbreaking film pioneer D.W. Griffith, by then a veteran with more than 500 shorts and features to his credit — among them the epoch-making The Birth of a Nation and Intolerance — became the first individual to...
- 9/4/2014
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Throughout the summer, an admin on the r/movies subreddit has been leading Reddit users in a poll of the best movies from every year for the last 100 years called 100 Years of Yearly Cinema. The poll concluded three days ago, and the list of every movie from 1914 to 2013 has been published today.
Users were asked to nominate films from a given year and up-vote their favorite nominees. The full list includes the outright winner along with the first two runners-up from each year. The list is mostly a predictable assortment of IMDb favorites and certified classics, but a few surprise gems have also risen to the top of the crust, including the early experimental documentary Man With a Movie Camera in 1929, Abel Gance’s J’Accuse! in 1919, the Fred Astaire film Top Hat over Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps in 1935, and Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing over John Ford’s...
Users were asked to nominate films from a given year and up-vote their favorite nominees. The full list includes the outright winner along with the first two runners-up from each year. The list is mostly a predictable assortment of IMDb favorites and certified classics, but a few surprise gems have also risen to the top of the crust, including the early experimental documentary Man With a Movie Camera in 1929, Abel Gance’s J’Accuse! in 1919, the Fred Astaire film Top Hat over Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps in 1935, and Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing over John Ford’s...
- 9/2/2014
- by Brian Welk
- SoundOnSight
My first real attempt at understanding the brilliance that was Stanley Kubrick came in my freshman year of college, when I wrote a research paper on 2001: A Space Odyssey for an English class. After all that work, I only received a B and found myself more confused than ever. But there it was – the spark that Stanley Kubrick’s work produces. Kubrick’s best films were experiences; it’s impossible to “half-watch” one of his many masterpieces. And that’s what the movies on this list do. They take you on an odyssey of visual wonder, psychological tremors, and expect you to do as much work as the people involved in the making of the films. Yet, in the end, Kubrick’s films didn’t feel like homework. They felt like vacations to a world where deep thought is a welcome respite.
20. The Thin Red Line (1998)
Directed by Terrence Malick
What makes it Kubrickian?...
20. The Thin Red Line (1998)
Directed by Terrence Malick
What makes it Kubrickian?...
- 3/19/2014
- by Joshua Gaul
- SoundOnSight
Think silent films reached a high point with The Artist? The pre-sound era produced some of the most beautiful, arresting films ever made. From City Lights to Metropolis, Guardian and Observer critics pick the 10 best
• Top 10 teen movies
• Top 10 superhero movies
• Top 10 westerns
• Top 10 documentaries
• Top 10 movie adaptations
• Top 10 animated movies
• More Guardian and Observer critics' top 10s
10. City Lights
City Lights was arguably the biggest risk of Charlie Chaplin's career: The Jazz Singer, released at the end of 1927, had seen sound take cinema by storm, but Chaplin resisted the change-up, preferring to continue in the silent tradition. In retrospect, this isn't so much the precious behaviour of a purist but the smart reaction of an experienced comedian; Chaplin's films rarely used intertitles anyway, and though it is technically "silent", City Lights is very mindful of it own self-composed score and keenly judged sound effects.
At its heart,...
• Top 10 teen movies
• Top 10 superhero movies
• Top 10 westerns
• Top 10 documentaries
• Top 10 movie adaptations
• Top 10 animated movies
• More Guardian and Observer critics' top 10s
10. City Lights
City Lights was arguably the biggest risk of Charlie Chaplin's career: The Jazz Singer, released at the end of 1927, had seen sound take cinema by storm, but Chaplin resisted the change-up, preferring to continue in the silent tradition. In retrospect, this isn't so much the precious behaviour of a purist but the smart reaction of an experienced comedian; Chaplin's films rarely used intertitles anyway, and though it is technically "silent", City Lights is very mindful of it own self-composed score and keenly judged sound effects.
At its heart,...
- 11/22/2013
- The Guardian - Film News
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Nov. 5, 2013
Price: DVD $39.99, Blu-ray $49.98
Studio: Cohen Media
D.W. Griffith's 1916 silent epic Intolerance
Just one year after the huge success of his Birth of a Nation, pioneering filmmaker D.W. Griffith was emboldened to prove his faith in the new medium of motion pictures with his historical silent epic Intolerance.
Four separate stories are interwoven: the fall of Babylon, the death of Christ, the massacre of the Huguenots, and a contemporary (early 20th Century) drama — all crosscut and building with enormous energy to a thrilling chase and finale. Through the juxtaposition of these well-known sagas, Griffith joyously makes clear his markedly deterministic view of history, namely that the suffering of innocents makes possible the salvation of the current generation, symbolized by the boy in the modern love story.
Many of the leading stars of the silent screen appear in the classic movie, including Griffith regular Lillian Gish (Broken Blossoms), Mae Marsh,...
Price: DVD $39.99, Blu-ray $49.98
Studio: Cohen Media
D.W. Griffith's 1916 silent epic Intolerance
Just one year after the huge success of his Birth of a Nation, pioneering filmmaker D.W. Griffith was emboldened to prove his faith in the new medium of motion pictures with his historical silent epic Intolerance.
Four separate stories are interwoven: the fall of Babylon, the death of Christ, the massacre of the Huguenots, and a contemporary (early 20th Century) drama — all crosscut and building with enormous energy to a thrilling chase and finale. Through the juxtaposition of these well-known sagas, Griffith joyously makes clear his markedly deterministic view of history, namely that the suffering of innocents makes possible the salvation of the current generation, symbolized by the boy in the modern love story.
Many of the leading stars of the silent screen appear in the classic movie, including Griffith regular Lillian Gish (Broken Blossoms), Mae Marsh,...
- 10/28/2013
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Ramon Novarro is Ben-Hur: The Naked and Famous in first big-budget Hollywood movie saved by the international market (See previous post: "Ramon Novarro: Silent Movie Star.") Turner Classic Movies’ Ramon Novarro Day continues with The Son-Daughter (1933), on TCM right now. Both Novarro and Helen Hayes play Chinese characters in San Francisco’s Chinatown — in the sort of story that had worked back in 1919, when D.W. Griffith made Broken Blossoms with Lillian Gish and Richard Barthelmess. By 1933, however, the drab-looking, slow-moving The Son-Daughter felt all wrong. (Photo: Naked Ramon Novarro in Ben-Hur.) Directed by the renowned Clarence Brown (who guided Greta Garbo in some of her biggest hits), The Son-Daughter turned out to be a well-intentioned mess, eventually bombing at the box office. And that goes to show that Louis B. Mayer and/or Irving G. Thalberg didn’t always know what the hell they were doing with their stars and properties.
- 8/9/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
I've mentioned before how several years ago I created a list using Roger Ebert's Great Movies, Oscar Best Picture winners, IMDb's Top 250, etc. and began going through them doing my best to see as many of the films on these lists that I had not seen as I possibly could to up my film I.Q. Well, someone has gone through the exhaustive effort to take all of the films Roger Ebert wrote about in his three "Great Movies" books, all of which are compiled on his website and added them to a Letterbxd list and I've added that list below. I'm not positive every movie on his list is here, but by my count there are 363 different titles listed (more if you count the trilogies, the Up docs and Decalogue) and of those 363, I have personally seen 229 and have added an * next to those I've seen. Clearly I have some work to do,...
- 4/10/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
I've mentioned before how several years ago I created a list using Roger Ebert's Great Movies, Oscar Best Picture winners, IMDb's Top 250, etc. and began going through them doing my best to see as many of the films on these lists that I had not seen as I possibly could to up my film I.Q. Well, someone has gone through the exhaustive effort to take all of the films Roger Ebert wrote about in his three "Great Movies" books, all of which are compiled on his website and added them to a Letterbxd list and I've added that list below. I'm not positive every movie on his list is here, but by my count there are 362 different titles listed (more if you count the trilogies and Decalogue) and of those 362, I have personally seen 229 and have added an * next to those I've seen. Clearly I have some work to do,...
- 4/10/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
In Robert Wiene’s 1920 dreamlike horror classic, veteran German actor Werner Krauss plays the mysterious Dr. Caligari, the apparent force behind a creepy somnambulist named Cesare and played by Conrad Veidt, who abducts beautiful Lil Dagover. The finale in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari has inspired tons of movies and television shows, from Fritz Lang's 1944 film noir The Woman in the Window to the last episode of the TV series St. Elsewhere. In addition, the film shares some key elements in common (suppposedly as a result of a mere coincidence) with Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio's 2011 thriller Shutter Island. The 1920 crime melodrama Outside the Law is not in any way related to Rachid Bouchareb's 2010 political drama. Instead, the Tod Browning-directed movie is a well-made entry in the gangster genre (long before the explosion a decade later). Browning, best known for his early '30s efforts Dracula and Freaks,...
- 4/1/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Everybody's favorite movie decade: Which ones are the best movies released in the 20th century's second decade? Best Film (Pictured above) Broken Blossoms: Barthelmess and Gish star as ill-fated lovers in D.W. Griffith’s romantic melodrama featuring interethnic love. Check These Out (Pictured below) Cabiria: is considered one of the major landmarks in motion picture history, having inspired the scope and visual grandeur of D.W. Griffith’s Intolerance. Also of note, Pastrone's epic of ancient Rome introduced Maciste, a bulky hero who would be featured in countless movies in the ensuing decades. Best Actor (Pictured below) In the tragic The Italian, George Beban plays an Italian immigrant recently arrived in the United States (Click below for film review). Unfortunately, his American dream quickly becomes a horrendous nightmare of poverty and despair. Best Actress (Pictured below) The movies' super-vamp Theda Bara in A Fool There Was: A little...
- 3/27/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
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Throughout summer it has been difficult to ignore the recent Chinoiserie trend in stores and magazines, kick-started by the opulent Louis Vuitton show in Paris and merged effortlessly into autumn by Paul Smith. Cheongsam collars and qipao slits aside, this new-found interest in the East may have been partly triggered by China’s growing appetite for high-end goods, which despite recent economic setbacks, has left Western luxury brands competing for a share of this very sizable market.
This obsession with the ‘Orient’ has also seen a proliferation of Asian models on catwalks and throughout editorial spreads, which has courted controversy for some publications and raises all manner of questions regarding ethnicity and standards of beauty. Whilst researching this trend it becomes impossible not to contemplate the...
Throughout summer it has been difficult to ignore the recent Chinoiserie trend in stores and magazines, kick-started by the opulent Louis Vuitton show in Paris and merged effortlessly into autumn by Paul Smith. Cheongsam collars and qipao slits aside, this new-found interest in the East may have been partly triggered by China’s growing appetite for high-end goods, which despite recent economic setbacks, has left Western luxury brands competing for a share of this very sizable market.
This obsession with the ‘Orient’ has also seen a proliferation of Asian models on catwalks and throughout editorial spreads, which has courted controversy for some publications and raises all manner of questions regarding ethnicity and standards of beauty. Whilst researching this trend it becomes impossible not to contemplate the...
- 10/18/2011
- by Contributor
- Clothes on Film
If Audrey Hepburn was the last virgin goddess of American films, Lillian Gish was the first. Often referred to at the time as "The First Lady of the Silent Screen," she was indeed movies' first truly great actress. From her debut at age 19 in founding father D.W. Griffith's two-reel An Unseen Enemy (1912) in what I calculate as the initial year of film's golden age (plus 25 other Griffith films in less than 24 months), to her final starring masterpiece, at age 35, in Victor Sjostrom's The Wind (1928), Lillian Gish was the central player in many of the enduring treasures of cinema's earliest flowering, that essential cornerstone of the art in its purest form. She is the key figure in most of Griffith's major work, from The Birth of a Nation (1915) and Broken Blossoms (1919) to Way Down East (1920) and Orphans of the Storm (1922), not to mention such beautiful lesser-known gems as Hearts of the World...
- 8/17/2011
- Blogdanovich
The daughter of silent-film actress Anna Lehr and director Edward McKim, Ann Dvorak began her film career at the dawn of the sound era. The pretty, wide-eyed Dvorak was one of those performers who not only could but should have become major stars — yet, thanks to studio politics, didn't. Those unfamiliar with Dvorak's name and/or work will be able to check her out all day Tuesday, August 9, on Turner Classic Movies. TCM will be presenting 16 of her films. [Ann Dvorak Movie Schedule.] Considering that TCM generally picks the usual suspects for their "Summer Under the Stars" film series — people like Marlon Brando, Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Bette Davis — I find it refreshing when they select someone like Ann Dvorak. Of course, as a Warner Bros. player in the '30s, most of Dvorak's best work has been frequently available on TCM; but to have a whole day devoted to an actress most people...
- 8/8/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
As you may have heard, Michel Hazanavicius’s “The Artist” (The Weinstein Company, 11/23, ?, trailer) — which made a big splash at this year’s Cannes Film Festival (where it was a serious contender for the Palm d’Or and its star Jean Dujardin was named best actor), and which will soon be seen again at the Toronto International Film Festival — is not only in black-and-white, but also silent!
Many credible analysts — including Harvey Weinstein, who is as savvy an Oscar-prospector as anyone, and whose studio purchased the film’s rights shortly after Cannes – believe that it is visually beautiful/emotionally powerful enough to seriously factor into this year’s Oscar race.
But could a silent film, in this day and age, actually catch on with the public and/or Oscar voters?
Most people today dismiss silent movies as lacking something — namely, sound — but that’s not a particularly enlightened position. After all,...
Many credible analysts — including Harvey Weinstein, who is as savvy an Oscar-prospector as anyone, and whose studio purchased the film’s rights shortly after Cannes – believe that it is visually beautiful/emotionally powerful enough to seriously factor into this year’s Oscar race.
But could a silent film, in this day and age, actually catch on with the public and/or Oscar voters?
Most people today dismiss silent movies as lacking something — namely, sound — but that’s not a particularly enlightened position. After all,...
- 8/3/2011
- by Scott Feinberg
- Scott Feinberg
Lillian Gish, Richard Barthelmess in D. W. Griffith's Broken Blossoms (top); Tom Hanks in Ron Howard's Angels & Demons (middle); Barbara Stanwyck in Anatole Litvak's Sorry, Wrong Number (bottom) Today, the American Film Institute announced that at a gala ceremony to be held in June 2011 Morgan Freeman will be handed the AFI Life Achievement Award, which "honors an individual whose career in motion pictures or television has greatly contributed to the enrichment of American culture." Past recipients include John Ford, Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, William Wyler, Frank Capra, John Huston, Bette Davis, Lillian Gish, Al Pacino, Fred Astaire, Henry Fonda, James Cagney, Barbra Streisand, James Stewart, Kirk Douglas, Mike Nichols, Jack Lemmon, Martin Scorsese, and Barbara Stanwyck. [List of AFI Life Achievement Award winners.] As per the AFI selection criteria, "the recipient should be one whose talent has in a fundamental way advanced the film art; whose accomplishment has been acknowledged [...]...
- 10/12/2010
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
This week, dry your eyes, pluck up your courage and let steenbeck take you under her wing to show you the best unlikely guardians in cinema
You're a child, lost or abandoned, and you don't know who to trust to ask for help. Most of us share a memory of that specific moment of panic. And, if not, it's a recurring nightmare for many parents; nobody wants to think about their child lost and alone in the world, forced to rely on the kindness of a stranger to get by. It's a universal anxiety that has long been a rich vein for film-makers the world over.
This week's Clip joint examines the unlikely guardian – the self-proclaimed lone wolf who finds his or herself inexplicably saddled with a helpless dependant. What to do? Abandon the child to the slings and arrows of a cruel and unpredictable world? Or forgo your own...
You're a child, lost or abandoned, and you don't know who to trust to ask for help. Most of us share a memory of that specific moment of panic. And, if not, it's a recurring nightmare for many parents; nobody wants to think about their child lost and alone in the world, forced to rely on the kindness of a stranger to get by. It's a universal anxiety that has long been a rich vein for film-makers the world over.
This week's Clip joint examines the unlikely guardian – the self-proclaimed lone wolf who finds his or herself inexplicably saddled with a helpless dependant. What to do? Abandon the child to the slings and arrows of a cruel and unpredictable world? Or forgo your own...
- 4/21/2010
- The Guardian - Film News
But Not Me Baby, I'm Too Precious, I Hadda...: Oscar blogger and World's Biggest Sunrise Fan Tom O'Neil is perturbed that Precious (Full title: Precious Based On The Novel "The Charterhouse Of Parma" By Stendhal, oh sorry, Precious Based On The Novel "Push" By Sapphire) didn't get nominated for a Gotham award this year. And he knows who's to blame: "is this just one of those ridiculous, irrelevant side shows we should all just ignore because it's a fluke — a case of huffy film critics acting stubbornly against a popular trend when permitted to decide the nominees of an awards group?"
I know, right? Effing film critics and their huffiness and their effing refusal to go along with a popular trend. What's up with that? For more of O'Neil's critic-hating, check here. As a Snob and a Bad Person, I have to admit: part of me is hoping that...
I know, right? Effing film critics and their huffiness and their effing refusal to go along with a popular trend. What's up with that? For more of O'Neil's critic-hating, check here. As a Snob and a Bad Person, I have to admit: part of me is hoping that...
- 10/23/2009
- MUBI
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