Mark Kennedy, Associated Press
Jake Coyle, Associated Press
New York (AP) - Elaine Stritch, the brash theater performer whose gravelly, gin-laced voice and impeccable comic timing made her a Broadway legend, has died. She was 89.
Joseph Rosenthal, Stritch's longtime attorney, said the actress died Thursday of natural causes at her home in Birmingham, Michigan.
Although Stritch appeared in movies and on television, garnering three Emmys and finding new fans as Alec Baldwin's unforgiving mother on "30 Rock," she was best known for her stage work, particularly in her candid one-woman memoir, "Elaine Stritch: At Liberty," and in the Stephen Sondheim musical "Company."
A tart-tongued monument to New York show business endurance, Stritch worked well into her late 80s, most recently as Madame Armfeldt in a revival of Sondheim's musical "A Little Night Music." She replaced Angela Lansbury in 2010 to critical acclaim.
In 2013, Stritch - whose signature "no pants" style...
Jake Coyle, Associated Press
New York (AP) - Elaine Stritch, the brash theater performer whose gravelly, gin-laced voice and impeccable comic timing made her a Broadway legend, has died. She was 89.
Joseph Rosenthal, Stritch's longtime attorney, said the actress died Thursday of natural causes at her home in Birmingham, Michigan.
Although Stritch appeared in movies and on television, garnering three Emmys and finding new fans as Alec Baldwin's unforgiving mother on "30 Rock," she was best known for her stage work, particularly in her candid one-woman memoir, "Elaine Stritch: At Liberty," and in the Stephen Sondheim musical "Company."
A tart-tongued monument to New York show business endurance, Stritch worked well into her late 80s, most recently as Madame Armfeldt in a revival of Sondheim's musical "A Little Night Music." She replaced Angela Lansbury in 2010 to critical acclaim.
In 2013, Stritch - whose signature "no pants" style...
- 7/17/2014
- by The Associated Press
- Moviefone
It all begins with a freeze frame of a dirt road somewhere in Yorkshire county, lined with trees whose lush foliage converges above in an arch. What could it be if not a portal? The movie itself, meanwhile, has not even started as we watch the opening credits, encased in large old-fashioned frames, slowly fade away—a device consistently favored by Alain Resnais who opened each of his 19 features likewise, holding off the films themselves until the screen no longer contained any visual surplus. The freeze frame comes to life as the camera pans farther down the road; then we find ourselves in a theatrical set.
We have been here before, of course. Resnais' Smoking/No Smoking, also based on a play by British playwright Sir Alan Ayckbourn, is set in Yorkshire as well. Life of Riley (Aimer, boire et chanter) borrows from the five-hour diptych its theatrical setting, one...
We have been here before, of course. Resnais' Smoking/No Smoking, also based on a play by British playwright Sir Alan Ayckbourn, is set in Yorkshire as well. Life of Riley (Aimer, boire et chanter) borrows from the five-hour diptych its theatrical setting, one...
- 6/17/2014
- by Boris Nelepo
- MUBI
Documentary filmmaker and distribution executive Juergen Hellwig died on April 8, 2014, in Los Angeles. He was 66.
Hellwig was born on August 12, 1947, in Frankfurt, Germany, and eventually relocated to the Us in 1974 where he embarked on a career as a documentary producer.
He built up a body of work that included Orson Welles’ Filming Othello, Alain Resnais’ Providence and Hollywood On Trial.
Later in his career, Hellwig became an executive independent distributor for Janus Films, Taurus Films GmbH, KirchMedia Gmbh, E-m-s Media and Juergen Hellwig Entertainment, Inc.
He is survived by his two sons, Sean and Justin, and his wife, Barbra.
Hellwig was born on August 12, 1947, in Frankfurt, Germany, and eventually relocated to the Us in 1974 where he embarked on a career as a documentary producer.
He built up a body of work that included Orson Welles’ Filming Othello, Alain Resnais’ Providence and Hollywood On Trial.
Later in his career, Hellwig became an executive independent distributor for Janus Films, Taurus Films GmbH, KirchMedia Gmbh, E-m-s Media and Juergen Hellwig Entertainment, Inc.
He is survived by his two sons, Sean and Justin, and his wife, Barbra.
- 5/15/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Documentary filmmaker and distribution executive Juergen Hellwig died on April 8, 2014, in Los Angeles. He was 66.
Hellwig was born on August 12, 1947, in Frankfurt, Germany, and eventually relocated to the Us in 1974 where he embarked on a career as a documentary producer.
He built up a body of work that included Orson Welles’ Filming Othello, Alain Resnais’ Providence and Hollywood On Trial.
Later in his career, Hellwig became an executive independent distributor for Janus Films, Taurus Films GmbH, KirchMedia Gmbh, E-m-s Media and Juergen Hellwig Entertainment, Inc.
He is survived by his two sons, Sean and Justin, and his wife, Barbra.
Hellwig was born on August 12, 1947, in Frankfurt, Germany, and eventually relocated to the Us in 1974 where he embarked on a career as a documentary producer.
He built up a body of work that included Orson Welles’ Filming Othello, Alain Resnais’ Providence and Hollywood On Trial.
Later in his career, Hellwig became an executive independent distributor for Janus Films, Taurus Films GmbH, KirchMedia Gmbh, E-m-s Media and Juergen Hellwig Entertainment, Inc.
He is survived by his two sons, Sean and Justin, and his wife, Barbra.
- 5/15/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Cannes Directors’ Fortnight had already decided to honour the French filmmaker before his death in March.
The French Film Directors’ Guild, which runs Directors’ Fortnight, will pay tribute to late filmmaker Alain Resnais, by posthumously feting him with its Carrosse d’Or (Golden Carriage) award on the opening night of the parallel Cannes section.
“Last January, directors of the guild unanimously decided to give this prize to Alain Resnais, who died in March,” the body said in a statement.
Directors’ Fortnight will screen Resnais’ 1958 short La Chant du Styrène, a 13-minute documentary in praise of plastic commissioned by French manufacturer Péchiney, and his 1977 feature Providence, starring Sir John Geilgud, on May 15.
There will be a tribute to the filmmaker at the opening ceremony of Directors’ Fortnight attended by Jean-Louis Livi, the producer of his last three films, and the filmmaker’s long-time assistant Christophe Jeauffroy, who worked on productions such as Life of Riley, You Ain’t Seen...
The French Film Directors’ Guild, which runs Directors’ Fortnight, will pay tribute to late filmmaker Alain Resnais, by posthumously feting him with its Carrosse d’Or (Golden Carriage) award on the opening night of the parallel Cannes section.
“Last January, directors of the guild unanimously decided to give this prize to Alain Resnais, who died in March,” the body said in a statement.
Directors’ Fortnight will screen Resnais’ 1958 short La Chant du Styrène, a 13-minute documentary in praise of plastic commissioned by French manufacturer Péchiney, and his 1977 feature Providence, starring Sir John Geilgud, on May 15.
There will be a tribute to the filmmaker at the opening ceremony of Directors’ Fortnight attended by Jean-Louis Livi, the producer of his last three films, and the filmmaker’s long-time assistant Christophe Jeauffroy, who worked on productions such as Life of Riley, You Ain’t Seen...
- 4/23/2014
- ScreenDaily
Few filmmakers leave a legacy behind in cinema that will last generations, and even fewer have a career that truly spans decades. French director Alain Resnais was one of those rarities behind the camera whose career began way back in 1946 and lasted up until his death on Saturday in Paris at age 91 (as reported by New York Times), not too long after his last film The Life of Riley premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in February. The filmmaker never won an Oscar, but took home a BAFTA, saw several nominations and wins at the César Awards in France, and countless accolades at the Cannes and Venice Film Festivals. More below. Resnais is a name that only true cinephiles and students of film will know with iconic films such as Hiroshima, mon amour (starring Oscar nominee Emanuelle Riva), Last Year at Marienbad, Je t’taime, je t’aime, Night and Fog,...
- 3/3/2014
- by Ethan Anderton
- firstshowing.net
Complex and avant-garde French film director best known for Night and Fog and Last Year in Marienbad
Alain Resnais, who has died aged 91, was a director of elegance and distinction who, despite generally working from the screenplays of other writers, established an auteurist reputation. His films were singular, instantly recognisable by their style as well as through recurring themes and preoccupations. Primary concerns were war, sexual relationships and the more abstract notions of memory and time. His characters were invariably adult (children were excluded as having no detailed past) middle-class professionals. His style was complex, notably in the editing and often – though not always – dominated by tracking shots and multilayered sound.
He surrounded himself with actors, musicians and writers of enormous talent and the result was a somewhat elitist body of work with little concern for realism or the socially or intellectually deprived. Even overtly political works, Night and Fog,...
Alain Resnais, who has died aged 91, was a director of elegance and distinction who, despite generally working from the screenplays of other writers, established an auteurist reputation. His films were singular, instantly recognisable by their style as well as through recurring themes and preoccupations. Primary concerns were war, sexual relationships and the more abstract notions of memory and time. His characters were invariably adult (children were excluded as having no detailed past) middle-class professionals. His style was complex, notably in the editing and often – though not always – dominated by tracking shots and multilayered sound.
He surrounded himself with actors, musicians and writers of enormous talent and the result was a somewhat elitist body of work with little concern for realism or the socially or intellectually deprived. Even overtly political works, Night and Fog,...
- 3/3/2014
- by Brian Baxter
- The Guardian - Film News
Arthouse director rode crest of French new wave movement of 1960s and was still making films as he reached 90
Peter Bradshaw on 60 years of sensational, cerebral film-making
Alain Resnais, the acclaimed French film director whose 60-year career included such classics as Hiroshima Mon Amour and Last Year in Marienbad, has died aged 91.
His death on Saturday, the day after the Césars French cinema awards and on the eve of the Oscars, came as he prepared to launch his latest film, The Life of Riley later this month.
The film, which stars two of his favourite actors – his wife, Sabine Azéma, and André Dussollier – was awarded the Silver Bear Alfred Bauer prize when it premiered at last month's Berlin film Ffestival. It is based on an Alan Ayckbourn; the playwright and his wife witnessed the film-maker's marriage to Azéma in Scarborough.
Pierre Arditi, another member of Resnais's "troupe" of favourite actors,...
Peter Bradshaw on 60 years of sensational, cerebral film-making
Alain Resnais, the acclaimed French film director whose 60-year career included such classics as Hiroshima Mon Amour and Last Year in Marienbad, has died aged 91.
His death on Saturday, the day after the Césars French cinema awards and on the eve of the Oscars, came as he prepared to launch his latest film, The Life of Riley later this month.
The film, which stars two of his favourite actors – his wife, Sabine Azéma, and André Dussollier – was awarded the Silver Bear Alfred Bauer prize when it premiered at last month's Berlin film Ffestival. It is based on an Alan Ayckbourn; the playwright and his wife witnessed the film-maker's marriage to Azéma in Scarborough.
Pierre Arditi, another member of Resnais's "troupe" of favourite actors,...
- 3/3/2014
- by Anne Penketh
- The Guardian - Film News
When I awoke this morning to the unhappy news that Alain Resnais, the French director of "Last Year at Marienbad," "Hiroshima, Mon Amour" and "Night and Fog" among many, many others, had passed away at the age of 92, my first thought was how different the moment felt to most other announcements of veteran artists' departures -- more sorely immediate than the usual solemn, remove-your-hat mourning. Most nonagenarian directors who die do so with their life's work complete; Resnais's certainly wasn't lacking, but the man wasn't finished either. Only three weeks ago, Resnais premiered his 19th feature, "Life of Riley," in Competition at the Berlin Film Festival to warm applause and even a couple of trophies. The jury awarded him the Alfred Bauer Prize for "a film that opens new perspectives on cinematic art" -- an award that, at first blush, seems an odd fit for one as comfortingly seasoned and familiar as Resnais,...
- 3/2/2014
- by Guy Lodge
- Hitfix
France ruled the film world in 2013, producing some of the most critically acclaimed and controversial titles. La Vie D’Adele took home the Palme D’Or and has since been subject to intense debate around the ethics of the film’s production and its depiction of sexuality. Among the other highlights was Alain Guirandie’s L’Inconnu du lac, a frighteningly tense and beautiful film about a gay cruising spot haunted by murder. Even Godard produced a film, a 3-D short about cinema and truth in 3x3D, alongside Peter Greenaway and Portuguese filmmaker Edgar Pera. This is just the tip of the iceberg as filmmakers like Claire Denis, Michel Gondry, Roman Polanski, and Phillipe Garrel also released new French-produced films in 2013.
Looking forward, though it may seem unlikely that France will repeat its 2013 effort, there are many great French films on the horizon for 2014. The new year promises new...
Looking forward, though it may seem unlikely that France will repeat its 2013 effort, there are many great French films on the horizon for 2014. The new year promises new...
- 1/6/2014
- by Justine Smith
- SoundOnSight
Dirk Bogarde: ‘Victim’ star took no prisoners in his letters to Dilys Powell Letters exchanged between film critic Dilys Powell and actor Dirk Bogarde — one of the most popular and respected British performers of the twentieth century, and the star of seminal movies such as Victim, The Servant, Darling, and Death in Venice — reveals that Bogarde was considerably more caustic and opinionated in his letters than in his (quite bland) autobiographies. (Photo: Dirk Bogarde ca. 1970.) As found in Dirk Bogarde’s letters acquired a few years ago by the British Library, among the victims of the Victim star (sorry) were Academy Award winner Vanessa Redgrave (Julia), a "ninny" who was “so utterly beastly to [Steaming director Joseph Losey] that he finally threw his script at her face”; and veteran stage and screen actor — and Academy Award winner — John Gielgud (Arthur), who couldn’t "understand half of Shakespeare" despite being renowned for his stage roles in Macbeth,...
- 9/23/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
No sleep for cinephiles as the fall festival season keeps stacking one enticing movie upon another. In case you thought it was only new movies worth paying attention to, guess again, as the New York Film Festival has unveiled a slate of restored films (along with with their Documentary, Applied Science and How Democracy Works Now programming) that will be heavenly manna for those looking to check out classic films in crisp new editions. So what can you look forward to? Martin Scorsese's underrated and pretty gorgeous "The Age Of Innocence" gets a restoration. Two Nicholas Ray films get spruced up — his rodeo western "The Lusty Men" and film noir classic "The Live By Night" — while French filmmaker Leos Carax also gets two movies restored with "Mauvais Sang" and "Boy Meets Girl." Legends Luschino Visconti and Alain Resnais get "Sandra" and "Providence" touched up respectively while filmmakers Apichatpong Weerasetakhul,...
- 8/26/2013
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Following the announcement that came earlier this week, launching yet another hugely impressive line-up at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, the respective line-up has now been announced for what is in some ways its European counterpart, the 2013 Venice Film Festival.
The announcement shows that the two will continue to have a number of films overlapping, including Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity (the Opening Night Film in Venice), Peter Landesman’s Parkland, Stephen Frears’ Philomena, and more. But it also brings with its news of where a number of films will be making their debut, including Terry Gilliam’s The Zero Theorem; the latest film from Hayao Miyazaki, The Wind Rises; James Franco’s Child of God; Lee Sang-il’s Yurusarezaru Mono, the Japanese remake of Unforgiven; and Steven Knight’s Locke, led by Tom Hardy, and shot in one take.
In Competition
Es-Stouh – Merzak Alloucache (Algeria, France, 94’) L’Intrepido – Gianni Amelio (Italy,...
The announcement shows that the two will continue to have a number of films overlapping, including Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity (the Opening Night Film in Venice), Peter Landesman’s Parkland, Stephen Frears’ Philomena, and more. But it also brings with its news of where a number of films will be making their debut, including Terry Gilliam’s The Zero Theorem; the latest film from Hayao Miyazaki, The Wind Rises; James Franco’s Child of God; Lee Sang-il’s Yurusarezaru Mono, the Japanese remake of Unforgiven; and Steven Knight’s Locke, led by Tom Hardy, and shot in one take.
In Competition
Es-Stouh – Merzak Alloucache (Algeria, France, 94’) L’Intrepido – Gianni Amelio (Italy,...
- 7/26/2013
- by Kenji Lloyd
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Italian actress Claudia Cardinale to be guest host for the section at the 70th Venice International Film Festival where William Friedkin will receive a lifetime achievement honour.
Claudia Cardinale, best known for roles in Once Upon a Time in the West and Fellini’s 8 ½, is to be the guest host of Venezia Classici, the section devoted to restored films and to documentaries about cinema of the 70th Venice International Film Festival (August 28 – September 7.
The section, introduced last year, features a selection of classic film restorations completed over the past year by film libraries, cultural institutions or production companies around the world.
Cardinale will attend the screening of Vaghe stelle dell’Orsa, Luchino Visconti’s 1965 film in which she starred that won the Golden Lion at the 30th Viff and has been restored by Sony Pictures Entertainment.
It is is one of the four classics restored this year that has been conserved at the Historic Archives of the...
Claudia Cardinale, best known for roles in Once Upon a Time in the West and Fellini’s 8 ½, is to be the guest host of Venezia Classici, the section devoted to restored films and to documentaries about cinema of the 70th Venice International Film Festival (August 28 – September 7.
The section, introduced last year, features a selection of classic film restorations completed over the past year by film libraries, cultural institutions or production companies around the world.
Cardinale will attend the screening of Vaghe stelle dell’Orsa, Luchino Visconti’s 1965 film in which she starred that won the Golden Lion at the 30th Viff and has been restored by Sony Pictures Entertainment.
It is is one of the four classics restored this year that has been conserved at the Historic Archives of the...
- 7/15/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
In the House presents viewers with a series of sharp and often dizzying reflections on the meaning of realism and the moral duty of the writer
François Ozon's new film In the House marks the completion of a decade-long enterprise – a study, drawn from three angles at five-year intervals, of that cold-blooded parasite, the novelist. The approach is a broad one, psychoanalytic, anthropological, even literary-critical, with emphasis on where the creative urge comes from – being an only child helps – and how it is indulged, the wellsprings of creativity and its workings, too. When it comes to describing the relationship between life and art, Ozon isn't above drawing parallels and even arrows, though most of the time he aligns himself with a more antic French tradition – previous representatives include Alain Resnais and Jacques Rivette – in which the two are intertwined to the point of blurring.
Swimming Pool (2002), the first of these films,...
François Ozon's new film In the House marks the completion of a decade-long enterprise – a study, drawn from three angles at five-year intervals, of that cold-blooded parasite, the novelist. The approach is a broad one, psychoanalytic, anthropological, even literary-critical, with emphasis on where the creative urge comes from – being an only child helps – and how it is indulged, the wellsprings of creativity and its workings, too. When it comes to describing the relationship between life and art, Ozon isn't above drawing parallels and even arrows, though most of the time he aligns himself with a more antic French tradition – previous representatives include Alain Resnais and Jacques Rivette – in which the two are intertwined to the point of blurring.
Swimming Pool (2002), the first of these films,...
- 3/23/2013
- by Leo Robson
- The Guardian - Film News
A year or so ago, while writing about the brilliant poster for Alain Resnais’s most recent film, Wild Grass, I was a little disparaging of other recent Resnais posters with their wacky ensemble montages. Go further back in Resnais' filmography, however, and there are some truly exceptional designs. The newly reopened Museum of the Moving Image is currently in the middle of “the most complete retrospective of Resnais’s films ever presented in New York,” which is reason enough to look back at some of this work.
Resnais’ first three features, Hiroshima, mon amour (1959), Last Year at Marienbad (1961) and Muriel (1963), groundbreaking masterpieces all, have inevitably inspired the most inventive and varied work. The stunning French grande for Muriel, above, is one of my favorites. Having not seen the film in a while I can’t tell if this is an unadulterated still from the film or not, but the...
Resnais’ first three features, Hiroshima, mon amour (1959), Last Year at Marienbad (1961) and Muriel (1963), groundbreaking masterpieces all, have inevitably inspired the most inventive and varied work. The stunning French grande for Muriel, above, is one of my favorites. Having not seen the film in a while I can’t tell if this is an unadulterated still from the film or not, but the...
- 3/12/2011
- MUBI
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