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Stars: Stephen Lack, Patrick McGoohan, Michael Ironside, Jennifer O’Neill, Lawrence Dane, Robert A. Silverman, Mavor Moore, Adam Ludwig, Fred Doederlein | Written and Directed by David Cronenberg

David Cronenberg’s Scanners is a film that lingers in the mind long after the credits roll—not just because of its infamous head-exploding sequence, but because of the way it explores the intersection of science fiction, body horror, and psychological paranoia. Watching it again, I’m struck by its unsettling atmosphere, its mixture of cerebral and visceral horror, and its willingness to engage with themes that feel just as relevant today as they did over forty years ago.

At its core, Scanners is about a secret group of individuals gifted (or perhaps cursed) with extraordinary telepathic abilities. These “scanners” can read minds, control others’ bodies, and—in the most extreme cases—cause gruesome cranial detonations. Our protagonist, Cameron Vale (Stephen Lack), begins the film as a lost soul,...

A 4K restoration of David Cronenberg's 1981 film Scanners, a blend of horror, science fiction and thriller, has been released by Second Sight. It is dual format Blu-ray and Uhd. The Blu-ray has the 4K version rendered in HD. The crispness of the opening credits and the sharp angler interiors of the ConSec and Biocarbon offices and facilities are where the restoration is most noticeable. Howard Shore score for the film sounds considerably better than it does in previous home releases. From booming dissonant chords to the eerie and ethereal whine of electronica, its position as an element within the film has been returned to its full cinematic function.

Unfortunately a few of the special effects in the film don't hold up so well in the restored version, they can look a little dated and cheesy. There are places, for instance, where skin looks too even and smooth, there are no.

The director was discussing the row over Adrien Brody’s AI-enhanced Hungarian accent, saying ‘we mess with actors’ voices all the time’

David Cronenberg has suggested the AI controversy over Adrien Brody’s Hungarian accent in The Brutalist was an issue manufactured by the campaign of a rival Oscar film.

Cronenberg was speaking at the London Soundtrack festival alongside composer Howard Shore, and in remarks reported by the Hollywood Reporter, said that film-makers “mess with actors’ voices all the time”. Cronenberg said: “There was a discussion about Adrien Brody … [and] apparently they used artificial intelligence to improve his accent. I think it was a campaign against The Brutalist by some other Oscar nominees. It’s very much a Harvey Weinstein kind of thing, though he wasn’t around.”...

David Cronenberg, the Canadian body-horror master behind works like Crimes of the Future, Videodrome and Scanners, has shared his opinion about something he doesn't usually address: The Oscars. The director talked about the controversy that Brady Corbet's historical drama The Brutalistfaced before the Academy Awards this year when the film's editor admitted to using AI to make Adrien Brody's Hungarian accent more authentic. Cronenberg attributes the backlash to other Oscar nominees who campaigned against the film: "It's very much a Harvey Weinstein kind of thing."

Per The Hollywood Reporter, Cronenberg was at the London Soundtrack Festival, where he participated in a talk with his frequent collaborator Howard Shore. The composer has worked with Cronenberg on films like Crash, Naked Lunch and Eastern Promises, and he also composed the music for The Shrouds, the director's latest film, which is set to be released in 2025. Shore has also composed the scores for major Hollywood films,...

David Cronenberg is not one to suffer fools and he definitely knows a scam when he sees one. Amongst this year’s many Oscar-related scandals, perhaps one of the more futile narratives was around the use of AI in Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist.” Considering the project prided itself on being a throwback to classic movie-making, even shooting on film and utilizing the old format of VistaVision for certain scenes, many fans were disappointed Corbet would use such a divisive technology in his work. Speaking at London’s Royal Festival Hall during an appearance with composer Howard Shore at Soundtrack Festival, Cronenberg shared how he believed the uproar to be unnecessary and perhaps even orchestrated.

“I must confess, there was a scandal [with] ‘The Brutalist,'” he said (as per The Hollywood Reporter). “There was a discussion about Adrien Brody… but apparently they used artificial intelligence to improve his accent. I...

Following controversy around The Brutalist‘s usage of AI, David Cronenberg is coming to the Best Picture Oscar nominee’s defense.

During a conversation with longtime collaborator Howard Shore at the London Soundtrack Festival, the director theorized there was a “campaign against” the Brady Corbet-helmed film, noting that AI is used “all the time” in filmmaking.

“I must confess, there was a scandal [with] The Brutalist,” said Cronenberg, according to multiple outlets. “There was a discussion about Adrien Brody… but apparently they used artificial intelligence to improve his accent. I think it was a campaign against The Brutalist by some other Oscar nominees. It’s very much a Harvey Weinstein kind of thing, though he wasn’t around.”

Cronenberg explained that directors “mess with actors’ voices all the time,” citing John Lone’s performance in his 1993 film M. Butterfly.

“When he was being this character, this singer, I raised the...

David Cronenberg, the legendary Canadian filmmaker, has stepped into the fray over the use of AI in ‘The Brutalist.’ This awards-season contender, directed by Brady Corbet, has been turning heads with its epic storytelling and Adrien Brody’s powerful lead performance. But lately, it’s been getting attention for a different reason—some folks aren’t happy about how technology was used to tweak Brody’s Hungarian accent.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Cronenberg didn’t mince words when he spoke at a recent London Soundtrack Festival event alongside his longtime collaborator, composer Howard Shore. He suggested the backlash wasn’t just about ethics or art—it might’ve been a calculated move. ‘I think it was a campaign against The Brutalist by some other Oscar nominees,’ he said. ‘It’s very much a Harvey Weinstein kind of thing, though he wasn’t around.’ His take? This could’ve been...

Legendary horror director David Cronenberg has his own thoughts as to why the backlash against the use of AI in “The Brutalist” was so strong.

Back in January, “The Brutalist” editor Dávid Jancsó said AI tools were used to improve the Hungarian dialogue of stars Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones. The use of the controversial tech soon caused an online outcry against the Oscar front-runner, but Cronenberg believes the backlash was more than just a social media spat.

“I must confess, there was a scandal [with] ‘The Brutalist’,” Cronenberg said at London’s Royal Festival Hall (via The Hollywood Reporter). “There was a discussion about Adrien Brody… but apparently they used artificial intelligence to improve his accent. I think it was a campaign against ‘The Brutalist’ by some other Oscar nominees. It’s very much a Harvey Weinstein kind of thing, though he wasn’t around.”

He continued, “We mess with actors’ voices all the time.

David Cronenberg has offered up his thoughts on the backlash that the Oscar-winning film The Brutalist was on the receiving end of throughout awards season.

The Canadian filmmaker was at a London Soundtrack Festival talk with career-long collaborator Howard Shore to discuss some of the films they’ve partnered on over the years.

The two visionaries discussed M. Butterfly, Cronenberg’s 1993 film about a French diplomat (Jeremy Irons) who becomes infatuated with a Chinese opera performer, Song Liling (John Lone). Their affair lasts for 20 years, and they subsequently marry, but Irons’ character is unaware or willfully ignorant that Liling is a man.

Cronenberg compared his editing of the film to the criticism surrounding Brady Corbet’s post-war epic when it was revealed that artificial intelligence was used on the film’s lead, Brody (who went on to win the best actor Oscar for his performance), to enhance the accuracy of his character’s Hungarian accent.

One is the master of gruesome horror, the other is the composer who scored his most famous films. They sit down to discuss their 46-year collaboration, and the unlikely source of their darkest, most disturbing inspiration

What would having sex in a car crash sound like, as music? What about a gynaecological exam performed by identical twins, or a man’s transmogrification into a grotesque human-insectoid hybrid? These are just some of the challenges faced, over more than 40 years and upwards of a dozen films, by the composer Howard Shore as part of his long collaboration with the director David Cronenberg. Shore, 78, may have won three Oscars for the magisterial sweep of his Lord of the Rings score, but it is his work on the 81-year-old Cronenberg’s notorious body-horror movies, from The Fly to Dead Ringers and Crash, that is most indelible. Those last two films will be screening...

Mark Kermode and Jenny Nelson have written Mark Kermode’s Surround Sound: The Stories Of Movie Music – and it arrives this year.

Mark Kermode, as many of you will be happily aware, has several film books to his name, alongside his work as Simon Mayo’s wingman on the Kermode & Mayo’s Take podcasts. That, and he’s in a band: The Dodge Brothers. All of these things are relevant for what will come next in this story.

In 2013, after the publication of his book Hatchet Job, Mark Kermode first told me that he was working on a book about music in movies. But he’s taken a few pit stops on the way, and the original expected publication date of 2015 has, er, taken a few turns.

Kermode switched tack to his autobiographical book about his time in bands, How Does It Feel?: A Life Of Musical Misadventures, and...

The 30th annual Critics Choice Awards took place on Friday, February 7, at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California. Three films—Wicked, Emilia Pérez, and The Substance—each won three awards. However, none of them claimed the top honor of Best Picture, which went to Anora. Interestingly, Anora didn’t win in any other category that night.

Jon M. Chu, director of Wicked, won Best Director, making him only the third filmmaker to win the award for a musical. The others were Baz Luhrmann for Moulin Rouge! and Damien Chazelle for La La Land. Chazelle later won an Oscar for directing La La Land, but Luhrmann and Chu didn’t even receive Oscar nominations for their films. Wicked also took home awards for Best Production Design and Best Costume Design.

Emilia Pérez won Best Foreign Language Film, Best Original Song for “El Mal”, and Best Supporting Actress for Zoe Saldaña.

NBC continues to celebrate the 50th anniversary of “Saturday Night Live” with the new documentary, “Ladies & Gentlemen … 50 Years of SNL Music.” Following the recent four-episode docuseries “SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night,” amid the 50th season, which airs Sundays, and ahead of the star-studded, three-hour primetime event “SNL50: The Anniversary Special,” the feature-length music doc promises a deep dive into the musical performances that have become as much of a cultural hallmark as the comedy show’s sketches.

The doc is directed by Grammy and Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Emmy Award winner Oz Rodriguez, and features a roster of more than 50 interviews with musicians and “SNL” staffers, including Elvis Costello, Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish & Finneas, Dave Grohl, Debbie Harry & Chris Stein, Mick Jagger, Dua Lipa, Lorne Michaels, Fred Armisen, Conan O’Brien, Bill Hader, Eddie Murphy, Maya Rudolph, Bowen Yang and many, many more.

Here is when and where...

NBC is celebrating 50 years of Saturday Night Live by honoring all of the musical guests in a new three-hour special.

Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music is airing on NBC on Monday night (January 27) and will feature untold stories behind the culture-defining, groundbreaking and news-making musical performances, sketches and cameos of the past 50 years.

The special will showcase interviews with musical artists, cast, writers, producers and more who have been part of SNL’s legacy.

Oscar-winning filmmaker Questlove, who leads the band on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, directed the special with Emmy Award winner Oz Rodriguez.

“Everyone knows the most famous SNL appearances, whether it’s Elvis Costello, Prince or the Beastie Boys, but they’re the tip of a huge iceberg,” Questlove said. “The process of going back through the incredible archival footage was like being in a time machine, DeLorean or other. I’m so happy...

De Martin Scorsese a Walter Hill.

© mundoCine | Filmin | Universal Pictures

Hay películas que piden a gritos ser devoradas al filo de la medianoche, en alguna mohosa sala de arte y ensayo y rodeado de dudosas compañías. Cintas cuyo celuloide se quemaría cual vampiro maldito bajo la engañosa luz del día y que bajo ningún concepto deben ser contempladas mediante el uso (y abuso) de las nuevas tecnologías, sino con la deliciosa melodía de fondo de un proyector de 35 milímetros y una polvorienta moqueta bajo nuestros pies. Películas que nos envuelven con su atmósfera nocturna y canalla, que entran por nuestras pupilas y llegan a las venas mucho antes que al cerebro. Y es que la definición de “Películas de medianoche” ya la adoptaron J. Hoberman y Jonathan Rosenbaum en su fundacional libro Midnight movies en 1983 para referirse a las llamadas sesiones “golfas”, donde todo era posible dentro de una sala...

One of David Cronenberg‘s most beloved films is getting a brand-new ultra-high-definition treatment. Blu-ray.com has revealed that the label Second Sight is going to be releasing new Blu-rays and 4K Blu-rays of Scanners. The sci-fi thriller, which features powerful telepaths, is sealed in history as having one of (if not The best) head explosion scenes. And you can now see it in every gory detail when the new physical media is released on March 31.

Scanners stars Jennifer O’Neill, Stephen Lack, Patrick McGoohan, Lawrence Dane, and Michael Ironside. Following his 1975 film Shivers, Cronenberg penned a treatment for a sci-fi story called Telepathy 2000. The basic idea of the plot concerned a protagonist named Harley Quinn raping a woman telepathically in a subway before revealing itself as a spy story of corporate espionage. The evil Cytodyne Amalgamate Corporation deliberately bred Scanners as a government program to overtake the world. This idea...

Quick Links The Man of Steel Teaser Referenced Gandalf's Demise Man of Steel Was Unlike Earlier Superman Films

The recently released teaser trailer for the 2025 film Superman was the first chance for fans to see James Gunn's take on Superman in action. It was also the first chance to hear the soundtrack by John Murphy, who previously collaborated with Gunn on The Suicide Squad and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Murphy’s piece for the trailer was clearly based on John William’s iconic main theme from Superman: The Movie, but it was slowed down and played on an electric guitar rather than traditional orchestral instruments. Calling back to an earlier version of Superman was a logical choice -- especially since Gunn has emphasized the importance of Superman being a symbol of hope and optimism like he was during the Christopher Reeve era -- but the trailer...

Hans Zimmer's transcendental soundscapes enhanced Denis Villeneuve's Dune adaptations. The director addressed the Academy's decision to reject their bid to nominate Zimmer's score for Dune: Part Two.

Director Denis Villeneuve is disappointed that Dune: Part Two was not nominated for Best Original Score for the 2025 Oscars. "I am absolutely against the decision of the Academy to exclude [music composer] Hans [Zimmer], frankly, because I feel like his score is one of the best scores of the year," he asserted (per /Film). "I don't use the word genius often, but Hans is one." The Academy disqualified Zimmer's score, deeming it too similar to Dune: Part One's composition. Academy rules require sequel music to be more than 80% unique from the material used in the preceding installments.

Related Denis Villeneuve Has 1 Major Regret About Dune: Part 2

The director confesses he wished he could make a certain script change to the blockbuster sequel to Dune.

Tarsem Singh’s The Cell came at the end of a trend of 1990s noir films that merged the conventions of the genre with the aesthetics of music videos. Tarsem himself cut his teeth making music videos, most famously for R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion,” and his first feature at times feels like an assembly of images that strives primarily for visceral impact, throwing cohesiveness to the wind.

The narrative’s lack of connective tissue does make sense in the context of a film that largely takes place in a virtual reality rendering of the subconscious, the product of an experimental technology that becomes a law enforcement tool when the F.B.I. coaxes one of the tech’s researchers, Catherine (Jennifer Lopez), to enter the mind of captured serial killer Carl Stargher (Vincent D’Onofrio) in order to discern the location of a kidnapped woman set to be his next victim.

Fire up your ultra-high-definition televisions and Blu-ray players. One of the spicy films from the 90s’ most notorious screen vixen, Sharon Stone, is getting a new 4K remaster. Blu-ray.com has just revealed that the 1993 thriller, Sliver, which stars Stone, William Baldwin, Tom Berenger, Polly Walker and Colleen Camp. Vinegar Syndrome will be distributing the physical media release and it’s been scheduled to hit retailers on January 28.

The description reads,

“Carly Norris, a new resident of the chic, high-tech, and ultra-thin (like a sliver) Manhattan apartment building 113, is a divorcee looking for a good time. She finds that in her neighbor Zeke, a wealthy video game designer-cum-playboy who harbors a dark secret which her other neighbor Jack is all too willing to go into detail on. As Carly navigates her sexual tryst with Zeke and Jack’s increasing paranoia, deaths in 113 begin to pile up as do revelations about...

A documentary about the music performances on “Saturday Night Live” is coming to NBC, directed by Oscar winner Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Emmy winner Oz Rodriguez.

Titled “Ladies & Gentlemen … 50 Years of SNL Music,” the three-hour special will premiere on the network on Jan. 27 at 8 p.m. and stream the following day on Peacock.

The latest project celebrating five decades of “SNL,” the film will “feature untold stories behind the culture-defining, groundbreaking and newsmaking musical performances, sketches and cameos of the past 50 years,” per the logline.

The doc will also feature more than 50 interviews, including Bad Bunny, DJ Breakout, Elvis Costello, Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish and Finneas, Dave Grohl, Debbie Harry & Chris Stein, Mick Jagger, Dua Lipa, Darryl Dmc McDaniels, Tom Morello, Kacey Musgraves, Olivia Rodrigo, Mc Sha-Rack, Paul Simon, Chris Stapleton, Justin Timberlake, Lee Ving and Jack White.

Also interviewed are “SNL” creator Lorne Michaels and cast and creatives of present and past,...

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of “Saturday Night Live,” NBC is sharing the untold stories behind the late night staple’s culture-defining, groundbreaking and newsmaking musical performances, sketches and cameos over the years in a new documentary.

“Ladies & Gentlemen … 50 Years of SNL Music,” which is set to premiere Jan. 27 at 8 p.m. Et/Pt on NBC and stream the next day on Peacock, will be directed by Grammy and Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Emmy Award winner Oz Rodriguez.

“Everyone knows the most famous ‘SNL’ appearances, whether it’s Elvis Costello, Prince or the Beastie Boys, but they’re the tip of a huge iceberg,” Questlove said in a Thursday statement. “The process of going back through the incredible archival footage was like being in a time machine, DeLorean or other. I’m so happy I went on the trip and now get to share it with everyone.

Long trapped in standard definition, Panic Room will invade homes on SteelBook 4K Uhd + Blu-ray + Digital on February 18 via Sony.

The 2002 thriller has been newly restored in 4K, supervised by director David Fincher, with Dolby Vision/Hdr and Dolby Atmos audio.

Written by David Koepp, the movie stars Jodie Foster, Forest Whitaker, Dwight Yoakam, Jared Leto, and Kristen Stewart.

In the film, “Trapped in their New York brownstone’s panic room, a hidden chamber built as a sanctuary in the event of break-ins, newly divorced Meg Altman (Jodie Foster) and her daughter, Sarah (Kristen Stewart), play a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with three intruders—Burnham (Forest Whitaker), Raoul (Dwight Yoakam) and Junior (Jared Leto)—during a brutal home invasion. But the room itself is the focal point because what the intruders really want is inside it.”

The release includes:

Disc 1 – 4K Uhd:

4K restoration, supervised by director David Fincher Dolby...

This is our final round-up before the end of 2024, and it’s a good one. There are plenty of gift ideas lurking here––some choices to enjoy during time off, too. Note also that The Film Stage Holiday Gift Guide includes a list of my favorite cinema books from the last 12 months. One of those picks kicks off this column, and it is written by none other than the great Al Pacino.

Sonny Boy by Al Pacino (Penguin Press)

Al Pacino’s memoir, Sonny Boy, is easily one of the most eagerly awaited books of 2024. And for me, this look at the actor’s life and career more than lives up to the hype. Many highlights have already earned some social-media chatter––most notably young Al’s penis trauma (!), a near-death experience after a recent bout with Covid, and the reasons behind his decision to do Adam Sandler’s Jack and Jill.

A while back, we featured director David Fincher’s 2002 home invasion thriller Panic Room on a list of hard to find movies, given the fact that the movie had never made it to Blu-ray. Thankfully, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has now decided to make the movie easier to find, as they have announced that they’re giving Panic Room a 4K Uhd release on February 18th!

Scripted by David Koepp, Panic Room has the following synopsis: Trapped in their New York brownstone’s panic room, a hidden chamber built as a sanctuary in the event of break-ins, newly divorced Meg Altman (Jodie Foster) and her daughter, Sarah (Kristen Stewart), play a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with three intruders—Burnham (Forest Whitaker), Raoul (Dwight Yoakam) and Junior (Jared Leto)—during a brutal home invasion. But the room itself is the focal point because what the intruders really want is inside it.

The familiar presence, or at least voice, of Miranda Otto provides a reassuring connective tissue between the Lord of the Rings films and a new animated prequel: Her Éowyn, previously seen in Peter Jackson’s juggernaut live-action trilogy, narrates The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, set in her homeland of Rohan some 183 years earlier. Serving both as insurance against New Line losing the screen rights to J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels and as an appetizer to the upcoming live-action Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum (scheduled for 2026), the distinctly anime-style feature should prove equally appealing to both diehard fans and newcomers.

The lengths to which the producers will go to perpetuate that cinematic universe is evidenced in the fact that The War of the Rohirrim — scripted by Jeffrey Addiss, Will Matthews, Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou — is based on Tolkien’s appendices to his Lord of the Rings,...

Of all the blockbusters to receive the never-ending franchise revival treatment, "The Lord of the Rings" was always going to be the toughest nut to crack. Prime Video found this out the hard way with their "The Rings of Power" streaming series, seemingly unprepared for the feedback from a (let's call it passionate) fanbase that might as well have multiple PhDs in J.R.R. Tolkien apologia and never take kindly to deviations from established canon. And as anyone who sat through the mind-numbing "The Hobbit" trilogy can attest, we've already seen what happens when the fine line between art and commerce isn't merely crossed, but obliterated. In that sense, Middle-earth is the furthest thing from the mystical realm of Shambhala, blissfully isolated from Hollywood getting its grubby little hands on it. It's over a decade too late for that, I'm afraid.

So it falls upon "The War of the Rohirrim" to...

“All Middle-earth knows the tale of the War Of The Ring,” moodily intones Miranda Otto’s Cate Blanchett-esque voiceover at the beginning of The War Of The Rohirrim. But the story of Helm Hammerhand and his daughter Hèra, we are told, is “not a song you will have heard sung”. That’s partly because it’s a tale plucked from the depths of J.R.R. Tolkien’s appendices, set two centuries before Frodo was even a twinkle in Sauron’s Great Eye. It is almost literally a footnote, a feeling this spin-off film sometimes struggles to shake off — despite some impressive work.

Directed by Japanese anime master Kenji Kamiyama, this is the first Middle-earth feature-length film in a decade, and the first major animated outing for the series since Ralph Bakshi’s psychedelic 1978 adaptation. It’s an interesting match-up of people behind the camera — an odd fellowship of strangers from distant lands,...

Assuming you haven’t bought tickets to the symphony lately, your only exposure to classical music has been hearing it as the score playing in the background of movies. In that sense, musically, that stupid superhero movie you watched might just be the highest form of art you’ve experienced all year.

Those movies are going to be the absolute pinnacle of any composer’s career. Before that, they’ll be doing even sillier stuff, and that goes equally for the most famous composers of all.

6 John Williams Did the Original Theme Song to ‘Gilligan’s Island’

In the 20 years after 1976, four new movies broke the record for highest-grossing movie of all-time: Jaws, Star Wars, E.T. and Jurassic Park. All four of them were scored by John Williams. But a decade before the earliest of those four, Williams was enlisted to write the theme song to a TV show — a new series called Gilligan’s Island.

In 1995, David Fincher pivoted from making a "Blade" movie and instead gave us one of the best neo-noir crime dramas of all time. "Se7en" follows Morgan Freeman as Somerset, a retiring police detective who takes on one final case with the new transfer David Mills (Brad Pitt), only to find himself investigating a string of increasingly gruesome murders perpetrated by an elaborate serial killer.

Decades after its original theatrical release, "Se7en" remains a masterpiece. It's a thrilling cat-and-mouse game with a cast at their peak of their acting powers, along with an eerie atmosphere that can best be described as Gotham City without Batman to protect it (which makes sense since "The Batman" owes so much to this movie). Even if you know what's coming, it's hard not to become so engrossed in the world and the story that you find yourself surprised by the film's shocking ending as if...

There are few films that can capture the forthcoming bad vibes of 2025 better than this one. Celebrating its 30th anniversary next year, David Fincher’s newly-remastered Se7en is returning to theaters. Set open theatrically worldwide with exclusive IMAX engagements in the U.S. and Canada beginning on January 3, and international theatrical engagements on select dates, the theatrical run will be followed by a 4K Uhd and digital release on January 7, 2025.

The 4K restoration of Se7en was completed at Warner Bros. Discovery’s Motion Picture Imaging (MPI) and was sourced from the original camera negative. The restoration was overseen by director David Fincher.

Scott Nye said at its TCM Classic Film Festival premiere earlier this year, “David Fincher’s 1995 triumph Se7en was restored in 8K for IMAX presentation and an eventual 4K disc release. Fincher appeared in person at the Tcl Chinese IMAX Theater to relay familiar anecdotes––the...

Se7en will celebrate its 30th anniversary with a 4K Ultra HD + Digital release on January 7 via Warner Bros.

Two packaging options will be available: a SteelBook edition and a fold-out DigiPak housed in a rigid slipcase.

Director David Fincher supervised a new 4K restoration, presented in HDR10 with 5.1 DTS-hd Master Audio.

Special Features include:

Audio Commentary by Director David Fincher and Actors Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt Audio Commentary by Director David Fincher, Writer Andrew Kevin Walker, Editor Richard Francis-Bruce, former New Line President of Production Michael de Luca, and Author Richard Dyer Audio Commentary by Director David Fincher, Cinematographer Darius Khondji, Production Designer Arthur Max, Editor Richard Francis-Bruce, and Author Richard Dyer Audio Commentary by Director David Fincher, Sound Designer Ren Klyce, Composer Howard Shore, and Author Richard Dyer Deleted and Extended Scenes Alternate Endings Production Design Mastering for the Home Theater Exploration of the Opening Title Sequence...

Quick Links Moths Inhabited Many of Middle-earth's Forests The Lord of the Rings' Moths Served a Divine Purpose

In Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films, Gandalf received help from two members of the animal world. When he was trapped atop Saruman's tower of Orthanc in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Gandalf snatched a moth out of the air. He whispered a message to it, telling it to seek out Gwaihir, one of the Great Eagles. The moth later returned with Gwaihir to rescue Gandalf from Saruman. A moth appeared again in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, signaling the arrival of the Great Eagles at the Battle of the Black Gate. The Eagles helped the Free Peoples of Middle-earth in the fight against Sauron's forces, doing battle with the flying fell beasts.

Similar events...

The Cell will enter the mind of a killer on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray on January 21, 2025 via Arrow Video. The 2000 psychological sci-fi horror film will be celebrating its 25th anniversary.

Tarsem Singh directs from a script by Mark Protosevich. Jennifer Lopez, Vince Vaughn, and Vincent D’Onofrio star with Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Jake Weber, and Dylan Baker.

The theatrical and director’s cuts have been newly restored in 4K, approved by Singh, with Dolby Vision. An alternate version of the theatrical cut created by director of photography Paul Laufer is also included.

Disc 1 – 4K Uhd:

Theatrical cut (107 min) Director’s cut (109 min) Audio commentary with film scholars Josh Nelson & Alexandra Heller-Nicholas (new) Audio commentary with screenwriter Mark Protosevich & film critic Kay Lynch (new) Audio commentary with director Tarsem Singh Audio commentary with director of photography Paul Laufer, production designer Tom Foden, makeup supervisor Michèle Burke, costume designer April Napier, visual effects supervisor Kevin Tod Haug,...

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 brought metal to its soundtrack, highlighting a historical trend that once saw The Silmarillion get made into a whole album. With The Rings of Power season 3 inevitable, it is the right time to dive into the music that surrounds Middle-earth and has helped build it up into the institution that it is today. Starting off the story that would change the world forever across multiple art forms, Allen & Unwin published J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings in three parts between 1954 and 1955.

Beginning with The Fellowship of the Ring, the seminal novel introduced E, a pioneering high fantasy universe with races from Elves and Men to Dwarves and Hobbits. These unique species were the prototypes for countless fantasy characters in the franchises released in the years to come, including Dungeons & Dragons. The Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings...

There were great cinema composers before John Williams and there will be great composers after him. And yet, through his seven-decade career, he towers over everyone else. His music is not only iconic, but the movies we revere as classics wouldn’t have acquired such legendary status if not for his scores.

“Jaws” without John Williams isn’t “Jaws.” “Star Wars” without John Williams isn’t “Star Wars.” Although he only handles the music, the composer has left such a mark on cinema history that he makes a case as co-author of some of Hollywood’s biggest triumphs.

Director Laurent Bouzerau gives the full spotlight to the composer in the new documentary, “Music by John Williams.” Bouzerau is fully comfortable in his mode as celebrating Williams and his legacy, which is fine. I’m not sure I was looking for someone to “rip the lid off” the subject, and while...

The Lord of the Rings is known for Middle-earth, but Middle-earth is just one continent in Arda, which is the world within E - the universe created by J.R.R. Tolkien. Middle-earth's God, Eru Ilvatar, created spirit beings called Ainur first, and they lived with him in the Timeless Halls outside E. Eru proposed a musical theme and the Ainur sang the magical Ainulindal, which Eru then revealed had visualized a plan for E. The 15 most powerful Ainur, the Valar, went down into E with Ainur of a lesser degree called Maiar, and together they built what they had visualized.

As Eru ordained, these Ainur couldn't leave E until it was ended. Outside E lay the void. The Vala Melkor sought total control and gathered many Maiar to his service. The other Valar opposed Melkor and his forces from the Days before Days into the First Age. Coming to be known...

The 20th Zurich Film Festival wrapped up this past weekend after celebrating many accomplishments in cinema. The international film event, held in Zurich, Switzerland, recognizes films and people in the movie industry through competitive awards.

In the main film competition, the movie “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” won the top Golden Eye award. The film’s director, Rungano Nyoni, Accepted the prize from the jury of five film experts led by acclaimed director Lee Daniels. Nyoni’s movie stood out from other strong competitors. Another competition highlight was giving special recognition to Jianjie Lin’s film “Brief History of a Family”.

The documentary competition also saw “Black Box Diaries” take the Golden Eye award. The film was directed by Shiori Itō and impressed the documentary jury led by Kevin Macdonald. They noted the film’s powerful story and filmmaking quality. Other documtentaries earning mentions included Sandi DuBowski’s “Sabbath Queen...

Quick Links The Rings of Power's Title Sequence Symbolized Men and Elves Alike The Rings of Power's Title Sequence Showed Morgoth's Corruption The Rings of Power's Title Sequence Foreshadowed its Greatest Threats

The following contains spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2, Episode 8, "Shadow and Flame," now streaming on Prime Video.

Prime Video's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power boasted a unique title sequence that combined practical effects and CGI. It showed countless grains of golden sand shifting to form different images and abstract patterns. It took inspiration from a Chladni plate, a device that produces vibrations in the form of sound to manipulate the shape of sand or similar materials spread across its surface. This was more than just an interesting visual; it referenced the very origin story of Middle-earth. In the section "Ainulindal" from The Silmarillion, J. R. R. Tolkien...

Your browser does not support the video tag. Quick Links Where Did the Nazgl Come From? The Nazgl Theme Used an Ancient Language The Nazgl Theme Was Deeply Symbolic The Nazgl Theme Returned at a Surprising Point in The Hobbit

Howard Shore, the composer for Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, created an incredible soundtrack that defined the music of Middle-earth for a generation of fans. Shore made heavy use of leitmotifs, recurring pieces of music that denoted a certain character, location, or item. From the blaring horns and clanging metal of Isengard to the haunting melody of the One Ring, nearly every aspect of The Lord of the Rings had an associated theme. But few were as memorable as that of the Nazgl, or Ringwraiths, Sauron's nine most loyal servants.

The Nazgl theme stood out from the rest of the soundtrack because of the...

Composer Howard Shore likes to sleep on it.

“I try to get in touch with my inner feelings,” he said at the Zurich Film Festival, explaining his preferred method of working.

“If you think about cinema, you go into a dark room and all this imagery starts appearing. You are in a dream-like state and I like to use that idea when I write music for film. There is some napping involved, you try to be very relaxed and imagine what the piece could be. And then I set to work with my pencil, creating the actual score to what I am dreaming,” he said.

“I don’t study a film: I listen to it. I listen to the rhythm of the actors, the sounds. I kind of imagine the visualization, writing to this more abstract idea in my mind.”

A three-time Oscar winner, Shore received the Career Achievement Award at the Swiss festival,...

Much of the press about The Shrouds since its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year has focused on the deeply personal inspiration for the film: David Cronenberg’s grief over the death of his wife in 2017. For those who are aware of this context going in, one could see signs of that extra investment on the writer-director’s part here and there, especially in the way one of the film’s stars, Vincent Cassel, is made up to look like Cronenberg himself. Lest that suggests something more overtly emotional than what one might expect from the Canadian auteur, though, The Shrouds dispels that notion very early on.

The film’s opening credits sequence features a bunch of swirling dots that eventually form into the outline of a woman. Allied with the insinuating low-pitched electronic droning of Howard Shore’s score, the sequence dissolves into a dreamy...

"The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" is a fantastic adaptation of Tolkien's Legendarium, one that expands on what's on the page, capturing the brutality of war in the way that Tolkien portrayed it, and also incorporating the specific brand of silliness and whimsy that Tolkien infused into his world. (Season 2 doubles down on this by finally bringing Tom Bombadill to the screen.)

One big problem the series can't really shake is that it simply has too many characters and storylines. There is the story of Celebrimbor and Annatar working on the rings, Durin IV dealing with the corruption of the dwarves' rings, Galadriel trying to find Sauron, the political maneuvering in Númenor, Arondir and Isildur dealing with orcs and Entwives, and even The Stranger and the Harfoots on Rhûn.

That last subplot can often feel disconnected from the rest of the show, starting with the fact that...

The Zurich Film Festival (Zff) has unveiled its full line-up for its 20th anniversary edition, which takes place from 3-13 October.

Zff’s main competition line-up comprises 14 films, with eight of them directed by women. Two of them are world premieres: Lucia Chiarla’s Es Geht Um Luis from Germany and Lisa Bruhlmann’s When We Were Sisters from Switzerland.

“This year the female gaze dominates our competition. Numerous films tell their stories through the eyes of women, for example Linda or Mother Mara,” Christian Jungen said.

The competition is aimed at discovering new talents compromising first, second and third directorial works,...

When the world of music and the fantasy realm collide, we get something as beautiful and nostalgic as John Williams’ Harry Potter score and Howard Shore’s Lord of the Rings theme song. But while both the enchanting scores transported audiences to a world of magic and wonder, the iconic composers faced major competition during the 2002 Academy Awards.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone composer, John Williams | Image: YouTube/ Stephan Aubé

With Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring competing against each other, fans seemingly held their breath. However, considering how Hedwig’s theme transcended boundaries and remained popular through generations, people had anticipated a magical victory for Williams. Yet, the night ended with Shore’s epic composition taking the trophy, stirring both applause and chaos.

John Williams vs. Howard Shore at the 2002 Oscars

In the realm of film music,...

"The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" season 2 is not only a triumph, but it's also a vast improvement on the first installment and a treat for fans of Tolkien. Prime Video's Middle-earth series is an ambitious show that's not afraid to slow down and appreciate the sheer vibes of Middle-earth or get extremely weird — by, say, bringing in Tom Bombadil and Old Man Willow. The show's secret weapon lies not in the titular rings, but in composer Bear McCreary, who brings a truly unique and at times strange sound that builds on Howard Shore's music for Peter Jackson's Tolkien adaptations. Only McCreary would bring Meshuggah's Jens Kidman to sing the theme for Damrod the hill troll (or finally give Tom Bombadil a song and make it sound like a folk tune performed by Rufus Wainwright).

In fact, during a livestream on Instagram where he took questions from fans,...

Peter Jackson presents a groundbreaking journey back to Middle-earth through the eyes of legendary director Kenji Kamiyama.

#Lotr The War of the Rohirrim – only in theaters December 13.

The highly anticipated trailer for The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim has finally been released, and it’s already stirring excitement among fans of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic saga.

A Return to Middle-earth

The trailer opens with a sweeping panorama of Rohan’s vast, rolling plains, bringing back the familiar, majestic landscapes that fans have come to love. The iconic Edoras, capital of Rohan, stands tall against a dramatic sky, setting the tone for the epic conflict that is about to unfold. The animation style, while distinctly different from Peter Jackson’s live-action films, retains a sense of grandeur and loyalty to Tolkien’s rich descriptions of Middle-earth.

The Story of Helm Hammerhand

The film, set to be a prequel to the original trilogy,...

Quick Links The Two Towers Offered a New Perspective on a Memorable Scene The Return of the King Explored the Backstory of a Major Character The Rings of Power's Second Season Explained the Series' Biggest Twist The second season of Prime Video's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power opened with a flashback. This followed in the tradition of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King films. These flashbacks recontextualized the stories' prior events.

The following contains spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2, Episode 1, now streaming on Prime Video.

Prime Video's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power takes place in a separate continuity from any previous adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. However, given the massive cultural significance of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy,...

The imagery for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 has gone through some changes, but what does the new sequence mean? While the accompanying song (by Howard Shore) and general concept are the same, the Prime Video series' newest installment has a fresh new look. Rather than gold sand rolling into beautiful, cryptic shapes, the color has shifted to red. Additionally, as the music plays and the grains of sand undulate and bend, new shapes are formed, each significant to The Rings of Power season 2.

The title sequence in Rings of Power was created by Mark Bashore and Katrina Crawford, who were tasked with creating breathtaking visuals to go with the new original song by famed Lord of the Rings composer Howard Shore. The pair shared how they wanted to bring Tolkien's Music of the Ainur to the screen, with sand shifting as it would...

When The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power first premiered almost two years ago, the prequel series from showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, largely adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien's appendices for his Lord of the Rings novels, felt poised to expand on the epic world of Middle-earth in ways that even Peter Jackson's wildly successful film adaptations might have missed out on. To an extent, it succeeded, introducing viewers to younger versions of characters like Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and Elrond (Robert Aramayo), who were still a far cry from the stately Elven Lord and Lady they would inevitably become. Kingdoms that had not yet met with particularly tragic fates, such as the island of Nmenor and the Dwarven realm of Khazad-dm, were brought to life in their heyday of prominence, even if their ultimate destinies were carefully foreshadowed. Composer Bear McCreary's music for the series...