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Any student of cinema is also, by extension, a student of history. In other words, it's always informative to not just know what a film has to say, but at what point it was saying it. To anyone who's observed both American history and American cinema, the way that the Vietnam War was discussed and portrayed during the years just before, during, and after the conflict is fascinating. Most of us Millennials and younger have grown up during an era of people crying "too soon!" when it comes to openly political commentary in media, and indeed, in some cases it feels like films addressing national issues have taken their sweet time to emerge. For instance, despite being five years into the Covid-19 pandemic, and excluding the handful of films which have used the pandemic as a backdrop, it still feels like a largely unaddressed aspect of our modern life.

However,...

This weekend, the new video game adaptation Until Dawn makes its debut in theaters. Just ahead of the movie's official premiere on April 25, its debut Rotten Tomatoes score has been revealed through early reviews from critics.

As it stands, Until Dawn is holding a Rotten Tomatoes score of 54%. Proving to be divisive with critics, Until Dawn has endured some criticism with some reviewers claiming it doesn't hold up to the source material. However, other critics are finding the horror flick to be a lot of fun, praised for its practical FX and "visually captivating horror sequences," as Manuel São Bento of FandomWire said.

"[David F.] Sandberg, [Gary] Dauberman, and their fellow cast and crew clearly wish to do nothing more than put on a good horror show, and the creatures, effects, and gags they've come up with do exactly that," Bill Bria of Slashfilm also said.

"Until Dawn is a classy throwback to simpler times,...

Before “Until Dawn” was a movie, it was a video game that was also basically a movie. Developed by Supermassive Games and co-written by indie horror luminary Larry Fessenden (“Wendigo”), “Until Dawn” starred notable actors like Peter Stormare, Hayden Panettiere and future Oscar-winner Rami Malek. Players were guided through a mixed-bag monster movie in which early decisions reaped unexpected consequences as the game continued. It was essentially a 10-hour “cabin in the woods” b-movie you could rewatch/replay over and over, so characters died differently or stayed alive depending on your idle whims.

But the main story of “Until Dawn” was always the same: a group of teenagers goes to a secluded mountain lodge and are attacked by a deranged killer, and eventually supernatural monsters. That story has been almost entirely ignored — for better or worse — by David F. Sandberg’s extremely loose adaptation. There are still teens, there’s...

Until Dawnwriter-producer Gary Dauberman confirms that one fan-favorite video game character is still just as important as ever.

Per Reddit, Dauberman recently discussed the role that Dr. Hill, portrayed by Peter Stormare in both the original video game and its big screen adaptation, will be playing in the upcoming film. "It's the same Dr. Hill from the game," Dauberman stated. "I'm not quite sure how to answer your other questions [about his intentions] without getting into spoilers… But broadly speaking, his role in the movie is just as crucial as it was in the game. I know that's not as satisfactory of an answer as you'd like. If you want to get more specific with your question, maybe I can get more specific with my answer."

Developed by Supermassive Games, 2015's Until Dawn was an interactive survival horror experience that put players in control of eight young adults whose weekend getaway to the...

After finding immense success as a video game, Until Dawn will be transitioning to the big screen with the release of the upcoming feature film adaptation. The Until Dawn film is slated to hit theaters on April 25, 2025.

In anticipation of the film's release, a panel for Until Dawn was held at WonderCon with Cbr's Grae Drake serving as host. Drake also spoke with some of the stars of the film about what horror fans can expect, and it was made very clear that Until Dawn is worthy of its R rating. This was stressed by Ella Rubin and Michael Cimino, who plays two of the movie's lead characters, Clover and Max.

"Yes. Beware, there is a lot of gore, a lot," Cimino said.

Beware, there is a lot of gore, a lot.

Rubin added, "You might see a little bit of blood at some point in the film, and if it freaks you out,...

This article mentions self-harm.

Robert De Niro has starred in some of the greatest movies ever made, and even after 60 years, his career has no end in sight. From The Godfather: Part II to The Irishman, De Niro never turns in a bad performance, and in the early 1970s, De Niro made a name for himself by pairing up with director Martin Scorsese. However, it was the actor's team-up with director Michael Cimino for the film The Deer Hunter that was a game-changer in a world coping with the Vietnam War.

The Deer Hunter follows three working-class men before, during, and after serving in the Vietnam War. Mike Vronsky, Steven Pushkov, and Nikanor "Nick" Chevotarevich are Russian-Americans who live in a small steel mill town of Claritan, Pennsylvania. The film begins with Steven's wedding, taking place a mere couple of days before he ships off to Vietnam with Mike and Nick.

On paper, Heaven's Gate was bound for greatness. It was written and directed by Michael Cimino who, at the time, was riding high on the financial and critical success of his seminal Vietnam War film, The Deer Hunter. The film also starred some of the biggest actors of the late '70s, including Kris Kristofferson, Christopher Walken, John Hurt, Jeff Bridges, and more. That the film was also an epic Western and musical in the style of Golden Age Hollywood made its failure seem improbable.

Unfortunately, Heaven's Gate became one of the most controversial films ever made. Not only did it bomb financially and critically, but it performed so badly that it almost killed its studio, United Artists. But more importantly, Heaven's Gate was such a disastrous and historical failure that it killed both Cimino's career and one of the most important artistic movements of the 20th Century. It's...

Filmmaker Catherine Hardwicke is underway in Los Angeles on Street Smart, an indie drama said to mark a return to the gritty, immersive storytelling of her films Lords of Dogtown and Thirteen. Cast for the ensemble piece includes Isabelle Fuhrman (Orphan), Yara Shahidi (Sitting in Bars with Cake), Michael Cimino (Never Have I Ever), Daniel Zovatto (Woman of the Hour), Sylvester Powell (All American: Homecoming), Kaitlyn Kemp (The Razor’s Edge), Miles McKenna (Goosebumps), and pro skateboarder Isiah Hilt.

Co-written by Hardwicke and 13 Reasons Why‘s Nic Sheff, Street Smart offers a look into the lives of a lively group of unhoused young adults in the iconic beach town, who come together with humor and a bit of Robin Hood-style larceny, forging unbreakable bonds and redefining what it means to be a family.

Poster Child Pictures’ Natalie Marciano is producing alongside...

Catherine Hardwicke is returning to her Dogtown roots for her latest directorial effort, “Street Smart,” which centers on a group of unhoused young adults in the iconic Southern California beach town of Venice.

Hardwicke co-wrote the drama with New York Times best-selling author and screenwriter Nic Sheff, which is said to offer a “gripping” look into the lives of the lively group who “come together with humor and a bit of Robin Hood-style larceny, forging unbreakable bonds and redefining what it means to be a family.”

The stellar ensemble cast includes Isabelle Fuhrman, Yara Shahidi, Michael Cimino, Daniel Zovatto, Kaitlyn Kemp, Miles McKenna and pro skateboarder Isiah Hilt.

“In the wake of the recent tragedies that have profoundly impacted Los Angeles and the Hollywood community, we feel incredibly fortunate to be working in L.A.,” Hardwicke said in a statement announcing the production start. (Principal photography began on Jan. 27 in Los Angeles.

Actor John Cazale is notable not just for his talents and intensity as a performer, but also for having one of the most impressive filmographies for any actor with a career as short as his. Cazale, a prolific theater veteran, famously only appeared in five feature films before his untimely death of lung cancer in 1978 at the age of 42. Those five films, however, are often considered some of the best and most significant films of the 1970s, which is saying something.

Cazale appeared in three Francis Ford Coppola movies, as well as Sidney Lumet's stirring bank robber drama "Dog Day Afternoon" and Michael Cimino's "The Deer Hunter." Cazale played supporting roles in all of them. Each one of them was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Three of them won.

Cazale's film career, of course, was only a small piece of his acting experience. Notoriously guarded and shy,...

Step into the lobby of the midtown New York offices of A24, the film production company that’s earned its reputation as an auteur-friendly studio and distributor. Walk away from the tidy receptionist’s desk and through the tastefully decorated lobby, past the long, slab-like conference table and the surprisingly comfortable couches and the small glass coffee tables. As you approach the large picture windows that offer a lovely view of Herald Square, look to your left. What appears to be a light-wood wall panel is actually a door, leading into a semi-secret library.

Although there is a fourth movie connected to The Godfather trilogy, there is a reason that viewers have rarely heard of 1987’s The Sicilian. The Godfather trilogy is often listed among the greatest movies of all time, even though director Francis Ford Coppola’s final installment is generally viewed as a letdown. Coppola’s first two Godfather movies were so influential and acclaimed that the series as a whole is typically viewed as a vital piece of cinematic history, and even The Godfather Part 3 is better than critics gave the belated sequel credit for upon its original release.

Related Why Fredo Betrayed Michael In The Godfather Part II

The Godfather Part II's ending centers on the tragic fallout of Fredo betraying Michael Corleone, but why did Fredo almost get his brother killed?

As such, it might seem surprising that The Godfather Part 4 never happened. While some cast members were arguably...

A tender ghost story for the whole family to enjoy this Halloween, Girl Haunts Boy is a PG fantasy romance movie that has enjoyed instant success on Netflix upon its release on October 10, 2024. The story follows Cole Sanchez (Michael Cimino), a troubled school student who forms an unlikely friendship with Bea (Peyton List), a benevolent ghost from the 1920s stuck in modern times.

As Bea and Cole grow closer, the movie strolls down a primrose path toward a romantic happy ending. However, right when fans think they've seen this story time and again, Girl Haunts Boy sidesteps predictable clichs and ends with a genuinely touching resolution that proves how much Bea and Cole care for one another. Yet, given the various timelines, the story can get confusing. As such, exploring whether Bea and Cole end up together at the end of Girl Haunts Boy will help viewers understand what transpires.

Reflecting the breadth of her legacy across different continents, French actor Isabelle Huppert was celebrated by the likes of Alfonso Cuarón, Claire Denis, Alejandro Jodorowsky and François Ozon at the 15th edition of the Lumiere Film Festival in Lyon where she received a sprawling career tribute on Oct. 18.

Huppert kicked off the festivities as she entered the 3000-seat auditorium dancing to the 1980’s disco beats of “Nuit de folie,” dressed in a shimmery champagne gown.

The joyful ceremony, emceed by Huppert’s longtime friend (and Cannes boss) Thierry Fremaux who runs the Lumiere Film Festival, was punctuated by live musical numbers ranging widely from Camelia Jordana’s singing a capella “I Will Survive,” to Julien Clerc performing his 1978 cult song “Ma Preference” by the piano, and French actor Sandrine Kiberlain playfully singing “Nuit de folie” which was said to be Huppert’s unexpected all-time favorite song.

The most vibrant homage...

Under the best of conditions, Michael Cimino's "Heaven's Gate" was never going to be an easy sell to a studio, nor to moviegoers. Written in 1971, seven years before the writer-director's "The Deer Hunter" won five Academy Awards (including Best Picture and Best Director), the film was to be an epic account of the Johnson County, Wyoming range wars waged by cattlemens' associations versus alleged rustlers (many of whom were simply small farmers and ranchers). This might all sound terribly exciting, fraught with action even, but even on a commercial success like "The Deer Hunter," Cimino evinced an unconventional method of storytelling. He liked to soak the audience in the distinct lives of his characters so that the small and/or massive tragedies of their lives -- and just about everyone meets a tragic terminus in Cimino's prime work -- resonate with a sense of the personal. He wants us to know these people.

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For an industry often referred to as a "dream factory," it makes sense that what constitutes a success or a failure in the film business is based largely on perception. This is because the necessary facts in judging a film's financial performance are rarely available for outsiders to peruse. As detailed in the showbiz nonfiction classic "Fatal Subtraction: How Hollywood Really Does Business" by Pierce O'Donnell and Dennis McDougal, studios go to great lengths to conceal their "creative" accounting practices — which, in this case, allowed Paramount to use the profits from the Eddie Murphy blockbuster "Coming to America" to cover the company's overall losses.

Still, some movies are such obvious flops there's no way they're actually, despite their lousy box office performance, secret hits, right?

Ask anyone with a general sense of film history to name a film that epitomizes...

The actor was the real deal, whether as a cherubic psychopath in Peckinpah’s Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, or playing second fiddle to Barbra Streisand in the smash hit A Star Is Born

If Kris Kristofferson had never sung a single note, he would still have been remembered as a terrific screen actor in the Hollywood tradition of tough frontier masculinity, a movie star who worked with Scorsese, Peckinpah, Cimino and Sayles. He had a natural, unforced charisma in the rugged, take-it-or-leave-it tradition of Robert Ryan or John Wayne, or the newer style of Jeff Bridges and Sam Elliott.

Actually, without his recording career, he might have made it higher in the pantheon of screen legends, and his movie work was perhaps one of the casualties of Michael Cimino’s colossal folie de grandeur epic Heaven’s Gate from 1980, which damaged the prestige of everyone involved – Kristofferson was cast, or even miscast,...

Kris Kristofferson, who attained success as both a groundbreaking country music singer-songwriter and a Hollywood film and TV star, died Saturday at home in Maui, Hawaii. No cause of death was given, but he was described as passing away peacefully while surrounded by family. He was 88.

Said his family in a statement, “It is with a heavy heart that we share the news our husband/father/grandfather, Kris Kristofferson, passed away peacefully on Saturday, Sept. 28 at home. We’re all so blessed for our time with him. Thank you for loving him all these many years, and when you see a rainbow, know he’s smiling down at us all.” The statement was offered on behalf of Kristofferson’s wife, Lisa; his eight children, Tracy, Kris Jr., Casey, Jesse, Jody, John, Kelly and Blake; and his seven grandchildren.

Kyle Young, the CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum,...

Michael Cimino's ambitious Western epic Heaven's Gate was initially a box office bomb and ripped apart by critics. Behind the scenes, Cimino's extravagant vision caused chaos, with reshoots, a gigantic tree cut into thousands of pieces, and excessive filming. Various edited versions of Heaven's Gate have transformed the film from a flop into a beloved masterpiece over time.

Rising to a level of instant fame with his work on 1978s The Deer Hunter (which won five Academy Awards), director Michael Cimino attempted to steamroll his success from that film with an ambitious Western epic called Heavens Gate. Released on April 24, 1981, you would think that this Western war of a film would soar to previously unseen heights with the help of a cast that included names like Christopher Walken, Kris Kristofferson, John Hurt, and Isabelle Huppert. You would also safely assume that a $44 million budget would help the director...

NYC Weekend Watch is our weekly round-up of repertory offerings.

Roxy Cinema

Fidelio, our four-film program with Chapo Trap House’s Movie Mindset, closes with Roman Polanski’s The Ghost Writer and Clint Eastwood’s Absolute Power on 35mm, both introduced by myself, Will Menaker, and Hesse Deni this Friday, and with discounted $12 tickets by mentioning our program at the box office.

Museum of the Moving Image

70mm prints of 2001, Lawrence of Arabia, Tenet, and Far and Away screen; Sherlock Jr. plays on Saturday and Sunday.

Film at Lincoln Center

A new restoration of Shinji Sōmai’s Moving continues.

Film Forum

Restorations of Seven Samurai and Army of Shadows continue playing.

Anthology Film Archives

Films by James N. Kienitz Wilkins, Clio Barnard, and more screen in “Verbatim.”

Bam

Devil in a Blue Dress, Coming to America, a 35mm print of Sylvia Scarlett, and more screen in “Passing You By.”

Museum of Modern Art...

Year of the Dragon receives high praise for its realism from ex-Hong Kong mafia member Jimmy Tsui, who rates the gambling-house scene a near-perfect 9/10. Director Michael Cimino spent a year and a half researching and constructing a detailed replica of New York City's Chinatown for the film. Despite its realistic elements, Year of the Dragon faced criticism for perpetuating Asian-American stereotypes and its impact on New York City's Chinatown community.

Year of the Dragon receives a near-perfect score for realism from a mafia expert. Directed by Michael Cimino, with a script he co-wrote with Oliver Stone (based on the 1981 novel of the same name by Robert Daley), the 1985 neo-noir crime thriller follows a police captain in conflict with a ruthless Triad boss in New York City's Chinatown. Mickey Rourke leads the cast as Captain Stanley White alongside John Lone as Joey Tai, the head of the Triads.

In an Insider video,...

Young Guns played a major role in reviving the Western genre in the 1980s, catering to younger audiences with new talent. The success of Young Guns paved the way for a Western revival in the 1990s, with hits like Dances with Wolves and Unforgiven following suit. Emilio Estevez's interest in a potential Young Guns 3 suggests the legacy of the franchise and the impact it had on Western cinema is a lasting one.

The Western genre was all but dead throughout the 1980s, but some key members of the Brat Pack helped revive it. For decades, Westerns were one of the most popular movie genres and made the careers of icons like John Wayne, Gary Cooper and Henry Fonda. Around the beginning of the 1960s, however, younger viewers grew bored of them, though the emergence of Clint Eastwood's Dollars trilogy and the Spaghetti Western subgenre gave Westerns a much-needed boost.

Horror video game adaptation Until Dawn has announced its first cast members and they’re all rising stars. More on the news below.

In January, we brought you the news that the horror video game Until Dawn was getting its own film adaptation. David F. Sandberg, known for Lights Out and the Shazam! films, was announced as the director.

Now, we can reveal the first bit of casting for Until Dawn. Ella Rubin, Michael Cimino, Ji-young Yoo and Odessa A’zion have been cast in the film, but no details on who they are playing have emerged yet. Deadline was the first to report the news.

“At PlayStation Productions, we are always looking to find creative and authentic ways to adapt our beloved games that our fans will enjoy,” said Asad Qizilbash, Head of PlayStation Productions, Head of Product for PlayStation Studios, Sony Interactive Entertainment. “Alongside Screen Gems, we’ve assembled...

Screen Gems and PlayStation Productions have revealed four key cast members for the upcoming film adaptation of the popular horror game Until Dawn. According to Deadline, the actors cast are Michael Cimino, Odessa A'zion, Ella Rubin, and Ji-young Yoo.

The film version will be directed by Lights Out director David F. Sandberg. Annabelle Comes Home writer Gary Dauberman wrote the latest version of the script, with Blair Butler (Hell Fest) working on a previous draft.

Michael Cimino is best known for starring in Hulu's Love, Simon spinoff series Love, Victor, in addition to appearing in Never Have I Ever and Annabelle Comes Home. A'zion is probably best known for starring in the Netflix drama Grand Army, though she's no stranger to the horror genre, having starred in Hellraiser (2022). She also has the indie horror movie Hell House in development.

As for Rubin, you can catch her starring opposite Anne Hathaway...

Exclusive: Screen Gems and PlayStation Productions’ feature adaptation of the PlayStation game Until Dawn has set an ensemble of rising stars as Ella Rubin, Michael Cimino, Ji-young Yoo and Odessa A’zion have been cast in the upcoming pic. David F. Sandberg is set to direct.

“At PlayStation Productions, we are always looking to find creative and authentic ways to adapt our beloved games that our fans will enjoy,” said Asad Qizilbash, Head of PlayStation Productions, Head of Product for PlayStation Studios, Sony Interactive Entertainment. “Alongside Screen Gems, we’ve assembled a fantastic cast of new characters that builds upon our already stellar filmmaking team and their vision for the adaptation. We’re excited to reveal more about the movie soon.”

The logline is under wraps but the pic is being described as an R-rated and terrifying love letter to the horror genre, centering on an ensemble cast.

Gary Dauberman wrote...

John Wayne was one of the first actors approached to start in the notorious Western bomb Heaven's Gate. Wayne passed on the film, but had he starred, the legendary actor could have loaned it some star power. Heaven's Gate was lambasted upon release but has been reassessed in the decades since.

John Wayne was one of the first actors offered what would become the Western genre's most notorious flop, but his involvement could have saved it. John Wayne starred in 80 Westerns throughout his career, with The Searchers and Rio Bravo considered among his finest work. On the flip side, he had some duds too, such as later career efforts Cahill U.S. Marshal or Howard Hawks' Rio Lobo. Wayne had major successes in other genres too, but he'll forever be tied to the Western.

Even during the 1970s when Westerns were increasingly seen as pass and dated, the majority of Wayne's final films were "Oaters.

Michael Cimino's "The Deer Hunter" is a scalding experience. Over three hours, we get to know a group of Western Pennsylvania steelworkers who are plucked from their blue-collar town and thrust into the confounding hell of the Vietnam War. These are not complicated men. Left to their own devices, they'd put in their 40 hours a week, and spend their free time either throwing back beers at their local bar or tracking deer in the Appalachian Mountains.

Cimino lets us get comfortable with his characters in their natural habitat, so that, when they're captured by Viet Cong soldiers, and, among other tortures, forced to play Russian roulette for the gambling pleasure of their captors, we share their bewilderment and outright terror. This is where "The Deer Hunter" also becomes a problematic experience. Though the Viet Cong unquestionably abused prisoners of war, there is no substantial evidence that they forced American soldiers to play Russian roulette.

Nearly fifty years after its release, The Deer Hunter has stood as a modern American classic and an essential text in the canon of Vietnam War films. The film defined director Michael Cimino as a true auteur, further cemented Robert De Niro's legacy as the perennial actor of his generation, and announced Meryl Streep and Christopher Walken as powerful and graceful performers. Both Cimino and Walken were awarded Oscars for their impeccable work, which was capped off by a Best Picture victory for The Deer Hunter. Despite its monumental presence as a movie commenting on the operatic effects of the Vietnam War on everyday civilians, the 1978 film is at its best and most poignant when it steps away from the battlefield.

Reader, you have been lied to! Film history is littered with unfairly maligned classics, whether critics were too eager to review the making of rather than the finished product, or they suffered from underwhelming ad campaigns or general disinterest. Let’s revise our takes on some of these films from the wrongheaded to the correct opinion.

Earlier this year, the Criterion Channel launched a series devoted to films that have won Golden Raspberry Awards, or “Razzies,” prizes ostensibly created to recognize the worst that cinema has to offer. The idea of streaming’s most respected curator of film art showcasing a selection of Razzie winners was one whose time was long overdue, given the Razzies’ astonishingly reliable tendency to be on the wrong side of history; the list of nominations from any given year is typically more useful as a guide for suggested viewing than as an indication of what to avoid.

Joshua Logan’s Paint Your Wagon can be viewed as one of the last gasps of a dwindling Hollywood studio system, as well as a precursor to the New Hollywood. The film, with its expansive anamorphic vistas of the American Northwest, bears some superficial similarities to Michael Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate, which is often historicized as the end of the New Hollywood, given how it bankrupted United Artists. But in contrast to the profound sadness with which Cimino regards America’s history of violence, Logan’s musical romp takes a lighthearted approach to the process of resettlement, and it’s propelled by the contrasting personalities of Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood as bickering and tussling gold prospectors.

Paint Your Wagon straddles multiple genres at once, suggesting something like a western-inflected musical riff on Ernst Lubitsch’s Design for Living. The crux of the story concerns Ben Rumson (Marvin), a ne...

Paul D’Amato, who portrayed the despicable goon Tim “Dr. Hook” McCracken in the classic hockey movie Slap Shot and had a memorable scene in the best picture Oscar winner The Deer Hunter, has died. He was 76.

D’Amato died Monday at his home in East Brookfield, Massachusetts, after a four-year battle with progressive supranuclear palsy, a rare brain disorder, his fiancée, actress Marina Re, told The Hollywood Reporter.

“He was the most wonderful, sweetest guy, he fought so hard against this horrendous disease,” she said.

D’Amato also played a razor- and knife-wielding bad guy in Peter Yates’ Suspect (1987), starring Cher and Dennis Quaid, and appeared in other notable films including Heaven Can Wait (1978), F/X (1986) and Six Ways to Sunday (1997).

Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, D’Amato ice skated since childhood, served with the National Guard and attended Emerson College in Boston, where he acted in school plays and was a...

In his last dramatic and interminable years, Michael Cimino spent his days in solitude rewatching old movies in the Bel-Air mansion he bought during his heyday. On the rare occasions that he ventured out, he drove a Rolls-Royce he acquired while making The Deer Hunter in 1978, his chauffeur having left long ago, as well as his success.

Even in those final moments, he did everything he could to show a winning image to Hollywood, a town that had ostracized him ever since the colossal Heaven’s Gate fiasco that had bankrupted United Artists during the early ’80s. He had a perpetually ironic, scornful smile, but he was the first to know how pointless, even miserable, that act was. The only thing he had left from his triumphant years was some money, and he would show up at the hangouts of movers and shakers like the Polo Lounge, where he often ended...

In the 1980s, the Western genre suffered a decline due to the commercial and critical failure of Heaven's Gate. Heaven's Gate, directed by Michael Cimino, went wildly over budget and bombed at the box office, resulting in studios avoiding Western scripts for years. Westerns made a brief comeback in the 1990s with films like Dances with Wolves and Tombstone, but the genre's popularity has never recovered to its Golden Age.

The 1980s was the worst decade for Westerns, with the failure of one movie being (rightly or wrongly) to blame. During the so-called Golden Age of Hollywood, Westerns were one of the most popular genres. John Ford and John Wayne's Westerns are some of the most iconic, but there was also the works of directors like Howard Hawks (Rio Bravo) and actors such as Gary Cooper, James Stewart and Henry Fonda. Even B-Westerns tended to perform well, but moving...

Clint Eastwood's Pale Rider saved Westerns in the 1980s after Heaven's Gate's massive failure. Pale Rider was the highest grossing Western of the decade and encouraged studios to produce more Westerns. Eastwood hadn't made a Western since 1976, but returned to the genre with Pale Rider and expressed that he had missed it.

A Clint Eastwood Western proved the genre was alive and kicking, five years after a devastating box-office bomb appeared to kill them. Westerns were once one of the most popular genres in American cinema, but moving into the '60s and '70s, they started to feel old hat and outdated to audiences. Clint Eastwood was one of the last movie stars to make his name with them, thanks to the success of Sergio Leone's groundbreaking Dollars trilogy.

Other notable Clint Eastwood Westerns from this era include High Plains Drifter, but even he began to...

When Willem Dafoe receives his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Jan. 8, the distinction will commemorate more than just a four-time Oscar nominee, but an actor so versatile that he has embodied everything from a conflicted messiah in “The Last Temptation of Christ” to the tortured father figure of “Antichrist.” Is there an actor working today with greater range?

With his deep-set eyes, sharp nose and broad smile, Dafoe has depicted his share of devils, from creepy “Nosferatu” star Max Schreck in “Shadow of the Vampire” to comic-book villain the Green Goblin in “Spider-Man 2.” But he also excels at the other end of the spectrum, as when he plays God in Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things,” a Frankensteinian surgeon charitably committed to reanimating dead creatures, like Emma Stone’s Bella.

“My character has this beautiful predicament, because he adores her so much and she adores him, but what she needs,...

Exclusive: Prime Video has ordered the coming-of-age ensemble drama Motorheads, from writer/showrunner John A. Norris (All American) and executive producer Jason Seagraves (Hacksaw Ridge), to series.

Ryan Phillippe (Shooter), Nathalie Kelley (The Baker and the Beauty), Michael Cimino (Never Have I Ever) and Melissa Collazo (One Of Us Is Lying) have been set as series regulars.

Motorheads is about first love, first heartbreak, and turning the key in your very first car. Set in a once-thriving rust-belt town that’s now searching for a glimmer of hope, the series is the adrenaline-filled story of a group of outsiders who form an unlikely friendship over a mutual love of automobiles. And while some characters will be navigating the hierarchy and rules of high school, others will be racing from a dark past.

Phillippe will portray Logan, a former NASCAR mechanic who now owns an auto body shop in his hometown of Ironwood,...

From left: Brian De Palma, Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola Photo: Brad Barket There’s a new Martin Scorsese movie coming out, so of course it’s time for another round of the esteemed filmmaker’s King Lear-like rants against Marvel Entertainment and superhero movies as an...

Martin Scorsese (Jeff Spicer/Getty Images), Avengers: Endgame (Disney)Graphic: AVClub

There’s a new Martin Scorsese movie coming out, so of course it’s time for another round of the esteemed filmmaker’s King Lear-like rants against Marvel Entertainment and superhero movies as an existential threat to the art of cinema,...

Had Michael Cimino not killed New Hollywood with the financial disaster that was Heaven’s Gate, he might have eventually unmasked the movement anyway, exposing this supposedly new style of filmmaking as nothing more than the old way with a dirtier face. His debut feature, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, illustrates this in spades: One of the many intended cash-ins on Easy Rider’s success, the film reverses the nature of other counterculture road movies. Though it begins with sweeping, Fordian vistas and ends in muted, existential despair, the film is less a deconstruction of Americana by the intrusion of the real than a study of human interaction that reinforces, if tragically, its classical formalism and iconography.

As such, the film’s pairing of old and young functions not as a commentary on the generation gap or the trading of an antiquated set of values for a newer one, but as a means of drawing out their parallels.

The Godfather trilogy has a timeless quality and is beloved by many despite its imperfections and the passage of time. The Godfather story has a complex and muddied continuity due to the inclusion of separate novels and side stories that fill in the gaps between the films. Four additional books have been written about the Corleone family, but none of them have been adapted into movies, despite Hollywood's interest in continuing legacy IPs.

The Godfather is still regarded as the pinnacle of cinema by many. While far from being a perfect trilogy, the story of the rise and fall of the Corleone family has pleased many film buffs over time and different generations. These movies have a timeless quality that makes them endearing and entertaining despite pushing 50 years since the first one premiered.

Surprising as it may seem, The Godfather has a muddied continuity since there are the canonical events...

The 1978 war drama film The Deer Hunter is unique for shooting every scene on location, without the use of sound stages. The film was mostly shot in Cleveland, Ohio, with notable locations including St. Theodosius Russian Orthodox Cathedral and Lemko Hall. Other filming locations for The Deer Hunter include Loraine, Ohio (U.S. Steel Central Furnaces) and various locations in Thailand, including Patpong, Bangkok, and the River Kwai.

The 1978 war drama The Deer Hunter is unique in that sound stages were never used—every scene was shot on location. This is quite a feat considering the various locations around the world that the movie is set. The Deer Hunter, which starred Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, and John Savage, follows three Russian-American men from Pennsylvania preparing for and striving to recover from the Vietnam War. This required various filming locations to pull off, with real-world churches, businesses, and factories used as sets.

Critics question the accuracy of the Russian roulette scenes in "The Deer Hunter," pointing out that there is no historical basis for the Viet Cong forcing prisoners of war to play the game. The controversy surrounding the Russian roulette scene stemmed from concerns that it misrepresented the Vietnamese people as inhumane and painted a false narrative. Despite the controversy, "The Deer Hunter" is still highly regarded as one of the best war films, but viewers should be aware that many elements of the movie are not based on reality.

The Deer Hunter is often considered one of the best war films ever made, but thanks to one scene, that is not because of its accuracy. The 1978 epic war drama movie takes place during the Vietnam War and stars Robert De Niro as Staff Sergeant Mike Vronsky, Christopher Walken as Corporal Nick Chevotarevich, and John Savage as Corporal Steven Pushkov. The...

The Deer Hunter received critical acclaim for its powerful performances and realistic portrayal of the horrors of war, but it also faced backlash due to historical inaccuracies and a seemingly pro-war message. The film's success at the Oscars helped mitigate some controversies, but many still find its scenes, themes, and elements problematic and controversial. The Deer Hunter is debatable as an anti-war film, as it focuses more on the consequences of war rather than the war itself, and justifies American soldiers' brutality through portrayals of even more callousness from Vietnamese soldiers.

Although it’s been widely praised as one of the greatest war movies ever made, The Deer Hunter generated its fair share of controversy when it was released in 1978. The Deer Hunter revolves around three American steelworkers – played by Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, and John Savage – whose lives are irreparably destroyed after being sent to fight in the Vietnam War.

The film festivals can always be counted on to deliver surprise hits at this time of year, but meanwhile Hollywood must deal with another issue: Its Barbitude hangover.

Barbie’s billions will importantly impact upon how decision-makers frame future strategies on budget, content and promotion.

The megahit could also cast a pink cloud over awards season: Will message-minded Academy voters levitate Barbie to the same somber stratum as Nomadland?

Further, will Greta Gerwig, its auteur, become a victim of the Tom Cruise syndrome – a filmmaker-star whose work we are encouraged to admire but not honor?

Complicating matters, the bizarre lure of Barbie clearly encouraged ticket buyers to rally behind another assured Oscar nominee, Oppenheimer. It’s hard to find a precedent for feminist frivolity stoking an appetite for nuclear terror.

As such, battles over Barbitude might open a unique opportunity for a reborn Golden Globes. If 300 or so Globe voters,...

Few American filmmakers of the last 40 years await a major rediscovery like Hal Hartley, whose traces in modern movies are either too-minor or entirely unknown. Thus it’s cause for celebration that the Criterion Channel are soon launching a major retrospective: 13 features (which constitutes all but My America) and 17 shorts, a sui generis style and persistent vision running across 30 years. Expect your Halloween party to be aswim in Henry Fool costumes.

Speaking of: there’s a one-month headstart on seasonal programming with the 13-film “High School Horror”––most notable perhaps being a streaming premiere for the uncut version of Suspiria, plus the rare opportunity to see a Robert Rodriguez movie on the Criterion Channel––and a retrospective of Hong Kong vampire movies. A retrospective of ’70s car movies offer chills and thrills of a different sort

Six films by Allan Dwan and 12 “gaslight noirs” round out the main September series; The Eight Mountains,...

This article contains spoilers for Never Have I Ever season 4.

Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) has had a lot of love interests throughout Netflix’s comedy-drama series Never Have I Ever. From the love triangle of her, Ben Gross (Jaren Lewison), and Paxton Hall-Yoshida (Darren Barnet), to the intermediary love interest of Des (Anirudh Pisharody) in season three, Devi has no issues attracting young men of all types. It made complete sense then that the show brought another heartthrob into the picture for the first half of the final season. Ethan Morales (Michael Cimino) is a bad boy in every sense of the word. Ethan likes to vandalize vehicles, manipulate situations to his advantage, and win women over with his incredible smile and toned physique. He also showed he was capable of empathy and being a good partner to Devi throughout his short stint on the show.

This is why his...

Image Source: Getty / Michael Tran

In our Q&a series Popsugar Crush, we get to know some of our favorite celebs' more intimate details - from their first celebrity crush to their best love advice. This month, we're crushing on "Never Have I Ever" actor Michael Cimino.

Michael Cimino may have made a big impression on Maitreyi Ramakrishnan's Devi in "Never Have I Ever"'s fourth and final season, but he still hasn't found a way into the cast's "family group chat." Although he doesn't mind since he can at least say he's worked on a Mindy Kaling project, despite never actually meeting her.

Believe it or not, Cimino wasn't an avid viewer of the Netflix teen dramedy until he boarded it early last year - albeit he's known Darren Barnet (who plays Paxton) "for a long-ass time." In "Never Have I Ever," the 23-year-old trades in the sweet teen...

A new character named Ethan has arrived in the new season of Netflix's teen drama series Never Have I Ever and the actor who plays him might be a familiar face to some. The popular series, which originally debuted in 2020, released season 4 on Netflix. The show is created by Mindy Kaling of The Office and Lang Fisher, creator of Brooklyn Nine-Nine. The quirky, feel-good show stars Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Devi Vishwakumar, a bright and bubbly high schooler who searches for happiness and purpose in life.

Throughout Never Have I Ever's four seasons, Devi carries high hopes of getting into her dream college, making great friends, and finding the perfect romantic partner, all while dealing with the traumatic grief after losing her father. The show also stars Poorna Jagannathan as Nalini, Devi's mother, as well as Darren Barnet and Jaren Lewison, who play Paxton and Ben, two of Devi's love interests.

Christopher Walken is the cowbell. He’s the irresistible celebrity impression. Maybe he appears in a comedy as a parody of himself. It’s as if he’s trying to make audiences forget that he’s a tremendous actor, forged in the renewal of American cinema in the 1970s. He won an Oscar for his performance in 1978’s The Deer Hunter, Michael Cimino’s Vietnam War drama. The film’s success fast-tracked production of the similarly themed The Dogs of War, with Walken starring and Cimino slated to direct. The hard-edged thriller follows a group of mercenaries sent to assassinate the dictator of a foreign country, and this actually sounds like a stock military thriller. In one scene, Walken’s character Jamie Shannon is even described as “expendable.” Sylvester Stallone’s 2010 movie The Expendables would almost serve as a remake but for key differences in the story, as well as the level of action.

The cast and crew of “Xo Kitty” gathered on the pink carpet at Netflix’s Tudum Theater on Thursday — one week before the YA drama’s premiere.

The series focuses on Kitty (Anna Cathcart), the youngest sister of Lara Jean (Lana Condor) in the “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” series by Jenny Han. Kitty travels to Korea to have her own adventure.

Han and showrunner Sascha Rothchild skipped the event to hold the Writers Guild of America Strike picket line. However, members of the Han television universe, including “To All the Boys” star Noah Centineo, showed up to support Cathcart in the spin-off series. Summer Madison, who stars in Prime Video’s adaptation of Han’s other beloved trilogy, “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” also walked the carpet.

Stars Anthony Keyvan and Regan Aliyah showed subtle support for the WGA through fashion accessories. Keyvan wore a pin labeled...