As various critics groups and awards bodies dole out their top films of the year, it can be hard to parse which ones are actually worth paying attention to. Following our top 50 films of 2023, one such list has arrived today with Film Comment’s annual end-of-year survey. Revealed at a special live talk last night, Todd Haynes’s May December, Kelly Reichardt’s Showing Up, and Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon grabbed the top three spots, while Eduardo Williams’s The Human Surge 3, Lisandro Alonso’s Eureka, and Víctor Erice’s Close Your Eyes topped the best undistributed films.
“It speaks to the ongoing vitality of cinema as an art form, as well as the discernment of our critics in the year of ‘Barbenheimer,’ that this year’s top films represent some of the most boundary-pushing, complex movies of recent times—three new classics from contemporary masters,...
“It speaks to the ongoing vitality of cinema as an art form, as well as the discernment of our critics in the year of ‘Barbenheimer,’ that this year’s top films represent some of the most boundary-pushing, complex movies of recent times—three new classics from contemporary masters,...
- 12/15/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI, and sign up for our weekly email newsletter by clicking here.REMEMBRANCEIsland in the Sun.The singer, actor, and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte has died, aged 96. Christina Newland wrote a piece on Belafonte for Notebook in 2020, praising his politics, his style, his music, and his work ss stage and screen. "His impact on American mid-century life has been so significant that it’s difficult to define him as any single thing, or to see him occupying only one role."NEWSNo Bears.Jafar Panahi has left Iran for the first time in fourteen years, it is being reported. Posting from an airport, his wife Tahereh Saeedi tweeted that, “after 14 years, Jafar’s ban was cancelled" and, that finally, the pair are "going to travel together for a few days…”The Cannes Film Festival have...
- 5/2/2023
- MUBI
Clint Eastwood had at last achieved film stardom in the United States when Sergio Leone's "Dollars Trilogy" was meted out to theaters over the course of 1967 and '68. The films were hits internationally, but had been held back from U.S. theaters because distributors were concerned Akira Kurosawa and Toho might sue them due to 1964's "A Fistful of Dollars," the first movie in the trilogy, bearing a remarkable similarity to the Japanese director's masterpiece "Yojimbo" (which was itself an unofficial adaptation of Dashiell Hammett's "Red Harvest"). Toho did sue, but the success of the second and third films, which were top-down originals, more than offset what they lost over the first movie.
In any event, Eastwood had emerged as a Western antihero for a new, rebellious generation. While he was more than happy to knock out more oaters in roughly the same revisionist vein as Leone's movies,...
In any event, Eastwood had emerged as a Western antihero for a new, rebellious generation. While he was more than happy to knock out more oaters in roughly the same revisionist vein as Leone's movies,...
- 4/15/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Archipelago (2010).On a pleasant afternoon in the Isles of Scilly, a family stand to have a photograph taken. Of the two grown-up children, their mother, and her friend, only the blond, curly-haired son has his face fully in the sunshine; he squints in the light. Edward, one of the central characters in Joanna Hogg’s second feature Archipelago (2010), is different from his mother Patricia and her sister Cynthia. He has “too much empathy,” according to his mother, and “always in an accusatory way,” his sister adds with a sneer. Virtuous Edward is about to go on a gap year to Africa, in that vague way that a gap year so often seems to be blithely to the continent rather than a particular place within it. Until then, he is spending some time with his family in an agreeably beige and blue country retreat, which is complete with a professional cook,...
- 1/23/2023
- MUBI
Following The Film Stage’s collective top 50 films of 2022, as part of our year-end coverage, our contributors are sharing their personal top 10 lists.
It was a year of unforeseen 180s. When I saw Elvis at Cannes, I thought it was awful, but I couldn’t get it out of my head. Two curiously voluntary watches later, I craved its glam-camp radiance. When 2022 began, Blonde was one of my most anticipated movies. When it ended, I’d watched 363 films, nearly 200 new ones, and only three-fourths of Blonde, a slog to end all slogs (if only). In the first three weeks of December, I watched 2-3 movies a day. In the last week, I didn’t watch anything, the longest stretch of cinemalessness I’ve endured since 2015.
Statistically, I watched ~25 more movies (~50 hours) than I did in 2021. Elvis, Eo, and JFK were my most rewatched at three times each, thwarting my yearly...
It was a year of unforeseen 180s. When I saw Elvis at Cannes, I thought it was awful, but I couldn’t get it out of my head. Two curiously voluntary watches later, I craved its glam-camp radiance. When 2022 began, Blonde was one of my most anticipated movies. When it ended, I’d watched 363 films, nearly 200 new ones, and only three-fourths of Blonde, a slog to end all slogs (if only). In the first three weeks of December, I watched 2-3 movies a day. In the last week, I didn’t watch anything, the longest stretch of cinemalessness I’ve endured since 2015.
Statistically, I watched ~25 more movies (~50 hours) than I did in 2021. Elvis, Eo, and JFK were my most rewatched at three times each, thwarting my yearly...
- 1/9/2023
- by Luke Hicks
- The Film Stage
It’s that time of year. Ahead of Sight & Sound’s once-a-decade poll launching later today, the 2022 lists are starting to arrive. One of our favorite annual traditions when it comes to the best-of-the-year movie list is a lineup that usually finds a more interesting path than all the various guilds and critics groups. The wonderfully eccentric director John Waters, whose eclectic tastes always includes a mix of the unexpected and underseen, hasn’t let us down this year with his top 10 films of 2022.
Published at Artforum, where one should click over to read his thoughts on each, his top 10 is topped by François Ozon’s Fassbinder reimagining and “Douglas Sirk perfect” Peter von Kant. Other selections include another film from François Ozon, Jerzy Skolimowski’s visually dazzling Eo, Luca Guadagnino’s Bones and All, starring Timothée Chalamet as a “butch twink,” and João Pedro Rodrigues’ Will-o’-the-Wisp, which “makes Titane seem tame.
Published at Artforum, where one should click over to read his thoughts on each, his top 10 is topped by François Ozon’s Fassbinder reimagining and “Douglas Sirk perfect” Peter von Kant. Other selections include another film from François Ozon, Jerzy Skolimowski’s visually dazzling Eo, Luca Guadagnino’s Bones and All, starring Timothée Chalamet as a “butch twink,” and João Pedro Rodrigues’ Will-o’-the-Wisp, which “makes Titane seem tame.
- 12/1/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Todd Field’s widely acclaimed Oscar hopeful “TÁR” takes on a rarified world rarely explored in movies: classical music. In the drama now in limited release, Cate Blanchett plays the Egot-minted conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic who idolizes Leonard Bernstein and is now recording Gustav Mahler’s fifth symphony in his vein. Except, she’s now in freefall, thanks to a blizzard of accusations from protégés and peers alike.
The movie may be divisive for its morally ambiguous take on a public figure and self-styled genius who unravels amid #MeToo-worthy allegations — when she’s not seemingly grooming an ingenue, she’s stomping over them, such as Noémie Merlant’s up-and-coming violinist-turned-assistant Francesca. But the movie now has one especially coveted imprimatur: that of Yo-Yo Ma, Grammy-winning cellist.
Yo-Yo Ma exclusively told IndieWire, “Todd has created such a striking film. Cate Blanchett’s Lydia Tár demands that we wrestle with two...
The movie may be divisive for its morally ambiguous take on a public figure and self-styled genius who unravels amid #MeToo-worthy allegations — when she’s not seemingly grooming an ingenue, she’s stomping over them, such as Noémie Merlant’s up-and-coming violinist-turned-assistant Francesca. But the movie now has one especially coveted imprimatur: that of Yo-Yo Ma, Grammy-winning cellist.
Yo-Yo Ma exclusively told IndieWire, “Todd has created such a striking film. Cate Blanchett’s Lydia Tár demands that we wrestle with two...
- 10/20/2022
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Nan Goldin’s prolific career as an artist and photographer as well as her recent anti-Sackler activism is the focus of Laura Poitras’s latest documentary All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, which just released its first trailer today. The film premiered at the Venice International Film Festival, where it earned the Golden Lion, making it only the second documentary in the festival’s history to win the top prize after 2013’s Sacro Gra. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed is Filmmaker‘s most recent Fall Issue cover story, with an interview between Poitras and critic Amy Taubin currently available for digital subscribers. Physical […]
The post Trailer Watch: Laura Poitras’s All the Beauty and the Bloodshed first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Trailer Watch: Laura Poitras’s All the Beauty and the Bloodshed first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 10/13/2022
- by Natalia Keogan
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Kd Davison’s profile of avant garde filmmaker Jonas Mekas has its UK premiere today at London Film Festival.
Documentary sales outfit Dogwoof has acquired Kd Davison’s Fragments Of Paradise for world sales, excluding North America.
A portrait of the ‘godfather’ of avant garde cinema Jonas Mekas, Fragments Of Paradise won the best documentary prize last month in the Venice Film Festival’s Classics section. It recently had its North American premiere at Telluride and has its UK premiere today (October 7) at the BFI London Film Festival, where it will screen as part of the Documentary Competition
Fragments Of...
Documentary sales outfit Dogwoof has acquired Kd Davison’s Fragments Of Paradise for world sales, excluding North America.
A portrait of the ‘godfather’ of avant garde cinema Jonas Mekas, Fragments Of Paradise won the best documentary prize last month in the Venice Film Festival’s Classics section. It recently had its North American premiere at Telluride and has its UK premiere today (October 7) at the BFI London Film Festival, where it will screen as part of the Documentary Competition
Fragments Of...
- 10/7/2022
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSWomen Talking.The 49th edition of the Telluride Film Festival, which doesn't reveal its lineup until the four-day festival starts, took place last weekend. Its program included world premieres of Sarah Polley’s Women Talking and Sam Mendes’s Empire of Light, as well as Adam Curtis’s new 420-minute-long Russia [1985-1999] Traumazone, plus a tribute to Cate Blanchett. A.O. Scott, reporting from the festival for the New York Times, remarks that "Every so often, Telluride’s best is as good as movies can be," and singles out Women Talking specifically: "...what Women Talking shares with Moonlight is an absolute concentration on the specifics of story and setting that nonetheless illuminate a vast, underexplored region of contemporary life. A reality that has always been there is seen as if for the first time."Charlbi Dean Kriek—South African model,...
- 9/7/2022
- MUBI
“Some called him the godfather of underground film.” “My guest tonight is Jonas Mekas, who was first of all a poet before he was a filmmaker.” “His name is Jonas Mekas, a man who I think more than almost anybody in the world epitomizes the meaning and significance of independent filmmaking.”
Those are some of the TV news voiceover soundbites that open Kd Davison’s documentary about the great ringleader of American avant-garde cinema. It’s not an auspicious beginning. How can a doc about someone who championed pushing the boundaries of filmmaking to their limit get such a prosaic and obvious introduction for a film about his life? Certainly his 96 years were more than a sum of media reports from broadcasters who barely grasped his work. Not to mention, if you’re devoting the time to watch a documentary about the Lithuanian-born curator, poet, and filmmaker, you probably already know the basics about him,...
Those are some of the TV news voiceover soundbites that open Kd Davison’s documentary about the great ringleader of American avant-garde cinema. It’s not an auspicious beginning. How can a doc about someone who championed pushing the boundaries of filmmaking to their limit get such a prosaic and obvious introduction for a film about his life? Certainly his 96 years were more than a sum of media reports from broadcasters who barely grasped his work. Not to mention, if you’re devoting the time to watch a documentary about the Lithuanian-born curator, poet, and filmmaker, you probably already know the basics about him,...
- 9/2/2022
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSDavid Warner in The Wars of the Roses.David Warner, who died earlier this week, is warmly paid tribute to by artist and filmmaker Tacita Dean in the Guardian. In the piece, Dean talks about her admiration for the actor's performance in Alain Resnais' Providence and how she convinced him to star in her own film of the same name.Mary Alice also passed away this week, aged 85. A Tony- and Emmy-winning actor, Alice was known for her roles in Charles Burnett’s To Sleep With Anger, Brian De Palma’s The Bonfire of the Vanities, and Penny Marshall's Awakenings, among many other performances on both stage and screen.As part of a series of events investigating "the new languages of the contemporary," the Locarno Film Festival will host a 24-hour-long talk titled "The Future of Attention,...
- 8/3/2022
- MUBI
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSTriangle of Sadness.The Cannes Film Festival wrapped its 75th edition on Saturday. Ruben Östlund won his second Palme d'Or for his yacht-shipwreck class farce Triangle of Sadness, while other major awards went to Claire Denis, Jerzy Skolimowski, and Park Chan-wook. Visit our coverage roundup to peruse the complete list of winners, our Top 10 poll from Notebook contributors, and our series of festival correspondences.In other festival news, Sabzian compiled an overview of the "restructuring" at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) in the wake of significant programming layoffs.On October 25, Quentin Tarantino will publish a nonfiction book called Cinema Speculation, a critical memoir of his cinemagoing throughout the 1970s. This comes one year after his novelization of Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood.Erika Balsom and Genevieve Yue will be the co-editors of Cutaways,...
- 6/2/2022
- MUBI
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSAbove: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)Visual FX pioneer Douglas Trumbull has died at the age of 79. Among Trumbull's many achievements are his VFX contributions to Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (which Trumbull worked on at the age of 25), Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, and Terrence Malick's Tree of Life. In a 2012 interview with the New York Times, Trumbull described his ongoing experiments with new technology and his belief that "if you want to get people to go out to the movies, to pay a premium price for some kind of premium experience, it better be damned premium. It better be extraordinary.”With this year's Oscar nominations, Ryusuke Hamaguchi's Drive My Car becomes the first Japanese film to be nominated for Best Picture.
- 2/10/2022
- MUBI
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSAbove: David Dalaithngu in Nicolas Roeg's Walkabout.Renowned Aboriginal film actor David Gulpilil Ridjimiraril Dalaithngu has died. David Dalaithngu was seen as a trailblazer for his early roles in Walkabout (1971) and Storm Boy (1976), and later performances in films like the semi-autobiographical Charlie's Country (2013). He rose to prominence as an actor and traditional dancer during a time in which Indigenous roles were frequently played by non-Indigenous actors, often in blackface. In his own words, he described acting as a "piece of cake." Steven Soderbergh, Channing Tatum, and writer Reid Carolin have joined forces for the next installment in the Magic Mike franchise, entitled Magic Mike's Last Dance. "The stripperverse will never be the same," Channing Tatum said. First Cow takes the number one in Cahiers du cinéma's top ten list for 2021! The list...
- 12/1/2021
- MUBI
If you told people in 1967 that Andy Warhol’s house band just released one of the most revered rock albums of all-time, they would ask what they’re called, and when you told them they would laugh. As far as the public was concerned, there were a hundred acts capable of that historical success in the ‘60s, and none were called the Velvet Underground (or Nico).
To a certain extent they would be right. It would be another decade before the banana-adorned The Velvet Underground & Nico would have its pop cultural comeuppance and over half a century before the glam avant-garde group would receive definitive documentary treatment by one of the best living filmmakers. But as history and said doc have proven, we would have the last laugh in that exchange.
The arresting mood of writer-director Todd Haynes’s The Velvet Underground––his first feature documentary but far from his...
To a certain extent they would be right. It would be another decade before the banana-adorned The Velvet Underground & Nico would have its pop cultural comeuppance and over half a century before the glam avant-garde group would receive definitive documentary treatment by one of the best living filmmakers. But as history and said doc have proven, we would have the last laugh in that exchange.
The arresting mood of writer-director Todd Haynes’s The Velvet Underground––his first feature documentary but far from his...
- 7/20/2021
- by Luke Hicks
- The Film Stage
Todd Haynes wasn’t even in Cannes yet for the premiere of his new documentary, “The Velvet Underground,” when things got emotional. During a stopover in Amsterdam, he met up with Christine Vachon, his longtime producer who had worked with him ever since his early days of “Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story” and “Poison.” Forced to different sides of the country when the pandemic set in, they were finally reunited to launch another film.
“I hadn’t been separated from Christine Vachon this long in our entire lives together,” Haynes said in an interview from the festival a few days later. “We just burst into tears. For people who work collaboratively, it’s hard not to be around each other.”
That sentiment has been on his mind a lot over the past year. Haynes had been developing a nonfiction look at the history of Lou Reed’s seminal New York...
“I hadn’t been separated from Christine Vachon this long in our entire lives together,” Haynes said in an interview from the festival a few days later. “We just burst into tears. For people who work collaboratively, it’s hard not to be around each other.”
That sentiment has been on his mind a lot over the past year. Haynes had been developing a nonfiction look at the history of Lou Reed’s seminal New York...
- 7/11/2021
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSAbove: Lee Isaac Chung's Minari. Nomadland, Minari, Soul, and Borat Subsequent Moviefilm are among this year's Golden Globe winners. Find our complete list of nominees and winners here. Canyon Cinema Foundation has announced a new curatorial fellowship, Canyon Cinema Discovered, that will offer four fellows the opportunity to curate programs from Canyon's collection of films. Applicants can be based in anywhere in the world. Spike Lee and HBO will be teaming up for the multi-part documentary NYC Epicenters 9/11-2021½, described as “an epic chronicle of life, loss and survival in the city of New York over the twenty years since the September 11th attacks.” The film will include first-hand stories told by over 200 New Yorkers. Recommended VIEWINGThe official teaser trailer for Barry Jenkins' series The Underground Railroad, an adaptation of Colson Whitehead's novel,...
- 3/3/2021
- MUBI
The pleasure of a new Soderbergh movie is almost eclipsed by the emergence of Soderbergh interviews, characteristically a mingling of intense technical know-how with smarter-than-the-average-bear pontificating on where the industry’s going. This of all years is the time to hear his thoughts, as provided in a great Daily Beast chat, though there is interest in his latest spurt of productivity: during quarantine the man’s reedited Kafka, Full Frontal, and Schizopolis—the first being a rejigging, the others being a condensing—and written a sequel to his breakthrough sex, lies, and videotape, about which little has been known and equal’s been possible to imagine.
A new chat with Amy Taubin in Filmmaker yielded answers. Turns out the follow-up sprang from his desire for “a movie about the two sisters 30 years later,” driven by the fact of one having a child “about the same age that she was in the original.
A new chat with Amy Taubin in Filmmaker yielded answers. Turns out the follow-up sprang from his desire for “a movie about the two sisters 30 years later,” driven by the fact of one having a child “about the same age that she was in the original.
- 12/10/2020
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
While the Oscars and other awards bodies have all pushed events back on their calendar and expanded eligibility for what movies can be considered, the New York Film Critics Circle will only consider movies released in the 2020 calendar year for its annual awards.
The Nyfcc announced Friday it will vote for its 2020 awards on Dec. 18 and that only movies released in theaters or on digital platforms between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2020, will be considered.
Further, the date for the group’s annual Gala Awards dinner is still to be announced, and membership for 2020 members will be frozen this year, with all current members still eligible to vote, even as many critics’ jobs have been affected by Covid-19. No new members will be voted in this year.
“This is a year unlike any other in our lifetimes. But the world of movies hasn’t stopped, and already, even in this very strange year,...
The Nyfcc announced Friday it will vote for its 2020 awards on Dec. 18 and that only movies released in theaters or on digital platforms between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2020, will be considered.
Further, the date for the group’s annual Gala Awards dinner is still to be announced, and membership for 2020 members will be frozen this year, with all current members still eligible to vote, even as many critics’ jobs have been affected by Covid-19. No new members will be voted in this year.
“This is a year unlike any other in our lifetimes. But the world of movies hasn’t stopped, and already, even in this very strange year,...
- 9/11/2020
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
39 movies and 200 pages of words from Amy Taubin, Michael Koresky, So Mayer, Alexandra Hidalgo, Ginette Vincendeau, and Rebecca Bengal, accompanied by scores of photographs and decorated with a palette befitting of its honoree, still feels inadequate for celebrating the life, art, and beatific spirit of Left Bank icon and art world legend, Agnès Varda.
Continue reading ‘The Complete Agnès Varda’ Criterion Box Set Is A Spectacular Tribute To A Unique Filmmaking Voice at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘The Complete Agnès Varda’ Criterion Box Set Is A Spectacular Tribute To A Unique Filmmaking Voice at The Playlist.
- 8/11/2020
- by Andrew Crump
- The Playlist
An artist’s life is always more than their ‘published’ works, but that this massive ‘Agnés in a box’ comes close to being the last word on an impressive filmmaker sometimes dubbed The Mother of the French New Wave. It certainly is as comprehensive and complete as possible when it comes to her films. So far they’ve all been pleasant discoveries. This review describes the collection and separately reviews two previously unfamiliar titles, the quirky sci-fi fantasy Les créatures and the worthy pro-feminist drama One Sings, the Other Doesn’t.
The Complete Films of Agnès Varda
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection (no spine numbers)
1955-2019
fifteen Blu-ray Discs
available through The Criterion Collection
Street Date August 11, 2020 / 249.95
Directed by Agnès Varda
The great Agnès Varda passed away just over a year ago. She appears to have been creatively active almost to the very end, an insatiable, unstoppable filmmaker of taste & discretion and natural ability.
The Complete Films of Agnès Varda
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection (no spine numbers)
1955-2019
fifteen Blu-ray Discs
available through The Criterion Collection
Street Date August 11, 2020 / 249.95
Directed by Agnès Varda
The great Agnès Varda passed away just over a year ago. She appears to have been creatively active almost to the very end, an insatiable, unstoppable filmmaker of taste & discretion and natural ability.
- 8/8/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
After getting a tease and the announcement of a theatrical touring retrospective, The Criterion Collection have now announced their Agnès Varda boxset, aptly titled The Complete Films of Agnès Varda. A gorgeous, epic undertaking, this treasure trove of cinematic beauty is split into different aspects of the Belgian-born French director’s life and career.
Arriving on a fifteen-disc Blu-ray release on August 11, the set features digital restorations of thirty-nine films, including the first home-video presentations of Les créatures, Jacquot de Nantes, and the television series Agnès de ci de là Varda. There’s also over seven hours of archival programs from Varda, a 200-page book, video introductions by the late filmmaker herself, and much, much more. Check out the details below.
The Films
Agnès Forever – Varda by Agnès (2019), Les 3 boutons (2015)
Early Varda – La Pointe Courte (1955), Ô saisons, ô châteaux (1958), Du côté de la côte (1958)
Around Paris – Cléo from 5 to 7...
Arriving on a fifteen-disc Blu-ray release on August 11, the set features digital restorations of thirty-nine films, including the first home-video presentations of Les créatures, Jacquot de Nantes, and the television series Agnès de ci de là Varda. There’s also over seven hours of archival programs from Varda, a 200-page book, video introductions by the late filmmaker herself, and much, much more. Check out the details below.
The Films
Agnès Forever – Varda by Agnès (2019), Les 3 boutons (2015)
Early Varda – La Pointe Courte (1955), Ô saisons, ô châteaux (1958), Du côté de la côte (1958)
Around Paris – Cléo from 5 to 7...
- 5/11/2020
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Director Agnieszka Holland pulls off a difficult task — her true-life Holocaust tale neither trivializes the horror nor glamorizes individualized victims at the expense of the big picture. Marco Hofschneider is the inexperienced German teenager who by strange quirks of fate becomes a staunch Stalinist in a Communist school, then a Nazi war hero and candidate for Hitler Youth honors and adoption by a Nazi officer… if he can avoid being uncovered as a Jew in hiding. It sounds tasteless but it’s not — the true story of Solomon Perel reveals the ‘fluidity’ of ideology when survival is on the line. Our young hero must keep ‘becoming’ what he pretends to be. With André Wilms, René Hofschneider and Julie Delpy as a rabid Hitlerite.
Europa Europa
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 985
1990 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 112 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date July 9, 2019 / 39.95
Starring: Marco Hofschneider, André Wilms, René Hofschneider, Julie Delpy,...
Europa Europa
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 985
1990 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 112 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date July 9, 2019 / 39.95
Starring: Marco Hofschneider, André Wilms, René Hofschneider, Julie Delpy,...
- 4/25/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
New York’s avant-garde art and film scene of the early 1960s may have been dominated by the likes of Jonas Mekas and Andy Warhol, but “Barbara Rubin and the Exploding New York Underground” offers a fascinating recontextualization of that history, focusing on young Barbara Rubin’s integral role in shaping the era’s blossoming counterculture. Chuck Smith’s documentary is at once accessible and formally daring, echoing its subject’s style while simultaneously celebrating her radical achievements. It’s an enlightening nonfiction portrait of a feminist pioneer that, in this #MeToo era, should strike a timely chord.
Described as a “hot flame” because of her burning artistic engine, 18-year-old Rubin entered the orbit of experimental film godfather Mekas in 1963. That’s when he gave her a job at the Film-Makers’ Cooperative so she could secure her release from a psychiatric hospital, where she’d landed, courtesy of her parents,...
Described as a “hot flame” because of her burning artistic engine, 18-year-old Rubin entered the orbit of experimental film godfather Mekas in 1963. That’s when he gave her a job at the Film-Makers’ Cooperative so she could secure her release from a psychiatric hospital, where she’d landed, courtesy of her parents,...
- 5/30/2019
- by Nick Schager
- Variety Film + TV
Chuck Smith at The Bowery Hotel on Barbara Rubin: "I think Walt Disney fascinated her all the time and fairy tales." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Through interviews with Jonas Mekas, Amy Taubin, Gordon Ball, Richard Foreman, J Hoberman, Ara Osterweil, Rosebud Feliu-Pettet, Debra Feiner Coddington, and illustrated by film clips, and photographs, Chuck Smith is in search of answering questions such as, who is Barbara Rubin and why haven't you heard about her?
Chuck Smith on Barbara Rubin friend Amy Taubin, seen here with Richard Gere and Oren Moverman: "She's in Michael Snow's Wavelength, the legendary experimental film." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Barbara Rubin And The Exploding NY Underground, with an original score by Lee Ranaldo, resurrects the filmmaker and instigator to take her place as a vital interconnected thread for the likes of Andy Warhol, the Velvet Underground, Lou Reed, Allen Ginsberg, Bob Dylan, Federico Fellini, Lenny Bruce, and many others.
Through interviews with Jonas Mekas, Amy Taubin, Gordon Ball, Richard Foreman, J Hoberman, Ara Osterweil, Rosebud Feliu-Pettet, Debra Feiner Coddington, and illustrated by film clips, and photographs, Chuck Smith is in search of answering questions such as, who is Barbara Rubin and why haven't you heard about her?
Chuck Smith on Barbara Rubin friend Amy Taubin, seen here with Richard Gere and Oren Moverman: "She's in Michael Snow's Wavelength, the legendary experimental film." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Barbara Rubin And The Exploding NY Underground, with an original score by Lee Ranaldo, resurrects the filmmaker and instigator to take her place as a vital interconnected thread for the likes of Andy Warhol, the Velvet Underground, Lou Reed, Allen Ginsberg, Bob Dylan, Federico Fellini, Lenny Bruce, and many others.
- 5/19/2019
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Photo by Darren HughesTHE Beau Travail Effect When Film Comment surveyed nearly 120 filmmakers, critics, and programmers for its “Best of the Nineties” feature in the January/February 2000 issue, only four people mentioned Claire Denis.. A year later Beau travail topped the magazine’s poll of the best films of 2000. The only evidence I’ve been able to find of a complete Denis retrospective in the English-speaking world during the 1990s was one organized by Linda Blackaby at the 1997 Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema. Whereas between 2000 and 2003—following Beau Travail’s festival tour of Venice, Toronto, New York, Sundance, Berlin, and on and on—Denis was the spotlight of retros at the Cinematheque Ontario (courtesy of James Quandt), the National Film Theatre London, the Dublin International Film Festival, and the Northwest Film Forum. There were certainly others. This is not to suggest that Denis was unknown before Beau travail. Her first...
- 4/17/2019
- MUBI
Jonas Mekas, a towering figure in New York’s avant-garde film scene and a pioneering force for film preservation, died today at age 96. His death was announced by Anthology Film Archives, the still-active archive and theater he cofounded in Manhattan’s East Village 48 years ago.
“Jonas passed away quietly and peacefully early this morning,” Anthology Film Archives wrote in a statement posted on Instagram today. “He was at home with family. He will be greatly missed but his light shines on.”
Director and friend Martin Scorsese said, in a lengthy statement released today (read it below), said, “Jonas Mekas did and meant so much to so many people in the world of cinema that you’d need a day and a night to just begin. He was a prophet. He was an impresario. He was a provocateur in the truest and most fundamental sense – he provoked people into new ways...
“Jonas passed away quietly and peacefully early this morning,” Anthology Film Archives wrote in a statement posted on Instagram today. “He was at home with family. He will be greatly missed but his light shines on.”
Director and friend Martin Scorsese said, in a lengthy statement released today (read it below), said, “Jonas Mekas did and meant so much to so many people in the world of cinema that you’d need a day and a night to just begin. He was a prophet. He was an impresario. He was a provocateur in the truest and most fundamental sense – he provoked people into new ways...
- 1/23/2019
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
We’re sitting in the middle of the street, a truck is heading toward us, and we can’t move. Not on principle — we’re not staging a sit-in. It’s because we’re mic’ed up and shooting a TV show at the 2017 Toronto Film Festival. King Street is closed, but festival-approved vehicles still have the right of way. Luckily, the driver sees us and as soon as it passes, without skipping a beat, our host launches into “Hello, and welcome to BBC Culture at the Toronto International Film Festival. I’m Tom Brook.”
With decades of experience under his belt, Brook is unflappable. No wonder his show, “Talking Movies,” is now celebrating its 20th anniversary. If you’re a movie lover and have never heard of “Talking Movies” there’s a gaping hole in your cinephilia: this half-hour show airs monthly in the Us and around the world...
With decades of experience under his belt, Brook is unflappable. No wonder his show, “Talking Movies,” is now celebrating its 20th anniversary. If you’re a movie lover and have never heard of “Talking Movies” there’s a gaping hole in your cinephilia: this half-hour show airs monthly in the Us and around the world...
- 1/16/2019
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
In December 1954, Jonas Mekas and his brother Adolfas published the first issue of Film Culture magazine. Initially hostile to American avant-garde filmmaking, the magazine eventually evolved into the avant-garde’s greatest champion in print.
Sources vary on the publication date of the first issue, with some placing it in 1955, and others in 1954. While the cover carries a publication date of January 1955, in an interview with Amy Taubin, Jonas clearly states that the first issue was published in December 1954. You can watch the interview with Jonas where he states this below.
The cover also lists many of the articles that appeared in this first issue. These are:
Erich von Stroheim: “Queen Kelly: Walking Down Broadway”
Orson Welles: “For a Universal Cinema”
Hans Richter: “Film as an Original Art Form”
Edouard L. De Laurot: “Towards a Theory of Dynamic Realism”
Herman G. Weinberg: “The New Films”
George N.
Sources vary on the publication date of the first issue, with some placing it in 1955, and others in 1954. While the cover carries a publication date of January 1955, in an interview with Amy Taubin, Jonas clearly states that the first issue was published in December 1954. You can watch the interview with Jonas where he states this below.
The cover also lists many of the articles that appeared in this first issue. These are:
Erich von Stroheim: “Queen Kelly: Walking Down Broadway”
Orson Welles: “For a Universal Cinema”
Hans Richter: “Film as an Original Art Form”
Edouard L. De Laurot: “Towards a Theory of Dynamic Realism”
Herman G. Weinberg: “The New Films”
George N.
- 12/30/2018
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSFrieze reports that David Lynch, in collaboration with Showtime and Collider games, is set to create a Twin Peaks virtual reality experience: "Twin Peaks Vr will allow players to explore locations from the original series (1990–1991) as well as Twin Peaks: The Return".We're four years removed from Gone Girl and still without a new David Fincher movie—thankfully /Film reports that, despite the radio silence, David Fincher is still set to direct "World War Z 2", which is set to shoot Summer 2019.Recommended VIEWINGClint Eastwood returns both behind and in front of the camera—this time hunted by his protégée Bradley Cooper—in what looks to be a remarkable thriller about lifetimes, borders, and family. The first trailer for The Mule is here:Here is the official trailer for Joseph Kahn's battle-rap comedy Bodied,...
- 10/10/2018
- MUBI
“Therapy For Secrets”
By Raymond Benson
The year 1989 brought us such Oscar-winning pictures as Driving Miss Daisy, Born on the Fourth of July, Dead Poets Society, and, of course, the blockbuster Batman. One picture, though, always stood out for me and was my personal favorite of the year—Steven Soderbergh’s remarkable feature film debut, Sex, Lies, and Videotape. The Academy nominated it only for Original Screenplay. The Cannes Film Festival, however, awarded it the Palme d’Or and the Best Actor honor for James Spader. The movie put Soderbergh on the map, establishing him as an innovative, provocative filmmaker who was unafraid to take on challenging subjects.
The Criterion Collection has produced a new, restored 4K digital transfer and a new 5.1 surround mix (from the original sound elements), supervised by Soderbergh. The results, in the director’s own words that appear in an on-screen comment on the restoration, are...
By Raymond Benson
The year 1989 brought us such Oscar-winning pictures as Driving Miss Daisy, Born on the Fourth of July, Dead Poets Society, and, of course, the blockbuster Batman. One picture, though, always stood out for me and was my personal favorite of the year—Steven Soderbergh’s remarkable feature film debut, Sex, Lies, and Videotape. The Academy nominated it only for Original Screenplay. The Cannes Film Festival, however, awarded it the Palme d’Or and the Best Actor honor for James Spader. The movie put Soderbergh on the map, establishing him as an innovative, provocative filmmaker who was unafraid to take on challenging subjects.
The Criterion Collection has produced a new, restored 4K digital transfer and a new 5.1 surround mix (from the original sound elements), supervised by Soderbergh. The results, in the director’s own words that appear in an on-screen comment on the restoration, are...
- 7/25/2018
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
The Cannes Film Festival wrapped its 71st edition on Saturday with the Palme d’Or ceremony, awarding the top prize to Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s “Shoplifters.” Other movies recognized by Cate Blanchett’s jury included Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman” (Grand Prix) and Pawel Pawlikowski’s “Cold War” (Best Director). While these movies were all well-received by the media covering the festival, one major film in competition went home empty-handed — and now, it has topped IndieWire’s critics survey of the best films of the festival.
“Burning,” Korean director Lee Chang-dong’s first feature in eight years, took first place for best film in IndieWire’s annual poll. The drama, an adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s short story “Barn Burning,” focuses on the mysterious experiences of a working class man (Ah-in Yoo) who obsesses over a seductive woman (Jeon Jong Seo) while resenting the confidant man (Steven Yeung) she spends her time around.
“Burning,” Korean director Lee Chang-dong’s first feature in eight years, took first place for best film in IndieWire’s annual poll. The drama, an adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s short story “Barn Burning,” focuses on the mysterious experiences of a working class man (Ah-in Yoo) who obsesses over a seductive woman (Jeon Jong Seo) while resenting the confidant man (Steven Yeung) she spends her time around.
- 5/21/2018
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Anybody’s Woman by Bette Gordon (1981)
Starring Nancy Reilly and Spalding Gray
In the 1970s, filmmaker Bette Gordon was associated with the Structuralist style of experimental filmmaking. For example, there is a review in the first issue of Idiolects of a screening event she shared with James Benning at the Millennium Film Workshop on June 12, 1976. The only film of Gordon’s noted in the review was Noyes (1976). Both Gordon and Benning were teaching filmmaking at the University of Wisconsin-Madison at the time. (A letter by Gordon in the 2nd issue of Idiolects takes umbrage at the mostly negative review.)
Anybody’s Woman represents Gordon’s shift into narrative filmmaking in the 1980s while not totally abandoning her experimental film roots. The film is clearly not a traditional narrative, but is a collection of short monologues — delivered on and off screen — interspersed with purely visual sequences of mostly New York City’s seedy Times Square neighborhood.
Starring Nancy Reilly and Spalding Gray
In the 1970s, filmmaker Bette Gordon was associated with the Structuralist style of experimental filmmaking. For example, there is a review in the first issue of Idiolects of a screening event she shared with James Benning at the Millennium Film Workshop on June 12, 1976. The only film of Gordon’s noted in the review was Noyes (1976). Both Gordon and Benning were teaching filmmaking at the University of Wisconsin-Madison at the time. (A letter by Gordon in the 2nd issue of Idiolects takes umbrage at the mostly negative review.)
Anybody’s Woman represents Gordon’s shift into narrative filmmaking in the 1980s while not totally abandoning her experimental film roots. The film is clearly not a traditional narrative, but is a collection of short monologues — delivered on and off screen — interspersed with purely visual sequences of mostly New York City’s seedy Times Square neighborhood.
- 4/8/2018
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
In 1976, a crudely published fanzine devoted to the experimental film scene made its debut. It was called Idiolects and the first issue offered a definition of its name: “An idiolect is the language of an individual at a particular time.” That definition certainly could be applied to both the filmmakers covered in the zine and to the writers who contributed articles.
Although not an official publication of New York City’s Collective for Living Cinema screening society, Idiolects was closely tied to the organization, offering a “temporary” publication address of 52 White Street, New York, 10013 in the indicia. That was the Collective’s then permanent screening space in 1976 after having bopped around Manhattan for several years prior.
In addition, the Living Cinema was formed in the early 1970s by students who had studied filmmaking at Binghamton University in upstate New York and then moved to New York City. While Idiolects #1 gives no clear main editorial voice,...
Although not an official publication of New York City’s Collective for Living Cinema screening society, Idiolects was closely tied to the organization, offering a “temporary” publication address of 52 White Street, New York, 10013 in the indicia. That was the Collective’s then permanent screening space in 1976 after having bopped around Manhattan for several years prior.
In addition, the Living Cinema was formed in the early 1970s by students who had studied filmmaking at Binghamton University in upstate New York and then moved to New York City. While Idiolects #1 gives no clear main editorial voice,...
- 3/19/2018
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
So it’s finally that time of year. Days are sitting between us and the beginning of a new year, and with the conclusion of 2017 imminent, it’s about time we all take stock of the very best that the home video world has offered us all. From mammoth box sets to an unsung classic from a French New Wave legend that is as urgent today as it has ever been, a final film from one of the greatest directors of all time to a retrospective of a documentary filmmaker few people know of, these are the five very best home video releases of the year 2017.
5. La Chinoise
Starting off this list, one of Jean-Luc Godard’s great and underrated masterpieces. La Chinoise comes at an exciting moment in Godard’s career, squarely prior to maybe his best film, Week End, and sees the iconic filmmaker at a moment of experimentation and revolution.
5. La Chinoise
Starting off this list, one of Jean-Luc Godard’s great and underrated masterpieces. La Chinoise comes at an exciting moment in Godard’s career, squarely prior to maybe his best film, Week End, and sees the iconic filmmaker at a moment of experimentation and revolution.
- 12/15/2017
- by Joshua Brunsting
- CriterionCast
The Silence of the Lambs and Night of the Living Dead, two bona fide horror gems, are officially joining the Criterion Collection.
Each film classic will receive a 4K restoration, along with scores of special features, which will be available from February 13th, 2018. Now how’s that for a Valentine’s Day treat?
On a more somber note, news of this re-release arrives at a difficult time for the horror community: Silence of the Lambs director Jonathan Demme passed away back in April, while George A. Romero, the undisputed king of zombies, died in July. Indeed, it was difficult losing two legendary filmmakers in the space of three months, but this posthumous recognition ensures their finest achievements are ushered into the pantheon of great cinema.
Each release will come with different bonus features – Lambs, for instance, includes audio commentary from Demme himself, along with Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins and screenwriter...
Each film classic will receive a 4K restoration, along with scores of special features, which will be available from February 13th, 2018. Now how’s that for a Valentine’s Day treat?
On a more somber note, news of this re-release arrives at a difficult time for the horror community: Silence of the Lambs director Jonathan Demme passed away back in April, while George A. Romero, the undisputed king of zombies, died in July. Indeed, it was difficult losing two legendary filmmakers in the space of three months, but this posthumous recognition ensures their finest achievements are ushered into the pantheon of great cinema.
Each release will come with different bonus features – Lambs, for instance, includes audio commentary from Demme himself, along with Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins and screenwriter...
- 11/17/2017
- by Michael Briers
- We Got This Covered
George A. Romero’s Night Of The Living Dead Criterion Collection Blu-ray Release Details & Cover Art
An absolute game-changer for the horror genre, George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead introduced the modern zombie as we know it, packing in as much social commentary as it did gore. Now, nearly 40 years after its initial release, the influential horror film is getting The Criterion Collection Blu-ray treatment it so justly deserves. Criterion is coming to get us, Barbara...
Slated for a February 13th release, The Criterion Collection Night of the Living Dead Blu-ray features a 4K digital restoration that was overseen by the late, great Romero as well as John A. Russo, Gary R. Streiner, and Russell W. Streiner. The new Blu-ray is packed with bonus features both old and new, and you can get an idea of what to expect from the official release details and cover art below, as well as information on another February 13th Criterion Collection Blu-ray release: Jonathan Demme's The Silence of the Lambs.
Slated for a February 13th release, The Criterion Collection Night of the Living Dead Blu-ray features a 4K digital restoration that was overseen by the late, great Romero as well as John A. Russo, Gary R. Streiner, and Russell W. Streiner. The new Blu-ray is packed with bonus features both old and new, and you can get an idea of what to expect from the official release details and cover art below, as well as information on another February 13th Criterion Collection Blu-ray release: Jonathan Demme's The Silence of the Lambs.
- 11/15/2017
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
The New York Film Critics Circle announced today that 8 new members will join the group, bringing the total number of members to 42, the largest membership since the group was founded in 1935. The new members include The Ringer’s Kameron Austin Collins, IndieWire’s own David Ehrlich, The National Catholic Register’s Steven Greydanus, BBC’s Caryn James, Film Comment’s Violet Lucca, RogerEbert.com’s Sheila O’Malley, The Atlantic’s David Sims and Vox’s Alissa Wilkinson. Additionally, the group formally voted in Alison Willmore from Buzzfeed as their Vice Chair.
“We are thrilled to welcome so many strong voices from a variety of publications into the group this year,” said Nyfcc Chair Eric Kohn of IndieWire. “Our group is now at its largest number in history, illustrating the ongoing vitality of film criticism in New York and the range of voices keeping it relevant. While we plan to...
“We are thrilled to welcome so many strong voices from a variety of publications into the group this year,” said Nyfcc Chair Eric Kohn of IndieWire. “Our group is now at its largest number in history, illustrating the ongoing vitality of film criticism in New York and the range of voices keeping it relevant. While we plan to...
- 10/27/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
“How has La Chinoise aged?” asks Amy Taubin in her liner notes to the new Blu-ray edition of Jean-Luc Godard’s 1967 provocation. Elsewhere in the disc’s accompanying booklet Richard Hell examines how he has shifted positions from seeing La Chinoise as lesser Godard to “a glorious experience” superior to more easily accessible works like Pierrot le fou. Both critics circle around one of the things I find most fascinating about Godard in general, which is the fact that his movies, more than those of any other filmmaker, seem to change the most drastically from one viewing to the next. Of […]...
- 10/20/2017
- by Jim Hemphill
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
The New York Film Critics Circle has announced the date for its annual vote on the best films and performances of the year, taking place this year on Thursday, November 30, 2017, followed by its annual Gala Awards dinner on Wednesday, January 3, 2018. As is the organization’s tradition, winners will be announced on Twitter during the annual meeting. New members will be announced in October, after their annual meeting on October 20.
Only a handful of other voting bodies go before the Nyfcc, including the Gotham Awards (November 27) and the National Board of Review (November 28). The Nyfcc is typically the first critics-led organization to announce its winners, getting a major jump on the season and helping set the stage for the weeks to come. IndieWire’s own Deputy Editor and Chief Critic Eric Kohn serves as this year’s Chairman, with Buzzfeed’s Alison Wilmore serving as Vice Chair and Marshall Fine continuing on as General Manager.
Only a handful of other voting bodies go before the Nyfcc, including the Gotham Awards (November 27) and the National Board of Review (November 28). The Nyfcc is typically the first critics-led organization to announce its winners, getting a major jump on the season and helping set the stage for the weeks to come. IndieWire’s own Deputy Editor and Chief Critic Eric Kohn serves as this year’s Chairman, with Buzzfeed’s Alison Wilmore serving as Vice Chair and Marshall Fine continuing on as General Manager.
- 9/18/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
The Voyeur's Motel author Gay Talese is observed in Myles Kane and Josh Koury's Voyeur, which will screen at the New York Film Festival Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
The Film Society of Lincoln Center has announced the 55th New York Film Festival Spotlight on Documentary selections this afternoon. The program includes Three Music Films (C’est Presque Au Bout Du Monde, Zorn (2010-2017) and Music Is Music) by Mathieu Amalric, Barbet Schroeder's The Venerable W, Denis Côté's A Skin So Soft, Vanessa Redgrave's Sea Sorrow, Abel Ferrara's Piazza Vittorio, Alex Gibney's No Stone Unturned, Griffin Dunne's Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold, Brett Morgen's Jane, Rebecca Miller's Arthur Miller: Writer, Sara Driver's Boom For Real The Late Teenage Years Of Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Myles Kane and Josh Koury's Voyeur.
Amnesia director Barbet Schroeder to show The Venerable W Photo:...
The Film Society of Lincoln Center has announced the 55th New York Film Festival Spotlight on Documentary selections this afternoon. The program includes Three Music Films (C’est Presque Au Bout Du Monde, Zorn (2010-2017) and Music Is Music) by Mathieu Amalric, Barbet Schroeder's The Venerable W, Denis Côté's A Skin So Soft, Vanessa Redgrave's Sea Sorrow, Abel Ferrara's Piazza Vittorio, Alex Gibney's No Stone Unturned, Griffin Dunne's Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold, Brett Morgen's Jane, Rebecca Miller's Arthur Miller: Writer, Sara Driver's Boom For Real The Late Teenage Years Of Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Myles Kane and Josh Koury's Voyeur.
Amnesia director Barbet Schroeder to show The Venerable W Photo:...
- 8/23/2017
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The Film Society of Lincoln Center announces Woody Allen’s Wonder Wheel as the Closing Night selection of the 55th New York Film Festival (September 28 – October 15), making its World Premiere at Alice Tully Hall on Saturday, October 14.
Amazon Studios will release Wonder Wheel on December 1, 2017, the first film the studio will distribute independently.
In a career spanning 50 years and almost as many features, Woody Allen has periodically refined, reinvented, and redefined the terms of his art, and that’s exactly what he does with his daring new film.
We’re in Coney Island in the 1950s. A lifeguard (Justin Timberlake) tells us a story that just might be filtered through his vivid imagination: a middle-aged carousel operator (James Belushi) and his beleaguered wife (Kate Winslet), who eke out a living on the boardwalk, are visited by his estranged daughter (Juno Temple)—a situation from which layer upon layer of all-too-human complications develop.
Amazon Studios will release Wonder Wheel on December 1, 2017, the first film the studio will distribute independently.
In a career spanning 50 years and almost as many features, Woody Allen has periodically refined, reinvented, and redefined the terms of his art, and that’s exactly what he does with his daring new film.
We’re in Coney Island in the 1950s. A lifeguard (Justin Timberlake) tells us a story that just might be filtered through his vivid imagination: a middle-aged carousel operator (James Belushi) and his beleaguered wife (Kate Winslet), who eke out a living on the boardwalk, are visited by his estranged daughter (Juno Temple)—a situation from which layer upon layer of all-too-human complications develop.
- 7/28/2017
- by Michelle Hannett
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Our weekly Film Festival Roundup column explores notable stories and news updates from the circuit. Check out last week’s Roundup right here.
The New York Film Festival, which often imports Cannes titles for its well-curated October celebration of international cinema, has revealed that New York auteur Todd Haynes’ Cannes hit “Wonderstruck” will be the October 7 Centerpiece gala of the 55th edition (September 28 – October 15). This is no surprise, as the Amazon Studios/Roadside Attractions release is scheduled for a Nyff launch-friendly October 20 release.
As soon as the Competition title debuted early on the Riviera, the movie was deemed a likely Oscar contender. That’s because “Wonderstruck” is the perfect match of rich source material and cinema. Author Brian Selznick (“Hugo”) was inspired to adapt his own graphic novel intertwining two stories from 1927 and 1977 when costume designer Sandy Powell pulled it off a shelf and said, “This should be a Todd Haynes movie.
The New York Film Festival, which often imports Cannes titles for its well-curated October celebration of international cinema, has revealed that New York auteur Todd Haynes’ Cannes hit “Wonderstruck” will be the October 7 Centerpiece gala of the 55th edition (September 28 – October 15). This is no surprise, as the Amazon Studios/Roadside Attractions release is scheduled for a Nyff launch-friendly October 20 release.
As soon as the Competition title debuted early on the Riviera, the movie was deemed a likely Oscar contender. That’s because “Wonderstruck” is the perfect match of rich source material and cinema. Author Brian Selznick (“Hugo”) was inspired to adapt his own graphic novel intertwining two stories from 1927 and 1977 when costume designer Sandy Powell pulled it off a shelf and said, “This should be a Todd Haynes movie.
- 7/6/2017
- by Anne Thompson and Kate Erbland
- Thompson on Hollywood
Our weekly Film Festival Roundup column explores notable stories and news updates from the circuit. Check out last week’s Roundup right here.
The New York Film Festival, which often imports Cannes titles for its well-curated October celebration of international cinema, has revealed that New York auteur Todd Haynes’ Cannes hit “Wonderstruck” will be the October 7 Centerpiece gala of the 55th edition (September 28 – October 15). This is no surprise, as the Amazon Studios/Roadside Attractions release is scheduled for a Nyff launch-friendly October 20 release.
As soon as the Competition title debuted early on the Riviera, the movie was deemed a likely Oscar contender. That’s because “Wonderstruck” is the perfect match of rich source material and cinema. Author Brian Selznick (“Hugo”) was inspired to adapt his own graphic novel intertwining two stories from 1927 and 1977 when costume designer Sandy Powell pulled it off a shelf and said, “This should be a Todd Haynes movie.
The New York Film Festival, which often imports Cannes titles for its well-curated October celebration of international cinema, has revealed that New York auteur Todd Haynes’ Cannes hit “Wonderstruck” will be the October 7 Centerpiece gala of the 55th edition (September 28 – October 15). This is no surprise, as the Amazon Studios/Roadside Attractions release is scheduled for a Nyff launch-friendly October 20 release.
As soon as the Competition title debuted early on the Riviera, the movie was deemed a likely Oscar contender. That’s because “Wonderstruck” is the perfect match of rich source material and cinema. Author Brian Selznick (“Hugo”) was inspired to adapt his own graphic novel intertwining two stories from 1927 and 1977 when costume designer Sandy Powell pulled it off a shelf and said, “This should be a Todd Haynes movie.
- 7/6/2017
- by Anne Thompson and Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
This is the first installment of Ask IndieWire, in which our team of writers and editors address reader questions related to filmmaking, movies and television. If you have a question you’d like us to answer, write us at ask@indiewire.com.
Within a matter of hours of advertising the ask@indiewire.com email, we received several variations of the same question.
“I’m graduating soon with a degree in film and television studies and am mostly interested in film and television journalism/criticism,” wrote Morgan Picton-James. “What advice would you have for following that career path?”
Farida Ezzat, a fourth-year medical student, had a similar question. “I’m interested in a career in film criticism,” she wrote. “What do you recommend I study after graduating from med school: filmmaking or journalism?” Jessie Rodriguez just cut to the chase: “How does one become a David Ehrlich?”
Every one of these questions — yes, even the last one — reflects a legitimate challenge facing many young writers keen on covering movies. Although there are numerous opportunities on this career path, the media landscape is in constant flux. And while it would be unrealistic to assume that every talented young cinephile could land a gig as the next Roger Ebert (or the next David Ehrlich), there are several practical ways in which a serious, talented journalist can take steps toward doing just that.
I’ve spent the last few years working with aspiring critics and reporters at workshops around the world, and teaching them at Nyu. Many of them have found rewarding paths into the film community, either by landing full-time jobs in media or developing those skills on the side. Here are some of the key guidelines to keep in mind if you’re keen on breaking into the field.
Find deadlines. Stick to them.
Writers who regularly blow deadlines have a rough time finding work and keeping it. Even the really talented ones. Discipline is essential to a developing critic or reporter, and discipline also creates productivity — and productivity goes toward those 10,000 hours everyone likes to talk about. (Whether or not you buy Malcolm Gladwell’s theory, the ethos of “practice makes perfect” still holds water.)
This is especially valuable for budding critics who need to produce distinctive work. Imitating other critics is deadly; so is falling back on clichés. That means developing voice, and the fastest way to do that is get a deadline, hit it, and then do it again.
Finding deadlines depends on your starting point. Students can write for the college newspaper, or intern at an admired publication — or even one they don’t like. The point is to get in the vicinity of writers and editors, with the potential opportunity for bylines. Every story creates a clip, and every clip is one more piece of evidence that you can do the job when pitching publications.
First-rate film publications like Reverse Shot and Slant have been wonderful resources for budding writers; the editors provide smart, insightful, and honest feedback (essential for developing a thick skin). It also makes your byline familiar to publicists and other members of the film community.
Get to know the scene.
Big cities like Los Angeles or New York have a complex network of filmmakers, programmers, publicists, distributors, agents, and journalists. The more effort you make to become a part of this ecosystem, the better. Work the film parties, go to the big screening series and festivals, don’t hesitate to introduce yourself to the room, and build a network of contacts. This will provide screening access, potential stories, and productive work.
If you live outside a big city, you have a chance to be a big fish in a smaller pond. Get to know who runs the big art house theater or local film festival. Being an active critic and reporter means they will see you as a key resource, which could lead to more work.
Find your strengths. Then go beyond them.
Young writers are often keen on covering the films and filmmakers that appeal to them and leave everything else on the sidelines. That’s a mistake: You’re more valuable if can cover an Agnes Varda retrospective as well as the new “Transformers” movie.
This logic also applies to the work: Too many aspiring critics saw Roger Ebert or Leonard Maltin on TV and decided that being a movie reviewer is the one and only career. There’s too many other possibilities, and very few publications hiring full-time critics.
Become a good interviewer, with angles that stand out (your story will almost always be one among many). Become a good reporter, paying attention to hard-news coverage of the entertainment industry. Both force you to interact with people outside the ivory tower of criticism, give you insight into how movies work, and inevitably deepen your well of contacts.
And, since we’re in 2017: Write about television. Not only does every outlet want to cover TV, but also the overlap between film and TV has never been more pronounced.
Finally, pay close attention to the way publications package information. Something that might seem crass or clickbaity — think clever headlines and lists (like this one) — is how outlets reach the widest readership possible. Pitch stories in these terms, and you advance the odds of finding work.
Find a strong angle for everything you write.
The only thing worse than a poorly written story is a boring one. Before you conjure clever one-liners, ask yourself what you really want to say. Does this loud blockbuster illustrate Hollywood’s worst tendencies? Why does this filmmaker do such a bad job of representing women? Did you just watch the best horror movie of the year? Construct real arguments that will pull your readers into your work.
A good editor will tell you if you need to pull back on the prose. Some of my favorite critics, including Manohla Dargis, Wesley Morris, B. Ruby Rich, and Amy Taubin, all have distinctive perspectives that come through both in the specificity of their voices and their specific sensibilities; agreeing with them is irrelevant. Tastes should be transparent: Writers like Glenn Kenny, Nick Pinkerton, and IndieWire’s own David Ehrlich are strong, entertaining writers no matter what they tackle (or where). Nothing can boost your profile faster.
What are your priorities?
Is your agenda to find a stable paycheck, with a good health insurance plan and reasonable hours? Don’t jump headfirst into the freelance lifestyle. Even if you’re overwhelmed with assignments, it can be tricky to maintain that momentum. But don’t let anyone stop you from pursuing your dream; there are ways to produce work on the side. Which leads me to a final point…
Look beyond journalism and criticism.
If movies are your passion, there are many different ways put it to work. Careers in distribution, publicity, and programming all let you watch a lot of movies, engage with filmmakers, travel to festivals, or work at studios. (And: Get paid more.)
I’m a big fan of Andrea Picard’s Film/Art column in Cinema Scope; she’s one of the best writers covering experimental film. She’s also a programmer for the Toronto International Film Festival’s avant-garde Wavelengths section, which gives her an incredible degree of influence beyond the stories she writes.
Before you get carried away about being the next David Ehrlich, think about how that ambition might be expressed with other opportunities. A world of possibilities await.
Related storiesJared Kushner's New York Observer Lays Off Film Critic Rex ReedRichard Schickel, Rip: How the Legendary Critic Defined a GenerationCléo Journal Addresses 'Woeful Lack of Feminist Perspectives' in Film Criticism...
Within a matter of hours of advertising the ask@indiewire.com email, we received several variations of the same question.
“I’m graduating soon with a degree in film and television studies and am mostly interested in film and television journalism/criticism,” wrote Morgan Picton-James. “What advice would you have for following that career path?”
Farida Ezzat, a fourth-year medical student, had a similar question. “I’m interested in a career in film criticism,” she wrote. “What do you recommend I study after graduating from med school: filmmaking or journalism?” Jessie Rodriguez just cut to the chase: “How does one become a David Ehrlich?”
Every one of these questions — yes, even the last one — reflects a legitimate challenge facing many young writers keen on covering movies. Although there are numerous opportunities on this career path, the media landscape is in constant flux. And while it would be unrealistic to assume that every talented young cinephile could land a gig as the next Roger Ebert (or the next David Ehrlich), there are several practical ways in which a serious, talented journalist can take steps toward doing just that.
I’ve spent the last few years working with aspiring critics and reporters at workshops around the world, and teaching them at Nyu. Many of them have found rewarding paths into the film community, either by landing full-time jobs in media or developing those skills on the side. Here are some of the key guidelines to keep in mind if you’re keen on breaking into the field.
Find deadlines. Stick to them.
Writers who regularly blow deadlines have a rough time finding work and keeping it. Even the really talented ones. Discipline is essential to a developing critic or reporter, and discipline also creates productivity — and productivity goes toward those 10,000 hours everyone likes to talk about. (Whether or not you buy Malcolm Gladwell’s theory, the ethos of “practice makes perfect” still holds water.)
This is especially valuable for budding critics who need to produce distinctive work. Imitating other critics is deadly; so is falling back on clichés. That means developing voice, and the fastest way to do that is get a deadline, hit it, and then do it again.
Finding deadlines depends on your starting point. Students can write for the college newspaper, or intern at an admired publication — or even one they don’t like. The point is to get in the vicinity of writers and editors, with the potential opportunity for bylines. Every story creates a clip, and every clip is one more piece of evidence that you can do the job when pitching publications.
First-rate film publications like Reverse Shot and Slant have been wonderful resources for budding writers; the editors provide smart, insightful, and honest feedback (essential for developing a thick skin). It also makes your byline familiar to publicists and other members of the film community.
Get to know the scene.
Big cities like Los Angeles or New York have a complex network of filmmakers, programmers, publicists, distributors, agents, and journalists. The more effort you make to become a part of this ecosystem, the better. Work the film parties, go to the big screening series and festivals, don’t hesitate to introduce yourself to the room, and build a network of contacts. This will provide screening access, potential stories, and productive work.
If you live outside a big city, you have a chance to be a big fish in a smaller pond. Get to know who runs the big art house theater or local film festival. Being an active critic and reporter means they will see you as a key resource, which could lead to more work.
Find your strengths. Then go beyond them.
Young writers are often keen on covering the films and filmmakers that appeal to them and leave everything else on the sidelines. That’s a mistake: You’re more valuable if can cover an Agnes Varda retrospective as well as the new “Transformers” movie.
This logic also applies to the work: Too many aspiring critics saw Roger Ebert or Leonard Maltin on TV and decided that being a movie reviewer is the one and only career. There’s too many other possibilities, and very few publications hiring full-time critics.
Become a good interviewer, with angles that stand out (your story will almost always be one among many). Become a good reporter, paying attention to hard-news coverage of the entertainment industry. Both force you to interact with people outside the ivory tower of criticism, give you insight into how movies work, and inevitably deepen your well of contacts.
And, since we’re in 2017: Write about television. Not only does every outlet want to cover TV, but also the overlap between film and TV has never been more pronounced.
Finally, pay close attention to the way publications package information. Something that might seem crass or clickbaity — think clever headlines and lists (like this one) — is how outlets reach the widest readership possible. Pitch stories in these terms, and you advance the odds of finding work.
Find a strong angle for everything you write.
The only thing worse than a poorly written story is a boring one. Before you conjure clever one-liners, ask yourself what you really want to say. Does this loud blockbuster illustrate Hollywood’s worst tendencies? Why does this filmmaker do such a bad job of representing women? Did you just watch the best horror movie of the year? Construct real arguments that will pull your readers into your work.
A good editor will tell you if you need to pull back on the prose. Some of my favorite critics, including Manohla Dargis, Wesley Morris, B. Ruby Rich, and Amy Taubin, all have distinctive perspectives that come through both in the specificity of their voices and their specific sensibilities; agreeing with them is irrelevant. Tastes should be transparent: Writers like Glenn Kenny, Nick Pinkerton, and IndieWire’s own David Ehrlich are strong, entertaining writers no matter what they tackle (or where). Nothing can boost your profile faster.
What are your priorities?
Is your agenda to find a stable paycheck, with a good health insurance plan and reasonable hours? Don’t jump headfirst into the freelance lifestyle. Even if you’re overwhelmed with assignments, it can be tricky to maintain that momentum. But don’t let anyone stop you from pursuing your dream; there are ways to produce work on the side. Which leads me to a final point…
Look beyond journalism and criticism.
If movies are your passion, there are many different ways put it to work. Careers in distribution, publicity, and programming all let you watch a lot of movies, engage with filmmakers, travel to festivals, or work at studios. (And: Get paid more.)
I’m a big fan of Andrea Picard’s Film/Art column in Cinema Scope; she’s one of the best writers covering experimental film. She’s also a programmer for the Toronto International Film Festival’s avant-garde Wavelengths section, which gives her an incredible degree of influence beyond the stories she writes.
Before you get carried away about being the next David Ehrlich, think about how that ambition might be expressed with other opportunities. A world of possibilities await.
Related storiesJared Kushner's New York Observer Lays Off Film Critic Rex ReedRichard Schickel, Rip: How the Legendary Critic Defined a GenerationCléo Journal Addresses 'Woeful Lack of Feminist Perspectives' in Film Criticism...
- 6/22/2017
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Richard Linklater's Last Flag Flying to open 55th New York Film Festival Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
The Film Society of Lincoln Center (Flag Day in the Us is today, June 14) announced on Monday that the World Premiere of Richard Linklater's Last Flag Flying - co-written with Darryl Ponicsan (Cinderella Liberty, The Last Detail), produced by Ginger Sledge, John Sloss, and Thomas Lee Wright, starring Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston and Laurence Fishburne - is the Opening Night Gala selection of the New York Film Festival. Linklater's terrific Boyhood team of cinematographer Shane F Kelly, editor Sandra Adair, and costume designer Kari Perkins worked also on his latest.
Kent Jones: "Last Flag Flying is many things at once - infectiously funny, quietly shattering, celebratory, mournful, meditative, intimate, expansive, vastly entertaining, and …" Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
The Festival Director and Selection Committee Chair is Kent Jones. Dennis Lim, Fslc Director of Programming; Florence Almozini,...
The Film Society of Lincoln Center (Flag Day in the Us is today, June 14) announced on Monday that the World Premiere of Richard Linklater's Last Flag Flying - co-written with Darryl Ponicsan (Cinderella Liberty, The Last Detail), produced by Ginger Sledge, John Sloss, and Thomas Lee Wright, starring Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston and Laurence Fishburne - is the Opening Night Gala selection of the New York Film Festival. Linklater's terrific Boyhood team of cinematographer Shane F Kelly, editor Sandra Adair, and costume designer Kari Perkins worked also on his latest.
Kent Jones: "Last Flag Flying is many things at once - infectiously funny, quietly shattering, celebratory, mournful, meditative, intimate, expansive, vastly entertaining, and …" Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
The Festival Director and Selection Committee Chair is Kent Jones. Dennis Lim, Fslc Director of Programming; Florence Almozini,...
- 6/14/2017
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The most prestigious award at the Cannes Film Festival every year is the Palme d’Or, which this year went to Ruben Östlund’s “The Square,” but no Cannes is complete without the presentation of the highly coveted Palme de Whiskers, awarded annually in recognition of the Best Feline Performance. This year’s prize went to Mimi, from Agnès Varda’s “Faces Places,” RogerEbert.com reports. The documentary also won the Golden Eye prize, which recognizes a documentary from across all of the festival’s sidebars.
Read More: The 2017 IndieWire Cannes Bible: Every Review, Interview and News Item Posted During the Festival
The other award given by the Fffa (Feline Film Festivals Authority), the Kittycat Peace Prize, went to Baby, the kitten from “The Square.” The award was presented by Mrow, the Tehran street cat who won last year’s award for his performance in Asghar Farhadi’s “The Salesman.
Read More: The 2017 IndieWire Cannes Bible: Every Review, Interview and News Item Posted During the Festival
The other award given by the Fffa (Feline Film Festivals Authority), the Kittycat Peace Prize, went to Baby, the kitten from “The Square.” The award was presented by Mrow, the Tehran street cat who won last year’s award for his performance in Asghar Farhadi’s “The Salesman.
- 5/30/2017
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
“In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes,” Andy Warhol famously said, but the legendary artist probably didn’t expect that such a sentiment would apply to his own screen tests, which have endured over the decades as a curious, intimate look at the inner workings of his creative process.
Filmed during the ’60s-era heyday of his Warhol Factory, the black and white screen tests feature a slew of Warhol regulars — from Ondine to Edie Sedgwick, Lou Reed to Bob Dylan — and other famous faces of the day, all lensed on Warhol’s own Bolex camera. Nearly 500 of the screen tests were filmed, though Warhol did not use or exhibit all of them. Favorites were arranged into various compilations that were then screened by Warhol for assorted audiences, though they’ve continued to inspire and delight fans for decades past their original filming.
Read More: Quad Cinema Reborn:...
Filmed during the ’60s-era heyday of his Warhol Factory, the black and white screen tests feature a slew of Warhol regulars — from Ondine to Edie Sedgwick, Lou Reed to Bob Dylan — and other famous faces of the day, all lensed on Warhol’s own Bolex camera. Nearly 500 of the screen tests were filmed, though Warhol did not use or exhibit all of them. Favorites were arranged into various compilations that were then screened by Warhol for assorted audiences, though they’ve continued to inspire and delight fans for decades past their original filming.
Read More: Quad Cinema Reborn:...
- 5/3/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveriesNEWSRadley Metzger's The Lickerish QuartetRadley Metzger, whose groundbreaking erotic films helped set standards of style for both mainstream and arthouse cinema, has died at 88. His classics Camille 2000 (1969) and The Lickerish Quartet (1970) were featured on Mubi last year. Critic and programmer Steve Macfarlane interviewed the director at Slant Magazine for the Film Society of Lincoln Center's 2014 retrospective devoted to Metzger.Recommended VIEWINGThe Cinémathèque française has been on a roll uploading video discussions that have taken place at their Paris cinema. This 34 minute talk is between Wes Anderson and director/producer Barbet Schroeder.The Criterion Collection has recently released a new edition of Michelangelo Antonioni's masterpiece Blow-Up, and has uploaded this stellar clip of actor David Hemmings speaking on a talk show about making the film.Recommended READINGHoward Hawks' ScarfaceHow does Chicago intertwine itself with crime and the culture created in the mix of the two?...
- 4/5/2017
- MUBI
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.