News

Every once in a while, a movie comes around that’s so viscerally different from what came before it that the fabric of cinema is permanently altered. To say that future filmmakers were “influenced” by it almost feels like an understatement, as its legacy has less to do with inspiring specific aesthetic innovations than reconceptualizing the way we think about moving images.

It’s somewhat ironic that a movie titled “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” went on to become such a film. Tobe Hooper’s 1974 slasher masterpiece embraced its lowbrow status with its matter-of-fact title and unapologetic gore, likely seen by many as a cheap attempt to ride shock value into a quick box office gold mine. But as any horror lover will be quick to tell you, that could not be further from the truth. While the film still holds up as a fantastic standalone slasher flick — this writer would...

Ever since The Buckingham Murders was announced, excitement has been high for the masterpiece, as Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ektaa R. Kapoor, and Hansal Mehta—come together, for the mystery, intrigue, and drama. We have got a real look into the mood, the story, and the performances with the intriguing trailer, which just dropped.

Directed by Hansal Mehta, The Buckingham Murders will be released exclusively in cinemas on September 13, 2024. Along with Kareena Kapoor Khan, the film features an exceptional ensemble cast that includes Ash Tandon, Ranveer Brar, and Keith Allen.

Kareena Kapoor Khan playing a tough cop on screen will be amazing if the trailer is anything to go by. Kareena embarks on a new journey as a producer with this film after completing 25 years in the industry. Moreover, The film is helmed by award-winning and critically acclaimed director Hansal Mehta, who has been applauded and loved by audiences for his...

Scott Stuber wasn’t out of the game for long, and he’s bringing back with him a venerated classic film brand. The former Netflix film chief is teaming with Amazon MGM Studios to relaunch the United Artists label and help produce movies for both theatrical and streaming.

Stuber left Netflix this spring, and under his new production company about to launch, he’ll already have a first-look, multiyear film deal with Amazon MGM Studios and will be involved in anything released by the new United Artists.

“With his proven track record of delivering global hits and an eye towards theatrical fare, Scott’s expertise and vision align perfectly with our film strategy,” said Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon MGM Studios. “We are so proud to welcome him to our lot and partner with him on the relaunch of the legendary UA brand, as we work to leverage existing and new IP into big,...

Filmmaker Pablo Berger had never made an animated film before. He’d never even considered it until he read Sara Varon’s graphic novel “Robot Dreams.” Having recently lost his best friend and mother, the story of friendship and loss spoke to him on such an emotional level that he decided to adapt it — and learn how to make an animated film.

He spent two-and-years on animation education, but wanted to bring something from his previous directing experience: working with some of the best Spanish actors. Said Berger while on the Toolkit podcast, “In most animated film, [the characters] tend to overact.”

Berger began by working with a small animation team led by art director José Luis Ágreda and character supervisor Daniel Fernández Casas before “an army” of animators brought his vision to life.

“I started saying [to the animators], ‘I’m going to treat you as actors, you are my actors,’” said Berger. “They...

Did you know there are only two perfect horror movies? Or that there are only two perfect sci-fi films? At least, that's what Rotten Tomatoes would have you believe. The great arbiter of our collective cinematic taste has bestowed the hallowed 100% Tomatometer rating on just a handful of films across cinema history, and the result of this incessant ranking of art has apparently left us with two perfect "Toy Story" movies and just a single perfect "Godzilla" film. What a world.

Anyway, for whatever reason, Rotten Tomatoes scores remain consistently alluring to us all, even showing up on our streaming interfaces and instantly deciding for us whether a movie is worth a watch. Now, it's time to put cinematic legend and Hollywood hero Charlie Chaplin under the microscope and see how this giant of the industry can stand up to the mighty Tomatometer.

Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin is, of course,...

“Do you think people can change?” Ann (Joanna Arnow) asks her long-term dominant Allen (Scott Cohen) toward the beginning of Joanna Arnow’s second feature, The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed. Told through a series of comic vignettes, the film follows Ann through an indeterminate period of time in her early 30s as she navigates relationships, awkward family dinners, a bland corporate job, and the possibility of changing from her now-ensconced ways. As can be gleaned from its title, the potential for action or growth is faint, and Arnow builds a unique comedic style around a persistent sense of disappointment. The dominant tone is one of melancholic absurdity, with an airy timing à la the stilted awkwardness of Roy Andersson used to imbue scenes with a heaping of uneasy deadpan space on their front and back ends. We always seem to enter a scene too early or too late,...

When describing a big star’s new release, two clichés are frequently used: it is highly anticipated and long-awaited. Well, the 11th studio album by pop sensation Taylor Swift can’t exactly be called ‘long awaited’—just 18 months have passed since the release of her previous album, Midnights. The Grammy winner made her ‘highly anticipated’ 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, available on Friday, April 19, 2024.

The 16-track album is peaceful and enjoyable to listen to, but if you read the lyrics carefully—as most Swift fans do—you will discover a convoluted and disorganized stream of thought where Swift swings between waves of introspection, rage, longing, and grief.

Taylor Swift performing at the Eras Tour

Also, it is interesting to note that this latest album credits the two-time Oscar winner Emma Stone for her work on the song Florida!!!.

Emma Stone’s Unexpected Contribution to Taylor Swift’s Latest...

From left: Enchanted (Buena Vista Pictures), When Harry Met Sally (Columbia Pictures), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (FilmPublicityArchive/United Archives via Getty Images)Graphic: The A.V. Club

Chemistry is perhaps the most elusive of all cinematic ingredients. Critics can point to craft in elements like directorial technique, set design, editing, and the...

The lesser-known of Charlie Chaplin’s canon might still place among the finest films ever made, and his greatest scholars and acolytes will tell you A Woman of Paris has always deserved such label. It began the run of feature-length masterpieces that was The Gold Rush, City Lights, Modern Times, and The Great Dictator but remains semi-obscure––an oddity perhaps partly explained by Chaplin’s own classification as “the first serious drama written and directed by myself,” and one soon be amended by Janus Films’ U.S. release of a 4K restoration.

Ahead of its December 22 premiere at Film Forum, there’s a new trailer and poster. The former suggests a strong, faithful rendering from Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna and Timothy Brock, who has newly conducted Chaplin’s original score; the latter so strongly evokes a 1923 theatrical release that I assumed it was the original one-sheet with new titles attached.

After gaining international critical acclaim with his short and art house films, Song Il-gon's directed first mainstream film “Always” that opened the 2011 Busan International Film Festival. It was also the first feature film for actress Han Hyo-joo. Song Il-gon (1971) studied Fine Arts at the Seoul Institute of the Arts. After graduation he attended the National Academy of Film in Łódź, Poland. During his time there he made several short films that were influenced by psychology and Western mythology such as Liver and Potato(1998) inspired by the biblical story of Cain and Abel and The Dream of the Clowns (1998). Receiving the Jury Prize for Best Short Film for Picnic (Sopoong,1999) Song became the first Korean to win an award at the Cannes Film Festival. This international success continued with his first feature Flower Island (2001) wining a prize at the Venice Film Festival

“Always” is screening at Hong Kong Arts Centre,...

Previous recipients include Steven Spielberg, Yoji Yamada and Hou Hsiao-Hsien.

Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) is to honour Chinese filmmaker Gu Xiaogang and Indonesian director Mouly Surya with the Kurosawa Akira Award at its upcoming 36th edition, which runs October 23 to November 1.

The award, which was revived last year after an absence of 14 years, is presented to filmmakers who have “made waves in cinema” and are expected to help guide the industry’s future. A ceremony to present the awards will be held at Tokyo’s Imperial Hotel on October 31.

Director Gu broke through with internationally acclaimed debut Dwelling In The Fuchun Mountains,...

Ten years ago, The Criterion Collection dropped a dual-format edition of Charlie Chaplin’s City Lights. Included amongst its special features is behind-the-scenes footage of Chaplin forcing his co-star, Virginia Cherrill — a socialite the filmmaker spotted at a boxing match — to act out the scene of her blind flower girl handing his Tramp a rose 342 times. Chaplin’s relentless pursuit of perfection earned him the nickname “king of the re-take.” The crown was then passed to Stanley Kubrick who, if Guinness World Records is to be believed, required 148 takes of...

Carl Davis, who composed the scores for The French Lieutenant’s Woman, the BBC miniseries Pride and Prejudice and perhaps most famously Abel Gance’s epic 1927 silent film Napoléon, has died. He was 86.

Davis died Thursday after suffering a brain hemorrhage, his family announced.

“We are so proud that Carl’s legacy will be his astonishing impact on music,” they wrote on Twitter. “A consummate all-round musician, he was the driving force behind the reinvention of the silent movie for this generation, and he wrote scores for some of the most-loved and remembered British television dramas.”

Born in Brooklyn but living in the U.K. since 1961, Davis was hired by documentarians Kevin Brownlow and David Gill to create music for the 13-hour 1980 miniseries Hollywood: A Celebration of the American Silent Film and for Napoléon.

“My first score for a silent movie was Napoleon,” he said in 2010. “Five hours of it! It...

Carl Davis, an American-born conductor and composer who had lived in the UK since 1961, has died in Oxford. He was 86.

BAFTA-winner Davis composed music for more than 100 TV programs, created new scores for the concert performance of silent movies, and wrote many ballet and concert works.

He was best known for his work on hit BBC TV series Pride & Prejudice (1995), starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle, and movies including The French Lieutenant’s Woman (for which he won a BAFTA), starring Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons, and Florence Foster Jenkins, also starring Streep.

Davis, who was born in Brooklyn in 1936, also provided the original music for popular UK documentary history series The World at War (1973) for Thames Television and conducted the BBC’s theme song for their coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

In the late 1970s, Davis was commissioned to create music for a restored version of Abel Gance’s silent epic Napoleon.

For the past 40 Cannes Film Festivals, Alexandre has been putting on a show.

As the head bartender at the Mondrian Cannes — the établissement formerly known as The Grand — he’s been mixing cocktails and charming post-premiere revelers since 1983. Alexandre — it’s always “Alexandre,” no last name, like Prince or Madonna — is, for festival regulars, as familiar and welcome a sight as Cannes’ iconic red carpet. With a tall, lean frame and sharp Gallic nose, he darts between tables like a more elegant version of Monsieur Hulot, instantly recognizable with his striking bald head and those playful eyes that spring open in delight and surprise at every new guest.

Over the years, Alexandre has served festival grandees and Hollywood royalty. Johnny Depp and Jim Jarmusch, Francis Ford Coppola and Robert De Niro. Isabella Rossellini.

He has his stories.

“Sitting right there: Tony Curtis. And there, Bo Derek,” Alexandre begins. “He goes over,...

Romantic comedies have been around since the beginning of the film industry, but they’ve had a bit of an up-and-down run over the years. From their heyday in the 1990s to Netflix’s recent efforts to bring them back into mainstream popularity, we thought it was time to take stock and make a list of the ten best romantic comedies ever.

Related: 10 Best Comedies of All Time, Ranked by Viewers

We compiled a top 10 list and crunched numbers until we arrived at our ultimate list. As you’ll see below, this is an eclectic mix that includes everything from black-and-white classics to modern blockbusters. Each one fits the American Film Institute’s definition—a genre in which “the development of a romance leads to comic situations”—but more importantly, they’re all funny movies with romantic happy endings.

10 Highest-Rated Romantic Comedies on IMDb The Artist (2011) – 7.9 The Shop Around the Corner...

For quite some time now, Christmas has come every day for Ali Afshar.

The actor, producer and former race car driver is founder and president of Esx Entertainment, a prolific indie film and TV production company that’s made its name in recent years pumping Yuletide content to streamers amid the pandemic.

The projects are modestly budgeted and shot efficiently and safely, mostly due to Afshar’s commandeering of his hometown — a sleepy Sonoma County village called Petaluma, where he built a soundstage from a converted barn and mines below-the-line crew from local residents. Titles include Netflix’s “A California Christmas” and its sequel “City Lights,” and the HBO Max originals “A Christmas Mystery,” “A Hollywood Christmas” and “Holiday Harmony.”

Afshar’s well-oiled Christmas machine functions at such a level that, during a recent conversation with Variety, he revealed he was in the middle of shooting another film — “A Wine Country Christmas.

While we’ve known the results of Jeanne Dielman Tops Sight and Sound‘s 2022 Greatest Films of All-Time List”>Sight & Sound’s once-in-a-decade greatest films of all-time poll for a few months now, the recent release of the individual ballots has given data-crunching cinephiles a new opportunity to dive deeper. We have Letterboxd lists detailing all 4,400+ films that received at least one vote and another expanding the directors poll, spreadsheets calculating every entry, and now a list ranking how many votes individual directors received for their films.

Tabulated by Genjuro, the list of 35 directors, with two pairs, puts Alfred Hitchcock back on top, while Chantal Akerman is at number two. Elsewhere in the top ten are David Lynch, Francis Ford Coppola, Jean-Luc Godard, Agnès Varda, Orson Welles, Yasujirō Ozu, and Stanley Kubrick, and tied for the tenth spot is Wong Kar Wai and Ingmar Bergman.

Check out the list below,...

Grave robbing is a lot like "The Star Wars Holiday Special," in that it's kinda neat to watch when Harrison Ford is doing it, but for the most part, nobody approves.

The bizarre act of digging up a human corpse and stealing it for unnatural purposes is the sort of thing we've grown accustomed to in movies. The image of Dr. Frankenstein kicking up the soil in search of really big corpses is pretty much burned into our brains. Grave robbing is the sort of thing villains do if the bodies are fresh, and heroes do if the bodies are really, really old — or if the body is fresh and belongs to Superman, that's probably the biggest ethical loophole.

But in real life, celebrities aren't usually known for digging up corpses for personal gain. That's the sort of thing that happens to celebrities more often than the other way around.

On Jan. 30, 1931, United Artists unveiled the silent film City Lights, written, directed and produced by Charlie Chaplin. In a front page story on the same day the film was reviewed, The Hollywood Reporter declared that Chaplin “pulled a fast one on the industry. Not only is there no word spoken in his latest film, City Lights, but he makes use of the precious sound invention to mimic and burlesque the talkies and makes it the best gag of the picture.” THR’s original review, titled “‘City Lights’ A Cinch For Big Money Everywhere,” is below:

Exhibs can start warming up the old cash registers right now. It’s not that the picture is a world-beater — it isn’t. But it is very funny; it has Charles Chaplin; it has aroused the curiosity of everyone; it has plenty of entertainment value for the kids; it will bring forth many who have...

Images of Marilyn Monroe are the most replicated of any actress to emerge since the dawn of cinema. Her peroxide curls, cupid’s bow pout, and va-va-voom figure are recognizable to the point that her marketing potential has long since overwhelmed the matter of who she was as a person. To take a swing at saying — or showing — something resonant about the woman born Norma Jeane Mortenson, a storyteller would have to go to lengths far greater than Andrew Dominik is able to span in his

Much like Asaf Kapadia did with his documentary, “Amy,” Dominik critiques the world for reducing his subject down to her topline assets — and then treats her in exactly the same way. His Marilyn is a sexy, breathy blonde with daddy issues. And that’s all, folks.

Well, not quite all, as “Blonde” sets out to show a lifetime of victimization and exploitation. The film...

This fall marks the 10th anniversary of Beyond Fest, and the festival is already giving film fans a whole lot to look forward to with the announcement of From Tollywood to Hollywood, a month-long retrospective screening celebration of writer/director S.S. Rajamouli:

Press Release: Los Angeles, CA – Wednesday, September 7th, 2022 - Beyond Fest, the highest attended genre festival in the U.S., is excited to announce the first wave of programming for its tenth anniversary edition. ‘From Tollywood to Hollywood’ is a month-long celebration of the Indian writer/director S.S. Rajamouli featuring his most iconic work and very special in-person appearances by the filmmaker himself.

Built in collaboration with long-time Beyond Fest partner, American Cinematheque, and IMAX, Variance Films, Potentate Films, and Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, From Tollywood to Hollywood: The Spectacle & Majesty of S.S. Rajamouli is the first U.S. retrospective of S.S.

With all the horror forthcoming, Beyond Fest announced today the first wave of programming for its tenth anniversary edition.

From Tollywood to Hollywood is a month-long celebration of the Indian writer/director S.S. Rajamouli featuring his most iconic work and very special in-person appearances by the filmmaker himself!

Built in collaboration with long-time Beyond Fest partner, American Cinematheque, and IMAX, Variance Films, Potentate Films, and Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, From Tollywood to Hollywood: The Spectacle & Majesty of S.S. Rajamouli is the first U.S. retrospective of S.S. Rajamouli, and the first time the legendary director has appeared with his films in-person at a U.S. film festival.

“Since inception, Beyond Fest has fought tirelessly to give film fans the best theatrical experiences in the world, From Tollywood to Hollywood delivers on that promise,” said Christian Parkes, co-founder of Beyond Fest. “To celebrate the world’s greatest...

S.S. Rajamouli, the writer/director of the Hugely successful Rrr (on Netflix), joins hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante to discuss some of his favorite films.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Rrr (2022)

City Lights (1931)

Ben-Hur (1959) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

Braveheart (1995)

Apocalypto (2006)

The Passion of the Christ (2004)

A Fistful of Dollars (1964) – John Badham’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review and 4K Blu-ray review

The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (1966) – Ernest Dickerson’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review and 4K Blu-ray review

Once Upon The Time In The West (1968) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

The Terminator (1984) – Adam Rifkin’s trailer commentary

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Conan The Barbarian (1982)

Commando (1985) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

Predator (1987) – Alex Kirschenbaum’s review

The Abyss (1989)

Kung Fu Panda (2008)

The Lion King (1994)

Aladdin (1992)

Star Wars (1977)

Mad Max (1979) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

Pinocchio (1940)

Sherlock Holmes...

Exclusive: In May, we revealed Indian studio Applause Entertainment was deep in development on a big-budget drama series about independence hero Mahatma Gandhi, and the studio has now turned to a pair of familiar faces to supercharge the project.

Hansal Mehta, who helmed Applause’s SonyLIV drama Scam 1992, has been named director and showrunner of Gandhi (working title) and Siddhartha Basu, who worked with Applause CEO Sameer Nair on the first seasons of India’s version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (titled Kaun Banega Crorepat), has joined as historical consultant, factual advisor and creative consultant.

Gandhi will be period drama set during the Indian Independence struggle and is billed as epic in scale, with multiple characters and locations from the Mahatma’s life featured. It is being adapted from historian and author Ramachandra Guha’s books Gandhi Before India and Gandhi — The Years That Changed the World...

Mickey Gilley, the smooth-voiced, piano-playing country crooner who helped popularize the “Urban Cowboy” movement of the Eighties, died Saturday in Branson, Missouri. He was 86. Gilley’s publicist confirmed the singer’s death.

While Gilley had a run of success in the Seventies singing barroom-piano country ballads and rave-ups like “Room Full of Roses” and “Don’t the Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time,” it was his second act in the Eighties — tied to 1980’s box-office hit Urban Cowboy — that turned the Mississippi native into a crossover star.

Born March 9, 1936, in Natchez,...

On the May 3, 2022 episode of /Film Daily, /Film editor Ben Pearson is joined by editor and chief film critic Chris Evangelista to gather around the virtual water cooler and talk about what they've been up to.

Opening Banter:

At The Water Cooler:

What we've been Doing: What we've been Reading: What we've been Watching:

Ben watched Scream (2022), Halloween Kills, Doctor Zhivago, Starstruck season 2, Peggy Sue Got Married, City Lights, and Barry.

Chris watched Men, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Walker.

What we've been Eating: What we've been Playing:

Also mentioned:

All the other stuff you need to...

The post Daily Podcast: Mini-Water Cooler: Doctor Strange 2, Walker, Peggy Sue Got Married, and More appeared first on /Film.

Surprise: these are quality movies on an important subject. Entry 13 in the ‘Golden Age of the Exploitation Picture’ gives us not sleaze but two well-produced vintage public education epics on the subject of (gasp) venereal disease. Although reissued by sensation hucksters as racy ‘forbidden’ fare, they had serious social aims — the screenplay for one was adapted by the famed author Upton Sinclair. The other was directed by Edgar G. Ulmer. Added extras are four short subjects directed by Edgar G., and two sex-ed lecture reels that alternate between funny and revolting.

Damaged Lives & Damaged Goods

Forbidden Fruit: The Golden Age of the Exploitation Picture, Volume 13

Blu-ray

Kino Classics / Something Weird

1933 & 1937 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / Street Date February 8, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Directed by Edgar G. Ulmer, Phil Goldstone

Kino’s ongoing series ‘The Golden Age of the Exploitation Picture’ has creeped through every vintage sensation that could be 4-walled, carnival style,...

The Notebook Primer introduces readers to some of the most important figures, films, genres, and movements in film history.The Kid.For over a century, Charles Chaplin’s “Little Tramp” has been a global icon. His signifiers are simple: the derby hat and cane; the toothbrush mustache; the tight jacket and baggy trousers; the giant shoes. His significations, however—what the Tramp has meant to audiences around the world—have been profound.The most diminutive of men, the Tramp has had an outsized role in film history. Indeed, he is a portrait in paradoxes: a tragic-comic hobo-gentleman, flea-riddled but fastidious; a poet of pantomime, whose silence speaks volumes; a prat-falling klutz, who is the most graceful of danseurs; and a loner, who is worthier than most of human intimacy. Obtuse to the socioeconomic realities that structure his existence, he is an idealist hero akin to Don Quixote, as pointed out...

Watch the Trailer for Wyrmwood: Apocalypse: "The latest feature from Australian filmmaking brother duo Kiah Roache-Turner and Tristan Roache-Turner, whose previous collaborations include their breakout feature debut Wyrmwood: Road Of The Dead, which premiered at the 2014 Fantastic Fest and put them on the map internationally for their creative use of low-budget gore and highly effective horrific story, and the 2018 TIFF Midnight Madness premiere Nekrotronic. The two share co-writing credits while Kiah handles direction with energetic ease and Tristan produces.

With a mix of new and familiar faces from the creative worlds of the Roache-Turner brothers , Wyrmwood: Apocalypse stars Luke McKenzie, Bianca Bradey (Wyrmwood: Road Of The Dead), Shantae Barnes-Cowan (Total Control), Tasia Zalar (Mystery Road), Jay Gallagher, and Nicholas Boshier (Soul Mates).

Blake Northfield (Streamline) produced alongside Tristan Roache-Turner, and Todd Brown and Maxime Cottray executive produced for XYZ Films.

Synopsis: Rhys lives in the zombie-infested wasteland. His job...

Ivana Miloš, In the Flower Basket (2022), monotype on paper, 33 x 24 cmTHE Sex Of ROSESFlower boy T, n*gga that's meRooted from the bottom, bloomed into a treeTook a little while, n*gga making leavesKeep 'em in the branches so my family can eat—"Where This Flower Blooms," Tyler, the Creator A long time ago somebody messed with people’s minds and put into their heads the idea that women, and especially female sexual organs, look like flowers. Botanists, anatomists, and pornographers stand no chance against decades of the birds and the bees and all the metaphorical, flowery language that conceals bodily realities to the point of alienation where the flower really somehow looks like a vulva to those that have either never really looked at a flower (which flower anyway?) nor at a female body. Probably neither. But then, are we not all blind? This is not Charlie Chaplin’s fault,...

Steve Salas, a cofounder of the Los Angeles R&b band Tierra and an activist in Chicano politics, died Thursday morning at age 69, according to his family. Salas had been battling myeloma for two years and recently contracted Covid-19.

Salas was born Jan. 5, 1949, in Lincoln Heights to Mexican American parents. Together with his brother, Rudy, they began performing at local parties.

“Steve and Rudy created the soundtrack for many people’s lives, and we are so grateful to everyone who loved their music,” band and family members said in a statement on Facebook. “The Salas Brothers left an indelible mark on the history of Chicano music with Tierra.”

Steve Salas was part of the historic student walkout at Lincoln High School in 1968 that was part of the early stages of the Chicano power movement. After graduating, he received a full academic scholarship to Stanford University.

That stint lasted two years,...

You may not know his films but you will certainly know who Charlie Chaplin is…

A legend of the silent film era there is more to the man than his signature bowler hat and cane. With films such as The Great Dictator, City Lights & The Kid his impact on film cannot be overstated.

The life of Charlie Chaplin is the subject of a new documentary from directing duo, James Spinney and Peter Middleton, who explore the enigma that is Chaplin.

We sit down with James and Peter to discuss The Real Charlie Chaplin, reflect on his influence, the mammoth task of tackling the story of a legend and controversy in his personal life.

The Real Charlie Chaplin Opens in Cinemas & Digitally on February 18th

The post James Spinney & Peter Middleton on their new documentary The Real Charlie Chaplin appeared first on HeyUGuys.

Writer/director Guillermo del Toro discusses a few of his favorite movies with Josh and Joe.

Show Notes:

Movies Referenced In This Episode

Nightmare Alley (2021)

Nightmare Alley (1947) – Stuart Gordon’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review

Drive My Car (2021)

Wicked Woman (1953) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022)

Modern Times (1936)

City Lights (1931)

The Great Dictator (1940)

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Dennis Cozzalio’s review, Dennis Cozzalio’s Muriel Awards capsule review

Vertigo (1958) – Dan Ireland’s trailer commentary, Brian Trenchard-Smith’s review

The Man Who Would Be King (1975) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

Lawrence Of Arabia (1962)

The Young And The Damned (1950)

Gone With The Wind (1939)

The Golem (1920) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Sunrise: A Song Of Two Humans (1927)

Alucarda (1977)

Greed (1924) – Dennis Cozzalio’s Muriel Awards capsule review

Taxi Driver (1976) – Rod Lurie’s trailer commentary

District 9 (2009) – John Sayles...

It’s been over a century since Charlie Chaplin introduced his beloved Tramp character in 1914’s “Kid Auto Races at Venice.” Unlike a lot of the silent film performers of the time, Chaplin breaks the fourth wall and makes eye contact with the audience. And even a century later, there’s an immediacy to that eye contact, there’s a bond between you and the silent clown. “He’s this very fluid character who just communes with the audience,” said James Spinney, who, with Peter Middleton, directed the lauded new Showtime documentary “The Real Chaplin.”

“When you watch him, you feel this crackle as he looks at you,” Spinney noted during a recent Film Independent conversation. “It’s kind of flirtatious and mischievous when he does that. Watching his films today, we found that they felt fresh and subversive, even over a century later, and felt like a type of...

Charlie Chaplin in costume as his Little Tramp character. Courtesy of Showtime.

Charlie Chaplin was the first worldwide superstar, thanks in part to the global nature of silent movies, which transcended language barriers and international borders. Charlie Chaplin was funny and clever but on screen he also generated a hypnotic magic, seeming to reach through the screen to interact directly with the viewers, an effect your can still feel today watching his films. But his charming, hilarious Little Tramp was a character, not the real Charlie Chaplin, the first thing we learn in The Real Charlie Chaplin, a new biographical documentary that looks at both the man behind the magic and his creation.

The Real Charlie Chaplin, like any film about the great Charlie Chaplin, is a most welcome thing. Reminding audiences about, or introducing them to, Charlie Chaplin is a good thing, since even today, Chaplin still remains as...

“You can see now?”

Charlie Chaplin in City Lights (1931) and Buster Keaton in Sherlock Jr. (1924) both screen at The Des Peres Theater December 14th at 7pm. – They are presented by Silents, Please Stl, a local group that aims to promote and preserve the art of silent filmmaking from the early 20th Century through community programming and education. Admission is $10 and tickets can be purchased in advance Here. (which supports this screening and helps to sustain ongoing programming). Silents, Please Stl‘s Facebook page can be found Here

In City Lights, a dewy-eyed tramp who has fallen in love with a sightless flower girl with the aid of a wealthy erratic tippler, accumulates money to be able to help her medically. City Lights gets to the heart of the Chaplin’s famous Tramp. It is a beautiful romance about loving someone for who they are and not their social or economic...

Netflix will close out the year by debuting its biggest awards contenders and popular series like Season 2 of “The Witcher” and Season 2 of “Emily in Paris.”

But the headline releases are on the film side. December 1 brings the streaming premiere of “The Power of the Dog,” Jane Campion’s Best Picture favorite starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, and Kodi Smit-McPhee. On December 10, Netflix drops “The Unforgivable,” a new drama with former Best Actress winner Sandra Bullock. On December 24, it’s Adam McKay’s star-studded Best Picture hopeful “Don’t Look Up,” with Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill, Cate Blanchett, Rob Morgan, Timothee Chalamet, Tyler Perry, Ariana Grande, and Mark Rylance. The streamer closes out 2021 with “The Lost Daughter,” Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut with Olivia Colman and Dakota Johnson.

Ahead, everything coming to Netflix in December 2021.

Coming Soon

Decoupled

Dec. 1

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean...

“The Real Charlie Chaplin” is an alluring title for a documentary about the man who was arguably the greatest comic artist in the history of the planet. (I could be wrong in that assessment; I wasn’t around in 1230 or 5600 B.C. But I’ll stand by it.) The title suggests that we’re going to get an unvarnished look at the man behind the curtain — the brilliant and complicated human being that Charlie Chaplin was, a charmer and a scoundrel, a sweetheart and a monster, not to mention a celebrity of scandalous appetites. All of that is covered, quite ingeniously, in “The Real Charlie Chaplin.”

Yet the documentary doesn’t shy away from immersing us in Chaplin’s artistry, a subject that has, of course, been covered once or twice before. We learn a lot about his films and how, exactly, he put them together. And the trick of...

As directed by Peter Middleton and James Spinney, The Real Charlie Chaplin attempts a delicate dance, quite ambitiously trying to understand both Chaplin the genius filmmaker and his iconic character the Tramp. “Enjoy any Charlie Chaplin you have the good luck to encounter, but don’t try to link them up to anything you can grasp,” observed writer Max Eastman. A title card with the above text opens the film, offering a direct warning: as much as one can know Chaplin, one never really will. Given access to an incredible amount of archival footage from the legend’s estate, Middleton and Spinney do their damndest to confront the man from every angle. And though they don’t succeed, perhaps that’s the point?

Pearl Mackie does sharp work as the narrator, guiding the viewer through Chaplin’s downtrodden childhood in London, to his signing with Fred Karno and move to America,...

Whether it’s coming out of Nashville, New York, L.A., or points in between, there’s no shortage of fresh tunes, especially from artists who have yet to become household names. Rolling Stone Country selects some of the best new music releases from country and Americana artists. (Check out last week’s best songs.)

Bailey Callahan, “City Lights”

Nashville-by-way-of-Florida songwriter Bailey Callahan pulls off the tricky feat of believably setting a country song in New York City. Instead of Big Apple clichés, she peppers the lyrics with references to...

Season 19 of “American Idol” added a twist to round out the Top 10. The reality competition series showcased 10 of the season 18 contestants in a special edition on April 19. Each of them got a chance to sing one song for America’s votes. The winner of this run-off joins the rest of the Top 10 who made the cut on April 18: Alyssa Wray, Caleb Kennedy, Casey Bishop, Cassandra Coleman, Chayce Beckham, Deshawn Goncalves, Grace Kinstler, Hunter Metts and Willie Spence.

Of the 10 comeback contenders, the most likely to win is Arthur Gunn, the season 18 runner-up. He has proven he is popular with “American Idol” viewers, having lost last year’s final to Just Sam in a razor-thin vote. His strongest rivals are Louis Knight, who just missed making the Top 5 and Makayla Phillips who was unlucky enough to be ousted when the Top 11 was pared down to seven. The other contenders in...

After firming up this season’s “Top 9,” American Idol welcomed back 10 finalists from last season for a chance become lucky No. 10. And some of them will need all the luck they can get.

Real talk: Season 19 is an extremely talented group, and only a few of these returning singers were operating anywhere near that level. Maybe it’s because they weren’t used to singing on the main stage, but the whole night was pretty underwhelming.

More from TVLineNewly Released Grey's Anatomy Photos of the Wine-Soaked 'Japril' Reunion Make It Seem Like Old TimesBig Sky Recap: Is Cassie Ok?!?ABC's...

“American Idol” showcased 10 of last year’s also-rans in a special episode on Monday, April 19. The winner of the audience vote held during “The Comeback” will get the last slot in the Top 10. They will join the nine contenders who were revealed by Ryan Seacrest to have made the cut from the Top 12 at the end of Sunday’s episode: Alyssa Wray, Caleb Kennedy, Casey Bishop, Cassandra Coleman, Chayce Beckham, Deshawn Goncalves, Grace Kinstler, Hunter Metts and Willie Spence.

Among these hopefuls is Arthur Gunn, who fell just short of the mark and was named runner-up to season 18 winner Just Sam last May. Also in the mix is Louis Knight, who missed making the Top 5 and Makayla Phillips who was unlucky enough to be ousted when the Top 11 was pared down to seven. The other contenders in “The Comeback” special hosted by Ryan Seacrest and airing on April 19 are all...

Season 19 of “American Idol” is giving one of the season 18 also-rans a second chance at glory. Ten of last year’s contestants compete on the April 19 episode of “American Idol” for a chance to join the Top 10. Among these hopefuls is Arthur Gunn, who fell just short of the mark and was named runner-up to season 18 winner Just Sam last May.

Also in the mix is Louis Knight, who missed making the Top 5 and Makayla Phillips who was unlucky enough to be ousted when the Top 11 was pared down to seven. The other contenders in “The Comeback” special hosted by Ryan Seacrest and airing on April 19 are all drawn from the Top 20.

The winner of the comeback will round out the Top 10. They will join these Top 12 contenders who made the cut on April 18: Alyssa Wray, Caleb Kennedy, Casey Bishop, Cassandra Coleman, Chayce Beckham, Deshawn Goncalves, Grace Kinstler, Hunter Metts and Willie Spence.

Twist alert! During the April 12, 2021 episode of “American Idol” Season 19, host Ryan Seacrest sent shockwaves through “Idol” nation when he announced the “biggest shakeup” in the show’s 20-year history. “Since they didn’t get their moment last year [due to the Covid-19 pandemic], we’re inviting 10 finalists back from last season to finally perform on the big stage,” he revealed. “You get to vote one of them into this season’s competition. Great, right?” Umm, that’s to be determined.

Mark your calendars for Monday, April 19, as that’s when the former artists will come out of quarantine to crash ABC’s reality TV show. The winner of the audience vote will join Season 19’s Top 9 singers to create what Seacrest calls the most “unique Top 10 we have ever had.” Scroll through our photos above for a refresher on these 10 “American Idol” comeback contestants.

SEEEarly ‘American Idol’ predictions: Grace Kinstler out front to win...

American Idol is throwing a major curveball at its Season 19 contestants: Only nine of them will advance to the Top 10 later this spring, with the final spot going to a contestant from last season.

ABC announced Monday that 10 singers from Season 18 — including runner-up Arthur Gunn — will return to Idol and compete for a spot in the current season’s Top 10. As executive producer and showrunner Trish Kinane told Billboard, the show wanted to give Season 18’s contestants a chance to perform on the big Idol stage, after the coronavirus pandemic forced live shows to happen remotely from singers’ homes last year.

Restorations of ‘The Kid’ and ‘The Great Dictator’ among titles set for theatrical release.

Distributor Piece of Magic has joined forces with Paris-based mk2 to release restorations of Charlie Chaplin classics in theatres around the world.

The partnership will see Piece of Magic release a 4K restoration of Chaplin’s 1921 classic The Kid this autumn, working with their global network of exhibitors in around 50 territories, while collaborating with existing mk2 distribution partners.

These territories include Benelux, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand, China and Hong Kong, Cis territories including Russia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Portugal, UAE and South Africa.

mk...

Lawrence Ferlinghetti, the poet whose San Francisco–based City Lights bookstore and publishing house served as a springboard for the Beat generation, has died. His daughter, Julie Sasser, reported his cause of death as interstitial lung disease, according to The New York Times. He was 101.

The poet was known for stacking small fractured lines on top of each other in unique geometric shapes like Jenga towers, with each thought supporting the ones above it. His best-known collection of poems, 1958’s A Coney Island of the Mind, presented vivid images in the language of his day,...

Léo Kouper, who passed away last week at the age of 94, was rather unusual among poster artists for having a special association with one filmmaker, his being Charlie Chaplin. From the early 1950s through the early ’70s Kouper created some of the most striking and charming Chaplin poster designs for almost all his feature films. Born in Paris on August 20, 1926, Kouper was mentored from the age of 19 by the great French poster artist Hervé Morvan (1917-1980) who was nine years his senior. Morvan did his fair share of movie posters, including a stunning double panel Grand Illusion, but is best known for his bold, colorful, child-like illustrations advertising French products like Gitanes, Perrier and Lanvin Chocolate.Kouper’s illustration work is in a similar faux naïf style to Morvan’s and its simplicity and charm no doubt appealed to Chaplin over the years. His first Chaplin poster, seen above, was...