One may resist celebrity culture, but most people have at least a few actors from pop culture history that mean something to them, whether they're from the silver screen or the flickering box.
Actors know how to spark our emotions and suspend our disbelief. They embody our favorite stories and the visions of our favorite filmmakers. The stars of film and television have the privilege of immortalizing themselves in certain times and places. But it is not just themselves that they immortalize. In their best projects, they capture many complexities of emotion and culture that are relevant to millions. Steve McQueen and his Mustang in "Bullet," Warren Beatty and his freewheeling libido in "Shampoo," Anthony Hopkins and his empathetic presidential turn in "Nixon" -- for better or worse, actors color our memories of the past in both trivial and important ways.
It can be wistful, therefore, when an old favorite passes,...
Actors know how to spark our emotions and suspend our disbelief. They embody our favorite stories and the visions of our favorite filmmakers. The stars of film and television have the privilege of immortalizing themselves in certain times and places. But it is not just themselves that they immortalize. In their best projects, they capture many complexities of emotion and culture that are relevant to millions. Steve McQueen and his Mustang in "Bullet," Warren Beatty and his freewheeling libido in "Shampoo," Anthony Hopkins and his empathetic presidential turn in "Nixon" -- for better or worse, actors color our memories of the past in both trivial and important ways.
It can be wistful, therefore, when an old favorite passes,...
- 2/11/2024
- by Jack Hawkins
- Slash Film
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For regular updates, sign up for our weekly email newsletter and follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSEvil Does Not Exist.We are saddened to learn that Issue 97 will be Cinema Scope’s last in its current form. To “do something valuable in this field,” editor and publisher Mark Peranson writes, “one needs creative freedom.” This is exactly what, for twenty-five years and just under 100 issues, Cinema Scope was able to provide, offering a space that allowed, per Peranson, “a certain kind of filmmaker’s work to be treated with the intellect and respect they deserve.” The print issue is on its way to subscribers now, and its entire contents—including interviews with Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Rodrigo Moreno, and Alex Ross Perry—can also be read online.Sandra Milo has died at the age of 90. She starred in Federico Fellini’s 8½ (1963) and Juliet of the Spirits...
- 1/31/2024
- MUBI
Italian actress Sandra Milo, who was best known for her supporting roles in Federico Fellini’s Oscar winner 8 ½ and Golden Globe winner Juliet of the Spirits, has died at the age of 90.
Born in Tunisia to Italian parents in 1933, Milo grew up in Tuscany.
She got her first big screen break in 1955 opposite Alberto Sordi in Antonio Pietrangeli’s comedy The Bachelor.
Milo’s career quickly took off with roles in Roberto Rossellini’s General Della Rovere, Pietrangeli’s Hungry for Love, Edouard Molinaro’s Witness in the City and Claude Sautet’s The Big Risk over the course of the late 1950s.
It briefly hit the buffers in 1961 when her performance in Rosselini’s Stendhal adaptation Vanina Vanni was brutally panned by critics at the Venice Film Festival, but Milo returned to the set and went on to rack up more than 80 credits across her 70-year career.
Internationally, Milo...
Born in Tunisia to Italian parents in 1933, Milo grew up in Tuscany.
She got her first big screen break in 1955 opposite Alberto Sordi in Antonio Pietrangeli’s comedy The Bachelor.
Milo’s career quickly took off with roles in Roberto Rossellini’s General Della Rovere, Pietrangeli’s Hungry for Love, Edouard Molinaro’s Witness in the City and Claude Sautet’s The Big Risk over the course of the late 1950s.
It briefly hit the buffers in 1961 when her performance in Rosselini’s Stendhal adaptation Vanina Vanni was brutally panned by critics at the Venice Film Festival, but Milo returned to the set and went on to rack up more than 80 credits across her 70-year career.
Internationally, Milo...
- 1/29/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Veteran Italian actress Sandra Milo, best known for her roles in Federico Fellini‘s 8½ and Juliet of the Spirits, has died. She was 90. According to Variety, Milo’s passing was confirmed on social media by her daughters, Debora and Azzura, and son Ciro, who revealed she died in her sleep on Monday (January 29) morning at her home in Rome. Born Salvatrice Elena Greco on March 11, 1933, in Tunis, French Tunisia, Milo made her on-screen film debut in 1955’s The Bachelor. From there, she landed her first major role in Roberto Rossellini‘s 1959 drama film General Della Rovere; she also starred in Rossellini’s 1961 drama Vanina Vanini. Milo briefly retired from acting after her first marriage but was convinced to return by Fellini to star opposite Marcello Mastroianni in his 1963 avant-garde classic 8½, which is available to stream on Prime Video and Apple TV. She also starred in Fellini’s 1965 comedy-drama Juliet of the Spirits.
- 1/29/2024
- TV Insider
Italian actor Sandra Milo, known for memorable roles in Federico Fellini’s “8½” and “Juliet of the Spirits” as well as her work with Roberto Rossellini, died on Monday at her Rome home. She was 90.
News of Milo’s death was announced on social media by her daughters, Debora and Azzurra, and son Ciro, who said Milo died in her sleep on Monday morning.
Italian deputy culture minister Lucia Borgonzoni mourned the passing of Milo as the loss of a “protagonist of Italian cinema … a great, talented artist with an overwhelming charisma” and “the muse of great directors such as Federico Fellini who won the hearts of millions of Italians.”
Milo, whose work spanned several genres, made her big screen debut in 1955 alongside popular comic actor Alberto Sordi in Antonio Pietrangeli’s “Lo Scapolo” (“The Bachelor”). Other comedies followed such as “Totò in the Moon” (“Totò Nella Luna”), one of...
News of Milo’s death was announced on social media by her daughters, Debora and Azzurra, and son Ciro, who said Milo died in her sleep on Monday morning.
Italian deputy culture minister Lucia Borgonzoni mourned the passing of Milo as the loss of a “protagonist of Italian cinema … a great, talented artist with an overwhelming charisma” and “the muse of great directors such as Federico Fellini who won the hearts of millions of Italians.”
Milo, whose work spanned several genres, made her big screen debut in 1955 alongside popular comic actor Alberto Sordi in Antonio Pietrangeli’s “Lo Scapolo” (“The Bachelor”). Other comedies followed such as “Totò in the Moon” (“Totò Nella Luna”), one of...
- 1/29/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The Video Essay is a joint project of Mubi and Filmadrid International Film Festival. Film analysis and criticism found a completely new and innovative path with the arrival of the video essay. The limits of this discipline are constantly expanding; new essayists are finding innovative ways to study the history of cinema working within images. With this non-competitive section of the festival, both Mubi and Filmadrid will offer the video essay format the platform and visibility it deserves. The seven selected works will premiere online from June 5 through June 11, 2023, on Mubi's online publication Notebook. The selection was made by the Notebook editors and Filmadrid.Giulietta & Giulietta and the Spirits of Fellini by Jacopo TorritiTo pay tribute to the five-time Academy Award–winner Federico Fellini, who passed away thirty yearsago, I have decided to analyze Juliet of the Spirits,one of his most underrated movies, focusing mainly on the protagonist of the film and Fellini's muse,...
- 6/8/2023
- MUBI
Filmmaker Boaz Yakin discusses some of his favorite films with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.
Show Notes:
Movies Referenced In This Episode
Aviva (2020)
The Harder They Fall (2021)
The Harder They Come (1972)
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Fresh (1994)
Mo’ Better Blues (1990)
Safe (2012)
Scream (2022)
The Punisher (1989)
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
Kagemusha (1980) – Bernard Rose’s trailer commentary
Mean Streets (1973)
Jaws (1975) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary
The 400 Blows (1959) – Robert Weide’s trailer commentary
Yojimbo (1961)
Dodes’ka-den (1970)
Short Cuts (1993) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray commentary
Casablanca (1942) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
Coonskin (1975) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary
Fritz The Cat (1972) – Mick Garris’s trailer commentary, Charlie Largent’s Blu-ray review
The Lord of the Rings (1978)
Wizards (1977)
Heavy Traffic (1973) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing
The Warriors (1979)
Quintet (1979)
Brewster McCloud (1970) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Mash (1970)
Nashville (1975) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary, Dan Perri’s trailer commentary,...
Show Notes:
Movies Referenced In This Episode
Aviva (2020)
The Harder They Fall (2021)
The Harder They Come (1972)
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Fresh (1994)
Mo’ Better Blues (1990)
Safe (2012)
Scream (2022)
The Punisher (1989)
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
Kagemusha (1980) – Bernard Rose’s trailer commentary
Mean Streets (1973)
Jaws (1975) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary
The 400 Blows (1959) – Robert Weide’s trailer commentary
Yojimbo (1961)
Dodes’ka-den (1970)
Short Cuts (1993) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray commentary
Casablanca (1942) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
Coonskin (1975) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary
Fritz The Cat (1972) – Mick Garris’s trailer commentary, Charlie Largent’s Blu-ray review
The Lord of the Rings (1978)
Wizards (1977)
Heavy Traffic (1973) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing
The Warriors (1979)
Quintet (1979)
Brewster McCloud (1970) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Mash (1970)
Nashville (1975) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary, Dan Perri’s trailer commentary,...
- 2/22/2022
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
Italy’s 66th David di Donatello Awards are set to celebrate on May 11 a year of resilience for Cinema Italiano that also looks likely to germinate some creative renewal, just as Italian movie theaters start to reopen and production is booming.
Giorgio Diritti’s biopic “Hidden Away,” about crazed primitivist painter Antonio Ligabue, Gianni Amelio’s wistful “Hammamet,” which reconstructs the Tunisian self-exile of scandal-plagued Italian leader Bettino Craxi, and dark drama “Bad Tales” by the D’Innocenzo Brothers lead the crowded field for Italy’s equivalent of the Oscars, with no clear frontrunner.
Significantly, “Hidden Away,” which scooped 15 nominations, and “Bad Tales,” which scored 13, both star actor Elio Germano. And Germano also plays the lead in another standout title in the Davids race, Netflix Italian Original “The Incredible Story of Rose Island,” which landed 11 noms, including one for the pic’s producer, multihyphenate Matteo Rovere, whose Groenlandia Group is having a banner year.
Giorgio Diritti’s biopic “Hidden Away,” about crazed primitivist painter Antonio Ligabue, Gianni Amelio’s wistful “Hammamet,” which reconstructs the Tunisian self-exile of scandal-plagued Italian leader Bettino Craxi, and dark drama “Bad Tales” by the D’Innocenzo Brothers lead the crowded field for Italy’s equivalent of the Oscars, with no clear frontrunner.
Significantly, “Hidden Away,” which scooped 15 nominations, and “Bad Tales,” which scored 13, both star actor Elio Germano. And Germano also plays the lead in another standout title in the Davids race, Netflix Italian Original “The Incredible Story of Rose Island,” which landed 11 noms, including one for the pic’s producer, multihyphenate Matteo Rovere, whose Groenlandia Group is having a banner year.
- 5/6/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options—not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves–each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit platforms. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
Bad Trip (Kitao Sakurai)
The Eric Andre persona is best understood by his popular late-night Adult Swim series, succinctly titled The Eric Andre Show. In every episode Andre’s irreverent and self-destructive behavior leads him to trash his set, causing bodily harm, and torturing a slew of celebrities that range from Jimmy Kimmel to the Real Housewives of Atlanta. Andre is the equivalent of a magic mushrooms trip: wildly confusing, incoherent, sometimes causing one to burst at the seams with ecstatic comedic moments. Andre’s energy finds the perfect vessel in Bad Trip, his first starring role with a script he wrote with frequent collaborator and director Kitao Sakurai.
Bad Trip (Kitao Sakurai)
The Eric Andre persona is best understood by his popular late-night Adult Swim series, succinctly titled The Eric Andre Show. In every episode Andre’s irreverent and self-destructive behavior leads him to trash his set, causing bodily harm, and torturing a slew of celebrities that range from Jimmy Kimmel to the Real Housewives of Atlanta. Andre is the equivalent of a magic mushrooms trip: wildly confusing, incoherent, sometimes causing one to burst at the seams with ecstatic comedic moments. Andre’s energy finds the perfect vessel in Bad Trip, his first starring role with a script he wrote with frequent collaborator and director Kitao Sakurai.
- 3/26/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
"The Furniture," by Daniel Walber, is a series on Production Design.
This week we mark the centennial of actress Giulietta Masina, which I consider an opportunity to do something a little different. The Furniture, as you might expect, is rarely a column about performance. I spend a lot of time trying to get screenshots without any actors present at all. Production design often works in support of performance, or in parallel, but rarely are they what you might call intertwined.
In the films of Federico Fellini, Masina’s husband and collaborator, design often threatens to overwhelm or absorb performance. Actors become moving props in his most extravagant productions, rotating like carousel horses around a central figure or two. And these protagonists are often ciphers of style themselves, particularly when they’re played by Marcello Mastroianni.
Not so with 1965's Juliet of the Spirits. Masina is the well from which the entire production springs.
This week we mark the centennial of actress Giulietta Masina, which I consider an opportunity to do something a little different. The Furniture, as you might expect, is rarely a column about performance. I spend a lot of time trying to get screenshots without any actors present at all. Production design often works in support of performance, or in parallel, but rarely are they what you might call intertwined.
In the films of Federico Fellini, Masina’s husband and collaborator, design often threatens to overwhelm or absorb performance. Actors become moving props in his most extravagant productions, rotating like carousel horses around a central figure or two. And these protagonists are often ciphers of style themselves, particularly when they’re played by Marcello Mastroianni.
Not so with 1965's Juliet of the Spirits. Masina is the well from which the entire production springs.
- 2/24/2021
- by Daniel Walber
- FilmExperience
Organizations that give awards think every category is important. The American public, on the other hand, seems to only care about best picture, actor and actress.
However, to millions of people around the world, the most important category is the one devoted to movies that are not in the English language — what the Oscars call international feature film and what the Globes call foreign language.
For them, it’s not just about validation for one movie. Brillante Ma Mendoza, director of this year’s Philippines Oscar submission “Mindanao,” says, “An Oscar is more than a trophy,” adding that a nomination or win would be proof that “the whole Philippine film industry can stand with the best.”
Poland has been nominated three times in the past five years, including one win. Director Małgorzata Szumowska hopes the momentum carries to her film this year, “Never Gonna Snow Again.” After the award to Pawel Pawlikowski’s “Ida,...
However, to millions of people around the world, the most important category is the one devoted to movies that are not in the English language — what the Oscars call international feature film and what the Globes call foreign language.
For them, it’s not just about validation for one movie. Brillante Ma Mendoza, director of this year’s Philippines Oscar submission “Mindanao,” says, “An Oscar is more than a trophy,” adding that a nomination or win would be proof that “the whole Philippine film industry can stand with the best.”
Poland has been nominated three times in the past five years, including one win. Director Małgorzata Szumowska hopes the momentum carries to her film this year, “Never Gonna Snow Again.” After the award to Pawel Pawlikowski’s “Ida,...
- 1/27/2021
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
Oscar-winning playwright and screenwriter Christopher Hampton feted with Ciff’s Golden Pyramid Lifetime Achievement prize.
A streamlined edition of the Cairo International Film Festival (Ciff) kicked off on Wednesday evening with a special video message of solidarity and support for the event and its director Mohamed Hefzy from the heads of the Berlin, Cannes and Venice film festivals.
“I wish I was there with you tonight attending the opening ceremony,” said Venice Film Festival director Alberto Barbera, who was one of the few A-list festival directors able to hold a physical edition this year. “We need cinema and we need to show it is alive.
A streamlined edition of the Cairo International Film Festival (Ciff) kicked off on Wednesday evening with a special video message of solidarity and support for the event and its director Mohamed Hefzy from the heads of the Berlin, Cannes and Venice film festivals.
“I wish I was there with you tonight attending the opening ceremony,” said Venice Film Festival director Alberto Barbera, who was one of the few A-list festival directors able to hold a physical edition this year. “We need cinema and we need to show it is alive.
- 12/3/2020
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSAbove: The Hour of the Furnace by Fernando Solanas.Argentinian filmmaker Fernando Solanas, best known for his 1968 documentary The Hour of the Furnace and his manifesto "Toward a Third Cinema", has died. Celine Sciamma has started filming her follow-up to Portrait of a Lady on Fire. The film, entitled Petite Maman, will be filmed by regular collaborator Claire Mathon and will focus on the childhood of two eight-year old kids. Although her adaptation of Denis Johnson's Stars at Noon has been delayed, Claire Denis will be reteaming with Juliette Binoche and Bastards star Vincent Lindon for a still-untitled film. Sean Baker has also confirmed that his "secret movie" called Red Rocket, starring Simon Rex (of the Scary Movie franchise), will complete shooting this month. Recommended VIEWINGStarting on November 16, Jr and Alice Rohrwacher's...
- 11/11/2020
- MUBI
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No matter how convenient our digital lives are, there’s still something special about physical media — especially when it’s so beautifully and thoughtfully curated by the Criterion Collection.
Each of Criterion’s releases takes an exemplary film, from auteur classic to Hollywood blockbuster and everything in between, and includes a slew of special features — commentary tracks, restored film transfers, essays about its importance in the cinematic pantheon — that help “deepen the viewer’s understanding and appreciation of the art of cinema.”
While there are literally hundreds of important classic and contemporary...
Products featured are independently selected by our editorial team and we may earn a commission from purchases made from our links.
No matter how convenient our digital lives are, there’s still something special about physical media — especially when it’s so beautifully and thoughtfully curated by the Criterion Collection.
Each of Criterion’s releases takes an exemplary film, from auteur classic to Hollywood blockbuster and everything in between, and includes a slew of special features — commentary tracks, restored film transfers, essays about its importance in the cinematic pantheon — that help “deepen the viewer’s understanding and appreciation of the art of cinema.”
While there are literally hundreds of important classic and contemporary...
- 11/5/2020
- by Jean Bentley
- Indiewire
"The Furniture," by Daniel Walber. (Click on the images for magnified detail)
Last week’s column was about Dr. Zhivago, the obvious first choice for any 1965 celebration of production design. But where do we go for Part 2? None of the other 9 nominees really leap forward as worth a column, though I do like King Rat. Outside Oscar’s purview, meanwhile, there’s a lot. There are sweeping historical dramas, like The Saragossa Manuscript and Forest of the Hanged. There are wildly bizarre fantasies, like Juliet of the Spirits and Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors. But I think it would be fun to follow Dr. Zhivago with something entirely different, a movie with only a handful of sets and a budget of $200,000.
Mario Bava’s Planet of the Vampires was perhaps never destined to be a hit. Bava was disappointed with the casting of Barry Sullivan as Captain Mark Markary, who he considered far too old.
Last week’s column was about Dr. Zhivago, the obvious first choice for any 1965 celebration of production design. But where do we go for Part 2? None of the other 9 nominees really leap forward as worth a column, though I do like King Rat. Outside Oscar’s purview, meanwhile, there’s a lot. There are sweeping historical dramas, like The Saragossa Manuscript and Forest of the Hanged. There are wildly bizarre fantasies, like Juliet of the Spirits and Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors. But I think it would be fun to follow Dr. Zhivago with something entirely different, a movie with only a handful of sets and a budget of $200,000.
Mario Bava’s Planet of the Vampires was perhaps never destined to be a hit. Bava was disappointed with the casting of Barry Sullivan as Captain Mark Markary, who he considered far too old.
- 9/30/2020
- by Daniel Walber
- FilmExperience
Cinema Retro has received the following press release:
Joining in the international celebration of Federico Fellini's 100th birthday, Criterion is thrilled to announce Essential Fellini, a fifteen-Blu-ray box set that brings together fourteen of the director's most imaginative and uncompromising works for the first time. Alongside new restorations of the theatrical features, the set also includes short and full-length documentaries about Fellini's life and work, archival interviews with his friends and collaborators, commentaries on six of the films, video essays, the director's 1968 short Toby Dammit, and much more.
The edition is accompanied by two lavishly illustrated books with hundreds of pages of notes and essays on the films by writers and filmmakers, as well as dozens of images of Fellini memorabilia. Essential Fellini is a fitting tribute to the maestro of Italian cinema!
Fifteen-blu-ray Special Edition Collector's Set Features
New 4K restorations of 11 theatrical features, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks for...
Joining in the international celebration of Federico Fellini's 100th birthday, Criterion is thrilled to announce Essential Fellini, a fifteen-Blu-ray box set that brings together fourteen of the director's most imaginative and uncompromising works for the first time. Alongside new restorations of the theatrical features, the set also includes short and full-length documentaries about Fellini's life and work, archival interviews with his friends and collaborators, commentaries on six of the films, video essays, the director's 1968 short Toby Dammit, and much more.
The edition is accompanied by two lavishly illustrated books with hundreds of pages of notes and essays on the films by writers and filmmakers, as well as dozens of images of Fellini memorabilia. Essential Fellini is a fitting tribute to the maestro of Italian cinema!
Fifteen-blu-ray Special Edition Collector's Set Features
New 4K restorations of 11 theatrical features, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks for...
- 9/4/2020
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Classic movie buffs with $200 to burn, take note: The Criterion Collection has announced “Essential Fellini,” a box set of 14 films from legendary film director Federico Fellini.
The Blu-Ray set, which will release on November 24,will include several features, including 4K restorations of 11 of the films, as well as uncompressed monaural soundtracks for each title. Most of the director’s most celebrated films will be included in the box set. The 14 films are: “Variety Lights” (1950), “The White Sheik” (1952), “I Vitelloni” (1953), “La Strada” (1954), “Il Bidone” (1955), “Nights of Cabiria” (1957), “La Dolce Vita” (1960), “8½” (1963), “Juliet of the Spirits” (1965), “Fellini Satyricon” (1969), “Roma” (1972), “Amarcord” (1973), “And the Ship Sails On” (1983), and “Intervista” (1987).
Here’s Criterion’s announcement of the news:
One hundred years after his birth, Federico Fellini still stands apart as a giant of the cinema. The Italian maestro is defined by his dualities: the sacred and the profane, the masculine and the feminine, the provincial and the urbane.
The Blu-Ray set, which will release on November 24,will include several features, including 4K restorations of 11 of the films, as well as uncompressed monaural soundtracks for each title. Most of the director’s most celebrated films will be included in the box set. The 14 films are: “Variety Lights” (1950), “The White Sheik” (1952), “I Vitelloni” (1953), “La Strada” (1954), “Il Bidone” (1955), “Nights of Cabiria” (1957), “La Dolce Vita” (1960), “8½” (1963), “Juliet of the Spirits” (1965), “Fellini Satyricon” (1969), “Roma” (1972), “Amarcord” (1973), “And the Ship Sails On” (1983), and “Intervista” (1987).
Here’s Criterion’s announcement of the news:
One hundred years after his birth, Federico Fellini still stands apart as a giant of the cinema. The Italian maestro is defined by his dualities: the sacred and the profane, the masculine and the feminine, the provincial and the urbane.
- 8/12/2020
- by Tyler Hersko
- Indiewire
On the day their gorgeous Agnès Varda box set arrives, The Criterion Collection has announced details on their next director collection. In celebration of his 100th birthday this year, Federico Fellini will be receiving a 15-disc box set featuring fourteen of his films, set for a release on November 24, 2020.
Titled Essential Fellini, the release features new restorations of the theatrical features, as well as short and full-length documentaries about Fellini’s life and work, archival interviews with his friends and collaborators, commentaries on six of the films, video essays, the director’s 1968 short Toby Dammit, and much more. It also includes two illustrated books with hundreds of pages of notes and essays on the films by writers and filmmakers, plus memorabilia. Check out a list of films and special features below.
List of Films
Variety Lights (1950)The White Sheik (1952)I Vitelloni (1953)LA Strada (1954)Il Bidone (1955)Nights Of Cabiria (1957)LA Dolce Vita...
Titled Essential Fellini, the release features new restorations of the theatrical features, as well as short and full-length documentaries about Fellini’s life and work, archival interviews with his friends and collaborators, commentaries on six of the films, video essays, the director’s 1968 short Toby Dammit, and much more. It also includes two illustrated books with hundreds of pages of notes and essays on the films by writers and filmmakers, plus memorabilia. Check out a list of films and special features below.
List of Films
Variety Lights (1950)The White Sheik (1952)I Vitelloni (1953)LA Strada (1954)Il Bidone (1955)Nights Of Cabiria (1957)LA Dolce Vita...
- 8/11/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The British Film Institute Southbank, the iconic London movie theater on the South Bank of the Thames River, is set for a Sept. 1 reopening with a host of health and safely measures in place.
The measures include social distancing throughout the venue, face coverings as standard for all visitors and staff, increased frequency of deep cleans, e-ticketing, and scheduling of staggered screenings.
The venue’s programming will include “Redefining Rebellion,” a season of films that share the spirit of Matthew Kassovitz’s seminal “La Haine,” that will also feature in-conversation events with Kassovitz and Riz Ahmed, who lists the film as a major influence, and a 4K rerelease of the film from Sept. 11. Other rereleases include “Ema,” “Clemency” and “Parasite: Black-and-White Edition.”
A Federico Fellini season will feature “I vitelloni,” “Nights of Cabiria,” “La dolce vita,” “8 1/2” and “Juliet of the Spirits.” Following a successful pivot to an online edition due to the pandemic,...
The measures include social distancing throughout the venue, face coverings as standard for all visitors and staff, increased frequency of deep cleans, e-ticketing, and scheduling of staggered screenings.
The venue’s programming will include “Redefining Rebellion,” a season of films that share the spirit of Matthew Kassovitz’s seminal “La Haine,” that will also feature in-conversation events with Kassovitz and Riz Ahmed, who lists the film as a major influence, and a 4K rerelease of the film from Sept. 11. Other rereleases include “Ema,” “Clemency” and “Parasite: Black-and-White Edition.”
A Federico Fellini season will feature “I vitelloni,” “Nights of Cabiria,” “La dolce vita,” “8 1/2” and “Juliet of the Spirits.” Following a successful pivot to an online edition due to the pandemic,...
- 8/4/2020
- by Variety Staff
- Variety Film + TV
Close-Up is a feature that spotlights films now playing on Mubi. Alejandra Márquez Abella's The Good Girls is exclusively showing July 23 - August 22, 2020 in most countries in Mubi's Viewfinder series.Sofía saunters through her birthday party with the regal gait of a monarch. It’s the early 1980s in Mexico City, and she’s hobnobbing with the country’s crème de la crème, a chatty contingent of men and women in glamorous clothes who’ve flocked to her mansion. The 1982 economic crisis has just broken out, but none of the guests can foresee its seismic consequences, the way the peso crash and President López Portillo’s policies will spell the demise of many of the country’s richest. The Good Girls, Alejandra Márquez Abella’s sophomore feature, is the story of a fall from grace. It starts off with the outside world at an arm’s length, watching as...
- 7/22/2020
- MUBI
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options—not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves–each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit platforms. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
Clemency (Chinonye Chukwu)
From Escape from Alcatraz to Cool Hand Luke to The Shawshank Redemption, cinema is rich with not only prison films focused on the plight of the prisoner, but also depicting wardens in an evil light. Clemency, winner of the Dramatic Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival, flips the script in both ways, both turning the spotlight on a warden and painting her in an empathetic, complicated light. Led by Alfre Woodard, she gives a riveting, emotional performance as the Bernadine Williams, a woman who is stuck between the demands of her grueling job and a disintegrating marriage, and can’t give her all to both.
Clemency (Chinonye Chukwu)
From Escape from Alcatraz to Cool Hand Luke to The Shawshank Redemption, cinema is rich with not only prison films focused on the plight of the prisoner, but also depicting wardens in an evil light. Clemency, winner of the Dramatic Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival, flips the script in both ways, both turning the spotlight on a warden and painting her in an empathetic, complicated light. Led by Alfre Woodard, she gives a riveting, emotional performance as the Bernadine Williams, a woman who is stuck between the demands of her grueling job and a disintegrating marriage, and can’t give her all to both.
- 7/17/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The Wallonian regional investment fund is throwing its weight behind 6 new projects, and 19 projects supported in the past thanks to an additional budgetary allowance of nigh-on €1.6 million. Wallimage has just announced the results of its 100th session, which was doubly exceptional since the fund saw its budget enhanced with a view to providing the sector with a vital boost to counter the health crisis. Jostling among the 6 supported projects are four feature film projects, including three large-scale French feature films. Also of note is the fund’s endowment with an additional sum nearing €1.6 million, providing finance for 19 projects already assisted by the fund in times gone by. Philippe Lioret will soon direct 16 ans, a modern, urbanised Romeo and Juliette. The film is produced by the director’s own company in France (Fin Août Production) and by Gapbusters in Belgium. For...
Justin Hayward is a legend, and not just of the mind as his bandmate, the late Ray Thomas, once described Timothy Leary. The Moody Blues emerged from the British Invasion to become one of the most influential musical units in popular music. This happened after Mike Pinder heard a demo tape and invited Hayward to join the band and ultimately expand their sound. The Moody Blues predated prog, but were at the forefront of musical experimentation. Not only because they helped explain what you could do with stereo and classical music, but because they expanded the musical vocabulary and the mind. Hayward continues to break new sonic ground as his newly released Ep, One Summer Day/My Juliette, one track is melodically unlike anything The Moody Blues ever produced, the other could be quite Moody.
Hayward, Thomas, Pinder, drummer Graeme Edge and bassist John Lodge, who returned to the band...
Hayward, Thomas, Pinder, drummer Graeme Edge and bassist John Lodge, who returned to the band...
- 4/17/2020
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
Franco-German TV network Arte has boarded high-profile doc “Fellini of the Spirits” exploring Italian director Federico Fellini’s lifelong interest in everything metaphysical and featuring Oscar winners Damien Chazelle and William Friedkin among talking heads.
The project, now in post, is directed by Anselma Dell’Olio whose “Marco Ferreri: Dangerous but Necessary,” about eclectic Italian auteur Marco Ferreri, went to Venice and won Italy’s David di Donatello award for best doc in 2018.
Dell’Olio, who is Rome-based but U.S.-born, developed a rapport with Fellini during the 1980s working with the maestro on subtitles for his “Ginger and Fred.”
“Fellini of the Spirits” covers uncharted ground, she says, delving into Fellini’s fascination with spirituality, religion, esoterica and astrology that stemmed initially from his encounter with Jungian psychoanalyst Ernst Bernhard who “had a huge influence” on him.
The title takes its cue from Fellini’s 1965 film “Juliet of the Spirits,...
The project, now in post, is directed by Anselma Dell’Olio whose “Marco Ferreri: Dangerous but Necessary,” about eclectic Italian auteur Marco Ferreri, went to Venice and won Italy’s David di Donatello award for best doc in 2018.
Dell’Olio, who is Rome-based but U.S.-born, developed a rapport with Fellini during the 1980s working with the maestro on subtitles for his “Ginger and Fred.”
“Fellini of the Spirits” covers uncharted ground, she says, delving into Fellini’s fascination with spirituality, religion, esoterica and astrology that stemmed initially from his encounter with Jungian psychoanalyst Ernst Bernhard who “had a huge influence” on him.
The title takes its cue from Fellini’s 1965 film “Juliet of the Spirits,...
- 3/6/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
“Have you been here before?” David Byrne asks, his eyes widening as he sits in a conference room inside the Criterion Collection’s New York office. It’s like Willy Wonka’s factory for film buffs. Behind him are posters for classic films like Milos Forman’s Black Peter and Federico Fellini’s Juliet of the Spirits, printed in their original languages. To his right, there’s a bookshelf filled with multiple volumes of defunct cinephile magazines from England. “I love the film library and all the stuff they do,...
- 11/26/2018
- by Kory Grow
- Rollingstone.com
“Alice Of The Spirits”
By Raymond Benson
Revisiting Woody Allen’s 1990 film Alice after all these years brought on many emotions. I instruct the students in my Film History class at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, that one must always judge a film within the context of when it was released. These days, it’s difficult to do so with the formidable filmography of Woody Allen. Can one put aside the context of when this film was released? Alice was made while the writer/director’s relationship with his star, Mia Farrow, was supposedly still rosy, less than a couple of years before the familial scandal erupted that has dogged the filmmaker ever since. Can one ignore the presence—throughout the film—of young Dylan Farrow, playing the role of Alice’s daughter? Or, ironically, the small role played by James Toback in the film? (Readers familiar...
By Raymond Benson
Revisiting Woody Allen’s 1990 film Alice after all these years brought on many emotions. I instruct the students in my Film History class at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, that one must always judge a film within the context of when it was released. These days, it’s difficult to do so with the formidable filmography of Woody Allen. Can one put aside the context of when this film was released? Alice was made while the writer/director’s relationship with his star, Mia Farrow, was supposedly still rosy, less than a couple of years before the familial scandal erupted that has dogged the filmmaker ever since. Can one ignore the presence—throughout the film—of young Dylan Farrow, playing the role of Alice’s daughter? Or, ironically, the small role played by James Toback in the film? (Readers familiar...
- 1/21/2018
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
"The Furniture," by Daniel Walber, is our weekly series on Production Design. You can click on the images to see them in magnified detail. Since the Honorary Oscars are handed out next week, here's a Donald Sutherland film for you!
Federico Fellini didn’t much like Giacomo Casanova, the famously amorous subject of his meandering fantasy-biopic. The director may not have liked Donald Sutherland, either. The actor was required to shave his head and sport both a false nose and a false chin to play the long-winded lover. The costumes aren’t especially flattering either. Fellini’s Casanova is an erotic descent into Hell, a grotesque pageant of 18th century moral abandon. It frequently borders on the disgusting.
It was also on the edge of Oscar’s attention, sliding into only two categories. While Fellini’s Casanova did win for its costumes, its production design missed out entirely. Anyone betting...
Federico Fellini didn’t much like Giacomo Casanova, the famously amorous subject of his meandering fantasy-biopic. The director may not have liked Donald Sutherland, either. The actor was required to shave his head and sport both a false nose and a false chin to play the long-winded lover. The costumes aren’t especially flattering either. Fellini’s Casanova is an erotic descent into Hell, a grotesque pageant of 18th century moral abandon. It frequently borders on the disgusting.
It was also on the edge of Oscar’s attention, sliding into only two categories. While Fellini’s Casanova did win for its costumes, its production design missed out entirely. Anyone betting...
- 11/6/2017
- by Daniel Walber
- FilmExperience
Review by Roger Carpenter
Italian directors have always had a penchant for jumping on the cinematic bandwagon whenever a popular film is released. And we aren’t talking about just a couple of directors and a couple of films, but nearly all directors and, depending upon the genre, sometimes hundreds of films. Thus, we have the pepla of the 1950’s and 1960’s, the poliziotteschi and gialli of the 1970’s, the spaghetti westerns of the 1960’s and early 1970’s, the Jaws-inspired rip-offs, the Alien-inspired ripoffs, and the zombie and jungle/cannibal epics of the 1980’s. But, with the international sensation of the Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis vehicle entitled The Vikings in 1958, Italians were quick to jump on this particular bandwagon as well, resulting in a seven-year cycle of Viking films. And Mario Bava, best known for his proto-slashers and horror vehicles, was not averse to climbing on the bandwagon occasionally himself.
Italian directors have always had a penchant for jumping on the cinematic bandwagon whenever a popular film is released. And we aren’t talking about just a couple of directors and a couple of films, but nearly all directors and, depending upon the genre, sometimes hundreds of films. Thus, we have the pepla of the 1950’s and 1960’s, the poliziotteschi and gialli of the 1970’s, the spaghetti westerns of the 1960’s and early 1970’s, the Jaws-inspired rip-offs, the Alien-inspired ripoffs, and the zombie and jungle/cannibal epics of the 1980’s. But, with the international sensation of the Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis vehicle entitled The Vikings in 1958, Italians were quick to jump on this particular bandwagon as well, resulting in a seven-year cycle of Viking films. And Mario Bava, best known for his proto-slashers and horror vehicles, was not averse to climbing on the bandwagon occasionally himself.
- 10/3/2017
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
In 1961, director Mario Bava (Rabid Dogs, Kill Baby Kill) turned his hand to the historical adventure genre, capitalizing on the recent success of 1958’s Kirk Douglas vehicle The Vikings. The result was a colorful, swashbuckling epic of treachery, heroism and forbidden love: Erik the Conqueror. In 786 Ad, the invading Viking forces are repelled from the shores of England, leaving behind a young boy – Erik, son of the slain Viking king. Years later, Erik (George Ardisson, Juliet of the Spirits), raised by the English queen as her own, becomes Duke of Helford, while across the sea, his brother Eron (Cameron Mitchell, Blood and Black Lace) assumes leadership of the Viking horde and sets his sights on conquering England once again, setting the two estranged brothers on a collision course that will determine the fates of their respective kingdoms… Featuring a bombastic score by frequent collaborator Roberto Nicolosi (Black Sunday) and memorably...
- 8/23/2017
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Sneak Peek footage, plus images from the new adventure drama "In Search Of Fellini", directed by Taron Lexton, starring Maria Bello, Ksenia Solo, and Mary Lynn Rajskub, opening September 15, 2017:
"...a shy small-town Ohio girl who loves movies but dislikes reality, discovers the delightfully bizarre films of 'Federico Fellini' and sets off on a strange, beautiful journey across Italy to find him..."
Federico Fellini was an Italian film director, screenwriter noted for his distinct style "...that blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness..."
In a career spanning almost fifty years, Fellini won the 'Palme d'Or' for the feature "La Dolce Vita", was nominated for twelve Academy Awards, and directed four motion pictures that won Oscars in the category of 'Best Foreign Language Film'. In 1993, he was awarded an honorary Oscar for Lifetime Achievement.
Besides "La Dolce Vita" and "8½", his other well-known films include "La Strada", "Nights of Cabiria...
"...a shy small-town Ohio girl who loves movies but dislikes reality, discovers the delightfully bizarre films of 'Federico Fellini' and sets off on a strange, beautiful journey across Italy to find him..."
Federico Fellini was an Italian film director, screenwriter noted for his distinct style "...that blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness..."
In a career spanning almost fifty years, Fellini won the 'Palme d'Or' for the feature "La Dolce Vita", was nominated for twelve Academy Awards, and directed four motion pictures that won Oscars in the category of 'Best Foreign Language Film'. In 1993, he was awarded an honorary Oscar for Lifetime Achievement.
Besides "La Dolce Vita" and "8½", his other well-known films include "La Strada", "Nights of Cabiria...
- 8/18/2017
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
This August, Arrow Video enters the deranged mind of Herbert West with their limited edition 4K restoration of Stuart Gordon's Re-Animator (which was initially slated for a July 25th release), and we now have the full list of special features for the anticipated release, along with two other horror Blu-rays coming out this month from Arrow: The Slayer and a limited edition steelbook of Society.
Press Release: The summer really hots up in August, as Arrow Video releases a special edition of an 80s classic, a white-knuckle thriller, a splatter horror masterpiece, a box set of crime classics, a rare Italian sword-and-sandal epic, and an amazing new limited edition steelbook.
First up, one of the most wildly popular horror movies of all-time, Stuart Gordon's enduring splatter-comedy classic Re-Animator returns to Blu-ray in a stunning restoration packed with special features. According to the distributor (Mvd), this awesome package is officially sold out already,...
Press Release: The summer really hots up in August, as Arrow Video releases a special edition of an 80s classic, a white-knuckle thriller, a splatter horror masterpiece, a box set of crime classics, a rare Italian sword-and-sandal epic, and an amazing new limited edition steelbook.
First up, one of the most wildly popular horror movies of all-time, Stuart Gordon's enduring splatter-comedy classic Re-Animator returns to Blu-ray in a stunning restoration packed with special features. According to the distributor (Mvd), this awesome package is officially sold out already,...
- 8/3/2017
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Federico Fellini’s best non-narrative feature is an intoxicating meta-travelogue, not just of the Eternal City but the director’s idea of Rome past and present. The masterful images alternate between nostalgic vulgarity and dreamy timelessness. Criterion’s disc is a new restoration.
Fellini’s Roma
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 848
1972 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 120 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date December 13, 2016 / 39.95
Starring Peter Gonzales, Fiona Florence, Pia De Doses, Renato Giovannoli, Dennis Christopher, Feodor Chaliapin Jr., Elliott Murphy, Anna Magnani, Gore Vidal, Federico Fellini.
Cinematography Giuseppe Rotunno
Film Editor Ruggero Mastroianni
Original Music Nino Rota
Written by Federico Fellini and Bernardino Zapponi
Produced by Turi Vasile
Directed by Federico Fellini
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Federico Fellini stopped making standard narrative pictures after 1960’s La dolce vita; from then on his films skewed toward various forms of experimentation and expressions of his own state of mind. Most did have a story to some degree,...
Fellini’s Roma
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 848
1972 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 120 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date December 13, 2016 / 39.95
Starring Peter Gonzales, Fiona Florence, Pia De Doses, Renato Giovannoli, Dennis Christopher, Feodor Chaliapin Jr., Elliott Murphy, Anna Magnani, Gore Vidal, Federico Fellini.
Cinematography Giuseppe Rotunno
Film Editor Ruggero Mastroianni
Original Music Nino Rota
Written by Federico Fellini and Bernardino Zapponi
Produced by Turi Vasile
Directed by Federico Fellini
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Federico Fellini stopped making standard narrative pictures after 1960’s La dolce vita; from then on his films skewed toward various forms of experimentation and expressions of his own state of mind. Most did have a story to some degree,...
- 12/13/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
David’s Quick Take for the Tl;Dr Media Consumer:
The resume is solid and the references check out: Federico Fellini, Louis Malle, Roger Vadim each shouldering a directorial third of the project, with talented crews working at their behest to create visually elegant environments to support the stories they tell. Top shelf recruits from leading “beautiful people” actors of their generation: Brigitte Bardot. Alain Delon. Jane Fonda. Peter Fonda. And then there’s Terence Stamp, probably less renowned than the preceding quartet, is roguishly seductive as a disheveled blond wastrel with a suicidal bent. Source material drawn and freely adapted from short stories by Edgar Allan Poe. Ray Charles contributes to the soundtrack. A goosebump inducing first person Pov midnight dash through the streets and alleyways of Rome in a vintage 1964 Ferrari Lmb Fantuzzi just adds extra sprinkles on top. Though the overall impact of the film makes it...
The resume is solid and the references check out: Federico Fellini, Louis Malle, Roger Vadim each shouldering a directorial third of the project, with talented crews working at their behest to create visually elegant environments to support the stories they tell. Top shelf recruits from leading “beautiful people” actors of their generation: Brigitte Bardot. Alain Delon. Jane Fonda. Peter Fonda. And then there’s Terence Stamp, probably less renowned than the preceding quartet, is roguishly seductive as a disheveled blond wastrel with a suicidal bent. Source material drawn and freely adapted from short stories by Edgar Allan Poe. Ray Charles contributes to the soundtrack. A goosebump inducing first person Pov midnight dash through the streets and alleyways of Rome in a vintage 1964 Ferrari Lmb Fantuzzi just adds extra sprinkles on top. Though the overall impact of the film makes it...
- 12/4/2016
- by David Blakeslee
- CriterionCast
Each week, the fine folks at Fandor add a number of films to their Criterion Picks area, which will then be available to subscribers for the following twelve days. This week, the Criterion Picks focus on seven films featuring the music of Nino Rota.
Celebrate iconic Italian films in a new way: ears first, through the scores composed by this long-time collaborator of Fellini (and many others).
Don’t have a Fandor subscription? They offer a free trial membership.
8 1/2
Marcello Mastroianni plays Guido Anselmi, a director whose new project is collapsing around him, along with his life. One of the greatest films about film ever made, Federico Fellini turns one man’s artistic crisis into a grand epic of the cinema.
Amarcord
This carnivalesque portrait of provincial Italy during the fascist period, the most personal film from Federico Fellini, satirizes the director’s youth and turns daily life into a circus of social rituals,...
Celebrate iconic Italian films in a new way: ears first, through the scores composed by this long-time collaborator of Fellini (and many others).
Don’t have a Fandor subscription? They offer a free trial membership.
8 1/2
Marcello Mastroianni plays Guido Anselmi, a director whose new project is collapsing around him, along with his life. One of the greatest films about film ever made, Federico Fellini turns one man’s artistic crisis into a grand epic of the cinema.
Amarcord
This carnivalesque portrait of provincial Italy during the fascist period, the most personal film from Federico Fellini, satirizes the director’s youth and turns daily life into a circus of social rituals,...
- 1/5/2016
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
By the late 1960s, Federico Fellini had more or less permanently transitioned from filmmaker to icon. The autobiographical 8½ basically ensured his films would be permanently inseparable from himself, the sort of commercial accomplishment of which most film directors can only dream. Most directors are fortunate to be recognized for putting their “touch” into an accepted format. Fellini was the format. His follow-up, Juliet of the Spirits, is an equally indulgent affair that serves loosely as an apology to his wife (Giulietta Masina, who also stars in the film), on whom he cheated for more or less the entirety of their marriage; the resulting film is as much his fantasy (sexual extravagance) as hers (Masina had a keen interest in the psychic realm). And so the template is set – Fellini would continue to make films about himself, but largely under the guise of someone else’s perspective.
He wasn’t shy...
He wasn’t shy...
- 7/6/2015
- by Scott Nye
- CriterionCast
I'm a huge fan of Federico Fellini's films, films that have essentially become part of the the fabric of cinema history. This largely refers to La Dolce Vita, 8 1/2, La Strada, The Nights of Cabiria and Amarcord. Of course, I've also seen and enjoyed I Vitelloni and Juliet of the Spirits while also not particularly loving The White Sheik or Ginger & Fred. I mention this only as a note that I will pretty much devour whatever Fellini feature is placed in front of me, and as much as I was ready to delve into this new Criterion release of his 1969 feature Fellini Satyricon, I can't say the trip was an enjoyable one. Admittedly, Criterion always manages to deliver something intriguing with their releases and this new Blu-ray edition of Fellini Satyricon is no different, but not for the film itself, more for the supplemental material that makes you start to...
- 2/24/2015
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Loosely inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's 1841 story "Never Bet the Devil Your Head," "Toby Dammit" was part of "Spirits of the Dead," a collage of films by Fellini, Louis Malle and Roger Vadim. Flasy and ostentatious as ever, this was Fellini's short film follow-up to "Juliet of the Spirits," and it has that film's lurid stylishness. Sexy Terence Stamp (not-so-sexy and actually quite dead-looking here) plays a boozy former Shakespearian actor in meltdown mode who sells his soul to the devil a la "Doctor Faustus." But here he's driving around the Rome cityscape in a Ferrari, having creepy visions of Satan in the form of a creepy blonde child. Nina Rota, of course, provides the groovy score. Thanks to Open Culture for the generous share.
- 10/17/2014
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Thompson on Hollywood
The castles. The cars. The out-there acting. The 108-day marriage to Lisa Marie Presley. Nicolas Cage has a reputation for excess – but we've got him all wrong, he says
To start with, the thing most often said of Nicolas Cage: he is weird-looking, with constituent parts that don't promise to add up to a movie star. His hair, like cultivated grassland, is lush at the top and sparse at the root. There is something puppety about his face. And, of course, there are his eyes, which, like the Woody Allen joke – "You have the most eyes I've ever seen on any person" – qualify him to play both romantic leads and psychopaths. At 49, Cage overturns every industry standard, and there's no denying it: the result is transfixing. "Have a blueberry muffin," he says in that agonised drawl, and flashes a goofy grin.
We are in a hotel in Mobile, Alabama,...
To start with, the thing most often said of Nicolas Cage: he is weird-looking, with constituent parts that don't promise to add up to a movie star. His hair, like cultivated grassland, is lush at the top and sparse at the root. There is something puppety about his face. And, of course, there are his eyes, which, like the Woody Allen joke – "You have the most eyes I've ever seen on any person" – qualify him to play both romantic leads and psychopaths. At 49, Cage overturns every industry standard, and there's no denying it: the result is transfixing. "Have a blueberry muffin," he says in that agonised drawl, and flashes a goofy grin.
We are in a hotel in Mobile, Alabama,...
- 7/20/2013
- by Emma Brockes
- The Guardian - Film News
Scola comes out of retirement for first film in 10 years, How Strange to be Called Federico!.
Italian director Ettore Scola has unveiled more details of his upcoming tribute to his friend and fellow filmmaker Federico Fellini, which is due for release in Italy this autumn to mark the 20th anniversary of the La Dolce Vita director’s death.
Entitled How Strange to be Called Federico!, the hybrid work combining archive footage and re-enactments of Scola’s memories of Fellini is currently in post-production.
The original Italian title - Che Strano Chiamarsi Federico! - is an allusion to a line in a poem by Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca.
“I don’t know what will come out of this. I am as curious as you are to discover it. The intentions and emotions are all there but it’s not ready yet,” Scola told a packed news conference in Rome’s Cinecittà film studios on Tuesday.
The $2.6m (€2m...
Italian director Ettore Scola has unveiled more details of his upcoming tribute to his friend and fellow filmmaker Federico Fellini, which is due for release in Italy this autumn to mark the 20th anniversary of the La Dolce Vita director’s death.
Entitled How Strange to be Called Federico!, the hybrid work combining archive footage and re-enactments of Scola’s memories of Fellini is currently in post-production.
The original Italian title - Che Strano Chiamarsi Federico! - is an allusion to a line in a poem by Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca.
“I don’t know what will come out of this. I am as curious as you are to discover it. The intentions and emotions are all there but it’s not ready yet,” Scola told a packed news conference in Rome’s Cinecittà film studios on Tuesday.
The $2.6m (€2m...
- 6/5/2013
- ScreenDaily
I've mentioned before how several years ago I created a list using Roger Ebert's Great Movies, Oscar Best Picture winners, IMDb's Top 250, etc. and began going through them doing my best to see as many of the films on these lists that I had not seen as I possibly could to up my film I.Q. Well, someone has gone through the exhaustive effort to take all of the films Roger Ebert wrote about in his three "Great Movies" books, all of which are compiled on his website and added them to a Letterbxd list and I've added that list below. I'm not positive every movie on his list is here, but by my count there are 363 different titles listed (more if you count the trilogies, the Up docs and Decalogue) and of those 363, I have personally seen 229 and have added an * next to those I've seen. Clearly I have some work to do,...
- 4/10/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
I've mentioned before how several years ago I created a list using Roger Ebert's Great Movies, Oscar Best Picture winners, IMDb's Top 250, etc. and began going through them doing my best to see as many of the films on these lists that I had not seen as I possibly could to up my film I.Q. Well, someone has gone through the exhaustive effort to take all of the films Roger Ebert wrote about in his three "Great Movies" books, all of which are compiled on his website and added them to a Letterbxd list and I've added that list below. I'm not positive every movie on his list is here, but by my count there are 362 different titles listed (more if you count the trilogies and Decalogue) and of those 362, I have personally seen 229 and have added an * next to those I've seen. Clearly I have some work to do,...
- 4/10/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Robert here w/ Distant Relatives, exploring the connections between one classic and one contemporary film.
Portrait of the Artist as a Confused Man
Perhaps the idea of a filmmaker making a film about himself, his fears, his hopes, his life, is inherently self-indulgent. It's hard to argue otherwise though self-portraits have always been a staple of art. Perhaps Da Vinci and Rembrandt were self-indulgent too. Still, something about the self portraits is so necessary. Someone has to explore the life of the artist. Biopics, whether celebratory or critical, are often too structured and viewed from outside looking in. Only autobiographies allow the filmmaker the ability to really explore their internal rot. The cinema this creates may not always be compelling but it always feels essential. Federico Fellini's career is saturated in self-exploration, from the continual casting of his wife Giulietta Masina (La Strada, Nights of Cabiria, Juliet of the Spirits...
Portrait of the Artist as a Confused Man
Perhaps the idea of a filmmaker making a film about himself, his fears, his hopes, his life, is inherently self-indulgent. It's hard to argue otherwise though self-portraits have always been a staple of art. Perhaps Da Vinci and Rembrandt were self-indulgent too. Still, something about the self portraits is so necessary. Someone has to explore the life of the artist. Biopics, whether celebratory or critical, are often too structured and viewed from outside looking in. Only autobiographies allow the filmmaker the ability to really explore their internal rot. The cinema this creates may not always be compelling but it always feels essential. Federico Fellini's career is saturated in self-exploration, from the continual casting of his wife Giulietta Masina (La Strada, Nights of Cabiria, Juliet of the Spirits...
- 11/3/2011
- by Robert
- FilmExperience
Realism: looking up the meaning of the word, there are probably a minimum of seven different definitions to choose from (at least, that is the kind of profuse selection that greeted me in each of the four name-brand dictionaries that I checked). Most of them quickly sum up the term's associations to the major arts (theatre, literature, fine art, and - of the most interest to us for right now - cinema), while others do an even more diminutive job of describing its role in philosophy and logic. In its most universal context, it describes that which is physically 'true', things as they are, without abstraction or idealism. Long an ideal in several modes of representation, Realism has consistently 'saved' a medium from any number of Romantic, expressionistic, or abstract splurges. First manifest in a sizeable scale in France with Poetic Realism, the trend eventually spread over to Italy after WWII.
- 7/29/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
The good folks at DenofGeek.com have put together a nifty list of great opening sequences in movies. Between Citizen Kane, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Once Upon a Time in the West, they’ve definitely got their bases covered. However, looking at their list made me wonder about a slightly more debased subsection of film history: Movies that start off with a great scene…and then get really bad, really fast. And I’m not just talking, like, a bad Bond movie with a good pre-credits sequence, either. I’m talking about opening scenes that literally seem to come out of a smarter,...
- 11/16/2010
- by Darren Franich
- EW.com - PopWatch
• Introduction to The Great Movies III
You'd be surprised how many people have told me they're working their way through my books of Great Movies one film at a time. That's not to say the books are definitive; I loathe "best of" lists, which are not the best of anything except what someone came up with that day. I look at a list of the "100 greatest horror films," or musicals, or whatever, and I want to ask the maker, "but how do you know?" There are great films in my books, and films that are not so great, but there's no film here I didn't respond strongly to. That's the reassurance I can offer.
I believe good movies are a civilizing force. They allow us to empathize with those whose lives are different than our own. I like to say they open windows in our box of space and time.
You'd be surprised how many people have told me they're working their way through my books of Great Movies one film at a time. That's not to say the books are definitive; I loathe "best of" lists, which are not the best of anything except what someone came up with that day. I look at a list of the "100 greatest horror films," or musicals, or whatever, and I want to ask the maker, "but how do you know?" There are great films in my books, and films that are not so great, but there's no film here I didn't respond strongly to. That's the reassurance I can offer.
I believe good movies are a civilizing force. They allow us to empathize with those whose lives are different than our own. I like to say they open windows in our box of space and time.
- 10/2/2010
- by Roger Ebert
- blogs.suntimes.com/ebert
Working on a podcast called the Criterion Cast, several directors will be consistently reference because of their multiple entries within the Criterion Collection, and deserve every ounce of recognition. One of these filmmakers, without question, is Federico Fellini. Just recently covering his wonderful film Amarcord and in the past few weeks with news of La Dolce Vita maybe not having actual owners and a new print on the way for it’s 50th anniversary, it was only a matter of time before something else came along.
Which is why it’s wonderful to see that some of his greatest works are going to be shown on the big screen once again at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston on June 16th to the 27th. The films being shown are I vitelloni, 8 ½, La strada, Nights of Cabiria, Amarcord, and Juliet of the Spirits in all new 35mm prints.
We here...
Which is why it’s wonderful to see that some of his greatest works are going to be shown on the big screen once again at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston on June 16th to the 27th. The films being shown are I vitelloni, 8 ½, La strada, Nights of Cabiria, Amarcord, and Juliet of the Spirits in all new 35mm prints.
We here...
- 4/30/2010
- by James McCormick
- CriterionCast
Today, Criterion released this strange image from their twitter feed. This image, from what I gather, is from the much rumored Criterion release of Nobuhiko Obayashi’s 1977 horror film, Hausu.
Does this image put this rumor to rest? Well let’s examine the evidence. Last October, Janus teased a Hausu release via their twitter feed. Janus later released a press release of acquiring the rights to the Japanese horror film, also announcing a restoration and a theatrical run in January. A few days later, Criterion started selling a bright orange t-shirts with a strange cat on it and the poster version of this shirt. For many months afterwards, there was no rumblings from Criterion about a possible release until today.
How to describe Nobuhiko Obayahshi’s 1977 movie House? As a psychedelic ghost tale? A stream-of-consciousness bedtime story? An episode of Scooby Doo as directed by Dario Argento? Any of the...
Does this image put this rumor to rest? Well let’s examine the evidence. Last October, Janus teased a Hausu release via their twitter feed. Janus later released a press release of acquiring the rights to the Japanese horror film, also announcing a restoration and a theatrical run in January. A few days later, Criterion started selling a bright orange t-shirts with a strange cat on it and the poster version of this shirt. For many months afterwards, there was no rumblings from Criterion about a possible release until today.
How to describe Nobuhiko Obayahshi’s 1977 movie House? As a psychedelic ghost tale? A stream-of-consciousness bedtime story? An episode of Scooby Doo as directed by Dario Argento? Any of the...
- 4/6/2010
- by Rudie Obias
- CriterionCast
Juliet Of The Spirits (1965) Sunday, 3:15 a.m., TCM Personal fave Fellini flick for its mix of gorgeousness and insanity. Giulietta Masina is a 40-something scared-sexless wife who fears her husband is cheating. A psychic tells her she needs to get involved in the sex trade, so her hooker neighbor (Sandra Milo) helps her become erotically liberated. Sex and visions like you’ve never seen ensue. Grosse Pointe Blank (1997) Tuesday, 3 a.m., TBS John Cusack’s...
- 4/4/2010
- by By LINDA STASI
- NYPost.com
Kickoff of Super Bowl Xliv is set for 6:28 p.m. Et on CBS (following a pre-game show that begins at 2 p.m. Et). While our Music Mix blog will cover Carrie Underwood's National Anthem and The Who's halftime performance, and PopWatch will live blog the telecast riffing on everything but the game, we realize some of you may be looking for an alternative to the Saints vs. Colts. With the other broadcast networks admitting defeat in the form of repeats (or new episodes of 'Til Death), here are some of your best cable bets. Marathons: Hallmark: I Love Lucy,...
- 2/7/2010
- by Mandi Bierly
- EW.com - PopWatch
Federico Fellini was the undisputed king of Italian cinema during the post-war era of the 1950s and '60s when foreign filmmakers began to reach worldwide audiences. Directors such as Ingmar Bergman from Sweden, Akira Kurosawa from Japan, and Jean-Luc Godard of France became icons, almost ambassadors of their respective cultures, and Fellini was the emissary of all things Italian: skinny ties, sunglasses, and a robust attitude toward sex. In films like La Dolce Vita , Juliet of the Spirits , and Amarcord he blended surreal, fantastical imagery with deeply personal explorations of his own history and psyche. Probably his most famous movie, the 1963 Oscar Winner for Best Foreign Film 8 1/2 became his lasting masterpiece, a crowning achievement with a style that has been imitated by...
- 12/16/2009
- Comingsoon.net
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