Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
The Boys in the Boat (George Clooney)
This is, from start to finish, an underdog sports picture. Edgerton puts a welcome spin on the gruff-but-caring coach archetype, and Turner does the same with his lead character. Soft-spoken, stern, and handsome, this is a role someone like Ronald Reagan would have excelled at bringing to the screen some 80 years ago; Turner, luckily, is more interesting to look at and a better actor. Alexandre Desplat’s score is maybe the most playful thing about this film, and it works when it needs to. The race sequences are unquestionably Boys‘ highlight, Clooney making use of zoom lenses and well-placed cameras to capture the speed and fluidity of each competition. There is a real tension mined in these scenes,...
The Boys in the Boat (George Clooney)
This is, from start to finish, an underdog sports picture. Edgerton puts a welcome spin on the gruff-but-caring coach archetype, and Turner does the same with his lead character. Soft-spoken, stern, and handsome, this is a role someone like Ronald Reagan would have excelled at bringing to the screen some 80 years ago; Turner, luckily, is more interesting to look at and a better actor. Alexandre Desplat’s score is maybe the most playful thing about this film, and it works when it needs to. The race sequences are unquestionably Boys‘ highlight, Clooney making use of zoom lenses and well-placed cameras to capture the speed and fluidity of each competition. There is a real tension mined in these scenes,...
- 5/30/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Announced from this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Projeto Paradiso – a Brazilian private foundation that supports local film and TV professionals – is teaming with the Centre des Écritures Cinématographiques (Ceci) – an artistic cultural center in Moulin d’Andé, France – on a new screenwriting residency for Brazilian filmmakers. The initiative, part of the Projeto Paradiso Residencies Program, has also received support from the French Embassy in Brazil.
Applications for this year’s first residency will be invite-only and distributed to screenwriter-directors working on their second or third feature. The program is looking for projects destined for a theatrical release, with no restrictions on genre or theme. Any selected project must plan to work with a French co-producer.
According to Josephine Bourgois, executive director of Projeto Paradiso, “This opportunity is intended for Brazilian filmmakers who need space, time, and structure to develop their creative freedom. In addition to flexible personal and pedagogical support,...
Applications for this year’s first residency will be invite-only and distributed to screenwriter-directors working on their second or third feature. The program is looking for projects destined for a theatrical release, with no restrictions on genre or theme. Any selected project must plan to work with a French co-producer.
According to Josephine Bourgois, executive director of Projeto Paradiso, “This opportunity is intended for Brazilian filmmakers who need space, time, and structure to develop their creative freedom. In addition to flexible personal and pedagogical support,...
- 5/21/2024
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
These auteurs are ready for their close-up.
When Quentin Dupieux’s comedy about an ill-fated film set, “The Second Act,” opened the Cannes Film Festival May 14, it will be just one of several movies about filmmaking and filmmakers to touch down on the Croisette. After all, directors Christophe Honoré, Paul Schrader and Josh Mond are among the other prominent filmmakers who are ready to premiere semi-autobiographical stories.
Honoré’s in-competition comedy, “Marcello Mio,” casts Chiara Mastroianni as a version of herself who — after a director compares her to her late father, Marcello Mastroianni — dresses in drag and takes on his identity. Schrader’s in-competition drama, “Oh, Canada,” focuses on a documentary filmmaker (Richard Gere) telling his life story in a doc. Mond’s drama “It Doesn’t Matter” follows two friends chronicling their lives on video. Leos Carax’s 40-minute “C’est pas moi” is partly a self-portrait, with footage from his films and life.
When Quentin Dupieux’s comedy about an ill-fated film set, “The Second Act,” opened the Cannes Film Festival May 14, it will be just one of several movies about filmmaking and filmmakers to touch down on the Croisette. After all, directors Christophe Honoré, Paul Schrader and Josh Mond are among the other prominent filmmakers who are ready to premiere semi-autobiographical stories.
Honoré’s in-competition comedy, “Marcello Mio,” casts Chiara Mastroianni as a version of herself who — after a director compares her to her late father, Marcello Mastroianni — dresses in drag and takes on his identity. Schrader’s in-competition drama, “Oh, Canada,” focuses on a documentary filmmaker (Richard Gere) telling his life story in a doc. Mond’s drama “It Doesn’t Matter” follows two friends chronicling their lives on video. Leos Carax’s 40-minute “C’est pas moi” is partly a self-portrait, with footage from his films and life.
- 5/14/2024
- by Gregg Goldstein
- Variety Film + TV
As Cannes Film Festival kicks off, the Paris-based international sales company MK2 Films has revealed it has acquired three films and made substantial investments in new restorations, set against the backdrop of a strong presence at Cannes Classics.
MK2 Films has entered into a collaboration with the Niki Charitable Art Foundation on the global rights (excluding the U.S.) for two films directed by artist Niki de Saint Phalle: “Un Rêve plus long que la nuit” (1976) and “Daddy” (1973). “Un Rêve plus long que la nuit” has been restored in 4K by L’Immagine Ritrovata (Bologna-Paris) under the supervision of Arielle de Saint Phalle and with funding from Dior. It was presented at Il Cinema Ritrovato in Bologna, New York Film Festival and the new Los Angeles Festival of Movies. “Daddy” will soon be available in a restored version. MK2 Films described it as a “unique feminist work by one of...
MK2 Films has entered into a collaboration with the Niki Charitable Art Foundation on the global rights (excluding the U.S.) for two films directed by artist Niki de Saint Phalle: “Un Rêve plus long que la nuit” (1976) and “Daddy” (1973). “Un Rêve plus long que la nuit” has been restored in 4K by L’Immagine Ritrovata (Bologna-Paris) under the supervision of Arielle de Saint Phalle and with funding from Dior. It was presented at Il Cinema Ritrovato in Bologna, New York Film Festival and the new Los Angeles Festival of Movies. “Daddy” will soon be available in a restored version. MK2 Films described it as a “unique feminist work by one of...
- 5/14/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
When Roger Corman died on May 9 at age 98, the film world lost one of its great independent film legends. Over the course of his seven decade career, Corman directed over 55 films and received more than 500 producing credits, creating work that helped serve as the launchpad for major Hollywood stars and filmmakers like Peter Fonda, Frances Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, James Cameron, Peter Bogdanovich, and Jonathan Demme. And yet, from his first film to his last, Corman remained true to his roots of low-budget, independent, lowbrow-yet-brilliant genre filmmaking.
Born in Detroit, Michigan, Corman was smart enough to attend Stanford University studying industrial engineering, but quit his first job in the field after only four days. Looking to go into the film industry, he worked his way up at 20th Century Fox from mail room messenger to story reader. But after he didn’t receive credit for the success of “The Gunslinger,...
Born in Detroit, Michigan, Corman was smart enough to attend Stanford University studying industrial engineering, but quit his first job in the field after only four days. Looking to go into the film industry, he worked his way up at 20th Century Fox from mail room messenger to story reader. But after he didn’t receive credit for the success of “The Gunslinger,...
- 5/14/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
We’re always sad to report about the death of an important person from the industry, but that is also part of our reality and we have to honor the work that these people put into the history of cinema. This is why we are sad to report that it has been announced that legendary indie director Roger Corman passed away in his come in Santa Monica, CA, on May 9, 2024 at the age of 98. Roger Corman never became a mainstream author, but he was a pioneer of independent cinema and one of the most important filmmakers in history.
No official cause of death was revealed, but the news was confirmed by Corman’s family yesterday, who also issued the following statement: “His films were revolutionary and iconoclastic, and captured the spirit of an age. When asked how he would like to be remembered, he said, ‘I was a filmmaker, just...
No official cause of death was revealed, but the news was confirmed by Corman’s family yesterday, who also issued the following statement: “His films were revolutionary and iconoclastic, and captured the spirit of an age. When asked how he would like to be remembered, he said, ‘I was a filmmaker, just...
- 5/12/2024
- by Arthur S. Poe
- Fiction Horizon
Though Richard Linklater’s Hit Man is about to debut in theaters and on Netflix––just after his under-the-radar documentary God Save Texas: Hometown Prison came to Max––the ever-prolific American was recently in Paris for Nouvelle Vague, his chronicle of the making of Godard’s Breathless. (If not more: casting notices for Jean-Pierre Léaud around the time of François Truffaut’s The 400 Blows and Martin Lassale around the time of Robert Bresson’s Pickpocket popped up.) With filming recently wrapped, one might expect a fall premiere––expectations bolstered by today’s unveiling of our first real look, courtesy (who else!) Cahiers du cinéma.
Therein one can find Guillaume Marbeck as Jean-Luc Godard (previously unveiled in a cast-and-crew portrait) and filming of a scene on the Champs-Elysees. Meanwhile, Jean-Louis Fernandez shared a set photo suggesting the production design team should be paid handsomely.
Find them below:
View this post...
Therein one can find Guillaume Marbeck as Jean-Luc Godard (previously unveiled in a cast-and-crew portrait) and filming of a scene on the Champs-Elysees. Meanwhile, Jean-Louis Fernandez shared a set photo suggesting the production design team should be paid handsomely.
Find them below:
View this post...
- 5/9/2024
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Uncropped
Director Dw Young's Uncropped rediscovers and re-evaluates the photography of James Hamilton, who for over four decades worked as a staff photographer at Harper’s Bazaar, The New York Observer and The Village Voice, among other publications.
Hamilton's breadth of work covered street photography, photojournalism, and film set photography for George Romero, Noah Baumbach and Wes Anderson. In his career he has photographed a who’s who of creative heavyweights: Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut, Alfred Hitchcock, Isabelle Huppert, Cary Grant and Liza Minnelli. His photojournalism saw him travel across the US, his images bringing to life the words of the investigative reporter in exposing the interesting side of America and documenting the horror of international theatres of conflict.
In conversation with Eye For Film, Young discussed his disinterest in biopics and Hamilton's cinephilic knowledge. He also spoke about creating an historical document and his hopes that Uncropped will not.
Director Dw Young's Uncropped rediscovers and re-evaluates the photography of James Hamilton, who for over four decades worked as a staff photographer at Harper’s Bazaar, The New York Observer and The Village Voice, among other publications.
Hamilton's breadth of work covered street photography, photojournalism, and film set photography for George Romero, Noah Baumbach and Wes Anderson. In his career he has photographed a who’s who of creative heavyweights: Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut, Alfred Hitchcock, Isabelle Huppert, Cary Grant and Liza Minnelli. His photojournalism saw him travel across the US, his images bringing to life the words of the investigative reporter in exposing the interesting side of America and documenting the horror of international theatres of conflict.
In conversation with Eye For Film, Young discussed his disinterest in biopics and Hamilton's cinephilic knowledge. He also spoke about creating an historical document and his hopes that Uncropped will not.
- 5/7/2024
- by Paul Risker
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Paris-based international film sales company Pulsar Content has formed a strategic partnership with Digital District Entertainment, a leading post-production, VFX and production facilities company, with offices in France, Belgium and India. The partnership will create “a streamlined and cost-effective production process for international film projects,” according to a statement.
Pulsar Content’s Cannes lineup includes Un Certain Regard’s “Niki” by Céline Sallette, Antoine Chevrolliers’ “Block Pass,” premiering in Critics’ Week, and Camila Beltran’s “Mi Bestia,” premiering at Acid.
Dde’s Cannes lineup includes Julien Colonna’s “Le Royaume” in Un Certain Regard and Patricia Mazuy’s “Visiting Hours” in Directors’ Fortnight.
The companies have previously worked together on several films, including “The Deep House” by Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo, which sold to Blumhouse for the U.S. and Universal for international territories. They also teamed up on Edouard Salier’s “Tropic” and “Mads” by David Moreau.
Dde...
Pulsar Content’s Cannes lineup includes Un Certain Regard’s “Niki” by Céline Sallette, Antoine Chevrolliers’ “Block Pass,” premiering in Critics’ Week, and Camila Beltran’s “Mi Bestia,” premiering at Acid.
Dde’s Cannes lineup includes Julien Colonna’s “Le Royaume” in Un Certain Regard and Patricia Mazuy’s “Visiting Hours” in Directors’ Fortnight.
The companies have previously worked together on several films, including “The Deep House” by Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo, which sold to Blumhouse for the U.S. and Universal for international territories. They also teamed up on Edouard Salier’s “Tropic” and “Mads” by David Moreau.
Dde...
- 5/7/2024
- by Leo Barraclough and Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
It is the spring of “Baby Reindeer.” Netflix’s addictive limited series about a struggling comedian (Richard Gadd) working at a bar who makes the biggest mistake of his life when he gives a lonely woman (Jessica Gunning) a cup of tea on the house is the most watched series currently on the streamer and viewership is growing. And the fact that it’s based on a true story, makes “Baby Reindeer” even more creep and chilling. It’s a must-see voyeur thriller.
The same was true in the fall of 1987 with Adrian Lyne’s “Fatal Attraction.” Audiences flocked to the hard R-rated thriller which starred a wild-haired Glenn Close as an editor with a publishing company who has one-night stand with a happily married attorney (Michael Douglas) whose wife and daughter are out of town. Though it’s “understood” that it’s just a fling, Close’s Alex just won’t let go.
The same was true in the fall of 1987 with Adrian Lyne’s “Fatal Attraction.” Audiences flocked to the hard R-rated thriller which starred a wild-haired Glenn Close as an editor with a publishing company who has one-night stand with a happily married attorney (Michael Douglas) whose wife and daughter are out of town. Though it’s “understood” that it’s just a fling, Close’s Alex just won’t let go.
- 5/2/2024
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Annette Insdorf is synonymous with Columbia University, at which she has been a film professor since 1987 and served as director of undergraduate film studies for decades. A former translator for François Truffaut, she is also the longtime moderator of the 92nd Street Y’s “Reel Pieces” series, the author of numerous important books on film (most notably Indelible Shadows: Film and Holocaust) and a regular presence at film festivals like Cannes and Telluride.
Insdorf agreed to share with The Hollywood Reporter her perspective about recent unrest on Columbia’s campus over the Israel-Gaza conflict, which in the last 24 hours resulted in the NYPD raiding Hamilton Hall (which had been occupied by pro-Palestinian protesters), resulting in many arrests.
* * *
Things have indeed been tense on Columbia University’s campus, but I’m trying to keep a sane perspective. Since the number of protesters is a tiny fraction of the student population, I...
Insdorf agreed to share with The Hollywood Reporter her perspective about recent unrest on Columbia’s campus over the Israel-Gaza conflict, which in the last 24 hours resulted in the NYPD raiding Hamilton Hall (which had been occupied by pro-Palestinian protesters), resulting in many arrests.
* * *
Things have indeed been tense on Columbia University’s campus, but I’m trying to keep a sane perspective. Since the number of protesters is a tiny fraction of the student population, I...
- 5/2/2024
- by Annette Insdorf
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Signage at the 2024 TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood, CA.
Once again, it was time for our favorite film festival, the Turner Classic Movies Film Festival, and as usual, the Stars were shining brightly!
Movie lovers from around the globe descended upon Hollywood for the 15th edition of the festival, which took place Thursday, April 18 – Sunday, April 21. Over four packed days and nights, fans were treated to a lineup of great movies, appearances by legendary stars and filmmakers, fascinating presentations and panel discussions.
There were quite a few big-name notables, both on the red carpet and introducing some of our favorite classic films.
Thursday’s opening night gala was a stunner, with the 30th anniversary screening of Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction (1994). Many of the iconic film’s stars walked the red carpet for a reunion that included John Travolta, Samuel Jackson, Uma Thurman, and Harvey Keitel.
This set the...
Once again, it was time for our favorite film festival, the Turner Classic Movies Film Festival, and as usual, the Stars were shining brightly!
Movie lovers from around the globe descended upon Hollywood for the 15th edition of the festival, which took place Thursday, April 18 – Sunday, April 21. Over four packed days and nights, fans were treated to a lineup of great movies, appearances by legendary stars and filmmakers, fascinating presentations and panel discussions.
There were quite a few big-name notables, both on the red carpet and introducing some of our favorite classic films.
Thursday’s opening night gala was a stunner, with the 30th anniversary screening of Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction (1994). Many of the iconic film’s stars walked the red carpet for a reunion that included John Travolta, Samuel Jackson, Uma Thurman, and Harvey Keitel.
This set the...
- 4/24/2024
- by Melissa Thompson
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Having directed the brilliant Arrival (2015), Blade Runner 2049 (2017) and the two Dune movies (2021 and 2024), Denis Villeneuve has already inscribed his name in cinematic history as the acclaimed sci-fi filmmaker.
Here are 7 movies, recommended by the director and available for watching on Prime Video, that guarantee a superior sci-fi experience.
1. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
It comes as no surprise that this iconic Old Hollywood masterpiece is in Villeneuve’s list. According to his own admission, Kubrick’s epic space opera was his first "cinematic shock" that became his most favorite movie, inspiring him for his own science fiction works.
2. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Steven Spielberg’s classic drama movie affected not only the 1980’s genre’s features, but also the Dune director’s cinema taste, entering him the world of the French New Wave by assembling Francois Truffaut in its cast, and, obviously, his love for sci-fi films.
3. Blade Runner...
Here are 7 movies, recommended by the director and available for watching on Prime Video, that guarantee a superior sci-fi experience.
1. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
It comes as no surprise that this iconic Old Hollywood masterpiece is in Villeneuve’s list. According to his own admission, Kubrick’s epic space opera was his first "cinematic shock" that became his most favorite movie, inspiring him for his own science fiction works.
2. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Steven Spielberg’s classic drama movie affected not only the 1980’s genre’s features, but also the Dune director’s cinema taste, entering him the world of the French New Wave by assembling Francois Truffaut in its cast, and, obviously, his love for sci-fi films.
3. Blade Runner...
- 4/21/2024
- by info@startefacts.com (Ava Raxa)
- STartefacts.com
When interviewed by the Chicago Tribune in 1973, the critic and trailblazing French New Wave actor/filmmaker Francois Truffaut famously stated that he'd yet to see a truly "antiwar" movie, adding, "Every film about war ends up being pro-war." His argument, in essence, was that the very act of making war cinematic tends to infuse it with qualities that make it more entertaining and, as a result, less horrifying. In contrast to that, Truffaut's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" director Steven Spielberg -- then on the heels of helming his WWII drama "Saving Private Ryan" -- once told Newsweek that "every war movie, good or bad, is an antiwar movie." In his case, Spielberg reasoned that by portraying warfare as convincingly as plausible, it becomes impossible for a film to be pro-war since war is, itself, an inherently horrific thing.
If there's a middle ground between these two camps of thought,...
If there's a middle ground between these two camps of thought,...
- 4/10/2024
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
While it was fascinating to see the results of the 2022 Sight & Sound poll, we’re just as curious to see what lies outside the established canon. As part of a comprehensive project at the essential resource They Shoot Pictures, Don’t They?, Ángel González polled nearly 839 critics on the best films that didn’t receive a single vote on the Sight & Sound poll, which they’ve now compiled into a massive Beyond the Sight & Sound Canon, which initially features 1,030 films but expands to a whopping 14,558 total films.
As a preview, we’ve collected the films that received at least 20 votes in this new poll, which is 263. It’s led by Spike Jonze’s Her, and they’ve also noted the directors that were most represented. Fritz Lang leads the pack with eight films mentioned, while François Truffaut has seven, and Anthony Mann, Clint Eastwood, Eric Rohmer, John Ford, Samuel Fuller,...
As a preview, we’ve collected the films that received at least 20 votes in this new poll, which is 263. It’s led by Spike Jonze’s Her, and they’ve also noted the directors that were most represented. Fritz Lang leads the pack with eight films mentioned, while François Truffaut has seven, and Anthony Mann, Clint Eastwood, Eric Rohmer, John Ford, Samuel Fuller,...
- 4/8/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Steven Spielberg is one of the wisest men in Hollywood and is known to give all kinds of advice to his peers, whether they are part of his films or not. After all, there is no one who wouldn’t want to get advice from someone who has such a wealth of knowledge. However, John Carpenter has one notable Steven Spielberg movie, which he claimed was pretentious.
Jurassic Park
Steven Spielberg has been a part of many iconic franchises over the years, as he has been responsible for films such as the Jurassic Park franchise, Indiana Jones film series, Saving Private Ryan and many other films. That is why his opinion carries a lot of weight when it comes to anything related to films, but that doesn’t mean all of his films are equally well-received.
Suggested“Don’t you think these tunnels are like my mother’s womb?”:...
Jurassic Park
Steven Spielberg has been a part of many iconic franchises over the years, as he has been responsible for films such as the Jurassic Park franchise, Indiana Jones film series, Saving Private Ryan and many other films. That is why his opinion carries a lot of weight when it comes to anything related to films, but that doesn’t mean all of his films are equally well-received.
Suggested“Don’t you think these tunnels are like my mother’s womb?”:...
- 3/6/2024
- by Subhojeet Mookherjee
- FandomWire
Between last week’s release of his under-the-radar documentary God Save Texas: Hometown Prison and the June release of his wildly entertaining crowdpleaser Hit Man Trailer: Glen Powell Shapeshifts for Richard Linklater’s Comedy, Arriving in June”>Hit Man, Richard Linklater is embarking on his next film. Set to shoot this month and April in Paris, his new feature will capture the beginnings of the French New Wave, centered on the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s 1960 debut masterpiece Breathless.
We now have our first piece of casting as our new Jean Seberg has been unveiled. Zoey Deutch has revealed her Seberg look on Instagram, with hair colorist Tracey Cunningham confirming it’s for the role of the French New Wave Icon, who made her breakout in Godard’s debut. The film will mark a reunion following Everybody Wants Some!! for Linklater and Deutch, who will deliver the latest portrayal of...
We now have our first piece of casting as our new Jean Seberg has been unveiled. Zoey Deutch has revealed her Seberg look on Instagram, with hair colorist Tracey Cunningham confirming it’s for the role of the French New Wave Icon, who made her breakout in Godard’s debut. The film will mark a reunion following Everybody Wants Some!! for Linklater and Deutch, who will deliver the latest portrayal of...
- 3/5/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
In his book “The Films in My Life,” director and enthusiast François Truffaut wrote, “I demand that a film express either the joy of making cinema or the agony of making cinema.” Juan Pablo Reinoso’s new documentary “Mad Props” satisfies Truffaut’s criteria beautifully, expressing not only the joy of making cinema but also the joy of watching cinema, exploring both through the eyes of Tom Biolchini, an Oklahoma banker who obsessively collects movie props. Reinoso follows Biolchini as he travels the world meeting other collectors who lovingly display their acquisitions, everything from Indiana Jones’ whip to various title characters from Joe Dante‘s “Gremlins” to an entire house from “The Outsiders” purchased by House of Pain’s Danny Boy O’Connor and filled with artifacts from that Francis Coppola classic. As the film progresses, Reinoso broadens his scope to include interviews with actors and various prop and creature makers...
- 2/23/2024
- by Jim Hemphill
- Indiewire
There is a sense of a running gag in Hors du Temps (renamed Suspended Time for the English-language market). In his complex, autofictional 2022 TV series Irma Vep, Olivier Assayas cast as the director of a film called Irma Vep — a film he had, in fact, made in real life 20 years earlier — the actor Vincent Macaigne, who cheekily developed a version of Assayas that not only picked up on his distinctively reedy voice, but also nobbled his quirky irritability and sensitivities.
That character was called Rene, but he was not a million miles from Paul, the character Macaigne plays in this account of two brothers confined with their partners for the duration of the Covid lockdown. They have returned to the house where they lived as boys and where they have rarely returned since: a vine-covered cottage in a picturesque hamlet. It is a glorious summer, just like the remembered summers of childhood.
That character was called Rene, but he was not a million miles from Paul, the character Macaigne plays in this account of two brothers confined with their partners for the duration of the Covid lockdown. They have returned to the house where they lived as boys and where they have rarely returned since: a vine-covered cottage in a picturesque hamlet. It is a glorious summer, just like the remembered summers of childhood.
- 2/18/2024
- by Stephanie Bunbury
- Deadline Film + TV
Le chinoise.Most serious writing about Jean-Luc Godard tends to be both high-flown and forbidding, rather like the films it’s discussing. Translations from French to English or vice versa can make things even dicier. But according to the literary scholar Fredric Jameson, who contributes an enthusiastic preface and afterword, Reading with Jean-Luc Godard—a compendium of 109 three-page essays by 50 writers from a dozen countries, announced as the first in a series—launches “a new form” and “a new genre.”The brevity of each entry tends to confirm Jameson’s claim. The book can be described as an audience-friendly volume designed to occupy the same space between academia and journalism staked out by Notebook while proposing routes into Godard’s work provided by his eclectic reading—a batch of writers ranged alphabetically and intellectually from Louis Aragon, Robert Ardrey, Hannah Arendt, and Honoré de Balzac to François Truffaut, Paul Valéry,...
- 1/30/2024
- MUBI
With the advent of streaming platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime, many have predicted the end of physical media. The story comes up every year it seems, with DVDs, Blu-rays and even UHDs still present, whereas those relying solely on streaming start protesting as more and more of these services embrace advertisements in their content. However, this debate, which seemingly is based on ownership, misses the point of creating a large collection of movies, as people who do so may actively (or unknowingly) preserve these cultural artifacts. This side to the debate gets another meaning entirely, when viewed from the perspective of an authoritarian regime repressing all modes of expression or censoring them, which is one of the aspects of Ehsan Khoshbakht's documentary “Celluloid Underground”.
The story of the feature is about the biography of the director, who left his home country Iran for London as the political...
The story of the feature is about the biography of the director, who left his home country Iran for London as the political...
- 1/20/2024
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Film Movement Scoops Up North American Rights for Bittersweet Comedy ‘A Nice Jewish Boy’ (Exclusive)
Film Movement will give “A Nice Jewish Boy” a home – several, in fact, as the New York-based distributor has picked up North American rights to Noé Debré’s bittersweet comedy with plans for both festival and theatrical plays later this year.
Charades’ Hélène Espeisse brokered the deal with Film Movement president Michael Rosenberg.
Written and directed by “Dheepan” and “Stillwater” screenwriter Noé Debré, “A Nice Jewish Boy” follows Bellisha – an unflappable 27-year-old naïf who shares a subsidized apartment with his ailing mother, Giselle. The pair also happen to be their working-class community’s last remaining Jews – a source of heartache, comedy, and wider questions of belonging.
The freewheeling film drew inspiration from the works of Francois Truffaut and Charlie Chaplin, Debré told Variety, engaging in equal parts with poignant and absurdist subject matters while following a daydreaming lead who can’t be knocked down.
“[I wanted to explore] tough themes with a kind of lightness and irreverence,...
Charades’ Hélène Espeisse brokered the deal with Film Movement president Michael Rosenberg.
Written and directed by “Dheepan” and “Stillwater” screenwriter Noé Debré, “A Nice Jewish Boy” follows Bellisha – an unflappable 27-year-old naïf who shares a subsidized apartment with his ailing mother, Giselle. The pair also happen to be their working-class community’s last remaining Jews – a source of heartache, comedy, and wider questions of belonging.
The freewheeling film drew inspiration from the works of Francois Truffaut and Charlie Chaplin, Debré told Variety, engaging in equal parts with poignant and absurdist subject matters while following a daydreaming lead who can’t be knocked down.
“[I wanted to explore] tough themes with a kind of lightness and irreverence,...
- 1/18/2024
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
French broadcaster France Televisions has been blamed by supporters of Gerard Depardieu, the Oscar-nominated actor of “Cyrano de Bergerac,” for contributing to the downfall of one of country’s most iconic actors with a bombshell documentary about his history of sexual abuse allegations which aired on Dec. 7.
The broadcaster’s head of film and international co-production, Manuel Alduy, tells Variety the TV group doesn’t have any agenda against Depardieu, however, and won’t boycott his films. “We will not ban films, but we won’t celebrate artists who have been accused until they’re completely cleared,” says Alduy, who joined France Televisions in 2021 after working at Twentieth Century Fox and Canal+ Group.
“Films are collective works of art and Depardieu happens to have starred in more than 100 films, including some classics of French cinema,” says Alduy. “It would be unfair for these films and for rights holders if we banned them,...
The broadcaster’s head of film and international co-production, Manuel Alduy, tells Variety the TV group doesn’t have any agenda against Depardieu, however, and won’t boycott his films. “We will not ban films, but we won’t celebrate artists who have been accused until they’re completely cleared,” says Alduy, who joined France Televisions in 2021 after working at Twentieth Century Fox and Canal+ Group.
“Films are collective works of art and Depardieu happens to have starred in more than 100 films, including some classics of French cinema,” says Alduy. “It would be unfair for these films and for rights holders if we banned them,...
- 12/22/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
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Sometimes, the reputations of certain movies have been built up so much over the decades that, to an extent, newcomers can't help but come away disappointed when they finally experience it for the very first time. Others, however, live up to every inch of their status as bona fide classics. It's safe to say that "Close Encounters of a Third Kind," director Steven Spielberg's first film about extraterrestrial visitors, belongs firmly in the latter category. Although multiple generations of movie lovers only encountered the 1977 film through their parents, film school courses, or entirely on their own, various re-releases over the years and constant praise from both filmmakers and critics alike have kept "Close Encounters" exactly where it deserves to be -- at the forefront of the conversation about the greatest and most influential movies of all time.
Of course,...
Sometimes, the reputations of certain movies have been built up so much over the decades that, to an extent, newcomers can't help but come away disappointed when they finally experience it for the very first time. Others, however, live up to every inch of their status as bona fide classics. It's safe to say that "Close Encounters of a Third Kind," director Steven Spielberg's first film about extraterrestrial visitors, belongs firmly in the latter category. Although multiple generations of movie lovers only encountered the 1977 film through their parents, film school courses, or entirely on their own, various re-releases over the years and constant praise from both filmmakers and critics alike have kept "Close Encounters" exactly where it deserves to be -- at the forefront of the conversation about the greatest and most influential movies of all time.
Of course,...
- 12/19/2023
- by Jeremy Mathai
- Slash Film
Steven Spielberg had tackled serious subjects before, but none of his previous work had the power and artistic vision of “Schindler’s List,” which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Based on the book by Thomas Keneally, “Schindler’s List” relates the true story of Nazi party member and war profiteer Oskar Schindler, who ended up saving 1,000 Jews from the Nazi death camps during World War II. Shot in black-and-white-save for a little girl wearig red coat- ‘Schindler’s List” is often a difficult watch, but it’s message of “Never Forget” is particularly relevant today with the rise of anti-Semitism and the white power movement. The epic stars Liam Neeson as Schindler, Ben Kingsley as the Jewish manager of Schindler’s factor and Ralph Fiennes, terrifying as a ruthless Nazi commandant Amon Goth.
The reviews were laudatory and despite its length — 3 hours 15 minutes — “Schindler’s List” made over $322 million worldwide. Nominated for 12 Oscars...
The reviews were laudatory and despite its length — 3 hours 15 minutes — “Schindler’s List” made over $322 million worldwide. Nominated for 12 Oscars...
- 12/18/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Adjani has denied she evaded paying tax on a €2m gift and of pretending to live in Portugal for two years.
Acclaimed French actress Isabelle Adjani has been given a two-year suspended prison sentence and fined €250,000 after being found guilty of aggravated tax fraud and money laundering by a Paris court on Thursday (December 14).
Adjani’s lawyer Olivier Pardo confirmed to Screen late Thursday that her defence team had officially filed an appeal that is now making its way through the Paris courts.
Adjani has consistently maintained her innocence in the face of charges that include evading taxes on a...
Acclaimed French actress Isabelle Adjani has been given a two-year suspended prison sentence and fined €250,000 after being found guilty of aggravated tax fraud and money laundering by a Paris court on Thursday (December 14).
Adjani’s lawyer Olivier Pardo confirmed to Screen late Thursday that her defence team had officially filed an appeal that is now making its way through the Paris courts.
Adjani has consistently maintained her innocence in the face of charges that include evading taxes on a...
- 12/14/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
The 10th edition of the Next Step program of Cannes Critics’ Week is unfolding this week at the Moulin d’Andé artists residence in Normandy.
The complex, built around a 12th Century mill overlooking the River Seine, is renowned for its French New Wave connections, with François Truffaut reported to have written the screenplay for Jules And Jim during a stay there in the early 1960s.
“It’s one of the oldest writing and screenwriting residents in France,” says Cannes Critics’ Week program manager and Next Step workshop director Thomas Rosso. “We been coming here since the beginning.”
Aimed at helping filmmakers who have shown shorts at Cannes Critics’ Week get their first feature over the line, Next Step has supported 88 projects since its launch, 29 of which have come to fruition, with 13 more in production or due to premiere in 2024.
“Next Step is open to all filmmakers who have been...
The complex, built around a 12th Century mill overlooking the River Seine, is renowned for its French New Wave connections, with François Truffaut reported to have written the screenplay for Jules And Jim during a stay there in the early 1960s.
“It’s one of the oldest writing and screenwriting residents in France,” says Cannes Critics’ Week program manager and Next Step workshop director Thomas Rosso. “We been coming here since the beginning.”
Aimed at helping filmmakers who have shown shorts at Cannes Critics’ Week get their first feature over the line, Next Step has supported 88 projects since its launch, 29 of which have come to fruition, with 13 more in production or due to premiere in 2024.
“Next Step is open to all filmmakers who have been...
- 12/13/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
While promoting the home video version of his historical blockbuster “Oppenheimer,” director Christopher Nolan recently stressed that it’s really the only way to go when it comes to watching his movies at home. Not only does he finely calibrate his films for the best home video experience (leading to the 4K Ultra HD version of the movie to sell out everywhere) but he stressed buying the movie on physical media means you can “put it on a shelf so no evil streaming service can come steal it from you.”
And while, yes, he’s joking, he is right about one thing: the only way you can insure that the movies you love will be around is by owning them on physical media. Thankfully the home video labels have been stepping up their game, with deluxe packages overflowing with extras and feature films presented in their best possible format.
Here...
And while, yes, he’s joking, he is right about one thing: the only way you can insure that the movies you love will be around is by owning them on physical media. Thankfully the home video labels have been stepping up their game, with deluxe packages overflowing with extras and feature films presented in their best possible format.
Here...
- 12/2/2023
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
As 2023 draws to a close and the Oscar race begins to heat up, film publications around the world continue to roll out their lists of the year’s top films. IndieWire recently named Celine Song’s “Past Lives” the best film of the year, topping a list that also included “Barbie,” “Oppenheimer,” “Asteroid City,” and “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Now Cahiers du Cinema has gotten in on the action, selecting Laura Citarella’s “Trenque Lauquen” as its top pick.
The legendary French film publication, which served as an intellectual hub for the French New Wave after launching the careers of Jean-Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut, and famously named “Twin Peaks: The Return” the best film of the 2010s, revealed its top 10 films of 2023 on Friday, December 1. The list only includes movies that opened theatrically in France in 2023, so many films that had American theatrical runs or festival premieres in past years made the cut.
The legendary French film publication, which served as an intellectual hub for the French New Wave after launching the careers of Jean-Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut, and famously named “Twin Peaks: The Return” the best film of the 2010s, revealed its top 10 films of 2023 on Friday, December 1. The list only includes movies that opened theatrically in France in 2023, so many films that had American theatrical runs or festival premieres in past years made the cut.
- 12/1/2023
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
The holidays are upon us, so whether you looking for film-related gifts or simply want to pick up some of the finest the year had to offer in the category for yourself, we have a gift guide for you. Including must-have books on filmmaking, the best from the Criterion Collection and more home-video picks, subscriptions, magazines, music, and more, dive in below.
Giveaways
In celebration of our holiday gift guide, we’ll be doing a number of giveaways! First up, we’re giving away My First Movie Vol. 2, a three-part ‘lil cinephile series by Cory Everett and illustrator Julie Olivi, featuring My First Spaghetti Western, My First Yakuza Movie, and My First Hollywood Musical.
Enter on Instagram (for My First Yakuza Movie), Twitter (for My First Hollywood Musical), and/or Facebook (for My First Spaghetti Western) by Sunday, November 26 at 11:59pm Et. Those that enter on all three platforms...
Giveaways
In celebration of our holiday gift guide, we’ll be doing a number of giveaways! First up, we’re giving away My First Movie Vol. 2, a three-part ‘lil cinephile series by Cory Everett and illustrator Julie Olivi, featuring My First Spaghetti Western, My First Yakuza Movie, and My First Hollywood Musical.
Enter on Instagram (for My First Yakuza Movie), Twitter (for My First Hollywood Musical), and/or Facebook (for My First Spaghetti Western) by Sunday, November 26 at 11:59pm Et. Those that enter on all three platforms...
- 11/20/2023
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
It’s not uncommon for seasoned filmmakers to, at some point, turn their lens towards their own love for cinema. Steven Spielberg recently treated us to The Fablemans and in the same year, Pan Nalin delves into his personal narrative to gift us Last Film Show, a tale about the essence of life in cinema and life through cinema. The heartwarming story unfolds in a rural corner of India, where traditional movie theaters are becoming scarce. It centers on a young boy named Samay (reminiscent of François Truffaut’s The Wild Child), who, despite lacking the means, is determined to create cinema of his own.…...
- 11/3/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Lyon’s impressive Roman-style auditorium, normally used by the city’s symphonic orchestra, was sold out as U.S. writer and director Wes Anderson took to the stage as guest of honor of the Lumière Film Festival.
Mid-way through his conversation with festival director Thierry Frémaux, the crowd gathered in the massive 2,000-seat venue was treated to a screening of one of Anderson’s new Roald Dahl adaptations, the short film “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.”
The story of a rich man who sets out to master an extraordinary skill to cheat at gambling, it is one of four Dahl stories recently adapted by Anderson for Netflix, which acquired the Roald Dahl Story Company (Rdsc), that manages the rights to the late British author’s works, from back in 2021.
The only adaptations Anderson has done are Dahl stories, starting with his first animation film, “Fantastic Mr Fox,” in 2009. Asked...
Mid-way through his conversation with festival director Thierry Frémaux, the crowd gathered in the massive 2,000-seat venue was treated to a screening of one of Anderson’s new Roald Dahl adaptations, the short film “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.”
The story of a rich man who sets out to master an extraordinary skill to cheat at gambling, it is one of four Dahl stories recently adapted by Anderson for Netflix, which acquired the Roald Dahl Story Company (Rdsc), that manages the rights to the late British author’s works, from back in 2021.
The only adaptations Anderson has done are Dahl stories, starting with his first animation film, “Fantastic Mr Fox,” in 2009. Asked...
- 10/18/2023
- by Lise Pedersen
- Variety Film + TV
MK2 Films has acquired a collection of films and TV series directed by Bruno Dumont, the award-winning French director behind “Life of Jesus” and “Humanity.”
The acquisition, unveiled during Mipcom Cannes, covers the bulk of the director’s work, spanning eight films and TV series including “Li’l Quinquin,” which premiered at Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight. MK2 Films will represent rights to some of these titles, in France and/or international markets, apart from a few titles like “Slack Bay” whose global rights are still handled by Memento International.
“Bruno Dumont is, of course, a major figure of contemporary cinema,” said Nathanaël Karmitz, MK2’s chairman of the executive board. Karmitz praised Dumont for the “originality of his unusual, unpredictable [films], veering from gravitas to some unnerving, comedic tangents.” He continued, “Iconoclastic and consistently courageous in its form, his work perfectly represents the free and ambitious cinema that we are proud to promote.
The acquisition, unveiled during Mipcom Cannes, covers the bulk of the director’s work, spanning eight films and TV series including “Li’l Quinquin,” which premiered at Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight. MK2 Films will represent rights to some of these titles, in France and/or international markets, apart from a few titles like “Slack Bay” whose global rights are still handled by Memento International.
“Bruno Dumont is, of course, a major figure of contemporary cinema,” said Nathanaël Karmitz, MK2’s chairman of the executive board. Karmitz praised Dumont for the “originality of his unusual, unpredictable [films], veering from gravitas to some unnerving, comedic tangents.” He continued, “Iconoclastic and consistently courageous in its form, his work perfectly represents the free and ambitious cinema that we are proud to promote.
- 10/16/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Back in 1992 Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson — who had met the University of Texas in Dallas and were roomies — decided to make a movie. But after spending $10,000 and shooting 13 minutes of the crime caper comedy “Bottle Rocket,” they ran out of money. Eventually, the short and the full script made its way to Oscar-winning writer/director/producer James L. Brooks. It just so happened that Columbia had a deal with Brooks to finance a low-budget film selected by the filmmaker. And in 1996, the feature-length version of “Bottle Rocket” was released with Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson and James Caan. Though the film didn’t set the box office on fire, critics realized Anderson was a new and exciting cinematic voice.
Anderson has made 11 feature films — his latest “Asteroid City” came out earlier this year — and has been nominated seven times for an Oscar including three for screenplay, two for animated features,...
Anderson has made 11 feature films — his latest “Asteroid City” came out earlier this year — and has been nominated seven times for an Oscar including three for screenplay, two for animated features,...
- 10/6/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
French actor Gerard Depardieu wrote in an open letter on Monday that he is “neither a rapist, nor a predator,” addressing the 2018 lawsuit against him for the sexual assault and rape of a 22-year-old actress. It also comes in the wake of the 13 women who came forward in 2023 accusing him of sexual assault and harassment.
“I have never, ever abused a woman,” Depardieu wrote in a letter published in the French newspaper Le Figaro on Monday. “Hurting a woman would be like kicking my own mother in the stomach.”
The letter also addressed Charlotte Arnould’s 2018 lawsuit against him, though Depardieu did not mention Arnould by name. In August of 2018, Arnould reported that Depardieu assaulted her twice in his home during rehearsal sessions.
In his letter, Depardieu claims that an unnamed woman came to his house and his room “of her own free will” and that she came back “a second time.
“I have never, ever abused a woman,” Depardieu wrote in a letter published in the French newspaper Le Figaro on Monday. “Hurting a woman would be like kicking my own mother in the stomach.”
The letter also addressed Charlotte Arnould’s 2018 lawsuit against him, though Depardieu did not mention Arnould by name. In August of 2018, Arnould reported that Depardieu assaulted her twice in his home during rehearsal sessions.
In his letter, Depardieu claims that an unnamed woman came to his house and his room “of her own free will” and that she came back “a second time.
- 10/2/2023
- by Kayla Cobb
- The Wrap
Above: 1973 New York Film Festival poster designed by Niki de Saint Phalle.The 61st edition of the New York Film Festival, which opens tonight, has 32 films in its Main Slate, fifteen films in its Spotlight section, ten films and seven collections of shorts in the Currents sidebar, and eleven revivals. That's over 60 feature films. Fifty years ago, in 1973, the 11th edition of the festival had just eighteen feature films and nineteen shorts. Just like this year’s opener—Todd Haynes’s May December—1973’s opening night film, François Truffaut’s Day for Night, had premiered four months earlier at the Cannes Film Festival. And as with this year’s festival, the 1973 edition opened, fifty years and one day ago exactly, in the shadow of an artists' strike. Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians had been picketing the New York Philharmonic outside Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall, where the festival was taking place,...
- 9/29/2023
- MUBI
The 61st New York Film Festival kicks off Sept. 29 with Todd Haynes’ drama “May December” starring Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman. Sofia Coppola’s well-received Venice hit “Priscilla” about Priscilla Presley is the fest’s Centerpiece. Michael Mann’s biopic “Ferrari” with Adam Driver and Penelope Cruz the closing night feature while Bradley Cooper’s portrait of composer/conductor Leonard Bernstein “Maestro,” which had a seven-minute standing ovation in Venice, is the festival’s spotlight gala. Other films screening include Yorgos Lanthimos “Poor Things,” which won the Golden Lion and best actress for Emma Stone at Venice, as well as Andrew Haigh’s “All of us Strangers” and Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest.”
A director came into his own 50 years ago at the New York Film Festival: Martin Scorsese. He’s of cinema’s greatest directors, who has made such landmark films as ‘Taxi Driver,” “Raging Bull,” Goodfellas,...
A director came into his own 50 years ago at the New York Film Festival: Martin Scorsese. He’s of cinema’s greatest directors, who has made such landmark films as ‘Taxi Driver,” “Raging Bull,” Goodfellas,...
- 9/28/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
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,...
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,...
- 9/25/2023
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Lyon, France — Four-time Oscar winner Alfonso Cuarón and “Time Bandits” helmer Terry Gilliam will join a star director-studded lineup at this year’s Lumière Film Festival including Wes Anderson, Alexander Payne and Wim Wenders.
Cuarón is returning to Lyon – where he was a guest of honor in 2018 – to present a selection of films by Swiss filmmaker Alain Tanner.
Gilliam will screen the newly restored version of his 1995 sci-fi thriller “Twelve Monkeys.”
One of Anderson’s latest shorts, “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” part of four Roald Dahl adaptations to be released on Netflix later this month, will screen at Lyon’s plush 2,000-seat Auditorium, where he will give a masterclass.
Like other guests, he will not only be introducing a retrospective of his own films but works by others, as part of an ongoing drive by the festival “to strengthen the link between the past and the present of cinema,...
Cuarón is returning to Lyon – where he was a guest of honor in 2018 – to present a selection of films by Swiss filmmaker Alain Tanner.
Gilliam will screen the newly restored version of his 1995 sci-fi thriller “Twelve Monkeys.”
One of Anderson’s latest shorts, “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” part of four Roald Dahl adaptations to be released on Netflix later this month, will screen at Lyon’s plush 2,000-seat Auditorium, where he will give a masterclass.
Like other guests, he will not only be introducing a retrospective of his own films but works by others, as part of an ongoing drive by the festival “to strengthen the link between the past and the present of cinema,...
- 9/19/2023
- by Lise Pedersen
- Variety Film + TV
The werewolf, loup-garou, and the Lycanthrope are back in the brilliant thought-provoking film Wolfkin . Coming from the rich tradition of fiction such as Guy Endore’s 1933 seminal novel The Werewolf of Paris and the 1896 story The Were-wolf by Clemence Housman, this film is in my opinion an essential new addition to the werewolf film canon.
You can lump this film into the abyss of Folk Horror yet its just plain simple a damn good film from top to end credits because it tells an essential human story. Wolfkin (2022) a.k.a. Kommunioun is a Luxembourgian/French/Belgium production; directed by Jacques Molitor. The picture is elegantly shot and paced with true mastery and restraint, as does befit the subject matter of extreme, old-world control and remedy for the modern, uncontrolled animalistic urges.
Taking a cue from Hammer’s The Curse of the Werewolf (1961), Wolfkin (2022) reverses the fact that in that film,...
You can lump this film into the abyss of Folk Horror yet its just plain simple a damn good film from top to end credits because it tells an essential human story. Wolfkin (2022) a.k.a. Kommunioun is a Luxembourgian/French/Belgium production; directed by Jacques Molitor. The picture is elegantly shot and paced with true mastery and restraint, as does befit the subject matter of extreme, old-world control and remedy for the modern, uncontrolled animalistic urges.
Taking a cue from Hammer’s The Curse of the Werewolf (1961), Wolfkin (2022) reverses the fact that in that film,...
- 9/18/2023
- by Terry Sherwood
- Horror Asylum
"Barbie" might be a multimillion-dollar corporate product based on a ridiculously lucrative multimedia property, but it's also an earnest love letter to cinema history. Of course, that's nothing new for co-writer and director Greta Gerwig. A quick glimpse at the multi-hyphenate's filmography will reveal she's never shied away from openly acknowledging her influences. "Frances Ha," the 2012 dramedy Gerwig starred in and co-wrote with the film's director and her "Barbie" co-writer/real-life partner, Noah Baumbach, overtly tips its hat to the French New Wave, as does Gerwig's semi-autobiographical directorial debut, "Lady Bird" (her answer to Francois Truffaut's "The 400 Blows").
When it comes to "Barbie," there's no missing the references to "The Wizard of Oz" and Gene Kelly musicals like "An American in Paris," nor the deliberate parallels between the red pill/blue pill scene from "The Matrix" and Stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie) consulting Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon) about her sudden existential crisis.
When it comes to "Barbie," there's no missing the references to "The Wizard of Oz" and Gene Kelly musicals like "An American in Paris," nor the deliberate parallels between the red pill/blue pill scene from "The Matrix" and Stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie) consulting Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon) about her sudden existential crisis.
- 8/3/2023
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
Before she picked up a film camera, the revered director was a photographer. The seeds of her groundbreaking cinema lie in her earliest still images, says her daughter, Rosalie
Agnès Varda, at least in her later years, didn’t make a big deal about being taken seriously. For decades, the film-maker and artist was much respected as the pioneering feminist voice in French cinema and as the “godmother of the Nouvelle Vague” – New Wave – her work beating Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut et al to the big screen by several years. But she was also somewhat sidelined, eclipsed by her male peers, and it took until this century for her to be truly revered: last year, her 1962 classic Cléo from 5 to 7 was ranked No 14 in the Sight & Sound greatest films poll.
But by the time she had begun to be deified, Varda was prone to sending herself up. She would appear...
Agnès Varda, at least in her later years, didn’t make a big deal about being taken seriously. For decades, the film-maker and artist was much respected as the pioneering feminist voice in French cinema and as the “godmother of the Nouvelle Vague” – New Wave – her work beating Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut et al to the big screen by several years. But she was also somewhat sidelined, eclipsed by her male peers, and it took until this century for her to be truly revered: last year, her 1962 classic Cléo from 5 to 7 was ranked No 14 in the Sight & Sound greatest films poll.
But by the time she had begun to be deified, Varda was prone to sending herself up. She would appear...
- 7/16/2023
- by Jonathan Romney
- The Guardian - Film News
Love him or hate him, what Quentin Tarantino has achieved over his more than 30 years of filmmaking is inarguably impressive. Not only is the “Reservoir Dogs” writer/director a renowned auteur — nominated three times for the Best Director Oscar with two Best Original Screenplay wins for “Pulp Fiction” and “Django Unchained” — Tarantino is also a well-versed film critic whose encyclopedic knowledge of other artists’ filmographies precedes him.
Living in Los Angeles, the “Pulp Fiction” director famously began his journey to cinematic rock star status as an employee at the Video Archives rental store in Manhattan Beach: since closed, rebuilt in Tarantino’s basement, and turned into a podcast he hosts with longtime friend and collaborator Roger Avary. It was in the bygone era of rewindable tapes that Tarantino cut his critical teeth: combing through the store’s collection, full of everything from black-and-white classics to straight-to-tv sci-fi specials.
A famed borrower,...
Living in Los Angeles, the “Pulp Fiction” director famously began his journey to cinematic rock star status as an employee at the Video Archives rental store in Manhattan Beach: since closed, rebuilt in Tarantino’s basement, and turned into a podcast he hosts with longtime friend and collaborator Roger Avary. It was in the bygone era of rewindable tapes that Tarantino cut his critical teeth: combing through the store’s collection, full of everything from black-and-white classics to straight-to-tv sci-fi specials.
A famed borrower,...
- 7/6/2023
- by Alison Foreman and Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
Across Amanda, Carolina Cavalli’s writing and cinematic style dovetail with lead actor Benedetta Porcaroli’s calibrated strangeness to express a sensibility that feels genuinely new. It’s also the rare film about mental instability (among other things) that doesn’t pathologize and reduce its characters to a diagnosis. Rather, it’s a vindication of idiosyncrasy.
The younger of two daughters in an Italian family that runs a chain of pharmacies across Europe, Amanda (Porcaroli) is a loner. While her harried sister, Marina (Margherita Missoni), has resigned herself to the family’s bourgeois responsibilities, the 25-year-old Amanda rejects them to the best of her ability, and to the aggravation of everyone around her. Her only friend is the family’s domestic worker, Judy. Amanda lives on her own in a barebones apartment but, without a job or an income, still begrudgingly depends on her family’s financial support.
Stubbornly opposed...
The younger of two daughters in an Italian family that runs a chain of pharmacies across Europe, Amanda (Porcaroli) is a loner. While her harried sister, Marina (Margherita Missoni), has resigned herself to the family’s bourgeois responsibilities, the 25-year-old Amanda rejects them to the best of her ability, and to the aggravation of everyone around her. Her only friend is the family’s domestic worker, Judy. Amanda lives on her own in a barebones apartment but, without a job or an income, still begrudgingly depends on her family’s financial support.
Stubbornly opposed...
- 7/3/2023
- by William Repass
- Slant Magazine
Though on the periphery of the Cahiers du Cinema and French New Wave scenes, which spawned the likes of Jean-Luc Godard, Francois Truffaut, and Agnes Varda, Jean Eustache is a key figure in the history of French film. Unlike the directors listed above, Eustache came into his own at the end of the 60s, when the idealism and revolutionary fervor of the era was beginning to fizzle.
Continue reading ‘The Dirty Stories Of Jean Eustache:’ The Sorrow And Seduction Of French Auteur’s Work To Screen In Several Cities This Summer at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘The Dirty Stories Of Jean Eustache:’ The Sorrow And Seduction Of French Auteur’s Work To Screen In Several Cities This Summer at The Playlist.
- 6/30/2023
- by Rosa Martinez
- The Playlist
Kohn’s Corner is a weekly column about the challenges and opportunities of sustaining American film culture.
Chances are that if you care about international cinema, you care about the French New Wave. A loose collective of young directors who came to define their country’s cinema as the 1950s gave way to the ’60s, the French New Wave gave cinema permission to be audacious and uncompromising while bolstering its style and personality. It was cool with purpose.
Jacques Rozier, the last living member of the Nouvelle Vague, died this week at 96. Rozier was a blind spot for me, but the French New Wave was my guide to grasping what the movies could be.
As a teenager, Jean-Luc Godard’s “Breathless” got me excited about the possibilities of the movies like nothing that came before. Francois Truffaut’s “The 400 Blows” was a formative encounter with the expansive possibilities of the coming-of-age story.
Chances are that if you care about international cinema, you care about the French New Wave. A loose collective of young directors who came to define their country’s cinema as the 1950s gave way to the ’60s, the French New Wave gave cinema permission to be audacious and uncompromising while bolstering its style and personality. It was cool with purpose.
Jacques Rozier, the last living member of the Nouvelle Vague, died this week at 96. Rozier was a blind spot for me, but the French New Wave was my guide to grasping what the movies could be.
As a teenager, Jean-Luc Godard’s “Breathless” got me excited about the possibilities of the movies like nothing that came before. Francois Truffaut’s “The 400 Blows” was a formative encounter with the expansive possibilities of the coming-of-age story.
- 6/17/2023
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Sometimes, you think you know all there is to know about classic cinema, and then someone like the cinephiles at Janus Films reminds you there are still so many hidden gems to rediscover. While not as well-known as the French New Wave icons like Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut, Éric Rohmer, Alain Resnais, Agnès Varda, etc., French filmmaker Jean Eustache is still a key figure in the history of the Nouvelle Vague.
Continue reading ‘The Mother & The Whore’ Trailer: Jean Eustache Post-French New Wave Masterpiece Gets The New 4K Restoration Re-Release Treatment at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘The Mother & The Whore’ Trailer: Jean Eustache Post-French New Wave Masterpiece Gets The New 4K Restoration Re-Release Treatment at The Playlist.
- 6/14/2023
- by Rodrigo Perez
- The Playlist
This weekend sees the release of the latest adventure in the Transformers franchise as Transformers: Rise of the Beasts hits theaters. The film is meant to reboot the series, yet still in the same universe as all previous films. As I understand it, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is a sequel to Bumblebee which also makes it a prequel to the original five Michael Bay directed movies (Bay remains a producer on this new film.)
The Transformers franchise has seen it fair share of ups and downs, beginning in 2007 when the original big screen film hit theaters and opened with $70.5 million on its way to a $319.2 million domestic finish ($709.7 worldwide). 2009 saw Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen hit screens with an opening weekend of $108.9 million and a $402.1 million domestic finish ($836.3 million worldwide.) In 2011, we got the final Shia Labeouf led Transformers film with Dark of the Moon that opened with $97.8 million...
The Transformers franchise has seen it fair share of ups and downs, beginning in 2007 when the original big screen film hit theaters and opened with $70.5 million on its way to a $319.2 million domestic finish ($709.7 worldwide). 2009 saw Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen hit screens with an opening weekend of $108.9 million and a $402.1 million domestic finish ($836.3 million worldwide.) In 2011, we got the final Shia Labeouf led Transformers film with Dark of the Moon that opened with $97.8 million...
- 6/8/2023
- by Brad Hamerly
- JoBlo.com
Director Jacques Rozier, who was regarded as the last surviving member of the French New Wave, has died. He was 96.
French media reported that a close acquaintance of the filmmaker had confirmed his death on June 2 in his native city of Paris, after a short spell in hospital.
Rozier never achieved the renown of Jean-Luc Godard, Francois Truffaut, Agnès Varda, Jacques Demy, Claude Chabrol or Eric Rohmer, but his work had its place in the French New Wave and pushed boundaries in ways that laid a path for filmmakers today.
After studying at the early French cinema school Idhec, Rozier cut his directing teeth as a TV assistant, while making his own shorts including Rentrée des Classes (1956) and Blue Jeans (1958).
The latter work played at a short film festival in the city of Tours, where it caught the attention of then-film critic Godard, who highlighted it as one of the...
French media reported that a close acquaintance of the filmmaker had confirmed his death on June 2 in his native city of Paris, after a short spell in hospital.
Rozier never achieved the renown of Jean-Luc Godard, Francois Truffaut, Agnès Varda, Jacques Demy, Claude Chabrol or Eric Rohmer, but his work had its place in the French New Wave and pushed boundaries in ways that laid a path for filmmakers today.
After studying at the early French cinema school Idhec, Rozier cut his directing teeth as a TV assistant, while making his own shorts including Rentrée des Classes (1956) and Blue Jeans (1958).
The latter work played at a short film festival in the city of Tours, where it caught the attention of then-film critic Godard, who highlighted it as one of the...
- 6/5/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
The Locarno Film Festival will pay tribute to Italian producer and director Renzo Rossellini by presenting him with a lifetime achievement award, organizers said Thursday.
The award ceremony in the Swiss town’s Piazza Grande on Aug. 10 will be followed by a screening of Federico Fellini’s La città delle donne (City of Women, 1980), on which Rossellini served as a producer. On Aug. 11, Rossellini, whose half-sister is Italian star Isabella Rossellini, will take part in a festival panel conversation.
“As producer for master filmmakers of the caliber of Federico Fellini, Lina Wertmüller, Werner Herzog, and Francis Ford Coppola, but also as assistant director (for his father Roberto and, among others, François Truffaut and Claude Chabrol) and director in his own right, Renzo Rossellini has never ceased his quest to pass on his knowledge of the cinema, teaching generations of students and cineastes with passion and commitment,” the Locarno fest said.
The award ceremony in the Swiss town’s Piazza Grande on Aug. 10 will be followed by a screening of Federico Fellini’s La città delle donne (City of Women, 1980), on which Rossellini served as a producer. On Aug. 11, Rossellini, whose half-sister is Italian star Isabella Rossellini, will take part in a festival panel conversation.
“As producer for master filmmakers of the caliber of Federico Fellini, Lina Wertmüller, Werner Herzog, and Francis Ford Coppola, but also as assistant director (for his father Roberto and, among others, François Truffaut and Claude Chabrol) and director in his own right, Renzo Rossellini has never ceased his quest to pass on his knowledge of the cinema, teaching generations of students and cineastes with passion and commitment,” the Locarno fest said.
- 6/1/2023
- by Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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