Nobody is more virile than a blind man in a bad movie. From Army Ranger Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade in “Scent of a Woman” to Virgil Adamson in “At First Sight,” these characters are cartoons of masculinity, using their dicks like antennae as they help guide the sighted people in their lives towards some kind of personal growth. While blind women are often rendered as pretty, pitiable things in desperate need of assistance (a trope that Charlie Chaplin inadvertently helped cement in “City Lights,” and that Lars von Trier very deliberately weaponized in “Dancer in the Dark”), their male counterparts are seen as horny, feral animals who compensate for their sightlessness with bat-like sonar and a bloodhound’s sense of smell.
And so we end up with movies like Michael Mailer’s divertingly banal “Blind,” in which Alec Baldwin plays a vision-impaired (but hyper-sexual) writer who can tell from halfway...
And so we end up with movies like Michael Mailer’s divertingly banal “Blind,” in which Alec Baldwin plays a vision-impaired (but hyper-sexual) writer who can tell from halfway...
- 7/13/2017
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Filmmakers from all over the world are showing their support for a new initiative from the Film Society of Lincoln Center designed to create a more unified global film community in this uncertain new political time. The initiative is entitled “Film Lives Everywhere” and launches Monday with the Film Society’s 44th Chaplin Award Gala in honor of Robert De Niro.
Read More: Cannes Doc Day to Explore ‘Fake News,’ Women’s Voices and New Work From Amos Gitaï
The project has already received early support from filmmakers from Thailand (Apichatpong Weerasethakul), France (Agnès Varda, Olivier Assayas, Bertrand Bonello, Arnaud Desplechin), Canada (Guy Maddin), Argentina (Lisandro Alonso) the U.S. (Ava DuVernay) and more.
“I don’t want to be a filmmaker making movies in a scary and dangerous world,” Assayas said in a statement. “I want to be a filmmaker who makes movies about human beings in an environment...
Read More: Cannes Doc Day to Explore ‘Fake News,’ Women’s Voices and New Work From Amos Gitaï
The project has already received early support from filmmakers from Thailand (Apichatpong Weerasethakul), France (Agnès Varda, Olivier Assayas, Bertrand Bonello, Arnaud Desplechin), Canada (Guy Maddin), Argentina (Lisandro Alonso) the U.S. (Ava DuVernay) and more.
“I don’t want to be a filmmaker making movies in a scary and dangerous world,” Assayas said in a statement. “I want to be a filmmaker who makes movies about human beings in an environment...
- 5/8/2017
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
Each month, the fine folks at FilmStruck and the Criterion Collection spend countless hours crafting their channels to highlight the many different types of films that they have in their streaming library. This April will feature an exciting assortment of films, as noted below.
To sign up for a free two-week trial here.
Monday, April 3 The Chaos of Cool: A Tribute to Seijun Suzuki
In February, cinema lost an icon of excess, Seijun Suzuki, the Japanese master who took the art of the B movie to sublime new heights with his deliriously inventive approach to narrative and visual style. This series showcases seven of the New Wave renegade’s works from his career breakthrough in the sixties: Take Aim at the Police Van (1960), an off-kilter whodunit; Youth of the Beast (1963), an explosive yakuza thriller; Gate of Flesh (1964), a pulpy social critique; Story of a Prostitute (1965), a tragic romance; Tokyo Drifter...
To sign up for a free two-week trial here.
Monday, April 3 The Chaos of Cool: A Tribute to Seijun Suzuki
In February, cinema lost an icon of excess, Seijun Suzuki, the Japanese master who took the art of the B movie to sublime new heights with his deliriously inventive approach to narrative and visual style. This series showcases seven of the New Wave renegade’s works from his career breakthrough in the sixties: Take Aim at the Police Van (1960), an off-kilter whodunit; Youth of the Beast (1963), an explosive yakuza thriller; Gate of Flesh (1964), a pulpy social critique; Story of a Prostitute (1965), a tragic romance; Tokyo Drifter...
- 3/29/2017
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
What a Way to Go!
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1964 / Color B&W / 2:35 enhanced widescreen 1:37 flat Academy / 111 min. / Street Date February 7, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring Shirley MacLaine, Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum, Dean Martin, Gene Kelly, Robert Cummings, Dick Van Dyke, Reginald Gardiner, Margaret Dumont, Fifi D’Orsay, Maurice Marsac, Lenny Kent, Marjorie Bennett, Army Archerd, Barbara Bouchet, Tom Conway, Peter Duchin, Douglass Dumbrille, Pamelyn Ferdin, Teri Garr, Queenie Leonard.
Cinematography: Leon Shamroy
Film Editor: Marjorie Fowler
Original Music: Nelson Riddle
Written by: Betty Comden, Adolph Green story by Gwen Davis
Produced by: Arthur P. Jacobs
Directed by: J. Lee Thompson
Want to know what the producer of Planet of the Apes was up to, before that milestone movie? Arthur P. Jacobs was an agent for big stars before he became a producer, which positioned him well for his first show for 20th Fox, What a Way to Go!
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1964 / Color B&W / 2:35 enhanced widescreen 1:37 flat Academy / 111 min. / Street Date February 7, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring Shirley MacLaine, Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum, Dean Martin, Gene Kelly, Robert Cummings, Dick Van Dyke, Reginald Gardiner, Margaret Dumont, Fifi D’Orsay, Maurice Marsac, Lenny Kent, Marjorie Bennett, Army Archerd, Barbara Bouchet, Tom Conway, Peter Duchin, Douglass Dumbrille, Pamelyn Ferdin, Teri Garr, Queenie Leonard.
Cinematography: Leon Shamroy
Film Editor: Marjorie Fowler
Original Music: Nelson Riddle
Written by: Betty Comden, Adolph Green story by Gwen Davis
Produced by: Arthur P. Jacobs
Directed by: J. Lee Thompson
Want to know what the producer of Planet of the Apes was up to, before that milestone movie? Arthur P. Jacobs was an agent for big stars before he became a producer, which positioned him well for his first show for 20th Fox, What a Way to Go!
- 1/31/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
With only six feature films to his name, four of which featured his iconic onscreen alter ego, the cinema of Jacques Tati remains an island of unique delight despite his influence on decades of filmmakers since and comparative efforts of peers from his own period (considering Marguerite Duras’ critique, now widely accepted, concerning the taken-for-granted stylistic likeness between Tati and Robert Bresson, a director whose subject matters were a bit less pleasant or comical). Without Tati and his bumbling character Monsieur Hulot, sputtering about memorably in a series of some of the most well-crafted moments of ingenious, highly organized chaos ever put to celluloid, we’d be without latter day influences, like Roy Andersson, Otar Iosseliani, several Peter Sellers characters, and even Rowan Atkinson’s similarly crafted Mr. Bean.
At the time, Tati’s obvious influences date back to the silent era, where Buster Keaton and Charles Chaplin crafted the...
At the time, Tati’s obvious influences date back to the silent era, where Buster Keaton and Charles Chaplin crafted the...
- 11/11/2014
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Director Jonathan Glazer talks about how the film – which stars Scarlett Johansson as an alien driving round Glasgow in a van – came to obsess him
In early 2001, Jonathan Glazer began planning his next film. The director was then 35, a wildly sought-after maker of music videos and adverts who had just released his first film, the singular gangster movie Sexy Beast. His next was to be an adaptation of Michel Faber's cult novel Under the Skin. The project ended up on ice. Work didn't start until 2004.
Ten years later, Under the Skin is finished, and Glazer is in a publicists' office in Soho, a well-preserved Londoner with a thicket of dark hair, tall enough to verge on the looming. Having spent almost all his 40s getting the film made, he must feel like a different man from the one who began it?
"Well. Hmm. I … God. That's a teaser." He stalls.
In early 2001, Jonathan Glazer began planning his next film. The director was then 35, a wildly sought-after maker of music videos and adverts who had just released his first film, the singular gangster movie Sexy Beast. His next was to be an adaptation of Michel Faber's cult novel Under the Skin. The project ended up on ice. Work didn't start until 2004.
Ten years later, Under the Skin is finished, and Glazer is in a publicists' office in Soho, a well-preserved Londoner with a thicket of dark hair, tall enough to verge on the looming. Having spent almost all his 40s getting the film made, he must feel like a different man from the one who began it?
"Well. Hmm. I … God. That's a teaser." He stalls.
- 3/7/2014
- by Danny Leigh
- The Guardian - Film News
Since I have spent most of my life surrounded by politicians and filmmakers, I have to come to realise to relationship between the two, and how one can use the other to further its own insidious ways. But as much I would have you believe it, I am not the first person to correlate the two, before me came Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the United States and a basic disappointment when it came to war matters.
The darling democrat was trying to involve the nation in the first World War, which had broken out in Europe. Initially avoiding the war, eventually America wanted in, but the people were not so keen. And so Woody needed public support, whatever would he do? Call on Buzz Lightyear? No, no, kind reader, instead he visited Hollywood, where he and his people persuaded the head-honchos to create films that demonized the Germans, so...
The darling democrat was trying to involve the nation in the first World War, which had broken out in Europe. Initially avoiding the war, eventually America wanted in, but the people were not so keen. And so Woody needed public support, whatever would he do? Call on Buzz Lightyear? No, no, kind reader, instead he visited Hollywood, where he and his people persuaded the head-honchos to create films that demonized the Germans, so...
- 2/26/2013
- by Quinn Steers
- Obsessed with Film
Directed by: Alberto Lattuada
Written by: Alberto Lattuada, Giorgio Proseri, Giordano Corsi
Cast: Renato Rascel, Yvonne Sanson, Biulio Stival, Ettore Mattia, Giulio Cali
I must admit, my knowledge of Italian cinema is limited to the works of Dario Argento and Mario Bava and the grindhouse classics of the '70s. So when Il Cappotto (The Overcoat) showed up for me to review, I was a bit hesitant about trying to critique a restored classic. But, according to the DVD cover, the film is a ghost story, so I figured I'd give it a shot.
Well, the jacket wasn't exactly telling the truth. A ghost does show up, but not until the final 10 minutes of the film. And using phrases like "retribution" and "wreaks havoc" in the plot summary implies much more than the movie delivers. The film is quite good, with stunning cinematography and solid performances, but it is not...
Written by: Alberto Lattuada, Giorgio Proseri, Giordano Corsi
Cast: Renato Rascel, Yvonne Sanson, Biulio Stival, Ettore Mattia, Giulio Cali
I must admit, my knowledge of Italian cinema is limited to the works of Dario Argento and Mario Bava and the grindhouse classics of the '70s. So when Il Cappotto (The Overcoat) showed up for me to review, I was a bit hesitant about trying to critique a restored classic. But, according to the DVD cover, the film is a ghost story, so I figured I'd give it a shot.
Well, the jacket wasn't exactly telling the truth. A ghost does show up, but not until the final 10 minutes of the film. And using phrases like "retribution" and "wreaks havoc" in the plot summary implies much more than the movie delivers. The film is quite good, with stunning cinematography and solid performances, but it is not...
- 3/9/2012
- by Chris McMillan
- Planet Fury
With the simultaneous release of Martin Scorsese's "Hugo" and Michael Hazanavicius' "The Artist" in the past two weeks, audiences are discovering a whole world of entertainment that preceded the panoramic, 3D, stereoscopic experience they currently talk and text through: silent film. Apparently, for more than the first 30 years of filmmaking's existence, Hollywood actually made movies that had no audible dialogue, and relied only upon actors' expressions (and an occasional intertitle) to communicate what the heck was going on in the story. Consequently, it seemed appropriate to go back and try to dig up one of these old fossils and see if they could hold a candle to the emotional power (much less technical virtuosity) of today's greatest films, such as Jack and Jill.
Harold Lloyd, along with Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, was one of the biggest stars of the silent era, creating dozens of films that enchanted audiences with fun,...
Harold Lloyd, along with Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, was one of the biggest stars of the silent era, creating dozens of films that enchanted audiences with fun,...
- 12/7/2011
- by IFC
- ifc.com
Above: Street without End. Photo courtesy of the Criterion Collection.
In March the Criterion Collection released a quiet salvo of intervention into the sad state of home video distribution in the U.S. of films by Japanese studio master Mikio Naruse. After just a solitary release of the filmmaker (1960's masterpiece, When a Woman Ascends the Stairs, also put out by Criterion) comes an Eclipse-label boxset of early 30s silent films by the director: Flunky, Work Hard! (1931), No Blood Relation (1932), Apart from You (1933), Every-Night Dreams (1933), and Street without End (1934). The set, Silent Naruse, instantly dramatically multiplies the number of titles available to American audiences—though sadly, as Dave Kehr recently implied in his review of the set for the New York Times, it isn't exactly a set of canonical masterpieces bound to invigorate and excite shocked discovery of a foreign master.
But then again, Naruse may be one of the...
In March the Criterion Collection released a quiet salvo of intervention into the sad state of home video distribution in the U.S. of films by Japanese studio master Mikio Naruse. After just a solitary release of the filmmaker (1960's masterpiece, When a Woman Ascends the Stairs, also put out by Criterion) comes an Eclipse-label boxset of early 30s silent films by the director: Flunky, Work Hard! (1931), No Blood Relation (1932), Apart from You (1933), Every-Night Dreams (1933), and Street without End (1934). The set, Silent Naruse, instantly dramatically multiplies the number of titles available to American audiences—though sadly, as Dave Kehr recently implied in his review of the set for the New York Times, it isn't exactly a set of canonical masterpieces bound to invigorate and excite shocked discovery of a foreign master.
But then again, Naruse may be one of the...
- 5/30/2011
- MUBI
Cracked uses that late minute reworking of the Red Dawn remake as a jump off point for a very funny article on "6 Groups Who Don't Work as Movie Bad Guys Anymore". I'm not proud but I even ended up Lol'ing at a poop joke.
Boy Culture Jesus. I was on to something posting that "stars as other stars" post just a few days back. Now Madonna went and did Charlie Chaplin for Purim. Cute.
Little White Lies has a nice piece on double readings of Blade Runner depending on whether you view Deckard as a Replicant or regular human man.
My New Plaid Pants Tom Hardy on the other hand is no machine but man. He's got the peen to prove it in a new digital short [Nsfw].
Ester Goldberg is that Barbra Streisand Gypsy movie really dead? Some people aren't letting the ghost go.
Cinema Blend has an alarmist headline...
Boy Culture Jesus. I was on to something posting that "stars as other stars" post just a few days back. Now Madonna went and did Charlie Chaplin for Purim. Cute.
Little White Lies has a nice piece on double readings of Blade Runner depending on whether you view Deckard as a Replicant or regular human man.
My New Plaid Pants Tom Hardy on the other hand is no machine but man. He's got the peen to prove it in a new digital short [Nsfw].
Ester Goldberg is that Barbra Streisand Gypsy movie really dead? Some people aren't letting the ghost go.
Cinema Blend has an alarmist headline...
- 3/21/2011
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Filmmaker and cinematographer Haskell Wexler.
Haskell Wexler Shoots From The Hip
By
Alex Simon
Two-time Academy Award-winning cinematographer Haskell Wexler was adjudged one of the ten most influential cinematographers in movie history, according to an International Cinematographers Guild survey of its membership. He won his Oscars in both black & white and color, for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) and Bound for Glory (1976). He also shot much of Days of Heaven (1978), for which credited director of photography Nestor Almendros -- who was losing his eye-sight, won a Best Cinematography Oscar. In 1993, Wexler was awarded a Lifetime Achievement award by the cinematographer's guild, the American Society of Cinematographers. He has received five Oscar nominations for his cinematography, in total, plus one Emmy Award in a career that has spanned six decades.
Born in Chicago to a wealthy family on February 6, 1922, Wexler cut his teeth shooting industrial films, TV commercials and documentaries. He...
Haskell Wexler Shoots From The Hip
By
Alex Simon
Two-time Academy Award-winning cinematographer Haskell Wexler was adjudged one of the ten most influential cinematographers in movie history, according to an International Cinematographers Guild survey of its membership. He won his Oscars in both black & white and color, for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) and Bound for Glory (1976). He also shot much of Days of Heaven (1978), for which credited director of photography Nestor Almendros -- who was losing his eye-sight, won a Best Cinematography Oscar. In 1993, Wexler was awarded a Lifetime Achievement award by the cinematographer's guild, the American Society of Cinematographers. He has received five Oscar nominations for his cinematography, in total, plus one Emmy Award in a career that has spanned six decades.
Born in Chicago to a wealthy family on February 6, 1922, Wexler cut his teeth shooting industrial films, TV commercials and documentaries. He...
- 10/6/2010
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Tina Mabry's "Mississippi Damned," an independent American production, won the Gold Hugo as the best film in the 2009 Chicago International Film Festival, and added Gold Plaques for best supporting actress (Jossie Thacker) and best screenplay (Mabry). It tells the harrowing story of three black children growing up in rural Mississippi in circumstances of violence and addiction. The film's trailer and an interview with Mabry are linked at the bottom.
Kylee Russell in "Mississippi Damned"
The win came over a crowed field of competitors from all over the world, many of them with much larger budgets. The other big winner at the Pump Room of the Ambassador East awards ceremony Saturday evening was by veteran master Marco Bellocchio of Italy, who won the Silver Hugo as best director for "Vincere," the story of Mussolini's younger brother. Giovanna Mezzogiorno and Filippo Timi won Silver Hugos as best actress and actor,...
Kylee Russell in "Mississippi Damned"
The win came over a crowed field of competitors from all over the world, many of them with much larger budgets. The other big winner at the Pump Room of the Ambassador East awards ceremony Saturday evening was by veteran master Marco Bellocchio of Italy, who won the Silver Hugo as best director for "Vincere," the story of Mussolini's younger brother. Giovanna Mezzogiorno and Filippo Timi won Silver Hugos as best actress and actor,...
- 10/23/2009
- by Roger Ebert
- blogs.suntimes.com/ebert
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