Explore where to stream the best films of 2023.
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.
Drylongso (Cauleen Smith)
Writer-director Cauleen Smith made Drylongso when she was in college, 25 years ago, premiering at Sundance in 1998. She has gone on to create dozens of short films, art installations, and more experimental work, focused on similar themes of feminism, racial violence, and Black communities. The low-key hangout movie should have been a stepping stone for Smith, but, as with many other works by Black female filmmaking of the last half-century, it fell out of circulation. – Michael F. (full interview)
Where to Stream: The Criterion Channel
Fingernails (Christos Nikou)
Is love quantifiable? No, but that doesn’t stop Greek filmmaker Christos Nikou from exploring that question over two dull, excruciating hours in Fingernails,...
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.
Drylongso (Cauleen Smith)
Writer-director Cauleen Smith made Drylongso when she was in college, 25 years ago, premiering at Sundance in 1998. She has gone on to create dozens of short films, art installations, and more experimental work, focused on similar themes of feminism, racial violence, and Black communities. The low-key hangout movie should have been a stepping stone for Smith, but, as with many other works by Black female filmmaking of the last half-century, it fell out of circulation. – Michael F. (full interview)
Where to Stream: The Criterion Channel
Fingernails (Christos Nikou)
Is love quantifiable? No, but that doesn’t stop Greek filmmaker Christos Nikou from exploring that question over two dull, excruciating hours in Fingernails,...
- 11/3/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Legendary screenwriter and director Shane Black discusses some of his favorite movies with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
The Last Boy Scout (1991)
Sweet Smell of Success (1957) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
High and Low (1963)
Hard Times (1975) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary
The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (1966) – Ernest Dickerson’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review, Glenn Erickson’s 4K Blu-ray review
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
The Beguiled (1971) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia (1974) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Kino Lorber Blu-ray review, Glenn Erickson’s Twilight Time Blu-ray review
Convoy (1978) – Dennis Cozzalio’s review
8 Heads In A Duffel Bag (1997)
Diner (1982)
The Bodyguard (1992)
12 Angry Men (1957)
Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)
Fist of Fury a.k.a. The Chinese Connection (1972) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
The Last Boy Scout (1991)
Sweet Smell of Success (1957) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
High and Low (1963)
Hard Times (1975) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary
The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (1966) – Ernest Dickerson’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review, Glenn Erickson’s 4K Blu-ray review
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
The Beguiled (1971) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia (1974) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Kino Lorber Blu-ray review, Glenn Erickson’s Twilight Time Blu-ray review
Convoy (1978) – Dennis Cozzalio’s review
8 Heads In A Duffel Bag (1997)
Diner (1982)
The Bodyguard (1992)
12 Angry Men (1957)
Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)
Fist of Fury a.k.a. The Chinese Connection (1972) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary...
- 8/10/2021
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
Oscar-winning filmmaker Steven Soderbergh is no stranger to heist movies. Remember 1998’s “Out of Sight,” 2001’s “Ocean’s Eleven” and 2017’s “Logan Lucky”? And he’s returned to the popular genre with this latest film “No Sudden Move,” which landed on HBO Max July 1 after having premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Set in Detroit in 1954, “No Sudden Move” around a group of small-time hoods who are hired to steal a document. Though they consider it to be a straightforward job, it turns out to be anything but when the gig goes wrong. While the crooks try to figure out who hired them and way, they are lead down a rabbit hole of twists and turns involving racial prejudice, corporate greed in the auto industry and even the mob. “No Sudden Move,” which stars Don Cheadle, Benicio del Toro, David Harbour, Jon Hamm, Brendan Fraser, and Ray Liotta, is currently at...
Set in Detroit in 1954, “No Sudden Move” around a group of small-time hoods who are hired to steal a document. Though they consider it to be a straightforward job, it turns out to be anything but when the gig goes wrong. While the crooks try to figure out who hired them and way, they are lead down a rabbit hole of twists and turns involving racial prejudice, corporate greed in the auto industry and even the mob. “No Sudden Move,” which stars Don Cheadle, Benicio del Toro, David Harbour, Jon Hamm, Brendan Fraser, and Ray Liotta, is currently at...
- 7/2/2021
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Jordan Blum, the creator and showrunner of Marvel’s animated series M.O.D.O.K. for Hulu, is one of the rare Marvel comic fans so dedicated that he was a little disappointed when the announced “Captain America: Serpent Society” film ended up being a joke-y cover-up title for Captain America: Civil War.
“I was probably the one person who was let down,” Blum tells Den of Geek. “I love the Civil War story, but I was like ‘Yes, finally, the Serpent Society! Number one Serpent Society fan over here.’”
Blum comes across his Marvel fandom honestly. The writer’s father learned English from reading Marvel comics to a young Jordan in his crib. There are pictures of Blum as a child in a high chair holding his first Captain America comic issues. Over the years, Blum has developed and maintained his passion for Marvel comics, and the character of M.O.D.
“I was probably the one person who was let down,” Blum tells Den of Geek. “I love the Civil War story, but I was like ‘Yes, finally, the Serpent Society! Number one Serpent Society fan over here.’”
Blum comes across his Marvel fandom honestly. The writer’s father learned English from reading Marvel comics to a young Jordan in his crib. There are pictures of Blum as a child in a high chair holding his first Captain America comic issues. Over the years, Blum has developed and maintained his passion for Marvel comics, and the character of M.O.D.
- 5/20/2021
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
If you have to name One movie that’s not likely to ever be screened in a prison, this one’s a good bet. In his sophomore starring outing Burt Lancaster leads a group of rebel convicts on a do-or-die bust-out against Hume Cronyn’s utter Nazi of a warden Captain. Richard Brooks’ script and Jules Dassin’s direction don’t sugarcoat the sadistic goings-on and producer Mark Hellinger pushed the result through the Production Code office. Sure, sure, plenty of noirs are violent … but this one must have been quite a head-spinner in ’47.
Brute Force
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 383
1947 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 98 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date September 8, 2020 / 39.95
Starring: Burt Lancaster, Hume Cronyn, Charles Bickford, Yvonne De Carlo, Ann Blyth, Ella Raines, Anita Colby, Sam Levene, Jeff Corey, John Hoyt, Jack Overman, Roman Bohnen, Sir Lancelot, Howard Duff, Art Smith, Whit Bissell.
Cinematography: William Daniels...
Brute Force
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 383
1947 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 98 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date September 8, 2020 / 39.95
Starring: Burt Lancaster, Hume Cronyn, Charles Bickford, Yvonne De Carlo, Ann Blyth, Ella Raines, Anita Colby, Sam Levene, Jeff Corey, John Hoyt, Jack Overman, Roman Bohnen, Sir Lancelot, Howard Duff, Art Smith, Whit Bissell.
Cinematography: William Daniels...
- 10/10/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Male hierarchies inside prison walls are well-trod ground, from “Brute Force” and “Birdman of Alcatraz,” to “Papillon,” “Midnight Express,” and “The Shawshank Redemption.” But rarely is an entry as visually rapturous as West African filmmaker Philippe Lacôte’s “Night of the Kings,” which takes place inside the bowels of the infamous La MacA prison in Abidjan, a city on the south side of the Ivory Coast. While the film, both written and directed by Lacôte, is grounded in oral traditions that may seem exotic to certain viewers, the movie is really about the universal power of storytelling regardless of tongue — and how it can be used as a way to survive. Though hampered by some shaky third-act visual effects, “Night of the Kings” is through and through .
When a young man is introduced into La MacA, he’s thrust into a dangerous and complicated world where the existentially and otherwise...
When a young man is introduced into La MacA, he’s thrust into a dangerous and complicated world where the existentially and otherwise...
- 9/11/2020
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Jules Dassin’s most popular pre-exile crime thriller is many things: a cracking good police tale, a drama of human struggle and weakness, and an amazing cinematic time machine of New York’s distinctive hustle and bustle circa 1948. Mark Hellinger’s final production bristles with a ‘these are the facts’ narration, a voiceover personifying a city ‘with eight million stories.’ The filmed-on-location classic always looked okay, but this new restoration sources better elements for picture and sound, improving the show substantially.
The Naked City
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 380
1948 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 96 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date September 8, 2020 / 39.95
Starring: Barry Fitzgerald, Howard Duff, Dorothy Hart, Don Taylor, Ted de Corsia, House Jameson, Anne Sargent, Adelaide Klein, Tom Pedi, Enid Markey.
Cinematography: William Daniels
Film Editor: Paul Weatherwax
Original Music: Miklos Rozsa, Frank Skinner
Written by Albert Maltz, Malvin Wald
Produced by Mark Hellinger
Directed by Jules Dassin...
The Naked City
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 380
1948 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 96 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date September 8, 2020 / 39.95
Starring: Barry Fitzgerald, Howard Duff, Dorothy Hart, Don Taylor, Ted de Corsia, House Jameson, Anne Sargent, Adelaide Klein, Tom Pedi, Enid Markey.
Cinematography: William Daniels
Film Editor: Paul Weatherwax
Original Music: Miklos Rozsa, Frank Skinner
Written by Albert Maltz, Malvin Wald
Produced by Mark Hellinger
Directed by Jules Dassin...
- 9/8/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The September 2020 lineup of The Criterion Collection has been unveiled, and it’s a packed one. Leading the list is Claire Denis’s masterpiece Beau travail, which has finally received a new 4K digital restoration and features a conversation between the director and Barry Jenkins, and much more.
The third edition of Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project is also getting a release, featuring films from Brazil (Pixote), Cuba (Lucía), Indonesia (After the Curfew), Iran (Downpour), Mauritania (Soleil Ô), and Mexico (Dos monjes). David Lynch’s second feature The Elephant Man will get the Criterion treatment as well with a new 4K restoration, plus a special feature lineup featuring Lynch and critic Kristine McKenna reading from their book Room to Dream.
The full-length, four-hour restored cut of Francesco Rosi’s Christ Stopped at Eboli will also be arriving in September. Lastly, a pair of crime drama classics from Jules Dassin...
The third edition of Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project is also getting a release, featuring films from Brazil (Pixote), Cuba (Lucía), Indonesia (After the Curfew), Iran (Downpour), Mauritania (Soleil Ô), and Mexico (Dos monjes). David Lynch’s second feature The Elephant Man will get the Criterion treatment as well with a new 4K restoration, plus a special feature lineup featuring Lynch and critic Kristine McKenna reading from their book Room to Dream.
The full-length, four-hour restored cut of Francesco Rosi’s Christ Stopped at Eboli will also be arriving in September. Lastly, a pair of crime drama classics from Jules Dassin...
- 6/15/2020
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Microsoft has revealed the next Xbox. Previously known as Xbox Scarlett, the new console is called the Xbox Series X. According to the company, the Xbox Series X is designed to be Microsoft’s “fastest, most powerful console ever.” You can see an image of the console above, as revealed during 2019 Game Awards. For those wondering, while the console was first unveiled in an upright position, the Xbox Series X will support “both vertical and horizontal orientation.”
The Xbox Series X will also be compatible with “thousands of your favorite games across four generations of gaming, all your Xbox One gaming accessories, and industry-leading services like Xbox Game Pass.” Additionally, Microsoft is ensuring that first-party titles from Xbox Game Studios “support cross-generation entitlements and that your Achievements and game saves are shared across devices.”
The console will come with a new Xbox Wireless Controller, which looks very much like the...
The Xbox Series X will also be compatible with “thousands of your favorite games across four generations of gaming, all your Xbox One gaming accessories, and industry-leading services like Xbox Game Pass.” Additionally, Microsoft is ensuring that first-party titles from Xbox Game Studios “support cross-generation entitlements and that your Achievements and game saves are shared across devices.”
The console will come with a new Xbox Wireless Controller, which looks very much like the...
- 6/11/2020
- by Matthew Byrd
- Den of Geek
Above: Italian 4-fogli for Birdman of Alcatraz. Artist: Renato Casaro.Starting today with a week-long run of Robert Siodmak’s The Killers, New York’s Film Forum is hosting a 4-week, 37-film retrospective of one of the great he-men of Hollywood. With his square jaw, gymnast’s physique, and megawatt grin, Burt Lancaster (1913–1994) must have been a boon to movie poster artists and over the years he was drawn or painted by many great affichistes. I could have curated a post on just the Italian renditions of Lancaster alone: over the years he was painted by Ercole Brini, Anselmo Ballester, Luigi Martinati, Renato Casaro, Averardo Ciriello, and many more. To mark the retrospective I have selected 50 of my favorite illustrated images of the indelible star, from his brooding film noir youth (though he was actually 33 when he made his debut in The Killers), through his serious thespian mid-period to his...
- 7/19/2019
- MUBI
During the mid Eighties, the relationship between Keith Richards and Mick Jagger hit a historic low, as Jagger tested solo waters. “Mick started to become unbearable.” Richards wrote in his 2010 memoir Life. You could hear the rift: 1983’s Undercover and 1986’s Dirty Work often sounded like lackluster attempts at keeping up with the times.
So in 1988, Richards took advantage of time off in the Stones’ schedule and went into the studio with a crack band he dubbed the X-Pensive Winos, including guitarist Waddy Wachtel, keyboard player Ivan Neville and drummer-producer Steve Jordan.
So in 1988, Richards took advantage of time off in the Stones’ schedule and went into the studio with a crack band he dubbed the X-Pensive Winos, including guitarist Waddy Wachtel, keyboard player Ivan Neville and drummer-producer Steve Jordan.
- 3/27/2019
- by Jon Dolan
- Rollingstone.com
Burt Lancaster would’ve celebrated his 105th birthday on November 2, 2018. The Oscar-winning actor appeared in dozens of movies until his death in 1994. But which titles are among his finest? In honor of his birthday, let’s take a look back at 20 of Lancaster’s greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Born in 1913, Lancaster got into acting after performing as an acrobat in the circus. He made his movie debut in 1946 with a leading role in the quintessential noir thriller “The Killers” (1946). He earned his first Oscar nomination as Best Actor for Fred Zinnemann‘s wartime drama “From Here to Eternity” (1953), winning the prize just seven years later for playing a fast-talking preacher in “Elmer Gantry” (1960). Lancaster would compete twice more in the category (“Birdman of Alcatraz” in 1962 and “Atlantic City” in 1981).
In the 1950s, the actor decided to chart his own career by forming the production company Hecht-Hill-Lancaster, which churned...
Born in 1913, Lancaster got into acting after performing as an acrobat in the circus. He made his movie debut in 1946 with a leading role in the quintessential noir thriller “The Killers” (1946). He earned his first Oscar nomination as Best Actor for Fred Zinnemann‘s wartime drama “From Here to Eternity” (1953), winning the prize just seven years later for playing a fast-talking preacher in “Elmer Gantry” (1960). Lancaster would compete twice more in the category (“Birdman of Alcatraz” in 1962 and “Atlantic City” in 1981).
In the 1950s, the actor decided to chart his own career by forming the production company Hecht-Hill-Lancaster, which churned...
- 11/2/2018
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Found: a must-see Film noir in all its brutal glory, restored to a level of quality not seen in years. Anthony Mann and John Alton made their reputations with ninety minutes of chiaroscuro heaven — it’s one of the best-looking noirs ever. With extras produced by Alan K. Rode.
T-Men
Blu-ray
ClassicFlix
1947 / B&W / 1:37 flat full frame / Special Edition / 92 min. / Street Date October 10, 2017 / 39.99
Starring: Dennis O’Keefe, Alfred Ryder, Wallace Ford, Charles McGraw, Jane Randolph, Art Smith, Herbert Heyes, Jack Overman, John Wengraf, June Lockhart, Keefe Brasselle, James Seay, Tito Vuolo, John Newland, Reed Hadley.
Cinematography: John Alton
Film Editor: Fred Allen
Original Music: Paul Sawtell
Written by John C. Higgins, story Virginia Kellogg
Produced by Aubrey Schenck, Edward Small
Directed by Anthony Mann
Wow — I’ve seen T-Men many times, but never like this. It’s always listed as a significant success, a trend-starter, a career-launcher, but only...
T-Men
Blu-ray
ClassicFlix
1947 / B&W / 1:37 flat full frame / Special Edition / 92 min. / Street Date October 10, 2017 / 39.99
Starring: Dennis O’Keefe, Alfred Ryder, Wallace Ford, Charles McGraw, Jane Randolph, Art Smith, Herbert Heyes, Jack Overman, John Wengraf, June Lockhart, Keefe Brasselle, James Seay, Tito Vuolo, John Newland, Reed Hadley.
Cinematography: John Alton
Film Editor: Fred Allen
Original Music: Paul Sawtell
Written by John C. Higgins, story Virginia Kellogg
Produced by Aubrey Schenck, Edward Small
Directed by Anthony Mann
Wow — I’ve seen T-Men many times, but never like this. It’s always listed as a significant success, a trend-starter, a career-launcher, but only...
- 10/14/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
This is the ultimate in screen sadism circa 1947, and it’s all in the debut film performance of Richard Widmark as a too-nasty-for-words hood who likes to shoot people in the stomach. Actually, Victor Mature is not bad in a grim story of a stool pigeon that tries to square himself with the law, and finds himself a target for mob murder.
Kiss of Death
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1947 / B&W / 1:37 flat full frame / 98 min. / Street Date February 7, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95
Starring: Victor Mature, Brian Donlevy, Coleen Gray, Richard Widmark, Taylor Holmes, Karl Malden, Mildred Dunnock
Cinematography: Norbert Brodine
Art Direction: Leland Fuller, Lyle Wheeler
Film Editor: J. Watson Webb Jr.
Original Music: David Buttolph
Written by Ben Hecht, Charles Lederer, Eleazar Lipsky
Produced by Fred Kohlmar
Directed by Henry Hathaway
The older they get, the better they look. Henry Hathaway’s Kiss of Death is...
Kiss of Death
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1947 / B&W / 1:37 flat full frame / 98 min. / Street Date February 7, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95
Starring: Victor Mature, Brian Donlevy, Coleen Gray, Richard Widmark, Taylor Holmes, Karl Malden, Mildred Dunnock
Cinematography: Norbert Brodine
Art Direction: Leland Fuller, Lyle Wheeler
Film Editor: J. Watson Webb Jr.
Original Music: David Buttolph
Written by Ben Hecht, Charles Lederer, Eleazar Lipsky
Produced by Fred Kohlmar
Directed by Henry Hathaway
The older they get, the better they look. Henry Hathaway’s Kiss of Death is...
- 2/28/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The Eighth Annual Robert Classic French Film Festival — co-produced by Cinema St. Louis and the Webster University Film Series — celebrates St. Louis’ Gallic heritage and France’s cinematic legacy. The featured films span the decades from the 1920s through the early 1990s, offering a comprehensive overview of French cinema.
The fest is annually highlighted by significant restorations, and we’re especially pleased to present Jacques Rivette’s long-unavailable epic Out 1: Spectre Additional restoration highlights include Jean-Luc Godard’s A Married Woman and Max Ophüls’ too-little-seen From Mayerling To Sarajevo. Both Ophüls’ film and Louis Malle’s Elevator To The Gallows – with a jazz score by St. Louis-area native Miles Davis — screen from 35mm prints. All films will screen at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (47- E. Lockwood)
Music fans will further delight in the Rats & People Motion Picture Orchestra’s accompaniment and original score for Carl Th. Dreyer’s...
The fest is annually highlighted by significant restorations, and we’re especially pleased to present Jacques Rivette’s long-unavailable epic Out 1: Spectre Additional restoration highlights include Jean-Luc Godard’s A Married Woman and Max Ophüls’ too-little-seen From Mayerling To Sarajevo. Both Ophüls’ film and Louis Malle’s Elevator To The Gallows – with a jazz score by St. Louis-area native Miles Davis — screen from 35mm prints. All films will screen at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (47- E. Lockwood)
Music fans will further delight in the Rats & People Motion Picture Orchestra’s accompaniment and original score for Carl Th. Dreyer’s...
- 2/16/2016
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
'Trumbo' movie: Bryan Cranston as screenwriter Dalton Trumbo and Helen Mirren as gossip columnist Hedda Hopper. 'Trumbo' movie review: Highly entertaining 'history lesson' Full disclosure: on the wall in my study hangs a poster – the iconic photograph of blacklisted Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, with black-horned rim glasses, handlebar mustache, a smoke dangling from the end of a dramatic cigarette holder. He's sitting – stark naked – in a tub surrounded by his particular writing apparatus. He's looking directly into the camera of the photographer, his daughter Mitzi. Dalton Trumbo's son, Christopher Trumbo, gave me the poster after my interview with him for the release of Peter Askin's 2007 documentary also titled Trumbo. That film combines archival footage, including family movies and photographs, with performances of the senior Trumbo's letters to his family during their many years of turmoil before and through the blacklist, including his time in prison. The letters are read by,...
- 11/7/2015
- by Tim Cogshell
- Alt Film Guide
(Region B) It's just like the film industry, I tell ya! Director Jules Dassin teams with writer A.I. Bezzerides for one of filmdom's strongest slams at the free market system. Trucker Richard Conte fights back when cheated and robbed by Lee J. Cobb's racketeering produce czar. Thieves' Highway Region B Blu-ray + Pal DVD Arrow Video (UK) 1949 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 94 min. / Street Date October 20, 2015 / Available at Amazon UK / £14.99 Starring Richard Conte, Valentina Cortese, Lee J. Cobb, Barbara Lawrence, Jack Oakie, Millard Mitchell, Joseph Pevney, Morris Carnovsky Cinematography Norbert Brodine Art Direction Chester Gore, Lyle Wheeler Film Editor Nick DeMaggio Original Music Alfred Newman Written by A.I. Bezzerides from his novel Thieves' Market Produced by Robert Bassler Directed by Jules Dassin
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Did Jules Dassin initiate his string of studio produced films noirs, each of which has a strong element of social criticism, if not outright condemnation of 'the system?...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Did Jules Dassin initiate his string of studio produced films noirs, each of which has a strong element of social criticism, if not outright condemnation of 'the system?...
- 11/3/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Jules Dassin Classic “Rififi” To Premiere In New Dcp Version At Laemmle's Royal In L.A., September 4
Rialto Pictures will beloved French heist film Rififi by director Jules Dassin, for the first time on Dcp, at Los Angeles' Laemmle Royal, for one week beginning Friday, September 4.
Jules Dassin (1911 - 2008) began his filmmaking career in the early 1940s and is known for his hits Brute Force (1947), The Naked City (1948), and Thieves' Highway (1949). His career later took a hit when he was blacklisted for Communist activities during the McCarthy Era. Dassin's move to France helped revive his career and was the setting for the hit film Rififi that set his career in motion once again. After the film's successful French release, Dassin was awarded the directing prize at Cannes which allowed Rififi to be released in the U.S. where it enjoyed a successful art house run. Rififi is renowned for being one of the early 'heist' films and served as an inspiration for later films in the genre.
Jules Dassin (1911 - 2008) began his filmmaking career in the early 1940s and is known for his hits Brute Force (1947), The Naked City (1948), and Thieves' Highway (1949). His career later took a hit when he was blacklisted for Communist activities during the McCarthy Era. Dassin's move to France helped revive his career and was the setting for the hit film Rififi that set his career in motion once again. After the film's successful French release, Dassin was awarded the directing prize at Cannes which allowed Rififi to be released in the U.S. where it enjoyed a successful art house run. Rififi is renowned for being one of the early 'heist' films and served as an inspiration for later films in the genre.
- 8/30/2015
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Night and the City
Written by Jo Eisinger
Directed by Jules Dassin
UK, 1950
Harry Fabian is probably the best at what he does, even if he is never very successful. Richard Widmark’s character in Night and the City, out now on a gorgeous new Criterion Collection Blu-ray, is a low-level con who works wherever he can, however he can, doing whatever he can to make a buck. He enters Jules Dassin’s 1950 film noir classic on the run; he will always be on the run: always hustling, always running. Sincere though his half-baked plans may be, he is perpetually—pathetically—down on his luck. He has the ambition, there’s no doubt about that, and as he shrewdly stumbles past one obstacle after another, it becomes almost humorous in the way he manages to charm his way through life, always just by the skin of his teeth. He cooks...
Written by Jo Eisinger
Directed by Jules Dassin
UK, 1950
Harry Fabian is probably the best at what he does, even if he is never very successful. Richard Widmark’s character in Night and the City, out now on a gorgeous new Criterion Collection Blu-ray, is a low-level con who works wherever he can, however he can, doing whatever he can to make a buck. He enters Jules Dassin’s 1950 film noir classic on the run; he will always be on the run: always hustling, always running. Sincere though his half-baked plans may be, he is perpetually—pathetically—down on his luck. He has the ambition, there’s no doubt about that, and as he shrewdly stumbles past one obstacle after another, it becomes almost humorous in the way he manages to charm his way through life, always just by the skin of his teeth. He cooks...
- 8/12/2015
- by Jeremy Carr
- SoundOnSight
Welcome to another horror round-up! This time around we’re focusing on Blue Underground’s theatrical re-release of Larry Cohen’s God Told Me To, a Scream Queens casting update, and Arrow Video’s upcoming Blu-ray/DVD releases of Society and Island of Death.
God Told Me To: Press Release – “One of the most disturbing and thought-provoking horror films of our time, God Told Me To was written, produced and directed by Larry Cohen (It’S Alive, Q- The Winged Serpent) and stars Tony Lo Bianco (The French Connection, The Honeymoon Killers)
Co-starring Deborah Raffin (Death Wish 3), Academy Award® winner Sandy Dennis (Who’S Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?), Academy Award® nominee Sylvia Sidney (Beetlejuice), Sam Levene (Brute Force), Robert Drivas (Cool Hand Luke), Mike Kellin (Sleepaway Camp), Richard Lynch (Bad Dreams), and Andy Kaufman (Taxi)
Confirmed theaters and dates, with additional cities coming soon.
Special Q&A’s with Larry Cohen Tba!
God Told Me To: Press Release – “One of the most disturbing and thought-provoking horror films of our time, God Told Me To was written, produced and directed by Larry Cohen (It’S Alive, Q- The Winged Serpent) and stars Tony Lo Bianco (The French Connection, The Honeymoon Killers)
Co-starring Deborah Raffin (Death Wish 3), Academy Award® winner Sandy Dennis (Who’S Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?), Academy Award® nominee Sylvia Sidney (Beetlejuice), Sam Levene (Brute Force), Robert Drivas (Cool Hand Luke), Mike Kellin (Sleepaway Camp), Richard Lynch (Bad Dreams), and Andy Kaufman (Taxi)
Confirmed theaters and dates, with additional cities coming soon.
Special Q&A’s with Larry Cohen Tba!
- 2/12/2015
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
There is something instantly recognisable about Noir, and its style is so easy to love. Whether it’s the femme fatale or the seemingly innocent man with the dark past, or the detective seeking out the truth in the face of the puzzle yet to be solved, a story awaits that will inevitably be told in flashbacks. There was a time when these type of stories were created so perfectly, and this was when Noir was formed into what it would become. A very good example of this is 1946′s The Killers, starring Burt Lancaster.
Starting off with two strangers walking to into a diner looking for a seemingly normal car mechanic, this is a scene that film fans feel is all too familiar, they feel like they have been done so many times but yet it is enticing in its simplicity. Ole ‘Swede’ Anderson (Burt Lancaster) is killed at the start of the film,...
Starting off with two strangers walking to into a diner looking for a seemingly normal car mechanic, this is a scene that film fans feel is all too familiar, they feel like they have been done so many times but yet it is enticing in its simplicity. Ole ‘Swede’ Anderson (Burt Lancaster) is killed at the start of the film,...
- 12/12/2014
- by Paul Metcalf
- Nerdly
In the latest edition of “a famous person visits the Criterion Collection’s offices,” William Friedkin drops by to browse. Sighting Sunday Bloody Sunday, he remembers that as another film nominated for Best Picture the year he won with The French Connection. Segeuing from memory to pro-digital polemic, he says that the Criterion’s editions preserve films as they were meant to be seen, unlike movie theaters, where prints are “scratched up.” He also praises “one of Walter Huston’s greatest performances, The Devil and Daniel Webster” and talks up Jules Dassin’s Brute Force. “I never thought I’d see this again,” he says, […]...
- 10/7/2014
- by Vadim Rizov
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
In the latest edition of “a famous person visits the Criterion Collection’s offices,” William Friedkin drops by to browse. Sighting Sunday Bloody Sunday, he remembers that as another film nominated for Best Picture the year he won with The French Connection. Segeuing from memory to pro-digital polemic, he says that the Criterion’s editions preserve films as they were meant to be seen, unlike movie theaters, where prints are “scratched up.” He also praises “one of Walter Huston’s greatest performances, The Devil and Daniel Webster” and talks up Jules Dassin’s Brute Force. “I never thought I’d see this again,” he says, […]...
- 10/7/2014
- by Vadim Rizov
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
A lot of what I have to say about Rififi would probably read as hyperbole as it stands as not only an important film given its director's political status, but the way in which it can double as not only an art film, but also a striking piece of cinema that can be enjoyed by any measure of movie lover. It's a film noir captured in shadows and silence as a jewel heist takes place over the course of more than 30 dialogue-free minutes after we've watched four men meticulously plan every detail. The tension mounts with every pound of the hammer, screech of the hand-powered crank cutting into the safe and the crumble of asphalt, gently landing in an open umbrella with nary a sound. Is there more that needs be saidc Criterion's new Blu-ray transfer adds much more detail to every inky black scene, elevating the overall effect of...
- 1/15/2014
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Jan. 14, 2014
Price: Blu-ray/DVD Combo $39.95
Studio: Criterion
The heist is on in the great 1955 French crime drama Rififi.
The great 1955 French crime drama Rififi is a twisting, turning tale of four ex-cons who hatch one last glorious robbery in Paris.
After making such American noir classics as Brute Force and The Naked City, the blacklisted director Jules Dassin went to the City of Light and embarked on the Rififi, the film noir that many consider his masterpiece.
Starring Jean Servais, Carl Mohner, Robert Manuel and Dassin himself, the film’s suspense, brutality, and dark humor made it an international hit, earning Dassin the best director prize at the Cannes Film Festival. It has since proved to be wildly influential on decades of heist thrillers in its wake.
Presented in French with English subtitles, the Criterion Blu-ray/DVD Combo edition of the classic movie includes the following features:
• New 2K digital restoration,...
Price: Blu-ray/DVD Combo $39.95
Studio: Criterion
The heist is on in the great 1955 French crime drama Rififi.
The great 1955 French crime drama Rififi is a twisting, turning tale of four ex-cons who hatch one last glorious robbery in Paris.
After making such American noir classics as Brute Force and The Naked City, the blacklisted director Jules Dassin went to the City of Light and embarked on the Rififi, the film noir that many consider his masterpiece.
Starring Jean Servais, Carl Mohner, Robert Manuel and Dassin himself, the film’s suspense, brutality, and dark humor made it an international hit, earning Dassin the best director prize at the Cannes Film Festival. It has since proved to be wildly influential on decades of heist thrillers in its wake.
Presented in French with English subtitles, the Criterion Blu-ray/DVD Combo edition of the classic movie includes the following features:
• New 2K digital restoration,...
- 10/31/2013
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Classic screen actor Burt Lancaster (1913-1994) would have turned 100 this year, and to celebrate his centennial TCM is rolling out a month-long salute with back-to-back programming all night every Wednesday in November. Included is Alexander Mackendrick's acid-tongued portrait of corrupt ambition "Sweet Smell of Success," starring Lancaster and Tony Curtis as an unscrupulous gossip columnist-and-press agent team. A must-see. Also playing is Fred Zinnemann's Pearl Harbor drama "From Here to Eternity," which famously features Lancaster and an uncharacteristically bombshell Deborah Kerr kissing passionately on the sands of Hawaii; Jules Dassin's explosive prison-breakout thriller "Brute Force"; and the Robert Siodmak noir version of Ernest Hemingway's "The Killers." Lancaster possessed that magical combo for a Hollywood star: acting skills, danger, rugged, sexy masculinity--he trained as a circus acrobat and found acting via the Uso in the Army--and sensitive vulnerability. He could...
- 10/31/2013
- by Anne Thompson and Beth Hanna
- Thompson on Hollywood
Ann Blyth movies: TCM schedule on August 16, 2013 (photo: ‘Our Very Own’ stars Ann Blyth and Farley Granger) See previous post: "Ann Blyth Today: Light Singing and Heavy Drama on TCM." 3:00 Am One Minute To Zero (1952). Director: Tay Garnett. Cast: Robert Mitchum, Ann Blyth, William Talman. Bw-106 mins. 5:00 Am All The Brothers Were Valiant (1953). Director: Richard Thorpe. Cast: Robert Taylor, Stewart Granger, Ann Blyth. C-95 mins. 6:45 Am The King’S Thief (1955). Director: Robert Z. Leonard. Cast: Ann Blyth, Edmund Purdom, David Niven. C-79 mins. Letterbox Format. 8:15 Am Rose Marie (1954). Director: Mervyn LeRoy. Cast: Ann Blyth, Howard Keel, Fernando Lamas. C-104 mins. Letterbox Format. 10:00 Am The Great Caruso (1951). Director: Richard Thorpe. Cast: Mario Lanza, Ann Blyth, Dorothy Kirsten, Jarmila Novotna, Richard Hageman, Carl Benton Reid, Eduard Franz, Ludwig Donath, Alan Napier, Pál Jávor, Carl Milletaire, Shepard Menken, Vincent Renno, Nestor Paiva, Peter Price, Mario Siletti, Angela Clarke,...
- 8/16/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Ann Blyth today: Light songs and heavy drama on TCM Ann Blyth, a 1940s Universal leading lady best remembered for her Oscar-nominated performance as Joan Crawford’s cute-but-sociopathic teenage daughter in Warner Bros.’ Mildred Pierce, is Turner Classic Movies’ "Summer Under the Stars" star on Friday, August 16, 2013. Note: Today, Ann Blyth, one of the earliest surviving Oscar nominees in the acting categories, turns 85 years old. (See: “Ann Blyth Movies: TCM Schedule.”) (Photo: Ann Blyth ca. 1955.) First, the good news: Ann Blyth is a likable, talented actress and singer, and it’s great that TCM is dedicating a whole day to her movies. The bad news: As mentioned above, Ann Blyth was mostly (1944-1952) a Universal star; TCM is presenting only one of Blyth’s Universal movies, Brute Force (1947), which has been shown before. In other words, not a chance of finally having the opportunity to catch Ann Blyth in B...
- 8/16/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
This article is dedicated to Andrew Copp: filmmaker, film writer, artist and close friend who passed away on January 19, 2013. You are loved and missed, brother.
****
Looking at the Best Actor Academy Award nominations for the film year 2012, the one miss that clearly cries out for more attention is Liam Neeson’s powerful performance in Joe Carnahan’s excellent survival film The Grey, easily one of the best roles of Neeson’s career.
In Neeson’s case, his lack of a nomination was a case of neglect similar to the Albert Brooks snub in the Best Supporting Actor category for the film year 2011 for Drive(Nicolas Winding Refn, USA).
Along with negligence, other factors commonly prevent outstanding lead acting performances from getting the kind of critical attention they deserve. Sometimes it’s that the performance is in a film not considered “Oscar material” or even worthy of any substantial critical attention.
****
Looking at the Best Actor Academy Award nominations for the film year 2012, the one miss that clearly cries out for more attention is Liam Neeson’s powerful performance in Joe Carnahan’s excellent survival film The Grey, easily one of the best roles of Neeson’s career.
In Neeson’s case, his lack of a nomination was a case of neglect similar to the Albert Brooks snub in the Best Supporting Actor category for the film year 2011 for Drive(Nicolas Winding Refn, USA).
Along with negligence, other factors commonly prevent outstanding lead acting performances from getting the kind of critical attention they deserve. Sometimes it’s that the performance is in a film not considered “Oscar material” or even worthy of any substantial critical attention.
- 2/27/2013
- by Terek Puckett
- SoundOnSight
DVD Playhouse—April 2012
By Allen Gardner
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (Warner Bros.) An eleven year-old boy (newcomer Thomas Horn, in an incredible debut) discovers a mysterious key amongst the possessions of his late father (Tom Hanks) who perished in 9/11. Determined to find the lock it matches, the boy embarks on a Picaresque odyssey across New York City. Director Stephen Daldry and screenwriter Eric Roth have fashioned a film both grand and intimate, beautifully-adapted from Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel, thought by most who read it to be unfilmable. Fine support from Jeffrey Wright, Sandra Bullock, John Goodman, Viola Davis and the great Max von Sydow. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Featurettes. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS-hd 5.1 surround.
Battle Royale: The Complete Collection (Anchor Bay) Adapted from Koushun Takami’s polarizing novel (compared by champions and detractors alike as a 21st century version of A Clockwork Orange) and set in a futuristic Japan,...
By Allen Gardner
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (Warner Bros.) An eleven year-old boy (newcomer Thomas Horn, in an incredible debut) discovers a mysterious key amongst the possessions of his late father (Tom Hanks) who perished in 9/11. Determined to find the lock it matches, the boy embarks on a Picaresque odyssey across New York City. Director Stephen Daldry and screenwriter Eric Roth have fashioned a film both grand and intimate, beautifully-adapted from Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel, thought by most who read it to be unfilmable. Fine support from Jeffrey Wright, Sandra Bullock, John Goodman, Viola Davis and the great Max von Sydow. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Featurettes. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS-hd 5.1 surround.
Battle Royale: The Complete Collection (Anchor Bay) Adapted from Koushun Takami’s polarizing novel (compared by champions and detractors alike as a 21st century version of A Clockwork Orange) and set in a futuristic Japan,...
- 4/13/2012
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Ann Blyth is Turner Classic Movies Star of the Evening tonight, as part of TCM's "The Essentials" film series. [Ann Blyth Movie Schedule.] Opera- and Broadway-trained Ann Blyth began her film career in the mid-1940s at Universal, appearing in light B musicals opposite Donald O'Connor and/or Peggy Ryan, among them The Merry Monahans, Chip Off the Old Block, and Babes on Swing Street. Blyth's big break came in 1945, when — following back surgery — she played Joan Crawford's pathologically selfish daughter Veda in Michael Curtiz's classic film noir-cum-melodrama Mildred Pierce. A well-deserved Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination followed, and so did leads in darker, bigger-budgeted productions, among them Jules Dassin's Brute Force (1947), with Burt Lancaster; Zoltan Korda's A Woman's Vengeance (1948), opposite Charles Boyer; and Michael Gordon's film version of Lillian Hellman's Another Part of the Forest (1948), a prequel to The Little Foxes. Unfortunately, TCM isn't showing any of Blyth's hard-to-find Universal titles.
- 9/18/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Burt Lancaster on TCM: The Leopard, Scorpio, The Killers I haven't watched Michael Winner's Scorpio (1973), an unflattering portrayal of Us foreign policy and the CIA that reunited Lancaster with his The Leopard co-star Alain Delon. As per the TCM synopsis, "a CIA hit man [Lancaster] is stalked by a former partner [Delon] when the agency turns on him." A Man for All Seasons' Best Actor Oscar winner Paul Scofield and Gayle Hunnicutt are also in the cast. Robert Siodmak's 1946 film noir The Killers is one of the best-looking efforts in the genre thanks to Elwood Bredell's glistening black-and-white cinematography. Although The Killers turned newcomer Lancaster into a major star, as far as I'm concerned this adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's short story belongs to Ava Gardner; in fact, The Killers could just as easily have been called "The Leopardess (La gattaparda)." Edmond O'Brien co-stars. For The Killers, Siodmak...
- 8/26/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Chicago – Diabolical twins, obsessed journalists and jail-breaking thugs are heading their way to the Music Box Theatre. The Film Noir Foundation’s third installment of “Noir City: Chicago” features no less than sixteen restored 35mm prints of must-see cinematic rarities. Ten of these noir classics have yet to land a DVD release, thus making this festival all the more essential for local cinephiles.
The week-long festival kicks off Friday, Aug. 12, and includes criminally overlooked performances from Hollywood legends such as Humphrey Bogart, Anne Bancroft, Barbara Stanwyck, Olivia de Havilland, Ernest Borgnine, Shelley Winters and Burt Lancaster. Acclaimed noir historians Alan K. Rode (“Charles McGraw: Biography of a Film Noir Tough Guy”) and Foster Hirsch (“Detours and Lost Highways: A Map of Neo-Noir”) will be presenting the pictures while offering their wealth of historical and filmic insight.
Among this year’s most priceless treasures is “Deadline USA,” starring Bogart as...
The week-long festival kicks off Friday, Aug. 12, and includes criminally overlooked performances from Hollywood legends such as Humphrey Bogart, Anne Bancroft, Barbara Stanwyck, Olivia de Havilland, Ernest Borgnine, Shelley Winters and Burt Lancaster. Acclaimed noir historians Alan K. Rode (“Charles McGraw: Biography of a Film Noir Tough Guy”) and Foster Hirsch (“Detours and Lost Highways: A Map of Neo-Noir”) will be presenting the pictures while offering their wealth of historical and filmic insight.
Among this year’s most priceless treasures is “Deadline USA,” starring Bogart as...
- 8/11/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Chicago – Along with sixteen restored 35mm prints of overlooked cinematic gems, the Music Box Theatre’s third installment of “Noir City: Chicago” brings two renowned film historians to the Windy City: Alan K. Rode and Foster Hirsch. Both men serve on the board of directors of the Film Noir Foundation, a non-profit corporation aiming to restore rare noir classics for future generations.
In addition to serving as the co-programmer and co-host of the annual Noir City Hollywood film festival, Rode is also the charter director and treasurer of the Film Noir Foundation as well as the producer, programmer and host of the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival in Palm Springs, California. He garnered acclaim for his book, “Charles McGraw: Biography of a Film Noir Tough Guy,” which followed the titular prolific actor through the rise and fall of the studio system. His latest book, “Michael Curtiz: A Man for All Movies,...
In addition to serving as the co-programmer and co-host of the annual Noir City Hollywood film festival, Rode is also the charter director and treasurer of the Film Noir Foundation as well as the producer, programmer and host of the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival in Palm Springs, California. He garnered acclaim for his book, “Charles McGraw: Biography of a Film Noir Tough Guy,” which followed the titular prolific actor through the rise and fall of the studio system. His latest book, “Michael Curtiz: A Man for All Movies,...
- 8/9/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Only a few days after he’s been released from prison, Tony Le Stephanois (Jean Servais) is reunited with his former partners in crime Jo (Carl Möhner) and Mario (Robert Manuel). They want him to do one more job at a Parisian jeweler’s shop, which if successful means they can retire. Tony declines to get involved again in the business. Tony meets up with his old girlfriend Mado (Marie Sabouret) who has been seeing a gangster named Pierre Grutter (Marcel Lupovici). Enraged by this relationship, Tony savagely beats Mado for being involved with Grutter.
Tony then agrees to do the job, but not because he wants the money. He wants to hit he jeweler’s safe instead, not the outside window. We are then introduced to Cesar (Perlo Vita, better known as the director Jules Dassin), a master safe cracker from Milan and a colleague of Mario’s. They then plan the heist meticulously,...
Tony then agrees to do the job, but not because he wants the money. He wants to hit he jeweler’s safe instead, not the outside window. We are then introduced to Cesar (Perlo Vita, better known as the director Jules Dassin), a master safe cracker from Milan and a colleague of Mario’s. They then plan the heist meticulously,...
- 6/28/2011
- by James McCormick
- CriterionCast
As if the recent November titles weren’t enough, we now have some other films to add to our upcoming Criterion Collection wishlists.
The Criterion Collection will once again be curating the upcoming All Tomorrow’s Parties Film Screenings, in Monticello New York, this September. The event overall, will be curated by Criterion alum, Jim Jarmusch (Down by Law, Night on Earth, Stranger Than Paradise, Mystery Train). Earlier today, Atp & Criterion announced their line-up of films, and hidden among the list of epic titles that we already knew were going to be released, or are already available, were a few little verifications of rumors going around.
The line-up looks to be pretty amazing, and if I could afford the flight, I would surely head out for that weekend. Several of the new Bbs box set will be screening, as well as some other films that we’ve discussed on the...
The Criterion Collection will once again be curating the upcoming All Tomorrow’s Parties Film Screenings, in Monticello New York, this September. The event overall, will be curated by Criterion alum, Jim Jarmusch (Down by Law, Night on Earth, Stranger Than Paradise, Mystery Train). Earlier today, Atp & Criterion announced their line-up of films, and hidden among the list of epic titles that we already knew were going to be released, or are already available, were a few little verifications of rumors going around.
The line-up looks to be pretty amazing, and if I could afford the flight, I would surely head out for that weekend. Several of the new Bbs box set will be screening, as well as some other films that we’ve discussed on the...
- 8/21/2010
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
Ann Blyth, who received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for the film noir Mildred Pierce (1945), is pictured above during a discussion following a screening of the Joan Crawford classic at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills on Monday, June 14, 2010. Mildred Pierce was shown as part of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ "Oscar Noir" series. In the movie, Blyth plays Mildred Pierce’s conniving, selfish daughter. Crawford plays Mildred. A Universal contract player in the 1940s and an MGM contractee in the ’50s, Blyth appeared in about three dozen movies from 1944 to 1957. In addition to Mildred Pierce, Blyth’s other important movies include A Woman’s Vengeance (1947), Brute Force (1947), Another Part of the Forest (1948), The Great Caruso (1951), All the Brothers Were Valiant (1953), The Student Prince (1954), and The Helen Morgan Story [...]...
- 6/16/2010
- by Zhea D.
- Alt Film Guide
Ann Blyth is pictured in the photo above with Academy director of special projects Randy Haberkamp during a chat following a screening of Michael Curtiz’s film noir classic Mildred Pierce. Starring Blyth, Joan Crawford, Zachary Scott, Jack Carson, Eve Arden, and Bruce Bennett, Mildred Pierce was shown as the part of the "Oscar Noir" series at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills on Monday, June 14, 2010. Blyth starred or was featured in about three dozen movies from 1944 to 1957. She was cast opposite numerous major Hollywood stars, among them Charles Boyer in A Woman’s Vengeance (1947), Burt Lancaster in Brute Force (1947), Fredric March in Another Part of the Forest (1948), William Powell in Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (1948), Claudette Colbert in Thunder on the Hill (1950), Mario Lanza in The Great [...]...
- 6/16/2010
- by Zhea D.
- Alt Film Guide
At 155 minutes, French prison film "A Prophet" is a long movie. That makes sense: prison is long. To give an audience a taste of what that feels like, a prison movie needs to be long too. It's awfully tough to capture the feeling of being locked up, alone and isolated, for years or decades, in an hour-and-a-half. So "A Prophet"'s flaws are ones of focus rather than length. When it narrows in on the harsh realities of this prison, it's good enough to rank with greats of the genre like Jules Dassin's "Brute Force," "Escape From Alcatraz" and "The Shawshank Redemption." But eventually, the incarcerated hero of "A Prophet" gets a bit comfortable in prison, and at that point, the film does too. Once that happens, all that pent-up nervous energy, all that ethnographic detail about life on the inside, seeps out of the film.
That hero we...
That hero we...
- 2/25/2010
- by Matt Singer
- ifc.com
London -- The works of U.S. filmmaker Richard Brooks, a member of the so-called "generation of violence," will be the subject of a retrospective during this year's San Sebastian Film Festival, organizers said Tuesday.
Brooks, who won a best screenplay Oscar for "Elmer Gantry" in 1960, started out as a penning thrillers in the 1940s, including "Brute Force" and "Key Largo."
He went on to direct such films as "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and "Sweet Bird of Youth" and his resume includes a slew of literary adaptations including Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood," Joseph Conrad's "Lord Jim" and Fedor Dostoyevsky's "The Brothers Karamazov."
San Sebastian organizers also said the festival will host a retrospective titled "Backwash: The Cutting Edge of French Cinema," which will look at the last 10 years of Gallic output.
The 40-title retrospective is expected to include titles from filmmakers including Laurent Cantet,...
Brooks, who won a best screenplay Oscar for "Elmer Gantry" in 1960, started out as a penning thrillers in the 1940s, including "Brute Force" and "Key Largo."
He went on to direct such films as "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and "Sweet Bird of Youth" and his resume includes a slew of literary adaptations including Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood," Joseph Conrad's "Lord Jim" and Fedor Dostoyevsky's "The Brothers Karamazov."
San Sebastian organizers also said the festival will host a retrospective titled "Backwash: The Cutting Edge of French Cinema," which will look at the last 10 years of Gallic output.
The 40-title retrospective is expected to include titles from filmmakers including Laurent Cantet,...
- 3/17/2009
- by By Stuart Kemp
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
There's no need to focus all your attention on new releases, particularly not when spring is studded with enough fantastic repertory scheduling to fill your every evening. Here's a look at what's been planned in New York and L.A.
New York:
Anthology Film Archives
Catalan filmmaker Albert Serra returns to the Anthology Film Archives from Feb. 25-March 3 to present his latest film, "Birdsong," an atmospheric retelling of biblical Three Wise Men story with an eye towards the desert landscape they were traveling [pictured left], in addition to Mark Peranson's experimental making-of "Birdsong" doc, "Waiting for Sancho," which will show on Feb. 28 and March 1... On March 4, '60s underground filmmaker Jose Rodriguez Soltero will get a double feature of two newly restored prints of his 1965 exploration of narcissism, "Jerovi," and the 1966 celebration of Mexican Hollywood star Lupe Velez, "Lupe."... From March 5 through 15, one of America's finest character actors gets a retrospective...
New York:
Anthology Film Archives
Catalan filmmaker Albert Serra returns to the Anthology Film Archives from Feb. 25-March 3 to present his latest film, "Birdsong," an atmospheric retelling of biblical Three Wise Men story with an eye towards the desert landscape they were traveling [pictured left], in addition to Mark Peranson's experimental making-of "Birdsong" doc, "Waiting for Sancho," which will show on Feb. 28 and March 1... On March 4, '60s underground filmmaker Jose Rodriguez Soltero will get a double feature of two newly restored prints of his 1965 exploration of narcissism, "Jerovi," and the 1966 celebration of Mexican Hollywood star Lupe Velez, "Lupe."... From March 5 through 15, one of America's finest character actors gets a retrospective...
- 2/18/2009
- by Stephen Saito
- ifc.com
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