Yentl.The publication of My Name Is Barbra, Barbra Streisand's 970-page memoir, has offered fans of the actress-singer-icon a long-awaited glimpse into her life. It’s a lot of book, a maximalist feast of details and anecdotes that paints a lavish portrait of the woman who became a generational star. It’s easy to forget just how much of Streisand's career was besieged by misogyny, whether it was critics' repeated derision of appearance or co-stars like Walter Matthau berating her on set. Streisand certainly never forgot, and her memoir offers frequent reminders of the sexism that hampered her path to success at every turn. Her memoir conveys an achingly detailed portrait of endurance by a wildly ambitious woman. Wherever she went, she was derided for trying to do or be “too much,” and she took pleasure in proving her detractors wrong in her inimitable style. When she chose to get behind the camera and direct,...
- 4/25/2024
- MUBI
Robert M. Young, one of the pioneers of American independent cinema whose work began nearly 70 years ago, died Tuesday in Los Angeles. The news was announced via a Facebook post from his son Andy.
In a career that lasted from 1956 to 2011 he directed documentaries, narrative features, both independent and studio releases, and even episodes of “Battlestar: Gallactica.” Two of his films have recently been added to the Library of Congress Film Registry. “¡Alambrista!” (1977), as timely today as when it was made, about the life of undocumented Mexican immigrant won the Camera d’or for best first film at Cannes. “The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez” (1982), one of Young’s eight films with actor Edward James Olmos, produced by American Playhouse but released theatrically, has also been included. Both films are also part of the Criterion Collection.
Though perhaps not as well known as some pre-Sundance independent American directors like John Cassavetes,...
In a career that lasted from 1956 to 2011 he directed documentaries, narrative features, both independent and studio releases, and even episodes of “Battlestar: Gallactica.” Two of his films have recently been added to the Library of Congress Film Registry. “¡Alambrista!” (1977), as timely today as when it was made, about the life of undocumented Mexican immigrant won the Camera d’or for best first film at Cannes. “The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez” (1982), one of Young’s eight films with actor Edward James Olmos, produced by American Playhouse but released theatrically, has also been included. Both films are also part of the Criterion Collection.
Though perhaps not as well known as some pre-Sundance independent American directors like John Cassavetes,...
- 2/10/2024
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Indiewire
When Barbra Streisand’s “Yentl” opened on Nov. 18, 1983, directing was very much a man’s world. In the 1970s, there had been a few inroads for women. Italian director Lina Wertmuller was nominated for best director for 1976’s “Seven Beauties” Stateside, actress Barbara Loden, who was married to Oscar-winning director Elia Kazan, wrote, directed and starred in the acclaimed 1970 indie drama “Wanda,” which won best foreign film at the Venice Film Festival. She never followed up with another movie and died of breast cancer in 1980.
There was also Joan Micklin Silver (“Hester Street”), Claudia Weill (“Girlfriends”), Martha Coolidge (“Not a Pretty Picture”), Joan Tewkesbury (“Old Boyfriends”) and Joan Darling (“First Love”). But those filmmakers ran into brick walls when they tried to set up projects with the major studios. The late Silver told Vanity Fair in 2021 that a studio executive didn’t mince his word: “Feature films are expensive to make and expensive to market,...
There was also Joan Micklin Silver (“Hester Street”), Claudia Weill (“Girlfriends”), Martha Coolidge (“Not a Pretty Picture”), Joan Tewkesbury (“Old Boyfriends”) and Joan Darling (“First Love”). But those filmmakers ran into brick walls when they tried to set up projects with the major studios. The late Silver told Vanity Fair in 2021 that a studio executive didn’t mince his word: “Feature films are expensive to make and expensive to market,...
- 11/19/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
The list of directors who put their trust in Robby Müller could constitute a nice history of post-war cinema. A retrospective of films on which he served as Dp reflects accordingly––so’s the case with Metrograph’s “Robby Müller: Remain in Light,” which starts on Friday, September 29, and for which we’re glad to debut the trailer.
Contained therein are bits and pieces of what Metrograph attendees can anticipate. The series will offer a chance to see (among others) 24 Hour Party People, Alice in the Cities, The American Friend, Barfly, Breaking the Waves, Dead Man, Down by Law, Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai, Kings of the Road, Korczak, Living the Light – Robby Müller, Mystery Train, Repo Man, Saint Jack, To Live and Die in L.A., When Pigs Fly, The Wrong Move, and Paris, Texas. The opening night will be anchored by “a panel on Müller’s continued influence on filmmaking,...
Contained therein are bits and pieces of what Metrograph attendees can anticipate. The series will offer a chance to see (among others) 24 Hour Party People, Alice in the Cities, The American Friend, Barfly, Breaking the Waves, Dead Man, Down by Law, Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai, Kings of the Road, Korczak, Living the Light – Robby Müller, Mystery Train, Repo Man, Saint Jack, To Live and Die in L.A., When Pigs Fly, The Wrong Move, and Paris, Texas. The opening night will be anchored by “a panel on Müller’s continued influence on filmmaking,...
- 9/21/2023
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Anyone who loved Mary Tyler Moore as Laurie Petrie on “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” as the thoroughly modern career woman Mary Richards on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and as the brittle, distant Beth in her Oscar-nominated turn in 1980’s ‘Ordinary People,” will love the new Max documentary “Being Mary Tyler Moore.” Moore, who died in 2017 at the age of 80, narrates the story of her life which had incredible triumphs but also great tragedy. But one aspect of her storied career it doesn’t really delve in as her work in telefilms, miniseries and even an “PBS Hollywood Presents” that reunited her with Dick Van Dyke.
Did you know that two years before she went to Broadway winning a special Tony for her performance in “Whose Life Is It Anyway?” and did “Ordinary People,” she unveiled her dramatic chops in the 1978 CBS TV movie “First, You Cry.” Based on...
Did you know that two years before she went to Broadway winning a special Tony for her performance in “Whose Life Is It Anyway?” and did “Ordinary People,” she unveiled her dramatic chops in the 1978 CBS TV movie “First, You Cry.” Based on...
- 6/2/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Mubi has announced its lineup of streaming offerings for next month, including David Easteal’s The Plains (one of the best films we saw on the festival circuit last year), Christophe Honoré’s Winter Boy, Koji Fukada’s 10-part series The Real Thing, Bruce Labruce’s Saint-Narcisse, and more.
Additional highlights include three films by Joan Micklin Silver, additions to their Lars von Trier series, Sylvain Chomet’s The Triplets of Belleville, Sally Potter’s Orlando, Steven Soderbergh’s Haywire, Nadav Lapid’s Synonyms, and more.
Check out the lineup below and get 30 days free here.
April 1 – Henry Fool, directed by Hal Hartley
April 2 – Waltz with Bashir, directed by Ari Folman
April 3 – The All-Round Reduced Personality – Redupers, directed by Helke Sander | What Sets Us Free? German Feminist Cinema
April 4 – Saint-Narcisse, directed by Bruce Labruce
April 5 – Jaime Francisco, directed by Javier Rodríguez | Brief Encounters
April 6 – Hester Street, directed by Joan Micklin...
Additional highlights include three films by Joan Micklin Silver, additions to their Lars von Trier series, Sylvain Chomet’s The Triplets of Belleville, Sally Potter’s Orlando, Steven Soderbergh’s Haywire, Nadav Lapid’s Synonyms, and more.
Check out the lineup below and get 30 days free here.
April 1 – Henry Fool, directed by Hal Hartley
April 2 – Waltz with Bashir, directed by Ari Folman
April 3 – The All-Round Reduced Personality – Redupers, directed by Helke Sander | What Sets Us Free? German Feminist Cinema
April 4 – Saint-Narcisse, directed by Bruce Labruce
April 5 – Jaime Francisco, directed by Javier Rodríguez | Brief Encounters
April 6 – Hester Street, directed by Joan Micklin...
- 3/23/2023
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Every month, the Criterion Collection adds a few more excellent titles to its esteemed library and restores ones that already Cc titles for a rerelease or two. And in March 2023, it’s none other than David Lynch‘s “Inland Empire“ that frontlines the new release. It’s a long-awaited release for Lynch fans, as the director’s last feature film hasn’t had a readily available home video release for almost a decade.
Continue reading Criterion Adds David Lynch’s ‘Inland Empire,’ An Early John Woo Wuxia Film & Joan Micklin Silver’s 1979 Melodrama Into The Collection This March at The Playlist.
Continue reading Criterion Adds David Lynch’s ‘Inland Empire,’ An Early John Woo Wuxia Film & Joan Micklin Silver’s 1979 Melodrama Into The Collection This March at The Playlist.
- 12/15/2022
- by Ned Booth
- The Playlist
The Criterion Collection Announce March Lineup: Inland Empire, Mildred Pierce in 4K, John Woo & More
March is for women in trouble. So Criterion decided when they slotted Inland Empire, which follows this year’s major repertory run with a dazzlingly stacked set, while Mildred Pierce gets a 4K upgrade from 2017’s release. The latter’s black-and-white images will surely dazzle at 3,160 pixels; though the former is only Blu-ray, we expect it’ll respect David Lynch’s intent and looks like complete fucking shit. Above all the inclusion of Lynch’s 75-minute deleted-scenes collection More Things That Happened and 2007 short Ballerina do plenty to contextualize this point in the director’s career, as do a pair making-of docs. But consider me especially intrigued by a new conversation between Laura Dern and Kyle Maclachlan.
John Woo makes his long-overdue entrance—and just as fortuitously continues Criterion’s recent spate of Hong Kong cinema—with his early feature Last Hurrah for Chivalry. I’ll also consider this opportunity...
John Woo makes his long-overdue entrance—and just as fortuitously continues Criterion’s recent spate of Hong Kong cinema—with his early feature Last Hurrah for Chivalry. I’ll also consider this opportunity...
- 12/15/2022
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Julie Messinger—accent on the “mess”—discovers her husband is a serial cheater whose conquests happen to be most of Julie’s best friends. Joan Didion and Joan Micklin Silver took their turns writing the script till Elaine May stepped in to finish the screenplay under a pseudonym. Dyan Cannon stars as Julie and Laurence Luckinbill plays her scheming husband.
The post Such Good Friends appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
The post Such Good Friends appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
- 10/10/2022
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
On-set still photographer Lorey Sebastian, who worked on such movies as Crash, Twilight, Wild Hogs, Blow, St. Elmo’s Fire, I Am Sam, In the Valley of Elah and A Million Ways to Die in the West died May 9 in New Mexico after a brief illness. She was 78.
Sebastian was born in 1944 in New York City where she lived until she moved to Los Angeles. She started her career in 1977 when she was the still photographer on the set of Joan Micklin Silver’s film Between The Lines. With over 100 credits to her name, she worked with the likes of Sam Mendes, Joel and Ethan Coen, and Taylor Sheridan–the latter is documented as her last known photography job.
Sebastian was briefly married to John Sebastian of the Loving Spoonful and spent her last years in Truchas, Nm where she moved for retirement.
Sebastian was born in 1944 in New York City where she lived until she moved to Los Angeles. She started her career in 1977 when she was the still photographer on the set of Joan Micklin Silver’s film Between The Lines. With over 100 credits to her name, she worked with the likes of Sam Mendes, Joel and Ethan Coen, and Taylor Sheridan–the latter is documented as her last known photography job.
Sebastian was briefly married to John Sebastian of the Loving Spoonful and spent her last years in Truchas, Nm where she moved for retirement.
- 6/26/2022
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
Every breakout independent hit seems like a miracle. This delightful ‘little’ picture was fated to be ghetto-ized into ethnic theaters before its producers opted to distribute it themselves. Capturing a vibrant part of the immigrant experience, Joan Micklin Silver’s micro-production often has a big-picture look; it charmed audiences and became a sleeper success. Star Carol Kane was nominated for an acting Oscar as ‘Gitl,’ a woman with Old-Country values plus the grit and determination to win a better life. Also with fine performances from Steven Keats, Mel Howard, Dorrie Kavanaugh and Doris Roberts.
Hester Street
Blu-ray
Cohen Media Group / Kino Lorber
1975 / B&w / 1:85 anamorphic 16:9 / 90 min. / Street Date March 8, 2022 / Available from Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Carol Kane, Steven Keats, Mel Howard, Dorrie Kavanaugh, Doris Roberts, Stephen Strimpell, Lauren Frost, Paul Freedman, Martin Garner.
Cinematography: Kenneth Van Sickle
Production Designer: Stuart Wurtzel
Film Editor: Katherine Wenning
Original Music: Herbert L. Clarke...
Hester Street
Blu-ray
Cohen Media Group / Kino Lorber
1975 / B&w / 1:85 anamorphic 16:9 / 90 min. / Street Date March 8, 2022 / Available from Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Carol Kane, Steven Keats, Mel Howard, Dorrie Kavanaugh, Doris Roberts, Stephen Strimpell, Lauren Frost, Paul Freedman, Martin Garner.
Cinematography: Kenneth Van Sickle
Production Designer: Stuart Wurtzel
Film Editor: Katherine Wenning
Original Music: Herbert L. Clarke...
- 4/9/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Writer, director and actor Michael Showalter joins hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante to discuss his favorite movies.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Wet Hot American Summer (2001)
The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021)
The Baxter (2005)
Hello, My Name Is Doris (2015)
Runaway Daughters (1994)
Clueless (1995)
Bagdad Cafe (1987)
Coda (2021)
The Long Goodbye (1973) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Jaws (1975) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary
Do The Right Thing (1989)
Sugarbaby (1985)
City Slickers (1991)
Attack! (1956) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Paris, Texas (1984) – Karyn Kusama’s trailer commentary
Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (1985)
Pretty In Pink (1986)
Escape From New York (1981) – Neil Marshall’s trailer commentary
Hamburger: The Motion Picture (1986)
The Warriors (1979)
The Thing (1982) – Jesus Treviño’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Innerspace (1987) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Christine (1983)
Crossing Delancey (1988)
Annie Hall (1977) – Robert Weide’s trailer commentary
When Harry Met Sally… (1989)
The Fugitive (1993)
The Big Sick (2017) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Between The Lines...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Wet Hot American Summer (2001)
The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021)
The Baxter (2005)
Hello, My Name Is Doris (2015)
Runaway Daughters (1994)
Clueless (1995)
Bagdad Cafe (1987)
Coda (2021)
The Long Goodbye (1973) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Jaws (1975) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary
Do The Right Thing (1989)
Sugarbaby (1985)
City Slickers (1991)
Attack! (1956) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Paris, Texas (1984) – Karyn Kusama’s trailer commentary
Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (1985)
Pretty In Pink (1986)
Escape From New York (1981) – Neil Marshall’s trailer commentary
Hamburger: The Motion Picture (1986)
The Warriors (1979)
The Thing (1982) – Jesus Treviño’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Innerspace (1987) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Christine (1983)
Crossing Delancey (1988)
Annie Hall (1977) – Robert Weide’s trailer commentary
When Harry Met Sally… (1989)
The Fugitive (1993)
The Big Sick (2017) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Between The Lines...
- 4/5/2022
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none
“You Gotta Get A Get”
By Raymond Benson
(Note: Much of this review is repeated from an earlier Cinema Retro review of a previous Blu-ray release.)
In the world of the Jewish Conservative Orthodox community, a divorce is truly final only when the husband presents his wife with a “get”—a document in Hebrew that grants the woman her freedom to be with other men. Likewise, the wife must accept the get before the man can re-marry, too.
This is the crux of the story behind Hester Street, an independent art-house film that appeared in 1975, written and directed by Joan Micklin Silver. Starring Carol Kane, who was nominated for Best Actress for her performance as Gitl, a newly arrived immigrant to New York City in 1896, and Steven Keats as her husband Yankl, who, in an attempt to assimilate, in public goes by the name “Jake.
“You Gotta Get A Get”
By Raymond Benson
(Note: Much of this review is repeated from an earlier Cinema Retro review of a previous Blu-ray release.)
In the world of the Jewish Conservative Orthodox community, a divorce is truly final only when the husband presents his wife with a “get”—a document in Hebrew that grants the woman her freedom to be with other men. Likewise, the wife must accept the get before the man can re-marry, too.
This is the crux of the story behind Hester Street, an independent art-house film that appeared in 1975, written and directed by Joan Micklin Silver. Starring Carol Kane, who was nominated for Best Actress for her performance as Gitl, a newly arrived immigrant to New York City in 1896, and Steven Keats as her husband Yankl, who, in an attempt to assimilate, in public goes by the name “Jake.
- 3/24/2022
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Though the title sounds like an Sctv parody of a Bergman film, Joan Micklin Silver’s dramedy was first released in 1979 as Head Over Heels and was very obviously a romantic comedy. Since the box office was underwhelming, distributors lopped off the original’s happy ending and changed the name. Voila, a more successful film. Go figure. John Heard and Mary Beth Hurt play the on again-off again lovers.
The post Chilly Scenes of Winter appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
The post Chilly Scenes of Winter appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
- 2/15/2022
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
After a hiatus where New York’s theaters closed during the pandemic, we’re delighted to announce the return of NYC Weekend Watch, our weekly round-up of repertory offerings. While many theaters are still focused on a selection of new releases, a handful of worthwhile repertory screenings are taking place.
Metrograph
The insanely packed “Lives of Performers” offers films by Almodóvar, Satoshi Kon, Bob Fosse, Cassavetes, Powell & Pressburger, Rivette—almost too much to count.
Film Forum
Miraculously rediscovered and restored, the Iranian film Chess of the Wind is now playing, while North by Northwest continues; Frankenstein screens on Sunday.
Bam
Recently rediscovered and restored, Wendell B. Harris’ Chameleon Street is now playing. Read our interview with Harris here.
Roxy Cinema
Screen Slate has a weekend series of 35mm horror: Anguish and Popcorn on Friday and Sunday, and House of Wax and I Know Who Killed Me on Saturday. Halloween and...
Metrograph
The insanely packed “Lives of Performers” offers films by Almodóvar, Satoshi Kon, Bob Fosse, Cassavetes, Powell & Pressburger, Rivette—almost too much to count.
Film Forum
Miraculously rediscovered and restored, the Iranian film Chess of the Wind is now playing, while North by Northwest continues; Frankenstein screens on Sunday.
Bam
Recently rediscovered and restored, Wendell B. Harris’ Chameleon Street is now playing. Read our interview with Harris here.
Roxy Cinema
Screen Slate has a weekend series of 35mm horror: Anguish and Popcorn on Friday and Sunday, and House of Wax and I Know Who Killed Me on Saturday. Halloween and...
- 10/28/2021
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
After a hiatus where New York’s theaters closed during the pandemic, we’re delighted to announce the return of NYC Weekend Watch, our weekly round-up of repertory offerings. While many theaters are still focused on a selection of new releases, a handful of worthwhile repertory screenings are taking place.
Bam
Recently rediscovered and restored, Wendell B. Harris’ Chameleon Street is now playing. Read our interview with Harris here.
Film Forum
4K restorations of North by Northwest starts up and Ed Lachman’s Songs for Drella have started; Ponyo screens on Sunday.
Roxy Cinema
Three by John Carpenter—The Thing, Halloween, and The Fog—screen this Friday, while prints of Poltergeist and Phantom of the Paradise show on Saturday.
Metrograph
“Get Crazy” offers Cold Water, a 4K restoration of Possession continues, and to celebrate Sisters with Transistors, the series “With Music By…” offers A Clockwork Orange and Forbidden Planet.
Film...
Bam
Recently rediscovered and restored, Wendell B. Harris’ Chameleon Street is now playing. Read our interview with Harris here.
Film Forum
4K restorations of North by Northwest starts up and Ed Lachman’s Songs for Drella have started; Ponyo screens on Sunday.
Roxy Cinema
Three by John Carpenter—The Thing, Halloween, and The Fog—screen this Friday, while prints of Poltergeist and Phantom of the Paradise show on Saturday.
Metrograph
“Get Crazy” offers Cold Water, a 4K restoration of Possession continues, and to celebrate Sisters with Transistors, the series “With Music By…” offers A Clockwork Orange and Forbidden Planet.
Film...
- 10/22/2021
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
After a hiatus where New York’s theaters closed during the pandemic, we’re delighted to announce the return of NYC Weekend Watch, our weekly round-up of repertory offerings. While many theaters are still focused on a selection of new releases, a handful of worthwhile repertory screenings are taking place.
Bam
Rarely screened and fully restored, Jacques Rivette’s masterpieces Duelle and Noroît are now playing.
Roxy Cinema
A 35mm double-feature of Demonlover and Tobe Hooper’s Lifeforce is running this weekend.
Metrograph
“Get Crazy” includes Buñuel, Assayas, Visconti, and Minnelli, while a 4K restoration of Possession continues.
Film at Lincoln Center
A restoration of Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song has begun running.
IFC Center
While the 4K restoration of Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s masterpiece Cure continues and World of Wong Kar-wai keeps going, Arrebato, Crash, and Mulholland Dr. have showings.
Anthology Film Archives
Restorations of the experimental filmmaker Marjorie Keller run this weekend.
Bam
Rarely screened and fully restored, Jacques Rivette’s masterpieces Duelle and Noroît are now playing.
Roxy Cinema
A 35mm double-feature of Demonlover and Tobe Hooper’s Lifeforce is running this weekend.
Metrograph
“Get Crazy” includes Buñuel, Assayas, Visconti, and Minnelli, while a 4K restoration of Possession continues.
Film at Lincoln Center
A restoration of Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song has begun running.
IFC Center
While the 4K restoration of Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s masterpiece Cure continues and World of Wong Kar-wai keeps going, Arrebato, Crash, and Mulholland Dr. have showings.
Anthology Film Archives
Restorations of the experimental filmmaker Marjorie Keller run this weekend.
- 10/15/2021
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
The 4K restoration (released this month by Cohen Media and featured at the New York Film Festival) of Joan Micklin Silver’s 1975 “Hester Street” is getting deserved credit as a rare female-directed American film from its era. The black and white feature, set in the mostly Jewish immigrant community in New York’s Lower East side in the 1890s, overcame tough odds on multiple fronts to become a significant financial success.
The film grossed $5 million by the end of its run, the equivalent of over $22 million today. All this on a budget of $375,000 (about $1.7 million now). That was a significant success, even if at the time it wasn’t supplemented by home video, and as a black and white film it had limited interest for broadcast television.
Micklin Silver’s film is getting renewed credit for its quality, as well as for being the debut film that caused her to break out as a director.
The film grossed $5 million by the end of its run, the equivalent of over $22 million today. All this on a budget of $375,000 (about $1.7 million now). That was a significant success, even if at the time it wasn’t supplemented by home video, and as a black and white film it had limited interest for broadcast television.
Micklin Silver’s film is getting renewed credit for its quality, as well as for being the debut film that caused her to break out as a director.
- 10/13/2021
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Indiewire
Cohen Film Collection is gearing up for a number of newly restored releases, among them Simon Callow’s 1991 drama “The Ballad of the Sad Café” and a number of Buster Keaton works.
Part of New York-based Cohen Media Group, Cohen Film Collection restores classic films and re-releases them theatrically. It’s vast catalogue includes the Merchant Ivory collection, of which “The Ballad of the Sad Café” is a part.
Based on the 1951 novella by Carson McCullers, the film stars Vanessa Redgrave, Keith Carradine and Rod Steiger.
The George Eastman Museum in Rochester, New York, is currently finishing the restoration of the film, which Cohen Film Group plans to release next year.
“There’s still a number of features to go, so we’re working our way through those, including some of the films set in India, which I’m personally really interested in,” says Tim Lanza, Cohen Film Collection vice president and archivist.
Part of New York-based Cohen Media Group, Cohen Film Collection restores classic films and re-releases them theatrically. It’s vast catalogue includes the Merchant Ivory collection, of which “The Ballad of the Sad Café” is a part.
Based on the 1951 novella by Carson McCullers, the film stars Vanessa Redgrave, Keith Carradine and Rod Steiger.
The George Eastman Museum in Rochester, New York, is currently finishing the restoration of the film, which Cohen Film Group plans to release next year.
“There’s still a number of features to go, so we’re working our way through those, including some of the films set in India, which I’m personally really interested in,” says Tim Lanza, Cohen Film Collection vice president and archivist.
- 10/12/2021
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
After a hiatus where New York’s theaters closed during the pandemic, we’re delighted to announce the return of NYC Weekend Watch, our weekly round-up of repertory offerings. While many theaters are still focused on a selection of new releases, a handful of worthwhile repertory screenings are taking place.
Metrograph
“We Won’t Grow Old Together” includes The Brood and Carol on 35mm; a 4K restoration of Possession is running; two of Clint Eastwood’s greatest films, A Perfect World and White Hunter, Black Heart, screen this Saturday.
Film at Lincoln Center
NYFF’s Revivals winds down with new restorations of Assault on Precinct 13, Ratcatcher, and Ed Lachman’s Songs for Drella.
IFC Center
In anticipation of Bergman Island, films by Mia Hansen-Løve screen side-by-side with Ingmar Bergman; while the 4K restoration of Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s masterpiece Cure continues and World of Wong Kar-wai keeps going, Arrebato, Crash, and Mulholland Dr. have showings.
Metrograph
“We Won’t Grow Old Together” includes The Brood and Carol on 35mm; a 4K restoration of Possession is running; two of Clint Eastwood’s greatest films, A Perfect World and White Hunter, Black Heart, screen this Saturday.
Film at Lincoln Center
NYFF’s Revivals winds down with new restorations of Assault on Precinct 13, Ratcatcher, and Ed Lachman’s Songs for Drella.
IFC Center
In anticipation of Bergman Island, films by Mia Hansen-Løve screen side-by-side with Ingmar Bergman; while the 4K restoration of Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s masterpiece Cure continues and World of Wong Kar-wai keeps going, Arrebato, Crash, and Mulholland Dr. have showings.
- 10/7/2021
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSAbove: Memoria (2021)Distributor Neon has announced its release plans for Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Memoria: Playing only in theaters, Memoria will be “moving from city to city, theater to theater, week by week, playing in front of only one solitary audience at any given time.”Tilda Swinton and George Mackay will be starring in the next film by Joshua Oppenheimer (The Act of Killing and The Look of Silence). Titled The End, the film has been described as a "a Golden Age musical about the last human family." Co-programmed by James Hansen & Eric Souther, Light Matter Festival is a new "moving-image art festival dedicated to experimental film and media arts." Taking place in Alfred, New York, the festival will be screening films by Simon Liu, Mary Helena Clark, Lynne Sachs, and more. Sylvester Stallone's...
- 10/6/2021
- MUBI
“Hester Street,” Joan Micklin Silver’s classic 1975 feature debut, portrays with momentous poignancy the Jewish immigrant experience in turn-of-the-century New York City: the lure of assimilation and the falling-away of tradition; the awesome, awful promise of becoming American. Newly restored in a 4K version that retains the 35mm original’s Jacob Riis-like black-and-white textures of Lower East Side tenement life, it’s a vision of the city on the brink of modernity, willed into existence at the height of the New Hollywood by a woman unaffiliated with any movement.
Continue reading ‘Hester Street’ Is A Classic Jewish Immigrant Tale Worth Seeking Out [NYFF Review] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Hester Street’ Is A Classic Jewish Immigrant Tale Worth Seeking Out [NYFF Review] at The Playlist.
- 10/1/2021
- by Mark Asch
- The Playlist
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSAbove: Audrey Diwan's Happening. The Venice Film Festival has come to a close. Check out all of the award winners, which include Audrey Diwan's Happening, Paolo Sorrentino's The Hand of God, and Jane Campion's The Power of the Dog, here.Comedian Norm Macdonald, best known as a former cast member of Saturday Night Live and for his performances in films like Dirty Work, has died at 61. In a tweet dedicated to Macdonald, Adam Sandler described Macdonald as the "most fearless funny original guy we knew." Once titled Soggy Bottom, Paul Thomas Anderson's latest feature has a new title: Licorice Pizza, a reference to the record store chain from the 1970s. Surprise 35mm trailers for Licorice Pizza, described as having similarities to Anderson's Boogie Nights, have been seen playing before films like American Graffiti and Repo Men.
- 9/15/2021
- MUBI
Most people, cinephiles or not, know Carol Kane as Valerie, bossy wife to Billy Crystal’s Miracle Max in “The Princess Bride.” Her face may have been tough to recognize under all that old age make-up, but her distinctive warble is unmistakable, causing new generations to fall in love with her as Kimmy’s eccentric landlady Lillian in “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.”
But Kane wasn’t always the incomparable character actress we know and love today, and younger audiences may be surprised to learn that her early career included some more dramatic turns, most notably in her Oscar-nominated performance in Joan Micklin Silver’s 1975 masterpiece “Hester Street,” which is receiving renewed interest with a gorgeous 4k restoration from the Cohen Film Collection.
In “Hester Street,” the young Kane plays a Jewish immigrant who arrives in New York to find her husband (Steven Keats) already happily assimilated into American life. She has...
But Kane wasn’t always the incomparable character actress we know and love today, and younger audiences may be surprised to learn that her early career included some more dramatic turns, most notably in her Oscar-nominated performance in Joan Micklin Silver’s 1975 masterpiece “Hester Street,” which is receiving renewed interest with a gorgeous 4k restoration from the Cohen Film Collection.
In “Hester Street,” the young Kane plays a Jewish immigrant who arrives in New York to find her husband (Steven Keats) already happily assimilated into American life. She has...
- 9/9/2021
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Jack Hazan and David Mingay’s Rude Boy, starring Ray Gange with The Clash is a 59th New York Film Festival Revival highlight Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Film at Lincoln Center has announced the Revivals of the 59th New York Film Festival will include highlights Michael Powell’s Bluebeard’s Castle; Ed Lachman’s Songs For Drella; Lynne Ramsay’s Ratcatcher; Christopher Petit’s Radio On; Sedat Pakay’s James Baldwin: From Another Place; Mira Nair’s Mississippi Masala; Joan Micklin Silver’s Hester Street; Márta Mészáros’ Adoption, and Jack Hazan and David Mingay’s Rude Boy.
59th New York Film Festival Revivals
The other films in the program are John Carpenter’s Assault On Precinct 13; Sarah Maldoror’s Sambizanga; Melvin Van Peebles’ Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song; Christine Choy’s Who Killed Vincent Chin?; Nina Menkes’ The Bloody Child; Govindan Aravindan’s Kummatty; Miklós Jancsó’s The Round-Up, and...
Film at Lincoln Center has announced the Revivals of the 59th New York Film Festival will include highlights Michael Powell’s Bluebeard’s Castle; Ed Lachman’s Songs For Drella; Lynne Ramsay’s Ratcatcher; Christopher Petit’s Radio On; Sedat Pakay’s James Baldwin: From Another Place; Mira Nair’s Mississippi Masala; Joan Micklin Silver’s Hester Street; Márta Mészáros’ Adoption, and Jack Hazan and David Mingay’s Rude Boy.
59th New York Film Festival Revivals
The other films in the program are John Carpenter’s Assault On Precinct 13; Sarah Maldoror’s Sambizanga; Melvin Van Peebles’ Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song; Christine Choy’s Who Killed Vincent Chin?; Nina Menkes’ The Bloody Child; Govindan Aravindan’s Kummatty; Miklós Jancsó’s The Round-Up, and...
- 8/18/2021
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Following their Main Slate announcement, Film at Lincoln Center has now unveiled the slate of new restorations set to premiere at the 59th New York Film Festival. Featuring work by Mira Nair, John Carpenter, Michael Powell, Lynne Ramsay, Joan Micklin Silver, Melvin Van Peebles, and more, it’s an eclectic lineup of classics and rarities.
“We are delighted to share this year’s particularly strong Revivals lineup,” said Florence Almozini, Flc Senior Programmer at Large. “The section showcases groundbreaking works by John Carpenter, Mira Nair, Melvin Van Peebles, Nina Menkes, Wendell B. Harris Jr., Michael Powell, and more, in masterful restorations. One of the biggest satisfactions of programming Revivals within this festival is looking back at cinematic treasures of the past and seeing their continuity and relevance with today’s cinema. We think this selection is both a celebration and a thought-provoking adventure, and we hope audiences will enjoy exploring it,...
“We are delighted to share this year’s particularly strong Revivals lineup,” said Florence Almozini, Flc Senior Programmer at Large. “The section showcases groundbreaking works by John Carpenter, Mira Nair, Melvin Van Peebles, Nina Menkes, Wendell B. Harris Jr., Michael Powell, and more, in masterful restorations. One of the biggest satisfactions of programming Revivals within this festival is looking back at cinematic treasures of the past and seeing their continuity and relevance with today’s cinema. We think this selection is both a celebration and a thought-provoking adventure, and we hope audiences will enjoy exploring it,...
- 8/18/2021
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Groundbreaking works by John Carpenter, Mira Nair, Melvin Van Peebles, Nina Menkes and Michael Powell will be featured in the Revivals lineup of the 59th New York Film Festival. These films, which range from historical dramas to pulpy crime thrillers, have been digitally remastered and restored.
Films being highlighted this year include a 4K restoration of Carpenter’s “Assault on Precinct 13,” Powell’s “Bluebird’s Ghost,” Menkes’s “The Bloody Child,” Nair’s “Mississippi Masala” and Van Peebles’s “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song.”
“One of the biggest satisfactions of programming Revivals within this festival is looking back at cinematic treasures of the past and seeing their continuity and relevance with today’s cinema,” said Florence Almozini, Flc Senior Programmer at Large. “We think this selection is both a celebration and a thought-provoking adventure, and we hope audiences will enjoy exploring it, whether they are seeing these films for the first or 20th time.
Films being highlighted this year include a 4K restoration of Carpenter’s “Assault on Precinct 13,” Powell’s “Bluebird’s Ghost,” Menkes’s “The Bloody Child,” Nair’s “Mississippi Masala” and Van Peebles’s “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song.”
“One of the biggest satisfactions of programming Revivals within this festival is looking back at cinematic treasures of the past and seeing their continuity and relevance with today’s cinema,” said Florence Almozini, Flc Senior Programmer at Large. “We think this selection is both a celebration and a thought-provoking adventure, and we hope audiences will enjoy exploring it, whether they are seeing these films for the first or 20th time.
- 8/17/2021
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
The Alliance of Women Film Journalists (AWFJ) has partnered with film distribution company Kino Lorber to present a new film series titled “AWFJ Presents.”
Curated by esteemed female film journalists and critics under the new “AWFJ Presents” banner on Kino Lorber’s digital platform KinoMarquee, the inaugural selections include six exceptionally entertaining and relevant films by women directors.
Jennifer Merin, AWFJ president, said, “The alliance is very proud to partner with Kino Lorber for our inaugural ‘AWFJ Presents’ series to highlight some truly outstanding films by some of the world’s finest women directors. The films tell stories that are true to women’s experiences and represent women’s perspectives, but have universal appeal. We are also beyond appreciative of their enthusiasm and generosity regarding this partnership.”
Kino Lorber SVP Wendy Lidell, added, “It is as important to increase the number and presence of female film critics as it is...
Curated by esteemed female film journalists and critics under the new “AWFJ Presents” banner on Kino Lorber’s digital platform KinoMarquee, the inaugural selections include six exceptionally entertaining and relevant films by women directors.
Jennifer Merin, AWFJ president, said, “The alliance is very proud to partner with Kino Lorber for our inaugural ‘AWFJ Presents’ series to highlight some truly outstanding films by some of the world’s finest women directors. The films tell stories that are true to women’s experiences and represent women’s perspectives, but have universal appeal. We are also beyond appreciative of their enthusiasm and generosity regarding this partnership.”
Kino Lorber SVP Wendy Lidell, added, “It is as important to increase the number and presence of female film critics as it is...
- 6/9/2021
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
Metrograph Launches New TV App to Serve Movie-Loving Patrons, Readies to Reopen Theater in September
New York City’s Metrograph has today announced the launch of the Metrograph TV App, designed to allow its members nationwide access to all Metrograph live streams and on-demand programming directly via their TV remote. The Metrograph TV App is available starting today at no cost on Apple TV, Fire TV, and Roku, with an Android TV launch coming soon.
Like most other NYC theaters, the Metrograph closed its doors in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but is now readying for a September re-opening. The two-screen theater, located on Ludlow Street on the Lower East Side, has yet to announce its full release plans as other NYC-area theaters continue to reopen, but today’s launch of the app makes it clear that a digital component will be part of its plans moving forward.
“Metrograph’s digital expansion this past year has brought our programming to a nationwide audience, and...
Like most other NYC theaters, the Metrograph closed its doors in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but is now readying for a September re-opening. The two-screen theater, located on Ludlow Street on the Lower East Side, has yet to announce its full release plans as other NYC-area theaters continue to reopen, but today’s launch of the app makes it clear that a digital component will be part of its plans moving forward.
“Metrograph’s digital expansion this past year has brought our programming to a nationwide audience, and...
- 6/2/2021
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
A look at all the stars in movies, TV, music, sports and media we’ve lost this year
Mike Fenton
The “E.T.” and “Back to the Future” casting director died Jan. 1. He was 85 years old.
Joan Micklin Silver
The director known for acclaimed films “Hester Street” and “Crossing Delancey” died Jan. 1 due to vascular dementia. She was 85.
Gerry Marsden
Gerry Marsden, lead signer of the British pop band Gerry and the Pacemakers, died Jan. 3 after an infection of the heart. He was 78.
Kerry Vincent
“Food Network Challenge” judge and cake designing expert Kerry Vincent passed away Jan. 4. She was 75 years old.
Tanya Roberts
Former Bond Girl and star of “A View to Kill” and “That 70s Show” Tanya Roberts was confirmed dead Jan. 5 after initial misleading reports that she had passed away, then was still alive. Roberts died of a urinary tract infection that spread to other organs, and she was 65 years old.
Mike Fenton
The “E.T.” and “Back to the Future” casting director died Jan. 1. He was 85 years old.
Joan Micklin Silver
The director known for acclaimed films “Hester Street” and “Crossing Delancey” died Jan. 1 due to vascular dementia. She was 85.
Gerry Marsden
Gerry Marsden, lead signer of the British pop band Gerry and the Pacemakers, died Jan. 3 after an infection of the heart. He was 78.
Kerry Vincent
“Food Network Challenge” judge and cake designing expert Kerry Vincent passed away Jan. 4. She was 75 years old.
Tanya Roberts
Former Bond Girl and star of “A View to Kill” and “That 70s Show” Tanya Roberts was confirmed dead Jan. 5 after initial misleading reports that she had passed away, then was still alive. Roberts died of a urinary tract infection that spread to other organs, and she was 65 years old.
- 4/26/2021
- by Samson Amore, Margeaux Sippell and Andrea Towers
- The Wrap
Who will be included for the special “In Memoriam” segment for Sunday night’s Oscars 2021 ceremony? With last year’s Academy Awards happening over 14 months ago, it means an even larger number of film veterans have died. Producers will hopefully be offering a longer remembrance and not leaving out people for the sake of time.
Superstar actor Chadwick Boseman died late last summer and is a nominee as Best Actor for his role in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” Previous Oscar winners from acting categories show who will likely be honored include Sean Connery, Olivia de Havilland, Cloris Leachman and Christopher Plummer. Past acting nominees include Hal Holbrook, Ian Holm, Shirley Knight, George Segal, Cicely Tyson, Max von Sydow and Stuart Whitman.
SEE2021 Oscars presenters: Last year’s winners Renee Zellweger, Joaquin Phoenix, Laura Dern, Brad Pitt returning
Almost all of the near 100 people on the list below were Academy members.
Superstar actor Chadwick Boseman died late last summer and is a nominee as Best Actor for his role in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” Previous Oscar winners from acting categories show who will likely be honored include Sean Connery, Olivia de Havilland, Cloris Leachman and Christopher Plummer. Past acting nominees include Hal Holbrook, Ian Holm, Shirley Knight, George Segal, Cicely Tyson, Max von Sydow and Stuart Whitman.
SEE2021 Oscars presenters: Last year’s winners Renee Zellweger, Joaquin Phoenix, Laura Dern, Brad Pitt returning
Almost all of the near 100 people on the list below were Academy members.
- 4/23/2021
- by Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSAbove: A screening of Abel Gance's Napoléon at the Paramount Theatre Oakland in 2012. (Photo by San Francisco Silent Film Festival.)In partnership with the Cinémathèque Française and the French National Film Board, Netflix will be financing a new restoration of Abel Gance's 1927 silent epic Napoléon ahead of the 200th anniversary of Napoleon's death this summer. The film has been restored many times before, but this restoration aims to bring to life Gance's 7-hour "Apollo cut," named after the Apollo Theatre where the film screened in 1927. Beanpole filmmaker Kantemir Balagov has found his next project: An HBO series adaptation of the hit zombie video game series, The Last of Us. Bong Joon-ho will head the main jury of this year's Venice Film Festival, marking the first time a South Korean director has been picked...
- 1/20/2021
- MUBI
Film-maker best known for the 1988 romantic comedy Crossing Delancey
A sensitivity to cultural differences, a playful looseness with actors, and a nose for the churn and thrust of interpersonal relationships were among the characteristics of the film-maker Joan Micklin Silver, who has died aged 85 of vascular dementia. She was 40 when she made her debut with Hester Street (1975), the story of a young Russian-Jewish woman arriving in late-19th-century New York only to struggle to match her husband’s aplomb in adapting to their adopted culture.
Shot in black and white and scripted largely in Yiddish with subtitles, the film was self-distributed by her husband, Raphael D Silver, known as Ray, who worked in real estate. He volunteered to produce it after being appalled by the sexist responses his wife received; one studio executive had told her that “women directors are just one more problem we don’t need”. The picture attracted rapturous reviews,...
A sensitivity to cultural differences, a playful looseness with actors, and a nose for the churn and thrust of interpersonal relationships were among the characteristics of the film-maker Joan Micklin Silver, who has died aged 85 of vascular dementia. She was 40 when she made her debut with Hester Street (1975), the story of a young Russian-Jewish woman arriving in late-19th-century New York only to struggle to match her husband’s aplomb in adapting to their adopted culture.
Shot in black and white and scripted largely in Yiddish with subtitles, the film was self-distributed by her husband, Raphael D Silver, known as Ray, who worked in real estate. He volunteered to produce it after being appalled by the sexist responses his wife received; one studio executive had told her that “women directors are just one more problem we don’t need”. The picture attracted rapturous reviews,...
- 1/14/2021
- by Ryan Gilbey
- The Guardian - Film News
The late film-maker Joan Micklin Silver exploded the cliches of modern romances. If only others would do the same
The director Joan Micklin Silver, who died last week, was – to use the kind of cliche she abhorred – a pioneer. She was a female director at a time when studio executives were more than comfortable with being openly sexist, telling Silver: “Women directors are one more problem we don’t need.”
She made distinctly Jewish movies, as opposed to the kind of Jewish-lite movies that were – and are still – Hollywood’s more usual style. Her two greatest films, Hester Street (1975), about a Jewish immigrant couple (Steven Keats and Carol Kane) on the Lower East Side in the 1890s, and the peerless 1988 romcom Crossing Delancey, about a modern young woman (Amy Irving) who is reluctantly fixed up with a pickle seller (Peter Riegert), are to When Harry Met Sally what the Netflix...
The director Joan Micklin Silver, who died last week, was – to use the kind of cliche she abhorred – a pioneer. She was a female director at a time when studio executives were more than comfortable with being openly sexist, telling Silver: “Women directors are one more problem we don’t need.”
She made distinctly Jewish movies, as opposed to the kind of Jewish-lite movies that were – and are still – Hollywood’s more usual style. Her two greatest films, Hester Street (1975), about a Jewish immigrant couple (Steven Keats and Carol Kane) on the Lower East Side in the 1890s, and the peerless 1988 romcom Crossing Delancey, about a modern young woman (Amy Irving) who is reluctantly fixed up with a pickle seller (Peter Riegert), are to When Harry Met Sally what the Netflix...
- 1/8/2021
- by Hadley Freeman
- The Guardian - Film News
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSAbove: Joan Micklin Silver on the set of Chilly Scenes of Winter (1979). Trailblazing filmmaker Joan Micklin Silver, best known for films Hester Street (1975) and Crossing Delancey (1988), has died. In an interview with Film Comment in 2017, Silver described the will she possessed as a woman filmmaker who wished to spotlight stories about female relationships and women's labor: "I didn’t want to feel like the woman director. I wanted to feel like one of many women directors."The 71st edition of the Berlin Film Festival will be replacing this year's physical event with a virtual European Film Market in March, and a "mini-festival with a series of onsite world premieres" in June.The International Film Festival Rotterdam has also announced the lineup for this year's hybrid multi-part 50th edition, to be presented between February 1-...
- 1/6/2021
- MUBI
by Nathaniel R
A appreciative goodbye to the writer/director Joan Micklin Silver who died on New Years Eve at 85 years of age of vascular dementia. Long before elevating female directors was a thing for the media or the industry, she was out there doing her thing. Imagine the lift for female directors in the 20th century to get not one but several films made with little media attention or social justice support. The NY Times has a fine overview of the type of obstacles she faced.
Silver's directorial debut came in the 1970s with the Jewish drama Hester Street which earned a well deserved Best Actress nomination for Carol Kane and a WGA nomination for Micklin herself for Comedy writing -- though what an odd classification that was for the immigrant drama...
A appreciative goodbye to the writer/director Joan Micklin Silver who died on New Years Eve at 85 years of age of vascular dementia. Long before elevating female directors was a thing for the media or the industry, she was out there doing her thing. Imagine the lift for female directors in the 20th century to get not one but several films made with little media attention or social justice support. The NY Times has a fine overview of the type of obstacles she faced.
Silver's directorial debut came in the 1970s with the Jewish drama Hester Street which earned a well deserved Best Actress nomination for Carol Kane and a WGA nomination for Micklin herself for Comedy writing -- though what an odd classification that was for the immigrant drama...
- 1/3/2021
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
One of the few women film-makers working in Hollywood in the 1970 and 80s was best known for her Jewish-themed films set in New York’s Lower East Side
Joan Micklin Silver, the American film-maker best known for the Jewish-inflected romcom Crossing Delancey and the largely Yiddish-language immigrant romance Hester Street, has died aged 85. The New York Times reported that Silver’s daughter Claudia said the cause of death was vascular dementia.
Silver was both one of the few female directors operating in US cinema in the 1970s, as well as one of the few film-makers that tackled specifically Jewish material – still a rarity in a Hollywood that had traditionally been dominated by Jewish figures in production and studio roles.
Joan Micklin Silver, the American film-maker best known for the Jewish-inflected romcom Crossing Delancey and the largely Yiddish-language immigrant romance Hester Street, has died aged 85. The New York Times reported that Silver’s daughter Claudia said the cause of death was vascular dementia.
Silver was both one of the few female directors operating in US cinema in the 1970s, as well as one of the few film-makers that tackled specifically Jewish material – still a rarity in a Hollywood that had traditionally been dominated by Jewish figures in production and studio roles.
- 1/2/2021
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
Joan Micklin Silver, a film director who broke several barriers for female filmmakers, died Thursday at her Manhattan home. She was 85 and her death was attributed to vascular dementia by her daughter.
Silver’s 1975 film Hester Street, the story of an immigrant Jewish couple on the Lower East Side of Manhattan set in the 1890s, was turned down by various studios as “too ethnic.” Silver also faced discrimination as a female film director. So backed by family members, she made the movie on a low budget in 34 days. The black and white film was in Yiddish with English subtitles.
Ms. Silver’s husband, Raphael D. Silver, was a tireless supporter. A commercial real estate developer, he financed the film and even worked to get it distribution. The film went on to earn $5 million after its October 1975 debut, a massive increase from its $370,000 budget. Actress Carol Kane was nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award.
Silver’s 1975 film Hester Street, the story of an immigrant Jewish couple on the Lower East Side of Manhattan set in the 1890s, was turned down by various studios as “too ethnic.” Silver also faced discrimination as a female film director. So backed by family members, she made the movie on a low budget in 34 days. The black and white film was in Yiddish with English subtitles.
Ms. Silver’s husband, Raphael D. Silver, was a tireless supporter. A commercial real estate developer, he financed the film and even worked to get it distribution. The film went on to earn $5 million after its October 1975 debut, a massive increase from its $370,000 budget. Actress Carol Kane was nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award.
- 1/2/2021
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Joan Micklin Silver, the trailblazing director behind “Hester Street” and “Crossing Delancey,” died on Thursday in Manhattan due to vascular dementia, her daughter Claudia Silver told the New York Times. She was 85.
Silver was outspoken about her experiences confronting sexism, misogyny and anti-Semitism within the entertainment industry.
“I came of age for film at a time when sexism was pretty strong. And although I could get work as a writer, I couldn’t get work as a director at all. And I had the experience of watching young men who had made shorts as I had, prize-winning shorts as I had, moving on to directing films and I couldn’t do it,” Silver said in a 2005 interview with the Directors Guild of America.
In 1975, she wrote and directed the indie film “Hester Street,” a low-budget production based on Abraham Cahan’s novella “Yekl” about a young Jewish couple who emigrated...
Silver was outspoken about her experiences confronting sexism, misogyny and anti-Semitism within the entertainment industry.
“I came of age for film at a time when sexism was pretty strong. And although I could get work as a writer, I couldn’t get work as a director at all. And I had the experience of watching young men who had made shorts as I had, prize-winning shorts as I had, moving on to directing films and I couldn’t do it,” Silver said in a 2005 interview with the Directors Guild of America.
In 1975, she wrote and directed the indie film “Hester Street,” a low-budget production based on Abraham Cahan’s novella “Yekl” about a young Jewish couple who emigrated...
- 1/2/2021
- by J. Clara Chan
- The Wrap
Joan Micklin Silver, who forged her own way as a female director in the 1970s and ’80s and helmed seven features including “Crossing Delancey” and “Hester Street,” died Thursday in Manhattan. She was 85.
Her daughter, Claudia Silver, told the New York Times the cause was vascular dementia.
The 1975 independent film “Hester Street” was the story of a Jewish immigrant couple in the 1890s. The low-budget black and white film, in Yiddish with English subtitles, proved a hard sell to studios, and was eventually financed by her husband, real estate developer Raphael D. Silver. It won rave reviews and earned $5 million at the box office, an impressive amount at the time. The 21-year old Carol Kane was nominated for a best actress Oscar for her role as the wife, Gitl.
The 1988 romantic comedy “Crossing Delancey” was also set in Manhattan’s Lower East Side Jewish community. Starring Amy Irving, Sylvia Miles and Peter Riegert,...
Her daughter, Claudia Silver, told the New York Times the cause was vascular dementia.
The 1975 independent film “Hester Street” was the story of a Jewish immigrant couple in the 1890s. The low-budget black and white film, in Yiddish with English subtitles, proved a hard sell to studios, and was eventually financed by her husband, real estate developer Raphael D. Silver. It won rave reviews and earned $5 million at the box office, an impressive amount at the time. The 21-year old Carol Kane was nominated for a best actress Oscar for her role as the wife, Gitl.
The 1988 romantic comedy “Crossing Delancey” was also set in Manhattan’s Lower East Side Jewish community. Starring Amy Irving, Sylvia Miles and Peter Riegert,...
- 1/2/2021
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
Joan Micklin Silver, the director of films like “Crossing Delancy,” “Hester Street,” and “Between the Lines” died on Thursday at the age of 85, The New York Times reports. Her daughter, Claudia Silver, told the paper that the cause of death was vascular dementia. In addition to Claudia, Silver’s survivors include two other daughters, Dina and Marisa Silver; a sister, Renee; and five grandchildren. Her long-time husband, Raphael D. Silver, died at age 83 in 2013 after a skiing accident in Park City, Utah.
An indie pioneer who first got her start writing a series of educational films for companies like Encyclopedia Britannica and the Learning Corporation of America in the 1970s, Silver was long aware of the barriers that would likely prevent her from entering into the male-dominated filmmaking milieu.
And yet the Omaha native soon made her own opportunities, including writing and directing her first film, the low-budget drama 1975 “Hester Street.
An indie pioneer who first got her start writing a series of educational films for companies like Encyclopedia Britannica and the Learning Corporation of America in the 1970s, Silver was long aware of the barriers that would likely prevent her from entering into the male-dominated filmmaking milieu.
And yet the Omaha native soon made her own opportunities, including writing and directing her first film, the low-budget drama 1975 “Hester Street.
- 1/1/2021
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Joan Micklin Silver, the pioneering independent female director behind Hester Street and Crossing Delancey, among many other titles, who fought to bring Jewish stories to the silver screen, has died. She was 85.
Silver died on Thursday at her home in Manhattan of vascular dementia, Silver’s daughter, Claudia, told The New York Times.
Born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska to Russian Jewish parents, Silver left home to attend Sarah Lawrence College in New York. Not long after her graduation in 1956, Silver married the son of a Cleveland-based Zionist rabbi, Raphael D. Silver, and the couple settled in Cleveland, where Silver taught ...
Silver died on Thursday at her home in Manhattan of vascular dementia, Silver’s daughter, Claudia, told The New York Times.
Born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska to Russian Jewish parents, Silver left home to attend Sarah Lawrence College in New York. Not long after her graduation in 1956, Silver married the son of a Cleveland-based Zionist rabbi, Raphael D. Silver, and the couple settled in Cleveland, where Silver taught ...
Joan Micklin Silver, the pioneering independent female director behind Hester Street and Crossing Delancey, among many other titles, who fought to bring Jewish stories to the silver screen, has died. She was 85.
Silver died on Thursday at her home in Manhattan of vascular dementia, Silver’s daughter, Claudia, told The New York Times.
Born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska to Russian Jewish parents, Silver left home to attend Sarah Lawrence College in New York. Not long after her graduation in 1956, Silver married the son of a Cleveland-based Zionist rabbi, Raphael D. Silver, and the couple settled in Cleveland, where Silver taught ...
Silver died on Thursday at her home in Manhattan of vascular dementia, Silver’s daughter, Claudia, told The New York Times.
Born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska to Russian Jewish parents, Silver left home to attend Sarah Lawrence College in New York. Not long after her graduation in 1956, Silver married the son of a Cleveland-based Zionist rabbi, Raphael D. Silver, and the couple settled in Cleveland, where Silver taught ...
Former Fine Line Chief Ira Deutchman Options Sarah-Jane Stratford Novel ‘Radio Girls’ For Miniseries
Exclusive: The Sarah-Jane Stratford novel Radio Girls has been optioned by @nyindieguy productions’ Ira Deutchman. The book is a historical novel set in 1920’s London which combines actual events and characters with a fictional mystery at its center. It is based on the real-life character of Hilda Matheson, an MI5 agent during WWI who became an influential producer in the early days of BBC Radio. The story is told through the eyes of a young Canadian woman, who falls into a job at the BBC where she gets caught up in the conflict between Matheson and her more conservative male superior. Along the way she unearths a conspiratorial plot with enormous consequences and potential danger to herself, the institution she works for and the whole of the European continent. The book was published in the UK, North America and Germany in 2016.
Deutchman, the former Fine Line Features chief who produces and teaches at Columbia U,...
Deutchman, the former Fine Line Features chief who produces and teaches at Columbia U,...
- 12/10/2020
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Actress Carrie Coon joins Josh and Joe to discuss the Best of what she’s been watching during the pandemic.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
The Nest (2020)
Gone Girl (2014)
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
Sabrina (1954)
The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Opening Night (1977)
Husbands (1971)
Too Late Blues (1961)
Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
Faces (1968)
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976)
Gloria (1980)
Mephisto (1981)
The Cremator (1969)
Zama (2017)
Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts (2017)
Wanda (1970)
Blue Collar (1978)
The Lunchbox (2013)
63 Up (2019)
To Sleep With Anger (1990)
Killer of Sheep (1978)
The Glass Shield (1994)
My Brother’s Wedding (1983)
Rita, Sue and Bob Too (1987)
Rio Bravo (1959)
Chilly Scenes of Winter (1979)
Cutter’s Way (1981)
Scenes From A Marriage (1973)
The Magician (1958)
The Silence (1963)
The Magic Flute (1975)
The Last House on the Left (1972)
The Virgin Spring (1963)
Summer with Monika (1953)
The Seventh Seal (1957)
Wings of Desire (1987)
Black Girl (1966)
Fat Girl (2001)
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
Parasite (2019)
Jesus of Montreal (1989)
Other Notable Items...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
The Nest (2020)
Gone Girl (2014)
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
Sabrina (1954)
The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Opening Night (1977)
Husbands (1971)
Too Late Blues (1961)
Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
Faces (1968)
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976)
Gloria (1980)
Mephisto (1981)
The Cremator (1969)
Zama (2017)
Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts (2017)
Wanda (1970)
Blue Collar (1978)
The Lunchbox (2013)
63 Up (2019)
To Sleep With Anger (1990)
Killer of Sheep (1978)
The Glass Shield (1994)
My Brother’s Wedding (1983)
Rita, Sue and Bob Too (1987)
Rio Bravo (1959)
Chilly Scenes of Winter (1979)
Cutter’s Way (1981)
Scenes From A Marriage (1973)
The Magician (1958)
The Silence (1963)
The Magic Flute (1975)
The Last House on the Left (1972)
The Virgin Spring (1963)
Summer with Monika (1953)
The Seventh Seal (1957)
Wings of Desire (1987)
Black Girl (1966)
Fat Girl (2001)
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
Parasite (2019)
Jesus of Montreal (1989)
Other Notable Items...
- 11/17/2020
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
The Covid-19 crisis has devastated cinema attendance. Several major cinema chains have closed around the world. In the face of adversity, this year’s 12th edition of the Lumière Festival in France’s Lyon, which runs Oct. 10-18, aims to fly the flag of cinema even more forcefully than ever, through its on site mix of career tributes, restored classics, world premieres of new films and a classic film market.
Veteran French filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier (“My Journey through French Cinema”) has played a key role in organizing this year’s line-up, including the tribute to the classic French screenwriter Michel Audiard, who would have turned 100 this year, the award of the Lumière Award to Belgian directing duo, the Dardenne brothers, tributes to Oliver Stone and Viggo Mortensen, and a career tribute to French actress Sabine Azéma, who starred in two films by Tavernier. The Festival also pays homage to American...
Veteran French filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier (“My Journey through French Cinema”) has played a key role in organizing this year’s line-up, including the tribute to the classic French screenwriter Michel Audiard, who would have turned 100 this year, the award of the Lumière Award to Belgian directing duo, the Dardenne brothers, tributes to Oliver Stone and Viggo Mortensen, and a career tribute to French actress Sabine Azéma, who starred in two films by Tavernier. The Festival also pays homage to American...
- 10/13/2020
- by Martin Dale
- Variety Film + TV
Oliver Stone to Take Restored Copy of Oscar-Winning ‘Born on the Fourth of July’ to Lumière Festival
One of several high-profile guests scheduled to attend the Lumière Festival in October, Oliver Stone will be screening a newly restored copy of 1989’s “Born on the Fourth of July” at its world premiere in the French city of Lyon.
Other guests of honor include actor Viggo Mortensen, Danish director Thomas Vinterberg (1998’s “Festen”), Italian filmmaker Alice Rohrwacher and Oscar winning composer Gabriel Yared. Sofia Coppola, whose father Francis Ford picked up the Lumière Prize last year, is bringing her latest film, “On the Rocks”, starring Bill Murray and Rashida Jones, to Lyon.
Run by film director Bertrand Tavernier and Cannes Festival head Thierry Frémaux, Lumière is one of the world’s leading film heritage events. This 12th edition will also feature contemporary works including 20 films originally scheduled to run in Cannes before the festival had to be cancelled due to Covid-19. Titles include Vinterberg’s “Drunk”, “Last Words” by Jonathan Nossiter,...
Other guests of honor include actor Viggo Mortensen, Danish director Thomas Vinterberg (1998’s “Festen”), Italian filmmaker Alice Rohrwacher and Oscar winning composer Gabriel Yared. Sofia Coppola, whose father Francis Ford picked up the Lumière Prize last year, is bringing her latest film, “On the Rocks”, starring Bill Murray and Rashida Jones, to Lyon.
Run by film director Bertrand Tavernier and Cannes Festival head Thierry Frémaux, Lumière is one of the world’s leading film heritage events. This 12th edition will also feature contemporary works including 20 films originally scheduled to run in Cannes before the festival had to be cancelled due to Covid-19. Titles include Vinterberg’s “Drunk”, “Last Words” by Jonathan Nossiter,...
- 9/10/2020
- by Lise Pedersen
- Variety Film + TV
One of the most interesting sections of Cannes Film Festival each year is their Classics section, which is made up of new restorations and filmmaking-related documentaries. The lineup often gives a look ahead at what classic and overlooked films may be getting new Blu-ray editions, as well as digital debuts, and theatrical re-releases. Following the reveal of Cannes-selected premieres this year, they’ve now unveiled their Classics lineup.
This year’s slate, made up of 25 features and 7 documentaries, will screen at the Lumière festival in Lyon and by the Rencontres Cinématographiques de Cannes. Leading the pack, and announced a few months ago, is the new 20th anniversary restoration of In the Mood for Love by Wong Kar-wai. Also in the lineup is 60th anniversary restorations of Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless and Michelangelo Antonioni’s L’Avventura, while a selection of Federico Fellini classics have been restored for this 100th birthday.
Peter Wollen’s Friendship’s Death,...
This year’s slate, made up of 25 features and 7 documentaries, will screen at the Lumière festival in Lyon and by the Rencontres Cinématographiques de Cannes. Leading the pack, and announced a few months ago, is the new 20th anniversary restoration of In the Mood for Love by Wong Kar-wai. Also in the lineup is 60th anniversary restorations of Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless and Michelangelo Antonioni’s L’Avventura, while a selection of Federico Fellini classics have been restored for this 100th birthday.
Peter Wollen’s Friendship’s Death,...
- 7/15/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The Cannes Film Festival has unveiled the lineup for the 17th edition of Cannes Classics, a popular sidebar dedicated to restored heritage movies and documentaries that forms part of the Official Selection.
This year’s roster comprises 25 feature films and seven documentaries. The highlights are Wong Kar-wai’s “In the Mood for Love,” which celebrates its 25th anniversary, as well as Jean-Luc Godard’s “Breathless” and Michelangelo Antonioni’s “L’Aventura,” which are both turning 60. Cannes Classics will also turn the spotlight on Federico Fellini, the Italian master who would have turned 100 in 2020. Two films by Fellini are part of the selection, “La strada” and “Luci del varietà,” along with the documentary “Fellini of the Spirits” directed by Anselma dell’Olio.
Cannes Classics will also spotlight rare films such as Peter Wollen’s “Friendship’s Death” in which Tilda Swinton delivered a breakthrough performance in 1987, and “The Story of a Three-Day Pass,...
This year’s roster comprises 25 feature films and seven documentaries. The highlights are Wong Kar-wai’s “In the Mood for Love,” which celebrates its 25th anniversary, as well as Jean-Luc Godard’s “Breathless” and Michelangelo Antonioni’s “L’Aventura,” which are both turning 60. Cannes Classics will also turn the spotlight on Federico Fellini, the Italian master who would have turned 100 in 2020. Two films by Fellini are part of the selection, “La strada” and “Luci del varietà,” along with the documentary “Fellini of the Spirits” directed by Anselma dell’Olio.
Cannes Classics will also spotlight rare films such as Peter Wollen’s “Friendship’s Death” in which Tilda Swinton delivered a breakthrough performance in 1987, and “The Story of a Three-Day Pass,...
- 7/15/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Jerry Stiller, an actor and comedian and father to Ben Stiller, has died of natural causes. He was 92.
Ben Stiller confirmed his father’s death early Monday morning, writing on Twitter: “I’m sad to say that my father, Jerry Stiller, passed away from natural causes. He was a great dad and grandfather, and the most dedicated husband to Anne for about 62 years. He will be greatly missed. Love you Dad.”
After a long career performing in comedy routines with his wife, Anne Meara, appearing on Broadway and guest-starring on TV series, Stiller became known for his role on “Seinfeld” as Frank Constanza, as Leah Remini’s father on “The King of Queens,” and as Zoolander’s manager in the comedy directed by Ben Stiller.
He appeared in 26 episodes of “Seinfeld” as Constanza, the father of George (Jason Alexander), from 1993-98, with Estelle Harris playing his wife, Estelle. Stiller...
Ben Stiller confirmed his father’s death early Monday morning, writing on Twitter: “I’m sad to say that my father, Jerry Stiller, passed away from natural causes. He was a great dad and grandfather, and the most dedicated husband to Anne for about 62 years. He will be greatly missed. Love you Dad.”
After a long career performing in comedy routines with his wife, Anne Meara, appearing on Broadway and guest-starring on TV series, Stiller became known for his role on “Seinfeld” as Frank Constanza, as Leah Remini’s father on “The King of Queens,” and as Zoolander’s manager in the comedy directed by Ben Stiller.
He appeared in 26 episodes of “Seinfeld” as Constanza, the father of George (Jason Alexander), from 1993-98, with Estelle Harris playing his wife, Estelle. Stiller...
- 5/11/2020
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.