1987's "Wall Street" was released in theaters two months after Black Monday: the day the real stock market took a dive. In the timely film, Charlie Sheen plays Bud Fox, a young stockbroker who admires underhanded corporate raider Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas). Bud pursues Gekko as a client with non-stop calls and contraband Cuban cigars, and when he finally makes contact, his entire life changes. Under the influence of Gekko, who famously utters the line "Greed, for lack of a better word, is good," Bud does some terrible things, including offering up insider information that could destroy his blue-collar father, played by Charlie Sheen's real-life dad, Martin Sheen.
The film, which won Douglas an Academy Award for Best Actor, was directed by Oliver Stone, who allowed the young actor to pick the person who would play his father in the film. He was given the choice between Jack Lemmon or...
The film, which won Douglas an Academy Award for Best Actor, was directed by Oliver Stone, who allowed the young actor to pick the person who would play his father in the film. He was given the choice between Jack Lemmon or...
- 2/12/2023
- by Jenna Busch
- Slash Film
Isla Fisher (Wolf Like Me) and Greg Kinnear (Shining Vale) will topline the family comedy The Present, from director Christian Ditter (How to Be Single), which has entered production in Los Angeles.
In the film from Stuart Ford’s independent content studio AGC Studios, a brilliant boy discovers he can manipulate time using an enchanted family heirloom, then teaming up with his siblings to go back to the eve of their parents’ separation in hopes of changing the outcome. As their schemes become more elaborate, the siblings will learn about family bonds and what they can and can’t control. Fisher and Kinnear are playing the parents in search of reconciliation, with Easton Rocket Sweda (General Hospital), Shay Rudolph (The Baby-Sitters Club) and Mason Shea Joyce (Euphoria) portraying the siblings who just might be the only people who can make that happen.
Ross Butler (Shazam!) also stars in the film...
In the film from Stuart Ford’s independent content studio AGC Studios, a brilliant boy discovers he can manipulate time using an enchanted family heirloom, then teaming up with his siblings to go back to the eve of their parents’ separation in hopes of changing the outcome. As their schemes become more elaborate, the siblings will learn about family bonds and what they can and can’t control. Fisher and Kinnear are playing the parents in search of reconciliation, with Easton Rocket Sweda (General Hospital), Shay Rudolph (The Baby-Sitters Club) and Mason Shea Joyce (Euphoria) portraying the siblings who just might be the only people who can make that happen.
Ross Butler (Shazam!) also stars in the film...
- 5/17/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Sony Pictures International Productions and Film4 team on the feature.
Sony Pictures International Productions (Spip) and Film4 have wrapped production on Greed, a satire from Michael Winterbottom starring Steve Coogan, Isla Fisher and David Mitchell.
First images of Coogan in the film have been released. Set in the celebrity-heavy world of luxury fashion, the film follows the build-up to the 60th birthday party of a retail billionaire on the Greek island of Mykonos.
Newly announced cast members include Sophie Cookson, Shirley Henderson, Asa Butterfield, Sarah Solemani, Shanina Shaik, Dinita Gohil, Asim Chaudhry, Pearl Mackie, Jonny Sweet, Ollie Locke and Stephen Fry.
Sony Pictures International Productions (Spip) and Film4 have wrapped production on Greed, a satire from Michael Winterbottom starring Steve Coogan, Isla Fisher and David Mitchell.
First images of Coogan in the film have been released. Set in the celebrity-heavy world of luxury fashion, the film follows the build-up to the 60th birthday party of a retail billionaire on the Greek island of Mykonos.
Newly announced cast members include Sophie Cookson, Shirley Henderson, Asa Butterfield, Sarah Solemani, Shanina Shaik, Dinita Gohil, Asim Chaudhry, Pearl Mackie, Jonny Sweet, Ollie Locke and Stephen Fry.
- 12/5/2018
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Sony Pictures International Productions and Film4 have wrapped production on Michael Winterbottom (The Killer Inside Me) comedy Greed, starring Steve Coogan, Isla Fisher and David Mitchell.
Also starring are Sophie Cookson, Shirley Henderson, Asa Butterfield, Sarah Solemani, Shanina Shaik, Dinita Gohil, Asim Chaudhry, Pearl Mackie, Jonny Sweet, Ollie Locke and Stephen Fry. Sony has also released some fun first-look images.
The satire, whose lead cast we revealed in September, is co-written by Winterbottom and two-time Emmy Award winner Sean Gray (Veep), and is produced by Melissa Parmenter (The Trip) for Revolution Films and DJ Films’ Damian Jones (Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie).
The film tells the fictional story of a retail billionaire, and is set in the glamorous and celebrity-filled world of luxury fashion, with a build up to a spectacular 60th birthday party in an exclusive hotel on the Greek island of Mykonos. Many believe the film’s subject was...
Also starring are Sophie Cookson, Shirley Henderson, Asa Butterfield, Sarah Solemani, Shanina Shaik, Dinita Gohil, Asim Chaudhry, Pearl Mackie, Jonny Sweet, Ollie Locke and Stephen Fry. Sony has also released some fun first-look images.
The satire, whose lead cast we revealed in September, is co-written by Winterbottom and two-time Emmy Award winner Sean Gray (Veep), and is produced by Melissa Parmenter (The Trip) for Revolution Films and DJ Films’ Damian Jones (Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie).
The film tells the fictional story of a retail billionaire, and is set in the glamorous and celebrity-filled world of luxury fashion, with a build up to a spectacular 60th birthday party in an exclusive hotel on the Greek island of Mykonos. Many believe the film’s subject was...
- 12/5/2018
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Cast includes Screen Star Of Tomorrow 2018 Marli Siu.
Michael Caton-Jones’ The Sopranos, an adaptation of Alan Warner’s novel of the same name about a choir of Catholic school girls on a trip to Edinburgh, has begun production in the Scottish capital backed by Sony Pictures International Productions (Spip) and Screen Scotland.
Caton-Jones first optioned Warner’s novel in 1998. “It was always fundamental that the spirit of these fantastic strong female characters was brought to life accurately,” he said.
The Scotland-born filmmaker has co-written the film with Alan Sharp and Rachel Hirons. Caton-Jones and Laura Viederman are producing for Four Point Play Pictures,...
Michael Caton-Jones’ The Sopranos, an adaptation of Alan Warner’s novel of the same name about a choir of Catholic school girls on a trip to Edinburgh, has begun production in the Scottish capital backed by Sony Pictures International Productions (Spip) and Screen Scotland.
Caton-Jones first optioned Warner’s novel in 1998. “It was always fundamental that the spirit of these fantastic strong female characters was brought to life accurately,” he said.
The Scotland-born filmmaker has co-written the film with Alan Sharp and Rachel Hirons. Caton-Jones and Laura Viederman are producing for Four Point Play Pictures,...
- 11/9/2018
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Isla fisher has been set to star alongside Steve Coogan and David Mitchell in Greed, the Michael Winterbottom-directed film for Film 4 and Sony International. The film will begin shooting later this year in Europe.
Coogan stars as a self-absorbed retail billionaire. Fisher plays his wife, the only person who truly understands him and all his complexities.
Fisher was just seen in New Line’s Tag, and next stars alongside Zac Efron, Jonah Hill and Matthew McConaughey in Beach Bum.
She’s repped by UTA.
Coogan stars as a self-absorbed retail billionaire. Fisher plays his wife, the only person who truly understands him and all his complexities.
Fisher was just seen in New Line’s Tag, and next stars alongside Zac Efron, Jonah Hill and Matthew McConaughey in Beach Bum.
She’s repped by UTA.
- 9/14/2018
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Lifetime is beefing up its TV film slate for next year, increasing the total to 75 movies and has signed on “Good Morning America” host Robin Roberts to help with the endevor.
The female-skewing network has signed Roberts to a production deal for a series of movies and documentaries that will all fall under the banner, “Robin Roberts Presents.” The network also detailed the first two projects from Roberts.
The first one will focus on African American Gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, whose inspirational music and faith were a great support for Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement. Roberts will executive produce the movie alongside Linda Berman of Lincoln Square Productions, with a script written by Bettina Gilois.
Also Read: Original 'Project Runway' Production Company to Return for Bravo Reboot
The second project is based on the true story of Alexis Manigo, who at age 18, discovers her real name...
The female-skewing network has signed Roberts to a production deal for a series of movies and documentaries that will all fall under the banner, “Robin Roberts Presents.” The network also detailed the first two projects from Roberts.
The first one will focus on African American Gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, whose inspirational music and faith were a great support for Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement. Roberts will executive produce the movie alongside Linda Berman of Lincoln Square Productions, with a script written by Bettina Gilois.
Also Read: Original 'Project Runway' Production Company to Return for Bravo Reboot
The second project is based on the true story of Alexis Manigo, who at age 18, discovers her real name...
- 7/26/2018
- by Tim Baysinger
- The Wrap
Lifetime announced at TCA today an ambitious slate of original movies for 2019. Among the 75 films planned for next year are a series of telepics and documentaries from veteran newswoman Robin Roberts along with book franchises from authors V.C. Andrews and Victoria Christopher Murray.
The A+E Networks-owned cable net unveiled today a major production deal with Roberts for movies and docs under the Robin Roberts Presents banner to debut next year. It also is in development on Murray’s Seven Deadly Sins anthology, reteaming with producer T.D. Jakes, and has commissioned the first three books — Lust, Envy and Greed – to debut next year.
Andrews’ five-book series about the twisted relationships of the Casteel Family also being turned into movies. First up is V.C. Andrews’ Heaven, starring Annalise Basso, Julie Benz, Chris William Martin and Chris McNally.
Those projects join the previously announced Jane Green three-picture deal. The first movie,...
The A+E Networks-owned cable net unveiled today a major production deal with Roberts for movies and docs under the Robin Roberts Presents banner to debut next year. It also is in development on Murray’s Seven Deadly Sins anthology, reteaming with producer T.D. Jakes, and has commissioned the first three books — Lust, Envy and Greed – to debut next year.
Andrews’ five-book series about the twisted relationships of the Casteel Family also being turned into movies. First up is V.C. Andrews’ Heaven, starring Annalise Basso, Julie Benz, Chris William Martin and Chris McNally.
Those projects join the previously announced Jane Green three-picture deal. The first movie,...
- 7/26/2018
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Lifetime has unveiled a big expansion of its original movie lineup for next year. As part of the push the A+E Networks cabler has set new franchises with ABC News’ Robin Roberts and megachurch leader Bishop T.D. Jakes.
Lifetime plans to produce or acquire some 75 movies next year, a significant increase from 2018. The cabler has signed a wide-ranging production deal with “Good Morning America” anchor Roberts to produce movies and feature-length documentaries under the “Robin Roberts Presents” banner.
Also in the works for Lifetime is a five-movie series based on the novels of V.C. Andrews, starting next year with “V.C. Andrews’ Heaven.”
Roberts will focus on projects based on true events with an inspirational or educational focus. The first project under the deal will be a drama based on the life of famed gospel singer Mahalia Jackson. Roberts and Linda Berman of ABC’s Lincoln Square Productions...
Lifetime plans to produce or acquire some 75 movies next year, a significant increase from 2018. The cabler has signed a wide-ranging production deal with “Good Morning America” anchor Roberts to produce movies and feature-length documentaries under the “Robin Roberts Presents” banner.
Also in the works for Lifetime is a five-movie series based on the novels of V.C. Andrews, starting next year with “V.C. Andrews’ Heaven.”
Roberts will focus on projects based on true events with an inspirational or educational focus. The first project under the deal will be a drama based on the life of famed gospel singer Mahalia Jackson. Roberts and Linda Berman of ABC’s Lincoln Square Productions...
- 7/26/2018
- by Cynthia Littleton
- Variety Film + TV
Sacha Baron Cohen has posted a 4th of July tease for a new project that appears to take on the comedian’s old foe, Donald Trump.
“He’s back,” the trailer promises, “as you’ve never seen him before.” The words are interspersed with a “Happy Fourth of July” message from Trump and footage of the President saying “Sacha Baron Cohen, go to school! Learn about being funny.”
“Sacha graduates soon,” the teaser says, ending with a title card for Trump University that uses the actual logo for the defunct real estate training school. The new project might also include other targets, as he was also reported to have filmed a stunt with O.J. Simpson in his Las Vegas hotel room in February.
A message from your President @realDonaldTrump on Independence Day pic.twitter.com/O2PwZqO0cs
— Sacha Baron Cohen (@SachaBaronCohen) July 4, 2018
Baron Cohen and Trump have a long and antagonistic relationship.
“He’s back,” the trailer promises, “as you’ve never seen him before.” The words are interspersed with a “Happy Fourth of July” message from Trump and footage of the President saying “Sacha Baron Cohen, go to school! Learn about being funny.”
“Sacha graduates soon,” the teaser says, ending with a title card for Trump University that uses the actual logo for the defunct real estate training school. The new project might also include other targets, as he was also reported to have filmed a stunt with O.J. Simpson in his Las Vegas hotel room in February.
A message from your President @realDonaldTrump on Independence Day pic.twitter.com/O2PwZqO0cs
— Sacha Baron Cohen (@SachaBaronCohen) July 4, 2018
Baron Cohen and Trump have a long and antagonistic relationship.
- 7/4/2018
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
Since any New York City cinephile has a nearly suffocating wealth of theatrical options, we figured it’d be best to compile some of the more worthwhile repertory showings into one handy list. Displayed below are a few of the city’s most reliable theaters and links to screenings of their weekend offerings — films you’re not likely to see in a theater again anytime soon, and many of which are, also, on 35mm. If you have a chance to attend any of these, we’re of the mind that it’s time extremely well-spent.
Film Society of Lincoln Center
A retrospective of the great, perpetually underseen Raúl Ruiz winds down its second part.
Anthology Film Archives
Films by Elaine May, Albert Brooks, Pialat, and Zulowski play in “Valentine’s Day Massacre.”
Erich von Stroheim’s Greed will play on Saturday and Sunday.
Metrograph
Retrospectives Alex Ross Perry and St.
Film Society of Lincoln Center
A retrospective of the great, perpetually underseen Raúl Ruiz winds down its second part.
Anthology Film Archives
Films by Elaine May, Albert Brooks, Pialat, and Zulowski play in “Valentine’s Day Massacre.”
Erich von Stroheim’s Greed will play on Saturday and Sunday.
Metrograph
Retrospectives Alex Ross Perry and St.
- 2/15/2018
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
“I spent a lot of time reviewing the silent films for crowd scenes –the way extras move, evolve, how the space is staged and how the cameras capture it, the views used,” Nolan said earlier this year when it came to the creation of his WWII epic Dunkirk, referencing films such as Intolerance, Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans, and Greed, as well as the films of Robert Bresson.
Throughout the entire month of July, if you’re in the U.K., you are lucky enough to witness a selection of these influences in a program at BFI Southbank. Featuring all screenings in 35mm or 70mm — including a preview of Dunkirk over a week before it hits theaters — there’s classics such as Greed, Sunrise, and The Wages of Fear, as well as Alien, Speed, and even Tony Scott’s final film.
Check out Nolan’s introduction below, followed by...
Throughout the entire month of July, if you’re in the U.K., you are lucky enough to witness a selection of these influences in a program at BFI Southbank. Featuring all screenings in 35mm or 70mm — including a preview of Dunkirk over a week before it hits theaters — there’s classics such as Greed, Sunrise, and The Wages of Fear, as well as Alien, Speed, and even Tony Scott’s final film.
Check out Nolan’s introduction below, followed by...
- 5/25/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Running from 1-31 July, BFI Southbank are delighted to present a season of films which have inspired director Christopher Nolan’s new feature Dunkirk (2017), released in cinemas across the UK on Friday 21 July.
Christopher Nolan Presents has been personally curated by the award-winning director and will offer audiences unique insight into the films which influenced his hotly anticipated take on one of the key moments of WWII.
The season will include a special preview screening of Dunkirk on Thursday 13 July, which will be presented in 70mm and include an introduction from the director himself.
Christopher Nolan is a passionate advocate for the importance of seeing films projected on film, and as one of the few cinemas in the UK that still shows a vast amount of celluloid film, BFI Southbank will screen all the films in the season on 35mm or 70mm.
In 2015 Nolan appeared on stage alongside visual artist...
Christopher Nolan Presents has been personally curated by the award-winning director and will offer audiences unique insight into the films which influenced his hotly anticipated take on one of the key moments of WWII.
The season will include a special preview screening of Dunkirk on Thursday 13 July, which will be presented in 70mm and include an introduction from the director himself.
Christopher Nolan is a passionate advocate for the importance of seeing films projected on film, and as one of the few cinemas in the UK that still shows a vast amount of celluloid film, BFI Southbank will screen all the films in the season on 35mm or 70mm.
In 2015 Nolan appeared on stage alongside visual artist...
- 5/24/2017
- by Michelle Hannett
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
And so the prostitute says, "Create the Illusion, but don't believe it." I am not sure if that is Terrence Malick's thesis with Song To Song, an elliptical fairy tale of despondency, but the film does feature Val Kilmer wielding a chainsaw on stage at the SXSW music festival, so there is that. It also embeds clips from Eric Von Stroheim's Greed, offers heartbreaking relationship advice from punk rock goddess Patti Smith, cheerfully cuts off Iggy Pop in mid-sentence and makes a little time for Natalie Portman to wait tables and attend church services kitted out in Erin Brockovich inspired push-up bras. Song to Song is Malick's fifth film in six years, not including his forthcoming Europe-set WWII epic, to be released later in 2017. Apparently,...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 4/6/2017
- Screen Anarchy
The Ninth Annual Robert Classic French Film Festival — co-presented by Cinema St. Louis and the Webster University Film Series starts this Friday, March 10th. — The Classic French Film Festival celebrates St. Louis’ Gallic heritage and France’s cinematic legacy. The featured films span the decades from the 1920s through the mid-1990s, offering a revealing overview of French cinema.
All films are screened at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (470 East Lockwood).
The fest is annually highlighted by significant restorations, which this year includes films by two New Wave masters: Jacques Rivette’s first feature, “Paris Belongs to Us,” and François Truffaut’s cinephilic love letter, “Day for Night.” The fest also provides one of the few opportunities available in St. Louis to see films projected the old-school, time-honored way, with both Alain Resnais’ “Last Year at Marienbad” and Robert Bresson’s “Au hasard Balthazar” screening from 35mm prints. Even more traditional,...
All films are screened at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (470 East Lockwood).
The fest is annually highlighted by significant restorations, which this year includes films by two New Wave masters: Jacques Rivette’s first feature, “Paris Belongs to Us,” and François Truffaut’s cinephilic love letter, “Day for Night.” The fest also provides one of the few opportunities available in St. Louis to see films projected the old-school, time-honored way, with both Alain Resnais’ “Last Year at Marienbad” and Robert Bresson’s “Au hasard Balthazar” screening from 35mm prints. Even more traditional,...
- 3/6/2017
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
As this year’s awards season comes to an end this weekend, if history has proven anything, it’s that one must not judge a film’s legacy by the amount of trophies or box-office it receives. In fact, it’s often quite the contrary: as the years go on, under-appreciated (or even initially mis-understood) films start to find an audience and are prime for a re-evaluation. A new video essay explores this process, primarily through three paramount examples, and how time is perhaps the only thing that matters.
Coming from Andrew Saladino’s The Royal Ocean Film Society, the five-minute video essay The Story of the Re-Evaluated is a brief overview of this, showing the initial reception of Michael Cimino‘s ambitious flop Heaven’s Gate, Michael Powell‘s dark character study Peeping Tom, and Eric von Stroheim‘s studio-mangled Greed, and how these films have been re-embraced.
In the end,...
Coming from Andrew Saladino’s The Royal Ocean Film Society, the five-minute video essay The Story of the Re-Evaluated is a brief overview of this, showing the initial reception of Michael Cimino‘s ambitious flop Heaven’s Gate, Michael Powell‘s dark character study Peeping Tom, and Eric von Stroheim‘s studio-mangled Greed, and how these films have been re-embraced.
In the end,...
- 2/23/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Do rediscovered ‘lost’ movies always disappoint? This Depression-era pre-Code science fiction disaster thriller was unique in its day, and its outrageously ambitious special effects –New York City is tossed into a blender — were considered the state of the art. Sidney Blackmer and a fetching Peggy Shannon fight off rapacious gangs in what may be the first post-apocalyptic survival thriller.
Deluge
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1933 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 67 min. / Street Date February 21, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring Peggy Shannon, Lois Wilson, Sidney Blackmer, Lane Chandler, Samuel S. Hinds, Fred Kohler, Matt Moore, Edward Van Sloan .
Cinematography: Norbert Brodine
Film Editor: Martin G. Cohn, Rose Loewinger
Special Effects: Ned Mann, Williams Wiliams, Russell Lawson, Ernie Crockett, Victor Scheurich, Carl Wester
Original Music: Val Burton
Written by Warren Duff, John F. Goodrich from the novel by Sydney Fowler Wright
Produced by Samuel Bischoff, Burt Kelly, William Saal
Directed by Felix E. Feist...
Deluge
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1933 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 67 min. / Street Date February 21, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring Peggy Shannon, Lois Wilson, Sidney Blackmer, Lane Chandler, Samuel S. Hinds, Fred Kohler, Matt Moore, Edward Van Sloan .
Cinematography: Norbert Brodine
Film Editor: Martin G. Cohn, Rose Loewinger
Special Effects: Ned Mann, Williams Wiliams, Russell Lawson, Ernie Crockett, Victor Scheurich, Carl Wester
Original Music: Val Burton
Written by Warren Duff, John F. Goodrich from the novel by Sydney Fowler Wright
Produced by Samuel Bischoff, Burt Kelly, William Saal
Directed by Felix E. Feist...
- 2/21/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The Ninth Annual Robert Classic French Film Festival — co-presented 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 mid-1990s, offering a revealing overview of French cinema.
The fest is annually highlighted by significant restorations, which this year includes films by two New Wave masters: Jacques Rivette’s first feature, “Paris Belongs to Us,” and François Truffaut’s cinephilic love letter, “Day for Night.” The fest also provides one of the few opportunities available in St. Louis to see films projected the old-school, time-honored way, with both Alain Resnais’ “Last Year at Marienbad” and Robert Bresson’s “Au hasard Balthazar” screening from 35mm prints. Even more traditional, we also offer a silent film with live music, and audiences are sure to delight in the Poor People of Paris...
The fest is annually highlighted by significant restorations, which this year includes films by two New Wave masters: Jacques Rivette’s first feature, “Paris Belongs to Us,” and François Truffaut’s cinephilic love letter, “Day for Night.” The fest also provides one of the few opportunities available in St. Louis to see films projected the old-school, time-honored way, with both Alain Resnais’ “Last Year at Marienbad” and Robert Bresson’s “Au hasard Balthazar” screening from 35mm prints. Even more traditional, we also offer a silent film with live music, and audiences are sure to delight in the Poor People of Paris...
- 1/31/2017
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Want a nine-hour dose of the truth of existence so harrowing that it will make you feel grateful no matter how humble your situation? Masaki Kobayshi's epic of the real cost of war boggles the mind with its creeping revelations of cosmic bleakness. Yet all the way through you know you're experiencing a truth far beyond slogans and sentiments. The Human Condition Region B Blu-ray Arrow Academy (UK) 1959-61 / B&W / 2:35 anamorphic widescreen / 574 min. / Ningen no jôken / Street Date September 19, 2016 / Available from Amazon UK £ 39.99 Starring Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama, Chikage Awashima, Ineko Arima, Keiji Sada, So Yamamura, Kunie Tanaka, Kei Sato, Chishu Ryu, Taketoshi Naito. Cinematography Yoshio Miyajima Art Direction Kazue Hirataka <Film Editor Keiichi Uraoka Original Music Chuji Kinoshita Written by Zenzo Matsuyama, Masaki Kobayashi from the novel by Jumpei Gomikawa Produced by Shigeru Wakatsuki Directed by Masaki Kobayashi
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
The first Blu-ray of perhaps...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
The first Blu-ray of perhaps...
- 9/27/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The recent box office success of The Boss firmly establishes Melissa McCarthy as the current queen of movie comedies (Amy Schumer could be a new contender after an impressive debut last Summer with Trainwreck), but let us think back about those other funny ladies of filmdom. So while we’re enjoying the female reboot/re-imagining of Ghostbusters and those Bad Moms, here’s a top ten list that will hopefully inspire lots of laughter and cause you to search out some classic comedies. It’s tough to narrow them down to ten, but we’ll do our best, beginning with… 10. Eve Arden The droll Ms. Arden represents the comic sidekicks who will attempt to puncture the pomposity of the leading ladies with a well-placed wisecrack (see also the great Thelma Ritter in Rear Window). Her career began in the early 1930’s with great bit roles in Stage Door and Dancing Lady.
- 8/8/2016
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Ryan Lambie Aug 9, 2016
From 2001 and Metropolis, to The Wicker Man and Event Horizon: a look at nine films with scenes we may never see...
There are some movies whose images and ideas are so indelible, it's difficult to imagine a world without them. Yet films are by their nature delicate things; they're the end-product of months or even years of craftsmanship, and whether they're stored on celluloid or captured digitally, they're as vulnerable to the ravages of time or acts of god as any other artform.
Cinema history is littered with stories of lost and damaged movies. Back in the 1920s, eminent director Erich von Stroheim made Greed, an expensive, nine-and-a-half hour epic that was repeatedly cut until only 140 minutes of its original footage remained. Legend has it that a janitor accidentally threw out the removed footage and, just like that, years of work were gone - seemingly forever.
From 2001 and Metropolis, to The Wicker Man and Event Horizon: a look at nine films with scenes we may never see...
There are some movies whose images and ideas are so indelible, it's difficult to imagine a world without them. Yet films are by their nature delicate things; they're the end-product of months or even years of craftsmanship, and whether they're stored on celluloid or captured digitally, they're as vulnerable to the ravages of time or acts of god as any other artform.
Cinema history is littered with stories of lost and damaged movies. Back in the 1920s, eminent director Erich von Stroheim made Greed, an expensive, nine-and-a-half hour epic that was repeatedly cut until only 140 minutes of its original footage remained. Legend has it that a janitor accidentally threw out the removed footage and, just like that, years of work were gone - seemingly forever.
- 8/2/2016
- Den of Geek
Since any New York cinephile has a nearly suffocating wealth of theatrical options, we figured it’d be best to compile some of the more worthwhile repertory showings into one handy list. Displayed below are a few of the city’s most reliable theaters and links to screenings of their weekend offerings — films you’re not likely to see in a theater again anytime soon, and many of which are, also, on 35mm. If you have a chance to attend any of these, we’re of the mind that it’s time extremely well-spent.
Museum of the Moving Image
“See It Big! Documentary” has an amazing weekend, starting with The Last Waltz on Friday. Following that are a new restoration of Vertov‘s Man with a Movie Camera (with live musical accompaniment) and a Maysles double-feature of Salesman and Gimme Shelter on Saturday. Sunday offers Errol Morris‘ Fast, Cheap & Out of Control,...
Museum of the Moving Image
“See It Big! Documentary” has an amazing weekend, starting with The Last Waltz on Friday. Following that are a new restoration of Vertov‘s Man with a Movie Camera (with live musical accompaniment) and a Maysles double-feature of Salesman and Gimme Shelter on Saturday. Sunday offers Errol Morris‘ Fast, Cheap & Out of Control,...
- 2/12/2016
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Ernst Lubitsch: The movies' lost 'Touch.' Ernst Lubitsch movies on TCM: Classics of a bygone era Ernst Lubitsch and William Cameron Menzies were Turner Classic Movies' “stars” on Jan. 28, '16. (This is a fully revised and expanded version of a post published on that day.) Lubitsch had the morning/afternoon, with seven films; Menzies had the evening/night, also with seven features. (TCM's Ernst Lubitsch schedule can be found further below.) The forgotten 'Touch' As a sign of the times, Ernst Lubitsch is hardly ever mentioned whenever “connoisseurs” (between quotes) discuss Hollywood movies of the studio era. But why? Well, probably because The Lubitsch Touch is considered passé at a time when the sledgehammer approach to filmmaking is deemed “fresh,” “innovative,” “cool,” and “daring” – as if a crass lack of subtlety in storytelling were anything new. Minus the multimillion-dollar budgets, the explicit violence and gore, and the overbearing smugness passing for hipness,...
- 1/31/2016
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
The lure of a lottery win has captivated people for millennia, so it's no surprise that films featuring a lottery plotline have been produced long before the introduction of the talkie. Whether they spin it as a rags to riches tale or a morality play about greed, filmmakers have seen cinematic gold in lottery winners. From 1924 to 2014, we take a look back at some of the most intriguing lottery-themed films throughout the decades. Based on Frank Norris' 1899 novel McTeague, Erich von Stroheim's silent classic Greed (1924) tells the tale of three people ruined by avarice.
- 10/29/2015
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
First off, let's make one thing clear. We're not scratching our heads at Spike Lee's "Do The Right Thing" making the BBC's 100 greatest American films. That movie, of which an image accompanies this post, not only made the list, but ranked appropriately at no. 25. It's the rest of the selections that have us scratching and, yes, shaking our heads in disbelief. A wonderful page view driver, these sorts of lists make great fodder for passionate movie fans no matter what their age or part of the world they hail from. There is nothing more entertaining than watching two critics from opposite ends of the globe try to debate whether "The Dark Knight" should have been nominated for best picture or make a list like this. Even in this age of short form content where Vines, Shapchats and Instagram videos have captured viewers attention, movies will continue to inspire because...
- 7/22/2015
- by Gregory Ellwood
- Hitfix
Leave it to the Brits to compile a list of the best American films of all-time. BBC Culture has published a list of what it calls "The 100 Greatest American Films", as selected by 62 international film critics in order to "get a global perspective on American film." As BBC Culture notes, the critics polled represent a combination of broadcasters, book authors and reviewers at various newspapers and magazines across the world. As for what makes an American filmc "Any movie that received funding from a U.S. source," BBC Culture's publication states, which is to say the terminology was quite loose, but the list contains a majority of the staples you'd expect to see. Citizen Kane -- what elsec -- comes in at #1, and in typical fashion The Godfather follows at #2. Vertigo, which in 2012 topped Sight & Sound's list of the greatest films of all-time, comes in at #3 on BBC Culture's list.
- 7/21/2015
- by Jordan Benesh
- Rope of Silicon
Every now and then a major publication or news organisation comes up with a top fifty or one hundred films of all time list - a list which always stirs up debate, discussion and often interesting arguments about the justifications of the list's inclusions, ordering and notable exclusions.
Today it's the turn of BBC Culture who consulted sixty-two international film critics including print reviews, bloggers, broadcasters and film academics to come up with what they consider the one-hundred greatest American films of all time. To qualify, the film had to be made by a U.S. studio or mostly funded by American money.
Usually when a list of this type is done it is by institutes or publications within the United States asking American critics their favourites. This time it's non-American critics born outside the culture what they think are the best representations of that culture. Specifically they were asked...
Today it's the turn of BBC Culture who consulted sixty-two international film critics including print reviews, bloggers, broadcasters and film academics to come up with what they consider the one-hundred greatest American films of all time. To qualify, the film had to be made by a U.S. studio or mostly funded by American money.
Usually when a list of this type is done it is by institutes or publications within the United States asking American critics their favourites. This time it's non-American critics born outside the culture what they think are the best representations of that culture. Specifically they were asked...
- 7/21/2015
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Ken Jacobs. Photo by María Meseguer.This past June in A Coruña, Spain (S8) 6th Mostra de Cinema Periferico hosted a retrospective of Ken Jacobs. A legend of experimental filmmaking, this New Yorker gave a master-class about the influence of abstract paintings on his work, presented a broad selection of films in his filmography to the audience, and premiered New Paintings by Ken Jacobs (2015), a new film performance using his famous Nervous Magic Lantern, consisting of a series of abstract slides that he projects with a special device of his own creation. The program focused on Jacobs’ first films, close to a kind of Brakhage-like documentary style, the long series he made along with Jack Smith as an actor/performer, and his experiments with 3D, both in film and digital formats. After all these screenings, we had a coffee or two with him and talked about the films in the program.
- 6/30/2015
- by Víctor Paz Morandeira
- MUBI
Erich von Stroheim's Greed tops Jonathan Rosenbaum's list of "The Greatest American Films Ever Made." More lists: "25 Emerging North American Indie Directors You Need To Know" and "Experimental Film & Video @ Los Angeles (1958 - 2010)." Also today: Terrence Rafferty on "The Decline of the American Actor"; James Knight on Samuel Fuller's Forty Guns; Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, pro and con; interviews with John Akomfrah, Hirokazu Koreeda, Mia Hansen-Løve and Miroslav Slaboshpitsky; a big awards night for Sebastian Schipper's Victoria; Todd Solondz's sequel to Welcome to the Dollhouse with Greta Gerwig and Julie Delpy—and more. » - David Hudson...
- 6/20/2015
- Fandor: Keyframe
Erich von Stroheim's Greed tops Jonathan Rosenbaum's list of "The Greatest American Films Ever Made." More lists: "25 Emerging North American Indie Directors You Need To Know" and "Experimental Film & Video @ Los Angeles (1958 - 2010)." Also today: Terrence Rafferty on "The Decline of the American Actor"; James Knight on Samuel Fuller's Forty Guns; Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, pro and con; interviews with John Akomfrah, Hirokazu Koreeda, Mia Hansen-Løve and Miroslav Slaboshpitsky; a big awards night for Sebastian Schipper's Victoria; Todd Solondz's sequel to Welcome to the Dollhouse with Greta Gerwig and Julie Delpy—and more. » - David Hudson...
- 6/20/2015
- Keyframe
Orson Welles indisputably made a huge impact on the film industry, both in terms of technical proficiency and storytelling sophistication. However, Welles was never the biggest fan of films themselves. He just saw it as a way to tell stories he wanted to. That makes sense to me of how he approached filmmaking. Had he been a movie fan, I don't know if he would have thought so much outside of the box about to make them than he did. That isn't to say he didn't like all movies. In the early 1950s, Welles managed to cobble together a list of his ten favorite films for Sound on Sight (via Open Culture). As he had only been exposed to a couple of decades of cinema, I think this is a very interesting list, and one that makes a lot of sense for someone like Welles. City Lights (dir. Charles Chaplin) Greed (dir.
- 2/20/2015
- by Mike Shutt
- Rope of Silicon
Honorary Oscars have bypassed women: Angela Lansbury, Lauren Bacall among rare exceptions (photo: 2013 Honorary Oscar winner Angela Lansbury and Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award winner Angelina Jolie) September 4, 2014, Introduction: This four-part article on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Honorary Awards and the dearth of female Honorary Oscar winners was originally posted in February 2007. The article was updated in February 2012 and fully revised before its republication today. All outdated figures regarding the Honorary Oscars and the Academy's other Special Awards have been "scratched out," with the updated numbers and related information inserted below each affected paragraph or text section. See also "Honorary Oscars 2014 addendum" at the bottom of this post. At the 1936 Academy Awards ceremony, groundbreaking film pioneer D.W. Griffith, by then a veteran with more than 500 shorts and features to his credit — among them the epoch-making The Birth of a Nation and Intolerance — became the first individual to...
- 9/4/2014
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
It's no secret that Lars von Trier pushes his actresses to the edge-- and sometimes all the way over. A director's commitment to wringing the most out of their actors dates back to another vainglorious Von: Eric von Stroheim ("Greed") was notorious for using offscreen acrimony to get what he wanted onscreen, while the lengths Abdellatif Kechiche took to achieve the three-hour intimacies of "Blue is the Warmest Color" made Léa Seydoux and newcomer Adèle Exarchopoulos the first actors to share the Palme d'Or with their writer-director.Here are four directors who stop at nothing to wring performances from their actors. 1. Lars von TrierFrom enslaving Nicole Kidman in "Dogville," taking the scissors to Charlotte Gainsbourg in "Antichrist" or fashioning Emily Watson the patron saint of selfless S&M in "Breaking the Waves," the dastardly Dane asks a lot of his women. But that's because they're actually playing him, or some...
- 3/25/2014
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Thompson on Hollywood
Kino resurrects an odd curio with Shoot the Sun Down, a counter-culture Western from 1978, notable for headlining Christopher Walken just prior to his Oscar win for The Deer Hunter and Margot Kidder before she was that year’s Lois Lane in Superman. Of further note, director David Leeds, who financed with his own production company, would never again lend his name to another film in any capacity. The film, which is obviously modeled after Sergio Leone’s Man With No Name series, considering it’s mysterious protagonist, has all the makings of a subversive genre entry, it’s stance on violence guided by an incredibly idiosyncratic score (that’s not Ennio Morricone) and Michael Chapman’s beautifully photographed landscapes (with plenty shots of rising/setting suns for its grand motif). However, muddled plotting and a comatosely constructed climax peg the film as rather forgettable, which is unfortunate considering its strange ambience.
- 11/5/2013
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Orson Welles is often held up as the most abused child in the history of Hollywood, but Erich von Stroheim was easily his equal as whipping boy: Beginning with “Foolish Wives” -- Hollywood’s first “million-dollar movie,” for which von Stroheim recreated Monte Carlo on the back lot of Universal – the former assistant to D.W. Griffith lost one duel after another to the hedge-clippers of Hollywood. On “Greed” alone, he was probably relieved of more footage than Welles ever shot in his life. The loss to cinema history has been mourned since the ‘20s. The good news: On Tuesday [July30] “Foolish Wives” -- mastered in HD from an archival 35mm print of the 1972 AFI Arthur Lennig restoration -- comes to Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Classics. It features the original 1922 Sigmund Romberg score, performed by Rodney Sauer, as well as “The Man You Loved to Hate,” Patrick Montgomery's feature-length documentary profile of von Stroheim,...
- 7/27/2013
- by John Anderson
- Thompson on Hollywood
News.
The lineup for the 66th Locarno Film Festival has been announced. Sections include the Concorso internazionale, (highlights which include premieres from Hong Sang-soo and Albert Serra and the long desired extended cut of Jacques Rivette's Va savoir), special Piazza Grande presentations, Histoire(s) du Cinéma, Fuori Concorso, and more. The various Jury members have also been announced, and heading the Concorso internazionale is Lav Diaz. David Hudson has more details for you over at Keyframe.
New issues now available on physical and digital shelves: Film Comment & Brooklyn Rail. Pitchfork's new film criticism sister site, The Dissolve, has opened its doors.
Finds.
Above: via Jonathan Rosenbaum, his introduction to Erich von Stroheim's Greed at the 2013 Greater St. Louis Humanities Festival. For Cinema Scope Online, Celluloid Liberation Front writes on Il Cinema Ritrovato Xxvii:
"Were we to emulate the Biblical terminology Il Cinema Ritrovato employs to describe one...
The lineup for the 66th Locarno Film Festival has been announced. Sections include the Concorso internazionale, (highlights which include premieres from Hong Sang-soo and Albert Serra and the long desired extended cut of Jacques Rivette's Va savoir), special Piazza Grande presentations, Histoire(s) du Cinéma, Fuori Concorso, and more. The various Jury members have also been announced, and heading the Concorso internazionale is Lav Diaz. David Hudson has more details for you over at Keyframe.
New issues now available on physical and digital shelves: Film Comment & Brooklyn Rail. Pitchfork's new film criticism sister site, The Dissolve, has opened its doors.
Finds.
Above: via Jonathan Rosenbaum, his introduction to Erich von Stroheim's Greed at the 2013 Greater St. Louis Humanities Festival. For Cinema Scope Online, Celluloid Liberation Front writes on Il Cinema Ritrovato Xxvii:
"Were we to emulate the Biblical terminology Il Cinema Ritrovato employs to describe one...
- 7/19/2013
- by Adam Cook
- MUBI
Can another silent, black and white film be a smash hit after the Artist? If it packs a surreal Spanish twist, believes the director who recast Snow White as a matador in Blancanieves
In May 2011 the Spanish writer-director Pablo Berger was busily prepping his second film, Blancanieves. After an eight-year struggle to raise funding, he was finally about to start shooting a film whose uniqueness he was convinced would surprise and delight audiences the world over. After all, this was the sort of mainstream entertainment that hadn't been seen in decades — a black and white, silent movie, complete with lush orchestration.
But then came the Cannes film festival, and The Artist.
"Nobody knew about The Artist until it appeared in Cannes," he recalls, with a reflex ruefulness. "It was completely out of the blue. I was in my office in Madrid, doing the storyboards for my film, when a producer...
In May 2011 the Spanish writer-director Pablo Berger was busily prepping his second film, Blancanieves. After an eight-year struggle to raise funding, he was finally about to start shooting a film whose uniqueness he was convinced would surprise and delight audiences the world over. After all, this was the sort of mainstream entertainment that hadn't been seen in decades — a black and white, silent movie, complete with lush orchestration.
But then came the Cannes film festival, and The Artist.
"Nobody knew about The Artist until it appeared in Cannes," he recalls, with a reflex ruefulness. "It was completely out of the blue. I was in my office in Madrid, doing the storyboards for my film, when a producer...
- 7/11/2013
- by Demetrios Matheou
- The Guardian - Film News
Review by Sam Moffitt
I grew up a monster kid in the 1960s. I tried to watch any movie with Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Vincent Price, Lon Chaney or Peter Lorre, whether the movie was horror or not, I loved all these actors. But Bela Lugosi has always had a special place in my heart and I’ve made every effort to see all his films. Phantom ship was one title that has eluded me for years, until now.
Courtesy of Image Entertainment and Netflix I finally caught up with Phantom Ship, also known as The Mystery of The Mary Celeste. Was it worth the wait and worth seeing? Yes and no, depending on how you feel about Lugosi. This is one film that allowed Lugosi room to move and create a character not really related to horror movies and it show cases just how good an actor he really was.
I grew up a monster kid in the 1960s. I tried to watch any movie with Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Vincent Price, Lon Chaney or Peter Lorre, whether the movie was horror or not, I loved all these actors. But Bela Lugosi has always had a special place in my heart and I’ve made every effort to see all his films. Phantom ship was one title that has eluded me for years, until now.
Courtesy of Image Entertainment and Netflix I finally caught up with Phantom Ship, also known as The Mystery of The Mary Celeste. Was it worth the wait and worth seeing? Yes and no, depending on how you feel about Lugosi. This is one film that allowed Lugosi room to move and create a character not really related to horror movies and it show cases just how good an actor he really was.
- 6/24/2013
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The Canadian (photo: Thomas Meighan in The Canadian) Thomas Meighan is The Star of William Beaudine’s The Canadian (1926), which screened at the 2012 San Francisco Silent Film Festival. The credits feature his name far above everyone else’s. The basic story of The Canadian, scenario by Arthur Stringer from the 1913 W. Somerset Maugham play The Land of Promise, is similar in theme to Victor Sjöström’s later film The Wind (1928), but without the wind tempest and the murder. Instead, The Canadian concentrates on characterizations. After her rich aunt dies, stuffy, uptight Nora (Mona Palma) travels from London to a wheat farm owned by her brother (Wyndham Standing) in Calgary. She looks down with disdain at the simple, rustic life he lives in the country, with his wife, Gertie (Dale Fuller), and farm hands — especially the independent-minded Frank Taylor (Thomas Meighan). The Canadian starts out as an unpredictable and engaging tale.
- 6/4/2013
- by Danny Fortune
- Alt Film Guide
Greed (1924) is considered one of the greatest silent films ever made, although the film was a box-office failure at the time. Greed is an epic morality tale about how three people are dehumanized by the influence of money upon their lives. They are the simple, uneducated former miner and dentist McTeague (played by Gibson Gowland) in turn of the century San Francisco, his miserly, vulgar and pathological wife Trina (Zasu Pitts), and their mutual friend and McTeague’s ultimate nemesis Marcus (Jean Hersholt) – who all are caught up by their greed for riches. What remains of the film was directed by the ambitious, extravagant, stubborn and independent-minded Erich Von Stroheim – he spent nine months shooting the film and a total of fifteen months writing and editing it (from 1923-1924). Production costs were close to half a million dollars. Von Stroheim, who is best known for his role as Gloria Swanson...
- 4/3/2013
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Last night I watched Orson Welles' 1942 film The Magnificent Ambersons for the first time. Of course, like everyone else, I'm watching the edited down 88-minute version of the film, which was recently re-released by Warner Home Video along with the 70th anniversary release of Citizen Kane, but at this point you take what you get as it seems decided we'll never see the original 148-minute version. As David Kamp wrote in his 2002 Vanity Fair piece, Ambersons is considered one of the "two great 'lost' movies in the annals of Hollywood filmmaking" along with Erich von Stroheim's Greed, which Christopher Nolan recently pegged as a Criterion hopeful. I've had Kamp's piece bookmarked for the longest time, not wanting to read it before seeing the movie myself and I was finally able to do so. It's a fascinating story of how the film came to be an hour shorter than...
- 2/6/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
What does the director of Inception and The Dark Knight like to watch? What may have inspired some of his visual and storytelling cues? Well, Christopher Nolan has just made a list of his top ten Criterion titles, including one that may be a hint as to what's to come. I have included his rankings below along with his brief thoughts as well as a link to buy each. Personally, of those he chose I personally love 12 Angry Men and The Thin Red Line and also enjoyed both The Hit and The Testament of Dr. Mabuse enough to purchase each. I have never, however, seen Bad Timing, The Complete Mr. Arkadin or Greed the latter of which was directed by Erich von Stroheim who may, now, best be remembered as first husband and butler to Norma Desmond in Sunset Blvd. I have never seen any of the films he directed,...
- 1/29/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
To start the New Year, every day in January we will be publishing another section of our 300 Greatest Films Ever Made List. This list was compiled over a two-year period using a variety of criteria, including--popularity, critical response, box office take, influence, originality and awards won. Thanks to all the people who helped in making this list by giving their feedback over blogs and hubs during the period it was being compiled. And now, on with the list…
Numbers 300-291
300) Kind Hearts And Coronets (1949) Robert Hamer British
299) The Girl With A Pearl Earring (2003) Peter Webber British
298) The Green Mile (1999) Frank Darabont USA
297) The Matrix (1999) The Wachowski Brothers USA
296) The Red Shoes (1948) Michael Powell British
295) The Right Stuff (1983) Philip Kaufman USA
294) Blow Up (1966) Michelangelo Antonioni British/Italian
293) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) Ang Lee Hong Kong/Taiwan
292) Greed (1925) Eric Von Stroheim USA Silent
291) Halloween (1978) John Cartenter USA
Numbers 290-281 next....
FILMMAKINGfilm cultureclassic...
Numbers 300-291
300) Kind Hearts And Coronets (1949) Robert Hamer British
299) The Girl With A Pearl Earring (2003) Peter Webber British
298) The Green Mile (1999) Frank Darabont USA
297) The Matrix (1999) The Wachowski Brothers USA
296) The Red Shoes (1948) Michael Powell British
295) The Right Stuff (1983) Philip Kaufman USA
294) Blow Up (1966) Michelangelo Antonioni British/Italian
293) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) Ang Lee Hong Kong/Taiwan
292) Greed (1925) Eric Von Stroheim USA Silent
291) Halloween (1978) John Cartenter USA
Numbers 290-281 next....
FILMMAKINGfilm cultureclassic...
- 1/2/2013
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (Rob Young)
- Cinelinx
With David Lean's epic masterpiece "Lawrence of Arabia" celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, the BFI has compiled an unranked list of "10 Desert Films to Try." The finely curated list includes classics like Sergio Leone's "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," Erich von Stroheim's gold-hungry "Greed" and Nicolas Roeg's dreamy "Walkabout," but also Gus van Sant's underappreciated "Gerry" and Nicholas Ray's less-seen Richard Burton-starrer "Bitter Victory." As the weather cools down, what other great movies are set in the endless sand and glaring sun? BFI's 10 Desert Films to Try: "Bitter Victory" (dir. Nicholas Ray, 1957) "Darratt" (dir. Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, 2006) "Fata Morgana" (dir. Werner Herzog, 1971) "Gerry" (dir. Gus van Sant, 2002) "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" (dir. Sergio Leone, 1966) ...
- 11/26/2012
- by Beth Hanna
- Thompson on Hollywood
Chicago – With her chin pointed high, eyes bulging, teeth gleaming and hands contorting as if performing a Transylvanian spell, screen actress Norma Desmond insists that she’s ready for her close-up. She descends her staircase and becomes fully engulfed in the gray haze of her delusions in one of the greatest and most unforgettable final scenes in cinema history.
This moment, like so many in Billy Wilder’s 1950 masterpiece, “Sunset Boulevard,” achieves a miraculous balancing act. It is darkly funny, deeply sad and richly unsettling. The same could be said of Gloria Swanson’s Oscar-nominated performance as Desmond, the aging icon of the silent era who dwells in a mansion fit for Miss Havisham and is doted upon by a solemn enabler named Max (Erich von Stroheim), who has dedicated his life to protecting his beloved diva from the world that has forgotten her. Not only did von Stroheim direct...
This moment, like so many in Billy Wilder’s 1950 masterpiece, “Sunset Boulevard,” achieves a miraculous balancing act. It is darkly funny, deeply sad and richly unsettling. The same could be said of Gloria Swanson’s Oscar-nominated performance as Desmond, the aging icon of the silent era who dwells in a mansion fit for Miss Havisham and is doted upon by a solemn enabler named Max (Erich von Stroheim), who has dedicated his life to protecting his beloved diva from the world that has forgotten her. Not only did von Stroheim direct...
- 11/12/2012
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Though perhaps not as legendary as the lost original 9 ½ hour cut of Erich von Stroheim’s silent masterpiece Greed or other lost footage and films from cinema history, in the years since its 1986 release, the original ending of director Frank Oz’s beloved cult musical Little Shop of Horrors has developed a mythology all of its own. Oz was famously forced to change the original ending of his masterpiece in response to negative reactions from preview audiences, but now, 26 years later, Warner Brothers has given the original Director’s Cut the Blu-Ray release that it deserves.
Little Shop of Horrors began its life as a low-budget dark comedy from director Roger Corman and writer Charles B. Griffith. Released in 1960, the film was famously shot in a mere two days on a paltry budget of $30,000, and featured a pre-fame Jack Nicholson as a masochistic dental patient (his small role in the...
Little Shop of Horrors began its life as a low-budget dark comedy from director Roger Corman and writer Charles B. Griffith. Released in 1960, the film was famously shot in a mere two days on a paltry budget of $30,000, and featured a pre-fame Jack Nicholson as a masochistic dental patient (his small role in the...
- 10/10/2012
- by Patrick Grieve
- We Got This Covered
During the first week of August, Sight & Sound organized a poll that dethroned "Citizen Kane" as the best movie ever made. Alfred Hitchcock's "Vertigo" took the title as the Greatest Film ending "Citizen Kane's" long run. (See Dethroned! "Citizen Kane" No Longer Best Movie Ever! Critics, Directors Pick Top 10 Films of All Time!)
Academians, archivists, critics, directors, and distributors all over the world were among the ones invited to participate in the poll. Now, Sight & Sound has revealed the choices made by our favorite directors (via Collider). Here they are (it's interesting to note that among the list of directors below, only Martin Scorsese, David O'Russell, and Sam Mendes picked "Vertigo"):
Andrew Dominik (The Assassination of Jesse James, Killing Them Softly)
Apocalypse Now (1979) . Francis Ford Coppola
Badlands (1973) . Terrence Malick
Barry Lyndon (1975) . Stanley Kubrick
Blue Velvet (1986) . David Lynch
Marnie (1964) . Alfred Hitchcock
Mulholland Dr. (2003) . David Lynch
The Night of the Hunter...
Academians, archivists, critics, directors, and distributors all over the world were among the ones invited to participate in the poll. Now, Sight & Sound has revealed the choices made by our favorite directors (via Collider). Here they are (it's interesting to note that among the list of directors below, only Martin Scorsese, David O'Russell, and Sam Mendes picked "Vertigo"):
Andrew Dominik (The Assassination of Jesse James, Killing Them Softly)
Apocalypse Now (1979) . Francis Ford Coppola
Badlands (1973) . Terrence Malick
Barry Lyndon (1975) . Stanley Kubrick
Blue Velvet (1986) . David Lynch
Marnie (1964) . Alfred Hitchcock
Mulholland Dr. (2003) . David Lynch
The Night of the Hunter...
- 8/27/2012
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
Directors Guilermo de Toro (Hellboy), Edgar Wright (Scott Pilgrim), Marc Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man), Matthew Vaughn (X-Men: First Class), Sam Mendes (Skyfall), Martin Scorsese (Goodfellas) and others have shared their Top 10 movie lists from a poll by Sight & Sound magazine. You might be surprised with what's on them, but each list of films is respectable.
Every ten years, the film magazine Sight & Sound polls a number of critics, academics, and professionals and then tallies up the results for an ultimate list. Here are the individual lists of several directors that have been polled. Check them out, and let us know what you think about these directors' favorite films! Do any of these lists match your own?
Guilermo del Toro's list...
8½ (1963) - Federico Fellini
La Belle et la Bete (1946) - Jean Cocteau
Frankenstein (1931) - James Whale
Freaks (1932) - Tod Browning
Goodfellas (1990) - Martin Scorsese
Greed (1925) - Erich von Stroheim
Los Olvidados...
Every ten years, the film magazine Sight & Sound polls a number of critics, academics, and professionals and then tallies up the results for an ultimate list. Here are the individual lists of several directors that have been polled. Check them out, and let us know what you think about these directors' favorite films! Do any of these lists match your own?
Guilermo del Toro's list...
8½ (1963) - Federico Fellini
La Belle et la Bete (1946) - Jean Cocteau
Frankenstein (1931) - James Whale
Freaks (1932) - Tod Browning
Goodfellas (1990) - Martin Scorsese
Greed (1925) - Erich von Stroheim
Los Olvidados...
- 8/24/2012
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
There was plenty of discussion across the movie blogosphere following last week's announcement that Vertigo had dethroned Citizen Kane as the greatest film of all time according to Sight & Sound's decennial poll. In addition to revealing the top 50 as determined by critics, they also provided a top 10 based on a separate poll for directors only. In the print version of the magazine, they have taken it a step further by reprinting some of the individual top 10 lists from the filmmakers who participated, and we now have some of them here for your perusal. Among them, we have lists from legends like Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola and Quentin Tarantino, but there are also some unexpected newcomers who took part including Richard Ayoade (Submarine), Miranda July (Me and You and Everyone We Know) and Sean Durkin (Martha Marcy May Marlene). Some of these lists aren't all that surprising (both Quentin Tarantino...
- 8/6/2012
- by Sean
- FilmJunk
Last week, the recent Sight & Sound list of the top 50 movies of all-time (find it here) was released. The poll is conducted every ten years and this year's edition was made by polling 846 critics, programmers, academics and distributors. In addition to that list, however, Sight & Sound polled 358 film directors, which included Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Francis Ford Coppola, Woody Allen and Mike Leigh. Tallying the results the directors' top ten looked like this: Tokyo Story (dir. Yasujiro Ozu) 2001: A Space Odyssey (dir. Stanley Kubrick) Citizen Kane (dir. Orson Welles) 8 1/2 (dir. Federico Fellini) Taxi Driver (dir. Martin Scorsese) Apocalypse Now (dir. Francis Ford Coppola) The Godfather (dir. Francis Ford Coppola) Vertigo (dir. AAlfred Hitchcock) Mirror (dir. Andrei Tarkovsky) Bicycle Thieves (dir. Vittoria De Sica) The problem, for me at least, is that doesn't really tell us much. Just like the Sight & Sound list we're looking at something that simply lists...
- 8/6/2012
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
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