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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced its fall programming slate, beginning with “This Is Duplass: An Evening with Jay and Mark” and “In the Labyrinth: A Conversation with Guillermo del Toro” hosted by Academy Museum Director Kerry Brougher.
Other events to be presented from October through early December include a conversation with Taiwanese filmmaker Hou Hsiao-hsien, a screening of Fellini’s “Amarcord,” a look back at the first days of Disneyland with “Hollywood Home Movies,” a new restoration of 1943’s “Heaven Can Wait,” an Academy Film Scholars Lecture highlighting prolific director Lois Weber, and an anniversary screening of the holiday classic “Remember the Night.”
This Is Duplass: An Evening With Jay And Mark Tuesday, October 6, at 7:30 p.m. Samuel Goldwyn Theater, Beverly Hills Jay and Mark Duplass will take the stage to discuss their smart, off-center and comedic cinematic style,...
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced its fall programming slate, beginning with “This Is Duplass: An Evening with Jay and Mark” and “In the Labyrinth: A Conversation with Guillermo del Toro” hosted by Academy Museum Director Kerry Brougher.
Other events to be presented from October through early December include a conversation with Taiwanese filmmaker Hou Hsiao-hsien, a screening of Fellini’s “Amarcord,” a look back at the first days of Disneyland with “Hollywood Home Movies,” a new restoration of 1943’s “Heaven Can Wait,” an Academy Film Scholars Lecture highlighting prolific director Lois Weber, and an anniversary screening of the holiday classic “Remember the Night.”
This Is Duplass: An Evening With Jay And Mark Tuesday, October 6, at 7:30 p.m. Samuel Goldwyn Theater, Beverly Hills Jay and Mark Duplass will take the stage to discuss their smart, off-center and comedic cinematic style,...
- 9/24/2015
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
In today's roundup of news and views: A new journal on television narratives; a review of a book from Raymond Cauchetier, who photographed Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut and other French New Wave filmmakers at work; more long takes on Alex Garland's Ex Machina (and Joe Wright's interview with Alicia Vikander); Boris Nelepo on Manoel De Oliveira; John Powers on The Matrix; Bright Lights on Boyhood; a conversation about Don Hertzfeldt; an appreciation of Federico Fellini; Jaws at 40 and Total Recall at 25; in defense of Cameron Crowe's Aloha; and Bernardo Bertolucci, Wim Wenders, Fernando Meirelles, Walter Salles, Atom Egoyan, Bob Rafelson and Pablo Trapero are among the directors who have pledged their support to Film4Climate. » - David Hudson...
- 6/4/2015
- Fandor: Keyframe
In today's roundup of news and views: A new journal on television narratives; a review of a book from Raymond Cauchetier, who photographed Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut and other French New Wave filmmakers at work; more long takes on Alex Garland's Ex Machina (and Joe Wright's interview with Alicia Vikander); Boris Nelepo on Manoel De Oliveira; John Powers on The Matrix; Bright Lights on Boyhood; a conversation about Don Hertzfeldt; an appreciation of Federico Fellini; Jaws at 40 and Total Recall at 25; in defense of Cameron Crowe's Aloha; and Bernardo Bertolucci, Wim Wenders, Fernando Meirelles, Walter Salles, Atom Egoyan, Bob Rafelson and Pablo Trapero are among the directors who have pledged their support to Film4Climate. » - David Hudson...
- 6/4/2015
- Keyframe
The Onion City Experimental Film and Video Festival will be celebrating its 26th spectacular edition in the great city of Chicago on January 28-31. The fest’s opening night will take place at the Gene Siskel Film Center, while the other nights will play out at Columbia College Chicago’s Ferguson Theater.
Typical of many recent previous editions of Onion City, this will be a showcase of international avant-garde and experimental cinema that includes 46 short films and one feature from eight different countries, including the U.S., France, Portugal, Italy, Turkey and more.
The fest opens on the 28th with films such as the 4th entry in Phil Solomon‘s acclaimed machinima musings project, Psalm IV: “Valley of the Shadow;” a new animation by Janie Geiser, The Hummingbird Wars; plus films from experimental stalwarts like Robert Todd and Fern Silva.
The one feature screening will be on January 31 at 3:00 p.
Typical of many recent previous editions of Onion City, this will be a showcase of international avant-garde and experimental cinema that includes 46 short films and one feature from eight different countries, including the U.S., France, Portugal, Italy, Turkey and more.
The fest opens on the 28th with films such as the 4th entry in Phil Solomon‘s acclaimed machinima musings project, Psalm IV: “Valley of the Shadow;” a new animation by Janie Geiser, The Hummingbird Wars; plus films from experimental stalwarts like Robert Todd and Fern Silva.
The one feature screening will be on January 31 at 3:00 p.
- 1/26/2015
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Nymphomaniac and the infinite loneliness of Lars von Trier by David Ehrlich
“Early in Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac, Young Joe (Stacy Martin) coos these words to one of the countless men she has sex with during the two part, 241-minute opus of depravity. While what she’s saying carries a clear erotic charge, her bluntly literal instructions aren’t a come-on so much as a desperate plea for fulfillment. As Joe relates her life story to the overeager stranger Seligman (Stellan Skarsgård), who found her lying in an alley near his home, what was first intended as a simple request for comprehensive penetration evolves into a tragic refrain, with the unsubtle subtext that might be expected from a filmmaker who has the word “fuck” tattooed across his right-hand knuckles. Joe is suffering from an incurable sense of incompletion. Loneliness, she tells Seligman, has been her constant companion. That simple...
“Early in Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac, Young Joe (Stacy Martin) coos these words to one of the countless men she has sex with during the two part, 241-minute opus of depravity. While what she’s saying carries a clear erotic charge, her bluntly literal instructions aren’t a come-on so much as a desperate plea for fulfillment. As Joe relates her life story to the overeager stranger Seligman (Stellan Skarsgård), who found her lying in an alley near his home, what was first intended as a simple request for comprehensive penetration evolves into a tragic refrain, with the unsubtle subtext that might be expected from a filmmaker who has the word “fuck” tattooed across his right-hand knuckles. Joe is suffering from an incurable sense of incompletion. Loneliness, she tells Seligman, has been her constant companion. That simple...
- 5/6/2014
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Jules and Jim
Directed by François Truffaut
Written by François Truffaut and Jean Gruault
France, 1962
In François Truffaut’s debut feature, The 400 Blows, widely seen as the flagship production of the French Nouvelle Vague, or “New Wave,” he was able to convey a representation of youth in a very specific era and, at that time, in a very unique way. Autobiographical as the 1959 film was, it also featured a notable vitality and honesty, two traits that would distinguish several of these French films from the late 1950s and into the ’60s. While The 400 Blows was an earnest and refreshing portrayal of adolescence, in some ways, Truffaut’s 1962 feature, Jules and Jim, his third, feels even more youthful, in terms of stylistic daring and energetic exuberance. Though dealing with adults and serious adult situations, Jules and Jim exhibits a formal sense of unbridled glee, with brisk editing, amusing asides,...
Directed by François Truffaut
Written by François Truffaut and Jean Gruault
France, 1962
In François Truffaut’s debut feature, The 400 Blows, widely seen as the flagship production of the French Nouvelle Vague, or “New Wave,” he was able to convey a representation of youth in a very specific era and, at that time, in a very unique way. Autobiographical as the 1959 film was, it also featured a notable vitality and honesty, two traits that would distinguish several of these French films from the late 1950s and into the ’60s. While The 400 Blows was an earnest and refreshing portrayal of adolescence, in some ways, Truffaut’s 1962 feature, Jules and Jim, his third, feels even more youthful, in terms of stylistic daring and energetic exuberance. Though dealing with adults and serious adult situations, Jules and Jim exhibits a formal sense of unbridled glee, with brisk editing, amusing asides,...
- 2/7/2014
- by Jeremy Carr
- SoundOnSight
I don't remember the first time I watched Fran?ois Truffaut's Jules and Jim, but I remember appreciating it though not loving it. Watching it again on Criterion's new Blu-ray release (buy it here) I feel a greater level of respect, but the film almost feels clinical to me more than anything else. As Truffaut tells the story of a love triangle between Jules (Oskar Werner), Jim (Henri Serre) and the free-spirited Catherine (Jeanne Moreau) I couldn't help but feel that each scene is a masterclass in filmmaking, though almost to a fault. Frequently cited as one of the best films ever made, and I assume many would argue Truffaut's best film, though I'm sure admirers of The 400 Blows would beg to differ, Jules and Jim is an adaptation of Henri-Pierre Roche's novel, which Truffaut clearly adored as evidenced by the multitude of interview segments included on this disc.
- 2/6/2014
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
The Oscar nominations are in, and if you haven’t glanced at the Best Actress category, you’re in for a star-studded explosion. Collectively, the five chosen actresses have been nominated 38 times for Academy Awards, so any member of this esteemed quintet could run off with the gold.
But every great actor is an entitled to a mediocre performance or two. Here are my least favorite performances by the five nominated actresses of 2014.
Amy Adams: Julie and Julia
I actually appreciate that Julia and Julia was half-about the tribulations of a blogger trying to establish herself. Scaring up pageviews in order to sustain a living is an unusual situation, and I haven’t seen that explored in many movies. But Amy Adams is a pile of quirks and unfunny dialogue in this movie, and I’ve never seen her so flatly perky. You miss Meryl when she’s not...
But every great actor is an entitled to a mediocre performance or two. Here are my least favorite performances by the five nominated actresses of 2014.
Amy Adams: Julie and Julia
I actually appreciate that Julia and Julia was half-about the tribulations of a blogger trying to establish herself. Scaring up pageviews in order to sustain a living is an unusual situation, and I haven’t seen that explored in many movies. But Amy Adams is a pile of quirks and unfunny dialogue in this movie, and I’ve never seen her so flatly perky. You miss Meryl when she’s not...
- 1/16/2014
- by Louis Virtel
- The Backlot
Welcome to Critical Consensus, Indiewire’s recurring column in which two critics from our Criticwire Network discuss topics in current cinema with Indiewire critic Eric Kohn. This week, Salon critic Andrew O’Hehir trades e-mails with Vogue’s John Powers about the best and worst of 2013 as well as what they’re anticipating in the new year. Eric Kohn: John, your top 10 list overlaps with Andrew's to some degree, although you include two major fall season films absent from his list: "Gravity" and "American Hustle." Taking these studio movies into account, do you think this was a more promising year than usual for Hollywood filmmaking? The studios had a rough summer, but do these films make up for it? Or would it make more sense to look at these films as anomalies in an otherwise crass machine? John Powers: I don't think that this film year reveals much about...
- 1/11/2014
- by Eric Kohn, Andrew O'Hehir and John Powers
- Indiewire
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Feb. 4, 2014
Price: Blu-ray/DVD Combo $39.95
Studio: Criterion
Hailed as one of the finest films ever made, the 1962 drama-romance Jules and Jim charts, over twenty-five years, the relationship between two friends and the object of their mutual obsession.
The legendary François Truffaut (The 400 Blows) directs, and Jeanne Moreau (La Notte) stars as the alluring and willful Catherine, whose enigmatic smile and passionate nature lure Jules (The Spy Who Came in from the Cold’s Oskar Werner) and Jim (The Fire Within’s Henri Serre) into one of cinema’s most captivating romantic triangles.
An exuberant and poignant meditation on freedom, loyalty, and the fortitude of love, the classic Jules and Jim was a worldwide smash a half-century ago and remains every bit as audacious and entrancing today.
Presented in French with English subtitles, Criterion’s Blu-ray/DVD Combo of Jules and Jim includes the following features:
• New 2K digital restoration,...
Price: Blu-ray/DVD Combo $39.95
Studio: Criterion
Hailed as one of the finest films ever made, the 1962 drama-romance Jules and Jim charts, over twenty-five years, the relationship between two friends and the object of their mutual obsession.
The legendary François Truffaut (The 400 Blows) directs, and Jeanne Moreau (La Notte) stars as the alluring and willful Catherine, whose enigmatic smile and passionate nature lure Jules (The Spy Who Came in from the Cold’s Oskar Werner) and Jim (The Fire Within’s Henri Serre) into one of cinema’s most captivating romantic triangles.
An exuberant and poignant meditation on freedom, loyalty, and the fortitude of love, the classic Jules and Jim was a worldwide smash a half-century ago and remains every bit as audacious and entrancing today.
Presented in French with English subtitles, Criterion’s Blu-ray/DVD Combo of Jules and Jim includes the following features:
• New 2K digital restoration,...
- 11/19/2013
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
I’ll admit it; like everyone else on the planet, I rarely listen to a DVD commentary while watching a DVD or Blu-ray, with the exceptions being when a) I’m madly in love with the film in question or b) I’ve been told by someone that it’s actually worth two hours of my life to sit down, shut up and listen.
While you can find fascinating commentaries from the likes of Werner Herzog, Steven Soderbergh, Francis Ford Coppola and David Cronenberg, the most memorable ones tend to be those that manage to both harness our inner film geek through their obsessive level of detail, and often manage to do so with their tongue rooted firmly in their cheek.
Some of these commentaries are straight-up examinations of the subject at hand – albeit done so to a highly authoritative, intelligent degree – though most will have the geek within cackling...
While you can find fascinating commentaries from the likes of Werner Herzog, Steven Soderbergh, Francis Ford Coppola and David Cronenberg, the most memorable ones tend to be those that manage to both harness our inner film geek through their obsessive level of detail, and often manage to do so with their tongue rooted firmly in their cheek.
Some of these commentaries are straight-up examinations of the subject at hand – albeit done so to a highly authoritative, intelligent degree – though most will have the geek within cackling...
- 7/30/2013
- by Shaun Munro
- Obsessed with Film
The 9th annual Brakhage Center Symposium will be taking place this weekend at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where the legendary underground filmmaker Stan Brakhage taught for so many years. The symposium brings together filmmakers, scholars, critics, and curators to discuss the state of modern experimental film — and to show many awesome examples of it.
The event kicks off on Friday, March 15 at 5:00 p.m. with the debut of the video installation Answer Now by Jennifer Reeder at the Atlas Black Box theater.
This will be followed by an all-day event based on “Media Arts and Cinema Poetics” on Saturday, March 16 starting at 9:45 a.m. at the Visual Arts Complex (Vac) 1B20. The programmers leading the discussions and screenings include two major figures from Los Angeles: Glenn Phillips, a curator at the Getty Research Institute, and Mark Toscano, a film preservationist at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
The event kicks off on Friday, March 15 at 5:00 p.m. with the debut of the video installation Answer Now by Jennifer Reeder at the Atlas Black Box theater.
This will be followed by an all-day event based on “Media Arts and Cinema Poetics” on Saturday, March 16 starting at 9:45 a.m. at the Visual Arts Complex (Vac) 1B20. The programmers leading the discussions and screenings include two major figures from Los Angeles: Glenn Phillips, a curator at the Getty Research Institute, and Mark Toscano, a film preservationist at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
- 3/15/2013
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Chris Hegedus and Da Pennebaker's The War Room (1993), now out on DVD and Blu-ray from Criterion, "captures all the voyeuristic you-are-there immediacy of its Direct Cinema forebears, stretching as far back as 1960's Primary, on which Pennebaker served as editor," begins Bud Wilkins in Slant. "Yet it also signals a sea change in the filmmakers' involvement with behind-the-scenes politics, capturing the process just as quantum leaps in communication technology forever altered the ways campaigning gets done."
As if to emphasize that point, David Weigel, introducing his interview with Hegedus and Pennebaker for Slate (Nigel M Smith talks with them, too, for indieWIRE), writes: "They got lucky, and probably no one will ever get this lucky again."
"The real stroke of fortune," writes Louis Menand for Criterion, "was the discovery, within the chaos of the campaign, of a classic buddy story. In the unconventionally charming and disarming [senior strategist James] Carville and the telegenic and enigmatic adviser George Stephanopoulos,...
As if to emphasize that point, David Weigel, introducing his interview with Hegedus and Pennebaker for Slate (Nigel M Smith talks with them, too, for indieWIRE), writes: "They got lucky, and probably no one will ever get this lucky again."
"The real stroke of fortune," writes Louis Menand for Criterion, "was the discovery, within the chaos of the campaign, of a classic buddy story. In the unconventionally charming and disarming [senior strategist James] Carville and the telegenic and enigmatic adviser George Stephanopoulos,...
- 4/1/2012
- MUBI
This is from a few months ago, but is highly relevant: Laura Major of Colorlab wrote an article for Screen Slate about the restoration of the films of Jack Smith, work that began way back in 2010. I also want to note that Laura helped me identify the clips of Smith’s work found in this video put up by the Microscope Gallery. So, thank you Laura — and Colorlab!It’s been known for awhile that film distributor Canyon Cinema has been in critical condition, but their plight recently made the New York Times in a thorough article, which discusses their need to become a non-profit, an issue that has plagued the group since they founded in the 1960s.Donna k. launches her Women in Culture interview series with an informative chat with Nancy Gerstman, co-founder of the Zeitgeist Films distribution company.Robert Maier posted up two absolutely amazing photographs this week.
- 2/19/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
John Severin, Eisner Hall of Fame winner and one of the last of the legendary EC artists, died Sunday in Denver, Colorado. He was 90.
Severin was among the greatest draftsmen of the EC crew. He was especially well known for his western comics and war comics, but worked across many genres, including a 45 year stint drawing for Cracked magazine, doing numerous parodies and creating the definitive version of the company mascot, janitor Sylvester P. Smythe.
In recent years he had continued to work, with his last new material coming from Dark Horse last year on Sir Edward Grey: Witchfinder.
His family has released a statement:
Internationally acclaimed illustrator-cartoonist, John Powers Severin (1921-2012), passed away Sunday, February 12, 2012 at his home in Denver, Colorado with his family by his side.
He was 90 years old.
Throughout his sixty plus year career in comic illustration and cartooning, Severin gained world-wide notoriety...
Severin was among the greatest draftsmen of the EC crew. He was especially well known for his western comics and war comics, but worked across many genres, including a 45 year stint drawing for Cracked magazine, doing numerous parodies and creating the definitive version of the company mascot, janitor Sylvester P. Smythe.
In recent years he had continued to work, with his last new material coming from Dark Horse last year on Sir Edward Grey: Witchfinder.
His family has released a statement:
Internationally acclaimed illustrator-cartoonist, John Powers Severin (1921-2012), passed away Sunday, February 12, 2012 at his home in Denver, Colorado with his family by his side.
He was 90 years old.
Throughout his sixty plus year career in comic illustration and cartooning, Severin gained world-wide notoriety...
- 2/14/2012
- by Glenn Hauman
- Comicmix.com
[1] Today's Amazon Gold Box Deal of the Day is The Ultimate Matrix Collection Blu-Ray for $25.49 [2] ($65 msrp). The Gold Box Deal of the Day is only good for 24 hours and will disappear at midnight. So act fast. This seven-disc collection contains the complete Matrix Trilogy in high definition video and lossless high definition 5.1 audio (Dolby TrueHD) — each with hours of special features including Whv's ground-breaking In-Movie Experience. The Animatrix, the nine-part anime film, three additional bonus discs include more than 35 hours of additional features and a digital copy of The Matrix. Full list of special features after the jump. Also, they have a one day only deal on It's A Wonderful Life, selling the Blu-ray for only $13.99 [3] ($30 msrp) and the two disc collector's DVD set for only $8.99 [4] ($20 msrp). Disc #1 - The Matrix (1999) In-Movie Experience Written introduction by the Wachowski brothers Philosophers commentary by Dr. Cornel West, Ken Wilber Critics commentary by Todd McCarthy,...
- 11/29/2011
- by Peter Sciretta
- Slash Film
Chicago – “Framing a shot?” asks Ida (Christine Boisson), the latest photogenic lover of Italian filmmaker Niccolò (Tomas Milian), in Michelangelo Antonioni’s hypnotic 1982 effort, “Identification of a Woman.” Like Guidio, the hero of Federico Fellini’s 1963 masterpiece, “8 1/2,” Niccolò has the desire to create but has no story to tell, just “an idea of the female form” that perpetually haunts his imagination.
Regardless of his efforts to move on, Niccolò’s past threatens to consume him. The alarm systems left by his paranoid ex-wife are still present in his apartment, forcing him to dodge cameras and sirens while entering his own residence. This sequence takes place at the top of the picture, and is rather amusing but also terribly sad. The same could be said about much of what follows in this voyeuristic meditation on sexual and artistic obsession.
Blu-ray Rating: 3.5/5.0
Moviegoers frustrated with Antonioni’s enigmatic explorations of ennui among...
Regardless of his efforts to move on, Niccolò’s past threatens to consume him. The alarm systems left by his paranoid ex-wife are still present in his apartment, forcing him to dodge cameras and sirens while entering his own residence. This sequence takes place at the top of the picture, and is rather amusing but also terribly sad. The same could be said about much of what follows in this voyeuristic meditation on sexual and artistic obsession.
Blu-ray Rating: 3.5/5.0
Moviegoers frustrated with Antonioni’s enigmatic explorations of ennui among...
- 11/8/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
The Tuesday before Halloween is bound to have a lot of genre titles. There are some good ones too like Attack the Block, Blue Underground releases Fulci in High-Definition with Zombie and The House by the Cemetery, also Criterion releases The Island of Lost Souls on DVD & Blu-Ray and the most talked about film of last year, A Serbian Film finally hits the shelves. Read below, if you dare, for all your DVD and Blu-Ray releases for this week and if you plan on purchasing any films through Amazon, click on the buttons provided as they help us out with paying the bills around here.
Animal Attack Two Pack (Maneaters Are Loose/ Shark Kill)
Two savage and rare TV movies in the 1970s “Animal Attack” genre that have rarely been seen since their initial release, now back in print and together at last on DVD.
Buy the DVD @ Amazon.
Animal Attack Two Pack (Maneaters Are Loose/ Shark Kill)
Two savage and rare TV movies in the 1970s “Animal Attack” genre that have rarely been seen since their initial release, now back in print and together at last on DVD.
Buy the DVD @ Amazon.
- 10/25/2011
- by Andy Triefenbach
- Destroy the Brain
"Alexander Korda's production of The Four Feathers, the most popular film version of a 1902 British adventure novel set during the Sudanese Mahdist revolt in the late 19th century, retains on its surface pro-Empire bravado and a streak of colonialist supremacy," writes Bill Weber in Slant. "But as vintage 1939 English-regiment actioners go, it has the edge on Hollywood's Gunga Din in authentic, epically framed locations, a lush Technicolor palette, and a lesser racist taint." Criterion's release is a "landmark physical production is handsomely remastered and preserved, even if the bloom has gone off the rose of its imperial England." Speaking of which. As you've likely heard, perhaps on Start the Week (see Mon, Oct 11), Richard Gott's Britain's Empire: Resistance, Rebellion and Repression has kicked up a bit of dust recently. Verso has a quick primer.
Identification of a Woman is Michelangelo Antonioni's "foolishly underrated 1982 film about men and women,...
Identification of a Woman is Michelangelo Antonioni's "foolishly underrated 1982 film about men and women,...
- 10/25/2011
- MUBI
Release Date: Oct. 25, 2011
Price: DVD $19.95, Blu-ray $29.95
Studio: Criterion
Christine Boisson reflects in Identification of a Woman.
Written and directed by the great Michelangelo Antonioni (I Vinti), Identification of a Woman takes a soul-baring voyage into one man’s artistic and erotic consciousness.
After his wife leaves him, a film director (Tomas Milian) finds himself drawn into affairs with two enigmatic women (Daniela Silverio and Christine Boisson), while at the same time searching for the right subject and actress for his next film.
A kind of “anti-romance” erotic drama, the 1982 movie was a late-career coup for the legendary Italian filmmaker, and it’s still renowned for its sexual explicitness and an extended scene on a fog-enshrouded highway that stands with the director’s greatest set pieces.
Unlike most Criterion releases, which are known for being packed with bonus features, the DVD and Blu-ray for Identification of a Woman have only a...
Price: DVD $19.95, Blu-ray $29.95
Studio: Criterion
Christine Boisson reflects in Identification of a Woman.
Written and directed by the great Michelangelo Antonioni (I Vinti), Identification of a Woman takes a soul-baring voyage into one man’s artistic and erotic consciousness.
After his wife leaves him, a film director (Tomas Milian) finds himself drawn into affairs with two enigmatic women (Daniela Silverio and Christine Boisson), while at the same time searching for the right subject and actress for his next film.
A kind of “anti-romance” erotic drama, the 1982 movie was a late-career coup for the legendary Italian filmmaker, and it’s still renowned for its sexual explicitness and an extended scene on a fog-enshrouded highway that stands with the director’s greatest set pieces.
Unlike most Criterion releases, which are known for being packed with bonus features, the DVD and Blu-ray for Identification of a Woman have only a...
- 8/9/2011
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
[1] Today's Amazon Gold Box Deal of the Day is The Ultimate Matrix Collection Blu-Ray for $26.99 [2], 58% off the $65 msrp. The Gold Box Deal of the Day is only good for 24 hours and will disappear at midnight. So act fast. This seven-disc collection contains the complete Matrix Trilogy in high definition video and lossless high definition 5.1 audio (Dolby TrueHD) — each with hours of special features including Whv's ground-breaking In-Movie Experience. The Animatrix, the nine-part anime film, three additional bonus discs include more than 35 hours of additional features and a digital copy of The Matrix. Full list of special features after the jump. Disc #1 - The Matrix (1999) In-Movie Experience Written introduction by the Wachowski brothers Philosophers commentary by Dr. Cornel West, Ken Wilber Critics commentary by Todd McCarthy, John Powers, David Thomson Cast and crew commentary by Carrie-Anne Moss, Zach Staenberg and John Gaeta Composer commentary by Don Davis with music-only track The Matrix Revisited...
- 7/27/2011
- by Peter Sciretta
- Slash Film
Updated through 5/28.
The titles below will take you to the roundups, that is, the coverage of the coverage of each film screening in the 2011 edition of the Cannes Film Festival. Click the names after the titles for our own reviews, whether they be quick takes or longer considerations. And finally, pointers to assessments of this year's edition, made both before and after the awards are announced, will collect at the bottom of this page.
Competition
Pedro Almodóvar's The Skin I Live In.
Bertrand Bonello's House of Tolerance. Daniel Kasman.
Alain Cavalier's Pater.
Joseph Cedar's Footnote.
Nuri Bilge Ceylan's Once Upon a Time in Anatolia.
Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's The Kid with a Bike. Daniel Kasman.
Michel Hazanavicius's The Artist.
Aki Kaurismäki's Le Havre. Daniel Kasman.
Naomi Kawase's Hanezu.
Julia Leigh's Sleeping Beauty.
Maïwenn's Poliss. Daniel Kasman.
Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life.
The titles below will take you to the roundups, that is, the coverage of the coverage of each film screening in the 2011 edition of the Cannes Film Festival. Click the names after the titles for our own reviews, whether they be quick takes or longer considerations. And finally, pointers to assessments of this year's edition, made both before and after the awards are announced, will collect at the bottom of this page.
Competition
Pedro Almodóvar's The Skin I Live In.
Bertrand Bonello's House of Tolerance. Daniel Kasman.
Alain Cavalier's Pater.
Joseph Cedar's Footnote.
Nuri Bilge Ceylan's Once Upon a Time in Anatolia.
Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's The Kid with a Bike. Daniel Kasman.
Michel Hazanavicius's The Artist.
Aki Kaurismäki's Le Havre. Daniel Kasman.
Naomi Kawase's Hanezu.
Julia Leigh's Sleeping Beauty.
Maïwenn's Poliss. Daniel Kasman.
Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life.
- 5/28/2011
- MUBI
The Film Society of Lincoln Center director Rose Kuo threw a Cannes party at the Stella Artois beach attended by New York Film Festival director Richard Pena (pictured), Film Comment editor Gavin Smith and columnist Amy Taubin, former Film Comment editor Harlan Jacobson, Film Society and Snagfilms consultant Bingham Ray, festival players such as Sundance Institute's Keri Putnam, San Francisco's Rachel Rosen, Venice's Giuilia d'Agnolo Vallan, SXSW's Janet Pierson, Telluride's Tom Luddy, Gary Meyer and Julie Hutsinger, and critics Todd McCarthy, Melissa Anderson, Stephanie Zacharek, John Powers and Karina Longworth. Among other things the Film Society is celebrating and promoting its new theaters by offering free screenings to the public. They've booked a movie marathon of Nyff classics and appearances by Kevin Smith, Jason Reitman, ...
- 5/17/2011
- Thompson on Hollywood
Unlike 2009, there were no punches thrown between critics, at least that we know of, though it didn't make it any less strange a year for film writers. While there was no assault, that didn't rule out blackmail - as when FirstShowing.net's Alex Billington was accused by rival movie website writers of threatening to ruin Universal's secret screening of "Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World" at Comic-Con by revealing the time and location in advance - or the far more serious allegations of sexual abuse against IESB.net founder Robert Sanchez, who fled the country only to turn up at the first press screening of "Tron: Legacy" in November.
In substantially better developments, "At the Movies" sadly came to an end with Michael Phillips and A.O. Scott at the helm, but will be born anew under original co-host Roger Ebert's watchful eye with Associated Press critic Christy Lemire in one...
In substantially better developments, "At the Movies" sadly came to an end with Michael Phillips and A.O. Scott at the helm, but will be born anew under original co-host Roger Ebert's watchful eye with Associated Press critic Christy Lemire in one...
- 12/31/2010
- by Stephen Saito
- ifc.com
You asked us to shine the spotlight on DVD commentaries that enhance the viewer's enjoyment of films, good or bad
There are plenty of bad DVD commentaries out there but some really do add to the enjoyment of a film, often in surprising ways, as Haigin88 points out. Here are five of my favourites, each one taking a different slant on the act of commenting. Feel free to suggest your own faves.
The Matrix Trilogy
Commentary by Todd McCarthy, John Powers and David Thomson
The first film is great, but the sequels display the same lack of understanding about what made it great that George Lucas showed with his Star Wars prequels. Unlike Lucas, though, the Wachowskis (or Warners) are good enough sports to let the critics have their say. The commenters here are three well-respected critics who make smart, incisive remarks about the first film, then just tear the...
There are plenty of bad DVD commentaries out there but some really do add to the enjoyment of a film, often in surprising ways, as Haigin88 points out. Here are five of my favourites, each one taking a different slant on the act of commenting. Feel free to suggest your own faves.
The Matrix Trilogy
Commentary by Todd McCarthy, John Powers and David Thomson
The first film is great, but the sequels display the same lack of understanding about what made it great that George Lucas showed with his Star Wars prequels. Unlike Lucas, though, the Wachowskis (or Warners) are good enough sports to let the critics have their say. The commenters here are three well-respected critics who make smart, incisive remarks about the first film, then just tear the...
- 10/14/2010
- by Phelim O'Neill
- The Guardian - Film News
Grey's Anatomy (TV) fans were introduced to Sarah Drew at the end of last season when she joined the cast as Dr. April Kepner, the nervous newbie who held herself responsible for the near demise of the show's own Dr. McDreamy (Patrick Dempsey.) Now she's been promoted to a series regular, and life has never been better. She recently turned thirty, a milestone she says did not bother her at all. "I was excited to move into the next decade," she says. A former cast member of WB's Everwood (TV), Sarah is no stranger to television acting. She has also appeared in several guest roles on popular prime time hits such as Mad Men(TV), Private Practice(TV), Medium(TV) and Glee(TV), where she created the memorable character of Suzy Pepper. Sarah recently sat down with PopStar to talk about her new role on Grey's Anatomy, her thoughts about acting in theater vs.
- 10/12/2010
- by jmaurer@corp.popstar.com (Jennifer Maurer)
- PopStar
Today's Amazon Gold Box Deal of the Day is The Ultimate Matrix Collection Blu-Ray for $49.99, 62% off the $130 msrp. The Gold Box Deal of the Day is only good for 24 hours and will disappear at midnight. So act fast. This seven-disc collection contains the complete Matrix Trilogy in high definition video and lossless high definition 5.1 audio (Dolby TrueHD) — each with hours of special features including Whv's ground-breaking In-Movie Experience. The Animatrix, the nine-part anime film, three additional bonus discs include more than 35 hours of additional features and a digital copy of The Matrix. Full list of special features after the jump. Disc #1 - The Matrix (1999) In-Movie Experience Written introduction by the Wachowski brothers Philosophers commentary by Dr. Cornel West, Ken Wilber Critics commentary by Todd McCarthy, John Powers, David Thomson Cast and crew commentary by Carrie-Anne Moss, Zach Staenberg and John Gaeta Composer commentary by Don Davis with music-only ...
- 6/10/2010
- by Peter Sciretta
- Slash Film
On Monday morning, the good folks over at IFC reported on a screening at the University of California at Los Angeles of Gerald Peary's documentary about film criticism, For the Love of Movies, which was followed by a q&a with Peary and fellow critics Richard Schickel, Ella Taylor, and John Powers among others. Notably, among the participants there was no one representing online film criticism, as there seldom is in what today constitutes "serious" conversations about the industry. But notwithstanding Schickel's perhaps superficially understandable but no less obnoxious dismissal of documentary participant Harry Knowles based entirely upon his appearance, he and his colleagues essentially recapitulated the same idea that mainstream journalistic outlets have asserted for years: print criticism may be dying, but it's still a thousand times better than online criticism.
Schickel, who is now retired, wrote for more than 40 years, and provided criticism through enough epochal times in...
Schickel, who is now retired, wrote for more than 40 years, and provided criticism through enough epochal times in...
- 3/2/2010
- by Todd Gilchrist
- Cinematical
At UCLA's Billy Wilder Theater this past Saturday, Boston Phoenix critic and filmmaker Gerald Peary confessed to a crowd that included David Ehrenstein and David Ansen and filmmakers Mel Stuart (the original "Willy Wonka") and Allan Arkush ("Rock 'n' Roll High School") that it's been 16 years since he's last been in Los Angeles. Here's hoping the discussion that followed, coming after a screening of his doc about film criticism "For the Love of Movies," doesn't scare him from coming back.
On a panel moderated by Anne Thompson, Peary sat idly by for most of the lively hour-long talk that involved Vogue's John Powers, former L.A. Weekly and current NPR critic Ella Taylor, former Christian Science Monitor critic David Sterritt and current Csm critic Peter Rainer. But it was now-retired Time critic Richard Schickel who took center stage, both literally and figuratively, with his admission that he never really loved movies,...
On a panel moderated by Anne Thompson, Peary sat idly by for most of the lively hour-long talk that involved Vogue's John Powers, former L.A. Weekly and current NPR critic Ella Taylor, former Christian Science Monitor critic David Sterritt and current Csm critic Peter Rainer. But it was now-retired Time critic Richard Schickel who took center stage, both literally and figuratively, with his admission that he never really loved movies,...
- 3/1/2010
- by Stephen Saito
- ifc.com
"Truffaut was not yet thirty when he made this film, and decades later it's still astonishing that one so young could be so open-hearted, so willing to give everyone's motives and passions their due." John Powers in Criterion's Current on today's presentation in the Recyclage de luxe Online Film Festival: "But if Jules and Jim casts a mature eye on the limits of freedom (by the end, everything seems uncannily, but satisfyingly, preordained), it remains indelibly a young man's movie. It's a lyrical joyride propelled by leaping, elliptical edits, Georges Delerue's sublimely evocative score (one of the most memorable in film history), and Raoul Coutard's ecstatic photography, which helps underscore Truffaut's visual ideas about the great circle of life. At one point, Coutard's camera follows a young woman in a bar, does a 360-degree pan, and winds up watching Jules draw another girl's face on the surface of a round table.
- 12/17/2009
- MUBI
• Robert Abele looks at the role of sentiment in the awarding of Oscars. As he writes, "compassion for those who have never won and who find their work again in the running becomes an issue once more. For instance, four-time nominee Jeff Bridges has a lauded turn as an alcoholic country singer in the December release 'Crazy Heart.' Is this his year, finally? Might he win because he's 'due'?" Vogue film critic John Powers thinks, "He's the great actor of that generation. Actors want to act with him. Directors want him because he has weight. He's the kind of person you could imagine the sentiment for, if it weren't for the fact that the...
- 12/8/2009
- by tomoneil
- Gold Derby
The 45th annual New York Film Festival, which runs from Sept. 28-Oct. 14 at Frederick P. Rose Hall, will honor Brazilian director Joaquim Pedro de Andrade with the New York Film Festival sidebar.
Andrade, who established himself in the 1950s and 60s as part of Brazil's Cinema Novo movement, first broke on to the scene with The Priest and the Girl in 1965 and again in 1969 with Macunaima. The NYFF will screen the sidebar at the Walter Reade Theater.
The Film Society also announced the appointment of two new committee members, Scott Foundas and J. Hoberman who have replaced Philip Lopate and John Powers.
In addition to serving as film editor and chief film critic for L.A. Weekly, Foundas has also contributed to The Village Voice, Variety, The New York Times, Total Film (U.K.) and Cinema Scope (Canada). Foundas is also a memeber of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the National Society of Film Critics.
Andrade, who established himself in the 1950s and 60s as part of Brazil's Cinema Novo movement, first broke on to the scene with The Priest and the Girl in 1965 and again in 1969 with Macunaima. The NYFF will screen the sidebar at the Walter Reade Theater.
The Film Society also announced the appointment of two new committee members, Scott Foundas and J. Hoberman who have replaced Philip Lopate and John Powers.
In addition to serving as film editor and chief film critic for L.A. Weekly, Foundas has also contributed to The Village Voice, Variety, The New York Times, Total Film (U.K.) and Cinema Scope (Canada). Foundas is also a memeber of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the National Society of Film Critics.
- 5/18/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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