E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Poltergeist, Blade Runner, The Thing, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan…
These are just a few of the genre classics that made their theatrical debut within months of each other in 1982! It’s widely considered the summer that shaped modern geek culture, and if anyone knows what it means to be a defining voice of that generation – it’s the great Mark A. Altman. The former boss of the iconic Sci-Fi Universe Magazine, the writer and producer of Free Enterprise, the showrunner of The CW’s Pandora and the best-selling author of definitive Star Trek and James Bond oral histories, Altman is perhaps the authority on all things genre. Indeed, his upcoming documentary 1982: Greatest Geek Year Ever is shaping up to be his Magnum Opus.
Altman, along with director Roger Lay, Jr, Scott Mantz and Thomas P. Vitale will be premiering the documentary at...
These are just a few of the genre classics that made their theatrical debut within months of each other in 1982! It’s widely considered the summer that shaped modern geek culture, and if anyone knows what it means to be a defining voice of that generation – it’s the great Mark A. Altman. The former boss of the iconic Sci-Fi Universe Magazine, the writer and producer of Free Enterprise, the showrunner of The CW’s Pandora and the best-selling author of definitive Star Trek and James Bond oral histories, Altman is perhaps the authority on all things genre. Indeed, his upcoming documentary 1982: Greatest Geek Year Ever is shaping up to be his Magnum Opus.
Altman, along with director Roger Lay, Jr, Scott Mantz and Thomas P. Vitale will be premiering the documentary at...
- 8/29/2022
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSAbove: David Dalaithngu in Nicolas Roeg's Walkabout.Renowned Aboriginal film actor David Gulpilil Ridjimiraril Dalaithngu has died. David Dalaithngu was seen as a trailblazer for his early roles in Walkabout (1971) and Storm Boy (1976), and later performances in films like the semi-autobiographical Charlie's Country (2013). He rose to prominence as an actor and traditional dancer during a time in which Indigenous roles were frequently played by non-Indigenous actors, often in blackface. In his own words, he described acting as a "piece of cake." Steven Soderbergh, Channing Tatum, and writer Reid Carolin have joined forces for the next installment in the Magic Mike franchise, entitled Magic Mike's Last Dance. "The stripperverse will never be the same," Channing Tatum said. First Cow takes the number one in Cahiers du cinéma's top ten list for 2021! The list...
- 12/1/2021
- MUBI
Inspired, he says, by Walter Hill and, as obvious from the title treatment, The Warriors title designer Dan Perri, Sean Baker has directed a blast of a fashion short for Khaite, a girl-gang fantasia evoking the cinema as well as streets of ’70s and ’80s New York. Shot by Sean Price Williams, the short compresses the attitude, abandon and confrontations of some imagined and long-lost work of downtown cinema into a brisk four-minutes scored to Ace Frehley’s New […]
The post Watch: Sean Baker's Short Film for Khaite's Fall '21 Collection first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Watch: Sean Baker's Short Film for Khaite's Fall '21 Collection first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 2/28/2021
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Inspired, he says, by Walter Hill and, as obvious from the title treatment, The Warriors title designer Dan Perri, Sean Baker has directed a blast of a fashion short for Khaite, a girl-gang fantasia evoking the cinema as well as streets of ’70s and ’80s New York. Shot by Sean Price Williams, the short compresses the attitude, abandon and confrontations of some imagined and long-lost work of downtown cinema into a brisk four-minutes scored to Ace Frehley’s New […]
The post Watch: Sean Baker's Short Film for Khaite's Fall '21 Collection first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Watch: Sean Baker's Short Film for Khaite's Fall '21 Collection first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 2/28/2021
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Director Darren Aronofsky and cinematographer Matthew Libatique naturally gravitated toward one another when they arrived on the American Film Institute campus in the fall of 1990. “We just had a lot of similar aesthetic and things that connected us,” said Aronofsky. “We met on the third day at AFI. I think Matty was probably the youngest guy in his DoP program, and I was one of the youngest guys in the directing program; Matty’s from Queens, I’m from Brooklyn, and we both grew up listening to hip hop.”
The emergence of the New York City underground hip hop scene wasn’t the only thing that impacted the two future collaborators as teens, it was also when independent film started to rise out of Hollywood’s 1980s nadir. “I stumbled into ‘She’s Gotta Have It’ at a local movie theater in Brooklyn,” said Aronofsky of Spike Lee’s 1986 indie breakout.
The emergence of the New York City underground hip hop scene wasn’t the only thing that impacted the two future collaborators as teens, it was also when independent film started to rise out of Hollywood’s 1980s nadir. “I stumbled into ‘She’s Gotta Have It’ at a local movie theater in Brooklyn,” said Aronofsky of Spike Lee’s 1986 indie breakout.
- 1/20/2021
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
We’re kicking off September’s home media releases this week with a great group of titles that include cult classics, indie horror, and a handful of Shudder Originals. Vinegar Syndrome is showing some love this Tuesday to both The Eleventh Commandment and Larry Cohen’s Perfect Strangers, and for those of you who may have missed seeing them on the aforementioned Shudder, now you can catch up with Z, Blood Quantum, and Terrified on both Blu-ray and DVD.
Other home media releases for September 1st include Baba Yaga: Terror of the Dark Forest from Scream Factory, Limbo, Widow’s Point, and Beetlejuice in 4K.
Baba Yaga: Terror of the Dark Forest
A young family moves to a new apartment in the outskirts of the big city. The nanny they hired to look after their newborn daughter quickly becomes trustworthy. However, the eldest boy notices frightening behavior of the woman, but...
Other home media releases for September 1st include Baba Yaga: Terror of the Dark Forest from Scream Factory, Limbo, Widow’s Point, and Beetlejuice in 4K.
Baba Yaga: Terror of the Dark Forest
A young family moves to a new apartment in the outskirts of the big city. The nanny they hired to look after their newborn daughter quickly becomes trustworthy. However, the eldest boy notices frightening behavior of the woman, but...
- 8/31/2020
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Hollywood screenwriter and author Bettina Gilois died Sunday night in her sleep after battling cancer, her friend Joshua Plant confirmed to Variety. She was 58.
Gilois wrote the HBO film “Bessie” starring Queen Latifah, and numerous other films and books.
Before her death, Gilois had several projects in the works, including the drama “Shutter Spy,” about Hollywood photographer Frank Worth, and the series “Muscle Shoals,” which is produced by Johnny Depp. She was also writing a story for Lifetime about Mahalia Jackson, and Netflix’s “A Million Miles Away,” a true story about Jose Hernandez, a migrant worker who later became an astronaut.
Her credits include Disney’s “McFarland, USA” with Kevin Costner, “Glory Road” starring Josh Lucas and Lifetime’s “The Lost Wife of Robert Durst.” She was nominated for a Emmy for writing “Bessie” and “McFarland, USA.”
Among its accolades, “Bessie” won an NAACP Image Award for writing for...
Gilois wrote the HBO film “Bessie” starring Queen Latifah, and numerous other films and books.
Before her death, Gilois had several projects in the works, including the drama “Shutter Spy,” about Hollywood photographer Frank Worth, and the series “Muscle Shoals,” which is produced by Johnny Depp. She was also writing a story for Lifetime about Mahalia Jackson, and Netflix’s “A Million Miles Away,” a true story about Jose Hernandez, a migrant worker who later became an astronaut.
Her credits include Disney’s “McFarland, USA” with Kevin Costner, “Glory Road” starring Josh Lucas and Lifetime’s “The Lost Wife of Robert Durst.” She was nominated for a Emmy for writing “Bessie” and “McFarland, USA.”
Among its accolades, “Bessie” won an NAACP Image Award for writing for...
- 7/6/2020
- by Mackenzie Nichols
- Variety Film + TV
Bettina Gilois, an award-winning screenwriter and author, has died in her sleep at age 58, according to a friend. She had an advanced form of cancer and passed just days before her July 9 birthday.
Gilois was having what was described by a friend as “a career year” when she passed, with several projects in development at various networks.
Gilois first began working as an assistant to Slava Tsukerman, the director of Liquid Sky, in her native Berlin. She also worked at Andy Warhol’s Factory in New York on the television series Andy Warhol’s Fifteen Minutes.
She subsequently joined Keith Barish and Arnold Kopelson Productions as a development executive, which led to producing credits on Fire Birds, as well as Triple Bogie on a Par Five Hole with Amos Poe.
She began her writing career working with Joel Silver Productions, and in the last twenty five years has written projects for further notable producers,...
Gilois was having what was described by a friend as “a career year” when she passed, with several projects in development at various networks.
Gilois first began working as an assistant to Slava Tsukerman, the director of Liquid Sky, in her native Berlin. She also worked at Andy Warhol’s Factory in New York on the television series Andy Warhol’s Fifteen Minutes.
She subsequently joined Keith Barish and Arnold Kopelson Productions as a development executive, which led to producing credits on Fire Birds, as well as Triple Bogie on a Par Five Hole with Amos Poe.
She began her writing career working with Joel Silver Productions, and in the last twenty five years has written projects for further notable producers,...
- 7/5/2020
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Its central characters jaded club youth who just happen to be vampires — and seem not to have developed any depth or maturity no matter how long they’ve been doing this undead thing — “Bit” seems likewise content to act cool in the shallow end of the pool. Brad Michael Elmore’s feature flirts with various identification points without making much of them, beyond the automatic cred that placing an Lgbtq stamp on genre tropes will mean for some viewers. If the “Twilight” movies were aimed primarily at teens, this polished low-budget indie is for those teens hip enough to be in their school’s Gay-Straight Alliance.
On the one hand, it’s nice that in 2020 this hook should (despite our current political chaos) seem no big deal. On the other, one does wish this exercise in blase attitudinizing paid a little more attention to suspense, thrills, plot, mythology, and the...
On the one hand, it’s nice that in 2020 this hook should (despite our current political chaos) seem no big deal. On the other, one does wish this exercise in blase attitudinizing paid a little more attention to suspense, thrills, plot, mythology, and the...
- 4/25/2020
- by Dennis Harvey
- Variety Film + TV
The director of Arlington Road, The Mothman Prophecies, Pearl Jam’s Jeremy and many more reflects on his career and some of the movies that made him.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Arlington Road (1999)
The Mothman Prophecies (2002)
Firewall (2006)
The Orphanage (2007)
Nostalgia (2018)
Avatar (2009)
Titanic (1997)
Chef (2014)
The Laundromat (2019)
Honeymoon In Vegas (1992)
Demonlover (2003)
Under The Sand (2000)
Mulholland Dr. (2001)
Under The Skin (2013)
The Great Beauty (2013)
Slap Shot (1977)
Network (1976)
Straw Dogs (1971)
The Pawnbroker (1964)
Star Wars (1977)
The Exorcist (1973)
Jaws (1975)
The World’s Greatest Athlete (1973)
All The President’s Men (1976)
Liquid Sky (1982)
The Brother From Another Planet (1984)
City Of Hope (1991)
Stop Making Sense (1984)
Snowpiercer (2013)
The Flintstones (1994)
Matinee (1993)
Batman (1989)
Transformers (2007)
A History Of Violence (2005)
Heaven Can Wait (1978)
Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)
Psycho (1960)
Psycho (1998)
Mandy (2018)
Phantom Thread (2017)
Magnolia (1999)
Boogie Nights (1997)
The Master (2012)
There Will Be Blood (2007)
The Mustang (2019)
Inherent Vice (2014)
The New World (2005)
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)
The Last Word (2017)
Cocaine Cowboys (2006)
The Burglar (1957)
What Lies Beneath...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Arlington Road (1999)
The Mothman Prophecies (2002)
Firewall (2006)
The Orphanage (2007)
Nostalgia (2018)
Avatar (2009)
Titanic (1997)
Chef (2014)
The Laundromat (2019)
Honeymoon In Vegas (1992)
Demonlover (2003)
Under The Sand (2000)
Mulholland Dr. (2001)
Under The Skin (2013)
The Great Beauty (2013)
Slap Shot (1977)
Network (1976)
Straw Dogs (1971)
The Pawnbroker (1964)
Star Wars (1977)
The Exorcist (1973)
Jaws (1975)
The World’s Greatest Athlete (1973)
All The President’s Men (1976)
Liquid Sky (1982)
The Brother From Another Planet (1984)
City Of Hope (1991)
Stop Making Sense (1984)
Snowpiercer (2013)
The Flintstones (1994)
Matinee (1993)
Batman (1989)
Transformers (2007)
A History Of Violence (2005)
Heaven Can Wait (1978)
Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)
Psycho (1960)
Psycho (1998)
Mandy (2018)
Phantom Thread (2017)
Magnolia (1999)
Boogie Nights (1997)
The Master (2012)
There Will Be Blood (2007)
The Mustang (2019)
Inherent Vice (2014)
The New World (2005)
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)
The Last Word (2017)
Cocaine Cowboys (2006)
The Burglar (1957)
What Lies Beneath...
- 4/21/2020
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
In addition to their recently announced 13-film David Cronenberg celebration, Beyond Fest's full programming slate honors the horror genre's past and present with a wide range of screenings, including Halloween (2018), Bob Clark's Black Christmas (a big influence on the new Halloween), John Carpenter's Halloween, The Monster Squad (with cast and crew in attendance), Anna and the Apocalypse, early screenings of the new Suspiria at the nearby Cinerama Dome, and much more:
Press Release: Los Angeles, CA – Friday, September 14, 2018 - Beyond Fest, the highest-attended genre film festival in the Us, is excited to announce its complete slate of 2018 programming featuring 46 features and 24 West Coast premieres of cinematic excess. Co-presented by Hulu and Shudder, Beyond Fest returns to Hollywood’s famed Egyptian Theatre for 14 days of cinematic splendor spanning Wednesday, September 26th - Tuesday, October 9th to generate funds for the nonprofit 501c3 American Cinematheque.
With a diverse slate celebrating...
Press Release: Los Angeles, CA – Friday, September 14, 2018 - Beyond Fest, the highest-attended genre film festival in the Us, is excited to announce its complete slate of 2018 programming featuring 46 features and 24 West Coast premieres of cinematic excess. Co-presented by Hulu and Shudder, Beyond Fest returns to Hollywood’s famed Egyptian Theatre for 14 days of cinematic splendor spanning Wednesday, September 26th - Tuesday, October 9th to generate funds for the nonprofit 501c3 American Cinematheque.
With a diverse slate celebrating...
- 9/14/2018
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
New Additions in September
To Stream, Start Your Free 7-day Trial At Shudder ($4.99/Month Or $3.99/Month With Annual Plan)
Check Out What’S New On Shudder In September, Including 18 Films And The 2nd Installment Of Channel Zero.
September 1
Bait 3D A freak tsunami traps a group of people in a submerged grocery store. As they try to escape, they are hunted by white sharks that are hungry for meat.
The Eye 2 A pregnant woman discovers the ability to see ghosts after she unsuccessfully attempts suicide.
September 3
Gattaca A genetically inferior man (Ethan Hawke) assumes the identity of a superior one (Jude Law) in order to pursue his lifelong dream of space travel.
Nurse 3D A young nurse (Katrina Bowden) begins to suspect that a sexy colleague (Paz de la Huerta) is responsible for murdering a string of unfaithful men.
Dan Curtis’ Dracula In this British television movie adaptation of Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula,...
To Stream, Start Your Free 7-day Trial At Shudder ($4.99/Month Or $3.99/Month With Annual Plan)
Check Out What’S New On Shudder In September, Including 18 Films And The 2nd Installment Of Channel Zero.
September 1
Bait 3D A freak tsunami traps a group of people in a submerged grocery store. As they try to escape, they are hunted by white sharks that are hungry for meat.
The Eye 2 A pregnant woman discovers the ability to see ghosts after she unsuccessfully attempts suicide.
September 3
Gattaca A genetically inferior man (Ethan Hawke) assumes the identity of a superior one (Jude Law) in order to pursue his lifelong dream of space travel.
Nurse 3D A young nurse (Katrina Bowden) begins to suspect that a sexy colleague (Paz de la Huerta) is responsible for murdering a string of unfaithful men.
Dan Curtis’ Dracula In this British television movie adaptation of Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula,...
- 8/28/2018
- by Stephen Nepa
- Age of the Nerd
“That’s really quite a world that you’ve shown me. German scientists are as tall as the Empire State Building, and aliens are as big as jumbo shrimp.”
Liquid Sky (1983) plays midnights this weekend (June 15th and 16th) at the Tivoli as part of their Reel Late at the Tivoli Midnight series.
Equal parts satire, self-parody, and science fiction, Liquid Sky was considered ‘New Wave’ chic back in ’83. I saw it then when it played at The Varsity on Delmar and it should be interesting to see how it’s aged. Aliens are after the heroin-like substance produced by the human brain at the point of orgasm. Anne Carlisle, who cowrote the screenplay, plays a lesbian punk model and also male homosexual punk model (talk about range!). As a woman, Carlisle discovers a special sexual power. At orgasm she can make her lover disappear into thin air, courtesy of some low-tech special effects.
Liquid Sky (1983) plays midnights this weekend (June 15th and 16th) at the Tivoli as part of their Reel Late at the Tivoli Midnight series.
Equal parts satire, self-parody, and science fiction, Liquid Sky was considered ‘New Wave’ chic back in ’83. I saw it then when it played at The Varsity on Delmar and it should be interesting to see how it’s aged. Aliens are after the heroin-like substance produced by the human brain at the point of orgasm. Anne Carlisle, who cowrote the screenplay, plays a lesbian punk model and also male homosexual punk model (talk about range!). As a woman, Carlisle discovers a special sexual power. At orgasm she can make her lover disappear into thin air, courtesy of some low-tech special effects.
- 6/13/2018
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Another month, another look at the glorious gems that our heroes at Vinegar Syndrome have excavated from the tombs. This time we're checking out the brand new 4K restoration of Slava Tsukerman's punk-era avant-garde classic Liquid Sky, goofball Svengali film Lucifer's Women, and late '70s UK erotic sci-fi horror from the UK, Prey. Check out the details below...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 4/27/2018
- Screen Anarchy
Last weekend I checked out Vinegar Syndrome's Blu-ray release of Slava Tsukerman's 1982 film Liquid Sky, and was very much impressed by what I saw. Liquid Sky is an obscure cult-film that's often been described as "trippy low-budget science fiction", but there's a lot more going on here than just a weird style. Tsukerman and double-lead-and-writer Anne Carlisle have a few things to say about fitting in, beauty, sex, drugs, abuse and self-destruction. And that's even before we get to the killing alien! I've heard about this film for decades (since the first Dutch VHS rental release of the mid-eighties) and it has intrigued me ever since. To be able to finally see it with this clarity and sharpness is more than I ever expected....
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 3/20/2018
- Screen Anarchy
Remembered as a briefly hot quasi- avant-garde title, then a cult item, Slava Tsukerman’s brightly colored movie is said to capture a New York fashion ‘n’ drugs scene that could be called Neon Punk. It certainly extended model Anne Carlisle’s fifteen minutes of fame. Oh . . . technically it’s also a Science Fiction movie.
Liquid Sky
Blu-ray + DVD
Vinegar Syndrome
1982 / Color / 1:85 / 112 min. / Street Date April 24, 2018 / 32.98
Starring: Anne Carlisle, Paula E. Sheppard, Susan Doukas, Otto von Wernherr, Bob Brady, Elaine C. Grove, Stanley Knap, Jack Adalist, Lloyd Ziff, Harry Lum, Roy MacArthur, Sara Carlisle, Nina V. Kerova.
Cinematography: Yuri Neyman
Film Editors: Sharyn Leslie Ross, Slava Tsukerman
Production Design: Marina Levikova-Neyman
Original Music: Brenda I. Hutchinson, Clive Smith, Slava Tsukerman
Written by Slava Tsukerman, Anne Carlisle, Nina V. Kerova
Produced and Directed by Slava Tsukerman
Liquid Sky is said to have been a major independent success in 1983. What is it?...
Liquid Sky
Blu-ray + DVD
Vinegar Syndrome
1982 / Color / 1:85 / 112 min. / Street Date April 24, 2018 / 32.98
Starring: Anne Carlisle, Paula E. Sheppard, Susan Doukas, Otto von Wernherr, Bob Brady, Elaine C. Grove, Stanley Knap, Jack Adalist, Lloyd Ziff, Harry Lum, Roy MacArthur, Sara Carlisle, Nina V. Kerova.
Cinematography: Yuri Neyman
Film Editors: Sharyn Leslie Ross, Slava Tsukerman
Production Design: Marina Levikova-Neyman
Original Music: Brenda I. Hutchinson, Clive Smith, Slava Tsukerman
Written by Slava Tsukerman, Anne Carlisle, Nina V. Kerova
Produced and Directed by Slava Tsukerman
Liquid Sky is said to have been a major independent success in 1983. What is it?...
- 3/17/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
A celebration of genre films both old and new, the Boston Underground Film Festival returns for its 20th year later this month at Harvard Square, and the lineup is packed with new anticipated titles such as Jenn Wexler's The Ranger and Coralie Fargeat's Revenge, as well as a 35th anniversary screening of Slava Tsukerman's Liquid Sky:
Press Release: Cambridge, Ma – New England’s spring festival season is nigh, with the 20th annual Boston Underground Film Festival returning to Harvard Square, bringing with it a five day fever dream of vanguard and description-defying filmmaking, including soul- thrillers/killers/chillers, to the Brattle Theatre and Harvard Film Archive from March 21st through the 25th. This year’s program includes some of the festival’s most eclectic and challenging selections to date, highlighting the harrowing, the horrifying, and the heady.
Kicking off the big 2-0 is the East Coast...
Press Release: Cambridge, Ma – New England’s spring festival season is nigh, with the 20th annual Boston Underground Film Festival returning to Harvard Square, bringing with it a five day fever dream of vanguard and description-defying filmmaking, including soul- thrillers/killers/chillers, to the Brattle Theatre and Harvard Film Archive from March 21st through the 25th. This year’s program includes some of the festival’s most eclectic and challenging selections to date, highlighting the harrowing, the horrifying, and the heady.
Kicking off the big 2-0 is the East Coast...
- 3/13/2018
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
A shining beacon of the weird, the wonderful, the nasty, the niche, and the eclectic, Boston Underground Film Festival returns for its 20th edition next month, and has announced its first wave of feature titles. I had the great pleasure to attend last year, and was blown away not only by the variety and quality of programming, but also the amazing staff, volunteers, and venue. Already they're knocking it out of the park, with films such as Revenge, Coralie Fargeat's new take on the revenge thriller; Deborah Haywood's heartbreaking Pin Cushion; and Let the Corpses Tan, the latest trippy mystery from Belgian duo Hélèn Cattet and Bruno Forzani. There's some exciting queer content with underground film Liquid Sky, and what looks to be a fascinating...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 2/28/2018
- Screen Anarchy
Following their sold-out limited edition release of their 4K restoration of the cult 1982 sci-fi movie Liquid Sky, Vinegar Syndrome has announced an April release for a standard Blu-ray that will still come with plenty of bonus features for fans of the Slava Tsukerman film to enjoy.
According to Blu-ray.com, Vinegar Syndrome will give their Liquid Sky Blu-ray a wide Region 1 release on April 24th with the following special features and cover art:
Synopsis and Special Features (via Blu-ray.com): "Margaret (Anne Carlisle) is a fashion model with dreams of stardom, whose alter ego and rival, Jimmy (also Carlisle), abuses and takes advantage of her to satisfy his rampant drug addiction. Unknown to them, tiny, invisible aliens have landed on the roof above the bohemian squalor in which they live and begin killing anyone Margaret has sex with to feed on their pleasure giving neurotransmitters. All the while, a...
According to Blu-ray.com, Vinegar Syndrome will give their Liquid Sky Blu-ray a wide Region 1 release on April 24th with the following special features and cover art:
Synopsis and Special Features (via Blu-ray.com): "Margaret (Anne Carlisle) is a fashion model with dreams of stardom, whose alter ego and rival, Jimmy (also Carlisle), abuses and takes advantage of her to satisfy his rampant drug addiction. Unknown to them, tiny, invisible aliens have landed on the roof above the bohemian squalor in which they live and begin killing anyone Margaret has sex with to feed on their pleasure giving neurotransmitters. All the while, a...
- 1/29/2018
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Ever since he was kid growing up in Brooklyn, Darren Aronofsky was drawn to alternative and polarizing forms of art. As a teenager, he would take the train into Greenwich Village to see underground films like “Liquid Sky” and “Clockwork Orange,” while falling in love with the cinema of directors like David Cronenberg.
“I think my tastes have always laid into those type of films, which are often polarizing and different, that’s just my taste,” said Aronofsky when he was guest on IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast. “All these films that I guess were supposed to be cool, but they kind of got me excited and moved me in different ways.”
Subscribe via Apple Podcasts to the Filmmaker Toolkit Podcast
All of Aronofsky’s films have been cut from this same cloth, to one degree or another, but none more so than his latest, “mother!,” which the director knew would strike particularly strong reactions.
“I think my tastes have always laid into those type of films, which are often polarizing and different, that’s just my taste,” said Aronofsky when he was guest on IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast. “All these films that I guess were supposed to be cool, but they kind of got me excited and moved me in different ways.”
Subscribe via Apple Podcasts to the Filmmaker Toolkit Podcast
All of Aronofsky’s films have been cut from this same cloth, to one degree or another, but none more so than his latest, “mother!,” which the director knew would strike particularly strong reactions.
- 12/29/2017
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
For the past three decades, midnight movie staple Liquid Sky could only be seen during infrequent 35mm screenings and on out-of-print VHS and DVD editions. If a film fan actually saw Slava Tsukerman’s science fiction spectacle about downtown New York City residents coming into conflict with dopamine-devouring aliens, their experience of the film — known for its striking neon images and “electronic circus” soundtrack — was marred by aging film stock or subpar transfer. Enjoying the classic at the full audio-visual potency of its 1982 release was impossible with the options available. “Liquid Sky was kind of in the same […]...
- 11/24/2017
- by Jon Hogan
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Previously available only on low-quality bootleg DVD, the arrival of the 1982 new wave Lgbtq cult classic Liquid Sky on Blu-ray—in a sparkling new 4k transfer, no less—is a certified Big Deal for fans of the stylish and obscure. And, thanks to our friends at Vinegar Syndrome, we’re giving you the chance to win a copy…
Read more...
Read more...
- 11/22/2017
- by Katie Rife
- avclub.com
The Last Emperor composers David Byrne and Ryuichi Sakamoto had a Forbidden Colors conversation at the Quad Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
At the Quad Cinema - Jim Jarmusch's Stranger Than Paradise; Nicolas Roeg's The Man Who Fell To Earth; Mitchell Leisen's Hold Back The Dawn; Elia Kazan's America, America; Werner Herzog's Stroszek; Sergio Leone's Once Upon A Time In America, Slava Tsukerman's Liquid Sky with Anne Carlisle become Immigrant Songs. Retrospectives for Goldie Hawn, Frank Perry & Eleanor Perry, Bertrand Tavernier and Ryuichi Sakamoto; a Rainer Werner Fassbinder Lola First Encounter with Sandra Bernhard, Jean-Luc Godard's King Lear and a drop of Nathan Silver's Thirst Street come up in my conversation with Director of Programming C Mason Wells.
Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor at China: Through The Looking Glass Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
The Grandmaster director Wong Kar Wai chose a clip from...
At the Quad Cinema - Jim Jarmusch's Stranger Than Paradise; Nicolas Roeg's The Man Who Fell To Earth; Mitchell Leisen's Hold Back The Dawn; Elia Kazan's America, America; Werner Herzog's Stroszek; Sergio Leone's Once Upon A Time In America, Slava Tsukerman's Liquid Sky with Anne Carlisle become Immigrant Songs. Retrospectives for Goldie Hawn, Frank Perry & Eleanor Perry, Bertrand Tavernier and Ryuichi Sakamoto; a Rainer Werner Fassbinder Lola First Encounter with Sandra Bernhard, Jean-Luc Godard's King Lear and a drop of Nathan Silver's Thirst Street come up in my conversation with Director of Programming C Mason Wells.
Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor at China: Through The Looking Glass Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
The Grandmaster director Wong Kar Wai chose a clip from...
- 5/25/2017
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Over the last handful of years, immigration has become not only a hotly contested political issue, but one that has birthed nationalist movements globally. Subsequently giving rise to an expansion of these parties and movements, immigration is only increasing in political discussion. And even some film programmers are seeing this as the most important moment to contextualize cinema’s relationship with this issue.
At the newly refurbished Quad Cinema in New York City, the theater and its programmers have collected roughly two dozen films ranging from comedies to historical epics for a new series entitled Immigrant Songs. Shining a light on some of the great unsung immigrant stories from the likes of Jonas Mekas while setting them alongside masterpieces like Charlie Chaplin’s The Immigrant (which sees its centennial anniversary this year), this series is a direct response to current political climates across the world and hopes to give context to the immigrant experience globally.
At the newly refurbished Quad Cinema in New York City, the theater and its programmers have collected roughly two dozen films ranging from comedies to historical epics for a new series entitled Immigrant Songs. Shining a light on some of the great unsung immigrant stories from the likes of Jonas Mekas while setting them alongside masterpieces like Charlie Chaplin’s The Immigrant (which sees its centennial anniversary this year), this series is a direct response to current political climates across the world and hopes to give context to the immigrant experience globally.
- 5/19/2017
- by Joshua Brunsting
- CriterionCast
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
“Il Bello Marcello” highlights Italy’s greatest actor and, in turn, its greatest filmmakers.
Stalker continues its run.
Museum of the Moving Image
The Caan Film Festival is underway! Films from Michael Mann, Coppola, Hawks, and more kick it off.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari plays on Sunday.
Metrograph
A...
Film Society of Lincoln Center
“Il Bello Marcello” highlights Italy’s greatest actor and, in turn, its greatest filmmakers.
Stalker continues its run.
Museum of the Moving Image
The Caan Film Festival is underway! Films from Michael Mann, Coppola, Hawks, and more kick it off.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari plays on Sunday.
Metrograph
A...
- 5/18/2017
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Chris Hardwick is truly the man with many talk shows! Soon, AMC will introduce viewers to Talking with Chris Hardwick, which premieres on Sunday, April 9th! The lineup of guests is pretty interesting and includes Bryan Cranston and Elijah Wood. Also: details on screenings of Larry Cohen's films at The Quad and release details for Teenage Ghost Punk.
Talking With Chris Hardwick's First Lineup of Guests Revealed: Press Release: "New York, NY – March 30, 2017 – AMC announced today an initial lineup of guests set to appear on “Talking with Chris Hardwick,” an extension of the #1 talk show on television, “Talking Dead.” Guests include (not in air order): Michelle Monaghan, Charlie Hunnam, Connie Britton, Justin Theroux, Bryan Cranston, Elijah Wood, Damon Lindelof, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and the cast of “Silicon Valley.” Additional guests will be announced soon. “Talking with Chris Hardwick” premieres on Sunday, April 9 at 11:00 p.m.
Talking With Chris Hardwick's First Lineup of Guests Revealed: Press Release: "New York, NY – March 30, 2017 – AMC announced today an initial lineup of guests set to appear on “Talking with Chris Hardwick,” an extension of the #1 talk show on television, “Talking Dead.” Guests include (not in air order): Michelle Monaghan, Charlie Hunnam, Connie Britton, Justin Theroux, Bryan Cranston, Elijah Wood, Damon Lindelof, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and the cast of “Silicon Valley.” Additional guests will be announced soon. “Talking with Chris Hardwick” premieres on Sunday, April 9 at 11:00 p.m.
- 3/31/2017
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
Vilmos Zsigmond shot François Truffaut and Bob Balaban in Close Encounters Of The Third Kind
Cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, who won an Oscar for his work on Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, died on New Year's Day at his home in Big Sur, California at the age of 85. The legendary collaborator with Robert Altman (McCabe And Mrs. Miller, The Long Goodbye), Brian De Palma (Blow Out. Obsession, The Bonfire Of The Vanities) and Woody Allen (Cassandra’s Dream, You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger, Melinda And Melinda), also received Oscar nominations for Michael Cimino’s The Deer Hunter, Mark Rydell's The River and De Palma's The Black Dahlia. The Cannes Film Festival in 2014 presented him with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Vilmos Zsigmond, with fellow cinematographer Yuri Neyman (Liquid Sky) founded the Global Cinematography Institute in 2012. Two-time Oscar-winning cinematographer Haskell Wexler for Hal Ashby's...
Cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, who won an Oscar for his work on Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, died on New Year's Day at his home in Big Sur, California at the age of 85. The legendary collaborator with Robert Altman (McCabe And Mrs. Miller, The Long Goodbye), Brian De Palma (Blow Out. Obsession, The Bonfire Of The Vanities) and Woody Allen (Cassandra’s Dream, You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger, Melinda And Melinda), also received Oscar nominations for Michael Cimino’s The Deer Hunter, Mark Rydell's The River and De Palma's The Black Dahlia. The Cannes Film Festival in 2014 presented him with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Vilmos Zsigmond, with fellow cinematographer Yuri Neyman (Liquid Sky) founded the Global Cinematography Institute in 2012. Two-time Oscar-winning cinematographer Haskell Wexler for Hal Ashby's...
- 1/5/2016
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The Catholic Church (and religion in general) always seems to have a hard go of it in horror films. Whether seen as the last respite for the desperate (The Exorcist), or co-conspirators of evil (The Omen), the church has proven to be a wellspring of guilt and mistrust, useful tools for building a great horror tale. Alice, Sweet Alice (1976) is a sinister example of good old Catholic retribution, and the finest American version of a giallo to boot.
The film premiered in November of ’76 at the Chicago International Film Festival under its original title Communion. Columbia Pictures was originally supposed to distribute the film, but legal issues arose and they dropped it. Allied Artists stepped in but demanded a name change so people would not think of it as a religious film (which it is – but probably not the kind people would be expecting), came up with Alice, Sweet Alice...
The film premiered in November of ’76 at the Chicago International Film Festival under its original title Communion. Columbia Pictures was originally supposed to distribute the film, but legal issues arose and they dropped it. Allied Artists stepped in but demanded a name change so people would not think of it as a religious film (which it is – but probably not the kind people would be expecting), came up with Alice, Sweet Alice...
- 12/5/2015
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
In today's roundup: A conversation about films by—and recommended by—Pedro Costa; the work of Gena Rowlands, film by film; Nelson George on Samba Gadjigo and Jason Silverman's documentary about Ousmane Sembene; an appreciation of Satyajit Ray; Aki Kaurismäki Day at DC's; interviews with Abbas Kiarostami and Sean Baker; a new book on Dario Argento's Suspiria; a call to save Anne Carlisle and Slava Tsukerman's Liquid Sky; fashion by Kenneth Anger; Illeana Douglas on Robert De Niro; and Francesca Coppola's Jonny Come Lately, featuring Deragh Campbell, Kentucker Audley and Evan Louison, has premiered online at Filmmaker (18'43"). » - David Hudson...
- 11/23/2015
- Fandor: Keyframe
In today's roundup: A conversation about films by—and recommended by—Pedro Costa; the work of Gena Rowlands, film by film; Nelson George on Samba Gadjigo and Jason Silverman's documentary about Ousmane Sembene; an appreciation of Satyajit Ray; Aki Kaurismäki Day at DC's; interviews with Abbas Kiarostami and Sean Baker; a new book on Dario Argento's Suspiria; a call to save Anne Carlisle and Slava Tsukerman's Liquid Sky; fashion by Kenneth Anger; Illeana Douglas on Robert De Niro; and Francesca Coppola's Jonny Come Lately, featuring Deragh Campbell, Kentucker Audley and Evan Louison, has premiered online at Filmmaker (18'43"). » - David Hudson...
- 11/23/2015
- Keyframe
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.
BAMcinématek
Out 1, “the great cinematic happening of 2015,” is finally in theaters, with tickets for weekend-long marathon sessions (the ideal viewing method) available.
Museum of Modern Art
“To Save and Project” begins its 13th year of bringing audiences essential, under-the-radar cinema. The first highlight: Samuel Fuller‘s Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street, the director’s cut...
BAMcinématek
Out 1, “the great cinematic happening of 2015,” is finally in theaters, with tickets for weekend-long marathon sessions (the ideal viewing method) available.
Museum of Modern Art
“To Save and Project” begins its 13th year of bringing audiences essential, under-the-radar cinema. The first highlight: Samuel Fuller‘s Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street, the director’s cut...
- 11/6/2015
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
It was the summer of 1995. Bill Clinton was president, Rudy Giuliani was mayor of New York, and Oj Simpson was on trial. That summer’s youth-oriented movies included Pixar's first movie Toy Story, the Disney musical Pocahontas — and Kids, in which wayward, stoned teens fuck each other senseless and head-stomp random strangers.
It might be hard to remember just how notorious Larry Clark's indie-skater odysey was. The movie grossed a modest $7 million at the box office that summer — a wild success when you account for the fact that it...
It might be hard to remember just how notorious Larry Clark's indie-skater odysey was. The movie grossed a modest $7 million at the box office that summer — a wild success when you account for the fact that it...
- 7/16/2015
- Rollingstone.com
New York has often been the setting for films about heroin addicts, with titles ranging from Shirley Clarke's cinéma-vérité-tweaking The Connection (1961) to Slava Tsukerman's new-wave cult classic Liquid Sky (1982) mining the drama of smack freaks tying off, shooting up, and nodding out. But Josh and Benny Safdie's tough, lean Heaven Knows What has a searing intensity those antecedents lack: It centers on electrifying newcomer Arielle Holmes as a homeless junkie named Harley, a character largely shaped by the performer's own extremely recent past.
The Safdie brothers' film, in fact, takes off from Holmes's as-yet-unpublished book Mad Love in New York City, a chronicle of her teenage vagrancy and obsessive, self-destructi...
The Safdie brothers' film, in fact, takes off from Holmes's as-yet-unpublished book Mad Love in New York City, a chronicle of her teenage vagrancy and obsessive, self-destructi...
- 5/27/2015
- Village Voice
Congratulations to our Austin Film Society family on their beautifully spruced-up website and a massively successful launch for Richard Linklater's Jewels In The Wasteland 35mm series at the Marchesa last week. I was part of the sold-out crowd that got to enjoy a beautiful print of Scorsese's The King Of Comedy and participate in a lively post-film discussion. It continues on Wednesday night with Fassbinder's Veronika Voss and if you're interested in catching these great 80s gems in the weeks ahead, you should probably get used to buying tickets in advance to avoid disappointment.
More Afs at the Marchesa: This weekend, you can catch Godard's Week End in 35mm. It plays tonight and Sunday afternoon, while SXSW favorite 12 O'Clock Boys also screens this evening. Werner Herzog's 1979 Nosferatu was recently restored and it plays on Tuesday night at the Marchesa in digitally restored Dcp [ed. note, not in in 35mm as we originally reported] -- it will also have...
More Afs at the Marchesa: This weekend, you can catch Godard's Week End in 35mm. It plays tonight and Sunday afternoon, while SXSW favorite 12 O'Clock Boys also screens this evening. Werner Herzog's 1979 Nosferatu was recently restored and it plays on Tuesday night at the Marchesa in digitally restored Dcp [ed. note, not in in 35mm as we originally reported] -- it will also have...
- 1/31/2014
- by Matt Shiverdecker
- Slackerwood
This week is Ben Barenholtz' birthday.
We'd like to celebrate by running 2 pieces on his amazing wonderful life.
This is his public bio, which in itself, tells of a rich wonderful career in film.
In the next days we'll publish his amazing memoir of his European childhood when he narrowly escaped from the hands of Jew killers during the War.
I personally owe Ben a lot. When I was producing some years back Ben was working for Almi and bought an indie film I produced 'Home Free All' by Director Stewart Bird for that company. The money from that deal paid our investors and took us out of a deep financial hole. I am always grateful to Ben for his vision and belief in us then.
Now for his professional bio -
Biography for Ben Barenholtz
Birth Name Benjamin Barenholtz
Mini Biography
As an exhibitor, distributor, and producer, Ben Barenholtz has been a key presence in the independent film scene since the late 1960s, when he opened the Elgin Cinema in New York City.
Barenholtz secured his first job in the film business when he became assistant manager of the Rko Bushwick Theater in Brooklyn in 1958. From 1966-68 he managed and lived in the Village Theater, which ultimately became the Filmore East. At the Village Theater Barenholtz provided a home for the counterculture, with appearances by Timothy Leary, Stokley Carmichael, Rap Brown, and Paul Krasner. Some of the first meetings of the anti-Vietnam War movement, including the Poets Against Vietnam, were held at the Village Theater. It was also a major music venue, with performances by The Who, Cream, Leonard Cohen, John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Nina Simone and many others.
In 1968 he opened the Elgin Cinema. The theater became the world's most innovative specialty and revival house, relaunching the films of Buster Keaton and D.W. Griffith, running a variety of independent films by young American directors, and screening cult, underground, and experimental films for the emerging countercultural audience. The films of Stan Brakhage, Jack Smith, Maya Deren, Kenneth Anger, Jonas Mekas, and Andy Warhol, as well as early works by Jonathan Demme and Martin Scorsese, all played at the Elgin.
Barenholtz also developed new ways of screening movies. He started screening dance and opera films on Saturday and Sunday mornings. He created the "All Night Show" - movies started at midnight and ended at dawn. Most notably, Barenholtz originated the "Midnight Movie" in 1970 with Alexander Jodorowsky's El Topo, which ran for 6 months, 7 days a week, to sold out audiences.
The film was eventually bought by John Lennon. El Topo was followed at midnight by John Waters' Pink Flamingoes and Perry Henzell's The Harder They Come. Barenholtz formed the specialty distributor Libra Films in 1972.
The first film Libra distributed was a revival of Jean-Pierre Melville's Les Enfants Terrible, followed by Claude Chabrol's Just Before Nightfall, and Jean-Charles Tacchella's Cousin, Cousine, which became one of the largest grossing foreign films in the Us and was nominated for 3 Academy Awards.
Libra also launched and distributed, among others, George Romero's Martin, John Sayles' first feature Return of the Secaucus Seven, David Lynch's first feature Eraserhead, Karen Arthur's first feature Legacy, Earl Mack's first feature Children of Theater Street, and Peter Gothar's first feature Time Stands Still.
Barenholtz sold Libra Films to the Almi Group in 1982, but stayed with the company to become the President of Libra-Cinema 5 Films. In 1984 he left Almi and joined with Ted and Jim Pedas to form Circle Releasing. Among the films released by Circle were Yoshimitsu Morita's The Family Game, Guy Maddin's first feature Tales From the Gimli Hospital, Vincent Ward's The Navigator, John Woo's The Killer, Catherine Breillat's 36 Fillette, DeWitt Sage's first feature Pavarotti In China, Alain Cavalier's Therese, and Blood Simple, the first film by Joel and Ethan Coen.
His involvement in film production began with Wynn Chamberlain's Brand X and George Romero's Martin. He continued working with the Coens on the production of Raising Arizona, and as executive producer of Miller's Crossing and Barton Fink, which won the Palme d'Or at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival, as well as awards for Best Director and Best Actor. This was the first and last time the three top honors have all gone to the same film at Cannes.
Barenholtz went on to produce George Romero's Bruiser, J Todd Anderson's The Naked Man, Adek Drabinski's Cheat, executive-produced Gregory Hines' directorial debut Bleeding Hearts and Ulu Grossbard's Georgia, which earned an Academy Award nomination for Mare Winningham. He served as co-executive producer of Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream, which earned Ellen Burstyn an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in 2000.
Barenholtz appeared in the documentary The Hicks in Hollywood, had a bit role in Liquid Sky, and appeared as a zombie in Romero's classic Dawn of the Dead. He was the main subject of Stuart Samuels' 2005 documentary Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream.
Barenholtz directed his first feature, Music Inn, a documentary about the famed jazz venue.
Barenholtz was the producer of Jamie Greenberg's feature film Stags.
In 2012, Barenholtz produced Suzuya Bobo's first feature Family Games.
Barenholtz has recently completed directing and post production on Wakaliwood the Documentary, which was shot entirely in Kampala, Uganda. The film will be released in 2013.
He is now developing two feature fiction films which begin production in 2013.
IMDb Mini Biography By: Ben Barenholtz...
We'd like to celebrate by running 2 pieces on his amazing wonderful life.
This is his public bio, which in itself, tells of a rich wonderful career in film.
In the next days we'll publish his amazing memoir of his European childhood when he narrowly escaped from the hands of Jew killers during the War.
I personally owe Ben a lot. When I was producing some years back Ben was working for Almi and bought an indie film I produced 'Home Free All' by Director Stewart Bird for that company. The money from that deal paid our investors and took us out of a deep financial hole. I am always grateful to Ben for his vision and belief in us then.
Now for his professional bio -
Biography for Ben Barenholtz
Birth Name Benjamin Barenholtz
Mini Biography
As an exhibitor, distributor, and producer, Ben Barenholtz has been a key presence in the independent film scene since the late 1960s, when he opened the Elgin Cinema in New York City.
Barenholtz secured his first job in the film business when he became assistant manager of the Rko Bushwick Theater in Brooklyn in 1958. From 1966-68 he managed and lived in the Village Theater, which ultimately became the Filmore East. At the Village Theater Barenholtz provided a home for the counterculture, with appearances by Timothy Leary, Stokley Carmichael, Rap Brown, and Paul Krasner. Some of the first meetings of the anti-Vietnam War movement, including the Poets Against Vietnam, were held at the Village Theater. It was also a major music venue, with performances by The Who, Cream, Leonard Cohen, John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Nina Simone and many others.
In 1968 he opened the Elgin Cinema. The theater became the world's most innovative specialty and revival house, relaunching the films of Buster Keaton and D.W. Griffith, running a variety of independent films by young American directors, and screening cult, underground, and experimental films for the emerging countercultural audience. The films of Stan Brakhage, Jack Smith, Maya Deren, Kenneth Anger, Jonas Mekas, and Andy Warhol, as well as early works by Jonathan Demme and Martin Scorsese, all played at the Elgin.
Barenholtz also developed new ways of screening movies. He started screening dance and opera films on Saturday and Sunday mornings. He created the "All Night Show" - movies started at midnight and ended at dawn. Most notably, Barenholtz originated the "Midnight Movie" in 1970 with Alexander Jodorowsky's El Topo, which ran for 6 months, 7 days a week, to sold out audiences.
The film was eventually bought by John Lennon. El Topo was followed at midnight by John Waters' Pink Flamingoes and Perry Henzell's The Harder They Come. Barenholtz formed the specialty distributor Libra Films in 1972.
The first film Libra distributed was a revival of Jean-Pierre Melville's Les Enfants Terrible, followed by Claude Chabrol's Just Before Nightfall, and Jean-Charles Tacchella's Cousin, Cousine, which became one of the largest grossing foreign films in the Us and was nominated for 3 Academy Awards.
Libra also launched and distributed, among others, George Romero's Martin, John Sayles' first feature Return of the Secaucus Seven, David Lynch's first feature Eraserhead, Karen Arthur's first feature Legacy, Earl Mack's first feature Children of Theater Street, and Peter Gothar's first feature Time Stands Still.
Barenholtz sold Libra Films to the Almi Group in 1982, but stayed with the company to become the President of Libra-Cinema 5 Films. In 1984 he left Almi and joined with Ted and Jim Pedas to form Circle Releasing. Among the films released by Circle were Yoshimitsu Morita's The Family Game, Guy Maddin's first feature Tales From the Gimli Hospital, Vincent Ward's The Navigator, John Woo's The Killer, Catherine Breillat's 36 Fillette, DeWitt Sage's first feature Pavarotti In China, Alain Cavalier's Therese, and Blood Simple, the first film by Joel and Ethan Coen.
His involvement in film production began with Wynn Chamberlain's Brand X and George Romero's Martin. He continued working with the Coens on the production of Raising Arizona, and as executive producer of Miller's Crossing and Barton Fink, which won the Palme d'Or at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival, as well as awards for Best Director and Best Actor. This was the first and last time the three top honors have all gone to the same film at Cannes.
Barenholtz went on to produce George Romero's Bruiser, J Todd Anderson's The Naked Man, Adek Drabinski's Cheat, executive-produced Gregory Hines' directorial debut Bleeding Hearts and Ulu Grossbard's Georgia, which earned an Academy Award nomination for Mare Winningham. He served as co-executive producer of Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream, which earned Ellen Burstyn an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in 2000.
Barenholtz appeared in the documentary The Hicks in Hollywood, had a bit role in Liquid Sky, and appeared as a zombie in Romero's classic Dawn of the Dead. He was the main subject of Stuart Samuels' 2005 documentary Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream.
Barenholtz directed his first feature, Music Inn, a documentary about the famed jazz venue.
Barenholtz was the producer of Jamie Greenberg's feature film Stags.
In 2012, Barenholtz produced Suzuya Bobo's first feature Family Games.
Barenholtz has recently completed directing and post production on Wakaliwood the Documentary, which was shot entirely in Kampala, Uganda. The film will be released in 2013.
He is now developing two feature fiction films which begin production in 2013.
IMDb Mini Biography By: Ben Barenholtz...
- 10/8/2013
- by Peter Belsito
- Sydney's Buzz
Beautifully illustrated and nicely produced, this guide from the Canadian film scholar will be essential reading for Sf fans
In this addition to the British Film Institute's Screen Guides series, Canadian film scholar Barry Keith Grant chooses his top 100 science-fiction movies, from the Soviet Aelita (1924), with its "deliriously Constructivist spaces", to the "wildly imaginative" Zardoz (1974). Unfortunately the criteria used in choosing the films are not made clear, but the chronological and geographical range is impressive. After a useful introductory piece on the genre, follow brief essays on each film, summarising plot, critical reception and production details, as well as placing the work within a thematic context. There are plenty of classics: Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) "comes as close as any film to eliciting the 'sense of wonder' often associated with science fiction". But there are also duds, such as Dune (1984) (Grant observes drily that Lynch "is better at exploring...
In this addition to the British Film Institute's Screen Guides series, Canadian film scholar Barry Keith Grant chooses his top 100 science-fiction movies, from the Soviet Aelita (1924), with its "deliriously Constructivist spaces", to the "wildly imaginative" Zardoz (1974). Unfortunately the criteria used in choosing the films are not made clear, but the chronological and geographical range is impressive. After a useful introductory piece on the genre, follow brief essays on each film, summarising plot, critical reception and production details, as well as placing the work within a thematic context. There are plenty of classics: Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) "comes as close as any film to eliciting the 'sense of wonder' often associated with science fiction". But there are also duds, such as Dune (1984) (Grant observes drily that Lynch "is better at exploring...
- 8/9/2013
- by PD Smith
- The Guardian - Film News
Set in the neon grime of 1980’s New York City, Liquid Sky focuses on the new wave/punk performance art movement complete with copious amounts of sex and drug use. By today’s standards, I feel like this title may be classified more as sci-fi, but many 80s video stores lumped this into horror, and that is the vein in which I and many cult enthusiasts first viewed it. Just don’t expect any gory gut-bursting action; this one is more weird and shocking than blood-soaked.
Amidst a sea of shiny latex and heroin we find Margaret, a bi-sexual alternative model trying to build her career. She is often confronted by snarky modeling rival Jimmy who is played by the same actress as Margaret, just in drag. (This gets really weird later in the film when Jimmy and Margaret have sex.) Margaret lives in a small apartment with her girlfriend Adrien,...
Amidst a sea of shiny latex and heroin we find Margaret, a bi-sexual alternative model trying to build her career. She is often confronted by snarky modeling rival Jimmy who is played by the same actress as Margaret, just in drag. (This gets really weird later in the film when Jimmy and Margaret have sex.) Margaret lives in a small apartment with her girlfriend Adrien,...
- 5/7/2013
- by Rebekah McKendry
- FEARnet
The Qatsi Trilogy is a collection of films made by Godfrey Reggio between 1983 and 2002. Each film offers an extraordinary and unforgettable cinematic experience, and their messages are, astonishingly, even more pertinent and vital today. The visual and aural wonders of The Qatsi Trilogy fall into no preset genre or easily explainable category of filmmaking. The simplest description would be a grafting of somber political treatise with I-Max style sensory joyride.
To fully understand these unique works, one must understand the filmmaker, and his singular background and sensibilities. Godfrey Reggio is not an assembly line graduate of the USC film school. In fact, he spent the 1960s as a social worker and political activist, founding several community programs for disadvantaged youth in New Mexico. He also spent 14 years in training for the priesthood, but abandoned that quest to pursue a deeper understanding of the philosophy and mysticism of the Hopi Indians.
To fully understand these unique works, one must understand the filmmaker, and his singular background and sensibilities. Godfrey Reggio is not an assembly line graduate of the USC film school. In fact, he spent the 1960s as a social worker and political activist, founding several community programs for disadvantaged youth in New Mexico. He also spent 14 years in training for the priesthood, but abandoned that quest to pursue a deeper understanding of the philosophy and mysticism of the Hopi Indians.
- 12/11/2012
- by David Anderson
- IONCINEMA.com
1982. The best year for sci-fi and fantasy movies? The year that home video gave second life to films that otherwise would have flopped? Join the celebration here...
2012 marks the 30th anniversary of 1982, a year widely considered to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest, years ever for science fiction and fantasy movies.
Going by original Us release dates, there are indeed few years in cinema history that can boast the release of so many classic, cult, influential, popular and, in some cases, all of the above, Science Fiction and Fantasy movies.
1982 is certainly a year that the Sf/fantasy genre really came into its own, both in terms of its own cinematic aesthetic and as a viable source of commercial success. In the wake of hit Sf/fantasy films like Star Wars and Alien, the genre was finally breaking free of its previous status as predominantly schlocky low budget B-movies and kiddie fare.
2012 marks the 30th anniversary of 1982, a year widely considered to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest, years ever for science fiction and fantasy movies.
Going by original Us release dates, there are indeed few years in cinema history that can boast the release of so many classic, cult, influential, popular and, in some cases, all of the above, Science Fiction and Fantasy movies.
1982 is certainly a year that the Sf/fantasy genre really came into its own, both in terms of its own cinematic aesthetic and as a viable source of commercial success. In the wake of hit Sf/fantasy films like Star Wars and Alien, the genre was finally breaking free of its previous status as predominantly schlocky low budget B-movies and kiddie fare.
- 4/16/2012
- Den of Geek
Most dystopian science-fiction narratives feature stories in which a protagonist experiences a process of ‘waking up,’ transitioning from a state of blind ignorance to one of newfound enlightenment. The protagonists of The Matrix (1999), Brazil (1985), and the ur-text for dystopian futures, George Orwell’s 1984 (and its numerous film adaptations), all feature primary characters who transition from a state of passivity and complicity in an oppressive and manufactured society and transition to a newly critical, empowered state of being in which they are able to see beyond the veil of ignorance and witness the world for what it ‘really’ is for the first time. These protagonists are made capable of seeing beyond the structures of propaganda and carefully constructed illusion that they previously accepted to be objective reality and develop a political impetus in direct reaction to their previous state of complicity and ignorance. As someone previously uninitiated to the world of Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games (I...
- 3/28/2012
- by Landon Palmer
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
It's almost time for WonderCon 2012 to start packing fans into the Anaheim Convention Center, and we have the horror highlights of the three-day event that runs from March 16th-18th right here.
Along with the horror, we've included a few other panels that we thought would be of interest to our readers. For more info be sure to visit the official WonderCon website.
Friday, March 16th
12:30-1:30 Idw Presents: The Idw Panel!— Chief creative officer Chris Ryall and sergeant of marketing Dirk Wood, give out prizes, make announcements, and evade questions! Featuring a host of creators, including Steve Niles, Ben McCool, Jason Ciaramella and more! All this, plus the Smoke & Mirrors boys, Mike Costa and Jon Armstrong, perform live magic! Yes, you read that right! Room 203
1:30-2:30 Monsters Anonymous— Comics and prose authors discuss the pros and cons of world-building with monsters and whether or not...
Along with the horror, we've included a few other panels that we thought would be of interest to our readers. For more info be sure to visit the official WonderCon website.
Friday, March 16th
12:30-1:30 Idw Presents: The Idw Panel!— Chief creative officer Chris Ryall and sergeant of marketing Dirk Wood, give out prizes, make announcements, and evade questions! Featuring a host of creators, including Steve Niles, Ben McCool, Jason Ciaramella and more! All this, plus the Smoke & Mirrors boys, Mike Costa and Jon Armstrong, perform live magic! Yes, you read that right! Room 203
1:30-2:30 Monsters Anonymous— Comics and prose authors discuss the pros and cons of world-building with monsters and whether or not...
- 3/7/2012
- by The Woman In Black
- DreadCentral.com
2012 will be the first year that GeekTrant will invade WonderCon, mostly due to the fact that it was moved down to Anaheim, CA this year which is right in our backyard. We're all pretty excited about attending this year, as we've heard it's a much smaller more intimate version of San Diego Comic Con.
WonderCon is set to open on Friday, March 16th and run through Sunday, March 18th at the Anaheim Convention Center. If you plan on attending let us know, and maybe we can meet up and hang out for a bit!
I've put stars next to the panels we are interested in attending. Check out the schedule, and let us know what you are looking forward to seeing most!
Friday March 16th
12:30-1:30 Idw Presents: The Idw Panel!— Chief creative officer Chris Ryall and sergeant of marketing Dirk Wood, give out prizes, make announcements, and evade questions!
WonderCon is set to open on Friday, March 16th and run through Sunday, March 18th at the Anaheim Convention Center. If you plan on attending let us know, and maybe we can meet up and hang out for a bit!
I've put stars next to the panels we are interested in attending. Check out the schedule, and let us know what you are looking forward to seeing most!
Friday March 16th
12:30-1:30 Idw Presents: The Idw Panel!— Chief creative officer Chris Ryall and sergeant of marketing Dirk Wood, give out prizes, make announcements, and evade questions!
- 2/28/2012
- by Venkman
- GeekTyrant
Below you will find a list of movie that Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz director Edgar Wright has never seen. Not long ago Wright went out and asked his friends and fans to recommend some movies they thought he may have missed over the last thirty years of his life. He got recommendations from Quentin Tarantino, Daniel Waters, Bill Hader, John Landis, Guillermo Del Toro, Joe Dante, Judd Apatow, Joss Whedon, Greg Mottola, Schwartzman, Doug Benson, Rian Johnson, Larry Karaszeski, Josh Olson, Harry Knowles and hundreds of fans on this blog.
From these recommendations, Wright created a master list of recommended films that were frequently mentioned. The director now wants the fans to choose which of the films on the list he should watch on the big screen.
Wright is holding a film event at the New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles called Films Edgar Has Never Seen.
From these recommendations, Wright created a master list of recommended films that were frequently mentioned. The director now wants the fans to choose which of the films on the list he should watch on the big screen.
Wright is holding a film event at the New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles called Films Edgar Has Never Seen.
- 10/18/2011
- by Venkman
- GeekTyrant
Edgar Wright's latest epic project [1] has him partnering with Quentin Tarantino, Judd Apatow, Joss Whedon, Bill Hader, Guillermo Del Toro, Joe Dante, Greg Mottola, Harry Knowles, Rian Johnson and, probably, several of you. Like all of us, Wright has a bunch of classic and cult films he's never seen. Unlike all of us, he has the means to see them for the first time on the big screen and will do just that in December [2] at the New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles during Films Edgar Has Never Seen. The director of Shaun of the Dead and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World asked both his famous friends (some of which are listed above) and fans to send in their personal must see lists and, from those titles, Wright came up with one mega list from which he'll pick a few movies to watch December 9-16. After the jump check...
- 10/18/2011
- by Germain Lussier
- Slash Film
The Wrap's Steve Pond has read some version or other of Charlie Kaufman's screenplay for Frank or Francis and finds it to be "a twisted and bitter broadside against nearly every aspect of the movie business, from filmmakers to critics to audiences." As Movie City News warns: Spoilers ahead. Kaufman will begin shooting in January with with Nicolas Cage, Jack Black, Steve Carell and Kevin Kline.
For the Independent, Rob Sharp talks with Terry Gilliam who may or may not direct an English National Opera production of Berlioz's Benvenuto Cellini and may or may not direct an adaptation of Paul Auster's novel Mr Vertigo.
Melissa Anderson for Artforum: "Slava Tsukerman's 1982 cult classic, Liquid Sky, may be the first example of heroin cheek, imagining an invasion of extraterrestrials drawn to a city where new-wave androgynes languidly hope to score and the Empire State Building looms as a giant hypodermic needle.
For the Independent, Rob Sharp talks with Terry Gilliam who may or may not direct an English National Opera production of Berlioz's Benvenuto Cellini and may or may not direct an adaptation of Paul Auster's novel Mr Vertigo.
Melissa Anderson for Artforum: "Slava Tsukerman's 1982 cult classic, Liquid Sky, may be the first example of heroin cheek, imagining an invasion of extraterrestrials drawn to a city where new-wave androgynes languidly hope to score and the Empire State Building looms as a giant hypodermic needle.
- 10/10/2011
- MUBI
Blade Runner, First Blood, Wrath Of Khan … 1982 was a high water mark for genre movies, but we won't see its like again
Everyone has their favourite period of cinema. For some, it never gets better than the snappy dialogue of the 1940s; plenty espouse the more freeform cinema of the 1970s; who knows, maybe in some far-flung future there may even be people who claim that the 2010s were where it's at. But if you want to get more specific, then you must turn to the obsessives. The geeks. Because for those argumentative science fiction, horror and fantasy fans, those finickity lovers of genre ephemera, cinema achieved true perfection in a single year: 1982.
In 1982 there was an unprecedented investment in the fantastic. Subjects that would previously have been confined to B-movies, to exploitation flicks, to drive-in fodder became the stock-in-trade of the mainstream. It was a year that changed Hollywood,...
Everyone has their favourite period of cinema. For some, it never gets better than the snappy dialogue of the 1940s; plenty espouse the more freeform cinema of the 1970s; who knows, maybe in some far-flung future there may even be people who claim that the 2010s were where it's at. But if you want to get more specific, then you must turn to the obsessives. The geeks. Because for those argumentative science fiction, horror and fantasy fans, those finickity lovers of genre ephemera, cinema achieved true perfection in a single year: 1982.
In 1982 there was an unprecedented investment in the fantastic. Subjects that would previously have been confined to B-movies, to exploitation flicks, to drive-in fodder became the stock-in-trade of the mainstream. It was a year that changed Hollywood,...
- 8/19/2011
- by Phelim O'Neill
- The Guardian - Film News
And I'm pretty sure that's "synthsized" as in synthesizers a la Daft Punk, not synthetics. Or is it a double entendre? Only time will tell with Bad Pixels, a new indie scifi feature currently in-production that seems to have a real joie-de-vie going for it. Kind of reminds me of those weird 80s no-genre music scene scifi films like Liquid Sky. Based on the behind the scenes pics we have for you, it also appears to have a lot of green screen work too.
Here's what it's about:
In a subterranean dystopian future, an ultra-conservative dictator has eradicated gender equality and made life miserable for anyone unlucky enough to be female. When an oppressed teenage girl discovers her homemade synthesizer has the power to emasculate men and pleasure women, she forms an electro-duo dubbed Bad Pixels, and sets out to restore equality via auditory bliss.
Bad Pixels is written by Alex Bowser,...
Here's what it's about:
In a subterranean dystopian future, an ultra-conservative dictator has eradicated gender equality and made life miserable for anyone unlucky enough to be female. When an oppressed teenage girl discovers her homemade synthesizer has the power to emasculate men and pleasure women, she forms an electro-duo dubbed Bad Pixels, and sets out to restore equality via auditory bliss.
Bad Pixels is written by Alex Bowser,...
- 8/4/2010
- QuietEarth.us
Director: Ulli Lommel Writers: Ulli Lommel, Richard Hell, Robert Madero Starring: Carole Bouquet, Richard Hell, Ulli Lommel, Andy Warhol During my teens, I feasted on a steady diet of punk rock movies, everything from Rock 'n' Roll High School to Suburbia, The Decline of Western Civilization to Dogs in Space to Sid and Nancy to Rude Boy to Another State of Mind to The Blank Generation (1976) to Border Radio to Breaking Glass to The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle to Gleaming the Cube to Jubilee to The Last Pogo to Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains to Liquid Sky to The Punk Rock Movie to Repo Man to Surf Nazis Must Die to Thrashin’ to Urgh! A Music War to Stop Making Sense…but one film that always eluded me was Ulli Lommel’s Blank Generation (not to be confused with Ivan Kral’s 1976 documentary The Blank GenerationBlank Generation on DVD.
- 5/17/2010
- by Don Simpson
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
Tables are places we gather to socialize, but in the case of a new installation for a UCLA courtyard, it appears that the tables have gathered to socialize with each other. Table Cloth features hundreds of tables dripping down from the second story of the Herb Alpert School of Music at UCLA that are linked together with a series of brackets to create both a seating area for students and a dramatic backdrop for summer concerts. The tabletop-textile was created by architectural alchemists Benjamin Ball and Gaston Nogues with their L.A.-based studio Ball-Nogues, who you'll remember for Liquid Sky, their shimmery circus-like tents at MoMA's P.S.1 in 2007, and the glowing, misting coils that made up last year's Coachella pavilion.
Over 500 individually-cut coffee-style tables and three-legged stools make up the "fabric" of the piece, which face legs-out while suspended in the air, but are flipped toward the ground at the bottom,...
Over 500 individually-cut coffee-style tables and three-legged stools make up the "fabric" of the piece, which face legs-out while suspended in the air, but are flipped toward the ground at the bottom,...
- 4/21/2010
- by Alissa Walker
- Fast Company
The production notes for "Perestroika" state that its Russian writer-producer-director, Slava Tsukerman, has made 43 films.
The only one that captured attention in the Us was the cult hit "Liquid Sky" (1982), in which space aliens land on the roof of a downtown Manhattan penthouse in search of a chemical released during sex.
"Perestroika" forgoes aliens -- but not sex -- to tell the story of the director's alter ego, Sasha Greenberg (Sam Robards), an astrophysicist who returns to his native Moscow after 17 years of self-exile in America.
The only one that captured attention in the Us was the cult hit "Liquid Sky" (1982), in which space aliens land on the roof of a downtown Manhattan penthouse in search of a chemical released during sex.
"Perestroika" forgoes aliens -- but not sex -- to tell the story of the director's alter ego, Sasha Greenberg (Sam Robards), an astrophysicist who returns to his native Moscow after 17 years of self-exile in America.
- 4/17/2009
- by By V.A. MUSETTO
- NYPost.com
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