Gardens in Autumn.“Life receives its radiance only from inactivity.”—Byung-Chul Han“They deem me mad because I will not sell my days for gold; and I deem them mad because they think my days have a price.”—Khalil GibranOtar Iosseliani, who died in December, was artistically incompatible with the institutional strictures of the film industry in both the Soviet Union, where he was born, and France, where he subsequently made most of his feature films. Iosseliani inhabited exile more like a fairy tale than a sentence. His ability to transfigure reality and find the incredible in the everyday populates his films with a whimsical humanity we often fail to notice. Though adhering on the surface to the visual precepts of cinematic realism, his films fantastically exceed it with a melancholic comedy that is observed rather than staged. Now that he is no more, our world will be an even lonelier place.
- 1/16/2024
- MUBI
Even as Cannes just wrapped up last month, and Tribeca is still going on this week, all eyes on the Festival circuit are turning towards Fall, and the all-important stops like Venice, Toronto, and Telluride that will be kicking off the fest circuit likely to set the table for awards season. And others are making early moves now as New York Film Festival organizers were in town last week holding a reception for studio and PR reps and press to pump up interest in their Fall festival even before that other aforementioned NY-based fest got rolling with its opening night. Leaders of the Toronto International Film Festival were also in town this Spring holding meetings and lunches to assure the industry it would be returning to business as usual in person this Fall. All the festival heads are busy seeing early previews of films that hope to use the Fall fests to launch Oscar campaigns.
- 6/14/2022
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
In Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk’s Cannes title “Pamfir,” marking his feature debut, the carnival is fast approaching. His protagonist (Oleksandr Yatsentyuk) finally returns home, ready to do better this time. But when his child runs into trouble and there is no money, as always, there is no way but back.
With Indie Sales on board and produced by Bosonfilm, “Pamfir” is a co-production between Les Films d’Ici (France), Madants (Poland), Quijote Films (Chile), Mainstream Pictures (Ukraine), Wady Films (Luxembourg), Moderator Inwestycje (Poland), Studio Orlando (France) and Soilfilms (Germany).
“This carnival, malanka, is specific to western Ukraine. It’s like a game – there are rules,” says Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk.
While people sing, dance and fight, they also stage plays, returning to the concept of holy sacrifice.
“When it comes to this celebration, there is a sense of loss. You lose something and then later, it rises again. A bit like in Christianity or a bit like with our character.
With Indie Sales on board and produced by Bosonfilm, “Pamfir” is a co-production between Les Films d’Ici (France), Madants (Poland), Quijote Films (Chile), Mainstream Pictures (Ukraine), Wady Films (Luxembourg), Moderator Inwestycje (Poland), Studio Orlando (France) and Soilfilms (Germany).
“This carnival, malanka, is specific to western Ukraine. It’s like a game – there are rules,” says Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk.
While people sing, dance and fight, they also stage plays, returning to the concept of holy sacrifice.
“When it comes to this celebration, there is a sense of loss. You lose something and then later, it rises again. A bit like in Christianity or a bit like with our character.
- 5/28/2022
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
The Notebook Primer introduces readers to some of the most important figures, films, genres, and movements in film history. The series Independent Women: The Pioneering Cinema of Márta Mészáros starts on Mubi on March 22, 2021 in many countries.In an interview with Philip Roth, Czech writer Milan Kundera said about the concept of forgetting: “This is the great private problem of man: death as the loss of self. But what is this self? It is the sum of everything we remember. Thus, what terrifies us about death is not the loss of the past. Forgetting is a form of death ever present within life…. But forgetting is also the great problem of politics. When a big power wants to deprive a small country of its national consciousness, it uses the method of organized forgetting.”The films of Márta Mészáros epitomize these sentiments. Internationally renowned for her four Diary films—Diary for...
- 3/31/2021
- MUBI
It’s nearly perfect and utterly profound, a masterpiece — Larisa Shepitko made only four theatrical features yet this Soviet movie about the Great Patriotic War earns her a firm place in film history. Moral betrayals under stress, in the face of profound evil… it’s the human condition. Astonishing for a Mosfilm production of the time, the film equates nationalistic sacrifice with Christian martyrdom. Criterion’s extras tell the impressive story behind the making of this major Soviet production.
The Ascent
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 1063
1977 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 109 min. / Voskhozhdenie / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date January 26, 2021 / 39.95
Starring: Boris Plotnikov, Vladimir Gostyukhin, Sergey Yakovlev, Lyudmila Polyakova, Viktoriya Goldentul, Anatoliy Solonitsyn, Mariya Vinogradova, Nikolai Sektimenko, Sergei Kanishchev.
Cinematography: Vladimir Chukhnov, Pavel Lebeshev
Film Editor: Valeriya Belova
Original Music: A. Shnitke
Written by Yuri Klepikov, Larisa Shepitko from a novel by Vasiliy Bykov
Directed by Larisa Shepitko
A few months...
The Ascent
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 1063
1977 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 109 min. / Voskhozhdenie / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date January 26, 2021 / 39.95
Starring: Boris Plotnikov, Vladimir Gostyukhin, Sergey Yakovlev, Lyudmila Polyakova, Viktoriya Goldentul, Anatoliy Solonitsyn, Mariya Vinogradova, Nikolai Sektimenko, Sergei Kanishchev.
Cinematography: Vladimir Chukhnov, Pavel Lebeshev
Film Editor: Valeriya Belova
Original Music: A. Shnitke
Written by Yuri Klepikov, Larisa Shepitko from a novel by Vasiliy Bykov
Directed by Larisa Shepitko
A few months...
- 2/27/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Ukrainan-born filmmaker Larisa Shepitko attended famed Russian cinematography school Vgik, where she was a protoge of Alexander Dovzhenko (Earth) and peer of Andrei Tarkovsky and Elem Klimov (Come And See), whom she married and collaborated with. Out this week from Criterion is Shepitko's last fully finished film, The Ascent. Long lauded by fellow filmmakers, critics, and fans, this 1977 black and white parable was infused with religious parallels, not just from the book from which it was adapted, but by Shepitko herself, who was impassioned to make the film. Completing any film requires an insane amount of fortitude, but if Shepitko were to be...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 1/28/2021
- Screen Anarchy
The Criterion Collection will be heralding in 2021 with a mix of new and old. First up, Bing Liu’s stellar documentary Minding the Gap will be joining the collection, as will another documentary, Martin Scorsese’s playful Rolling Thunder Revue. Also arriving is a three-film Luis Buñuel box set focusing on his late career, featuring The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, The Phantom of Liberty, and That Obscure Object of Desire. Larisa Shepitko’s final, harrowing feature The Ascent will also be getting a release.
Check out the cover art and special features below, and see more on Criterion’s website.
New high-definition digital master, approved by director Bing Liu, with 5.1 surround DTS-hd Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-rayNew audio commentary featuring Liu and documentary subjects Keire Johnson and Zack MulliganNew follow-up conversation between Liu and documentary subject Nina BowgrenNew programs featuring interviews with professional skateboarder Tony Hawk and with Liu,...
Check out the cover art and special features below, and see more on Criterion’s website.
New high-definition digital master, approved by director Bing Liu, with 5.1 surround DTS-hd Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-rayNew audio commentary featuring Liu and documentary subjects Keire Johnson and Zack MulliganNew follow-up conversation between Liu and documentary subject Nina BowgrenNew programs featuring interviews with professional skateboarder Tony Hawk and with Liu,...
- 10/16/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
We sat down with director Kantemir Balagov at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival following the premiere of his sophomore film Beanpole in Un Certain Regard. The director speaks of the process of re-creating post-wwii Leningrad as well as the process of casting unknown lead roles. Although Balagov didn’t concoct his film as a direct homage, we discussed noted influences on the construction of the narrative, including Aleksey German and Larisa Shepitko. While Balagov doesn’t provide any exact details of future projects, he plans on his next film being a contemporary narrative after his two period pieces, which includes his 1999 set debut Closeness (Tesnota).…...
- 2/10/2020
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
The Coen Brothers’ The Ballad of Buster Scruggs takes feature form for the 2018 Venice Film Festival
In a surprise twist no one saw coming The Coen Brothers’ initial anthology series, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, will be featuring at the 2018 Venice Film Festival as a full-length feature in the competition.
The film, which was declared a Netflix original, is made up of 6 of chaptered stories revolving around the American Frontier. As for chapter plot details, information is hard to find. Tim Blake Nelson stars as Scruggs alongside a cast that features names like Zoe Kazan, Liam Neeson and Tom Waits.
“We’ve always loved anthology movies, especially those films made in Italy in the Sixties which set side-by-side the work of different directors on a common theme,” the Coens said in a statement. “Having written an anthology of Western stories we attempted to do the same, hoping to enlist the best directors working today. It was our great fortune that they both agreed to participate.”
The...
The film, which was declared a Netflix original, is made up of 6 of chaptered stories revolving around the American Frontier. As for chapter plot details, information is hard to find. Tim Blake Nelson stars as Scruggs alongside a cast that features names like Zoe Kazan, Liam Neeson and Tom Waits.
“We’ve always loved anthology movies, especially those films made in Italy in the Sixties which set side-by-side the work of different directors on a common theme,” the Coens said in a statement. “Having written an anthology of Western stories we attempted to do the same, hoping to enlist the best directors working today. It was our great fortune that they both agreed to participate.”
The...
- 7/26/2018
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Non-FictionThe programme for the 2018 edition of the Venice Film Festival has been unveiled, and includes new films from Tsai Ming-liang, Frederick Wiseman, Sergei Loznitsa, Olivier Assayas, the Coen Brothers, and many more.COMPETITIONFirst Man (Damien Chazelle)The Mountain (Rick Alverson)Non-Fiction (Olivier Assayas)The Sisters Brothers (Jacques Audiard)The Ballad of Buster ScruggsVox Lux (Brady Corbet)Roma (Alfonso Cuarón)22 July (Paul Greengrass)Suspiria (Luca Guadagnino)Werk ohne autor (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck)The Nightingale (Jennifer Kent)The Favourite (Yorgos Lanthimos)Peterloo (Mike Leigh)Capri-revolution (Mario Martone)What You Gonna Do When the World's On Fire? (Roberto Minervini)Sunset (László Nemes)Frères ennemis (David Oeloffen)Where Life is Born (Carlos Reygadas)At Eternity's Gate (Julian Schnabel)Acusada (Gonzalo Tobal)Killing (Shinya Tsukamoto)Out Of COMPETITIONFeaturesThe Other Side of the Wind (Orson Welles)They'll Love Me When I'm Dead (Morgan Neville)L'amica geniale (Saverio Costanzo)Il diario di angela - noi...
- 7/25/2018
- MUBI
Update With Key Speeches: Hungarian title On Body And Soul takes best film; Aki Kaurismaki, Sebastian Lelio among winners; Insyriated and I Am Not Your Negro scoop Panorama audience awards; 2018 festival dates revealed.
The awards ceremony for the 67th Berlin Film Festival took place this evening (18 Feb) with winners including Ildiko Enyedi, Alain Gomis, Agnieszka Holland and Sebastian Lelio.
Scroll down for full list of winners
Ildikò Enyedi’s Hungarian feature On Body and Soul - the unusual love story of two damaged souls trying to make contact in a harsh world - was the big winner on the night taking home the Golden Bear for best film in the Competition as well as the Ecumenical and Fipresci juries’ prizes for best film in the Official Competition and the Berliner Morgenpost Readers’ Award.
Enyedi’s film - which is handled internationally by Berlin-based sales agent Films Boutique and had been hotly tipped for the Golden Bear - is...
The awards ceremony for the 67th Berlin Film Festival took place this evening (18 Feb) with winners including Ildiko Enyedi, Alain Gomis, Agnieszka Holland and Sebastian Lelio.
Scroll down for full list of winners
Ildikò Enyedi’s Hungarian feature On Body and Soul - the unusual love story of two damaged souls trying to make contact in a harsh world - was the big winner on the night taking home the Golden Bear for best film in the Competition as well as the Ecumenical and Fipresci juries’ prizes for best film in the Official Competition and the Berliner Morgenpost Readers’ Award.
Enyedi’s film - which is handled internationally by Berlin-based sales agent Films Boutique and had been hotly tipped for the Golden Bear - is...
- 2/18/2017
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney) andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
This letter is part of "Behind the Celluloid Curtain," a series of correspondences between Scout Tafoya and Veronika Ferdman on the topic of Soviet cinema, with each series organized around a theme. This particular series focuses on love in a time of discontent.Dear Veronika,I’m so glad we picked these movies. I wanted a glimpse into normal Russian life and here are the children of the Ussr listening to vinyl! They’re singing and talking about stuff. Boring stuff, in some cases! “Do you know how many people will die in traffic accidents this year?” I sure don’t! Russians! They’re just like us! July Rain is a most excellent example not only of people just trying to make sense of the minutia of being alive, but of a filmmaker finding his way through a glut of world cinema influences and coming away with something unique. There’s Godard,...
- 10/12/2015
- by Scout Tafoya
- MUBI
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, one of Europe’s longest-running festivals, will throw a massive public party to celebrate its 50th festival in July, as well as staging special salutes to the late actors John Cazale and Chris Penn. Kviff organizers announced details of the 50th festival on Tuesday, with the celebrations also including a concert by Czech rock band Lucie, a week of programming devoted to Lebanese cinema, a retrospective of the work of the late Soviet director Larisa Shepitko, and a program devoted to 10 young directors from European film schools. The festival, which takes place in a picturesque.
- 4/28/2015
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Karlovy Vary's jubilee edition will include a retrospective of Lebanese films from the last 25 years, and tributes to late Soviet-Ukrainian auteur Larisa Shepitko and American actors John Cazale and Chris Penn. Karlovy Vary laureate Mel Gibson, returning to the festival this year after winning the 2014 Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema, will film a special festival trailer in Los Angeles in early May. The trailer will be written and directed by Martin Krejčí, who has helmed many of this historic festival's past trailers. A Week of Lebanese Cinema Kviff annually spotlights under-seen films from far-flung regions, from Young Greek Cinema to A Female Take on Russia, and this year has programmed eight Lebanese titles from the last 25 years. Making plenty of room for women directors, films include "Hors la Vie" (1991), director Maroun Bagdadi's Cannes Jury Prize winner about the abduction of a French journalist; Ziad Doueiri's.
- 4/28/2015
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Thompson on Hollywood
John Cazale will help celebrate Karlovy Vary’s 50 years
One of Europe’s most diverse and historic film festivals, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival which takes place in a Bohemian spa town from 3 to 11 July is gearing up for its jubilee celebrations this year.
Plans to celebrate its 50 years include a look at recent Lebanese cinema, a retrospective of late Soviet-Ukrainian director Larisa Shepitko’s work and tributes to Us actors John Cazale and Chris Penn.
Actor-director Mel Gibson will also film a special trailer for the festival, set to be shot in Los Angeles in early May. The Lethal Weapon star received the Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema at last year’s Kviff.
Guest of honour at Karlovy Vary: Chris Penn
Gibson continues a tradition that sees the recipients of this award feature in a short trailer for the following festival. It will be...
One of Europe’s most diverse and historic film festivals, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival which takes place in a Bohemian spa town from 3 to 11 July is gearing up for its jubilee celebrations this year.
Plans to celebrate its 50 years include a look at recent Lebanese cinema, a retrospective of late Soviet-Ukrainian director Larisa Shepitko’s work and tributes to Us actors John Cazale and Chris Penn.
Actor-director Mel Gibson will also film a special trailer for the festival, set to be shot in Los Angeles in early May. The Lethal Weapon star received the Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema at last year’s Kviff.
Guest of honour at Karlovy Vary: Chris Penn
Gibson continues a tradition that sees the recipients of this award feature in a short trailer for the following festival. It will be...
- 4/28/2015
- by Richard Mowe
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Mel Gibson to film special trailer for the festival; plans for Lebanese cinema focus and tributes to late Us actor John Cazale and Chris Penn.
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Kviff) has unveiled plans for its 50th ‘annivarysary’ edition, set to run July 3-11.
The jubilee edition will include a look at recent Lebanese cinema, a retrospective of late Soviet-Ukrainian director Larisa Shepitko’s work and tributes to Us actors John Cazale and Chris Penn.
Actor-director Mel Gibson will also film a special trailer for the festival, set to be shot in Los Angeles in early May. The Lethal Weapon star received the Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema at last year’s Kviff.
Gibson continues a tradition that sees the recipients of this award feature in a short trailer for the following festival. It will be written and directed by Martin Krejčí, who has collaborated with Ivan Zachariáš since the beginning of the...
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Kviff) has unveiled plans for its 50th ‘annivarysary’ edition, set to run July 3-11.
The jubilee edition will include a look at recent Lebanese cinema, a retrospective of late Soviet-Ukrainian director Larisa Shepitko’s work and tributes to Us actors John Cazale and Chris Penn.
Actor-director Mel Gibson will also film a special trailer for the festival, set to be shot in Los Angeles in early May. The Lethal Weapon star received the Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema at last year’s Kviff.
Gibson continues a tradition that sees the recipients of this award feature in a short trailer for the following festival. It will be written and directed by Martin Krejčí, who has collaborated with Ivan Zachariáš since the beginning of the...
- 4/28/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
"Dedicated to gathering the greatest films from around the world and publishing them in editions of the highest technical quality." For cinephiles, it's amusing to watch two very talented filmmakers geeking out while raiding the DVD/Br closets of the Criterion Collection. Inbetween the Telluride and Toronto Film Festivals, directors Alfonso Cuarón (of Gravity) & Pawel Pawlikowski (of Ida) stopped by the Criterion offices in New York City and stole made off with a bunch of DVDs from their archives. A short video has hit the web showing the two discussing classics and picking out favorites, and now we can watch them geek out. Thanks to RopeofSilicon for the tip. Here's a list of all the Criterion films mentioned or shown in the video: Vivre Sa Vie (Jean-Luc Godard/1962), Lola Montes (Max Ophuls/1955), The Complete Jean Vigo, To Be or Not To Be (Ernst Lubitsch/1942), A Man Escaped (Robert Bresson/1956), Larisa Shepitko Series,...
- 10/9/2013
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
When a Nazi collaborator is led into the Belarusian forest to be executed, why doesn't he protest? Sergei Loznitsa's chilling drama explores the agonies of war and puts European history on trial
The fog of the title is the fog of war, the fog of fear and the abysmal fog of European history: it is a kind of residual pall of smoke across the field of battle – maybe it also means the obliteration brought by death itself. This is the chilling and mysterious historical parable from film-maker Sergei Loznitsa, based on the 1989 novel by the Belarusian author Vasili Bykov, resembling Elem Klimov's Come and See. (Bykov also wrote the 1970 novel The Ordeal, filmed by Larisa Shepitko as The Ascent.)
Its subject is the Nazis' invasion of the Soviet Union, and in particular the poisonous shame of collaboration that they disseminated in every part of the Reich. An important...
The fog of the title is the fog of war, the fog of fear and the abysmal fog of European history: it is a kind of residual pall of smoke across the field of battle – maybe it also means the obliteration brought by death itself. This is the chilling and mysterious historical parable from film-maker Sergei Loznitsa, based on the 1989 novel by the Belarusian author Vasili Bykov, resembling Elem Klimov's Come and See. (Bykov also wrote the 1970 novel The Ordeal, filmed by Larisa Shepitko as The Ascent.)
Its subject is the Nazis' invasion of the Soviet Union, and in particular the poisonous shame of collaboration that they disseminated in every part of the Reich. An important...
- 4/26/2013
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
With the kickoff of the 37th Telluride Film Festival, so begins the 2010 Awards Season. Of special note are the special sneak previews of The King’S Speech starring Oscar hopeful Colin Firth, Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan via the Venice Film Festival and Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours. Also on the schedule are Mike Leigh’s Another Year, Mark Romanek’s Never Let Me Go with Andrew Garfield, Carey Mulligan and Keira Knightley, and Peter Weir’s The Way Back starring Colin Farrell, Mark Strong, and Ed Harris. Many of the films listed below will continue onto the Toronto International Film Festival which runs September 9-19. So fellow Awards Watchers…let the games begin.
Press Release:
37th Telluride Film Festival Announces 2010 Festival Lineup Twenty-four new feature films to preview in Festival’s main program, the “Show” Claudia Cardinale, Colin Firth and Peter Weir to receive Silver Medallion Awards Special revival programs...
Press Release:
37th Telluride Film Festival Announces 2010 Festival Lineup Twenty-four new feature films to preview in Festival’s main program, the “Show” Claudia Cardinale, Colin Firth and Peter Weir to receive Silver Medallion Awards Special revival programs...
- 9/3/2010
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Criterion does it again, rescuing a major filmmaker from the quicksand of neglect, happenstance and/or canonical prejudice, and shoving them into the spotlight with state-of-the-art DVD releases that virtually demand a reevaluative reckoning. As with Larisa Shepitko, Jacques Becker, Raymond Bernard, William Klein and Jean Painlevé, you won't find mention of Hiroshi Shimizu in any major English-language film history text, and in each case the elisions are criminal. An almost exact contemporary of Ozu, Mizoguchi and Naruse, from the beginnings of their careers in the mid-to-late '20s to their last films, Shimizu echoes a good deal of their field of concerns -- the plight of women in a patriarchy, the delicacy of the unsaid, the tragic spiral of romantic melodrama -- but comes at them with a subtly distinctive way of observing his characters, similar to Ozu's rigorous restraint but freer, more organic, less "perfect" and more spontaneous.
- 3/17/2009
- by Michael Atkinson
- ifc.com
By Michael Atkinson
Our official "B-movie" distribution stream -- straight-to-dvd releases -- grows in number and variety every year, as fewer films can be, or at least are, affordably shown theatrically than ever before. And these titles still can't qualify for awards or polls of any kind, or often even reviews, as the number of theatrical screens continues to drop. Does this make any sense? Here're my favorites from this year, the movies that first saw American screens (big or small) on digital video in 2008, be they brand new or decades old.
1. "Sophie's Place"
Lawrence Jordan, U.S., 1986
The renowned yet all-but-forgotten avant-garde filmmaker's grand animated masterpiece, a Victorian-styled dream-collage-painting-fever-feature brimming with hundreds of inexplicable epiphanies and a sense of visual magic that is all but utterly unique to Jordan. This honey was ensconced in Facets' lavish, under-celebrated set "The Lawrence Jordan Album," which in itself is more of an...
Our official "B-movie" distribution stream -- straight-to-dvd releases -- grows in number and variety every year, as fewer films can be, or at least are, affordably shown theatrically than ever before. And these titles still can't qualify for awards or polls of any kind, or often even reviews, as the number of theatrical screens continues to drop. Does this make any sense? Here're my favorites from this year, the movies that first saw American screens (big or small) on digital video in 2008, be they brand new or decades old.
1. "Sophie's Place"
Lawrence Jordan, U.S., 1986
The renowned yet all-but-forgotten avant-garde filmmaker's grand animated masterpiece, a Victorian-styled dream-collage-painting-fever-feature brimming with hundreds of inexplicable epiphanies and a sense of visual magic that is all but utterly unique to Jordan. This honey was ensconced in Facets' lavish, under-celebrated set "The Lawrence Jordan Album," which in itself is more of an...
- 12/17/2008
- by Michael Atkinson
- ifc.com
Larisa Shepitko, notes Josef Braun, "studied under the greatAlexander Dovzhenko, director ofArsenal (1928) and Earth (30), but being an all-too-apt pupil, and part of what would prove an iconoclastic generation of Soviet filmmakers, she would not uphold or even reconfigure the traditions of her mentor so much as follow his example as an innovator and exacting aesthete, developing an utterly distinctive voice, one that would seek poetic methods of externalizing internal, individual transformations rather than, in accordance with official Soviet ideology, speak for the glory of a people."
"Privilege was all but dismissed by the critics as 'hysterical' and 'juvenile' and roundly denounced in the press... In [director Peter] Watkins's own words, 'The fact that everything shown or implied in the film has come about in Britain subsequent years - especially during Margaret Thatcher's nationalistic period - has not changed its status as a completely marginalized film in that country.'" Sean Axmaker for TCM.
"Privilege was all but dismissed by the critics as 'hysterical' and 'juvenile' and roundly denounced in the press... In [director Peter] Watkins's own words, 'The fact that everything shown or implied in the film has come about in Britain subsequent years - especially during Margaret Thatcher's nationalistic period - has not changed its status as a completely marginalized film in that country.'" Sean Axmaker for TCM.
- 9/3/2008
- by dwhudson
- GreenCine
By Michael Atkinson
The farther we get from it, the clearer it seems that the Age of the Waves . the '60s and '70s, roughly demarcated . was film culture's own belle époque, glowing with post-teen hoochie koo and experimental piss and vinegar and hard-won grit, wherever movie tickets were sold and film stock could be bought. From the Parisian vague team to Budapest to Buenos Aires to even Hollywood, wavism spread over the globe like a supercool, ultra-realist virus, and as the home video digitization of film history continues, it's become obvious that what we thought we knew about the New Waves barely scratches the nitrate. (In just the last two years, the discs have included previously unavailable, and little-seen, world-beaters by Godard, Marker, Teshigahara, Borowzcyk, Varda, Masumura, Rosi, Melville, Syberberg, Klein, and probably scads I missed.) A bewitching case in point: Larisa Shepitko, who was something like the...
The farther we get from it, the clearer it seems that the Age of the Waves . the '60s and '70s, roughly demarcated . was film culture's own belle époque, glowing with post-teen hoochie koo and experimental piss and vinegar and hard-won grit, wherever movie tickets were sold and film stock could be bought. From the Parisian vague team to Budapest to Buenos Aires to even Hollywood, wavism spread over the globe like a supercool, ultra-realist virus, and as the home video digitization of film history continues, it's become obvious that what we thought we knew about the New Waves barely scratches the nitrate. (In just the last two years, the discs have included previously unavailable, and little-seen, world-beaters by Godard, Marker, Teshigahara, Borowzcyk, Varda, Masumura, Rosi, Melville, Syberberg, Klein, and probably scads I missed.) A bewitching case in point: Larisa Shepitko, who was something like the...
- 8/12/2008
- by Michael Atkinson
- ifc.com
At 41 she died of a car crash in 1979 and it almost spelled the end of an era that spanned a humble 4 films. She was a major figure of the postwar Soviet Cinema. But her early death has been the cause of neglect of her work that was done under some really harsh conditions.
Now Eclipse along with the Criterion collection is devoting two of her cinematic masterpieces “The Wings” and “The Ascent”. This is in order to revive her overshadowed career in her films.
She and her husband filmmaker Elem Klimov were like the...
(more...)...
Now Eclipse along with the Criterion collection is devoting two of her cinematic masterpieces “The Wings” and “The Ascent”. This is in order to revive her overshadowed career in her films.
She and her husband filmmaker Elem Klimov were like the...
(more...)...
- 8/11/2008
- by John
- ReelSuave.com
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