"The Furniture," by Daniel Walber, is our weekly series on Production Design. You can click on the images to see them in magnified detail. Since the Honorary Oscars are handed out next week, here's a Donald Sutherland film for you!
Federico Fellini didn’t much like Giacomo Casanova, the famously amorous subject of his meandering fantasy-biopic. The director may not have liked Donald Sutherland, either. The actor was required to shave his head and sport both a false nose and a false chin to play the long-winded lover. The costumes aren’t especially flattering either. Fellini’s Casanova is an erotic descent into Hell, a grotesque pageant of 18th century moral abandon. It frequently borders on the disgusting.
It was also on the edge of Oscar’s attention, sliding into only two categories. While Fellini’s Casanova did win for its costumes, its production design missed out entirely. Anyone betting...
Federico Fellini didn’t much like Giacomo Casanova, the famously amorous subject of his meandering fantasy-biopic. The director may not have liked Donald Sutherland, either. The actor was required to shave his head and sport both a false nose and a false chin to play the long-winded lover. The costumes aren’t especially flattering either. Fellini’s Casanova is an erotic descent into Hell, a grotesque pageant of 18th century moral abandon. It frequently borders on the disgusting.
It was also on the edge of Oscar’s attention, sliding into only two categories. While Fellini’s Casanova did win for its costumes, its production design missed out entirely. Anyone betting...
- 11/6/2017
- by Daniel Walber
- FilmExperience
Criterion Reflections is David Blakeslee’s ongoing project to watch all of the films included in the Criterion Collection in chronological order of their original release. Each episode features panel conversations and 1:1 interviews offering insights on movies that premiered in a particular season of a year in the past, which were destined to eventually bear the Criterion imprint. In this episode, David is joined by Martin Kessler, Jordan Essoe, Doug McCambridge, Jason Beamish and Trevor Berrett to discuss six titles from the Winter of 1969: Jaromil Jires’s The Joke, Juraj Herz’s The Cremator, Wim Winders’s Silver City Revisited, Fellini: A Director’s Notebook, Luis Bunuel’s The Milky Way and Pierre Etaix’s Le Grand Amour.
Episode Time Markers: Introduction: 0:00:00 – 0:09:47 The Joke: 0:09:48 – 0:36:30 Silver City Revisited: 0:36:31 – 0:54:30 The Cremator: 0:54:31 – 1:17:...
Episode Time Markers: Introduction: 0:00:00 – 0:09:47 The Joke: 0:09:48 – 0:36:30 Silver City Revisited: 0:36:31 – 0:54:30 The Cremator: 0:54:31 – 1:17:...
- 9/20/2017
- by David Blakeslee
- CriterionCast
on this day in showbiz-related history...
1944 Yul Brynner marries his first wife, actress Virginia Gilmore, in Los Angeles. They're both in their mid 20s. She's already made 15 movies but he's just starting out with two Broadway shows under his belt. Their marriage will last 16 years and they will have one child together. Rock Brynner (their son) will go on to write a book about his dad and their family history.
1954 Federico Fellini's La Strada premieres at the Venice Film Festival and goes on to win the Best Foreign Film Oscar. Fellini will go on to completely own that category, winning thrice more with The Nights of Cabiria (1957), 8½ (1963), and Amarcord (1974)
Macy Gray, The King's Speech, and more after the jump...
1944 Yul Brynner marries his first wife, actress Virginia Gilmore, in Los Angeles. They're both in their mid 20s. She's already made 15 movies but he's just starting out with two Broadway shows under his belt. Their marriage will last 16 years and they will have one child together. Rock Brynner (their son) will go on to write a book about his dad and their family history.
1954 Federico Fellini's La Strada premieres at the Venice Film Festival and goes on to win the Best Foreign Film Oscar. Fellini will go on to completely own that category, winning thrice more with The Nights of Cabiria (1957), 8½ (1963), and Amarcord (1974)
Macy Gray, The King's Speech, and more after the jump...
- 9/6/2017
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Sneak Peek footage, plus images from the new adventure drama "In Search Of Fellini", directed by Taron Lexton, starring Maria Bello, Ksenia Solo, and Mary Lynn Rajskub, opening September 15, 2017:
"...a shy small-town Ohio girl who loves movies but dislikes reality, discovers the delightfully bizarre films of 'Federico Fellini' and sets off on a strange, beautiful journey across Italy to find him..."
Federico Fellini was an Italian film director, screenwriter noted for his distinct style "...that blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness..."
In a career spanning almost fifty years, Fellini won the 'Palme d'Or' for the feature "La Dolce Vita", was nominated for twelve Academy Awards, and directed four motion pictures that won Oscars in the category of 'Best Foreign Language Film'. In 1993, he was awarded an honorary Oscar for Lifetime Achievement.
Besides "La Dolce Vita" and "8½", his other well-known films include "La Strada", "Nights of Cabiria...
"...a shy small-town Ohio girl who loves movies but dislikes reality, discovers the delightfully bizarre films of 'Federico Fellini' and sets off on a strange, beautiful journey across Italy to find him..."
Federico Fellini was an Italian film director, screenwriter noted for his distinct style "...that blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness..."
In a career spanning almost fifty years, Fellini won the 'Palme d'Or' for the feature "La Dolce Vita", was nominated for twelve Academy Awards, and directed four motion pictures that won Oscars in the category of 'Best Foreign Language Film'. In 1993, he was awarded an honorary Oscar for Lifetime Achievement.
Besides "La Dolce Vita" and "8½", his other well-known films include "La Strada", "Nights of Cabiria...
- 8/18/2017
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
It’s been a big year for “The Simpsons,” but an even bigger one for the voice of Bart Simpson.
Bart, Homer and the rest of the family first appeared on “The Tracey Ullman Show” 30 years ago, and the series is about to break another record with the most episodes of any scripted series in history (surpassing “Gunsmoke”).
Nancy Cartwright has also hit personal milestones, including her second Emmy nomination for voicing Bart Simpson. But over the course of the past year, she also became a grandmother – and a first-time filmmaker.
“The Simpsons” has already been picked up for Seasons 29 and 30, guaranteeing Cartwright’s role as Bart until at least 2019 – and likely beyond. “Look what we’ve done. It’s unbelievable. It’s unfathomable,” she recently told IndieWire. “At 10 years they were saying, ‘Did you have any idea?’ and then 20 years, ‘Did you know?’ And now, another decade has gone...
Bart, Homer and the rest of the family first appeared on “The Tracey Ullman Show” 30 years ago, and the series is about to break another record with the most episodes of any scripted series in history (surpassing “Gunsmoke”).
Nancy Cartwright has also hit personal milestones, including her second Emmy nomination for voicing Bart Simpson. But over the course of the past year, she also became a grandmother – and a first-time filmmaker.
“The Simpsons” has already been picked up for Seasons 29 and 30, guaranteeing Cartwright’s role as Bart until at least 2019 – and likely beyond. “Look what we’ve done. It’s unbelievable. It’s unfathomable,” she recently told IndieWire. “At 10 years they were saying, ‘Did you have any idea?’ and then 20 years, ‘Did you know?’ And now, another decade has gone...
- 8/10/2017
- by Hanh Nguyen
- Indiewire
"This is your life - what do you want to do?" Ambi Media Group and Spotted Cow Entertainment debuted an official trailer for an indie coming-of-age film called In Search of Fellini, which is indeed about a young woman's search for Fellini. Ksenia Solo stars as a shy small-town Ohio girl who discovers Federico Fellini's "delightfully bizarre films" (see IMDb) and sets off on a journey across Italy to find him. Along the way, she discovers herself and romance and tasty Italian candy and much more. The cast includes Maria Bello, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Beth Riesgraf, Andrea Osvárt, and David O'Donnell. This looks quite adorable, and cute, very much a film-lovers adventure, though it does seem a bit cliche with its story. Enjoy. Here's the first official trailer (+ poster) for Taron Lexton's In Search of Fellini, direct from YouTube: In this coming-of-age adventure, Lucy (Ksenia Solo), a shy...
- 8/10/2017
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Italian government aims to entice more international productions.
Rome’s legendary Cinecittà Studios, home of Fellini and Ben-Hur, is set for a revamp after returning to state ownership.
Italian government agency the Luce-Cinecittà Institute confirmed in a statement on Monday (3 July) that they had reached an agreement to take over the facility, returning it to public management after nine years of private ownership.
The agreement promises a “massive investment” in the production facilities, with plans to build at least two new 3,000 square metre sound stages.
They are also planning a marketing drive to entice more productions from Italy and overseas. The few Hollywood productions hosted at the studio in recent times include Zoolander 2, Ben-Hur and HBO’s The Young Pope.
The investment has been made possible by Italy’s new Cinema Law, described in the statement as “the most significant legislative and economic measure for decades”, which is expected to inject $454 million into the local industry...
Rome’s legendary Cinecittà Studios, home of Fellini and Ben-Hur, is set for a revamp after returning to state ownership.
Italian government agency the Luce-Cinecittà Institute confirmed in a statement on Monday (3 July) that they had reached an agreement to take over the facility, returning it to public management after nine years of private ownership.
The agreement promises a “massive investment” in the production facilities, with plans to build at least two new 3,000 square metre sound stages.
They are also planning a marketing drive to entice more productions from Italy and overseas. The few Hollywood productions hosted at the studio in recent times include Zoolander 2, Ben-Hur and HBO’s The Young Pope.
The investment has been made possible by Italy’s new Cinema Law, described in the statement as “the most significant legislative and economic measure for decades”, which is expected to inject $454 million into the local industry...
- 7/5/2017
- by orlando.parfitt@screendaily.com (Orlando Parfitt)
- ScreenDaily
There’s no question that the 1960s introduced seismic cultural changes around the world, which trickled into fashion, politics, music and of course, filmmaking. As a new generation came of age, films began to push boundaries like never before, exploring drugs and sex, gender roles and even gore. The films of the ’60s forever changed the industry, catapulting risk-takers and innovators like Jen-Luc Godard, Stanley Kubrick and Federico Fellini into the spotlight and ensuring that we would remember their names for decades to come.
Read More: Watch: 6-Minute Video Essay Explores The Themes And Beauty Of 1960s Jean-Luc Godard
French New Wave films like “Breathless” oozed with sexuality and perfected the art of cool, while in Italy, Fellini crafted one of the greatest films of all time with “8 1/2.” In the U.S., Roman Polanski and Alfred Hitchcock elevated horror to iconic and sophisticated new heights with “Psycho” and “Rosemary’s Baby.
Read More: Watch: 6-Minute Video Essay Explores The Themes And Beauty Of 1960s Jean-Luc Godard
French New Wave films like “Breathless” oozed with sexuality and perfected the art of cool, while in Italy, Fellini crafted one of the greatest films of all time with “8 1/2.” In the U.S., Roman Polanski and Alfred Hitchcock elevated horror to iconic and sophisticated new heights with “Psycho” and “Rosemary’s Baby.
- 7/3/2017
- by Jamie Righetti
- Indiewire
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit platforms. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.
Berlin Syndrome (Cate Shortland)
While the recent 10 Cloverfield Lane and Room told stories of captivity with various hooks — science-fiction and the process of healing, respectively — Cate Shortland’s approach in her latest, harrowing drama Berlin Syndrome makes room for more nuance and depth. Locked in a Berlin apartment, there is little hope for our protagonist for nearly the entire runtime. And while some of the story’s turns can feel overtly manipulative,...
Berlin Syndrome (Cate Shortland)
While the recent 10 Cloverfield Lane and Room told stories of captivity with various hooks — science-fiction and the process of healing, respectively — Cate Shortland’s approach in her latest, harrowing drama Berlin Syndrome makes room for more nuance and depth. Locked in a Berlin apartment, there is little hope for our protagonist for nearly the entire runtime. And while some of the story’s turns can feel overtly manipulative,...
- 5/26/2017
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
The heart-wrenching story of a young woman sold by her mother to a strolling player is infused with humanity, theatricality and operatic pathos
It is 16 years since Federico Fellini’s 1954 masterpiece La Strada was last rereleased in British cinemas and now is another chance to be blown away by this film’s power, its simplicity, its humanity, its theatricality, its heart-wrenching operatic pathos. The crowd scenes are extraordinary: simply, the faces Fellini finds to put on screen, children and animals coming serendipitously into shot.
Guilietta Masina gives an artlessly Chaplinesque performance as Gelsomina, the elder daughter of a poor family – simple, solemn, bordering on what might today be called learning difficulties – who is sold by her mother for 10,000 lire to a lumbering, hatchet-faced strolling player called Zampanò, unforgettably played by Anthony Quinn. He intends to train her as his assistant for his cheesy “strongman” act, taking to the road, sleeping in his rackety caretta motorbike-van,...
It is 16 years since Federico Fellini’s 1954 masterpiece La Strada was last rereleased in British cinemas and now is another chance to be blown away by this film’s power, its simplicity, its humanity, its theatricality, its heart-wrenching operatic pathos. The crowd scenes are extraordinary: simply, the faces Fellini finds to put on screen, children and animals coming serendipitously into shot.
Guilietta Masina gives an artlessly Chaplinesque performance as Gelsomina, the elder daughter of a poor family – simple, solemn, bordering on what might today be called learning difficulties – who is sold by her mother for 10,000 lire to a lumbering, hatchet-faced strolling player called Zampanò, unforgettably played by Anthony Quinn. He intends to train her as his assistant for his cheesy “strongman” act, taking to the road, sleeping in his rackety caretta motorbike-van,...
- 5/17/2017
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Within its first half hour, “Ismael’s Ghosts” weaves together espionage, melodrama, supernatural hauntings, and a filmmaker’s creative crisis. It’s the most ambitious movie to date from French director Arnaud Desplechin, whose ensemble dramas “A Christmas Tale” and “My Golden Years” also dealt with characters coping with their troubled pasts. This time, it’s a wild hodgepodge of genres that often risk collapsing on top of each other. At its best, the movie is a freewheeling gambit, hurtling in multiple directions at once, and it’s thrilling to watch Desplechin try juggle them all.
“Ismael’s Ghosts” within the confines of a movie imagined by its main character: a dense, labyrinthine spy story involving the experiences of young recruit Ivan (Louie Garrel) who’s services straight out of school. Minutes into that setup, Desplechin pulls out to reveal the world of disheveled writer-director Ismael (Mathieu Amalric), a rugged,...
“Ismael’s Ghosts” within the confines of a movie imagined by its main character: a dense, labyrinthine spy story involving the experiences of young recruit Ivan (Louie Garrel) who’s services straight out of school. Minutes into that setup, Desplechin pulls out to reveal the world of disheveled writer-director Ismael (Mathieu Amalric), a rugged,...
- 5/17/2017
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Mark Harrison May 19, 2017
From the currently playing Their Finest to the likes of Bowfinger and Boogie Nights, we salute the movies about making movies...
If you haven't caught up yet, Their Finest is currently playing in UK cinemas and it's a gorgeous little love letter to perseverance through storytelling, set against the backdrop of a film production office at the British Ministry of Information during the Second World War. Based on Lissa Evans' novel, Gemma Arterton and Bill Nighy play characters whose access to the film industry has been contingent on the global crisis that takes other young men away from such trifling matters, and it's a real joy to watch.
Among other things, the film got us thinking about other films about making films. We're not talking about documentaries, even though Hearts Of Darkness, the documentary about the making of Apocalypse Now, may be the greatest film about...
From the currently playing Their Finest to the likes of Bowfinger and Boogie Nights, we salute the movies about making movies...
If you haven't caught up yet, Their Finest is currently playing in UK cinemas and it's a gorgeous little love letter to perseverance through storytelling, set against the backdrop of a film production office at the British Ministry of Information during the Second World War. Based on Lissa Evans' novel, Gemma Arterton and Bill Nighy play characters whose access to the film industry has been contingent on the global crisis that takes other young men away from such trifling matters, and it's a real joy to watch.
Among other things, the film got us thinking about other films about making films. We're not talking about documentaries, even though Hearts Of Darkness, the documentary about the making of Apocalypse Now, may be the greatest film about...
- 5/3/2017
- Den of Geek
Palme Thursday is A.A. Dowd’s monthly examination of a winner of the Palme D’Or, determining how well the film has held up and whether it deserved the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival.
Viridiana (1961) and The Long Absence (1961)
There was a time when the most surefire way to win Cannes was, apparently, to earn the condemnation of the pope. Okay, so maybe that only happened twice, but it was in consecutive years. La Dolce Vita, arguably the most celebrated movie by the legendary Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini, deeply offended the Catholic church, which objected especially to the symbolic Second Coming of the opening minutes, when a helicopter dangles a statue of Christ over the partiers and sunbathers of then-contemporary Rome. But the Vatican’s ire, strongly worded in the pages of official newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, couldn’t stop Fellini’s portrait of ...
Viridiana (1961) and The Long Absence (1961)
There was a time when the most surefire way to win Cannes was, apparently, to earn the condemnation of the pope. Okay, so maybe that only happened twice, but it was in consecutive years. La Dolce Vita, arguably the most celebrated movie by the legendary Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini, deeply offended the Catholic church, which objected especially to the symbolic Second Coming of the opening minutes, when a helicopter dangles a statue of Christ over the partiers and sunbathers of then-contemporary Rome. But the Vatican’s ire, strongly worded in the pages of official newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, couldn’t stop Fellini’s portrait of ...
- 4/20/2017
- by A.A. Dowd
- avclub.com
As part of the relaunching of New York’s own Quad Cinema, the city will be seeing its most extensive and exciting retrospective of one of Italian cinema’s great unsung legends.
Known to most as the director of that one movie that Madonna would remake with then-hubby Guy Ritchie, the Swept Away director Lina Wertmuller is the subject of this important new retrospective entitled Female Trouble. Running from April 14-30, the retrospective spans the director’s illustrious career which saw her begin as an apprentice for legendary filmmaker Federico Fellini and ultimately become the first female filmmaker every nominated for the Best Director Oscar at the Academy Awards.
Included in this series are a vast number of films, split up between new restorations from Kino Lorber which are making their world premiere as part of this retrospective as well as a handful of rare 35mm prints imported, totalling 14 films...
Known to most as the director of that one movie that Madonna would remake with then-hubby Guy Ritchie, the Swept Away director Lina Wertmuller is the subject of this important new retrospective entitled Female Trouble. Running from April 14-30, the retrospective spans the director’s illustrious career which saw her begin as an apprentice for legendary filmmaker Federico Fellini and ultimately become the first female filmmaker every nominated for the Best Director Oscar at the Academy Awards.
Included in this series are a vast number of films, split up between new restorations from Kino Lorber which are making their world premiere as part of this retrospective as well as a handful of rare 35mm prints imported, totalling 14 films...
- 4/14/2017
- by Joshua Brunsting
- CriterionCast
One of the year’s most affecting, humanistic films, Hirokazu Kore-eda‘s After the Storm, will arrive in the U.S. this week (our rave review from Cannes), so for the occasion, we’re looking at the director’s favorite films. Submitted by the Japanese director for the latest Sight & Sound poll, it’s perhaps the most varied list we’ve seen thus far — at least next to Mia Hansen-Løve‘s favorites.
Although the filmmaker is often compared to Yasujiro Ozu (none of his films are mentioned below), Hirokazu Kore-eda told The Guardian, “I of course take it as a compliment. I try to say thank you. But I think that my work is more like Mikio Naruse — and Ken Loach.” One will find his favorites from both of those directors on the list, as well as Jacques Demy‘s most-praised film, along with lesser-seen works from Hou Hsiao-hsien,...
Although the filmmaker is often compared to Yasujiro Ozu (none of his films are mentioned below), Hirokazu Kore-eda told The Guardian, “I of course take it as a compliment. I try to say thank you. But I think that my work is more like Mikio Naruse — and Ken Loach.” One will find his favorites from both of those directors on the list, as well as Jacques Demy‘s most-praised film, along with lesser-seen works from Hou Hsiao-hsien,...
- 3/13/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Christophe Honoré with photographs of Federico Fellini's 81/2 star, Sandra Milo Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Christophe Honoré's vividly mischievous Sophie’s Misfortunes, based on the Comtesse de Ségur's books, Les Malheurs De Sophie and Les Petites Filles Modèles, has a score by Alex Beaupain and David Sztanke, influenced by music the director himself liked as a child. Golshifteh Farahani (Madame de Réan), Anaïs Demoustier (Madame de Fleurville) and Muriel Robin (Madame Fichini) play the mothers in Sophie's (Caroline Grant) world. She and her playmates, Camille (Céleste Carrale), Madeleine (Justine Morin) and Paul (Tristan Farge) show us that the dawn belongs to children.
Madeleine, Camille, Sophie, and Paul in Sophie’s Misfortunes
Christophe explains a reference to me from Jean Vigo's Zéro De Conduite, says Sophie’s Misfortunes isn't John Lasseter's Toy Story, and happily notes that doing a film for children helped him "clean up" his cinema by...
Christophe Honoré's vividly mischievous Sophie’s Misfortunes, based on the Comtesse de Ségur's books, Les Malheurs De Sophie and Les Petites Filles Modèles, has a score by Alex Beaupain and David Sztanke, influenced by music the director himself liked as a child. Golshifteh Farahani (Madame de Réan), Anaïs Demoustier (Madame de Fleurville) and Muriel Robin (Madame Fichini) play the mothers in Sophie's (Caroline Grant) world. She and her playmates, Camille (Céleste Carrale), Madeleine (Justine Morin) and Paul (Tristan Farge) show us that the dawn belongs to children.
Madeleine, Camille, Sophie, and Paul in Sophie’s Misfortunes
Christophe explains a reference to me from Jean Vigo's Zéro De Conduite, says Sophie’s Misfortunes isn't John Lasseter's Toy Story, and happily notes that doing a film for children helped him "clean up" his cinema by...
- 3/12/2017
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
At the Academy Awards on Sunday night, Kevin O’Connell just broke the longest streak for Oscar nominations without a win. The 59-year-old New Yorker had been nominated 21 times in total, making 2017 a very good year for him.
Who else among Hollywood’s finest has had to weather a storm of nominations without a win? Well, even just keeping it to over 10 nominations, it’s a healthy list. Let’s take a look.
Greg P. Russell
O’Connell’s win must have been somewhat bittersweet for Russell, who’s directly behind the elder sound mixer in the category of most nominations without wins.
Who else among Hollywood’s finest has had to weather a storm of nominations without a win? Well, even just keeping it to over 10 nominations, it’s a healthy list. Let’s take a look.
Greg P. Russell
O’Connell’s win must have been somewhat bittersweet for Russell, who’s directly behind the elder sound mixer in the category of most nominations without wins.
- 2/27/2017
- by Alex Heigl
- PEOPLE.com
The upcoming La, Italia Film, Fashion and Art Fest will be dedicated to iconic Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni and include a retrospective of films featuring the beloved leading man of directors including Antonioni, Fellini, De Sica, Germi, Scola and Visconti.
“In 1962, Time magazine said that Mastroianni was the most beloved foreign actor in America — thanks to his timeless elegance and charm,” festival founder and director Pascal Vicedomini said Wednesday in a statement. “So, 20 years after his death, we are going to celebrate his memory with a retrospective in Los Angeles aimed at reaching both younger generations of...
“In 1962, Time magazine said that Mastroianni was the most beloved foreign actor in America — thanks to his timeless elegance and charm,” festival founder and director Pascal Vicedomini said Wednesday in a statement. “So, 20 years after his death, we are going to celebrate his memory with a retrospective in Los Angeles aimed at reaching both younger generations of...
- 1/11/2017
- by Ariston Anderson
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Allen’S 9-1/2”
By Raymond Benson
If one facetiously counted the number of films Woody Allen made beginning in 1969 and throughout the 70s, there would be eight that he wrote and directed (seven of which he also starred in), plus a movie that he only wrote and starred in—Play It Again, Sam, for which I’ll count as 1/2, making Stardust Memories number 9-1/2. Appropriately, this film seems to intentionally pay homage to Federico Fellini’s own masterwork, 8-1/2 (1963), which was about a filmmaker who didn’t know what movie he wanted to shoot next. Stardust Memories, released in 1980 after the huge successes of Annie Hall and Manhattan (with critically-acclaimed Interiors in-between), is also about a filmmaker in search of the picture he wants to make.
It wasn’t well-received at the time. I recall leaving the theater in anger. How could Woody be so contemptuous of his audience? It was as if his character,...
By Raymond Benson
If one facetiously counted the number of films Woody Allen made beginning in 1969 and throughout the 70s, there would be eight that he wrote and directed (seven of which he also starred in), plus a movie that he only wrote and starred in—Play It Again, Sam, for which I’ll count as 1/2, making Stardust Memories number 9-1/2. Appropriately, this film seems to intentionally pay homage to Federico Fellini’s own masterwork, 8-1/2 (1963), which was about a filmmaker who didn’t know what movie he wanted to shoot next. Stardust Memories, released in 1980 after the huge successes of Annie Hall and Manhattan (with critically-acclaimed Interiors in-between), is also about a filmmaker in search of the picture he wants to make.
It wasn’t well-received at the time. I recall leaving the theater in anger. How could Woody be so contemptuous of his audience? It was as if his character,...
- 1/5/2017
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
When it comes to Federico Fellini's Roma, it's difficult to determine what's more self-indulgent, the act of appropriating by name a vital, ancient city that's been on the global forefront of politics, religion and culture, or this entire film in general. Of course, those with any familiarity whatsoever with Fellini's work understand that self-indulgence is the expected crux of all of his work. And why shouldn't it be? For a man who effectively re-crafted the art of commercial narrative filmmaking into personal art projects (no smuggling required), Fellini of all people had, by this point, earned such opportunities. Although lesser known and lesser discussed than his canonized masterpieces such as La Strada (1954) or 8 1/2 (1963), Roma (1972) is an indispensable late career surge...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 12/26/2016
- Screen Anarchy
From, literally, the film’s opening title cards, Roma announces itself as something of a visual feast. A blood-red screen introduces us to the proceedings, with the four letters making up the Italian name for the nation’s capital of Rome fading in in all of their grand, pitch black glory. It’s a bombastic introduction to one of director Federico Fellini’s most esoteric and yet deeply personal motion pictures.
Also known in some circles as Fellini’s Roma, film critic Vincent Canby was right in suggesting that that specific title might be the real way we should look at this picture. While taking the title from the real capital city of Italy, this is not a Rome anyone recognizes at first glance. Seemingly a journey through the streets of a Rome from a universe just adjacent to ours, Fellini all but neglects anything truly resembling a coherent narrative,...
Also known in some circles as Fellini’s Roma, film critic Vincent Canby was right in suggesting that that specific title might be the real way we should look at this picture. While taking the title from the real capital city of Italy, this is not a Rome anyone recognizes at first glance. Seemingly a journey through the streets of a Rome from a universe just adjacent to ours, Fellini all but neglects anything truly resembling a coherent narrative,...
- 12/15/2016
- by Joshua Brunsting
- CriterionCast
Federico Fellini’s best non-narrative feature is an intoxicating meta-travelogue, not just of the Eternal City but the director’s idea of Rome past and present. The masterful images alternate between nostalgic vulgarity and dreamy timelessness. Criterion’s disc is a new restoration.
Fellini’s Roma
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 848
1972 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 120 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date December 13, 2016 / 39.95
Starring Peter Gonzales, Fiona Florence, Pia De Doses, Renato Giovannoli, Dennis Christopher, Feodor Chaliapin Jr., Elliott Murphy, Anna Magnani, Gore Vidal, Federico Fellini.
Cinematography Giuseppe Rotunno
Film Editor Ruggero Mastroianni
Original Music Nino Rota
Written by Federico Fellini and Bernardino Zapponi
Produced by Turi Vasile
Directed by Federico Fellini
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Federico Fellini stopped making standard narrative pictures after 1960’s La dolce vita; from then on his films skewed toward various forms of experimentation and expressions of his own state of mind. Most did have a story to some degree,...
Fellini’s Roma
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 848
1972 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 120 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date December 13, 2016 / 39.95
Starring Peter Gonzales, Fiona Florence, Pia De Doses, Renato Giovannoli, Dennis Christopher, Feodor Chaliapin Jr., Elliott Murphy, Anna Magnani, Gore Vidal, Federico Fellini.
Cinematography Giuseppe Rotunno
Film Editor Ruggero Mastroianni
Original Music Nino Rota
Written by Federico Fellini and Bernardino Zapponi
Produced by Turi Vasile
Directed by Federico Fellini
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Federico Fellini stopped making standard narrative pictures after 1960’s La dolce vita; from then on his films skewed toward various forms of experimentation and expressions of his own state of mind. Most did have a story to some degree,...
- 12/13/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Sometimes it takes a competition to prove your mettle, and last night on “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” actress Taraji P. Henson went above and beyond the call of duty. Meyers invited Henson on to compete in the “Actathalon,” a “multi-stage theatrical obstacle course to measure and test an actor’s commitment to the craft of acting.” Some of the stages includes The Devil’s Desk, in which Henson must say a line into a phone and then clear off a desk in rage; The Slide of Tears, in which she takes a phone call, hear devastating news and slide down the wall crying; the Fellini Crusher, where she shows her range by performing a scene in the distinct dramatic style of Federico Fellini’s films. Watch the segment below.
Read More: Seth Meyers on Trump’s Victory: ‘I’ve Been Wrong About Him At Every Turn’ — Watch
Henson is...
Read More: Seth Meyers on Trump’s Victory: ‘I’ve Been Wrong About Him At Every Turn’ — Watch
Henson is...
- 12/9/2016
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
“Roman Holiday?”
By Raymond Benson
One of the great director Federico Fellini’s more curious motion pictures is his 1972 part-documentary/part-fictional collage that consists of “impressions” of Rome, both past and present. In many ways, it is the middle chapter of a trilogy that comprises Fellini Satyricon (1969) and Amarcord (1973), although not many film historians view them as such.
Roma is a love letter, so to speak, to Italy’s capital city. The film takes place in three time periods—sometime during the 1930s, the war years, and the present (i.e., 1971-72, when the movie was made). It is also very much a product of its time, when the counter-culture movement was still in full swing. The modern sequences of Roma are populated by “hippies” and long-haired youth, as well as motorcyclists, intellectuals (Gore Vidal makes an appearance as himself), and Fellini as himself. The sequences cut back and forth...
By Raymond Benson
One of the great director Federico Fellini’s more curious motion pictures is his 1972 part-documentary/part-fictional collage that consists of “impressions” of Rome, both past and present. In many ways, it is the middle chapter of a trilogy that comprises Fellini Satyricon (1969) and Amarcord (1973), although not many film historians view them as such.
Roma is a love letter, so to speak, to Italy’s capital city. The film takes place in three time periods—sometime during the 1930s, the war years, and the present (i.e., 1971-72, when the movie was made). It is also very much a product of its time, when the counter-culture movement was still in full swing. The modern sequences of Roma are populated by “hippies” and long-haired youth, as well as motorcyclists, intellectuals (Gore Vidal makes an appearance as himself), and Fellini as himself. The sequences cut back and forth...
- 12/7/2016
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
David’s Quick Take for the Tl;Dr Media Consumer:
The resume is solid and the references check out: Federico Fellini, Louis Malle, Roger Vadim each shouldering a directorial third of the project, with talented crews working at their behest to create visually elegant environments to support the stories they tell. Top shelf recruits from leading “beautiful people” actors of their generation: Brigitte Bardot. Alain Delon. Jane Fonda. Peter Fonda. And then there’s Terence Stamp, probably less renowned than the preceding quartet, is roguishly seductive as a disheveled blond wastrel with a suicidal bent. Source material drawn and freely adapted from short stories by Edgar Allan Poe. Ray Charles contributes to the soundtrack. A goosebump inducing first person Pov midnight dash through the streets and alleyways of Rome in a vintage 1964 Ferrari Lmb Fantuzzi just adds extra sprinkles on top. Though the overall impact of the film makes it...
The resume is solid and the references check out: Federico Fellini, Louis Malle, Roger Vadim each shouldering a directorial third of the project, with talented crews working at their behest to create visually elegant environments to support the stories they tell. Top shelf recruits from leading “beautiful people” actors of their generation: Brigitte Bardot. Alain Delon. Jane Fonda. Peter Fonda. And then there’s Terence Stamp, probably less renowned than the preceding quartet, is roguishly seductive as a disheveled blond wastrel with a suicidal bent. Source material drawn and freely adapted from short stories by Edgar Allan Poe. Ray Charles contributes to the soundtrack. A goosebump inducing first person Pov midnight dash through the streets and alleyways of Rome in a vintage 1964 Ferrari Lmb Fantuzzi just adds extra sprinkles on top. Though the overall impact of the film makes it...
- 12/4/2016
- by David Blakeslee
- CriterionCast
It’s the most wonderful time of the year for film fans, with some of the best films of the year in theaters and lots of elaborate and thoroughly-researched books to read. This rundown has real variety, with new and recent texts covering cinema history, TV greats, and, of course, Star Wars. Note that one of this year’s finest books, The Oliver Stone Experience (Abrams Books), was covered by The Film Stage in September via an interview with author Matt Zoller Seitz. Make sure to check out Experience, and see below for another fine selection from the prolific Seitz.
Star Wars Year by Year: A Visual History, Updated Edition by Daniel Wallace (Dk Publishing)
It’s a fantastic idea: a book that offers a timeline not of the Star Wars story, but of the Star Wars phenomenon. This newly updated edition of the 2010 release now includes recent works like...
Star Wars Year by Year: A Visual History, Updated Edition by Daniel Wallace (Dk Publishing)
It’s a fantastic idea: a book that offers a timeline not of the Star Wars story, but of the Star Wars phenomenon. This newly updated edition of the 2010 release now includes recent works like...
- 12/1/2016
- by Christopher Schobert
- The Film Stage
He’s been working as a director for over a decade, but 2016 heralds the international break-out for Pablo Larraín. Not only did the Chilean filmmaker’s subversive drama The Club finally get a U.S. release earlier this year — the Berlinale premiere of which led to talking with jury member Darren Aronofsky, who would present him with what would be his Hollywood debut, Jackie — he also has two more features arriving in December. Along with the aforementioned Natalie Portman-led drama coming this week, he also has Chile’s Oscar entry, the formally thrilling Neruda starring Gael García Bernal, hitting theaters two weeks later.
It’s ideal time, then, to take a look at the films that have most influenced him. Culling from his submission of his top 10 films for the latest BFI Sight & Sound poll, his selections are a Film School 101 of formally distinctive landmarks. Featuring classics from Kubrick,...
It’s ideal time, then, to take a look at the films that have most influenced him. Culling from his submission of his top 10 films for the latest BFI Sight & Sound poll, his selections are a Film School 101 of formally distinctive landmarks. Featuring classics from Kubrick,...
- 11/29/2016
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
If anybody’s dreams are interesting, Akira Kurosawa’s should be, and this late career fantasy is a consistently rewarding string of morality tales and visual essays that pop off the screen. Some of the imagery has input from the famed Ishiro Honda.
Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 842
1990 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 120 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date November 15, 2016 / 39.95
Starring Mieko Harada, Mitsunori Isaki, Toshihiko Nakano, Yoshitaka Zushi, Hisashi Igawa, Chosuke, Chishu Ryu, Martin Scorsese, Masayuki Yui.
Cinematography Takao Saito, Shoji Ueda
Film Editor Tome Minami
Original Music Sinichiro Ikebe
Creative Consultant ishiro Honda
Visual Effects Supervisors Ken Ralston, Mark Sullivan
Produced by Hisao Kurosawa, Mike Y. Inoue
Written and Directed by Akira Kurosawa
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
At the twilight of his career, after some episodes of career frustration and instability, Akira Kurosawa hit a high note with the epic costume dramas Kagemusha and Ran.
Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 842
1990 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 120 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date November 15, 2016 / 39.95
Starring Mieko Harada, Mitsunori Isaki, Toshihiko Nakano, Yoshitaka Zushi, Hisashi Igawa, Chosuke, Chishu Ryu, Martin Scorsese, Masayuki Yui.
Cinematography Takao Saito, Shoji Ueda
Film Editor Tome Minami
Original Music Sinichiro Ikebe
Creative Consultant ishiro Honda
Visual Effects Supervisors Ken Ralston, Mark Sullivan
Produced by Hisao Kurosawa, Mike Y. Inoue
Written and Directed by Akira Kurosawa
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
At the twilight of his career, after some episodes of career frustration and instability, Akira Kurosawa hit a high note with the epic costume dramas Kagemusha and Ran.
- 11/21/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
As part of Nyff Directors’ Dialogue series, 20th Century Women’s Mike Mills was interviewed by artistic director of the festival, Kent Jones. Here are excerpts from the conversation reported by Murtada.
Bening, Mills and Elle Faning at Nyff premiere
Dorothea is Humphrey Bogart
Mills based the main character in 20th Century Women - Dorothea played by Annette Bening - on his memories of his mother. She used to always tell him “In my next life I’ll be married to Bogart”, so while writing the movie Mills would ask himself what would Bogart say whenever he was stuck. To him Dorothea was like many of the characters Bogart played; underdogs who don't win, fail valiantly, make great jokes along the way and always help the weakest person in the room.
Ginger Rogers in Stage Door
Dorothea was also inspired by the character Ginger Rogers played in 1937’s Stage Door.
Bening, Mills and Elle Faning at Nyff premiere
Dorothea is Humphrey Bogart
Mills based the main character in 20th Century Women - Dorothea played by Annette Bening - on his memories of his mother. She used to always tell him “In my next life I’ll be married to Bogart”, so while writing the movie Mills would ask himself what would Bogart say whenever he was stuck. To him Dorothea was like many of the characters Bogart played; underdogs who don't win, fail valiantly, make great jokes along the way and always help the weakest person in the room.
Ginger Rogers in Stage Door
Dorothea was also inspired by the character Ginger Rogers played in 1937’s Stage Door.
- 10/13/2016
- by Murtada Elfadl
- FilmExperience
The Criterion Collection has announced its offerings for the last month of the year, with one contemporary title (“Heart of a Dog”) mixed in with the classic (“Roma,” “The Asphalt Jungle,” “The Exterminating Angel”) fare. Check out the covers for the new additions below, as well as synopses for each carefully chosen film.
Read More: Kieslowski, ‘Cat People,’ and the Coen Brothers Lead The Criterion Collection’s September Line-Up
“The Exterminating Angel”
A group of high-society friends are invited to a mansion for dinner and inexplicably find themselves unable to leave in “The Exterminating Angel” (“El ángel exterminador”), a daring masterpiece from Luis Buñuel (“Belle de jour,” “The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie”). Made just one year after his international sensation “Viridiana,” this film, full of eerie, comic absurdity, furthers Buñuel’s wicked takedown of the rituals and dependencies of the frivolous upper classes.
“Heart of a Dog”
“Heart of a Dog...
Read More: Kieslowski, ‘Cat People,’ and the Coen Brothers Lead The Criterion Collection’s September Line-Up
“The Exterminating Angel”
A group of high-society friends are invited to a mansion for dinner and inexplicably find themselves unable to leave in “The Exterminating Angel” (“El ángel exterminador”), a daring masterpiece from Luis Buñuel (“Belle de jour,” “The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie”). Made just one year after his international sensation “Viridiana,” this film, full of eerie, comic absurdity, furthers Buñuel’s wicked takedown of the rituals and dependencies of the frivolous upper classes.
“Heart of a Dog”
“Heart of a Dog...
- 9/15/2016
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
The Iranian director talks to Screen about capturing contemporary Iranian youth and Tehran in Malaria.
Iranian director Parviz Shahbazi makes his Venice debut with contemporary drama Malaria about two young elopers who find temporary refuge with a bohemian band in Tehran.
Ingeniously piecing the tale together through images found on a lost cell phone, Shahbazi paints an at once joyful and sombre picture of contemporary Tehran and the compromised reality of Iranian youth.
Iranian film and TV star Saed Soheili co-stars as the hot-headed Murry who flees the provinces with his girlfriend Hanna, played by big screen newcomer Saghar Ghanaat, incurring the wrath of her violent father.
Azarakhsh Farahani, brother of Golshifteh Farahani, also features in the cast as Avi, the chaotic leader of an impoverished rock band called Malaria who picks-up the couple as they thumb a lift to Tehran.
It marks the beginning of a youthful adventure, taking the couple into the heart of the...
Iranian director Parviz Shahbazi makes his Venice debut with contemporary drama Malaria about two young elopers who find temporary refuge with a bohemian band in Tehran.
Ingeniously piecing the tale together through images found on a lost cell phone, Shahbazi paints an at once joyful and sombre picture of contemporary Tehran and the compromised reality of Iranian youth.
Iranian film and TV star Saed Soheili co-stars as the hot-headed Murry who flees the provinces with his girlfriend Hanna, played by big screen newcomer Saghar Ghanaat, incurring the wrath of her violent father.
Azarakhsh Farahani, brother of Golshifteh Farahani, also features in the cast as Avi, the chaotic leader of an impoverished rock band called Malaria who picks-up the couple as they thumb a lift to Tehran.
It marks the beginning of a youthful adventure, taking the couple into the heart of the...
- 9/9/2016
- ScreenDaily
Michelangelo Antonioni's pre-international breakthrough drama is as good as anything he's done, a flawlessly acted and directed story of complex relationships -- that include his 'career' themes before the existential funk set in. It's one of the best-blocked dramatic films ever... the direction is masterful. Le amiche Blu-ray The Criterion Collection 817 1955 / B&W / 1:37 flat full frame / 106 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date June 7, 2016 / 39.95 Starring Eleonora Rossi Drago, Gabriele Ferzetti, Franco Fabrizi, Valentina Cortese, Madeleine Fischer, Yvonne Furneaux, Anna Maria Pancani, Luciano Volpato, Maria Gambarelli, Ettore Manni. Cinematography Gianni De Venanzo Film Editor Eraldo Da Roma Original Music Giovanni Fusco Written by Suso Cecchi D'Amico, Michelangelo Antonioni, Alba de Cespedes from a book by Cesare Pavese Produced by Giovanni Addessi Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
It's time to stop being so intimidated by Michelangelo Antonioni. His epics of existential alienation La notte, L'eclisse and...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
It's time to stop being so intimidated by Michelangelo Antonioni. His epics of existential alienation La notte, L'eclisse and...
- 6/4/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit the interwebs. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.
10 Cloverfield Lane (Dan Trachtenberg)
Forget the Cloverfield connection. The actors who were in this film didn’t even know what the title was until moments before the first trailer dropped. Producer J.J. Abrams used that branding as part of the wrapping for its promotional mystery box, but the movie stands perfectly alone from 2008’s found-footage monster picture. Hell, 10 Cloverfield Lane perhaps doesn’t even take place...
10 Cloverfield Lane (Dan Trachtenberg)
Forget the Cloverfield connection. The actors who were in this film didn’t even know what the title was until moments before the first trailer dropped. Producer J.J. Abrams used that branding as part of the wrapping for its promotional mystery box, but the movie stands perfectly alone from 2008’s found-footage monster picture. Hell, 10 Cloverfield Lane perhaps doesn’t even take place...
- 6/3/2016
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Every week we dive into the cream of the crop when it comes to home releases, including Blu-ray and DVDs, as well as recommended deals of the week. Check out our rundown below and return every Tuesday for the best (or most interesting) films one can take home. Note that if you’re looking to support the site, every purchase you make through the links below helps us and is greatly appreciated.
City of Women (Federico Fellini)
Federico Fellini‘s epic 1980 fantasia introduced the start of the Maestro’s delirious late period. A surrealist tour-de-force filmed on soundstages and locations alike, and overflowing with the same sensory (and sensual) invention heretofore found only in the classic movie-musicals (and Fellini’s own oeuvre), La città delle donne [City of Women] taps into the era’s restless youth culture, coalescing into nothing less than Fellini’s post-punk opus. Marcello Mastroianni appears as Fellini’s alter...
City of Women (Federico Fellini)
Federico Fellini‘s epic 1980 fantasia introduced the start of the Maestro’s delirious late period. A surrealist tour-de-force filmed on soundstages and locations alike, and overflowing with the same sensory (and sensual) invention heretofore found only in the classic movie-musicals (and Fellini’s own oeuvre), La città delle donne [City of Women] taps into the era’s restless youth culture, coalescing into nothing less than Fellini’s post-punk opus. Marcello Mastroianni appears as Fellini’s alter...
- 5/31/2016
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
That naughty boy Federico Fellini goes all out with this essay-hallucination about women, a surreal odyssey that hurls Marcello Mastroianni into a world in which women are no longer putting up with male nonsense. It's an honest (if still somewhat sexist) effort by an artist acknowledging illusions and pleasures that he knows are infantile. City of Women Blu-ray Cohen Media Group 1980 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 139 min. / La cittá delle donne / Street Date May 31, 2016 / 39.98 Starring Marcello Mastroianni, Anna Prucnal, Bernice Stegers, Iole Silvani, Donatella Damiani, Ettore Manni, Fiammetta Baralla, Catherine Carrel, Rose Alba. Cinematography Giuseppe Rotunno Film Editor Ruggero Mastroianni Original Music Luis Bacalov Written by Brunello Rondi, Bernardino Zapponi, Federico Fellini Produced by Franco Rossellini, Renzo Rossellini, Daniel Toscan du Plantier Directed by Federico Fellini
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Federico Fellini's 1980 City of Women was called 'wonderfully uninhibited' by The New York Times. Fellini's output slowed to a crawl in the 1970s,...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Federico Fellini's 1980 City of Women was called 'wonderfully uninhibited' by The New York Times. Fellini's output slowed to a crawl in the 1970s,...
- 5/31/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Federico Fellini’s City Of Women (La Città Delle Donne – 1980) screens this Friday through Tuesday (May 27th– 31st) at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (470 E. Lockwood, Webster Groves, Mo 63119). The film begins each evening at 8:00.
“A house without a woman”, they say in my parts, “is like the Sea without a Siren”
City Of Women, Federico Fellini’s epic 1980 fantasia, surrealist tour-de-force, tells the tale of Snàporaz a businessman played by Marcello Mastroianni, who hops off a train and finds himself trapped at a hotel and threatened by women en masse. The later work from the great Italian director is a real feast for the legion of Fellini fans. It has everything: the dream-like Felliniesque atmosphere, the nostalgic soundtrack by Louis Bacalov (Fellini’s regular composer after Nino Rota died in 1979), a scathing satire on the feminism and male chauvinism, and on society at large. The great director is...
“A house without a woman”, they say in my parts, “is like the Sea without a Siren”
City Of Women, Federico Fellini’s epic 1980 fantasia, surrealist tour-de-force, tells the tale of Snàporaz a businessman played by Marcello Mastroianni, who hops off a train and finds himself trapped at a hotel and threatened by women en masse. The later work from the great Italian director is a real feast for the legion of Fellini fans. It has everything: the dream-like Felliniesque atmosphere, the nostalgic soundtrack by Louis Bacalov (Fellini’s regular composer after Nino Rota died in 1979), a scathing satire on the feminism and male chauvinism, and on society at large. The great director is...
- 5/25/2016
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Madeleine Lebeau, the French actress best known as Yvonne in Oscar-winning 1942 film Casablanca, died on May 1 in Estepona, Spain, following a hip injury, her stepson told The Hollywood Reporter. She was 92. Lebeau, who played Rick's girlfriend and performed "Le Marseillaise," was the last surviving actress from the iconic film, preceded in death by all of her co-stars, including leads Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. Other roles included that of an actress in Fellini's 8 1/2, Gentleman Jim and in French cinema like Angélique". Lebeau stopped acting by the end of the 1960s, however. Born in 1923 near Paris, Lebeau later fled the...
- 5/15/2016
- by Lindsay Kimble, @lekimble
- PEOPLE.com
Madeleine Lebeau, the French actress best known as Yvonne in Oscar-winning 1942 film Casablanca, died on May 1 in Estepona, Spain, following a hip injury, her stepson told The Hollywood Reporter. She was 92. Lebeau, who played Rick's girlfriend and performed "Le Marseillaise," was the last surviving actress from the iconic film, preceded in death by all of her co-stars, including leads Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. Other roles included that of an actress in Fellini's 8 1/2, Gentleman Jim and in French cinema like Angélique". Lebeau stopped acting by the end of the 1960s, however. Born in 1923 near Paris, Lebeau later fled the...
- 5/15/2016
- by Lindsay Kimble, @lekimble
- PEOPLE.com
Donald Sutherland, Arnaud Desplechin, Vanessa Paradis among those to join president George Miller.
The 69th Cannes Film Festival jury, presided over by Mad Max director George Miller, will be made up of eight luminaries of world cinema, from Iran, Denmark, United States, Italy, France, Canada and Hungary.
The jury, made up of four women and four men, will comprise a collection of directors, actors and writers. They will decide on the prizes for the 21 films in Competition.
The jury:
George Miller – President
(Director, Writer, Producer – Australia)
Arnaud Desplechin (Director, Writer – France)
Kirsten Dunst (Actress– United States)
Valeria Golino (Actress, Director, Writer, Producer – Italia)
Mads Mikkelsen (Actor – Denmark)
László Nemes (Director, Writer – Hungaria)
Vanessa Paradis (Actress, Singer – France)
Katayoon Shahabi (Producer – Iran)
Donald Sutherland (Actor – Canada)
Arnaud Desplechin, Director, Writer (France)
Arnaud Desplechin became an official competitor at Cannes with The Sentinel, his first feature film. He then made My Sex Life… or How I Got...
The 69th Cannes Film Festival jury, presided over by Mad Max director George Miller, will be made up of eight luminaries of world cinema, from Iran, Denmark, United States, Italy, France, Canada and Hungary.
The jury, made up of four women and four men, will comprise a collection of directors, actors and writers. They will decide on the prizes for the 21 films in Competition.
The jury:
George Miller – President
(Director, Writer, Producer – Australia)
Arnaud Desplechin (Director, Writer – France)
Kirsten Dunst (Actress– United States)
Valeria Golino (Actress, Director, Writer, Producer – Italia)
Mads Mikkelsen (Actor – Denmark)
László Nemes (Director, Writer – Hungaria)
Vanessa Paradis (Actress, Singer – France)
Katayoon Shahabi (Producer – Iran)
Donald Sutherland (Actor – Canada)
Arnaud Desplechin, Director, Writer (France)
Arnaud Desplechin became an official competitor at Cannes with The Sentinel, his first feature film. He then made My Sex Life… or How I Got...
- 4/25/2016
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Donald Sutherland, Arnaud Desplechin, Vanessa Paradis among those to join president George Miller.
The 69th Cannes Film Festival, presided over by Mad Max director George Miller, will comprise eight luminaries of world cinema, from Iran, Denmark, United States, Italy, France, Canada and Hungary.
The jury, made up of four women and four men, comprises directors, actors and writers.
The jury:
George Miller – President
(Director, Writer, Producer – Australia)
Arnaud Desplechin (Director, Writer – France)
Kirsten Dunst (Actress– United States)
Valeria Golino (Actress, Director, Writer, Producer – Italia)
Mads Mikkelsen (Actor – Denmark)
László Nemes (Director, Writer – Hungaria)
Vanessa Paradis (Actress, Singer – France)
Katayoon Shahabi (Producer – Iran)
Donald Sutherland (Actor – Canada)
Arnaud Desplechin, Director, Writer (France)
Arnaud Desplechin became an official competitor at Cannes with The Sentinel, his first feature film. He then made My Sex Life… or How I Got into an Argument, which introduced a new generation of actors. The artists in his films have regularly been awarded the most...
The 69th Cannes Film Festival, presided over by Mad Max director George Miller, will comprise eight luminaries of world cinema, from Iran, Denmark, United States, Italy, France, Canada and Hungary.
The jury, made up of four women and four men, comprises directors, actors and writers.
The jury:
George Miller – President
(Director, Writer, Producer – Australia)
Arnaud Desplechin (Director, Writer – France)
Kirsten Dunst (Actress– United States)
Valeria Golino (Actress, Director, Writer, Producer – Italia)
Mads Mikkelsen (Actor – Denmark)
László Nemes (Director, Writer – Hungaria)
Vanessa Paradis (Actress, Singer – France)
Katayoon Shahabi (Producer – Iran)
Donald Sutherland (Actor – Canada)
Arnaud Desplechin, Director, Writer (France)
Arnaud Desplechin became an official competitor at Cannes with The Sentinel, his first feature film. He then made My Sex Life… or How I Got into an Argument, which introduced a new generation of actors. The artists in his films have regularly been awarded the most...
- 4/25/2016
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
We have what should now be the full line-up for the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, featuring many of our most-anticipated films of the year. Coming next in line is the announcement of the competition jury, which director George Miller will be presiding over, returning to Cannes after delivering one of the best films of the festival last year, Mad Max: Fury Road.
Made up of four women and five men, they include Arnaud Desplechin (returning after last year’s My Golden Days), Kristen Dunst, Italian actress Valeria Golino, Mad Mikkelsen (Cannes Best Actor winner for The Hunt), Grand Prix-winning Son of Saul director László Nemes, actress/singer Vanessa Paradis, Iranian producer Katayoon Shahabi, as well as actor Donald Sutherland. Check out their biographies below as we look forward to seeing what they award the Palme d’Or, and beyond.
Arnaud Desplechin, Director, Writer (France)
Arnaud Desplechin became an official competitor at Cannes with The Sentinel,...
Made up of four women and five men, they include Arnaud Desplechin (returning after last year’s My Golden Days), Kristen Dunst, Italian actress Valeria Golino, Mad Mikkelsen (Cannes Best Actor winner for The Hunt), Grand Prix-winning Son of Saul director László Nemes, actress/singer Vanessa Paradis, Iranian producer Katayoon Shahabi, as well as actor Donald Sutherland. Check out their biographies below as we look forward to seeing what they award the Palme d’Or, and beyond.
Arnaud Desplechin, Director, Writer (France)
Arnaud Desplechin became an official competitor at Cannes with The Sentinel,...
- 4/25/2016
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
He’s only been making features for the last decade, but Joachim Trier is the rare example of a director whose voice felt fully formed upon his debut (Reprise). That’s, of course, not to discredit room for growth — his follow-up, Oslo, August 31st was proof enough that he can expand and deepen his skills. This week sees the release of his third feature, the impressive drama Louder Than Bombs, which premiered in competition at Cannes last year. For the occasion we’ve dug up his ballot for the 2012 Sight & Sound poll (taken around the release of his second feature).
Featuring some of the more obvious touchstones by Kubrick, Fellini, and Hitchcock, a few picks display where he clearly borrows influence for his dramatically piercing work, including Resnais’ debut, and classics from Antonioni and Tarkovsky, as well as his sense of comedy, from Scorsese and Allen. Perhaps most noteworthy is...
Featuring some of the more obvious touchstones by Kubrick, Fellini, and Hitchcock, a few picks display where he clearly borrows influence for his dramatically piercing work, including Resnais’ debut, and classics from Antonioni and Tarkovsky, as well as his sense of comedy, from Scorsese and Allen. Perhaps most noteworthy is...
- 4/7/2016
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Chicago – There is a tremendous excitement when a fresh director voice is realized, and writer/director/actor Benjamin Dickinson is one such discovery. His feature film debut is ‘Creative Control’ – which like previous futuristic films ‘Ex Machina’ and ‘Her’– explores sex and relationships through our technological evolution.
The film is set in the near future, in Brooklyn, and involves an advertising agency on the cusp of landing their biggest account, a company whose application creates Augmented Reality (Ar). David (Benjamin Dickinson is lead actor as well) is the account facilitator, and begins to use the technology for strange purposes, as in building a hyper-realized version of his best friend’s girlfriend, Sophie (Alexia Rasmussen). This begins a rift with his own live-in girlfriend, Juliette (Nora Zehetner), and a change in relationship with his best friend Wim (Dan Gill), not to mention a downward spiral regarding the important client.
Director Benjamin Dickinson...
The film is set in the near future, in Brooklyn, and involves an advertising agency on the cusp of landing their biggest account, a company whose application creates Augmented Reality (Ar). David (Benjamin Dickinson is lead actor as well) is the account facilitator, and begins to use the technology for strange purposes, as in building a hyper-realized version of his best friend’s girlfriend, Sophie (Alexia Rasmussen). This begins a rift with his own live-in girlfriend, Juliette (Nora Zehetner), and a change in relationship with his best friend Wim (Dan Gill), not to mention a downward spiral regarding the important client.
Director Benjamin Dickinson...
- 3/22/2016
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit the interwebs. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.
Becoming Mike Nichols (Douglas McGrath)
Tracing the early career of the prolific filmmaker, from his early collaborations with Elaine May to his first few adventures in Hollywood, Becoming Mike Nichols may very well become a required text in an introduction to narrative filmmaking course. Generous with his knowledge of the craft, text, performers, and the mistakes he made along the way, he opens up to fellow...
Becoming Mike Nichols (Douglas McGrath)
Tracing the early career of the prolific filmmaker, from his early collaborations with Elaine May to his first few adventures in Hollywood, Becoming Mike Nichols may very well become a required text in an introduction to narrative filmmaking course. Generous with his knowledge of the craft, text, performers, and the mistakes he made along the way, he opens up to fellow...
- 2/26/2016
- by TFS Staff
- The Film Stage
Every week we dive into the cream of the crop when it comes to home releases, including Blu-ray and DVDs, as well as recommended deals of the week. Check out our rundown below and return every Tuesday for the best (or most interesting) films one can take home. Note that if you’re looking to support the site, every purchase you make through the links below helps us and is greatly appreciated.
The Big Sleep (Howard Hawks)
L.A. private eye Philip Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart) takes on a blackmail case…and follows a trail peopled with murderers, pornographers, nightclub rogues, the spoiled rich and more. Raymond Chandler‘s legendary gumshoe solves it in hard-boiled style – and style is what The Big Sleep is all about. Director Howard Hawks serves up snappy character encounters (particularly those of Bogart and Lauren Bacall), brisk pace and atmosphere galore. This Blu-ray doubles your pleasure,...
The Big Sleep (Howard Hawks)
L.A. private eye Philip Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart) takes on a blackmail case…and follows a trail peopled with murderers, pornographers, nightclub rogues, the spoiled rich and more. Raymond Chandler‘s legendary gumshoe solves it in hard-boiled style – and style is what The Big Sleep is all about. Director Howard Hawks serves up snappy character encounters (particularly those of Bogart and Lauren Bacall), brisk pace and atmosphere galore. This Blu-ray doubles your pleasure,...
- 2/23/2016
- by TFS Staff
- The Film Stage
For one reason or another, Antonio Pietrangeli never took off internationally like his compatriots Michelangelo Antonioni and Federico Fellini. Part of that is certainly due to his premature death in 1968, when he drowned while working on a film. But even before that, I Knew Her Well, now newly restored by Janus Films and the Criterion Collection, was never released in the United States. It stars Stefania Sandrelli, who certainly has the makings of a star — five years later, she would help propel The Conformist to international acclaim — and Pietrangeli’s episodic structure, use of pop music, and jarring editing fits with the work of contemporary French New Wavers, and also bore a resemblance to Fellini, particularly La Dolce Vita; even in context of its time, it hardly seems uncommercial.
Is it perhaps because I Knew Her Well is genuinely and truly about a woman? And not just any woman (Red...
Is it perhaps because I Knew Her Well is genuinely and truly about a woman? And not just any woman (Red...
- 2/5/2016
- by Forrest Cardamenis
- The Film Stage
Exclusive: On the eve of the Efm, Ambi Distribution led by Julie Sultan has secured worldwide rights to the coming-of-age adventure starring Maria Bello.
The film is based on a screenplay by Nancy Cartwright, who famously voices Bart Simpson in The Simpsons, and Peter Kjenaas.
Taron Lexton directs In Search Of Fellini, about a sheltered 20-year-old who becomes obsessed with meeting Federico Fellini after she watches his 1954 classic La Strada at a film festival while on a job interview in Ohio.
Ksenia Solo from Orphan Black plays the lead in the Spotted Cow Studio production. Bello is cast as her mother, who hides a terminal illness, and Mary Lynn Rajskub (24, Julie & Julia) is the no-nonsense neighbour who urges Bello’s character to reveal her condition.
Kjenaas and Lexton produce alongside Nathan Lorch, Milena Ferreira, Monica Padro, and Michael Doven of United Pictures Group.
Executive producers are Cartwright, Kevin Burke, and Ambi Group co-founders Andrea Iervolino and Monika Bacardi...
The film is based on a screenplay by Nancy Cartwright, who famously voices Bart Simpson in The Simpsons, and Peter Kjenaas.
Taron Lexton directs In Search Of Fellini, about a sheltered 20-year-old who becomes obsessed with meeting Federico Fellini after she watches his 1954 classic La Strada at a film festival while on a job interview in Ohio.
Ksenia Solo from Orphan Black plays the lead in the Spotted Cow Studio production. Bello is cast as her mother, who hides a terminal illness, and Mary Lynn Rajskub (24, Julie & Julia) is the no-nonsense neighbour who urges Bello’s character to reveal her condition.
Kjenaas and Lexton produce alongside Nathan Lorch, Milena Ferreira, Monica Padro, and Michael Doven of United Pictures Group.
Executive producers are Cartwright, Kevin Burke, and Ambi Group co-founders Andrea Iervolino and Monika Bacardi...
- 2/5/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Each week, the fine folks at Fandor add a number of films to their Criterion Picks area, which will then be available to subscribers for the following twelve days. This week, the Criterion Picks focus on seven films featuring the music of Nino Rota.
Celebrate iconic Italian films in a new way: ears first, through the scores composed by this long-time collaborator of Fellini (and many others).
Don’t have a Fandor subscription? They offer a free trial membership.
8 1/2
Marcello Mastroianni plays Guido Anselmi, a director whose new project is collapsing around him, along with his life. One of the greatest films about film ever made, Federico Fellini turns one man’s artistic crisis into a grand epic of the cinema.
Amarcord
This carnivalesque portrait of provincial Italy during the fascist period, the most personal film from Federico Fellini, satirizes the director’s youth and turns daily life into a circus of social rituals,...
Celebrate iconic Italian films in a new way: ears first, through the scores composed by this long-time collaborator of Fellini (and many others).
Don’t have a Fandor subscription? They offer a free trial membership.
8 1/2
Marcello Mastroianni plays Guido Anselmi, a director whose new project is collapsing around him, along with his life. One of the greatest films about film ever made, Federico Fellini turns one man’s artistic crisis into a grand epic of the cinema.
Amarcord
This carnivalesque portrait of provincial Italy during the fascist period, the most personal film from Federico Fellini, satirizes the director’s youth and turns daily life into a circus of social rituals,...
- 1/5/2016
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
No matter how much he’s been ingrained into the widely established film canon, especially as far as foreign-language filmmakers go, Federico Fellini‘s oeuvre is often pared down to a handful of titles made within a ten-or-so-year span. It would take years (or decades) for some of the later, more eccentric work to earn the same level of recognition — so, whether or not this accomplishes anything, Cohen Media Group’s recent restoration and forthcoming release of his 1980 picture City of Women is good reason to explore a master more deeply.
The picture’s described as “the start of the Maestro’s delirious late period” and sold here as another fantasy-driven, sex-laced Mastroianni-starrer — in other words, the sort of things people have exalted Fellini for time and again. With City of Women now looking more beautiful than ever, count me among those who will look to rectify this blind spot...
The picture’s described as “the start of the Maestro’s delirious late period” and sold here as another fantasy-driven, sex-laced Mastroianni-starrer — in other words, the sort of things people have exalted Fellini for time and again. With City of Women now looking more beautiful than ever, count me among those who will look to rectify this blind spot...
- 12/14/2015
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
By Patrick Shanley
Managing Editor
The Martian, which remained in the top three at the box office over the weekend in its sixth week at theaters, is a bonafide hit for legendary director Ridley Scott and will almost certainly earn multiple nominations from the Academy.
Scott is no stranger to nominations, having earned three best directing nods in his career, but the award itself still eludes the English director. 2000’s Gladiator may have earned a best actor Oscar for Russell Crowe and best picture, but Scott lost best director to Steven Soderbergh for Traffic. The very next year saw the same outcome for Scott as his directing nomination for Black Hawk Down lost out to Crowe-starring A Beautiful Mind‘s director, Ron Howard.
This year is shaping up to be different for Scott, however, as The Martian continues to rack up at the box office and resound with critics. A...
Managing Editor
The Martian, which remained in the top three at the box office over the weekend in its sixth week at theaters, is a bonafide hit for legendary director Ridley Scott and will almost certainly earn multiple nominations from the Academy.
Scott is no stranger to nominations, having earned three best directing nods in his career, but the award itself still eludes the English director. 2000’s Gladiator may have earned a best actor Oscar for Russell Crowe and best picture, but Scott lost best director to Steven Soderbergh for Traffic. The very next year saw the same outcome for Scott as his directing nomination for Black Hawk Down lost out to Crowe-starring A Beautiful Mind‘s director, Ron Howard.
This year is shaping up to be different for Scott, however, as The Martian continues to rack up at the box office and resound with critics. A...
- 11/11/2015
- by Patrick Shanley
- Scott Feinberg
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