10. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Whenever Stanley Kubrick is involved, you know there has to be something outstanding. 2001: A Space Odyssey follows an adventure to Jupiter where the astronauts have to oppose their board computer that tries to stop them…
But more than a good movie, it’s an unforgettable visual experience, an experiment in bizarre.
You can watch 2001: A Space Odyssey on Max, Netflix, and Prime Video.
9. Once Upon A Time In America (1984)
Sergio Leone’s Once Upon A Time In America isn’t special due to its captivating story of a small-time criminal turned mafia kingpin. The movie's sensational visuals could have been less impressive in our eyes, too — if not for the fact that in 1984, there was no CGI, and its stunning shots were all done with practical effects alone.
You can watch Once Upon A Time In America on Netflix and Prime Video.
8. Life of Pi...
Whenever Stanley Kubrick is involved, you know there has to be something outstanding. 2001: A Space Odyssey follows an adventure to Jupiter where the astronauts have to oppose their board computer that tries to stop them…
But more than a good movie, it’s an unforgettable visual experience, an experiment in bizarre.
You can watch 2001: A Space Odyssey on Max, Netflix, and Prime Video.
9. Once Upon A Time In America (1984)
Sergio Leone’s Once Upon A Time In America isn’t special due to its captivating story of a small-time criminal turned mafia kingpin. The movie's sensational visuals could have been less impressive in our eyes, too — if not for the fact that in 1984, there was no CGI, and its stunning shots were all done with practical effects alone.
You can watch Once Upon A Time In America on Netflix and Prime Video.
8. Life of Pi...
- 5/2/2024
- by dean-black@startefacts.com (Dean Black)
- STartefacts.com
Clockwise from top left: Eileen (Neon), Sympathy For The Devil (Rlje Films), The Promised Land (Magnolia Pictures), Ferrari (Neon)Image: The A.V. Club
As the summer movie season gets ready to kick off in theaters, Hulu highlights some A-list stars in indie films for its May calendar. In Eileen, Anne Hathaway...
As the summer movie season gets ready to kick off in theaters, Hulu highlights some A-list stars in indie films for its May calendar. In Eileen, Anne Hathaway...
- 5/2/2024
- by Robert DeSalvo
- avclub.com
Star Wars has always had some of the most iconic characters of all time. From Darth Vader to Kylo Ren and General Palpatine, there has been a wide range of characters who perfectly contrast the heroes standing before them. Whether it is in front of Luke Skywalker or anyone else, their twisted mirror images become more and more interesting to watch as the franchise progresses.
Clint Eastwood’s Man with No Name became a big inspiration
One of the oldest of the lost, Boba Fett, who even George Lucas regards as one of the most significant, had been inspired by a legendary yet unexpected actor. Clint Eastwood, a respected actor and an even more skilled filmmaker became the real inspiration behind the antagonist. Especially Eastwood as the Man with No Name in the Dollars trilogy.
Clint Eastwood Inspired Boba Fett in Star Wars
George Lucas (via Cbr) expressed how Darth...
Clint Eastwood’s Man with No Name became a big inspiration
One of the oldest of the lost, Boba Fett, who even George Lucas regards as one of the most significant, had been inspired by a legendary yet unexpected actor. Clint Eastwood, a respected actor and an even more skilled filmmaker became the real inspiration behind the antagonist. Especially Eastwood as the Man with No Name in the Dollars trilogy.
Clint Eastwood Inspired Boba Fett in Star Wars
George Lucas (via Cbr) expressed how Darth...
- 4/29/2024
- by Adya Godboley
- FandomWire
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission.
In this digital-dominated era, the allure of physical media like DVDs and Blu-rays remains robust, transcending mere nostalgia. These formats offer a tangible, personal connection to the artistry of film and television—a curated collection that one can physically handle, showcase, and possess.
As the industry increasingly veers towards streaming as its primary mode of distribution, collecting physical media is becoming a niche yet cherished pastime. It remains the most reliable method to ensure access to a broad spectrum of titles, often in the highest possible quality. A 4K Blu-ray on your shelf guarantees immediate, uninterrupted viewing—free from buffering or service outages—of your favorite films and TV shows in stunning resolution. Moreover, these discs frequently include a wealth of bonus content, ranging from archival gems to freshly...
In this digital-dominated era, the allure of physical media like DVDs and Blu-rays remains robust, transcending mere nostalgia. These formats offer a tangible, personal connection to the artistry of film and television—a curated collection that one can physically handle, showcase, and possess.
As the industry increasingly veers towards streaming as its primary mode of distribution, collecting physical media is becoming a niche yet cherished pastime. It remains the most reliable method to ensure access to a broad spectrum of titles, often in the highest possible quality. A 4K Blu-ray on your shelf guarantees immediate, uninterrupted viewing—free from buffering or service outages—of your favorite films and TV shows in stunning resolution. Moreover, these discs frequently include a wealth of bonus content, ranging from archival gems to freshly...
- 4/29/2024
- by Clayton Davis and Todd Gilchrist
- Variety Film + TV
Taylor Sheridan is undoubtedly one of the most powerful voices in the TV space with his shows being the flagship entries of the Paramount+ network. Yellowstone became a sensation in 2018 and it has spawned several spin-offs including 1883 and 1923. The show is Sheridan’s masterpiece and none of his other shows have ever come close to its impact on audiences.
Kevin Costner as John Dutton in Yellowstone
However, its inception was a different story altogether. By the 2010s, the Western genre had faded in popularity compared to the 50s-70s era. Yellowstone being in that genre created a lot of difficulty for Sheridan in convincing networks and studios to bankroll the project.
Taylor Sheridan Understood Studios’ Hesitation in Greenlighting Yellowstone
In addition to being a creator, Taylor Sheridan played Travis Wheatley in Yellowstone
Westerns were once the dominant genre in the industry during the 50s and to the late 70s when...
Kevin Costner as John Dutton in Yellowstone
However, its inception was a different story altogether. By the 2010s, the Western genre had faded in popularity compared to the 50s-70s era. Yellowstone being in that genre created a lot of difficulty for Sheridan in convincing networks and studios to bankroll the project.
Taylor Sheridan Understood Studios’ Hesitation in Greenlighting Yellowstone
In addition to being a creator, Taylor Sheridan played Travis Wheatley in Yellowstone
Westerns were once the dominant genre in the industry during the 50s and to the late 70s when...
- 4/29/2024
- by Rahul Thokchom
- FandomWire
Clint Eastwood was already 30 years old when he landed his breakout role in the CBS Western "Rawhide." The actor had spent much of the 1950s getting by on bit parts in B movies (most notably the Jack Arnold monster duo of "Revenge of the Creature" and "Tarantula"), and guest roles on TV series like "Maverick" and "Death Valley Days," so you'd think he would've been thrilled. But Eastwood was displeased with his character Rowdy Yates, who, early on in the series' run, was a wet-behind-the-ears ramrod. At his age, he was eager to play a grown, capable man with enough years behind him to allow for a bit of mystery.
Eastwood's restlessness coincided with a shift in filmmakers' approach to the Western genre. Though maestros like John Ford, Howard Hawks, Anthony Mann, and Budd Boetticher had allowed for moral ambiguity in their movies, the vast majority of Westerns were white...
Eastwood's restlessness coincided with a shift in filmmakers' approach to the Western genre. Though maestros like John Ford, Howard Hawks, Anthony Mann, and Budd Boetticher had allowed for moral ambiguity in their movies, the vast majority of Westerns were white...
- 4/28/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
There is no denying the fact that a Quentin Tarantino film almost always sparks debates. The maverick filmmaker has carved a niche for himself with his unique brand of writing and storytelling that has won him critical and commercial acclaim. But his work has also earned him criticism for the manner in which he has chosen to execute certain sensitive narratives on screen.
Jamie Foxx in Django Unchained directed by Quentin Tarantino (image credit: Columbia Pictures)
In 2012, Tarantino directed Django Unchained for which he earned an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. The film is a fictionalized narrative set during the period of African slavery in the USA. While it received a lot of praise from audiences and critics, accomplished Black filmmaker Spike Lee was harshly critical of the film for the way in which it depicted his ancestry.
Why Did Spike Lee Refuse To Watch Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained?...
Jamie Foxx in Django Unchained directed by Quentin Tarantino (image credit: Columbia Pictures)
In 2012, Tarantino directed Django Unchained for which he earned an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. The film is a fictionalized narrative set during the period of African slavery in the USA. While it received a lot of praise from audiences and critics, accomplished Black filmmaker Spike Lee was harshly critical of the film for the way in which it depicted his ancestry.
Why Did Spike Lee Refuse To Watch Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained?...
- 4/27/2024
- by Sharanya Sankar
- FandomWire
Three years before his career-defining role as Itto Ogami in the six Lone Wolf and Cub films, Wakayama Tomisaburô starred in a trio of films about doctor, bounty hunter, and sometimes shogun assassin Ichibei Shikoro. Where the Lone Wolf and Cub series leaned much harder into the strategies associated with the exploitation filmmaking movement that was booming in Japan during the early 1970s, the “Bounty Hunter” trilogy has both feet firmly planted in the 1960s, drawing influence from James Bond films and spaghetti westerns as well more violent contemporaneous samurai films such as Okamoto Kihachi’s Sword of Doom and Kill!
The influence of the 007 films on Killer’s Mission, from 1969, alone is evident right out of the gate, both in Yagi Masao’s score and our first glimpse of Ichibei preparing his gadgets, including a cane sword and a miniature crossbow, as he readies himself for his mission to prevent an enemy,...
The influence of the 007 films on Killer’s Mission, from 1969, alone is evident right out of the gate, both in Yagi Masao’s score and our first glimpse of Ichibei preparing his gadgets, including a cane sword and a miniature crossbow, as he readies himself for his mission to prevent an enemy,...
- 4/22/2024
- by Derek Smith
- Slant Magazine
The best things come in threes, especially stories. In Western nations, we like a three-act structure in which we set a status quo, watch our heroes fall, and then see them return to greatness. Some of these stories cannot be held within a single movie. For those epics, those monumental narratives, the movie trilogy was born. Trilogies represent some of the best that cinema has to offer, movies that changed the culture and the art form. The trilogy might vary in quality from film to film, but together these three films tell a story that cannot be ignored.
Before we get too far, let’s lay out our criteria. The trilogies chosen here are those intended to be a trilogy, either from the outset or by the end of the third film. Thus we’re including things such as the Toy Story and Indiana Jones trilogies, even though those continued on with further entries.
Before we get too far, let’s lay out our criteria. The trilogies chosen here are those intended to be a trilogy, either from the outset or by the end of the third film. Thus we’re including things such as the Toy Story and Indiana Jones trilogies, even though those continued on with further entries.
- 4/20/2024
- by Joe George
- Den of Geek
For several years now, Quentin Tarantino has been adamant that he plans to make a single 10th and final movie — which will no longer be The Movie Critic. Some of his fans were relieved when this news broke yesterday. The Movie Critic originally sounded like a nostalgic character study (“more epilogue-y,” as Tarantino once put it), while his fans particularly love the director’s more pulply, genre-driven fair. The result would have almost certainly been great. But would it have been great enough to be Tarantino’s last film?
More details about this decision are likely still to come. Still, one wonders: Would Tarantino have abandoned the movie if there wasn’t so much riding on it? His many statements about quitting film directing have suggested he’s extremely focused on protecting his legacy, which seems like a downright masochistic way of putting an enormous amount pressure on yourself. A...
More details about this decision are likely still to come. Still, one wonders: Would Tarantino have abandoned the movie if there wasn’t so much riding on it? His many statements about quitting film directing have suggested he’s extremely focused on protecting his legacy, which seems like a downright masochistic way of putting an enormous amount pressure on yourself. A...
- 4/18/2024
- by James Hibberd
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
After reaping the rewards of a protracted growth spurt, Italy’s film industry is facing a forced slowdown as the country’s right-wing government dithers with modifications they plan to make to several key regulations, most significantly to the country’s now stalled tax incentives for film and TV production.
At a packed protest event held earlier this month in Rome’s Cinema Adriano multiplex, industry figures from all sectors – including producers, writers, actors and big-name directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Marco Bellocchio – lashed out against having to wait endlessly for the government to approve new guidelines so production companies can apply for the 40% tax credits that basically drive the business. Some are also concerned that their projects might end up not complying with still murky new eligibility criteria.
“We are waiting for the new regulatory framework, and more importantly we need to know how much money the government will grant,...
At a packed protest event held earlier this month in Rome’s Cinema Adriano multiplex, industry figures from all sectors – including producers, writers, actors and big-name directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Marco Bellocchio – lashed out against having to wait endlessly for the government to approve new guidelines so production companies can apply for the 40% tax credits that basically drive the business. Some are also concerned that their projects might end up not complying with still murky new eligibility criteria.
“We are waiting for the new regulatory framework, and more importantly we need to know how much money the government will grant,...
- 4/17/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Genndy Tartakovsky's "Clone Wars" is one of the best things to ever happen to "Star Wars." The micro-series gave us a vision of the Jedi as they saw themselves; as people thought the Jedi were; the version of the Jedi a young Anakin had in mind when he first met Qui-Gon Jinn — superhuman, invincible, god-like. Even 20 years later, there's nothing quite like it.
One of the best things the show did was bring the character of Durge over from the comics to the animated series. Durge is an alien bounty hunter with regenerative powers who fights Obi-Wan in one of the best episodes of "Clone Wars," an episode full of body horror and even a sequence inspired by anime masterpiece "Akira."
It's a shame that neither the character nor the show are considered canon by Lucasfilm and Disney.
When it came time to create a new "Clone Wars" cartoon,...
One of the best things the show did was bring the character of Durge over from the comics to the animated series. Durge is an alien bounty hunter with regenerative powers who fights Obi-Wan in one of the best episodes of "Clone Wars," an episode full of body horror and even a sequence inspired by anime masterpiece "Akira."
It's a shame that neither the character nor the show are considered canon by Lucasfilm and Disney.
When it came time to create a new "Clone Wars" cartoon,...
- 4/15/2024
- by Rafael Motamayor
- Slash Film
Across his storied career, Robert De Niro‘s Mafia roles have arguably become the most iconic. As a result, his name has become synonymous with the crime genre, particularly within Mafia themed movies. His role in The Godfather Part II earned him his first Oscar, and his presence in the genre only grew from there. While he has forayed into many genres and proved himself as a truly versatile actor, Robert De Niro’s mafia roles have endured a timeless legacy. In the process, he has worked with legendary filmmakers like Martin Scorsese, Sergio Leone, and Francis Ford Coppola. So, here’s every
The post Every Robert De Niro Mafia Role, Ranked first appeared on TVovermind.
The post Every Robert De Niro Mafia Role, Ranked first appeared on TVovermind.
- 4/15/2024
- by Matthew C. F
- TVovermind.com
Star Wars fans can certainly enjoy their day, as a couple of important news regarding the franchise have been released. We have already reported on The Mandalorian & Grogu getting an official release date, but that is not the only piece of news we have for you today. Namely, it has officially been confirmed that Oscar- and Emmy-nominated writer Beau Willimon will be co-writing the upcoming Star Wars movie with director James Mangold.
Beau Willimon became famous for his work on The Ides of March and House of Cards before ultimately working on the first season of the acclaimed series Andor. He will now be joining Mangold, who is directing the movie, for an epic new movie, replacing former writer David S. Goyer, who was initially attached to the movie.
While not much is known about this project, Disney is seemingly going forward with it, and with Willimon and Mangold teaming up,...
Beau Willimon became famous for his work on The Ides of March and House of Cards before ultimately working on the first season of the acclaimed series Andor. He will now be joining Mangold, who is directing the movie, for an epic new movie, replacing former writer David S. Goyer, who was initially attached to the movie.
While not much is known about this project, Disney is seemingly going forward with it, and with Willimon and Mangold teaming up,...
- 4/6/2024
- by Arthur S. Poe
- Fiction Horizon
When Hugh Jackman bid farewell to his iconic role as Wolverine in the 2017 flick Logan, fans were struck by a bittersweet feeling. The movie proved to be an appropriate goodbye to the much-loved character, revealing a more vulnerable and emotional side to the clawed mutant. However, what many fans might not know is that The Wolverine couldn’t have taken place if Fox had adhered to their original plan to have Darren Aronofsky helm the 2013 flick.
The Wolverine, a sequel to X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), was originally slated to be directed by Aronofsky, who is best known for his dark and intense movies like Black Swan and Requiem for a Dream. But, as fate would have it, the director eventually dropped out of the project in order to allow James Mangold to step in and take the reins.
Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in X-Men
The Directorial Switch-Up: When Darren...
The Wolverine, a sequel to X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), was originally slated to be directed by Aronofsky, who is best known for his dark and intense movies like Black Swan and Requiem for a Dream. But, as fate would have it, the director eventually dropped out of the project in order to allow James Mangold to step in and take the reins.
Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in X-Men
The Directorial Switch-Up: When Darren...
- 3/29/2024
- by Siddhika Prajapati
- FandomWire
How you situate Sergio Leone’s epic, acerbic A Fistful of Dynamite within the filmmaker’s larger body of work just might depend on which title it bears when you watch it. The original Italian title, Giù la testa, is probably best rendered by the thematically appropriate Keep Your Head Down, but Leone insisted the film go out under the looser translation Duck, You Sucker! It’s a line that recurs several times throughout the film, one that Leone insisted was authentic American slang of the era, though clearly it isn’t any such thing.
The replacement title A Fistful of Dynamite attempts to link it with Leone’s earlier A Fistful of Dollars, but this one gets far darker and more serious than the more “innocent” tales of adventure that form the Dollars trilogy. Probably the most appropriate title was the one applied to it by the French: Once Upon a Time…...
The replacement title A Fistful of Dynamite attempts to link it with Leone’s earlier A Fistful of Dollars, but this one gets far darker and more serious than the more “innocent” tales of adventure that form the Dollars trilogy. Probably the most appropriate title was the one applied to it by the French: Once Upon a Time…...
- 3/18/2024
- by Budd Wilkins
- Slant Magazine
Wayfarer took the metal world by storm with their sweeping black metal epic album American Gothic in 2023. The album provides a unique look at the history of the United States, and drummer Isaac Faulk has previously discussed numerous different elements that influenced the album’s creation. Faulk’s long-running relationship with anime manifests itself in countless ways in Wayfarer’s music, as well as the music of his numerous other projects like Stormkeep and Blood Incantation. From anime OSTs to subject matter to artistic presentation, the medium is deeply influential in his creative process. I chatted with Faulk to learn a bit more about how Trigun and Flcl were pivotal in making one of the year’s best albums. American Gothic has been such a smash success and ended up on so many “Album of the Year” lists! What was that recording process like? Isaac : The last record was more in this big,...
- 3/16/2024
- by Alex Lebl
- Crunchyroll
Cinematic language can be universal. Visual images and styles can be reused and interpreted for different audiences quite easily with film fans quick to pick up on the influences. Take for example the Western. John Ford influenced Akira Kurosawa; Kurosawa influenced Sergio Leone who in turn inspired a number of Italian filmmakers in creating the whole Spaghetti Western genre. This visual language then proceeded to be imported across the globe. “Yakuza Wolf” is one such beneficiary of this transnational use of cinematic language. A blending of Yakuza action with a western flourish it's now available through “Eureka Entertainment” on Blu-ray. With its lead Sonny Chiba being rediscovered we have an opportunity to look back at a role that set him on course for bigger stardom.
on Amazon by clicking on the image below
Gosuke Himuro (Sonny Chiba) is out for revenge. His father is dead and his sister Kyoko (Yayoi Watanabe) kidnapped.
on Amazon by clicking on the image below
Gosuke Himuro (Sonny Chiba) is out for revenge. His father is dead and his sister Kyoko (Yayoi Watanabe) kidnapped.
- 3/15/2024
- by Ben Stykuc
- AsianMoviePulse
Sergio Leone’s classic western Once Upon A Time In The West is heading to 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray: more here.
Ah, now here’s some excellent catalogue physical media news. The flat-out classic Once Upon A Time In The West is, for my money, the finest of Sergio Leone’s westerns. Given that he also directed the spaghetti western trilogy, starring Clint Eastwood, that’s no small statement. But heck, Once Upon A Time In The West is bloody stunning.
For some time, it’s been known that Paramount Pictures was working on a 4K release of the film too, and now comes the confirmation that it’s heading out way. Once Upon A Time In The West will be making its 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray physical media debut on 13th May 2024.
The film is now available to order on 4K disc: you can find more information, and pick yourself up a copy,...
Ah, now here’s some excellent catalogue physical media news. The flat-out classic Once Upon A Time In The West is, for my money, the finest of Sergio Leone’s westerns. Given that he also directed the spaghetti western trilogy, starring Clint Eastwood, that’s no small statement. But heck, Once Upon A Time In The West is bloody stunning.
For some time, it’s been known that Paramount Pictures was working on a 4K release of the film too, and now comes the confirmation that it’s heading out way. Once Upon A Time In The West will be making its 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray physical media debut on 13th May 2024.
The film is now available to order on 4K disc: you can find more information, and pick yourself up a copy,...
- 3/4/2024
- by Simon Brew
- Film Stories
If Sergio Leone had ever signed on to make one of those ‘70s Blaxploitation oaters that once provided steady employment for Fred Williamson, it likely would have looked and sounded much like “Outlaw Posse,” a wildly uneven but cumulatively entertaining shoot-‘em-up that finds Mario Van Peebles doing triple duty as director, screenwriter and star. Quadruple duty, actually, if you count his credit as an executive producer.
“Outlaw Posse” has nothing to do with Van Peebles’ previous entry in this genre, 1993’s wild and woolly “Posse,” which suggests the multitasking filmmaker is tipping his Stetson to the multitude of ‘60s Spaghetti Westerns that, ahem, borrowed titles and eponymous characters from better known yet totally unrelated horse operas. But, then again, maybe not. Indeed, the film will probably be enjoyed most by folks not given to undue consideration of such trifling matters as lineage, logic and arrant anachronisms.
It’s 1908, and...
“Outlaw Posse” has nothing to do with Van Peebles’ previous entry in this genre, 1993’s wild and woolly “Posse,” which suggests the multitasking filmmaker is tipping his Stetson to the multitude of ‘60s Spaghetti Westerns that, ahem, borrowed titles and eponymous characters from better known yet totally unrelated horse operas. But, then again, maybe not. Indeed, the film will probably be enjoyed most by folks not given to undue consideration of such trifling matters as lineage, logic and arrant anachronisms.
It’s 1908, and...
- 2/29/2024
- by Joe Leydon
- Variety Film + TV
Although collecting physical media doesn’t have the convenience appeal of streaming films, there is now sort of a stigma with purchasing movies through online platforms. Although its possible to compile a collection of movies through an online library, consumers will ultimately be at the whim of the service should it choose to keep the title available on their server. The seemingly iron-clad way to have a movie ready-to-watch is if you can have it at your fingertips. Additionally, there are a number of titles that don’t happen to find their way to have streaming access and physical media distributors like Shout and Vinegar Syndrome have dedicated their business to some overlooked titles.
There are also classic, prestige movie titles that studios are proud to remaster for a new, modern way of viewing. You can now catch a new upcoming release of Once Upon a Time in the West...
There are also classic, prestige movie titles that studios are proud to remaster for a new, modern way of viewing. You can now catch a new upcoming release of Once Upon a Time in the West...
- 2/21/2024
- by EJ Tangonan
- JoBlo.com
Porn icon Rocco Siffredi claims that after making roughly 1,400 hardcore films — with titles like “The Ass Collector” and “Rocco’s Perfect Slaves” — over the past four decades, he has finally found “the peace of his senses.”
“I could crack a bad joke and say I can’t get it up anymore,” says Siffredi, 59, speaking on a video call from the Budapest office of his Rocco Siffredi Production company, which houses the Siffredi Hard Academy, touted as the world’s first “university of porn.”
“But that’s not the case. Quite the contrary,” the hardworking “Italian Stallion” hastens to add. I’ve asked Siffredi about being — or having notoriously been — a sex addict. And the many times he’s announced his retirement as a porn performer, only to make another comeback.
“I have to tell you that it was a mix of problems connected with my personal life and the dependency that this job,...
“I could crack a bad joke and say I can’t get it up anymore,” says Siffredi, 59, speaking on a video call from the Budapest office of his Rocco Siffredi Production company, which houses the Siffredi Hard Academy, touted as the world’s first “university of porn.”
“But that’s not the case. Quite the contrary,” the hardworking “Italian Stallion” hastens to add. I’ve asked Siffredi about being — or having notoriously been — a sex addict. And the many times he’s announced his retirement as a porn performer, only to make another comeback.
“I have to tell you that it was a mix of problems connected with my personal life and the dependency that this job,...
- 2/20/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Historically, the relationship between Hollywood and European comic books has been fraught with mutual distrust and cultural dissonance. Not to disparage Steven Spielberg — one of our national treasures — but his 2011 adaptation of The Adventures of Tintin was a bit of a disaster. And when La Femme Nikita director Luc Besson fulfilled a childhood fantasy in 2017 by bankrolling Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets out of his own pocket, the most expensive independent movie ever made landed with the thud of a global box office bomb.
But there’s hope on the horizon. European comic books — specifically, the Franco-Belgian school spearheaded by the Tintin character and his creator Hergé — are both a multimillion Euro industry and a sumptuous art form with dozens of successful franchises waiting to be developed. N
ow that the offerings of Marvel and DC are beginning to feel a tad fatigued, to say the least,...
But there’s hope on the horizon. European comic books — specifically, the Franco-Belgian school spearheaded by the Tintin character and his creator Hergé — are both a multimillion Euro industry and a sumptuous art form with dozens of successful franchises waiting to be developed. N
ow that the offerings of Marvel and DC are beginning to feel a tad fatigued, to say the least,...
- 2/17/2024
- by Ernesto Lechner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The 1980s was a seminal period in the development of what we now define as the action movie. This was the decade that cemented the statuses of both Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger as the muscle-bound box office behemoths eating the competition for breakfast. Having emerged off the back of critically acclaimed efforts like Rocky and The Terminator, the years that followed saw the pair hone their greased-up on-screen personas to fine effect.
It wasn’t all about the muscles though. The 1980s also ushered in the era of the everyman action star with Bruce Willis in Die Hard and Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop opting for brains over brawn and reaping the benefits in multiplexes far and wide as a result. While Hollywood basked in the glory of a new generation of leading men, in the Far East, Jackie Chan was taking action movie physicality to a whole...
It wasn’t all about the muscles though. The 1980s also ushered in the era of the everyman action star with Bruce Willis in Die Hard and Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop opting for brains over brawn and reaping the benefits in multiplexes far and wide as a result. While Hollywood basked in the glory of a new generation of leading men, in the Far East, Jackie Chan was taking action movie physicality to a whole...
- 2/17/2024
- by John Saavedra
- Den of Geek
“Funeral Parade of Roses” has to be one of the most successful avant-garde and experimental cinema masterpieces the world has ever seen. And no, I am not even exaggerating. This irreverent psychosexual reinterpretation of the myth of Oedipus Rex by director Toshio Matsumoto – dense with visual exploration, meta-cinematography, and rebellion – is one of the cornerstones of the Japanese New Wave of the 1960s. Through a temporally deconstructed narrative as chaotic as it is ingenious, Matsumoto encapsulates and crystallizes the generational drama of Japanese youth.
Set in Tokyo at the peak of its socio-political turmoil, the work follows the ups and downs of Eddie, a young transgender woman grappling with her identity. The protagonist works at Genet, a gay bar in Tokyo managed by the gangster Gonda, whom she is in love with. Leda (Osamu Ogasawara) is the “Madame” and drag queen's leader, as well as being Gonda's (Yoshio Tsuchiya) partner.
Set in Tokyo at the peak of its socio-political turmoil, the work follows the ups and downs of Eddie, a young transgender woman grappling with her identity. The protagonist works at Genet, a gay bar in Tokyo managed by the gangster Gonda, whom she is in love with. Leda (Osamu Ogasawara) is the “Madame” and drag queen's leader, as well as being Gonda's (Yoshio Tsuchiya) partner.
- 2/13/2024
- by Siria Falleroni
- AsianMoviePulse
Actor Denzel Washington and director Spike Lee announced they are joining forces once more, the first time in 18 years, for a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 crime thriller “High and Low.” The duo have collaborated four times previously, on “Mo’ Better Blues,” “Malcolm X,” “He Got Game,” and, most recently, “Inside Man.”
“High and Low” was originally based on the novel “King’s Ransom” by the prolific American author Ed McBain. McBain was a nom de plume for Evan Hunter, who also wrote “The Blackboard Jungle” (adapted to a popular film with a significant early turn by Sidney Poitier) and was a co-screenwriter of Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds.”
The original “High and Low” starred Toshiro Mifune as an executive who faces a moral crisis during a pivotal moment of his career—just as he had intended to move a vast amount of his personal wealth for business reasons, his son...
“High and Low” was originally based on the novel “King’s Ransom” by the prolific American author Ed McBain. McBain was a nom de plume for Evan Hunter, who also wrote “The Blackboard Jungle” (adapted to a popular film with a significant early turn by Sidney Poitier) and was a co-screenwriter of Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds.”
The original “High and Low” starred Toshiro Mifune as an executive who faces a moral crisis during a pivotal moment of his career—just as he had intended to move a vast amount of his personal wealth for business reasons, his son...
- 2/9/2024
- by Jordan Hoffman
- Gold Derby
“A director can’t understand the final result from a description. You cannot describe music; it needs to be listened to.” So says Ennio Morricone in one of many talking-head sections that comprise Giuseppe Tornatore’s documentary. But Ennio, as it’s aptly titled, can feel part-documentary, part-video essay, and, yes, part-talking head compilation. It’s 156 minutes, but even the first four hint at its simplicity. A barrage of musicians, producers, and filmmakers spout what the film quickly compresses into glorified soundbites. Morricone was a towering artist. Audiences already knew this. But Tornatore doesn’t fully unpack the composer’s impact; he does more to describe it.
So what else is there to listen to? Per Morricone himself, he wanted to be a doctor, but his father insisted he learn the trumpet. He took classes at the Saint Cecilia Conservatory at age 12 and studied under Goffredo Petrassi, later marrying Maria Travia.
So what else is there to listen to? Per Morricone himself, he wanted to be a doctor, but his father insisted he learn the trumpet. He took classes at the Saint Cecilia Conservatory at age 12 and studied under Goffredo Petrassi, later marrying Maria Travia.
- 2/7/2024
- by Matt Cipolla
- The Film Stage
"Raging Bull" knocked audiences flat on their backs when it premiered over four decades ago. The boxing biography, which is still considered among director Martin Scorsese's best films, unfolds as a rags-to-riches-to-rags story about a brutal middleweight fighter whose personal life never quite matches up to his success in the ring. Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Cathy Moriarty headlined the film's wildly talented ensemble, while late "Cheers" star Tommy Como played a local mobster and actress Theresa Saldana, who passed away in 2016, played protagonist Jake's second wife Lenora.
While time has taken some of these talented actors away from us, and the real Jake Lamotta died in 2017, each member of the "Raging Bull" core trio is still acting today. To present a "where are they now" about an actor as famous and prolific as De Niro would be silly, but if you're looking for another great De Niro...
While time has taken some of these talented actors away from us, and the real Jake Lamotta died in 2017, each member of the "Raging Bull" core trio is still acting today. To present a "where are they now" about an actor as famous and prolific as De Niro would be silly, but if you're looking for another great De Niro...
- 2/3/2024
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
In the realm of Giallo films, Dario Argento is a celebrated figure. He’s one of the most influential directors of the Italian film industry, but his films have enchanted audiences worldwide and made a lot of cinephiles fall in love with the Italian Giallo films, such as Suspiria (1977), Deep Red (1975), Inferno (1980), and many more. Directed by Simone Scafidi, the Shudder documentary Dario Argento: Panico sheds light on this legendary filmmaker’s life and his extraordinary filmmaking style. Some of those closest to him like his sister, daughter, and ex-wife, as well as some globally acclaimed directors who had always looked up to his work, appeared in this film to share how Dario became an inspiration for the next generation.
The film opened with Dario Argento being interviewed and filmed in a hotel room, where he was supposed to write the screenplay for his next film. Initially a little bit hesitant to talk,...
The film opened with Dario Argento being interviewed and filmed in a hotel room, where he was supposed to write the screenplay for his next film. Initially a little bit hesitant to talk,...
- 2/2/2024
- by Poulami Nanda
- Film Fugitives
The great Martin Scorsese returned to the Eternal City, accompanied by the star of the moment, Lily Gladstone, as the guests of honor of a gala dinner at the Hotel Hassler by the Spanish steps Wednesday night. The event, honoring Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon and hosted by co-chief of Leone Film Group, Raffaella Leone, daughter of great Italian film director Sergio Leone, and Paolo Del Brocco, head of Rai Cinema, the Italian distributor of Killers. Hot off the film’s 10 Oscar nominations, including a record-setting 10th best director nod for Scorsese and the historic best actress nod for Gladstone as the first Native American nominated in the category, the event was a must-attend for the Italian film scene.
The Hollywood Reporter Roma was the only media outlet admitted to the event, and we were a fly on the wall for the parade of A-list industry guests, which...
The Hollywood Reporter Roma was the only media outlet admitted to the event, and we were a fly on the wall for the parade of A-list industry guests, which...
- 2/1/2024
- by Manuela Santacatterina
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Natasha Lyonne has shared a creepy story about James Woods hitting on her during the filming of Scary Movie 2 as part of a darkly comedic riff on the history of sexual assault in Hollywood that left even Conan O’Brien uncomfortable.
The actor told the story during her recent appearance on the Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast after revisiting her earlier experience with Marlon Brando holding her boob as part of the script for Scary Movie 2 before he dropped out due to illness.
Woods replaced Brando as Father McFeely in the scene, a spoof of The Exorcist in which Lyonne plays Megan Voorhees, a parody of Linda Blair’s possessed character from the original movie. Speaking on the podcast, Lyonne remembered Woods “hitting on me as a teenager in full monster makeup,” adding, “It’s a crazy move, dude.” Watch the segment below.
Lyonne went on to...
The actor told the story during her recent appearance on the Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast after revisiting her earlier experience with Marlon Brando holding her boob as part of the script for Scary Movie 2 before he dropped out due to illness.
Woods replaced Brando as Father McFeely in the scene, a spoof of The Exorcist in which Lyonne plays Megan Voorhees, a parody of Linda Blair’s possessed character from the original movie. Speaking on the podcast, Lyonne remembered Woods “hitting on me as a teenager in full monster makeup,” adding, “It’s a crazy move, dude.” Watch the segment below.
Lyonne went on to...
- 1/25/2024
- by Eddie Fu
- Consequence - Film News
Dashiell Hammett didn't invent detective fiction, he just perfected it — partially because he knew good and goddamn well of what he wrote. The high school dropout landed a gig with the Pinkerton National Detective Agency and evidently saw the worst side of the profession when his employer got fat off industrial cash by assigning their operatives to muscle, if not kill labor organizers. Years later, he laced his first published novel, "Red Harvest," with the bitter conscience of a man who witnessed evil but out of self-preservation did nothing.
Much of Hammett's work stings like a day drunk's swallow of rotgut whiskey, a belt they absorb over and over again to escape the awfulness of a world they cannot change in any meaningful way. The Continental Op eradicating a cluster of cold-blooded thugs with the 20-steps-ahead cool of a chess grandmaster in "Red Harvest" is so satisfying it's provided the foundation for several brilliant films.
Much of Hammett's work stings like a day drunk's swallow of rotgut whiskey, a belt they absorb over and over again to escape the awfulness of a world they cannot change in any meaningful way. The Continental Op eradicating a cluster of cold-blooded thugs with the 20-steps-ahead cool of a chess grandmaster in "Red Harvest" is so satisfying it's provided the foundation for several brilliant films.
- 1/15/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Danny Trejo in director Paul G. Volk’s Western The Night They Came Home. Courtesy of Lionsgate
The Night They Came Home is a western offering that is a pretty good recycling of several classic themes from the oaters of yesteryear. The great Danny Trejo plays the local gravedigger, but most of his screen time is spent telling a young couple from the East the story of the last outlaw gang to be eliminated, ushering in their current relatively civilized era in a wraparound narrative.
It’s the 1890s. The local Creek tribe members are bitter about being driven off their lands and receiving a lot of broken promises. They also resent their children being forced to attend white schools to learn the settlers’ language, culture and religion at the expense of their own. One of them, Rufus Buck (Charlie Townsend) is brilliant, psychotic and charismatic enough to lead a...
The Night They Came Home is a western offering that is a pretty good recycling of several classic themes from the oaters of yesteryear. The great Danny Trejo plays the local gravedigger, but most of his screen time is spent telling a young couple from the East the story of the last outlaw gang to be eliminated, ushering in their current relatively civilized era in a wraparound narrative.
It’s the 1890s. The local Creek tribe members are bitter about being driven off their lands and receiving a lot of broken promises. They also resent their children being forced to attend white schools to learn the settlers’ language, culture and religion at the expense of their own. One of them, Rufus Buck (Charlie Townsend) is brilliant, psychotic and charismatic enough to lead a...
- 1/11/2024
- by Mark Glass
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Willem Dafoe has a face made for film. When the sixty-something actor appears on screen, his prominent cheekbones, wide eyes, and toothy grin are difficult to take your gaze off. Combined with his slender frame and his raspy, gravely, deep voice, the actor’s portrayal of Jesus Christ allegedly prompted Sergio Leone to opine “This is not the face of our Lord, this is the face of Satan!”
Dafoe hasn’t played Satan at all over the course of his career, but he’s certainly played his share of villains, bringing his signature menace to dozens of cinematic crooks and psychopaths. After his first lead role, in Kathryn Bigelow’s 1982 biker drama “The Loveless,” his early parts were largely antagonists to the lead heroes, such as the alluring but frightening criminals in “Streets of Fire” and “To Live and Die in L.A.” The part that arguably brought him the most widespread,...
Dafoe hasn’t played Satan at all over the course of his career, but he’s certainly played his share of villains, bringing his signature menace to dozens of cinematic crooks and psychopaths. After his first lead role, in Kathryn Bigelow’s 1982 biker drama “The Loveless,” his early parts were largely antagonists to the lead heroes, such as the alluring but frightening criminals in “Streets of Fire” and “To Live and Die in L.A.” The part that arguably brought him the most widespread,...
- 1/11/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
The trailer for Giuseppe Tornatore’s documentary on the famed Italian film composer Ennio Morricone has been released ahead of its opening in select US theaters on February 9th, 2024. Watch it below.
Titled Ennio, the film traces Morricone’s career from his early work with Sergio Leone to his first Academy Award for Quentin Tarantino’s 2016 movie The Hateful Eight, including The Good, the Bad and the Ugly; Once Upon a Time in America; Days of Heaven; The Mission; and The Untouchables. It also offered the late composer, who died in 2020, an opportunity to tell his own story and break down his artistic process.
Adding to the portrait of Morricone are interviews with several of his collaborators and contemporaries, including Clint Eastwood, Quentin Tarantino, and Bruce Springsteen. Ennio also features appearances from Oliver Stone, Hans Zimmer, John Williams, Bernardo Bertolucci, Marco Bellocchio, Giuliano Montaldo, Dario Argento, Joan Baez, and more.
Titled Ennio, the film traces Morricone’s career from his early work with Sergio Leone to his first Academy Award for Quentin Tarantino’s 2016 movie The Hateful Eight, including The Good, the Bad and the Ugly; Once Upon a Time in America; Days of Heaven; The Mission; and The Untouchables. It also offered the late composer, who died in 2020, an opportunity to tell his own story and break down his artistic process.
Adding to the portrait of Morricone are interviews with several of his collaborators and contemporaries, including Clint Eastwood, Quentin Tarantino, and Bruce Springsteen. Ennio also features appearances from Oliver Stone, Hans Zimmer, John Williams, Bernardo Bertolucci, Marco Bellocchio, Giuliano Montaldo, Dario Argento, Joan Baez, and more.
- 12/19/2023
- by Eddie Fu
- Consequence - Film News
NYC Weekend Watch is our weekly round-up of repertory offerings.
Film at Lincoln Center
The films of Kijū Yoshida are now playing in a massive retrospective. Read our piece on him here.
Roxy Cinema
A five-film retrospective of Matthew Modine (read my interview here) takes place this weekend, including work by Abel Ferrara, Alan Rudolph, and the man himself.
Museum of the Moving Image
A career-spanning Todd Haynes retrospective begins, with the director present on Friday and Saturday; Robert Altman’s Popeye plays on 35mm this Saturday and Sunday.
Museum of Modern Art
A massive Ennio Morricone retrospective begins, this weekend bringing Sergio Leone’s Dollars trilogy.
Anthology Film Archives
The films of Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project are screening, while Joseph Cornell, Tony Conrad, and Bruce Conner programs run in Essential Cinema; a Hollis Frampton retrospective is also underway.
Film Forum
Michael Powell’s career-killing masterwork Peeping Tom plays in a long-overdue restoration,...
Film at Lincoln Center
The films of Kijū Yoshida are now playing in a massive retrospective. Read our piece on him here.
Roxy Cinema
A five-film retrospective of Matthew Modine (read my interview here) takes place this weekend, including work by Abel Ferrara, Alan Rudolph, and the man himself.
Museum of the Moving Image
A career-spanning Todd Haynes retrospective begins, with the director present on Friday and Saturday; Robert Altman’s Popeye plays on 35mm this Saturday and Sunday.
Museum of Modern Art
A massive Ennio Morricone retrospective begins, this weekend bringing Sergio Leone’s Dollars trilogy.
Anthology Film Archives
The films of Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project are screening, while Joseph Cornell, Tony Conrad, and Bruce Conner programs run in Essential Cinema; a Hollis Frampton retrospective is also underway.
Film Forum
Michael Powell’s career-killing masterwork Peeping Tom plays in a long-overdue restoration,...
- 12/1/2023
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
This year, only six Asian films (in the most broad geographical sense) out of 20 titles competed in the Official Competition of Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. If there is one among them that stood out in quality, that's Batbayar Chogsom's sophomore drama “White Flag”, set up in the breathtaking vast Mongolian steppe surrounded by dramatic, naked mountains.
“White Flag” is screening at Tallinn Black Nights
Batbayar gained international attention with his debut “Out Of Paradise” (2018) that brought him Best Film Awards at the Shanghai International Film Festival, something that he still calls “quite unexpected”. It took five years for the Swiss-Mongolian helmer to make his second movie, mainly due to a couple of unsuccessful attempts to get funding for other projects he wanted to shoot in Switzerland. When fighting for financing proved futile, Batbayar decided to turn his gaze to his native country yet again, and he returned to Mongolia to make another independent,...
“White Flag” is screening at Tallinn Black Nights
Batbayar gained international attention with his debut “Out Of Paradise” (2018) that brought him Best Film Awards at the Shanghai International Film Festival, something that he still calls “quite unexpected”. It took five years for the Swiss-Mongolian helmer to make his second movie, mainly due to a couple of unsuccessful attempts to get funding for other projects he wanted to shoot in Switzerland. When fighting for financing proved futile, Batbayar decided to turn his gaze to his native country yet again, and he returned to Mongolia to make another independent,...
- 11/23/2023
- by Marina D. Richter
- AsianMoviePulse
Martin Scorsese’s sudden social media fame was not by his own doing. A day before he turns 81, Scorsese has revealed that he felt bamboozled — in the most loving way — by his 24-year-old daughter, Francesca, into becoming a TikTok star.
In recent weeks, the filmmaker has appeared in several now-viral videos with his daughter, where he’s been seen learning the definition of “simp” and unwittingly ranking movies, much to the delight of millions. “I was tricked into [TikTok],” Scorsese told the Los Angeles Times. “That was a trick. I didn...
In recent weeks, the filmmaker has appeared in several now-viral videos with his daughter, where he’s been seen learning the definition of “simp” and unwittingly ranking movies, much to the delight of millions. “I was tricked into [TikTok],” Scorsese told the Los Angeles Times. “That was a trick. I didn...
- 11/16/2023
- by Kory Grow
- Rollingstone.com
Italian cinema is in the spotlight at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles where the screening series “Ennio Morricone: Essential Scores from a Movie Maestro,” programmed in partnership with Cinecittà, is currently playing to sold-out audiences.
The Oct. 6-Nov. 25 event comprises 20 titles, including Sergio Leone’s “The Good the Bad and the Ugly” in a new restored print, “Once Upon a Time in the West” (pictured) and Don Siegel’s “Two Mules for Sister Sara,” plus a selection of other works hailing both from the master composer’s native Italy and the U.S.. Among these are Brian De Palma (“The Untouchables”), Terrence Malick (“Days of Heaven”) and Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight,” for which Morricone finally won the the Oscar for best original soundtrack in 2016.
“Hateful Eight” screened at the museum’s David Geffen Theatre in the 70mm “Roadshow” version with an intermission and an overture.
Cinecittà operates...
The Oct. 6-Nov. 25 event comprises 20 titles, including Sergio Leone’s “The Good the Bad and the Ugly” in a new restored print, “Once Upon a Time in the West” (pictured) and Don Siegel’s “Two Mules for Sister Sara,” plus a selection of other works hailing both from the master composer’s native Italy and the U.S.. Among these are Brian De Palma (“The Untouchables”), Terrence Malick (“Days of Heaven”) and Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight,” for which Morricone finally won the the Oscar for best original soundtrack in 2016.
“Hateful Eight” screened at the museum’s David Geffen Theatre in the 70mm “Roadshow” version with an intermission and an overture.
Cinecittà operates...
- 11/16/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Two years in, the Academy Film Museum is rolling full steam ahead with a new programming director and a packed slate of upcoming films for the winter season. On Dec. 10, Christopher Nolan will present the classic Western “Shane” on its 70th anniversary and speak about the film for the George Stevens Lecture.
Other spotlight programs include:
A retrospective film series on “Parasite” actor Song Kang-ho in-person for four conversations starting Dec. 7 A 10th anniversary screening of “12 Years a Slave” on Feb. 25 with Steve McQueen. “3D-cember” with screenings like “Jaws” and “Frozen” in 3D “Works of Enduring Importance: 35 Years of the National Film Registry” starting Dec. 14 “Beware the Elements! Natural Disasters on Film” starting Jan. 4 A screening of 1972’s “Buck and the Preacher” will pay tribute to Harry Belafonte “Echoes of Africia” presents African stories on film from Feb. 1 to Feb. 9
K.J. Relth-Miller just took over as Director of Film...
Other spotlight programs include:
A retrospective film series on “Parasite” actor Song Kang-ho in-person for four conversations starting Dec. 7 A 10th anniversary screening of “12 Years a Slave” on Feb. 25 with Steve McQueen. “3D-cember” with screenings like “Jaws” and “Frozen” in 3D “Works of Enduring Importance: 35 Years of the National Film Registry” starting Dec. 14 “Beware the Elements! Natural Disasters on Film” starting Jan. 4 A screening of 1972’s “Buck and the Preacher” will pay tribute to Harry Belafonte “Echoes of Africia” presents African stories on film from Feb. 1 to Feb. 9
K.J. Relth-Miller just took over as Director of Film...
- 11/8/2023
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
Marina Cicogna, a film producer and one of the first women to establish herself in the traditionally male cinema environment in Italy, died Saturday in Rome. She was 89.
Cicogna produced several important Italian films, including Metti, una Sera a Cena by Giuseppe Patroni Griffi and Indagine su un Cittadino al di Sopra di Ogni Sospetto (Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion) by Elio Petri, with the latter winning the Oscar for best foreign language film in 1971. The New York Times called her “one of the most powerful women in European cinema.”
Her extraordinary experience and career were recounted in 2021 in the documentary film Marina Cicogna. Life and Everything Else by Andrea Bettinetti and in her autobiography, Ancora Spero, released this year by Marsilio Publishing.
Cicogna died with Benedetta Gardona, her companion of more than 30 years, by her side.
Ahead of receiving the 2023 David Award for Lifetime Achievement this year, Cicogna...
Cicogna produced several important Italian films, including Metti, una Sera a Cena by Giuseppe Patroni Griffi and Indagine su un Cittadino al di Sopra di Ogni Sospetto (Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion) by Elio Petri, with the latter winning the Oscar for best foreign language film in 1971. The New York Times called her “one of the most powerful women in European cinema.”
Her extraordinary experience and career were recounted in 2021 in the documentary film Marina Cicogna. Life and Everything Else by Andrea Bettinetti and in her autobiography, Ancora Spero, released this year by Marsilio Publishing.
Cicogna died with Benedetta Gardona, her companion of more than 30 years, by her side.
Ahead of receiving the 2023 David Award for Lifetime Achievement this year, Cicogna...
- 11/6/2023
- by Livia Paccariè
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
One of the hardest things to do in Hollywood is to make a highly anticipated movie sequel that lives up to the original, much less surpasses it. But if you had a loaded six-shooter pressed to your temple and had to answer as quickly and honestly as possible, what would you say the all-time best movie Western sequel happens to be? Sergio Leone’s Dollars trilogy certainly comes to mind as the most sterling example. Yet, in terms of a Western that uses historical events to tell a compelling biographical tale, it’s hard to eclipse the blistering entertainment value of Young Guns II – a movie that continues the saga of William H. Bonney, aka, Billy the Kid, and his gunslinging compatriots, The Regulators, following their valiant efforts fighting in the Lincoln County War. Released two years after the original, Young Guns II became nearly as successful as the original...
- 11/1/2023
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
Burt Young, a former boxer who played the role of Paulie in six Rocky films alongside Sylvester Stallone and received an Oscar nomination for supporting actor for his performance in the 1976 original, has died at the age of 83.
He died on Oct. 8 in Los Angeles, his daughter, Anne Morea Steingieser, confirmed to The New York Times on Wednesday. Stallone shared a tribute to Young on Instagram following news of his death, and wrote: “To my Dear Friend, Burt Young, you were an incredible man’s and artist, I and the...
He died on Oct. 8 in Los Angeles, his daughter, Anne Morea Steingieser, confirmed to The New York Times on Wednesday. Stallone shared a tribute to Young on Instagram following news of his death, and wrote: “To my Dear Friend, Burt Young, you were an incredible man’s and artist, I and the...
- 10/19/2023
- by Charisma Madarang
- Rollingstone.com
Burt Young, who played Paulie in six of the “Rocky” films starring Sylvester Stallone, drawing an Oscar nomination for supporting actor for his performance in the 1976 original, has died, his daughter Anne Morea Steingieser confirmed to the New York Times. He was 83.
Roger Ebert gave Young his props for his performance in the first “Rocky” film: “And Burt Young as (Adrian’s) brother — defeated and resentful, loyal and bitter, caring about people enough to hurt them just to draw attention to his grief.” The New York Times — in an absolutely scathing, completely dismissive review of the film — nevertheless said: “Burt Young is effective as Rocky’s best friend, a beer-guzzling mug.”
Young’s temperamental, jealous but nonetheless loyal and caring Paulie Pennino was Rocky’s best friend — he would defend the Italian Stallion if someone insulted him. But he was a problematic friend who shouts at Adrian during her pregnancy,...
Roger Ebert gave Young his props for his performance in the first “Rocky” film: “And Burt Young as (Adrian’s) brother — defeated and resentful, loyal and bitter, caring about people enough to hurt them just to draw attention to his grief.” The New York Times — in an absolutely scathing, completely dismissive review of the film — nevertheless said: “Burt Young is effective as Rocky’s best friend, a beer-guzzling mug.”
Young’s temperamental, jealous but nonetheless loyal and caring Paulie Pennino was Rocky’s best friend — he would defend the Italian Stallion if someone insulted him. But he was a problematic friend who shouts at Adrian during her pregnancy,...
- 10/19/2023
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
Burt Young, best known to “Rocky” fans as the underdog champion’s best friend Paulie Pennino, died on Oct. 8 at the age of 83, according to The New York Times.
Young earned an Academy Award nomination for his performance as Paulie in the first “Rocky” film in 1976, and reprised the role in the next five films in the series from “Rocky II” in 1979 to “Rocky Balboa” in 2006.
Over the course of the series, Paulie serves as both a positive and negative force in Rocky’s life, helping the boxer get a date with his sister and Rocky’s future wife Adrian, yet regularly mistreating her and never hiding his jealousy at Rocky’s in-ring success. By the time of his final appearance in “Rocky Balboa,” the aging Paulie comes to regret his abusive behavior towards the now-deceased Adrian, and has a much easier relationship with the retired Rocky.
Beyond “Rocky,” Young...
Young earned an Academy Award nomination for his performance as Paulie in the first “Rocky” film in 1976, and reprised the role in the next five films in the series from “Rocky II” in 1979 to “Rocky Balboa” in 2006.
Over the course of the series, Paulie serves as both a positive and negative force in Rocky’s life, helping the boxer get a date with his sister and Rocky’s future wife Adrian, yet regularly mistreating her and never hiding his jealousy at Rocky’s in-ring success. By the time of his final appearance in “Rocky Balboa,” the aging Paulie comes to regret his abusive behavior towards the now-deceased Adrian, and has a much easier relationship with the retired Rocky.
Beyond “Rocky,” Young...
- 10/19/2023
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
Lisandro Alonso’s heady, intoxicating Eureka opens on a pristine beach where a Native American musician sings toward the sun. None of what he says is subtitled, though it’s apparent that his personal history, as well as that of his people, colors every word. When his chant concludes, the man walks slowly inland in one of the protracted transitional sequences in which Alonso specializes. Of all the practitioners of so-called “slow cinema,” the Argentine filmmaker excels at making even the most anti-dramatic actions riveting.
Eventually, the Native singer comes to an overlook where he spots a wagon in the distance. In the back of the vehicle sits a grizzled gunslinger named Murphy (Viggo Mortensen). Up to this point, Eureka has the feel of an ethnographic documentary. But with the arrival of a bona fide movie star, the ambience shifts toward the thorny fantasyland of the American western.
The genre trappings are familiar,...
Eventually, the Native singer comes to an overlook where he spots a wagon in the distance. In the back of the vehicle sits a grizzled gunslinger named Murphy (Viggo Mortensen). Up to this point, Eureka has the feel of an ethnographic documentary. But with the arrival of a bona fide movie star, the ambience shifts toward the thorny fantasyland of the American western.
The genre trappings are familiar,...
- 10/10/2023
- by Keith Uhlich
- Slant Magazine
Veteran screenwriter and lyricist Javed Akhtar has said that the iconic Bollywood film ‘Sholay’ was not based, as was rumoured, on the classic western ‘Once Upon a Time in the West’, which was directed by Sergio Leone. “As I have said, we (Salim and Javed) were influenced by Sergio Leone. But ‘Sholay’ was not based on his epic film. Critics also said ‘Zanjeer’ was based on ‘Dirty Harry’,” Akhtar writes in the recently released book, ‘Talking Life: Javed Akthar in Conversation with Nasreen Munni Kabir’.
He points out that ‘Dirty Harry’ was released in December 1971 and ‘Zanjeer’ in May 1973. It would have been impossible for them in those pre-Google days to have written the screenplay (inspired by ‘Dirty Harry’), and then have the film shot, edited and released in such little time.
“It is all rubbish. No film was a remake or based on any other film,” Akhtar writes.
He...
He points out that ‘Dirty Harry’ was released in December 1971 and ‘Zanjeer’ in May 1973. It would have been impossible for them in those pre-Google days to have written the screenplay (inspired by ‘Dirty Harry’), and then have the film shot, edited and released in such little time.
“It is all rubbish. No film was a remake or based on any other film,” Akhtar writes.
He...
- 9/24/2023
- by Agency News Desk
Veteran screenwriter and lyricist Javed Akhtar has said that the iconic Bollywood film ‘Sholay’ was not based, as was rumoured, on the classic western ‘Once Upon a Time in the West’, which was directed by Sergio Leone. “As I have said, we (Salim and Javed) were influenced by Sergio Leone. But ‘Sholay’ was not based on his epic film. Critics also said ‘Zanjeer’ was based on ‘Dirty Harry’,” Akhtar writes in the recently released book, ‘Talking Life: Javed Akthar in Conversation with Nasreen Munni Kabir’.
He points out that ‘Dirty Harry’ was released in December 1971 and ‘Zanjeer’ in May 1973. It would have been impossible for them in those pre-Google days to have written the screenplay (inspired by ‘Dirty Harry’), and then have the film shot, edited and released in such little time.
“It is all rubbish. No film was a remake or based on any other film,” Akhtar writes.
He...
He points out that ‘Dirty Harry’ was released in December 1971 and ‘Zanjeer’ in May 1973. It would have been impossible for them in those pre-Google days to have written the screenplay (inspired by ‘Dirty Harry’), and then have the film shot, edited and released in such little time.
“It is all rubbish. No film was a remake or based on any other film,” Akhtar writes.
He...
- 9/24/2023
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
Albert Hughes "doesn't want to disrespect" anyone with the new 'John Wick' series.The 51-year-old director is at the helm of 'The Continental: From the World of John Wick' - which serves as a spin-off to the action movie series - and insisted that he never wanted to "copy" the films in the franchise as he insisted that was not what he was hired for in the first place. He told MovieWeb: "I would never want to disrespect by copying, and that's not who I am. They didn't hire me for that. There are plenty of no-talent directors that, if they wanted to push around, they could do that. The truth is there is not enough talent to go around. If they wanted, the copy would have done that. They told me from the start, which I really love, that it was filmmaker-driven! I come from...
- 9/23/2023
- by Jordan Beck
- Bang Showbiz
Fans of Western movies are in for a treat as Prime Video India has added the legendary Dollars Trilogy, starring Clint Eastwood, to its streaming library. The trilogy, directed by Sergio Leone, consists of three films: A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966). The films are widely regarded as the best examples of the Spaghetti Western genre, which refers to Westerns made by Italian filmmakers in Spain.
The trilogy follows the exploits of a mysterious gunslinger, played by Eastwood, who is known as the Man with No Name. He is a master of the quick draw and a man of few words, who often finds himself in the middle of conflicts between rival factions, bounty hunters, and outlaws. He also has a knack for finding hidden treasures and getting into trouble.
For a Few Dollars More Trailer
The first film,...
The trilogy follows the exploits of a mysterious gunslinger, played by Eastwood, who is known as the Man with No Name. He is a master of the quick draw and a man of few words, who often finds himself in the middle of conflicts between rival factions, bounty hunters, and outlaws. He also has a knack for finding hidden treasures and getting into trouble.
For a Few Dollars More Trailer
The first film,...
- 9/22/2023
- by CineArticles Editorial Team
- https://thecinemanews.online/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/IMG_4649
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