The cherished screen team of William Powell and Myrna Loy met “cute” on their first film together, the gritty 1934 “Manhattan Melodrama.” According to TCM.com, first scene in the film required her to run out a building, maneuver through a crowd of people and jump into a car. The film’s director W.S. “Woody” Van Dyke, who was nicknamed “One Take Woody” because of his efficiency, didn’t bother to introduce the actress to Powell. So, when Van Dyke called “action “Loy recalled jumping into the car and landing “smack on William Powell’s lap. He looked up nonchalantly: Miss Loy, I presume?” I said, Mr. Powell? That’s how I met the man who would be my partner in 14 films.”
It was their next film, the smart screwball comedy/mystery “The Thin Man,” which opened May 25, 1934, transformed the couple into top stars at MGM. Directed by Van Dyke...
It was their next film, the smart screwball comedy/mystery “The Thin Man,” which opened May 25, 1934, transformed the couple into top stars at MGM. Directed by Van Dyke...
- 5/20/2024
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
The films in contention for the 2024 Best Cinematography Oscar are “El Conde,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Maestro,” “Oppenheimer,” and “Poor Things.” Our odds currently favor “Oppenheimer” (31/10) taking the prize, followed in order by “Killers of the Flower Moon” (4/1), “Poor Things” (4/1), “Maestro” (9/2), and “El Conde” (9/2).
After 2013 and 2016, this is the third time that a 21st century cinematography lineup has exclusively consisted of previously nominated lensers. This case differs from the preceding two, however, in that none of the current contenders have ever won before. The one with the most losses so far is Rodrigo Prieto, whose bid for “Killers of the Flower Moon” is his third for a Martin Scorsese-directed film, following “Silence” (2017) and “The Irishman” (2020). Having initially earned a notice for his work on “Brokeback Mountain” (2006), he remains the category’s second most recognized Latin American-born nominee behind fellow Mexican Emmanuel Lubezki.
Currently on their respective third nominations...
After 2013 and 2016, this is the third time that a 21st century cinematography lineup has exclusively consisted of previously nominated lensers. This case differs from the preceding two, however, in that none of the current contenders have ever won before. The one with the most losses so far is Rodrigo Prieto, whose bid for “Killers of the Flower Moon” is his third for a Martin Scorsese-directed film, following “Silence” (2017) and “The Irishman” (2020). Having initially earned a notice for his work on “Brokeback Mountain” (2006), he remains the category’s second most recognized Latin American-born nominee behind fellow Mexican Emmanuel Lubezki.
Currently on their respective third nominations...
- 3/6/2024
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
Progress, but not perfect.
Thirty-two percent of the 2024 Oscar nominees are women, tying the all-time high first reached in 2021, a new study by Dr. Stacy L. Smith, the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, and Adobe Foundation has found.
Twenty percent of nominees in the 19 categories (the ones related to feature-film awards) they examined were from an underrepresented racial/ethnic group. That ranks third all-time, behind 2021’s 24 percent and 2019’s 21 percent. Women of color hold 5.7 percent of the nominations in 2024; the all-time high was again in 2021, with 11 percent.
“The study reveals how often the Academy Awards recognize the talent and work of women and people of color,” Dr. Smith said in a statement sent to media. “For those who want to say that the Awards are improving, it is critical to note that in 2024, the percentage of women and people of color nominated for awards in feature categories still falls far below proportional representation.
Thirty-two percent of the 2024 Oscar nominees are women, tying the all-time high first reached in 2021, a new study by Dr. Stacy L. Smith, the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, and Adobe Foundation has found.
Twenty percent of nominees in the 19 categories (the ones related to feature-film awards) they examined were from an underrepresented racial/ethnic group. That ranks third all-time, behind 2021’s 24 percent and 2019’s 21 percent. Women of color hold 5.7 percent of the nominations in 2024; the all-time high was again in 2021, with 11 percent.
“The study reveals how often the Academy Awards recognize the talent and work of women and people of color,” Dr. Smith said in a statement sent to media. “For those who want to say that the Awards are improving, it is critical to note that in 2024, the percentage of women and people of color nominated for awards in feature categories still falls far below proportional representation.
- 3/6/2024
- by Tony Maglio
- Indiewire
Those who fought in World War II are considered the Greatest Generation. And executive producers Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg and Gary Goetzman paid homage to these young men who risked life and limb during the global conflict in their award-winning 2001 HBO series “Band of Brothers” and 2010’s “The Pacific.” And now they’ve taken to the not-so-friendly skies in their latest World War II series, Apple TV +’s “Masters of the Air.”
Created by John Shiban and John Orloff, “Masters of the Air” is based on the 2007 book: “Masters of the Air: America’s Bomber Boys Who Fought the War Against Nazi Germany,” the series starring Austin Butler focuses on the 8th Air Force’s 100th Bomb Group stationed in England. It was known as the “Bloody Hundredth” because of the high causalty rate.
Watching the series, one can’t help but remember the numerous bombardier films produced by Hollywood...
Created by John Shiban and John Orloff, “Masters of the Air” is based on the 2007 book: “Masters of the Air: America’s Bomber Boys Who Fought the War Against Nazi Germany,” the series starring Austin Butler focuses on the 8th Air Force’s 100th Bomb Group stationed in England. It was known as the “Bloody Hundredth” because of the high causalty rate.
Watching the series, one can’t help but remember the numerous bombardier films produced by Hollywood...
- 2/5/2024
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
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
Marisa Pavan, the Italian actress and twin sister of Pier Angeli who received an Oscar nomination for her performance as the daughter of Anna Magnani’s seamstress in the 1955 drama The Rose Tattoo, has died. She was 91.
Pavan died Wednesday in her sleep at her home in Gassin, France, near Saint-Tropez, Margaux Soumoy, who wrote Pavan’s 2021 biography, Drop the Baby; Put a Veil on the Broad!, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Pavan also portrayed the French queen Catherine de’ Medici in Diane (1956), starring Lana Turner; an Italian girl who had an affair years ago with a corporate exec (Gregory Peck) in The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956); and the love interest of a former cop (Tony Curtis) investigating the murder of a priest in the film noir The Midnight Story (1957).
In Paramount’s The Rose Tattoo (1955), an adaptation of the Tennessee Williams play that won four Tony Awards, including best play,...
Pavan died Wednesday in her sleep at her home in Gassin, France, near Saint-Tropez, Margaux Soumoy, who wrote Pavan’s 2021 biography, Drop the Baby; Put a Veil on the Broad!, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Pavan also portrayed the French queen Catherine de’ Medici in Diane (1956), starring Lana Turner; an Italian girl who had an affair years ago with a corporate exec (Gregory Peck) in The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956); and the love interest of a former cop (Tony Curtis) investigating the murder of a priest in the film noir The Midnight Story (1957).
In Paramount’s The Rose Tattoo (1955), an adaptation of the Tennessee Williams play that won four Tony Awards, including best play,...
- 12/6/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The films in contention for the 2023 Best Cinematography Oscar are “All Quiet on the Western Front,” “Bardo,” “Elvis,” “Empire of Light,” and “Tar.” Our odds currently favor “All Quiet on the Western Front” (16/5) taking the prize, followed in order by “Elvis” (39/10), “Tar” (9/2), “Empire of Light” (9/2), and “Bardo” (9/2).
Including his dual bids in 2008, this is the 14th time Roger Deakins (“Empire of Light”) has competed for this award. After finishing first in the 2018 (“Blade Runner 2049”) and 2020 (“1917”) races, he could now become the 11th person to achieve a third cinematography win. This marks his third nomination for a film directed by Sam Mendes, after “Skyfall” (2013) and “1917.”
The only other returning nominee in this group is “Bardo” lenser Darius Khondji, who was first recognized for “Evita” in 1997. He is now the first West Asian cinematographer to earn two academy notices, with the category’s only other generally Asian repeat competitors...
Including his dual bids in 2008, this is the 14th time Roger Deakins (“Empire of Light”) has competed for this award. After finishing first in the 2018 (“Blade Runner 2049”) and 2020 (“1917”) races, he could now become the 11th person to achieve a third cinematography win. This marks his third nomination for a film directed by Sam Mendes, after “Skyfall” (2013) and “1917.”
The only other returning nominee in this group is “Bardo” lenser Darius Khondji, who was first recognized for “Evita” in 1997. He is now the first West Asian cinematographer to earn two academy notices, with the category’s only other generally Asian repeat competitors...
- 3/11/2023
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
In the late 1920s, silent era filmmaking was at the height of its artistry, and Hollywood was one big, debaucherous party. This was the roaring twenties, after all. In fact, it was the depravity — on screen and off — of this era that led to the creation of the Production Code that would handicap studio films for decades to come.
Although many films have paid tribute to these wild, early days like James Ivory’s “The Wild Party” or Michel Hazanavicius’ “The Artist,” few have boasted as impressive a grasp the magic and darkness of its history and mythology as Damien Chazelle’s “Babylon.” This era is a perfect collision of all the Oscar winner’s interests.
In his three-hour epic “Babylon,” the romantic cinephilia of “La La Land” meets the obsessive jazz rhythms of “Whiplash” meets the detailed history of “First Man.” Inspired in part by the racier (though often...
Although many films have paid tribute to these wild, early days like James Ivory’s “The Wild Party” or Michel Hazanavicius’ “The Artist,” few have boasted as impressive a grasp the magic and darkness of its history and mythology as Damien Chazelle’s “Babylon.” This era is a perfect collision of all the Oscar winner’s interests.
In his three-hour epic “Babylon,” the romantic cinephilia of “La La Land” meets the obsessive jazz rhythms of “Whiplash” meets the detailed history of “First Man.” Inspired in part by the racier (though often...
- 12/21/2022
- by Marya E. Gates
- Indiewire
It’s Labor vs. Capital, in basic terms! Sean Connery is the tough, embittered miner looking to strike back against the bosses, and Richard Harris the underdog who sees a way out by becoming an agent provocateur for the Pinkertons. An admirable true-life history lesson, Walter Bernstein & Martin Ritt’s downer of a drama didn’t grab the public’s imagination. But there’s no better vision of the time and place, thanks to James Wong Howe’s realistic, nearly monochromatic cinematography.
The Molly Maguires
Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] 172
1970 / Color / 2:39 widescreen / 124 min. / Street Date October 26, 2022 / Available from Viavision / au 34.95
Starring: Sean Connery, Richard Harris, Samantha Eggar, Frank Finlay, Anthony Zerbe, Philip Bourneuf, Anthony Costello, Bethel Leslie, Brendan Dillon.
Cinematography: James Wong Howe
Art Director: Tambi Larsen
Costumes designed by: Dorothy Jeakins
Film Editor: Frank Bracht
Original Music: Henry Mancini
Written by Walter Bernstein suggested by a book by Arthur H. Lewis
Produced by Walter Bernstein,...
The Molly Maguires
Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] 172
1970 / Color / 2:39 widescreen / 124 min. / Street Date October 26, 2022 / Available from Viavision / au 34.95
Starring: Sean Connery, Richard Harris, Samantha Eggar, Frank Finlay, Anthony Zerbe, Philip Bourneuf, Anthony Costello, Bethel Leslie, Brendan Dillon.
Cinematography: James Wong Howe
Art Director: Tambi Larsen
Costumes designed by: Dorothy Jeakins
Film Editor: Frank Bracht
Original Music: Henry Mancini
Written by Walter Bernstein suggested by a book by Arthur H. Lewis
Produced by Walter Bernstein,...
- 12/6/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Mark of the Vampire
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1935 / 1.33: 1 / 60 Min.
Starring Lionel Barrymore, Bela Lugosi
Written by Guy Endore, Bernard Schubert
Directed by Tod Browning
Tod Browning died in 1962, living long enough to see his work enjoy a resurgence on late night’s Shock Theater, a syndicated TV package featuring Universal’s classic horror films. Browning’s Dracula was one of the crown jewels of that series but if you wanted to see more of the director’s work it probably wouldn’t be on television—his most infamous films were too lurid even for the midnight hour: potboilers populated by deformed and deranged circus performers, bloodthirsty magicians, and cross-dressing ventriloquists.
1932’s Freaks was the ne plus ultra of the Browning shockers, a sawdust soap opera pitting a beautiful prima donna against unorthodox carny performers—”unorthodox” because these folks were, on the surface, strange figures whose physical abberations made them outcasts everywhere except the circus.
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1935 / 1.33: 1 / 60 Min.
Starring Lionel Barrymore, Bela Lugosi
Written by Guy Endore, Bernard Schubert
Directed by Tod Browning
Tod Browning died in 1962, living long enough to see his work enjoy a resurgence on late night’s Shock Theater, a syndicated TV package featuring Universal’s classic horror films. Browning’s Dracula was one of the crown jewels of that series but if you wanted to see more of the director’s work it probably wouldn’t be on television—his most infamous films were too lurid even for the midnight hour: potboilers populated by deformed and deranged circus performers, bloodthirsty magicians, and cross-dressing ventriloquists.
1932’s Freaks was the ne plus ultra of the Browning shockers, a sawdust soap opera pitting a beautiful prima donna against unorthodox carny performers—”unorthodox” because these folks were, on the surface, strange figures whose physical abberations made them outcasts everywhere except the circus.
- 10/11/2022
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Plenty of actors have played Abraham Lincoln well, but the actor still most associated with the role is Raymond Massey, who starred in Robert E. Sherwood’s Pulitzer Prizewinning play. The film version was not a hit, as Sherwood’s aim is to capture the melancholy, even the foreboding, of a man who was a natural for politics. In this reading Lincoln tries to resist his ‘call to greatness’ knowing he’s letting himself in for an unhappy life. The Warner Archive’s restoration retrieves the film from old 16mm prints, restoring James Wong Howe’s handsome cinematography.
Abe Lincoln in Illinois
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1940 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 110 min. / Spirit of the People / Available at Amazon.com / General site Wac-Amazon / Street Date , 2022 / 21.99
Starring:
Raymond Massey, Gene Lockhart, Ruth Gordon, Mary Howard, Minor Watson, Alan Baxter, Harvey Stephens, Howard da Silva, Dorothy Tree, Louis Jean Heydt, Clem Bevans, Herbert Rudley,...
Abe Lincoln in Illinois
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1940 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 110 min. / Spirit of the People / Available at Amazon.com / General site Wac-Amazon / Street Date , 2022 / 21.99
Starring:
Raymond Massey, Gene Lockhart, Ruth Gordon, Mary Howard, Minor Watson, Alan Baxter, Harvey Stephens, Howard da Silva, Dorothy Tree, Louis Jean Heydt, Clem Bevans, Herbert Rudley,...
- 9/3/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
Before we highlight this week’s picks, I want to give a special shout-out to our newly-launched Twitter account for Michael Snydel’s podcast Intermission. He’s sharing daily, well-curated streaming recommendations, so be sure to give it a follow!
Burial (Ben Parker)
From Tarantino to Mann to Marvel, mining Word War II for fictional storytelling purposes is nothing new in cinema. The latest to take the leap is Ben Parker’s Burial, a staid action thriller following Russian soldiers who are transporting the corpse of Hitler back to their homeland, per Stalin’s request. While Parker suggests some interesting ideas about conflicted nationalism at the end of a war, and he gets the table-setting right when it comes to mood, Burial...
Before we highlight this week’s picks, I want to give a special shout-out to our newly-launched Twitter account for Michael Snydel’s podcast Intermission. He’s sharing daily, well-curated streaming recommendations, so be sure to give it a follow!
Burial (Ben Parker)
From Tarantino to Mann to Marvel, mining Word War II for fictional storytelling purposes is nothing new in cinema. The latest to take the leap is Ben Parker’s Burial, a staid action thriller following Russian soldiers who are transporting the corpse of Hitler back to their homeland, per Stalin’s request. While Parker suggests some interesting ideas about conflicted nationalism at the end of a war, and he gets the table-setting right when it comes to mood, Burial...
- 9/2/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
by Cláudio Alves
Arthur Dong's documentary Hollywood Chinese, about the complicated history of Chinese and Chinese American lives on the big screen, serves as a starting point for one of the Criterion Channel's new collections. Spanning over a century of American filmmaking and 24 films, this curated program highlights issues of representation, racism, erasure, and more. At the same time, it serves as a chance to illuminate the cinematic contributions of marginalized artists who found unlikely success in Hollywood. They were people like the Chinese-American cinematographer James Wong Howe, Taiwanese director Ang Lee, and Hong Kong-born American actress and dancer Nancy Kwan.
In 1960, Kwan made her film debut in Richard Quine's The World of Suzie Wong, became an overnight star, and surely came closer to that elusive Best Actress Oscar nomination than most performers of Asian descent…...
Arthur Dong's documentary Hollywood Chinese, about the complicated history of Chinese and Chinese American lives on the big screen, serves as a starting point for one of the Criterion Channel's new collections. Spanning over a century of American filmmaking and 24 films, this curated program highlights issues of representation, racism, erasure, and more. At the same time, it serves as a chance to illuminate the cinematic contributions of marginalized artists who found unlikely success in Hollywood. They were people like the Chinese-American cinematographer James Wong Howe, Taiwanese director Ang Lee, and Hong Kong-born American actress and dancer Nancy Kwan.
In 1960, Kwan made her film debut in Richard Quine's The World of Suzie Wong, became an overnight star, and surely came closer to that elusive Best Actress Oscar nomination than most performers of Asian descent…...
- 8/23/2022
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
Cinematography retrospectives are the way to go—more than a thorough display of talent, it exposes the vast expanse a Dp will travel, like an education in form and business all the same. Accordingly I’m happy to see the Criterion Channel give a 25-film tribute to James Wong Howe, whose career spanned silent cinema to the ’70s, populated with work by Howard Hawks, Michael Curtz, Samuel Fuller, Alexander Mackendrick, Sydney Pollack, John Frankenheimer, and Raoul Walsh.
Further retrospectives are granted to Romy Schneider (recent repertory sensation La piscine among them), Carlos Saura (finally a chance to see Peppermint frappe!), the British New Wave, and groundbreaking distributor Cinema 5, who brought to U.S. shores everything from The Man Who Fell to Earth and Putney Swope to Pumping Iron and Scenes from a Marriage.
September also yields streaming premieres for the recently restored Bronco Bullfrog, Ang Lee’s Pushing Hands,...
Further retrospectives are granted to Romy Schneider (recent repertory sensation La piscine among them), Carlos Saura (finally a chance to see Peppermint frappe!), the British New Wave, and groundbreaking distributor Cinema 5, who brought to U.S. shores everything from The Man Who Fell to Earth and Putney Swope to Pumping Iron and Scenes from a Marriage.
September also yields streaming premieres for the recently restored Bronco Bullfrog, Ang Lee’s Pushing Hands,...
- 8/22/2022
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
NYC Weekend Watch is our weekly round-up of repertory offerings.
Film at Lincoln Center
The 4K Lost Highway restoration begins its run as a 20-film Dario Argento retrospective continues.
Roxy Cinema
Scanners plays on 35mm Friday night; on Saturday, a print of Marie Antoinette screens, Steve Gunn plays live music over some of the greatest films ever made—Ken Jacobs, Shirley Clarke, Maya Deren—and Nick Pinkerton and Sean Price Williams’ secret-screening series “City Dudes” returns; Merchant-Ivory’s Maurice plays Saturday and Sunday, while on the latter day a mixture of digital and 16mm shorts shows for Pride.
Anthology Film Archives
Essential Cinema has a Warhol double on Friday, while “Imageless Films” returns.
Museum of Modern Art
One of the year’s great retrospectives looks at deep cuts of Shochiku Studios, while a slashers retrospective is underway.
Film Forum
A 35mm print of Diva continues, while The Discreet Charm of...
Film at Lincoln Center
The 4K Lost Highway restoration begins its run as a 20-film Dario Argento retrospective continues.
Roxy Cinema
Scanners plays on 35mm Friday night; on Saturday, a print of Marie Antoinette screens, Steve Gunn plays live music over some of the greatest films ever made—Ken Jacobs, Shirley Clarke, Maya Deren—and Nick Pinkerton and Sean Price Williams’ secret-screening series “City Dudes” returns; Merchant-Ivory’s Maurice plays Saturday and Sunday, while on the latter day a mixture of digital and 16mm shorts shows for Pride.
Anthology Film Archives
Essential Cinema has a Warhol double on Friday, while “Imageless Films” returns.
Museum of Modern Art
One of the year’s great retrospectives looks at deep cuts of Shochiku Studios, while a slashers retrospective is underway.
Film Forum
A 35mm print of Diva continues, while The Discreet Charm of...
- 6/23/2022
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
NYC Weekend Watch is our weekly round-up of repertory offerings.
Film at Lincoln Center
A 20-film Dario Argento retrospective has begun.
Roxy Cinema
Videodrome plays on Friday and Saturday, while a print of The Fly screens Friday and Sunday; to highlight some of Will Smith’s best onscreen work, prints of Bad Boys II and Ali show on Saturday and Sunday, respectively; indie classic In the Soup plays on Friday with a director Q&a; William Lustig presents his film Vigilante on 35mm this Saturday.
Anthology Film Archives
Essential Cinema has Orson Welles and Jean Vigo, while a tribute to the long-ignored Dore O. is underway.
Museum of Modern Art
One of the year’s great retrospectives looks at deep cuts of Shochiku Studios.
Japan Society
The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl shows Friday.
Film Forum
A 35mm print of Diva continues, while Montgomery Clift is given a retro...
Film at Lincoln Center
A 20-film Dario Argento retrospective has begun.
Roxy Cinema
Videodrome plays on Friday and Saturday, while a print of The Fly screens Friday and Sunday; to highlight some of Will Smith’s best onscreen work, prints of Bad Boys II and Ali show on Saturday and Sunday, respectively; indie classic In the Soup plays on Friday with a director Q&a; William Lustig presents his film Vigilante on 35mm this Saturday.
Anthology Film Archives
Essential Cinema has Orson Welles and Jean Vigo, while a tribute to the long-ignored Dore O. is underway.
Museum of Modern Art
One of the year’s great retrospectives looks at deep cuts of Shochiku Studios.
Japan Society
The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl shows Friday.
Film Forum
A 35mm print of Diva continues, while Montgomery Clift is given a retro...
- 6/17/2022
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
NYC Weekend Watch is our weekly round-up of repertory offerings.
Roxy Cinema
Three by Abel Ferrara—Mary, Go Go Tales, and The Funeral—are on 35mm while the director presents his cut of Welcome to New York; this Friday a 16mm print of Deep Throat and 35mm of The Warriors are both available.
Museum of Modern Art
One of the year’s great retrospectives looks at deep cuts of Shochiku Studios.
Japan Society
A print of Kurosawa’s Kagemusha shows Friday.
Film Forum
35mms print of Brooke Adams-starrer Vengeance Is Mine and Diva screen, while Montgomery Clift is given a retro featuring the greatest of Old Hollywood; Creature from the Black Lagoon plays in 3D this Sunday.
Museum of the Moving Image
Miami Vice and The Insider show on 35mm for “Mann to Mann: The Manly Melodramas of Michael Mann,” while the great Dp James Wong Howe is given his dues in a new retrospective.
Roxy Cinema
Three by Abel Ferrara—Mary, Go Go Tales, and The Funeral—are on 35mm while the director presents his cut of Welcome to New York; this Friday a 16mm print of Deep Throat and 35mm of The Warriors are both available.
Museum of Modern Art
One of the year’s great retrospectives looks at deep cuts of Shochiku Studios.
Japan Society
A print of Kurosawa’s Kagemusha shows Friday.
Film Forum
35mms print of Brooke Adams-starrer Vengeance Is Mine and Diva screen, while Montgomery Clift is given a retro featuring the greatest of Old Hollywood; Creature from the Black Lagoon plays in 3D this Sunday.
Museum of the Moving Image
Miami Vice and The Insider show on 35mm for “Mann to Mann: The Manly Melodramas of Michael Mann,” while the great Dp James Wong Howe is given his dues in a new retrospective.
- 6/10/2022
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Thanks to gossip columnists, movie goers needed just one look at the title to know who starred in Death of a Scoundrel. George Sanders’s scandalous reputation was perfect fodder for this cheeky melodrama about a murdered gigolo and his long line of jilted lovers, and it’s helped by a beautiful line up of suspects including Zsa Zsa Gabor (Sanders’ real-life ex-wife) and Yvonne de Carlo. Director Charles Martin also wrote and produced the film and had the good taste to hire the brilliant James Wong Howe as his cinematographer.
The post Death of a Scoundrel appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
The post Death of a Scoundrel appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
- 6/6/2022
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
NYC Weekend Watch is our weekly round-up of repertory offerings.
Film Forum
As new 35mm print of Brooke Adams-starrer Vengeance Is Mine screens, Montgomery Clift is given a retro featuring the greatest of Old Hollywood; the restoration of Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Distant continues; The Music Man screens this Sunday.
Museum of the Moving Image
Heat, Miami Vice, and Collateral all screen on 35mm for “Mann to Mann: The Manly Melodramas of Michael Mann,” while the great Dp James Wong Howe is given his dues in a new retrospective.
Film at Lincoln Center
A career-spanning Mike Leigh retro continues.
Japan Society
A print of Ozu’s Good Morning screens on Friday.
Roxy Cinema
Prints of Wild at Heart, Shivers, and M. Butterfly screen.
IFC Center
As the restoration of Inland Empire continues, Mulholland Dr., Perfect Blue, Paprika, and Enter the Void have late-night showings.
Metrograph
Wanda and Ozu’s Equinox...
Film Forum
As new 35mm print of Brooke Adams-starrer Vengeance Is Mine screens, Montgomery Clift is given a retro featuring the greatest of Old Hollywood; the restoration of Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Distant continues; The Music Man screens this Sunday.
Museum of the Moving Image
Heat, Miami Vice, and Collateral all screen on 35mm for “Mann to Mann: The Manly Melodramas of Michael Mann,” while the great Dp James Wong Howe is given his dues in a new retrospective.
Film at Lincoln Center
A career-spanning Mike Leigh retro continues.
Japan Society
A print of Ozu’s Good Morning screens on Friday.
Roxy Cinema
Prints of Wild at Heart, Shivers, and M. Butterfly screen.
IFC Center
As the restoration of Inland Empire continues, Mulholland Dr., Perfect Blue, Paprika, and Enter the Void have late-night showings.
Metrograph
Wanda and Ozu’s Equinox...
- 6/2/2022
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSTriangle of Sadness.The Cannes Film Festival wrapped its 75th edition on Saturday. Ruben Östlund won his second Palme d'Or for his yacht-shipwreck class farce Triangle of Sadness, while other major awards went to Claire Denis, Jerzy Skolimowski, and Park Chan-wook. Visit our coverage roundup to peruse the complete list of winners, our Top 10 poll from Notebook contributors, and our series of festival correspondences.In other festival news, Sabzian compiled an overview of the "restructuring" at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) in the wake of significant programming layoffs.On October 25, Quentin Tarantino will publish a nonfiction book called Cinema Speculation, a critical memoir of his cinemagoing throughout the 1970s. This comes one year after his novelization of Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood.Erika Balsom and Genevieve Yue will be the co-editors of Cutaways,...
- 6/2/2022
- MUBI
NYC Weekend Watch is our weekly round-up of repertory offerings.
Film at Lincoln Center
A career-spanning Mike Leigh retro is underway, with the director appearing for Naked, Secrets & Lies, and Topsy-Turvy.
Japan Society
A print of The Animatrix will screen for possibly the first time ever in New York.
Museum of the Moving Image
Heat, Miami Vice, The Insider, and Collateral all screen on 35mm for “Mann to Mann: The Manly Melodramas of Michael Mann,” while Isao Takahata’s early feature Panda! Go Panda! plays and the great Dp James Wong Howe is given his dues in a new retrospective.
Roxy Cinema
On Friday, Desire will perform a concert that precedes a print of Drive, while he 35mm-heavy David Cronenberg retro continues, with The Dead Zone playing all weekend and Cosmopolis screening Saturday and Sunday.
Film Forum
A new 35mm print of Brooke Adams-starrer Vengeance Is Mine screens; the...
Film at Lincoln Center
A career-spanning Mike Leigh retro is underway, with the director appearing for Naked, Secrets & Lies, and Topsy-Turvy.
Japan Society
A print of The Animatrix will screen for possibly the first time ever in New York.
Museum of the Moving Image
Heat, Miami Vice, The Insider, and Collateral all screen on 35mm for “Mann to Mann: The Manly Melodramas of Michael Mann,” while Isao Takahata’s early feature Panda! Go Panda! plays and the great Dp James Wong Howe is given his dues in a new retrospective.
Roxy Cinema
On Friday, Desire will perform a concert that precedes a print of Drive, while he 35mm-heavy David Cronenberg retro continues, with The Dead Zone playing all weekend and Cosmopolis screening Saturday and Sunday.
Film Forum
A new 35mm print of Brooke Adams-starrer Vengeance Is Mine screens; the...
- 5/26/2022
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Outside of exceptions like "Citizen Kane" cinematographer Gregg Toland, the role of the director of photography in classic Hollywood was fairly anonymous. No matter the impact of their work on the public consciousness or their sculpting of unforgettable images, their names have historically been left out of the public discourse — being remembered by pocket communities of dedicated film historians or industry veterans who were influenced by their work. As James Wong Howe would say in a 1945 op-ed in "The Screen Writer," "when the photography of a picture is good, the critic usually praises the director for his understanding and handling of the...
The post The Chinese-Born Cinematographer Who Shaped Hollywood As We Know It appeared first on /Film.
The post The Chinese-Born Cinematographer Who Shaped Hollywood As We Know It appeared first on /Film.
- 5/23/2022
- by Anthony Crislip
- Slash Film
NYC Weekend Watch is our weekly round-up of repertory offerings.
Roxy Cinema
A 35mm-heavy David Cronenberg retro is underway, with Dead Ringers playing Friday and Naked Lunch on Sunday; a print of The Blair Witch Project plays Saturday; on Sunday a 16mm double-bill programmed by J. Hoberman will screen.
Film Forum
A restoration of Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Distant has begun, while Jean-Jacques Beineix’s Diva continues on 35mm and Kiki’s Delivery Service screens this Sunday.
IFC Center
Johnnie To’s The Heroic Trio plays in a restoration as the Gaspar Noé retrospective continues; the new restorations of Inland Empire and Mississippi Masala continue; Mulholland Dr., Perfect Blue, Scanners, and Paprika have late-night showings.
Japan Society
Terror of Yakuza and Untamagiru play in the incredible new series “Okinawa in Focus,” which you can see a trailer for here.
Museum of the Moving Image
The great Dp James Wong Howe...
Roxy Cinema
A 35mm-heavy David Cronenberg retro is underway, with Dead Ringers playing Friday and Naked Lunch on Sunday; a print of The Blair Witch Project plays Saturday; on Sunday a 16mm double-bill programmed by J. Hoberman will screen.
Film Forum
A restoration of Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Distant has begun, while Jean-Jacques Beineix’s Diva continues on 35mm and Kiki’s Delivery Service screens this Sunday.
IFC Center
Johnnie To’s The Heroic Trio plays in a restoration as the Gaspar Noé retrospective continues; the new restorations of Inland Empire and Mississippi Masala continue; Mulholland Dr., Perfect Blue, Scanners, and Paprika have late-night showings.
Japan Society
Terror of Yakuza and Untamagiru play in the incredible new series “Okinawa in Focus,” which you can see a trailer for here.
Museum of the Moving Image
The great Dp James Wong Howe...
- 5/19/2022
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
NYC Weekend Watch is our weekly round-up of repertory offerings. On the subject of Metrograph’s “It Happens to Us,” we also encourage donations to local abortion funds, while the theater will be donating 50 of all proceeds from ticket sales towards Naral Pro-Choice America and additional U.S. reproductive rights orgs.
Japan Society
Films by Chris Marker and Nagisa Oshima play in the incredible new series “Okinawa in Focus,” which you can see a trailer for here.
Museum of the Moving Image
The great Dp James Wong Howe is given his dues in a new retrospective, while Coming to America and war films by John Huston and John Ford both screen on Sunday.
Roxy Cinema
2046 screens on 35mm this Sunday, while a print of Wild at Heart shows Friday and Sunday; Friday the 13th Part IV shows on 35mm this Friday.
Metrograph
Emma Myers has curated “It Happens to Us,...
Japan Society
Films by Chris Marker and Nagisa Oshima play in the incredible new series “Okinawa in Focus,” which you can see a trailer for here.
Museum of the Moving Image
The great Dp James Wong Howe is given his dues in a new retrospective, while Coming to America and war films by John Huston and John Ford both screen on Sunday.
Roxy Cinema
2046 screens on 35mm this Sunday, while a print of Wild at Heart shows Friday and Sunday; Friday the 13th Part IV shows on 35mm this Friday.
Metrograph
Emma Myers has curated “It Happens to Us,...
- 5/13/2022
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSAbove: Titane (2021).Actor Vincent Lindon has been announced as the president of this year's Cannes competition jury, leading a group that includes Rebecca Hall, Deepika Padukone, Jeff Nichols, and Joachim Trier. The festival has also added several pleasant surprises to the lineup: films by Serge Bozon, Albert Serra, Louis Garrel, Patricio Guzmán, and more.Subscribe to our limited-edition, print-only Notebook magazine by April 30 to secure your copy of Issue 1, featuring a conversation between Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Yoshitomo Nara, a carte blanche contribution by Christopher Doyle, and much more.Recommended VIEWINGAbove: I Know Where I'm Going! (1945) .Martin Scorsese's Film Foundation has launched a virtual screening room for restored films, called the Restoration Screening Room. The fun begins with Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's 1945 film I Know Where I'm Going!, which will be available for...
- 4/27/2022
- MUBI
The Oscar nominees luncheon is always a feel-good event where everyone in the room is still a winner, happy to see their category rivals and others, and the one time in a tense season where they can just lay back and have a great time.
“For me this is just a fun thing to go to. People talk about is it Will [Smith] or me or Andrew Garfield. It could be anyone, but I am just happy at this point to be invited to the party,” Denzel Washington told me Monday as he waited for his car after the luncheon for nominees of the 94th annual Academy Awards. He also noted that the live music being spun by the DJ just made it all that much better as he practically danced up to get his photo taken with other nominees.
You could tell in this room everyone was happy, and in...
“For me this is just a fun thing to go to. People talk about is it Will [Smith] or me or Andrew Garfield. It could be anyone, but I am just happy at this point to be invited to the party,” Denzel Washington told me Monday as he waited for his car after the luncheon for nominees of the 94th annual Academy Awards. He also noted that the live music being spun by the DJ just made it all that much better as he practically danced up to get his photo taken with other nominees.
You could tell in this room everyone was happy, and in...
- 3/8/2022
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
The public considers the Academy Awards as a Hollywood event. True, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences is headquartered in Southern California, and most of the best pic contenders are American and/or in the English language. But Oscar history proves they have been an international event from the beginning.
In the first year (1927-28), there were nominations for directors Herbert Brenon (born in Ireland) and Lewis Milestone (born in Moldova), plus a special award to Charlie Chaplin (from the U.K.).
The next five years saw two noms apiece for directors Ernst Lubitsch (Germany) and Josef von Sternberg (Austria). And the second best actress Academy Award was given to Canadian Mary Pickford.
The early years of Oscar featured a slew of non-Americans. Aside from mega-star Chaplin, the list of early Academy Award winners includes Emil Jannings, George Arliss (U.K.), Claudette Colbert (raised in the U.S. but...
In the first year (1927-28), there were nominations for directors Herbert Brenon (born in Ireland) and Lewis Milestone (born in Moldova), plus a special award to Charlie Chaplin (from the U.K.).
The next five years saw two noms apiece for directors Ernst Lubitsch (Germany) and Josef von Sternberg (Austria). And the second best actress Academy Award was given to Canadian Mary Pickford.
The early years of Oscar featured a slew of non-Americans. Aside from mega-star Chaplin, the list of early Academy Award winners includes Emil Jannings, George Arliss (U.K.), Claudette Colbert (raised in the U.S. but...
- 1/22/2022
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
Cinematographer Alexander Dynan got to know director Paul Schrader working on “First Reformed” and an earlier film, “Dog Eat Dog.”
Dynan developed a shorthand with Schrader and with colorist Tim Merick that helped him light and color Schrader’s “The Card Counter,” which is in cinemas now.
Told in an urgent, immersive style, the film follows William (Oscar Issac), a lonely and tortured man who once served at Abu Ghraib. He exists in a kind of purgatory, so the drab and monotonous backdrop of casinos mirrors his conflicted soul. Flipping between the drab suburban landscape of the present and hallucinatory visions of the prison, Dynan turned to inspirations from Schrader’s lodestar, Robert Bresson, to VR videos to Caravaggio to help deliver Schrader’s vision.
This is your third collaboration with Paul, can you share a little about your shorthand and how that works?
On “First Reformed,” we really established a visual language.
Dynan developed a shorthand with Schrader and with colorist Tim Merick that helped him light and color Schrader’s “The Card Counter,” which is in cinemas now.
Told in an urgent, immersive style, the film follows William (Oscar Issac), a lonely and tortured man who once served at Abu Ghraib. He exists in a kind of purgatory, so the drab and monotonous backdrop of casinos mirrors his conflicted soul. Flipping between the drab suburban landscape of the present and hallucinatory visions of the prison, Dynan turned to inspirations from Schrader’s lodestar, Robert Bresson, to VR videos to Caravaggio to help deliver Schrader’s vision.
This is your third collaboration with Paul, can you share a little about your shorthand and how that works?
On “First Reformed,” we really established a visual language.
- 9/12/2021
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
Errol Flynn goes to war! One of the last major direct-combat pictures to come out of Hollywood during the war, Raoul Walsh’s finely-crafted ode to the jungle fighters in Burma lets loose a powerful, almost frightening blast of anti-Japanese rage. Errol Flynn earned his pay slugging it out through the swamps, George Tobias provides the Brooklyn humor and Henry Hull the outrage over combat atrocities. And the English were none too happy either, claiming that the movie made it look as if America had done the heavy fighting in what was largely a Brit field of battle.
Objective, Burma!
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1945 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 142 min. / Street Date July 13, 2021 / 21.99
Starring: Errol Flynn, James Brown, William Prince, George Tobias, Henry Hull, Warner Anderson, John Alvin, Mark Stevens, Richard Erdman, Anthony Caruso, Erville Anderson, Hugh Beaumont, Douglas Henderson, William Hudson, Rodd Redwing, George Tyne.
Cinematography: James Wong Howe
Art...
Objective, Burma!
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1945 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 142 min. / Street Date July 13, 2021 / 21.99
Starring: Errol Flynn, James Brown, William Prince, George Tobias, Henry Hull, Warner Anderson, John Alvin, Mark Stevens, Richard Erdman, Anthony Caruso, Erville Anderson, Hugh Beaumont, Douglas Henderson, William Hudson, Rodd Redwing, George Tyne.
Cinematography: James Wong Howe
Art...
- 7/31/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Ann Sheridan specialized in tough but good-hearted cookies—in Vincent Sherman’s 1947 thriller that good heart is sorely tested. Sheridan plays Nora Prentiss, a nightclub singer who falls into an uneasy affair with a surgeon played by Kent Smith. Things go off the rails when the volatile doctor fakes his death and takes Nora along for the ride. James Wong Howe’s cinematography is the ne plus ultra of noir lighting.
The post Nora Prentiss appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
The post Nora Prentiss appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
- 6/7/2021
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Howard Hawks’ early sound picture is a worthy prison drama — with top performances from Walter Huston and Boris Karloff, both just as their film careers began to take off. Huston shows the screen how a stage actor can take command: his Da-turned warden character is corrupt yet retains his air of authority. Karloff’s convict seethes with raw menace, and Hawks uses him better than anyone except James Whale. That ‘other’ Code, the Production Code, found this show to be unbearably tense — even though all the brutality happens off-screen, violence is soaked into every scene.
The Criminal Code
Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1930 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 97 min. / Street Date March 22, 2021 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £15.99
Starring: Walter Huston, Phillips Holmes, Constance Cummings, Boris Karloff, DeWitt Jennings, Mary Doran, Ethel Wales, Clark Marshall, Arthur Hoyt, John St. Polis, Paul Porcasi, Andy Devine.
Cinematography: James Wong Howe, Ted Tetzlaff
Film Editor: Edward Curtis...
The Criminal Code
Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1930 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 97 min. / Street Date March 22, 2021 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £15.99
Starring: Walter Huston, Phillips Holmes, Constance Cummings, Boris Karloff, DeWitt Jennings, Mary Doran, Ethel Wales, Clark Marshall, Arthur Hoyt, John St. Polis, Paul Porcasi, Andy Devine.
Cinematography: James Wong Howe, Ted Tetzlaff
Film Editor: Edward Curtis...
- 3/13/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Robert F. Liu, the China-born cinematographer who received Emmy nominations for his work on Lou Grant and Family Ties, died Sunday, the American Society of Cinematographers announced. He was 94.
Liu, who arrived in the U.S. from Taiwan in 1959 and was mentored by a pair of esteemed Oscar winners — director Robert Wise and cinematographer James Wong Howe — shot episodes of other series like The Duck Factory, The Nanny, Hardcastle & McCormick and The Steve Harvey Show during his career.
For the CBS newspaper drama Lou Grant, Liu photographed 68 episodes over three seasons from 1979-82, and for Family Ties, he shot 100 installments of the NBC ...
Liu, who arrived in the U.S. from Taiwan in 1959 and was mentored by a pair of esteemed Oscar winners — director Robert Wise and cinematographer James Wong Howe — shot episodes of other series like The Duck Factory, The Nanny, Hardcastle & McCormick and The Steve Harvey Show during his career.
For the CBS newspaper drama Lou Grant, Liu photographed 68 episodes over three seasons from 1979-82, and for Family Ties, he shot 100 installments of the NBC ...
- 1/13/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Robert F. Liu, the China-born cinematographer who received Emmy nominations for his work on Lou Grant and Family Ties, died Sunday, the American Society of Cinematographers announced. He was 94.
Liu, who arrived in the U.S. from Taiwan in 1959 and was mentored by a pair of esteemed Oscar winners — director Robert Wise and cinematographer James Wong Howe — shot episodes of other series like The Duck Factory, The Nanny, Hardcastle & McCormick and The Steve Harvey Show during his career.
For the CBS newspaper drama Lou Grant, Liu photographed 68 episodes over three seasons from 1979-82, and for Family Ties, he shot 100 installments of the NBC ...
Liu, who arrived in the U.S. from Taiwan in 1959 and was mentored by a pair of esteemed Oscar winners — director Robert Wise and cinematographer James Wong Howe — shot episodes of other series like The Duck Factory, The Nanny, Hardcastle & McCormick and The Steve Harvey Show during his career.
For the CBS newspaper drama Lou Grant, Liu photographed 68 episodes over three seasons from 1979-82, and for Family Ties, he shot 100 installments of the NBC ...
- 1/13/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
“You’re an unprincipled man,” the old rancher tells his reckless, short-tempered son. “You live just for yourself.” The younger one has just proposed quickly selling their large herd of diseased cattle before word gets out about the animals’ sickness, a despicable notion that takes his father aback. “It doesn’t take long to kill things,” the patriarch admonishes him. “Not like it does to grow.”
Not about to let his wild, narcissistic kid off the hook quite yet, the straight-talking old-timer further upbraids his selfish offspring for his penchant for lying in order to avoid consequences. “Little by little the look of the country changes because of the men we admire,” says the wizened man, who can now see nothing good lying beyond the horizon, beginning with his impatient progeny.
The scene is from Hud, the 1963 modern Western in which Paul Newman excelled as a short-tempered cad with little...
Not about to let his wild, narcissistic kid off the hook quite yet, the straight-talking old-timer further upbraids his selfish offspring for his penchant for lying in order to avoid consequences. “Little by little the look of the country changes because of the men we admire,” says the wizened man, who can now see nothing good lying beyond the horizon, beginning with his impatient progeny.
The scene is from Hud, the 1963 modern Western in which Paul Newman excelled as a short-tempered cad with little...
- 8/12/2020
- by Todd McCarthy
- Deadline Film + TV
In the history of civilization, no one has ever been consoled by the thought “Other people have had it worse than you.”
In 2020, the pandemic has been devastating, with deaths, illness, unemployment and economic turmoil. But as we observe the 75th anniversaries of V-e and V-j Day, it’s worth remembering that people during World War II experienced all these things and more — including widespread destruction of buildings, homes and even towns.
Variety in 1942 carried a story about Nazis destroying the Czech town of Lidice. During the war years, Variety reported on wholesale devastation to numerous places including the Republic of Formosa (Taiwan today) and Aachen (aka Aix la Chapelle) to name a few. And while we now complain that we can’t go to movie theaters, at least these venues still exist; on April 4, 1945, Variety said that the 400 pre-war cinemas in Berlin had been reduced to 31, with the rest bombed out.
In 2020, the pandemic has been devastating, with deaths, illness, unemployment and economic turmoil. But as we observe the 75th anniversaries of V-e and V-j Day, it’s worth remembering that people during World War II experienced all these things and more — including widespread destruction of buildings, homes and even towns.
Variety in 1942 carried a story about Nazis destroying the Czech town of Lidice. During the war years, Variety reported on wholesale devastation to numerous places including the Republic of Formosa (Taiwan today) and Aachen (aka Aix la Chapelle) to name a few. And while we now complain that we can’t go to movie theaters, at least these venues still exist; on April 4, 1945, Variety said that the 400 pre-war cinemas in Berlin had been reduced to 31, with the rest bombed out.
- 5/15/2020
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
Make way for the parade! Featuring Brian Trenchard-Smith, Eli Roth, Katt Shea, Thomas Jane, our very own Don Barrett and Blaire Bercy from the Hollywood Food Coalition.
Please support the Hollywood Food Coalition. Text “Give” to 323.402.5704 or visit https://hofoco.org/donate!
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Screams of a Winter Night (1979)
Goodbye Bruce Lee: His Last Game Of Death (1975)
I Think We’re Alone Now (2018)
The Rhythm Section (2020)
Atomic Blonde (2017)
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (1965)
The Ipcress File (1965)
Funeral In Berlin (1966)
Extraction (2020)
Kung Fu Hustle (2004)
The Mermaid (2016)
Oklahoma! (1955)
Singin’ In The Rain (1953)
Nightcrawler (2014)
I Think We’re Alone Now (2008)
Ghetto Freaks a.k.a. Sign of Aquarius (1970)
Hostel (2005)
Cabin Fever (2002)
Final Cut: Ladies And Gentlemen (2012)
The Movie Orgy (1968)
Gremlins (1984)
The Goonies (1985)
Hell of the Living Dead a.k.a. Night of the Zombies (1980)
Troll 2 (1990)
In The Land Of The Cannibals a.k.a. Land of...
Please support the Hollywood Food Coalition. Text “Give” to 323.402.5704 or visit https://hofoco.org/donate!
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Screams of a Winter Night (1979)
Goodbye Bruce Lee: His Last Game Of Death (1975)
I Think We’re Alone Now (2018)
The Rhythm Section (2020)
Atomic Blonde (2017)
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (1965)
The Ipcress File (1965)
Funeral In Berlin (1966)
Extraction (2020)
Kung Fu Hustle (2004)
The Mermaid (2016)
Oklahoma! (1955)
Singin’ In The Rain (1953)
Nightcrawler (2014)
I Think We’re Alone Now (2008)
Ghetto Freaks a.k.a. Sign of Aquarius (1970)
Hostel (2005)
Cabin Fever (2002)
Final Cut: Ladies And Gentlemen (2012)
The Movie Orgy (1968)
Gremlins (1984)
The Goonies (1985)
Hell of the Living Dead a.k.a. Night of the Zombies (1980)
Troll 2 (1990)
In The Land Of The Cannibals a.k.a. Land of...
- 5/8/2020
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
One of the seemingly surefire locks on Oscar night is in Best Cinematography. Roger Deakins is the runaway favorite to take home the statuette for “1917,” per our odds, and after waiting 23 years for his first Oscar, he could now join the two-time winners club in the second fastest timespan.
Deakins finally won a long-awaited Oscar two years ago for “Blade Runner 2049” (2017) on his 14th nomination — his first having been for 1994’s “The Shawshank Redemption.” He had no projects in 2018, making this his first bid since his win, so perhaps this could be the beginning of a win streak.
The legendary cinematographer would be the 15h person with two victories — fitting since this is his 15th nomination — a list that includes John Toll, Janusz Kaminski, Haskell Wexler, James Wong Howe and Burnett Guffey. Eight people have won three, including Conrad Hall, Robert Richardson (one of Deakins’ rivals this year...
Deakins finally won a long-awaited Oscar two years ago for “Blade Runner 2049” (2017) on his 14th nomination — his first having been for 1994’s “The Shawshank Redemption.” He had no projects in 2018, making this his first bid since his win, so perhaps this could be the beginning of a win streak.
The legendary cinematographer would be the 15h person with two victories — fitting since this is his 15th nomination — a list that includes John Toll, Janusz Kaminski, Haskell Wexler, James Wong Howe and Burnett Guffey. Eight people have won three, including Conrad Hall, Robert Richardson (one of Deakins’ rivals this year...
- 1/28/2020
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
“Yet repurposing remains possible in spite of these limits because there is often a significant untapped reservoir of potentials lying dormant within a technology. The difficult point to understand is that, in the words of one historian, ‘Technology is neither good nor bad; nor is it neutral.’ Any given technology is political but flexible, as it always exists in excess of the purposes for which it may have been designed.” —Nick Srnicek and Alex Williams, Inventing the Future: Postcapitalism and a World Without Work (2015)Above: Death Stranding.An interrogation of de-aging, or computer-generated imagery that alters the age (or its appearance) of an actor, should start with the fact that the technology modifies the physical body. The term “de-aging” is perhaps most similar to “anti-aging,” which is to say that each hinges upon an impulse to remove or undo its traces. The discomfort projected upon aging is challenged by...
- 12/2/2019
- MUBI
As the 100th anniversary of the American Society of Cinematographers, New York Film Festival programmers Kent Jones and Dan Sullivan knew that 2019 would be an ideal time to look back at the history cinematography in this country. The 13-film retrospective they programmed as part of this year’s festival highlights some of the best work by masters of the craft like Gordon Willis, Gregg Toland, James Wong Howe, and Robby Müller, but it also serves as a history of the craft itself.
“We couldn’t do a comprehensive history of the Asc as a film series, and once we accepted that, it freed us to make some more interesting choices,” said Sullivan. “There’s some canonical titles, personal favorites, and weird things people might not necessarily think about in this context and might appreciate differently. But I would say roughly we were trying to capture the trajectory of the development...
“We couldn’t do a comprehensive history of the Asc as a film series, and once we accepted that, it freed us to make some more interesting choices,” said Sullivan. “There’s some canonical titles, personal favorites, and weird things people might not necessarily think about in this context and might appreciate differently. But I would say roughly we were trying to capture the trajectory of the development...
- 10/4/2019
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
"The genius of the system" is a contradiction in terms, but it seems to have stuck as an alternative to the auteur theory in explaining how the Hollywood studio system made so many good films. Yet René Clair, specialist in comic-romantic soufflés, reported that he was offered a project developed for Fritz Lang, and where was the sense (or genius?) in that?Still, the system was maintained by men possessed, if not of genius, then of horse sense: when someone proposed that Raoul Walsh direct, as a change of pace, a tender love story, Darryl F. Zanuck of Twentieth Century Fox swatted the idea down, saying, "Raoul Walsh's idea of a tender love story is to set fire to a whorehouse."This month, the Museum of Modern Art in New York is offering another great season of films from Fox (before it merged with Twentieth Century), including five from Walsh...
- 3/12/2019
- MUBI
In celebration of its 100th anniversary, the American Society of Cinematographers has released a list of the 100 best shot films of the 20th century.
This list was released to "showcase the best of cinematography as selected by professional cinematographers.” Here's how the list was put together:
The process of cultivating the 100 films began with Asc members each submitting 10 to 25 titles that were personally inspirational or perhaps changed the way they approached their craft. “I asked them — as cinematographers, members of the Asc, artists, filmmakers and people who love film and whose lives were shaped by films — to list the films that were most influential,” Fierberg explains. A master list was then complied, and members voted on what they considered to be the most essential 100 titles.
Here's a little sizzle reel that was cut together showcasing some of the films on the list:
It's hard to argue with the Top 10 films,...
This list was released to "showcase the best of cinematography as selected by professional cinematographers.” Here's how the list was put together:
The process of cultivating the 100 films began with Asc members each submitting 10 to 25 titles that were personally inspirational or perhaps changed the way they approached their craft. “I asked them — as cinematographers, members of the Asc, artists, filmmakers and people who love film and whose lives were shaped by films — to list the films that were most influential,” Fierberg explains. A master list was then complied, and members voted on what they considered to be the most essential 100 titles.
Here's a little sizzle reel that was cut together showcasing some of the films on the list:
It's hard to argue with the Top 10 films,...
- 1/9/2019
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
Interviewing Charlie Saldana in the quiet of his North Hollywood home, the 79-year-old working key grip still exudes the cool confidence of someone who’s spent a lifetime in partnership with one of Hollywood’s great directors: Clint Eastwood.
Saldana still possesses an actor’s looks, with a salt-white mustache and a full silver mane. He began his career building scaffolding for Disney’s “Pollyanna” in 1960, following military service in the 101st Airborne Division. Joining the grip union, he was employed by Hollywood’s blossoming TV industry on “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” “Gomer Pyle, Usmc” “Hogan’s Heroes” and “The Mod Squad.” The neophyte grip learned his craft well.
Born in 1939 to Charles and Josephine Saldana, Charlie was raised with a strong work ethic that drove his rise in the industry. “Gaining grip skill was a layered, educative process,” he says.
Five years on the series “The Rookies” produced...
Saldana still possesses an actor’s looks, with a salt-white mustache and a full silver mane. He began his career building scaffolding for Disney’s “Pollyanna” in 1960, following military service in the 101st Airborne Division. Joining the grip union, he was employed by Hollywood’s blossoming TV industry on “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” “Gomer Pyle, Usmc” “Hogan’s Heroes” and “The Mod Squad.” The neophyte grip learned his craft well.
Born in 1939 to Charles and Josephine Saldana, Charlie was raised with a strong work ethic that drove his rise in the industry. “Gaining grip skill was a layered, educative process,” he says.
Five years on the series “The Rookies” produced...
- 12/7/2018
- by James C. Udel
- Variety Film + TV
Sometimes it feels necessary to sit back and ponder just how what seems so commonplace in Hollywood came to be, and how the movie industry was revolutionized by those that came before and found new ways to film and new techniques to use. This is when you find out more about individuals such as James Wong Howe and the things they’ve done in their lives. While he wasn’t initially even allowed near a camera for a number of reasons he was tenacious enough to keep pushing and pushing until finally it was discovered that he had a real talent that
10 Things You Never Knew about James Wong Howe...
10 Things You Never Knew about James Wong Howe...
- 11/30/2018
- by Tom
- TVovermind.com
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Blu ray
Kino Lorber Home Video
1938 / 1.33:1 / Street Date July 10, 2018
Starring Tommy Kelly, May Robson, Marcia Mae Jones
Cinematography by James Wong Howe
Directed by Norman Taurog
Though Hemingway suggested “all modern American literature” comes from Huckleberry Finn, a case could be made for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer as the great American campfire tale.
David Selznick’s picaresque film version of Mark Twain’s bucolic farce plays out through the producer’s rose-colored glasses – an elegy to “the beautiful past, the dear and lamented past.” The brisk adaptation by screenwriter John Weaver (only 91 minutes) is a laundry list of Tom’s greatest hits – his graveyard vigil with Huck Finn, the pirate escapade, the hair-raising cavern finale – all are adventures ingrained in the collective unconscious of most sentient human beings – even those who never cracked a book.
Directed by Norman Taurog, a man who specialized...
Blu ray
Kino Lorber Home Video
1938 / 1.33:1 / Street Date July 10, 2018
Starring Tommy Kelly, May Robson, Marcia Mae Jones
Cinematography by James Wong Howe
Directed by Norman Taurog
Though Hemingway suggested “all modern American literature” comes from Huckleberry Finn, a case could be made for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer as the great American campfire tale.
David Selznick’s picaresque film version of Mark Twain’s bucolic farce plays out through the producer’s rose-colored glasses – an elegy to “the beautiful past, the dear and lamented past.” The brisk adaptation by screenwriter John Weaver (only 91 minutes) is a laundry list of Tom’s greatest hits – his graveyard vigil with Huck Finn, the pirate escapade, the hair-raising cavern finale – all are adventures ingrained in the collective unconscious of most sentient human beings – even those who never cracked a book.
Directed by Norman Taurog, a man who specialized...
- 7/28/2018
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Ah romance! A handsome stranger takes a room in your house, lets you feed him and doesn’t pay the rent — of course he’s the perfect man of your dreams. Excellent WB players Faye Emerson and Zachary Scott enliven an odd mix of moods in a tale of a murderous Bluebeard- boyfriend. Director Robert Florey’s thriller is half stylish spook show, and half romantic sitcom. With Dick Erdman, Rosemary DeCamp and perky Mona Freeman as the little sister who needs to be told, ‘Don’t you do what your big sister done.’
Danger Signal
DVD-r
The Warner Archive Collection
1945 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 78 min. / Street Date March 6, 2018 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Faye Emerson, Zachary Scott, Dick Erdman, Rosemary DeCamp, Bruce Bennett, Mona Freeman, John Ridgely, Mary Servoss, Joyce Compton, Virginia Sale, Robert Arthur.
Cinematography: James Wong Howe
Film Editor: Frank Magee
Original Music: Adolph Deutsch
Written by Adele Comandini,...
Danger Signal
DVD-r
The Warner Archive Collection
1945 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 78 min. / Street Date March 6, 2018 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Faye Emerson, Zachary Scott, Dick Erdman, Rosemary DeCamp, Bruce Bennett, Mona Freeman, John Ridgely, Mary Servoss, Joyce Compton, Virginia Sale, Robert Arthur.
Cinematography: James Wong Howe
Film Editor: Frank Magee
Original Music: Adolph Deutsch
Written by Adele Comandini,...
- 4/7/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
on this day (August 28th) in showbiz-related history, things get sweaty and hot hot hot... time to rub lemons all over our bare bodies.
1980 The 37th annual Venice Film Festival kicks off. The Golden Lion that year will prove to be a tie (!) with Atlantic City, starring Susan Sarandon and her lemons, and Gloria splitting the top prize. Atlantic City will go on to five Oscar nominations including Best Picture
1981 Kathleen Turner and William Hurt do filthy things to each other in the window smashingly erotic Body Heat brand new in theaters on this day.
1987 Dennis Quaid fingers Ellen Barkin in The Big Easy new in theaters. The orgasm is so explosive it rockets both careers to the next level instanteously.
1998 54, legendarily butchered in the editing room, attempts to chart the bisexual opportunist antics of Ryan Phillipe in his twink god years.
2009 Taking Woodstock opens in theaters with Emile Hirsch...
1980 The 37th annual Venice Film Festival kicks off. The Golden Lion that year will prove to be a tie (!) with Atlantic City, starring Susan Sarandon and her lemons, and Gloria splitting the top prize. Atlantic City will go on to five Oscar nominations including Best Picture
1981 Kathleen Turner and William Hurt do filthy things to each other in the window smashingly erotic Body Heat brand new in theaters on this day.
1987 Dennis Quaid fingers Ellen Barkin in The Big Easy new in theaters. The orgasm is so explosive it rockets both careers to the next level instanteously.
1998 54, legendarily butchered in the editing room, attempts to chart the bisexual opportunist antics of Ryan Phillipe in his twink god years.
2009 Taking Woodstock opens in theaters with Emile Hirsch...
- 8/28/2017
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Desert Nights with John Gilbert and Mary Nolan: Enjoyable Sahara-set adventure – which happened to be Gilbert's last silent film – dares to ask the age-old philosophical question, “Is there honor among thieves?” John Gilbert late silent adventure 'Desert Nights' asks a question for the ages: Is there honor among thieves? The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer release Desert Nights arrived in theaters at the tail end of the silent era. By 1929, audiences wanted lots of singing and dancing – talkies! And they might have been impatient to hear John Gilbert's speaking voice. I can't tell whether sound would have improved it or not, but Desert Nights has a lot of title cards filled with dialogue. Directed by the prolific William Nigh,[1] the film tells the story of diamond thieves who get stranded in the Sahara and almost die of thirst. (At first, Desert Nights' was appropriately titled Thirst.) Cinematographer James Wong Howe perfectly captures the hot, dry...
- 8/7/2017
- by Danny Fortune
- Alt Film Guide
This past weekend, the American Society of Cinematographers awarded Greig Fraser for his contribution to Lion as last year’s greatest accomplishment in the field. Of course, his achievement was just a small sampling of the fantastic work from directors of photography, but it did give us a stronger hint at what may be the winner on Oscar night. Ahead of the ceremony, we have a new video compilation that honors all the past winners in the category at the Academy Awards
Created by Burger Fiction, it spans the stunning silent landmark Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans all the way up to the end of Emmanuel Lubezki‘s three-peat win for The Revenant. Aside from the advancements in color and aspect ration, it’s a thrill to see some of cinema’s most iconic shots side-by-side. However, the best way to experience the evolution of the craft is by...
Created by Burger Fiction, it spans the stunning silent landmark Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans all the way up to the end of Emmanuel Lubezki‘s three-peat win for The Revenant. Aside from the advancements in color and aspect ration, it’s a thrill to see some of cinema’s most iconic shots side-by-side. However, the best way to experience the evolution of the craft is by...
- 2/6/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
By John M. Whalen
Back in the 1950s, before he became a legend, filmmaker Sam Peckinpah (“The Wild Bunch,” “Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia,” and “The Killer Elite”) wrote scripts for TV westerns, including “Gunsmoke,” “The Rifleman,” and “Tombstone Territory.” His reputation grew and in 1957 he wrote his first screenplay entitled “The Glory Guys” which was based on Hoffman Birney’s novel, “The Dice of God.” The book was a fictional account of Custer and the Battle of the Little Big Horn, with all names changed. The script went unproduced for almost eight years, and in the meantime Sam had moved on, directing features including “The Deadly Companions” (1960), “Ride the High Country” (1962) and “Major Dundee” (1965).
You would think that with that growing resume, Peckinpah would have been able to direct anything he wanted to, but such was far from the case. “Bloody Sam,” as he was called, affectionately by his fans,...
Back in the 1950s, before he became a legend, filmmaker Sam Peckinpah (“The Wild Bunch,” “Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia,” and “The Killer Elite”) wrote scripts for TV westerns, including “Gunsmoke,” “The Rifleman,” and “Tombstone Territory.” His reputation grew and in 1957 he wrote his first screenplay entitled “The Glory Guys” which was based on Hoffman Birney’s novel, “The Dice of God.” The book was a fictional account of Custer and the Battle of the Little Big Horn, with all names changed. The script went unproduced for almost eight years, and in the meantime Sam had moved on, directing features including “The Deadly Companions” (1960), “Ride the High Country” (1962) and “Major Dundee” (1965).
You would think that with that growing resume, Peckinpah would have been able to direct anything he wanted to, but such was far from the case. “Bloody Sam,” as he was called, affectionately by his fans,...
- 12/30/2016
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Faced with the reality of a Trump presidency, the Academy is doubling down on its Diversity Initiative. Already, the film industry is supplying more than the usual number of Oscar contenders boasting women and people of color, including the crafts.
Will voters be in the mood to send a post-Election inclusion message? You bet. The biggest impact could occur in the cinematography race, where only one person of African descent has ever been nominated (British-born Remi Adefarasin for “Elizabeth”), and no women. Cinematographer James Wong Howe, nominated seven times, won two Oscars, and Peter Pau one (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”), while 10 other Asians have been nominated in that category. The last four cinematography winners are Latino, including Claudio Miranda (“Life of Pi”) and three-time winner Emmanuel Lubezki (“Gravity,” “Birdman,” “The Revenant”).
After being overlooked for “Selma,” Bradford Young has a second opportunity to become the first African-American nominee for his poetic imagery in “Arrival,...
Will voters be in the mood to send a post-Election inclusion message? You bet. The biggest impact could occur in the cinematography race, where only one person of African descent has ever been nominated (British-born Remi Adefarasin for “Elizabeth”), and no women. Cinematographer James Wong Howe, nominated seven times, won two Oscars, and Peter Pau one (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”), while 10 other Asians have been nominated in that category. The last four cinematography winners are Latino, including Claudio Miranda (“Life of Pi”) and three-time winner Emmanuel Lubezki (“Gravity,” “Birdman,” “The Revenant”).
After being overlooked for “Selma,” Bradford Young has a second opportunity to become the first African-American nominee for his poetic imagery in “Arrival,...
- 11/17/2016
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
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