Indie and art film producer Jon Kilik, unlike many, remains hopeful for the personal, mid-budget movie for grown-ups. “Those are the films directors love to make and audiences still love,” says Kilik, being feted this week at Poland’s Camerimage cinematography festival for work of special visual sensitivity.
Having flown in from a shoot in Rome, Kilik confesses he still loves being on set after a career spanning four decades, including work with Spike Lee, Julian Schnabel, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Jim Jarmusch and Oliver Stone.
His latest project filming in Europe, “In the Hand of Dante,” starring Gal Gadot and Oscar Isaac in a metaphorical journey through hell to paradise, is characteristic of Kilik’s lifelong passion for bringing challenging works of literature and art to the screen.
And he’s proven time and again that such films have an audience and are economically viable, he points out, if handled...
Having flown in from a shoot in Rome, Kilik confesses he still loves being on set after a career spanning four decades, including work with Spike Lee, Julian Schnabel, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Jim Jarmusch and Oliver Stone.
His latest project filming in Europe, “In the Hand of Dante,” starring Gal Gadot and Oscar Isaac in a metaphorical journey through hell to paradise, is characteristic of Kilik’s lifelong passion for bringing challenging works of literature and art to the screen.
And he’s proven time and again that such films have an audience and are economically viable, he points out, if handled...
- 11/19/2023
- by Will Tizard
- Variety Film + TV
That dude could paint! There are biopics of artists that don’t ask more of an audience than that simple reaction. Not so with Julian Schnabel’s extraordinary At Eternity’s Gate, which features a monumental, career-best performance from Willem Dafoe as Vincent Van Gogh. It’s not that Schnabel doesn’t glory in the visions the Dutch painter put on canvas. But Schnabel, renowned as a painter in the way Van Gogh never was in life, wants to get inside the head of this tormented artist and make us see what he sees,...
- 11/14/2018
- by Peter Travers
- Rollingstone.com
Idiosyncratic examinations of uniquely driven creative individuals have dominated the film work of Julian Schnabel, starting with his New York art-world contemporary in Basquiat, continuing with Cuban poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas in Before Night Falls, and with French editor and writer Jean-Dominique Bauby in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. But perhaps nowhere has Schnabel’s own experience as a painter and his insight into the artistic process been poured as obsessively into his subject as in At Eternity’s Gate, an unbridled portrait of the painful but productive final years in the life of Vincent van Gogh, a role inhabited with the ...
Idiosyncratic examinations of uniquely driven creative individuals have dominated the film work of Julian Schnabel, starting with his New York art-world contemporary in Basquiat, continuing with Cuban poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas in Before Night Falls, and with French editor and writer Jean-Dominique Bauby in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. But perhaps nowhere has Schnabel’s own experience as a painter and his insight into the artistic process been poured as obsessively into his subject as in At Eternity’s Gate, an unbridled portrait of the painful but productive final years in the life of Vincent van Gogh, a role inhabited with the ...
Looking back on this still-young century makes clear that 2007 was a major time for cinematic happenings — and, on the basis of this retrospective, one we’re not quite through with ten years on. One’s mind might quickly flash to a few big titles that will be represented, but it is the plurality of both festival and theatrical premieres that truly surprises: late works from old masters, debuts from filmmakers who’ve since become some of our most-respected artists, and mid-career turning points that didn’t necessarily announce themselves as such at the time. Join us as an assembled team, many of whom were coming of age that year, takes on their favorites.
Has there ever been a more perfect pairing of medium and story than Julian Schnabel‘s The Diving Bell and the Butterfly? Cinema, an optical art form whose audience views scenes that they are powerless to change,...
Has there ever been a more perfect pairing of medium and story than Julian Schnabel‘s The Diving Bell and the Butterfly? Cinema, an optical art form whose audience views scenes that they are powerless to change,...
- 5/22/2017
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
A version of this article originally appeared on ew.com.
Emma Watson loves to read.
The actress has that in common with her brainy Harry Potter character Hermione as well as bookish Belle, who she plays in the much-anticipated film Beauty and the Beast, out March 17. In addition to being a bookworm, Watson is also an outspoken feminist and as well as a Un Women Goodwill Ambassador and promoter of the organization’s HeForShe movement, which is dedicated to recruiting men into the movement for gender equality. As a response to her work with the Un, she launched the feminist...
Emma Watson loves to read.
The actress has that in common with her brainy Harry Potter character Hermione as well as bookish Belle, who she plays in the much-anticipated film Beauty and the Beast, out March 17. In addition to being a bookworm, Watson is also an outspoken feminist and as well as a Un Women Goodwill Ambassador and promoter of the organization’s HeForShe movement, which is dedicated to recruiting men into the movement for gender equality. As a response to her work with the Un, she launched the feminist...
- 2/21/2017
- by Madeline Raynor
- PEOPLE.com
Mubi is exclusively showing Mathieu Amalric's The Blue Room (2014) in the United Kingdom from September 25 - October 24, 2016. “If he has one consistent trait as a novelist it is his tendency to regard women, or Woman, at least, as a terrifying phenomenon, a demon ranging in a kind of erotic fury through the world of men, at once irresistible and destructive.”—John Banville on Georges Simenon“It was true. At that time, everything was true, for he was living in the moment, without questioning anything, without trying to understand, without suspecting that one day he would need to understand.” —Georges Simenon, The Blue RoomIt came and it went. I confess I’d forgotten all about The Blue Room. On second thought, I’m not sure I even knew of it in the first place. When the film appeared on Mubi, as part of a short season of films made by or starring Mathieu Amalric,...
- 10/13/2016
- MUBI
Our countdown of the 100 best films of the 21st century continues. This is Part 2 #75 through 51.
Click here for Part 1 (#100-76)!
The first decade and a half of the 21st century has brought a lot of changes to the landscape of film. The advancement and sophistication of computers has made realistic computer generated effects a mainstay in both big-budget and small-budget films. The internet and streaming technologies have given big Hollywood new competition in films produced independently and by non-traditional means. We went from purchasing films on yards of tape to plastic disks, and now we can simply upload them to the cloud. Advertisements for films have reached a higher, more ruthless level where generating hype through trailers and teasers is crucial for a film’s commercial success. Movie attendance has fluctuated along with the economy, but that hasn’t stopped films from breaking box office records, including having films gross...
Click here for Part 1 (#100-76)!
The first decade and a half of the 21st century has brought a lot of changes to the landscape of film. The advancement and sophistication of computers has made realistic computer generated effects a mainstay in both big-budget and small-budget films. The internet and streaming technologies have given big Hollywood new competition in films produced independently and by non-traditional means. We went from purchasing films on yards of tape to plastic disks, and now we can simply upload them to the cloud. Advertisements for films have reached a higher, more ruthless level where generating hype through trailers and teasers is crucial for a film’s commercial success. Movie attendance has fluctuated along with the economy, but that hasn’t stopped films from breaking box office records, including having films gross...
- 1/13/2016
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (G.S. Perno)
- Cinelinx
Cinema has always liked telling a good life story, and all kinds of biography – from the humblest to the starriest – have been given a filmic going-over. The Guardian and Observer's critics pick the 10 best in a very crowded field
• Top 10 animated movies
• Top 10 silent movies
• Top 10 sports movies
• Top 10 film noir
• Top 10 musicals
• Top 10 martial arts movies
• More Guardian and Observer critics' top 10s
10. Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould
This is the most radical of all biopics. It does exactly what it promises, breaking the Canadian pianist's intense and troubled life into concentrated fragments. Reassembly is left to the viewer. When he began working on the screenplay with Don McKellar, the writer-director François Girard recognised the pitfalls of the genre. "There are many traps," he said. "The main temptation is to try to cram everything about a life into one film. What you need is a radical idea...
• Top 10 animated movies
• Top 10 silent movies
• Top 10 sports movies
• Top 10 film noir
• Top 10 musicals
• Top 10 martial arts movies
• More Guardian and Observer critics' top 10s
10. Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould
This is the most radical of all biopics. It does exactly what it promises, breaking the Canadian pianist's intense and troubled life into concentrated fragments. Reassembly is left to the viewer. When he began working on the screenplay with Don McKellar, the writer-director François Girard recognised the pitfalls of the genre. "There are many traps," he said. "The main temptation is to try to cram everything about a life into one film. What you need is a radical idea...
- 12/12/2013
- The Guardian - Film News
Versatile Liverpool-born actor David Morrissey has taken roles ranging from prime minister-to-be Gordon Brown in Stephen Frears' "The Deal" to the Duke of Norfolk in "The Other Boleyn Girl" to the object/victim of Sharon Stone's affections in "Basic Instinct 2." But it's policemen for which he seems to have a particular affinity, playing cops good, bad and guilt-ridden in multiple British television series and the "Red Riding" film trilogy. The character of Tom Thorne, whom he plays in a pair of three-part miniseries, "Thorne: Sleepyhead" June 12 and "Thorne: Scaredy Cat" June 13 (both Encore, starting at 9 pm), is something unique, a detective who often seems in danger of getting pulled into his cases. Investigating first a sadistic criminal whose aim is to leave his victims with locked-in syndrome (like Jean-Dominique Bauby, protagonist of "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly")...
- 6/12/2012
- by Alison Willmore
- Indiewire
We start the Top 7. You finish the Top 10.
When a famous person writes about her life it’s an autobiography, when a normal person does, it’s a memoir. Last weekend saw the release of Cameron Crowe’s We Bought a Zoo based on Benjamin Mee’s beautiful memoir. Here are seven other films, based on memoirs from normal folks with interesting stories in the hands of good filmmakers.
7. Cheaper By the Dozen (1950)
Recap: Unlike the 2003 remake, the original Cheaper By the Dozen film follows the Gilbreth family of New Jersey which had 12 children. Their efficiency expert father, Frank (Clifton Webb) attempts to raise his family as he would run a factory, with mixed results. As one would expect, things break down when it comes to teenagers.
Reason: Frank Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth wrote this memoir of their childhood as two of a dozen children which I had the fortune...
When a famous person writes about her life it’s an autobiography, when a normal person does, it’s a memoir. Last weekend saw the release of Cameron Crowe’s We Bought a Zoo based on Benjamin Mee’s beautiful memoir. Here are seven other films, based on memoirs from normal folks with interesting stories in the hands of good filmmakers.
7. Cheaper By the Dozen (1950)
Recap: Unlike the 2003 remake, the original Cheaper By the Dozen film follows the Gilbreth family of New Jersey which had 12 children. Their efficiency expert father, Frank (Clifton Webb) attempts to raise his family as he would run a factory, with mixed results. As one would expect, things break down when it comes to teenagers.
Reason: Frank Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth wrote this memoir of their childhood as two of a dozen children which I had the fortune...
- 1/2/2012
- by Megan Lehar
- The Scorecard Review
Actor eyes up directing and starring role in proposed action flick modelled on 'shoot-em-up' video game, reports say
Ben Affleck is in talks to direct and star in action flick Line of Sight, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The project is intriguing because it is reportedly set to be filmed from a point of view similar to a first-person "shoot-em-up" video game.
With a screenplay by Peter O'Brien, who worked on the game Halo: Reach, Line of Sight centres on an elite commando squad which must transport a precious cargo while dealing with a global threat.
While sections of the film adaptation of the game Doom were shot from the first-person perspective, Line of Sight's borrowing from that ouvre would be unusual, particularly if the perspective is maintained throughout the film. The 1947 film noir Lady in the Lake, an adaptation of Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe detective novel, attempted to...
Ben Affleck is in talks to direct and star in action flick Line of Sight, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The project is intriguing because it is reportedly set to be filmed from a point of view similar to a first-person "shoot-em-up" video game.
With a screenplay by Peter O'Brien, who worked on the game Halo: Reach, Line of Sight centres on an elite commando squad which must transport a precious cargo while dealing with a global threat.
While sections of the film adaptation of the game Doom were shot from the first-person perspective, Line of Sight's borrowing from that ouvre would be unusual, particularly if the perspective is maintained throughout the film. The 1947 film noir Lady in the Lake, an adaptation of Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe detective novel, attempted to...
- 8/25/2011
- by Ben Child
- The Guardian - Film News
The name Julian Schnabel may not ring any bells for most of you, but he has created waves the past few years first with his beautiful retelling of the life and times of Jean-Dominique Bauby, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, and then with his controversial look into the life of a Palestinian girl living life after the Arab-Israeli war, Miral. No doubt a man with a clear artistic vision, we may get to see him working with the always artistic Johnny Depp in the next few years. Depp acquired rights to the Nick Tosches novel In the Hand of Dante a few years back and, according to The Playlist, has approached Schnabel with the prospect of directing the adaptation which, not surprisingly, Depp will star in. Schnabel told The Playlist: It belongs to Johnny, but I.m not going to make it for a couple of years. We.re...
- 7/11/2011
- cinemablend.com
It’s been said a hundred times before, and it remains true: The best part about going to the movies (well, besides eating $7 candy and actually watching the movie you paid to see) is the trailers. But enjoying trailers has gone well beyond watching roughly 73 of them before your film starts. And if you were a super pop-culture nerd from an early age like me, you enjoyed previews so much you never dared to fast-forward through them on your VHS. (C’mon, you had to watch the FernGully preview before Home Alone started, didn’t you?)
With the winners of...
With the winners of...
- 6/30/2011
- by Aly Semigran
- EW.com - PopWatch
Chicago – No matter how many films he makes, Julian Schnabel may always consider himself a painter first. Watching one of his cinematic efforts is akin to being pulled headfirst into the vivid and visceral canvas of a true neo-expressionist. His work aims to engulf the viewer. It shatters the barriers between a contrived character’s existence and that of the flesh-and-blood audience.
Rating: 3.5/5.0
A clue to his approach can be found in the subtitle of his upcoming Venice exhibition, the “Architecture of Seeing.” One of the greatest achievements in cinematography over the past decade was Janusz Kaminski’s brilliant imitation of paralyzed journalist Jean-Dominique Bauby’s perception in Schnabel’s 2007 masterpiece, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.” For lengthy stretches in the film, the camera peered through Bauby’s eyes, allowing the viewer to experience the disorientation, isolation and frustration of his locked-in syndrome first-hand. It may sound depressing, but the film is utterly exhilarating.
Rating: 3.5/5.0
A clue to his approach can be found in the subtitle of his upcoming Venice exhibition, the “Architecture of Seeing.” One of the greatest achievements in cinematography over the past decade was Janusz Kaminski’s brilliant imitation of paralyzed journalist Jean-Dominique Bauby’s perception in Schnabel’s 2007 masterpiece, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.” For lengthy stretches in the film, the camera peered through Bauby’s eyes, allowing the viewer to experience the disorientation, isolation and frustration of his locked-in syndrome first-hand. It may sound depressing, but the film is utterly exhilarating.
- 4/15/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
In the 15 years since he transitioned from painter to filmmaker, New York artist Julian Schnabel has tackled a number of true-life stories from his first film based on friend and peer, New York street artist Jean-Paul Basquiat, to his portrait of Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas in Before Night Falls and quadriplegic Elle editor Jean-Dominique Bauby in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly , for which Schnabel was nominated for an Oscar. His fifth film Miral is no less of a true story even if the names have been changed, as it's based on a novel by author and screenwriter Rula Jebreal that's mostly autobiographical. Slumdog Millionaire star Freida Pinto plays the title character, an Arab girl born into adversity as her alcoholic mother commits suicide forcing her father to put her...
- 3/21/2011
- Comingsoon.net
We know Julian Schnabel as a painter (the plates) and as a film-maker (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly). Now, with an old handmade Polaroid camera and a little help from his friends, he is making stunning photographs
Julian Schnabel is an American renaissance man. In the 80s, he attracted international media attention for his large-scale "plate paintings". He went on to become a notable film-maker and, in 2007, his film, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, about French editor Jean-Dominique Bauby, was nominated for four Oscars. Now, although he continues to paint and make films, he has found himself for a third time – as a photographer.
His accomplice in this – and he refers to it as if describing a venerable, trusty friend – is his Polaroid camera. It is one of only six in existence: a 20x24in 1970s handmade machine. It is huge, cumbersome, intended for studio photography and greedy for flash lighting.
Julian Schnabel is an American renaissance man. In the 80s, he attracted international media attention for his large-scale "plate paintings". He went on to become a notable film-maker and, in 2007, his film, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, about French editor Jean-Dominique Bauby, was nominated for four Oscars. Now, although he continues to paint and make films, he has found himself for a third time – as a photographer.
His accomplice in this – and he refers to it as if describing a venerable, trusty friend – is his Polaroid camera. It is one of only six in existence: a 20x24in 1970s handmade machine. It is huge, cumbersome, intended for studio photography and greedy for flash lighting.
- 10/9/2010
- by Kate Kellaway
- The Guardian - Film News
In Nick Schager's interview with madman/visionary Gaspar Noé, the director notes that one of his inspirations for the Pov shots in "Enter the Void" was a 1947 Raymond Chandler adaptation:
One day many years ago, maybe when I was in my late teens or early 20s, I took some mushrooms with friends, and then I went back home and they were playing "Lady in the Lake" on TV. That's when I decided that the first part of the movie should be shot in first-person perspective.
"Lady in the Lake" is a film that claimed to represent "a startling and daring new method of storytellng, a milestone in moviemaking" but is in actuality mainly a novelty (if a personal favorite of mine). The majority of it is shot from the point of view of the main character, private detective Philip Marlowe (played, when he appears on screen, by Robert Montgomery, who...
One day many years ago, maybe when I was in my late teens or early 20s, I took some mushrooms with friends, and then I went back home and they were playing "Lady in the Lake" on TV. That's when I decided that the first part of the movie should be shot in first-person perspective.
"Lady in the Lake" is a film that claimed to represent "a startling and daring new method of storytellng, a milestone in moviemaking" but is in actuality mainly a novelty (if a personal favorite of mine). The majority of it is shot from the point of view of the main character, private detective Philip Marlowe (played, when he appears on screen, by Robert Montgomery, who...
- 9/22/2010
- by Alison Willmore
- ifc.com
When I lived in Paris in the mid 80s this poster, in full French grande format, dwarfed my tiny chambre de bonne. Betty Blue (playing on Mubi for free in the Us this week) or, rather, 37.2 Le Matin, as it was originally called, was the first film I saw when I arrived in France in the summer of 86. Not yet a proper cinephile (a year in Paris did that to me) I was nonetheless a huge fan of Jean-Jacques Beineix. In my first year at college I was convinced that Diva was the best film ever made, and a couple of years later my university flatmates briefly tolerated the bloody poster of Beineix’s follow-up film maudit The Moon in the Gutter in our living room. So I was barely off the bus from London when I went to see 37.2 Le Matin (in a theater later firebombed for showing The Last Temptation of Christ...
- 7/23/2010
- MUBI
Miranda Colclasure in Tournee My introduction to Mathieu Amalric came with his fantastic performance as Jean-Dominique Bauby in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly in 2007. My relationship with him as an actor continued with A Christmas Tale and Quantum of Solace, but I had never seen one of his directorial projects. Come to learn, Amalric served as a trainee assistant director on Louis Malle's excellent 1988 Oscar-nominated Au revoir les enfants and directed his first feature film in 1997, Mange ta soupe.
Therefore I see the Cannes Competition entry Tournee (On Tour) as a second introduction to Amalric, and while the film didn't bowl me over there is an undeniable playful and inviting quality to it -- primarily to its characters. Tournee opens itself up to the audience through a group of fascinating players in a "new" burlesque troupe led by Joachim Zand (Amalric), a staunch former Parisian television producer that...
Therefore I see the Cannes Competition entry Tournee (On Tour) as a second introduction to Amalric, and while the film didn't bowl me over there is an undeniable playful and inviting quality to it -- primarily to its characters. Tournee opens itself up to the audience through a group of fascinating players in a "new" burlesque troupe led by Joachim Zand (Amalric), a staunch former Parisian television producer that...
- 5/13/2010
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Over the weekend I was hard at work adding additional titles debuting at this year's 2010 Cannes Film Festival in an effort to make sure once I am in town it is all about seeing the movies and working as little as possible on the asset process. As a result, I now have 17 of the 18 films in competition in the database as information on Sergei Loznitsa's Schastye Moe (My Joy) doesn't seem to be available. However, information on the other 17 is now readily available along with some new pictures and trailers for several of them.
First off, to the right is one of the first three images available for Mathieu Amalric's Tournee, of which I also have the official synopsis for the film from the man most of you know as the villain from Quantum of Solace or Jean-Dominique Bauby from The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
In Tournee...
First off, to the right is one of the first three images available for Mathieu Amalric's Tournee, of which I also have the official synopsis for the film from the man most of you know as the villain from Quantum of Solace or Jean-Dominique Bauby from The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
In Tournee...
- 5/3/2010
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
In the hands of a good director, first-person film narrative places us seamlessly inside a protagonist's head. Will technology kill it off?
After the discovery of an abandoned car on a ferry and a shot of its driver's corpse washed up on a beach, Ewan McGregor is present in every scene of The Ghost, Roman Polanski's new film. He's the film's eyes and ears, our surrogate in the story, our entry-point into this world. The only point at which we're privy to information McGregor doesn't have is in the film's final shot.
Polanski excels at this: Repulsion, Rosemary's Baby, The Ninth Gate, Chinatown and The Pianist are each filmed from their protagonist's point of view so seamlessly, we might as well be inside their heads. It's as near as a film can get to the first-person voice of written fiction without resorting to voiceover narration.
Alfred Hitchcock was another master of first person.
After the discovery of an abandoned car on a ferry and a shot of its driver's corpse washed up on a beach, Ewan McGregor is present in every scene of The Ghost, Roman Polanski's new film. He's the film's eyes and ears, our surrogate in the story, our entry-point into this world. The only point at which we're privy to information McGregor doesn't have is in the film's final shot.
Polanski excels at this: Repulsion, Rosemary's Baby, The Ninth Gate, Chinatown and The Pianist are each filmed from their protagonist's point of view so seamlessly, we might as well be inside their heads. It's as near as a film can get to the first-person voice of written fiction without resorting to voiceover narration.
Alfred Hitchcock was another master of first person.
- 4/8/2010
- by Anne Billson
- The Guardian - Film News
Jessica Hausner's drama is subtle, mysterious and brilliant, says Peter Bradshaw
"Leaving the miraculous out of life is like leaving out the lavatory or dreams or breakfast," wrote Graham Greene, but the miraculous certainly does tend to get left out of films, unless they are specifically about the life of Christ. So a contemporary movie set in Lourdes, among the believers and wheelchair-users who have come to that famous shrine in the hope of a cure, must inevitably trigger a series of expectations in the viewer: expectations of irony and disillusion, of some grotesque reversal, or maybe, in place of a cure, some violently satirical Dr Strangelove moment, a nauseous anti-miracle, like the ex-Nazi's euphoric scream of "I can walk!" in Kubrick's film at the instant when the earth's nuclear destruction is guaranteed.
Furthermore, this movie is by Jessica Hausner, the Austrian director whose name is habitually mentioned in...
"Leaving the miraculous out of life is like leaving out the lavatory or dreams or breakfast," wrote Graham Greene, but the miraculous certainly does tend to get left out of films, unless they are specifically about the life of Christ. So a contemporary movie set in Lourdes, among the believers and wheelchair-users who have come to that famous shrine in the hope of a cure, must inevitably trigger a series of expectations in the viewer: expectations of irony and disillusion, of some grotesque reversal, or maybe, in place of a cure, some violently satirical Dr Strangelove moment, a nauseous anti-miracle, like the ex-Nazi's euphoric scream of "I can walk!" in Kubrick's film at the instant when the earth's nuclear destruction is guaranteed.
Furthermore, this movie is by Jessica Hausner, the Austrian director whose name is habitually mentioned in...
- 3/25/2010
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
We all have film sequences that stick in our minds. Some are shared by many – such as the shower scene from Psycho – others are particular to us. Here our film critic and a panel of leading movie-makers reveal their favourites. What are yours?
Who will ever forget the first time they saw the 45-second shower-room murder in Hitchcock's Psycho? I remember 1959 and 1961 as the years when my first two children were born. But the first thing that comes to mind about the year in between was seeing Psycho, which I'd been looking forward to since a radio programme I'd produced the previous October, when Hitchcock had enticingly described Psycho as "my first real horror film". Entering the Plaza, Lower Regent Street, the day the film opened, I passed the cardboard cut-out of Hitchcock in the foyer, from which a tape recording of the Master's familiar Leytonstone undertaker's voice warned us...
Who will ever forget the first time they saw the 45-second shower-room murder in Hitchcock's Psycho? I remember 1959 and 1961 as the years when my first two children were born. But the first thing that comes to mind about the year in between was seeing Psycho, which I'd been looking forward to since a radio programme I'd produced the previous October, when Hitchcock had enticingly described Psycho as "my first real horror film". Entering the Plaza, Lower Regent Street, the day the film opened, I passed the cardboard cut-out of Hitchcock in the foyer, from which a tape recording of the Master's familiar Leytonstone undertaker's voice warned us...
- 3/15/2010
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
The IMDb250. A list of the top 250 films, as ranked by the users of the biggest movie Internet site on the web. It is based upon the ratings provided by the users of The Internet Movie Database, which number into the millions. As such, it’s a perfect representation of the opinions of the movie masses, and arguably the most comprehensive ranking system on the Internet.
It’s because of this that we at HeyUGuys (and in this case, we, is myself and Gary) have decided to set ourselves a project. To watch and review all 250 movies on the list! We’ve frozen the list as of 1st January this year. It’s not as simple as it sounds, as we’ll be watching them in one year, 125 each.
This is our fifth update, a rundown of my next five movies watched for the project.
(You can find last week...
It’s because of this that we at HeyUGuys (and in this case, we, is myself and Gary) have decided to set ourselves a project. To watch and review all 250 movies on the list! We’ve frozen the list as of 1st January this year. It’s not as simple as it sounds, as we’ll be watching them in one year, 125 each.
This is our fifth update, a rundown of my next five movies watched for the project.
(You can find last week...
- 2/22/2010
- by Barry Steele
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Best Films Of The Decade (aka The Naughties) From Alex & Terry
List # 1
By Alex Simon
When Terry and I initially discussed writing these lists, I had a tough time thinking back on 20 films over the past decade which I was really taken with, thinking that movies have sunk so low over the past ten years, that even choosing a dozen would be a short-order job. Thirty minutes into it, my list had nearly 60 titles! After much cutting, pasting, and re-cutting and pasting, here are my top 20 films (in no particular order) of the first decade of the 21st century, dubbed by many as “the naughties.” --A.S.
1.No Country for Old Men (Coen Brothers, 2007) An elegiac blend of stark beauty and full-throttle despair from two of our finest filmmakers, set in the contemporary American West. Every frame is damn near flawless, and would have been an even more perfect vehicle for the late Sam Peckinpah.
List # 1
By Alex Simon
When Terry and I initially discussed writing these lists, I had a tough time thinking back on 20 films over the past decade which I was really taken with, thinking that movies have sunk so low over the past ten years, that even choosing a dozen would be a short-order job. Thirty minutes into it, my list had nearly 60 titles! After much cutting, pasting, and re-cutting and pasting, here are my top 20 films (in no particular order) of the first decade of the 21st century, dubbed by many as “the naughties.” --A.S.
1.No Country for Old Men (Coen Brothers, 2007) An elegiac blend of stark beauty and full-throttle despair from two of our finest filmmakers, set in the contemporary American West. Every frame is damn near flawless, and would have been an even more perfect vehicle for the late Sam Peckinpah.
- 12/28/2009
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Artist Sam Taylor-Wood surprises us with an old-fashioned, affecting film exploring John Lennon's early years, writes Philip French
As composers, performers, producers and the subjects of documentaries, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr have made a remarkable contribution to the cinema over the years. The dominant figure, of course, has been Lennon. He's been impersonated by his fellow Liverpudlian Ian Hart in both Backbeat, Iain Softley's film about the Beatles in Hamburg, and The Hours and Times, Christopher Munch's picture about his 1963 trip with Brian Epstein to Barcelona, and more fleetingly in Todd Haynes's Bob Dylan movie I'm Not There. He's at the centre of a fascinating documentary on his political activities, The Us vs John Lennon (2006) and haunts the shadowy edges of The Killing of John Lennon, Andrew Piddington's 2006 portrait of his assassin, Mark Chapman. Now we have Sam Taylor-Wood's feature debut,...
As composers, performers, producers and the subjects of documentaries, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr have made a remarkable contribution to the cinema over the years. The dominant figure, of course, has been Lennon. He's been impersonated by his fellow Liverpudlian Ian Hart in both Backbeat, Iain Softley's film about the Beatles in Hamburg, and The Hours and Times, Christopher Munch's picture about his 1963 trip with Brian Epstein to Barcelona, and more fleetingly in Todd Haynes's Bob Dylan movie I'm Not There. He's at the centre of a fascinating documentary on his political activities, The Us vs John Lennon (2006) and haunts the shadowy edges of The Killing of John Lennon, Andrew Piddington's 2006 portrait of his assassin, Mark Chapman. Now we have Sam Taylor-Wood's feature debut,...
- 12/27/2009
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
When Dustin "Cinnamon" Rowles assigned me to produce a canon of the top ten foreign language films of the aughts, I felt incredibly intimidated. When Dustin assured me that I was the critic for the job, as I had probably seen the most foreign films out of the entire staff, my anxiety only deepened. I admit that I watch a lot of foreign language flicks, thanks to Netflix, the American Cinematheque's wonderful programming, and owning a region-free DVD player. However, when I spoke to my cinema and media studies classmates and colleagues, I quickly began to realize that I had still missed a torrent of films that could have made this list (Caché, Downfall, 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days, Maria Full of Grace, and Werckmeister Harmonies to name a few). Moreover, to consolidate all the films I had seen over the past decade from all the non-English speaking countries around the world was,...
- 12/10/2009
- by Drew Morton
First off I need to apologize for the tardiness of this entry. I was infected with the swine pandemic and was unable to do anything but utter “Bbbbraaaiiinsssss…” feebly from my bed. Now I’m up and about again, so here we go.
One of the first things to do when making your movie is figure out who your main character is going to be. Now, you may pick your plot first and then figure what kind of protagonist you want or you may pick your characters and write about what they do – it all depends on your style of writing. In either case, understanding your protagonist(s) is very important since these are the people whom the plot revolves around, who we will come to know and love and who we will follow for the next 120 minutes. They will be our tour guides through your movie so you have...
One of the first things to do when making your movie is figure out who your main character is going to be. Now, you may pick your plot first and then figure what kind of protagonist you want or you may pick your characters and write about what they do – it all depends on your style of writing. In either case, understanding your protagonist(s) is very important since these are the people whom the plot revolves around, who we will come to know and love and who we will follow for the next 120 minutes. They will be our tour guides through your movie so you have...
- 11/1/2009
- by Marco Duran
- Atomic Popcorn
Films on the cutting edge. That's how I would describe the 50 movies on this list. While some moviegoers may find it an 'alien' experience to refer to sub-titles in understanding what's happening on the big screen, a good number of audiences are totally enjoying the different and often surprising take by many foreign filmmakers, nothwithstanding the language barrier.
Content-wise, the 50 movies feature stories about war and peace, love and romance, family affairs, coming-of-age tales, cultural and religious diversity, social issues (including prostitution and abortion) and personal - celebrating life or facing death with dignity. Coverage-wise, tMF list down many of the best foreign films from 2000 until last year from the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and about 15 other countries in Europe, North and Latin America and Asia-Pacific.
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André Téchiné, Catherine Breillat, Julian Schnabel, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Christophe Barratier, Jacques Audiard, Cedric Clapisch, Francois Ozon... they are,...
Content-wise, the 50 movies feature stories about war and peace, love and romance, family affairs, coming-of-age tales, cultural and religious diversity, social issues (including prostitution and abortion) and personal - celebrating life or facing death with dignity. Coverage-wise, tMF list down many of the best foreign films from 2000 until last year from the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and about 15 other countries in Europe, North and Latin America and Asia-Pacific.
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André Téchiné, Catherine Breillat, Julian Schnabel, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Christophe Barratier, Jacques Audiard, Cedric Clapisch, Francois Ozon... they are,...
- 9/2/2009
- The Movie Fanatic
Films on the cutting edge. That's how I would describe the 50 movies on this list. While some moviegoers may find it an 'alien' experience to refer to sub-titles in understanding what's happening on the big screen, a good number of audiences are totally enjoying the different and often surprising take by many foreign filmmakers, nothwithstanding the language barrier.
Content-wise, the 50 movies feature stories about war and peace, love and romance, family affairs, coming-of-age tales, cultural and religious diversity, social issues (including prostitution and abortion) and personal - celebrating life or facing death with dignity. Coverage-wise, tMF list down many of the best foreign films from 2000 until last year from the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and about 15 other countries in Europe, North and Latin America and Asia-Pacific.
André Téchiné, Catherine Breillat, Julian Schnabel, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Christophe Barratier, Jacques Audiard, Cedric Clapisch, Francois Ozon... they are,...
Content-wise, the 50 movies feature stories about war and peace, love and romance, family affairs, coming-of-age tales, cultural and religious diversity, social issues (including prostitution and abortion) and personal - celebrating life or facing death with dignity. Coverage-wise, tMF list down many of the best foreign films from 2000 until last year from the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and about 15 other countries in Europe, North and Latin America and Asia-Pacific.
André Téchiné, Catherine Breillat, Julian Schnabel, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Christophe Barratier, Jacques Audiard, Cedric Clapisch, Francois Ozon... they are,...
- 9/2/2009
- The Movie Fanatic
Films on the cutting edge. That's how I would describe the 50 movies on this list. While some moviegoers may find it an 'alien' experience to refer to sub-titles in understanding what's happening on the big screen, a good number of audiences are totally enjoying the different and often surprising take by many foreign filmmakers, nothwithstanding the language barrier.
Content-wise, the 50 movies feature stories about war and peace, love and romance, family affairs, coming-of-age tales, cultural and religious diversity, social issues (including prostitution and abortion) and personal - celebrating life or facing death with dignity. Coverage-wise, tMF list down many of the best foreign films from 2000 until last year from the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and about 15 other countries in Europe, North and Latin America and Asia-Pacific.
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André Téchiné, Catherine Breillat, Julian Schnabel, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Christophe Barratier, Jacques Audiard, Cedric Clapisch, Francois Ozon... they are,...
Content-wise, the 50 movies feature stories about war and peace, love and romance, family affairs, coming-of-age tales, cultural and religious diversity, social issues (including prostitution and abortion) and personal - celebrating life or facing death with dignity. Coverage-wise, tMF list down many of the best foreign films from 2000 until last year from the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and about 15 other countries in Europe, North and Latin America and Asia-Pacific.
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André Téchiné, Catherine Breillat, Julian Schnabel, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Christophe Barratier, Jacques Audiard, Cedric Clapisch, Francois Ozon... they are,...
- 9/2/2009
- The Movie Fanatic
- Every year there's a film (or two) that elevates the viewer experience to the next level. That higher ground is an inspiring one and in film terms - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Le Scaphandre et le papillon) is an example of the power of art; what art is supposed to do and its relevance to our lives. Based on a novel Jean-Dominique Bauby (who blinked the book to an interpreter after a stroke left him paralyzed with only one blinking eye), if this would have happened to just about anybody else, people would scream euthanasia - but Bauby used his imagination to inspire us. Julian Schnabel who gets better with each film (Basquiat, Before Night Falls) along with Ronald Harwood (The Pianist) and a terrific cast and crew delights us with a film full of splendor and imagination about the human spirit that will move you beyond words.
- 11/15/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
Julian Schnabel's The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, about French Elle editor-in-chief Jean-Dominique Bauby, will kick off the 8th annual Woodstock Film Festival Oct. 10-14. Closing the New York arts colony's fiercely independent festival will be Todd Haynes' I'm Not There, the experimental biopic about the life and times of Bob Dylan starring Cate Blanchett, Richard Gere, Christian Bale and Heath Ledger.
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