The Janus-headed The Facts of Murder looks back to the earlier neorealist docudramas of director, co-writer, and star Pietro Germi, while also presaging the sharply observed satirical outlook of films like Divorce Italian Style and Seduced and Abandoned. In the film, the comedic elements are mostly limited to the broad, almost caricatural handling of bumbling secondary characters. The primary storyline, involving an investigation into two ostensibly related crimes, is handled more like a police procedural along the lines of Jules Dassin’s The Naked City, albeit without that film’s authoritative narration.
The Facts of Murder’s central location is an apartment block. Quickly sketching in a number of characters and their relationships in the aftermath of the opening burglary, the film codes the victim, Commendatore Anzaloni (Ildebrando Santafe), as gay, and it’s suggested that the criminal might’ve been one of his pickups. But the focus of...
The Facts of Murder’s central location is an apartment block. Quickly sketching in a number of characters and their relationships in the aftermath of the opening burglary, the film codes the victim, Commendatore Anzaloni (Ildebrando Santafe), as gay, and it’s suggested that the criminal might’ve been one of his pickups. But the focus of...
- 1/4/2024
- by Budd Wilkins
- Slant Magazine
Italy has been a regular contender for the international feature Oscar since the 1940s, having won the award 14 times — the most of any country. Four of those winners were directed by Vittorio De Sica, whose 1946 film, Shoeshine, was the first foreign film to be recognized by the Academy with an honorary Oscar. Four years later, his Bicycle Thieves earned the honor. And in 1963, he collaborated with Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni on what would become Italy’s third international feature Oscar winner: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.
The film is a comedy anthology divided into three parts, following a triad of Italian couples across three regions of Italy: “Adelina” tells of a wife (Loren) who supports her unemployed husband (Mastroianni) and family by selling black market cigarettes in Naples as she tries to stave off being incarcerated for her illegal activity by staying continuously pregnant. In “Anna,” Loren plays the wife...
The film is a comedy anthology divided into three parts, following a triad of Italian couples across three regions of Italy: “Adelina” tells of a wife (Loren) who supports her unemployed husband (Mastroianni) and family by selling black market cigarettes in Naples as she tries to stave off being incarcerated for her illegal activity by staying continuously pregnant. In “Anna,” Loren plays the wife...
- 11/30/2023
- by Hilton Dresden
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Italian producer Massimo Cristaldi, who as a production manager worked with masters such as Federico Fellini and Francesco Rosi before setting up his own company and shepherding films including prizewinning drama “Sicilian Ghost Story,” has died. He was 66.
Cristaldi’s death was announced over the weekend by his Rome-based company Cristaldi Pictures in a statement that did not specify the cause.
Born in 1956, Massimo Cristaldi was the only son of prominent producer Franco Cristaldi, the triple Oscar-winner who made Pietro Germi’s “Divorce Italian Style,” Federico Fellini’s “Amarcord” and Giuseppe Tornatore’s “Cinema Paradiso.”
In 1974 Massimo Cristaldi started cutting his teeth in the film business first as a production assistant and eventually, starting in the 1980s, becoming a line producer on many of his father’s productions, working with Fellini, Rosi, Tornatore, and many other Italian cinema greats.
After Franco Cristaldi’s death in 1992, he took over management of...
Cristaldi’s death was announced over the weekend by his Rome-based company Cristaldi Pictures in a statement that did not specify the cause.
Born in 1956, Massimo Cristaldi was the only son of prominent producer Franco Cristaldi, the triple Oscar-winner who made Pietro Germi’s “Divorce Italian Style,” Federico Fellini’s “Amarcord” and Giuseppe Tornatore’s “Cinema Paradiso.”
In 1974 Massimo Cristaldi started cutting his teeth in the film business first as a production assistant and eventually, starting in the 1980s, becoming a line producer on many of his father’s productions, working with Fellini, Rosi, Tornatore, and many other Italian cinema greats.
After Franco Cristaldi’s death in 1992, he took over management of...
- 4/11/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The films in contention for the 2022 Best Original Screenplay Oscar are “Belfast,” “Don’t Look Up,” “King Richard,” “Licorice Pizza,” and “The Worst Person in the World.” Our odds currently indicate that “Licorice Pizza” (10/3) will take the prize, followed in order of likelihood by “Belfast” (18/5), “Don’t Look Up” (9/2), “King Richard” (9/2), and “The Worst Person in the World” (9/2).
For the fifth time in eight years, multiple original writing nominees – namely, Paul Thomas Anderson (“Licorice Pizza”) and Kenneth Branagh (“Belfast”) – also picked up bids for directing and producing their films. Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay are now the sixth and seventh unique categories that Branagh has earned notices in after Best Actor, Best Director (“Henry V” and “Belfast”), Best Live Action Short, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor.
Anderson was previously recognized here for his “Boogie Nights” (1998) and “Magnolia” (2000) scripts. The 22-year gap between his “Magnolia” and “Licorice Pizza” nominations is...
For the fifth time in eight years, multiple original writing nominees – namely, Paul Thomas Anderson (“Licorice Pizza”) and Kenneth Branagh (“Belfast”) – also picked up bids for directing and producing their films. Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay are now the sixth and seventh unique categories that Branagh has earned notices in after Best Actor, Best Director (“Henry V” and “Belfast”), Best Live Action Short, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor.
Anderson was previously recognized here for his “Boogie Nights” (1998) and “Magnolia” (2000) scripts. The 22-year gap between his “Magnolia” and “Licorice Pizza” nominations is...
- 3/25/2022
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
This year, Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier are Oscar-nominated nominated for their original screenplay for the Norwegian hit “The Worst Person in the World.” Over the first 76 years of this category, only five films in languages other than English have taken home Oscar gold in this category.
So let’s test your Oscar history. Without hitting the Internet or your reference books, what was the first of these five to win in this category? Could it be Jacques Prevert’s script for Marcel Carne’s beloved French epic “Children of Paradise,” which opened here in 1946. Sorry, it wasn’t. Do you give up?
It was “Marie-Louise,” which won at the 18th Academy Awards on March 7, 1946 over the original scripts for “Dillinger,” “Music for Millions,” “Salty O’Rourke” and “What Next, Private Hargrove?”
Since then, only four more films in languages other than English took home the screenplay Oscar” the Italian...
So let’s test your Oscar history. Without hitting the Internet or your reference books, what was the first of these five to win in this category? Could it be Jacques Prevert’s script for Marcel Carne’s beloved French epic “Children of Paradise,” which opened here in 1946. Sorry, it wasn’t. Do you give up?
It was “Marie-Louise,” which won at the 18th Academy Awards on March 7, 1946 over the original scripts for “Dillinger,” “Music for Millions,” “Salty O’Rourke” and “What Next, Private Hargrove?”
Since then, only four more films in languages other than English took home the screenplay Oscar” the Italian...
- 3/21/2022
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Writer/director/actor Jim Cummings joins hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante to discuss a few of his favorite movies.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Thunder Road short film (2016)
Thunder Road (2018)
The Wolf Of Snow Hollow (2020)
The Beta Test (2021)
Jack Reacher (2012)
The ’Burbs (1989) – Ti West’s trailer commentary, Burbs-Mania from Tfh
Big (1988)
War Of The Worlds (2005) – Glenn Erickson’s 4K Blu-ray review
Psycho (1960) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairings
Children Of Men (2006)
Y Tu Mama Tambien (2002)
Russian Ark (2002) – Brian Trenchard-Smith’s trailer commentary
The Beach (2000)
Titanic (1997)
28 Days Later (2003)
Victoria (2015) – Eduardo Rodriguez’s trailer commentary
Krisha (2015)
Dogtooth (2009)
Inside Out (2015)
Toy Story (1995)
Finding Nemo (2003)
Wall-e (2008)
Up (2009)
Rosemary’s Baby (1968) – Mark Pellington’s trailer commentary, Oren Peli’s trailer commentary
False Positive (2021)
Repulsion (1965) – Michael Lehman’s trailer commentary
Seduced And Abandoned (1964)
Divorce Italian Style (1961)
La Dolce Vita (1960) – Dan Ireland’s trailer commentary
My Beautiful Girl, Mari (2002)
Speed Racer...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Thunder Road short film (2016)
Thunder Road (2018)
The Wolf Of Snow Hollow (2020)
The Beta Test (2021)
Jack Reacher (2012)
The ’Burbs (1989) – Ti West’s trailer commentary, Burbs-Mania from Tfh
Big (1988)
War Of The Worlds (2005) – Glenn Erickson’s 4K Blu-ray review
Psycho (1960) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairings
Children Of Men (2006)
Y Tu Mama Tambien (2002)
Russian Ark (2002) – Brian Trenchard-Smith’s trailer commentary
The Beach (2000)
Titanic (1997)
28 Days Later (2003)
Victoria (2015) – Eduardo Rodriguez’s trailer commentary
Krisha (2015)
Dogtooth (2009)
Inside Out (2015)
Toy Story (1995)
Finding Nemo (2003)
Wall-e (2008)
Up (2009)
Rosemary’s Baby (1968) – Mark Pellington’s trailer commentary, Oren Peli’s trailer commentary
False Positive (2021)
Repulsion (1965) – Michael Lehman’s trailer commentary
Seduced And Abandoned (1964)
Divorce Italian Style (1961)
La Dolce Vita (1960) – Dan Ireland’s trailer commentary
My Beautiful Girl, Mari (2002)
Speed Racer...
- 10/12/2021
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
While Netflix is far from being a haven for admirers of classic cinema, they thankfully are backing strong repertory programming in New York City. After acquiring The Paris Theater, located on 58th Street in Manhattan, and briefly reopening with some runs of Netflix features and other specialty programming, they are now officially opening their doors again on August 6 with a more substantial slate of classic cinema.
Featuring two programs, one curated by Radha Blank and another by the theater’s programmer David Schwartz, the reopening lineup features work by John Cassavetes, Kathleen Collins, Luis Buñuel, Mira Nair, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Ingmar Bergman, Terence Davies, and much more––with many on film prints.
One can also enter to win a pass for Schwartz’s series “The Paris is For Lovers,” with a newly-unveiled scavenger hunt tied to Ira Deutchman’s new documentary Searching for Mr. Rugoff, which opens on August 13 and is part of the lineup.
Featuring two programs, one curated by Radha Blank and another by the theater’s programmer David Schwartz, the reopening lineup features work by John Cassavetes, Kathleen Collins, Luis Buñuel, Mira Nair, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Ingmar Bergman, Terence Davies, and much more––with many on film prints.
One can also enter to win a pass for Schwartz’s series “The Paris is For Lovers,” with a newly-unveiled scavenger hunt tied to Ira Deutchman’s new documentary Searching for Mr. Rugoff, which opens on August 13 and is part of the lineup.
- 7/28/2021
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Among the Oscar nominations surprises every year is the Best Director lineup. Remember when Steven Spielberg (“The Color Purple”), Ron Howard (“Apollo 13”) and Ben Affleck (“Argo”) all won at the Directors Guild of America Awards but were snubbed by the directors branch of the academy. This year DGA nominee Aaron Sorkin (“The Trial of the Chicago 7”) was likewise left off the list of Oscar contenders. He was replaced by Danish director Thomas Vinterberg for his superb “Another Round,” which also picked up a bid for Best International Feature. He joins a long roster of Best Director nominees for films other than in English.
The academy first embraced international filmmakers in the 1960s. Italian auteur Federico Fellini was nominated for his 1961 classic “La Dolce Vita.” He contended again two years later for “8 1/2.” He reaped two more bids for “Fellini Satyricon” (1970) and “Amarcord’ (1975).
Predict the 2021 Oscars winners through...
The academy first embraced international filmmakers in the 1960s. Italian auteur Federico Fellini was nominated for his 1961 classic “La Dolce Vita.” He contended again two years later for “8 1/2.” He reaped two more bids for “Fellini Satyricon” (1970) and “Amarcord’ (1975).
Predict the 2021 Oscars winners through...
- 3/18/2021
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Looking for some good movies to keep you occupied while self-quarantining at home these days? How about watching some certified classics like Lawrence Of Arabia, To Kill A Mockingbird, The Miracle Worker, The Manchurian Candidate, Sweet Bird Of Youth, The Longest Day, Whatever Happened To Baby Jane? , The Music Man, Birdman Of Alcatraz, Dr. No (the first James Bond film), Days Of Wine And Roses, Jules And Jim, Divorce Italian Style, Lolita? I could go on and on with these films and several others which all have one thing in common. They were all released in 1962.
And now with so much time on your hands you can see for yourself why film critic Stephen Farber and veteran exhibition executive Michael McClellan are out to prove that 1962 is in hindsight – 58 years later – unquestionably the best year ever in the history of cinema. And with the publication of their new book “Cinema...
And now with so much time on your hands you can see for yourself why film critic Stephen Farber and veteran exhibition executive Michael McClellan are out to prove that 1962 is in hindsight – 58 years later – unquestionably the best year ever in the history of cinema. And with the publication of their new book “Cinema...
- 3/27/2020
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
“Parasite” became the first foreign language film to win Best Picture at the Oscars to go with three other victories for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best International Feature Film. but that’s not the only history it made on Sunday. Here are all the barriers the South Korean hit has broken.
1. First foreign language film to win Best Picture
“Roma” came close, but “Parasite” crossed the line. “Parasite” was only the 12th film not in the English language to be nominated for Best Picture and the first from South Korea. Bong Joon Ho and Kwak Sin Ae are the first Asian producers to win Best Picture.
2. First South Korean film to win Best International Feature Film
Hard to believe, but no South Korean film had ever been nominated for Best International Feature Film, fka Best Foreign Language Film, until “Parasite.” And now the country is 1/1 in a category that historically favors European films.
1. First foreign language film to win Best Picture
“Roma” came close, but “Parasite” crossed the line. “Parasite” was only the 12th film not in the English language to be nominated for Best Picture and the first from South Korea. Bong Joon Ho and Kwak Sin Ae are the first Asian producers to win Best Picture.
2. First South Korean film to win Best International Feature Film
Hard to believe, but no South Korean film had ever been nominated for Best International Feature Film, fka Best Foreign Language Film, until “Parasite.” And now the country is 1/1 in a category that historically favors European films.
- 2/10/2020
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
“Parasite” had a big weekend, winning Best Original Screenplay at the Writers Guild of America Awards on Saturday and the BAFTAs on Sunday for Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin Won, setting it up nicely to claim the corresponding Oscar next weekend. Should that happen, the South Korean hit would be the sixth foreign language film to do so.
The first five are:
1. Switzerland’s “Marie-Louise” (1945), written by Richard Schweizer
2. France’s “The Red Ballon” (1956), written by Albert Lamorisse
3. Italy’s “Divorce Italian Style” (1962), written by Ennio de Concini, Alfredo Giannetti and Pietro Germi
4. France’s “A Man and a Woman” (1966), written by Claude Lelouch and Pierre Uytterhoeven
5. Spain’s “Talk to Her” (2002), written by Pedro Almodovar
Of these, “A Man and a Woman” is the only one to also take home Best International Feature Film, formerly known as Best Foreign Language Film, which “Parasite” is basically a lock to win.
The first five are:
1. Switzerland’s “Marie-Louise” (1945), written by Richard Schweizer
2. France’s “The Red Ballon” (1956), written by Albert Lamorisse
3. Italy’s “Divorce Italian Style” (1962), written by Ennio de Concini, Alfredo Giannetti and Pietro Germi
4. France’s “A Man and a Woman” (1966), written by Claude Lelouch and Pierre Uytterhoeven
5. Spain’s “Talk to Her” (2002), written by Pedro Almodovar
Of these, “A Man and a Woman” is the only one to also take home Best International Feature Film, formerly known as Best Foreign Language Film, which “Parasite” is basically a lock to win.
- 2/3/2020
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
Netflix has announced that it will keep the New York City’s Paris Theater open through a lease agreement.
The venue, one of the oldest art movie houses in the United States and the last single-screen theater in New York, was shuttered earlier this year. It was re-opened earlier this month for a run of “Marriage Story” by New York filmmaker Noah Baumbach.
Netflix announced Monday a lease agreement to keep the theater open. The streaming giant said it plans to use the theater for special events, screenings and theatrical releases of its films. Terms of the lease were not disclosed.
“After 71 years, the Paris Theatre has an enduring legacy, and remains the destination for a one-of-a kind movie-going experience,” said Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s chief content officer. “We are incredibly proud to preserve this historic New York institution so it can continue to be a cinematic home for film lovers.
The venue, one of the oldest art movie houses in the United States and the last single-screen theater in New York, was shuttered earlier this year. It was re-opened earlier this month for a run of “Marriage Story” by New York filmmaker Noah Baumbach.
Netflix announced Monday a lease agreement to keep the theater open. The streaming giant said it plans to use the theater for special events, screenings and theatrical releases of its films. Terms of the lease were not disclosed.
“After 71 years, the Paris Theatre has an enduring legacy, and remains the destination for a one-of-a kind movie-going experience,” said Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s chief content officer. “We are incredibly proud to preserve this historic New York institution so it can continue to be a cinematic home for film lovers.
- 11/25/2019
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Venue launched in 1948 under auspices of Pathé Cinema.
Netflix has signed an extended lease to take over Paris Theatre, the last single-screen venue in New York that closed in August when City Cinemas’ lease expired.
The streaming platform negotiated the lease with landlord the Solow Family and will use the art house venue for special events, screenings, and theatrical releases of its films.
Paris Theatre re-opened earlier this month with a limited theatrical run of Noah Baumbach’s Oscar contender Marriage Story. Terms of the lease were not disclosed.
“After 71 years, the Paris Theatre has an enduring legacy, and remains...
Netflix has signed an extended lease to take over Paris Theatre, the last single-screen venue in New York that closed in August when City Cinemas’ lease expired.
The streaming platform negotiated the lease with landlord the Solow Family and will use the art house venue for special events, screenings, and theatrical releases of its films.
Paris Theatre re-opened earlier this month with a limited theatrical run of Noah Baumbach’s Oscar contender Marriage Story. Terms of the lease were not disclosed.
“After 71 years, the Paris Theatre has an enduring legacy, and remains...
- 11/25/2019
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
Netflix announced on Monday that it has reached a lease agreement to reopen New York’s iconic Paris Theatre.
The Paris, New York’s last single-screen theater, was shuttered earlier this year and re-opened earlier this month by Netflix for the streaming platform’s Oscar hopeful “Marriage Story.” Now Netflix will keep the theater open and plans to use it for special events, screenings and theatrical releases of its films. Terms of the lease were not disclosed.
“After 71 years, the Paris Theatre has an enduring legacy, and remains the destination for a one-of-a kind movie-going experience,” Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said in a statement. “We are incredibly proud to preserve this historic New York institution so it can continue to be a cinematic home for film lovers.”
Also Read: Laemmle Theatres Shutters Historic Music Hall, Takes Movie Chain off the Market
The Paris Theatre has charmed film aficionados...
The Paris, New York’s last single-screen theater, was shuttered earlier this year and re-opened earlier this month by Netflix for the streaming platform’s Oscar hopeful “Marriage Story.” Now Netflix will keep the theater open and plans to use it for special events, screenings and theatrical releases of its films. Terms of the lease were not disclosed.
“After 71 years, the Paris Theatre has an enduring legacy, and remains the destination for a one-of-a kind movie-going experience,” Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said in a statement. “We are incredibly proud to preserve this historic New York institution so it can continue to be a cinematic home for film lovers.”
Also Read: Laemmle Theatres Shutters Historic Music Hall, Takes Movie Chain off the Market
The Paris Theatre has charmed film aficionados...
- 11/25/2019
- by Trey Williams
- The Wrap
Exclusive: It’s official. New York’s iconic Paris Theatre will remain Manhattan’s last single-screen movie palace for a long time to come. Netflix has confirmed that it has closed an extended lease agreement to keep the theater open. Netflix would not disclose the length of the agreement; Deadline revealed on November 14 that the deal it was signing with the Solow Family that owns the prime real estate is for 10 years. The theater shuttered in August when the lease with City Cinemas expired, and Netflix surprisingly drew a temporary reprieve to show its awards season film Marriage Story by New York director Noah Baumbach.
Netflix disclosed it will use the theater for special events, screenings, and theatrical releases of its films. Translation: Netflix has secured a prime and prestigious beach head theater in New York, as it continues to persuade elite filmmakers to make their prestige films for the streaming service,...
Netflix disclosed it will use the theater for special events, screenings, and theatrical releases of its films. Translation: Netflix has secured a prime and prestigious beach head theater in New York, as it continues to persuade elite filmmakers to make their prestige films for the streaming service,...
- 11/25/2019
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
One thing that distinguished this year's Il Cinema Ritrovato festival of rare, rediscovered or restored cinema from around the world was the air-conditioning. In previous years, the "cinephile's heaven" had seen people falling asleep at films they'd waited their whole lives to see, struck down by stifling midsummer heat. Now, even that beloved cinematic sweatbox the Jolly can cool its customers enough to mostly stave off somnolence, and if a hardboiled cinephage does pass out, it's more likely to be due to the unforgiving schedule of nine-to-midnight viewings.The doughty traveler can concentrate on seeing everything in one or two strands—retrospectives on the cinema of 1898 and 1918, the work of directors John M. Stahl, Marcello Pagliero, Luciano Emmer and Ylmaz Guney, the studio Fox, the countries China and Russia in the early thirties, and so on... or they can do as I did, sampling almost randomly from across the goodies on offer.
- 7/23/2018
- MUBI
On Wednesday night, Italy celebrated the country's biggest film event, its equivalent of the Oscars: the David di Donatello Awards. The ceremony this year returned to public broadcaster Rai Uno, after the channel lost the program the last two years to Sky.
Steven Spielberg and Diane Keaton both came to Rome to receive lifetime achievement awards alongside Italian actress Stefania Sandrelli (Divorce Italian Style, The Conformist).
Among the big awards of the night, Italian-American filmmaker Jonas Carpignano won the best director prize for his stark Calabrian drama A Ciambra; Christopher Nolan took home best foreign film honors for Dunkirk; Ruben Ostlund's The Square was named best...
Steven Spielberg and Diane Keaton both came to Rome to receive lifetime achievement awards alongside Italian actress Stefania Sandrelli (Divorce Italian Style, The Conformist).
Among the big awards of the night, Italian-American filmmaker Jonas Carpignano won the best director prize for his stark Calabrian drama A Ciambra; Christopher Nolan took home best foreign film honors for Dunkirk; Ruben Ostlund's The Square was named best...
- 3/21/2018
- by Ariston Anderson
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit platforms. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.
The Big Sick (Michael Showalter)
From start to finish, The Big Sick, directed by Michael Showalter, works as a lovingly-rendered, cinematic answer to the dinner party question: “So how did you two meet?” Based on comedian Kumail Nanjiani‘s real life (he co-wrote the screenplay with his wife Emily V. Gordon), we meet Kumail (Nanjiani) as he finishes a stand-up set in Chicago. He becomes fast friends with a...
The Big Sick (Michael Showalter)
From start to finish, The Big Sick, directed by Michael Showalter, works as a lovingly-rendered, cinematic answer to the dinner party question: “So how did you two meet?” Based on comedian Kumail Nanjiani‘s real life (he co-wrote the screenplay with his wife Emily V. Gordon), we meet Kumail (Nanjiani) as he finishes a stand-up set in Chicago. He becomes fast friends with a...
- 9/8/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
After polling critics from around the world for the greatest American films of all-time, BBC has now forged ahead in the attempt to get a consensus on the best comedies of all-time. After polling 253 film critics, including 118 women and 135 men, from 52 countries and six continents a simple, the list of the 100 greatest is now here.
Featuring canonical classics such as Some Like It Hot, Dr. Strangelove, Annie Hall, Duck Soup, Playtime, and more in the top 10, there’s some interesting observations looking at the rest of the list. Toni Erdmann is the most recent inclusion, while the highest Wes Anderson pick is The Royal Tenenbaums. There’s also a healthy dose of Chaplin and Lubitsch with four films each, and the recently departed Jerry Lewis has a pair of inclusions.
Check out the list below (and my ballot) and see more on their official site.
100. (tie) The King of Comedy (Martin Scorsese,...
Featuring canonical classics such as Some Like It Hot, Dr. Strangelove, Annie Hall, Duck Soup, Playtime, and more in the top 10, there’s some interesting observations looking at the rest of the list. Toni Erdmann is the most recent inclusion, while the highest Wes Anderson pick is The Royal Tenenbaums. There’s also a healthy dose of Chaplin and Lubitsch with four films each, and the recently departed Jerry Lewis has a pair of inclusions.
Check out the list below (and my ballot) and see more on their official site.
100. (tie) The King of Comedy (Martin Scorsese,...
- 8/22/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Yvonne Monlaur: Cult horror movie actress & Bond Girl contender was featured in the 1960 British classics 'Circus of Horrors' & 'The Brides of Dracula.' Actress Yvonne Monlaur dead at 77: Best remembered for cult horror classics 'Circus of Horrors' & 'The Brides of Dracula' Actress Yvonne Monlaur, best known for her roles in the 1960 British cult horror classics Circus of Horrors and The Brides of Dracula, died of cardiac arrest on April 18 in the Paris suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine. Monlaur was 77. According to various online sources, she was born Yvonne Thérèse Marie Camille Bédat de Monlaur in the southwestern town of Pau, in France's Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, on Dec. 15, 1939. Her father was poet and librettist Pierre Bédat de Monlaur; her mother was a Russian ballet dancer. The young Yvonne was trained in ballet and while still a teenager became a model for Elle magazine. She was “discovered” by newspaper publisher-turned-director André Hunebelle,...
- 4/27/2017
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Elle
Blu-ray
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
2017 / Color / 2.40:1 widescreen / Street Date March 14, 2017
Starring: Isabelle Huppert, Laurent Lafitte, Anne Consigny, Charles Berling.
Cinematography: Stéphane Fontaine
Film Editor: Job Ter Burg
Written by David Birke
Produced by Saïd Ben Saïd and Michel Merkt
Directed by Paul Verhoeven
Michèle Leblanc, glamorous entrepreneur of a successful video game company, is the calm at the center of many storms. Her son’s girlfriend has given birth to another man’s child, an employee is stalking her with anime porn and her botox-ridden mother is betrothed to a male prostitute.
In the face of all this outrageous fortune, Michèle remains cool, calm and collected, even in the aftermath of her own harrowing sexual assault.
Elle, the new film from the Dutch provocateur Paul Verhoeven, begins with that already infamous assault, our heroine struggling under the weight of her attacker while an unblinking cat perches nearby, watching.
Blu-ray
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
2017 / Color / 2.40:1 widescreen / Street Date March 14, 2017
Starring: Isabelle Huppert, Laurent Lafitte, Anne Consigny, Charles Berling.
Cinematography: Stéphane Fontaine
Film Editor: Job Ter Burg
Written by David Birke
Produced by Saïd Ben Saïd and Michel Merkt
Directed by Paul Verhoeven
Michèle Leblanc, glamorous entrepreneur of a successful video game company, is the calm at the center of many storms. Her son’s girlfriend has given birth to another man’s child, an employee is stalking her with anime porn and her botox-ridden mother is betrothed to a male prostitute.
In the face of all this outrageous fortune, Michèle remains cool, calm and collected, even in the aftermath of her own harrowing sexual assault.
Elle, the new film from the Dutch provocateur Paul Verhoeven, begins with that already infamous assault, our heroine struggling under the weight of her attacker while an unblinking cat perches nearby, watching.
- 3/27/2017
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Producer Amy Hobby has been promoted to executive director of Tribeca Film Institute (Tfi), effective immediately.
Hobby previously served as vice-president of artist programs at Tfi and will now oversee programming, including oversight of the artist programs, education and interactive departments and their slates, as well as overall management of the organisation.
David Earls is rejoining Tfi in the new role of managing director and will take charge of Tfi’s financial oversight, corporate governance, business affairs, fundraising and communications.
Earls served as head of individual giving at Tfi from 2003 to 2012.
Anna Ponder, who served as interim executive director of Tfi from February 2015 through December 2016, stepped down at the end of the year after leading Tfi through its most successful annual benefit in November.
Vee Bravo and Opeyemi Olukemi remain in leadership roles as Tfi’s vice-president of education and senior director of interactive programmes, respectively.
SXSW has announced its next batch of featured speakers for the...
Hobby previously served as vice-president of artist programs at Tfi and will now oversee programming, including oversight of the artist programs, education and interactive departments and their slates, as well as overall management of the organisation.
David Earls is rejoining Tfi in the new role of managing director and will take charge of Tfi’s financial oversight, corporate governance, business affairs, fundraising and communications.
Earls served as head of individual giving at Tfi from 2003 to 2012.
Anna Ponder, who served as interim executive director of Tfi from February 2015 through December 2016, stepped down at the end of the year after leading Tfi through its most successful annual benefit in November.
Vee Bravo and Opeyemi Olukemi remain in leadership roles as Tfi’s vice-president of education and senior director of interactive programmes, respectively.
SXSW has announced its next batch of featured speakers for the...
- 1/11/2017
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
She's beautiful, desired and enjoys a social mobility in the improving Italian economy... but she's also a pawn of cruel materialist values. Stefania Sandrelli personifies a liberated spirit who lives for the moment, but who can't form the relationships we call 'living.' Antonio Pietrangeli and Ettore Scola slip an insightful drama into the young Sandrelli's lineup of comedy roles. I Knew Her Well Blu-ray The Criterion Collection 801 1965 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 115 min. / Io la conoscevo bene / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date February 23, 2016 / 39.95 Starring Stefania Sandrelli, Mario Adorf, Jean-Claude Brialy, Joachim Fuchsberger, Nino Manfredi, Enrico Maria Salerno, Ugo Tognazzi, Karin Dor, Franco Nero. Cinematography Armando Nannuzzi Production design Maurizio Chiari Film Editor Franco Fraticelli Original Music Piero Picconi Written by Antonio Pietrangeli, Ruggero Maccari, Etore Scola Produced by Turi Vasile Directed by Antonio Pietrangeli
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Did a new kind of woman emerge in the 1960s?...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Did a new kind of woman emerge in the 1960s?...
- 3/15/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Debbie Reynolds ca. early 1950s. Debbie Reynolds movies: Oscar nominee for 'The Unsinkable Molly Brown,' sweetness and light in phony 'The Singing Nun' Debbie Reynolds is Turner Classic Movies' “Summer Under the Stars” star today, Aug. 23, '15. An MGM contract player from 1950 to 1959, Reynolds' movies can be seen just about every week on TCM. The only premiere on Debbie Reynolds Day is Jerry Paris' lively marital comedy How Sweet It Is (1968), costarring James Garner. This evening, TCM is showing Divorce American Style, The Catered Affair, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, and The Singing Nun. 'Divorce American Style,' 'The Catered Affair' Directed by the recently deceased Bud Yorkin, Divorce American Style (1967) is notable for its cast – Reynolds, Dick Van Dyke, Jean Simmons, Jason Robards, Van Johnson, Lee Grant – and for the fact that it earned Norman Lear (screenplay) and Robert Kaufman (story) a Best Original Screenplay Academy Award nomination.
- 8/24/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Read More: Meet the 2015 Tribeca Filmmakers In advance of this year's Tribeca Film Festival, Indiewire sent out a questionnaire to the filmmakers taking their work to Tribeca. Below you'll find a selection of their responses to the question of which films inspired them. Andrew Renzi ("Franny") "I'm inspired by all sorts of films, but among the ones I already mentioned, for 'Franny,' I was inspired by 'The Great Beauty,' 'The Leopard,' 'The Cable Guy' and 'Divorce Italian Style.'" Lynn True, Nelson Walker, Ben Wu and David Usui ("In Transit") Lynn True: "There are too many to name, but I'll admit being totally inspired by 'The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller,' which I saw when I was about seven years old when I probably didn't even know what a documentary was." Nelson Walker: "It's sort of cheating, but I'd...
- 4/21/2015
- by Travis Clark
- Indiewire
Miracolo!: Monicelli’s Exuberant, Digitally Restored Classic
There hasn’t been a performer that’s come close to equaling the vibrant energy of Italian actress Anna Magnani, that furious powerhouse that graced some of the best works of Rossellini, Visconti, Pasolini, and Renoir and swept her way through English language cinema, winning an Oscar for 1955’s The Rose Tattoo. It’s with great pleasure to discover that Mario Monicelli’s forgotten classic The Passionate Thief was digitally restored last year, playing at the 2014 Telluride Film Festival before being treated to a limited theatrical run this Spring at select theaters. Starring Magnani with her frequent stage collaborator, famed comedian Toto, and a nubile Ben Gazzara, the trio wanders through Rome’s streets one lackluster New Year’s Eve as they stumble through a series of escapades.
Based on short stories by famed author Alberto Moravia (The Conformist; Two Women; Contempt...
There hasn’t been a performer that’s come close to equaling the vibrant energy of Italian actress Anna Magnani, that furious powerhouse that graced some of the best works of Rossellini, Visconti, Pasolini, and Renoir and swept her way through English language cinema, winning an Oscar for 1955’s The Rose Tattoo. It’s with great pleasure to discover that Mario Monicelli’s forgotten classic The Passionate Thief was digitally restored last year, playing at the 2014 Telluride Film Festival before being treated to a limited theatrical run this Spring at select theaters. Starring Magnani with her frequent stage collaborator, famed comedian Toto, and a nubile Ben Gazzara, the trio wanders through Rome’s streets one lackluster New Year’s Eve as they stumble through a series of escapades.
Based on short stories by famed author Alberto Moravia (The Conformist; Two Women; Contempt...
- 4/14/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
By Anjelica Oswald
Managing Editor
With the addition of Marion Cotillard’s lead actress nomination for the Belgian film Two Days, One Night, 32 actors and actresses have been nominated for their performances in foreign-language films. Cotillard was nominated for her role as a young mother and wife struggling to salvage her job in Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardennes’ film, which was chosen as Belgium’s submission to the foreign-language category but failed to secure a spot on the Oscar shortist.
Though her performance did land a Critics’ Choice Award nomination, the Oscar nomination did come as a surprise for many pundits.
Cotillard was previously nominated for the French foreign-language film La Vie En Rose (2007) and won. She is one of six actors or actresses to win for a non-English role and is also the most recent winner.
The first acting nomination for a foreign-language performance went to Sophia Loren in 1962 for...
Managing Editor
With the addition of Marion Cotillard’s lead actress nomination for the Belgian film Two Days, One Night, 32 actors and actresses have been nominated for their performances in foreign-language films. Cotillard was nominated for her role as a young mother and wife struggling to salvage her job in Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardennes’ film, which was chosen as Belgium’s submission to the foreign-language category but failed to secure a spot on the Oscar shortist.
Though her performance did land a Critics’ Choice Award nomination, the Oscar nomination did come as a surprise for many pundits.
Cotillard was previously nominated for the French foreign-language film La Vie En Rose (2007) and won. She is one of six actors or actresses to win for a non-English role and is also the most recent winner.
The first acting nomination for a foreign-language performance went to Sophia Loren in 1962 for...
- 1/21/2015
- by Anjelica Oswald
- Scott Feinberg
Hong Kong – The Hong Kong International Film Festival Society will feature a program dedicated to Marcello Mastroianni at its Cine Fan Summer International Film Festival, held August 12 to 26. Named "Marcello Mastroianni: The Great Lover," the program will feature seven of the Italian actor's classic films from the 1960s to the 1990s, including Il Bell’Antonio, La Notte, Divorce Italian Style, Marriage Italian Style, A Special Day, Ginger and Fred, and Sostiene Pereira. Winner of the Volpi Cup at the Venice Film Festival, best actor at the Cannes Film Festival and nominated three times at the Academy Awards
read more...
read more...
- 7/9/2014
- by Karen Chu
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
For years, Martin Scorsese’s most famous collaborator was Robert De Niro, who starred in the director’s most iconic movies, including Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and Goodfellas. In recent years, the director has formed a similar relationship with Leonardo DiCaprio, making five celebrated films. The Departed, their third movie together, finally won Scorsese his elusive Oscar for Best Director, and last year’s The Wolf of Wall Street is currently up for five Oscars, including two each for both men, who also produced the movie.
This Thursday and Friday at New York’s hallowed Ziegfeld Theater, all...
This Thursday and Friday at New York’s hallowed Ziegfeld Theater, all...
- 2/11/2014
- by Jeff Labrecque
- EW - Inside Movies
By Terence Johnson
Managing Editor
The Oscar race is never a dull one and that couldn’t be any more apparent than in the race for Best Foreign Language film. This year is certainly shaping up to be a battle of David vs. Goliath if you looked at the histories of the countries competing. In one corner, you have Italy, with a whopping 12 wins in this category, facing off with a country like Cambodia, with no Oscar nominations. But such is the beauty of the awards season and the Oscars. So before the nominations come out, here’s an Oscar primer to get you caught up on the Foreign Language films.
Belgium – 2013 Nominee: The Broken Circle Breakdown
Logline/Synopsis: Elise and Didier fall in love at first sight, in spite of their differences. He talks, she listens. He’s a romantic atheist, she’s a religious realist. When their daughter becomes seriously ill,...
Managing Editor
The Oscar race is never a dull one and that couldn’t be any more apparent than in the race for Best Foreign Language film. This year is certainly shaping up to be a battle of David vs. Goliath if you looked at the histories of the countries competing. In one corner, you have Italy, with a whopping 12 wins in this category, facing off with a country like Cambodia, with no Oscar nominations. But such is the beauty of the awards season and the Oscars. So before the nominations come out, here’s an Oscar primer to get you caught up on the Foreign Language films.
Belgium – 2013 Nominee: The Broken Circle Breakdown
Logline/Synopsis: Elise and Didier fall in love at first sight, in spite of their differences. He talks, she listens. He’s a romantic atheist, she’s a religious realist. When their daughter becomes seriously ill,...
- 1/8/2014
- by Terence Johnson
- Scott Feinberg
Mario Sesti programmes retrospective and preview strand in new museum Maxxi.
The Rome Film Festival (Nov 8 -17) is renewing Cinema at Maxxi, the series of film events curated by Mario Sesti.
Before the festival, between September 14 – November 6, recently launched museum Maxxi (the National Museum of 21st Century Arts) will host retrospectives, meetings with actors and directors, lectures and previews of documentaries and features.
Series The Forgotten will offer a retrospective of classics spanning postwar Italian cinema to the end of the seventies, opening with Pietro Germi’s Divorce Italian Style (Divorzio all’Italiana), followed by a conversation with Italian actor and director Carlo Verdone and curator Mario Sesti.
The strand will also include films by Mario Monicelli, Antonio Pietrangeli, Riccardo Freda, and Steno among others.
Doc series Meet Exceptional Men and Women launches with Girl Models, by David Redmon and Ashley Sabin. The festival’s preview series will include Alicia Scherson’s The Future with Rutger Hauer and Nicholas...
The Rome Film Festival (Nov 8 -17) is renewing Cinema at Maxxi, the series of film events curated by Mario Sesti.
Before the festival, between September 14 – November 6, recently launched museum Maxxi (the National Museum of 21st Century Arts) will host retrospectives, meetings with actors and directors, lectures and previews of documentaries and features.
Series The Forgotten will offer a retrospective of classics spanning postwar Italian cinema to the end of the seventies, opening with Pietro Germi’s Divorce Italian Style (Divorzio all’Italiana), followed by a conversation with Italian actor and director Carlo Verdone and curator Mario Sesti.
The strand will also include films by Mario Monicelli, Antonio Pietrangeli, Riccardo Freda, and Steno among others.
Doc series Meet Exceptional Men and Women launches with Girl Models, by David Redmon and Ashley Sabin. The festival’s preview series will include Alicia Scherson’s The Future with Rutger Hauer and Nicholas...
- 8/6/2013
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Her father, Marcello Mastroianni, was Italy's biggest film star, while her mother, Catherine Deneuve, was the queen of French cinema. As her latest film is released, Chiara Mastroianni reveals the artistic secrets she inherited from Europe's golden couple
When you've grown up as the daughter of not one but two screen icons, you might be fed up with talking about how great your parents are. Especially when you're in the same business. Not so with Chiara Mastroianni. "I hate talking about myself," the actor tells me very early into our interview. "So, you know, I can just bury all that quite easily. If someone wants to know about my mother and father, I tell them – everyone thinks they know them better than I do anyway."
In mainland Europe that may be true, though they are perhaps less revered in modern-day Britain. Mastroianni's parents are Catherine Deneuve, still the grande dame of the French screen,...
When you've grown up as the daughter of not one but two screen icons, you might be fed up with talking about how great your parents are. Especially when you're in the same business. Not so with Chiara Mastroianni. "I hate talking about myself," the actor tells me very early into our interview. "So, you know, I can just bury all that quite easily. If someone wants to know about my mother and father, I tell them – everyone thinks they know them better than I do anyway."
In mainland Europe that may be true, though they are perhaps less revered in modern-day Britain. Mastroianni's parents are Catherine Deneuve, still the grande dame of the French screen,...
- 4/10/2012
- by Jason Solomons
- The Guardian - Film News
L’Automobile has an impeccable Italian cinematic pedigree: it stars the gorgeous Anna Magnani (Oscar winner for 1955’s The Rose Tattoo and “she-wolf” of Italian neorealism), is written and directed by Alfredo Giannetti (the scribe behind the classic Divorce Italian Style), and has an amazing musical score by the incomparable Ennio Morricone. The film does not add up to a sum as great as each of those individual parts; however, it is still worth taking for a spin.
Read more...
Read more...
- 3/2/2012
- by Lee Jutton
- JustPressPlay.net
Another week has gone by and as usual, Criterion has put up some choice content on their page on Hulu Plus. Using the service more than ever to stream films that I’ve seen before and don’t own or have never even heard of until Criterion put them up, I’ve valued Hulu Plus more than ever. I also want to thank all those who have used our referral link to sign up. It pays for this article to keep going so please, sign up here to keep it going with no hiccups whatsoever. But you want to know what new and amazing films are streaming. So without further adieu…
It’s Alain Resnais’ birthday so you should be streaming his film Night And Fog (1955), a very harsh and intense depiction of the Holocaust, one of the first truthful accounts around.
Also you can stream the film we’re covering this week,...
It’s Alain Resnais’ birthday so you should be streaming his film Night And Fog (1955), a very harsh and intense depiction of the Holocaust, one of the first truthful accounts around.
Also you can stream the film we’re covering this week,...
- 6/4/2011
- by James McCormick
- CriterionCast
Italian screenwriter Ennio De Concini has died at the age of 84.
De Concini, who won an Academy Award in 1962 for his film Divorce - Italian Style, passed away on 17 November.
In addition to the comedy, for which he won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar, De Concini also worked on films including The Cry, European Nights and Black Sunday.
He also directed films including 1973's Hitler: The Last Ten Days, one of his best-known works, and enjoyed success as a television writer later in his career.
De Concini, who won an Academy Award in 1962 for his film Divorce - Italian Style, passed away on 17 November.
In addition to the comedy, for which he won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar, De Concini also worked on films including The Cry, European Nights and Black Sunday.
He also directed films including 1973's Hitler: The Last Ten Days, one of his best-known works, and enjoyed success as a television writer later in his career.
- 12/1/2008
- WENN
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