By Tony Williams. After reviewing the disappointing Criterion Von Sternberg/Dietrich DVD Collection and noting the company’s inexplicable emphasis on popular films available elsewhere, it is a pleasure to see Criterion return to form with this three-disc version of Tarkovsky’s masterpiece. Subject of many fine critical books and articles, the film’s […]
Independents at 25: Slamdance 2019
January 29, 2019
By Gary M. Kramer. Now in its 25th year, the Slamdance Film Festival – held in Park City, Utah, January 25-31, 2019 – is a showcase for independent filmmakers. Here is a rundown of several features and documentaries, plus a short screening at this year’s fest. The festival opened with the […]
Watering the Money Tree: Eugen Damaschin’s Beautiful Corruption (2018)
Brandon Konecny
January 24, 2019
By Brandon Konecny. In 2014, Moldova experienced what many observers called the “theft of the century.” One billion dollars disappeared from the country’s banking system. That’s nearly an eighth of its gross domestic product. Because some worried that the country’s already fragile economy would collapse, the government intervened. The banks […]
The Dawn of New Era: Locarno 2018
Martin Kudlá?
January 23, 2019
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By Martin Kudláč. The largest annual Swiss film gathering, and one of the longest running film festivals in the world, in Locarno flourished into a sought-after cinephile event, some say even “the worldwide cinephile benchmark.” Fearless in programming daring, experimental and all around unconventional cinema, although without the elitist tinge since […]
Art and Healing – The 5 Browns: Digging Through the Darkness
January 22, 2019
By Elizabeth Toohey. R. Kelly; the backlash against Gillette; the abduction of 13-year-old Jayme Closs, held captive for three months; Larry Nassar’s abuse of upwards of 300 gymnasts entrusted to his care; the president of Michigan State’s claim that Nassar’s victims were enjoying the attention. And that’s just this week. Never […]
Journeywoman – Claire Trevor: The Life and Films of the Queen of Noir by Derek Sculthorpe
Tony Williams
January 19, 2019
A Book Review by Tony Williams. Yorkshire resident Derek Sculthorpe is an archivist who has also written plays, short stories, and articles as well as other books on Hollywood stars, such as Brian Donlevy and Van Heflin. This well-researched book reveals how important the contributions of independent critics are as […]
Beyond a Horror Anthology: Spirits of the Dead by Tim Lucas
Tony Williams
January 19, 2019
A Book Review by Tony Williams. Initiated last year with the appearance of monograph studies of Theatre of Blood and Martin, this enterprising series now includes this study of a trilogy of European Edgar Allan Poe adaptations by Roger Vadim, Louis Malle, and Federico Fellini, written by that well-known Video […]
Staying in the Present: Brendan Meyer and Sam McCarthy on All These Small Moments
Travis Merchant
January 18, 2019
By Travis Merchant. At some point, films focused on teenage characters started growing stale with repeating motifs, themes, and story arcs. It may have been set in stone with the films by John Hughes, such as Sixteen Candles (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985), and Pretty in Pink (1986). By the […]
The Other Tounge(s) of Iran: Hendi and Hormoz (Iranian Film Festival of New York)
January 16, 2019
By Arash Azizi. Hendi and Hormoz, which screened at the first-ever Iranian Film Festival of New York on January 11, has many alarming elements: A child marriage, an early-teen pregnancy, poverty-stricken locals who don’t benefit from their island’s mineral wealth and a cast of non-actors mostly speaking in a local […]
Choosing Sides: The Standoff at Sparrow Creek
Jeremy Carr
January 15, 2019
By Jeremy Carr. The men of The Standoff at Sparrow Creek exist in a world of violence. It can be a basic violence, natural even, as when Gannon (James Badge Dale) hunts a deer at the start of the film, dresses his kill, then has the game as his evening […]