By Jeremy Carr. Embracing a road trip structure, which is always conducive to a film concerning self-reflective journeys of the soul, Eugene Jarecki’s The King takes as its meditative subject not just the meteoritic rise and catastrophic fall of Elvis Presley, but also the corresponding character of the United States, through […]
They Feud (Again): Under the Tree
By Thomas Puhr. One may argue that the “feuding neighbors” subgenre is overdone, having been explored in films like John G. Avildsen’s Neighbors (1981), Danny DeVito’s Duplex (2003), and Nicholas Stoller’s Neighbors (2014) and Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (2016). This trend is not limited to movie theaters, either; nearly every […]
Between Fantasy and Reality: A Matter of Life and Death (1946) from the Criterion Collection
July 12, 2018
By Tony Williams. One can never have too much of a good thing and the successful works of The Archers defines this cinematically. After the long overdue recognition delivered to Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger while they were still around to receive it, acclaim by a later generation of directors […]
Art Film Fest 2018: The Time of Its Time
By Robert Buckeye. The centenary of the formation of Czechoslovakia and the half century commemoration of the Prague Spring transformed Art Film Fest in Košice, Slovakia (15-23 June) this year into a seminar on the myriad possibilities and uses of film. Its presentation of films on the inter-city train between […]
The Cinematic Form of the Football Match
July 11, 2018
By Declan Cochran. Introduction (Pre-Match Warm-Up) Cinematically speaking, the filmed football match is a curious phenomenon, one that seems to integrate a number of cinematic techniques whilst, obviously, by definition not being actual cinema. The football match is pure documentary, divorced from the traditional narrative associations that one might have […]
Conflict, Dissension, and Collaboration – Nope, Nothing Wrong Here: The Making of Cujo, Written and Edited by Lee Gambin
July 10, 2018
A Book Review by Tony Williams. This book is an excellent addition to the Bear Manor Media repertoire. Written by an independent film historian as a tribute to a film he finds of exceptional value, the book’s subtitle could also be renamed “Everything You Need to Know about Cujo – […]
Vulnerability and Awareness: Max Emerson on Hooked
By Tom Ue. With more than 900K followers on Instagram alone, writer and director Max Emerson uses his social media presence to promote awareness of problems facing the LGBTQ community. His latest project, the film Hooked had its world premiere at the Toronto Inside Out Festival, and it partners with […]
Bob Farkas on Going Crazy Famous
July 6, 2018
By Tom Ue. Bob Farkas took the biggest gamble of his life when he became, at the age of 53, a first-time filmmaker. He founded Farkas Features, a low-budget, niche-oriented, feature film development and production company that focuses on creating movies with bold and timely subject matter. He wrote, produced, and […]
Weird Science: Three Identical Strangers
July 3, 2018
By Elias Savada. I’ve been told, at rare moments throughout my life, that I look just like someone else, other than my dad or a close cousin, of course. Usually, if shown a photograph of the other person, I would not see a resemblance at all. For Robert Shafran, Edward Galland, […]
John Waters, Respectably Vile Again: Female Trouble (Criterion Collection)
July 2, 2018
By Gary M. Kramer. John Waters has achieved respectability (again). After 2016’s successful Criterion Collection release of Multiple Maniacs, the premier film snob’s publisher of classics on Blu-ray/DVD has now issued a new 4K digital restoration of his 16mm masterpiece, Female Trouble, from 1974. The original film’s grainy quality gains […]