By Christopher Sharrett. The Criterion Collection’s release on Blu-ray of Russ Meyer’s Beyond the Valley of the Dolls might bring accusations of slumming. Such accusations won’t come from me. I have long seen Meyer as one of the great American satirists of low-rent cinema, able to rip the nation and […]
The Undersung Heroes of Music: Soundbreaking (A DOC NYC Review)
November 20, 2016
By Jude Warne. “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.” –Idiom of recording artist indicating the producer What defines a quality music producer? Well-informed and developed artistic taste? Phenomenal technical prowess in the recording studio? Is it someone who stands off to the side of the musicians, supporting and […]
Before and After the Wall – Re-Imagining DEFA: East German Cinema in Its National and Transnational Contexts
A Book Review by Tony Williams. Berghahn is known for its publication of excellent books on German Cinema within its catalog. This recent work proves no exception to the rule. Including fifteen essays by well-known scholars in the field aware of the changing complexities of subject matter and well-versed in […]
Liverpool Radical Film Festival 2016
By Anthony Killick. The election of Donald Trump is the latest occurrence signalling neoliberalism’s transformation into some form of neo-authoritarianism constituted by a renewed commitment to upholding corporate interests and a frightful endorsement of racism and misogyny. How should those involved in the production, distribution and exhibition of film culture […]
Film Scratches: Digital Lyricism – The Film Poems of Bobie
November 15, 2016
Film Scratches focuses on the world of experimental and avant-garde film, especially as practiced by individual artists. It features a mixture of reviews, interviews, and essays. A Review by David Finkelstein. Bobie (Yves Bommenel) is a French poet and composer who has created a series of inventive, invigorating videos of some of […]
Film Scratches: Disturbing Desires – Light-Sleep (2009)
November 15, 2016
Film Scratches focuses on the world of experimental and avant-garde film, especially as practiced by individual artists. It features a mixture of reviews, interviews, and essays. A Review by David Finkelstein. Light-sleep, a 6 minute film of hand processed found footage by Hungarian filmmaker Péter Lichter, begins with a shot of a […]
Ida Lupino, Director by Therese Grisham and Julie Grossman
November 15, 2016
Rutgers University Press presents Ida Lupino, Director: Her Art and Resilience in Times of Transition (May 2017), the first study devoted to a fascinating and largely ignored voice in American cinema. While addressing the context of Lupino’s work, with special attention to censorship, authors Therese Grisham and Julie Grossman focus on the films of […]
Bringing Horror to Slovenia: Tomaž Gorkič on Killbillies
By Sotiris Petridis. Killbilllies (original title: Idila, i.e., Idyll), a harrowing tale of abduction, violence and hoped-for survival, is Slovenia’s first ever horror movie. It features a group of fashionistas from the city, including models Zina (Nina Ivanisin) and Mia (Nika Rozman), make-up artist Dragica (Manca Ogorevc) and photographer Blitcz […]
Being 17: Sexual Awakening and Race in the Hautes-Pyrénées
by Kate Hearst. A renaissance of teen films about sexuality has energized French cinema in recent years with works by Abdellatif Kechiche, Céline Sciamma, and Katell Quillevere, among others. Now, in Being 17, veteran filmmaker André Téchiné brings his unique sensibility to examine the complex inter-play of sexual awakening and […]
Life, Celebrated: Arrival is a Must See
November 11, 2016
By Elias Savada. In Hollywood, when you hear the words “alien invasion,” you might expect any manner of shoot-’em-up movies like Independence Day (1996) or Edge of Tomorrow (2014), among many other rousing popcorn-munching action pictures that have landed in our planet’s multiplexes. Arrival is a bit different. It is a wildly satisfying “alien […]