By Jeremy Carr. Ben Braddock, Dustin Hoffman’s titular character from Mike Nichols’ 1967 film, The Graduate, is first seen staring straight ahead aboard an airplane. He looks off in a trance-like gaze that will be repeated throughout the film. This type of far-away expression is the perfect physical pose— and […]
“I Don’t Do Sentimental Journeys”: An Interview with Agnieszka Holland
May 23, 2016
By Alex Ramon. Few filmmakers can claim a more diverse and distinctive career than Agnieszka Holland, a truly global artist who’s worked in Germany, France, Czech Republic, England and the United States, as well as her native Poland. From historical to contemporary subject matter, original scripts to literary adaptations, studio […]
The Struggle Toward Beauty: Terence Davies on the Road to Sunset Song
May 18, 2016
By Paul Risker. While Sunset Song (2015) takes us on a journey into the world of Kinraddie, Scotland pre-World War I and during the ensuing war years, for British filmmaker Terence Davies it is the culmination of a journey. Perhaps it would be more apt to describe it as a struggle, because if […]
Programming in Constant Change: An Interview with Charles Morris
By David A. Ellis. Charles Morris has been running cinemas for nearly twenty-eight years in northern England. His company is Northern Morris Associated Cinemas Ltd., named after the erstwhile Southan Morris Associated Cinema Circuit. He runs six cinemas, four of which are in Yorkshire and all are over 75 years old. […]
The Heart of the Melodrama: Brief Encounter on Criterion
By Christopher Sharrett. When I think about the melodrama I tend to focus on the masterpieces of Max Ophuls, Douglas Sirk, Vincente Minnelli, Irving Rapper, Edmund Goulding, King Vidor, and others, all of whom helped define the concerns of the genre. My bias favoring American (or émigré) filmmakers has tended […]
Remaining at the Helm: Marc Abraham on I Saw the Light
May 11, 2016
By Paul Risker. Within the ongoing story of film there are those filmmakers, actors and producers that cast long shadows, although there are the more personal and intimate shadows, such as the one Marc Abraham’s producing career has cast over his work as a director: Flash of Genius (2008) and I […]
Forever Revisited: In a Lonely Place on Criterion
By Tony Williams. Whether available theatrically or 16mm, VHS, and previous DVD formats, Nicholas Ray’s In a Lonely Place (1950) has always ranked high as a great Hollywood film either in the realms of authorship or genre. This year Criterion has added the film to its collection and this version […]
Film Scratches: Mixing the Mythic and the Poetic in Por Dinero (2011)
May 7, 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. Por Dinero is an engaging portrait of an indigenous family in the remote town of Panixtlahuaca in Oaxaca, Mexico, and the […]
Critic as Programmer: Michał Oleszczyk on Poland’s Gdynia Film Festival
By Paul Risker. Last year saw The Gdynia Film Festival celebrate its 40th edition, the history and lifespan of which greatly dwarfs the brief involvement of its current Artistic Director Michał Oleszczyk, who has just completed his second year in the prestigious role. When one contemplates film as a collaborative medium […]
Paolo Genovese and Perfect Strangers: A Tribeca Interview
May 4, 2016
By Gary M. Kramer. Paolo Genovese’s cheeky comedy-drama Perfect Strangers operates on the simplest—and perhaps riskiest—of principles: if our phones are all “black boxes of information” about us, is there anything in them that could possibly embarrass us in front of our spouses and dearest friends who know us so […]