By Thomas Gladysz. Film history is littered with the stories of stars whose careers were derailed by their studios, and themselves. Orson Welles and Erich von Stroheim are two of the best known examples. Each saw their careers go off the tracks for reasons that had as much to do […]
What’s in the Bag?: An Interview with Harold Holscher, Director of The Soul Collector (AKA 8)
By Ali Moosavi. The term “horror film” is often used as a short cut for a variety of movies that contain either scares, suspense or, on rare occasions, both. Therefore, it includes everything from slasher movies to psychological horror; from stories based on normal everyday life to those containing para-normal […]
Film Scratches: July 2020
Film Scratches is a blog by David Finkelstein focusing on the world of experimental and avant-garde film, especially as practiced by individual artists. It features a mixture of reviews, interviews, and essays. Serial Seduction: Film About a Father Who (2020) Film About a Father Who is Lynne Sachs’ absorbing feature length […]
Homewrecker Leaves You Speechless
“Sisterhood has not been this menacingly funny since Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?“ By Elias Savada. There’s a devilish wink running through this (mostly) housebound tale of two generations setting off against one another. In one corner is Linda (Precious Chong, daughter of Tommy, who also helped finance the film […]
Learning to Tell a Story: Scorsese Shorts (Criterion Collection)
By John Duncan Talbird. In 1974, soon after the splash of Mean Streets (1973), his first major directorial success, Martin Scorsese made a documentary about his parents, Italianamerican. Aside from still photos of the family and archival footage of Manhattan’s Little Italy neighborhood during the early 20th century, the film […]
On the Queen and Her People – Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those Things
By Ali Moosavi. She has been called The First Lady of Song and Queen of Jazz, titles which Ella Fitzgerald truly earned. In the documentary, Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those Things (2019), veteran British documentary filmmaker Leslie Woodhead charts Ella’s life from becoming a teenage orphan, running away from […]
Rise of the Female Director: Liberating Hollywood by Maya Montañez Smuckler
Madeline Hawk
July 1, 2020
A New Leaf (Elaine May, 1971) A Book Review Essay by Madeline Hawk. 83 years after Dorothy Arzner became the first female to direct a Hollywood feature film in 1927, Kathryn Bigelow became the first to win an Oscar for Best Director in 2010. But what happened in the 83 […]
The Comic Don’ts of Spying (and Filmmaking): My Spy
By Elias Savada. I wasn’t sure what to expect before watching My Spy, an action family comedy now streaming online. Mix a tough looking guy (Dave Bautista) with a cute, ornery 9-year-old (Chloe Coleman) with a small dose of cartoon characters. Alas, Wile E. Coyote would not approve of this […]
Period Drama Turned Upside Down: An Interview with Thomas Clay About Fanny Lye Deliver’d
By Alex Ramon. As startling and expressionistic in its visual style as it is intricate and juicy in its dialogue, a film of ideas that’s also a thrilling, unpredictable ride, Thomas Clay’s Fanny Lye Deliver’d is one of the mostdistinctive and dazzlingly enjoyable British films in decades. A “Puritan Western” […]
Stay Angry: Jon Stewart’s Irresistible
By Elias Savada. Entertainer Jon Stewart has been pissed off at a lot of things, but I suspect nothing riles him more than two words: Citizens United. During his years hosting The Daily Show he would rant and rave (and, out of necessity, joke) with innumerable guests about the influence […]