Credit: Desdemona DallasIn a 1948 article, The Slow Motion of Sound, Jean Epstein envisions a radical path for the future of film sound. With the fire of a manifesto, he diagnoses that since its inception, the soundtrack had been bound to “old forms of speech and music,” and “would reveal nothing to us of the acoustic world but what the ear had itself been used to hearing for as long as one could remember.” But the essay comes at a turning point. Epstein cites improving recording technology as heralding the potential for a “deeper and more accurate realism,” one that might puncture toward and reveal inner worlds and other occulted currents—“The voices of consciousness, the old repeated melodies of memory, the screams of nightmares and the words no one ever uttered.” He advocates a sonic magnification through slowing time to a granular, microscopic scale: one that would reveal in a thunderstorm an “apocalypse of screams,...
- 9/3/2021
- MUBI
Restoring, archiving and screening are the three pillars of film archives and cinematheques. During the pandemic, they have somehow had to stay standing with one of those pillars crumbling to the ground.
“Archives have had a missing arm,” as Frédéric Bonnaud, head of the Cinémathèque Française puts it.
Bonnaud was among a number of experts who gathered for a Locarno Film Festival panel discussion on the future of heritage cinema online, and the challenges posed to exhibition by Covid-19.
With their three precious screening rooms closed, the Cinémathèque Française rushed to create an online platform to continue showing some of their cinematic treasures to audiences.
The resulting platform was Henri (named after the organization’s founder Henri Langlois), which launched last June with a selection of films the Cinémathèque restored and had the rights to. To this day, the platform is still free, partly because charging a fee would be against the organization’s principles,...
“Archives have had a missing arm,” as Frédéric Bonnaud, head of the Cinémathèque Française puts it.
Bonnaud was among a number of experts who gathered for a Locarno Film Festival panel discussion on the future of heritage cinema online, and the challenges posed to exhibition by Covid-19.
With their three precious screening rooms closed, the Cinémathèque Française rushed to create an online platform to continue showing some of their cinematic treasures to audiences.
The resulting platform was Henri (named after the organization’s founder Henri Langlois), which launched last June with a selection of films the Cinémathèque restored and had the rights to. To this day, the platform is still free, partly because charging a fee would be against the organization’s principles,...
- 8/11/2021
- by Will Thorne
- Variety Film + TV
by Omar Rasya Joenoes
When Luis Buñuel, that legendary, genius director among legendary, genius directors, refused the order of his mentor, Jean Epstein, to assist Epstein’s mentor, Abel Gance, Epstein reportedly chided Buñuel by calling him a little prick compared to Gance and ending his scolding of the aspiring filmmaker by saying, “You seem rather surrealist. Beware of surrealists, they’re crazy people.” Reportedly, this took place some time in 1927.
Fast forward almost one hundred years later, Epstein’s words toward the father of cinematic surrealism sound glaringly ridiculous now for two reasons.
Firstly, while Abel Gance’s stature of a revered pioneer remains legit, Luis Buñuel’s stature is much higher. His accolades, influence, and filmography, with all due respect, dwarf not only Gance’s but also Epstein’s. The frequency of Buñuel’s body of work appearing at the top or near the top of lists belonging...
When Luis Buñuel, that legendary, genius director among legendary, genius directors, refused the order of his mentor, Jean Epstein, to assist Epstein’s mentor, Abel Gance, Epstein reportedly chided Buñuel by calling him a little prick compared to Gance and ending his scolding of the aspiring filmmaker by saying, “You seem rather surrealist. Beware of surrealists, they’re crazy people.” Reportedly, this took place some time in 1927.
Fast forward almost one hundred years later, Epstein’s words toward the father of cinematic surrealism sound glaringly ridiculous now for two reasons.
Firstly, while Abel Gance’s stature of a revered pioneer remains legit, Luis Buñuel’s stature is much higher. His accolades, influence, and filmography, with all due respect, dwarf not only Gance’s but also Epstein’s. The frequency of Buñuel’s body of work appearing at the top or near the top of lists belonging...
- 7/24/2020
- by Guest Writer
- AsianMoviePulse
The Video Essay is a joint project of Mubi and Filmadrid International Film Festival. Film analysis and criticism found a completely new and innovative path with the arrival of the video essay, a relatively recent form that has already its own masters and is becoming increasingly popular. The limits of this discipline are constantly expanding; new essayists are finding innovative ways to study the history of cinema working with images. With this non-competitive section of the festival both Mubi and Filmadrid will offer the platform and visibility the video essay deserves. The nine selected works will be shown from the 22nd till the 30th of June 2020 on Mubi's cinema publication, the Notebook. The selection was made by the programmers of Mubi and Filmadrid. Hypnotic Sea/nema by Rafael GuilhemWhen Jean Epstein, Raúl Ruiz, and other filmmakers explored the surge of waves, storms, and the way they determine the action of their characters,...
- 6/23/2020
- MUBI
Shot using a 1970s wind-up Bolex camera and on 16mm film, Mark Jenkin’s Bait is somewhat of a glorious visual anomaly in a world dominated by big budget blockbuster action thrillers and endless superhero franchises.
Set within a small community of an undisclosed Cornish fishing village (the shoot itself took place in Charlestown and Penzance), Bait presents an eerily enchanting expressionist aesthetic which owes a lot to the early films of French cinema pioneer Jean Epstein (The Fall of The House of Usher) or even Carl Theodor Dreyer (The Passion of Joan of Arc).
Bait tells the story of Martin Ward (played brilliantly by comedian Edward Rowe aka Kernow King), a gruff and taciturn cove fisherman who no longer has a boat at his disposition to fulfil a job he loves. His brother Steven (Giles King) has turned their father’s vessel into a pleasure boat for tourists, and...
Set within a small community of an undisclosed Cornish fishing village (the shoot itself took place in Charlestown and Penzance), Bait presents an eerily enchanting expressionist aesthetic which owes a lot to the early films of French cinema pioneer Jean Epstein (The Fall of The House of Usher) or even Carl Theodor Dreyer (The Passion of Joan of Arc).
Bait tells the story of Martin Ward (played brilliantly by comedian Edward Rowe aka Kernow King), a gruff and taciturn cove fisherman who no longer has a boat at his disposition to fulfil a job he loves. His brother Steven (Giles King) has turned their father’s vessel into a pleasure boat for tourists, and...
- 8/30/2019
- by Linda Marric
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
F.J. Ossang's Doctor Chance (1997) is showing on Mubi in December and January, 2018 as part of the series F.J. Ossang: Cinema Is Punk.“Out into the halls again, past dark Coke machines, and there he is lying horizontally across a metal folding chair like he’s practicing a levitation trick, both ragged cowboy boots propped up on a metal desk. He’s blue. That’s the first thing that strikes me. He’s all blue from the eyes clear down through his clothes. First thing he says to me, ‘We don’t have to make any connections.’ At first I’m not sure if he’s talking about us personally or the movie. ‘None of this has to connect, in fact it is better if it doesn’t connect.’“ —Sam Shepard, Rolling Thunder Logbook“The world has a new form of beauty: speed. Art is dead.” —Angstel Presley von...
- 12/13/2018
- MUBI
F.J. Ossang's 9 Fingers (2017) is exclusively showing November 9 – December 8, 2018 as a Special Discovery. The retrospective F.J. Ossang: Cinema Is Punk is showing November 2018 - January 2019 on Mubi in most countries around the world.Dharma GunsThe films of F.J. Ossang are richly paradoxical objects. One of the things that struck me most forcefully on my initial encounter with his work was the odd and compelling discrepancy between a bursting-at-the-seams fullness on one level, and an almost minimalistic void on another level. The friction of these two levels—the full and the empty—is simultaneous and constant, from the first moments of Ossang’s first feature film to the termination of his latest, 9 Fingers (2017). The evidence of this unusual style is directly there, poured into your eyes and ears. The characters—themselves palpably “there” as physical presences, yet militantly lacking any conventional psychology—never stop talking about the...
- 11/12/2018
- MUBI
John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection is an immersive, impressive and elegant ethnographic film essay that revisits 16mm footage of John McEnroe during the 1984 Roland-Garros French Open. The fiery, left-handed McEnroe was then ranked the world’s number one player and had several singles and doubles Grand Slam titles to his name. Breezing through the early stages of the tournament playing a sublime form of tennis that elevated him far above his mere mortal peers, he seemed on an unstoppable path to certain victory. Meeting the implacable Ivan Lendl in the final, a rival similar in calm, cool and collected temperament to old nemesis Björn Borg, McEnroe raced into a two sets to love lead but then began to psychologically unravel, losing control of his emotions and ultimately gifting Lendl, whom he had accused of being ‘chicken’ earlier in the match, an unlikely comeback and first Grand Slam title.
- 8/22/2018
- MUBI
Ivana Miloš and Patrick Holzapfel continue our series of film dialogues. In collaboration with Cinema Rediscovered in Bristol, Margaret Tait's Blue Black Permanent (1992) is showing on Mubi from July 26 - August 25, 2018 in most countries.Patrick,Here is something I always wanted to tell you about—it is connected to tides, grasses on clifftops, birdsong in the morning, smoking tea cups. All of these come into view in Margaret Tait’s observational practice, leaning in and looking closer, looking in and looking into things. This poetess and filmmaker whose work has been off the radar for decades, as she spent the latter living on Orkney within reach of the waves, made only one feature film, the one you have now seen. Retelling another life’s essence, daughter Barbara travels through memories of her mother Greta’s mysterious death. The multiple voices we hear are joined by those of the landscape in its minutiae,...
- 7/26/2018
- MUBI
Holy Terrors is an adaption of six Arthur Machen tales which has been brought to the screen by from co-directors Mark Goodall and Julian Butler; and was selected to play at the Horror-on-Sea Film Festival on Saturday 20th January. I got chance to ask them a few questions about why they chose to adapt the stories of Arthur Machen, collaborating together on the film and their favorite adaption.
What can we expect from the film Holy Terrors?
Mark – A strange and eerie cinematic experience that is atmospheric, hypnotising and perplexing.
Julian – A feature film bringing together six weird tales by Arthur Machen, the apostle of wonder.
Why did you feel it was important to adapt the selected stories of Arthur Machen together in a film?
Mark – It was a challenge as there are very few audio-visual adaptations of Arthur Machen out there. Julian Butler and I felt that the stories would work well visually,...
What can we expect from the film Holy Terrors?
Mark – A strange and eerie cinematic experience that is atmospheric, hypnotising and perplexing.
Julian – A feature film bringing together six weird tales by Arthur Machen, the apostle of wonder.
Why did you feel it was important to adapt the selected stories of Arthur Machen together in a film?
Mark – It was a challenge as there are very few audio-visual adaptations of Arthur Machen out there. Julian Butler and I felt that the stories would work well visually,...
- 1/23/2018
- by Philip Rogers
- Nerdly
Foreplays is a column that explores under-known short films by renowned directors. Jean Epstein's Les feux de la mer (1948) is free to watch below. When not greeted with indifference or merely mentioned in passing, Jean Epstein’s Les feux de la mer (1948) is frequently regarded as a strange and mismatching film, containing only a few sparks of Epsteinian poetry. Commissioned by the United Nations, this 21-minute short—the final installment in Epstein’s Breton cycle that began with Finis terrae in 1929—was part of a larger project involving a series of movies from fourteen different countries, around the theme of international cooperation. As often happens with institutional films, Les feux de la mer has been too easily dismissed as compromised and propagandistic, overshadowed by a didactic discourse diametrically opposed to the very notion of audiovisual lyricism that normally defines Epstein’s cinema. In Les feux de la mer, there...
- 9/1/2017
- MUBI
Foreplays is a column that explores under-known short films by renowned directors. Peter Nestler's Death and Devil (2009) is available to watch on Mubi from August 2 - September 1, 2017 in most countries around the world as part of the retrospective A Vision of Resistance.Death and Devil (2009) holds a special place in the filmography of Peter Nestler, marking an intriguing crossroads. Nestler’s work is strongly associated with filmmakers including Jean-Marie Straub & Danièle Huillet, Alexander Kluge, and Harun Farocki. Like them, he is primarily concerned with history and politics, intent on unveiling the traces of fascism, documenting the processes of the industrialization of cities, and narrating the conditions and struggles of laborers. But here, Nestler turns his gaze to something more immediately personal: his grandfather, Count Eric von Rosen (1879-1948), a celebrated explorer, ethnographer, and archaeologist. The film seemingly presents itself as a linear biography, giving special importance to an African...
- 8/5/2017
- MUBI
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSOver the weekend we lost two greats: Filmmaker George A. Romero, best known for inventing the modern version of all things zombie, and actor Martin Landau. Patton Oswalt has pointed out that a 19-year-old Romero worked as a pageboy on North by Northwest, Landau's second movie.The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has again added more names to its membership, and this latest batch includes even more unexpected additions from the world of international art cinema, including directors Pedro Costa, Lav Diaz, Ann Hui, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Kira Muratova, Johnnie To and Athina Rachel Tsangari.Did you see that the lineup of the Locarno Film Festival has been announced? With a huge retrospective devoted to Cat People director Jacques Tourneur and a competition including new films by Wang Bing, F.J. Ossang, Ben Russell,...
- 7/19/2017
- MUBI
By the time 1926 had rolled around, German expressionism, and the horror films it produced, was already in full swing. The time of the horror film as a viable form of filmmaking had begun. However, there are several elements of import that need to be addressed before moving onto expressionism. By this point, French impressionism was the source of the era’s most important works in the evolution of film technique, language and style in Europe. However, by this point it had begun to lose steam. Most filmmakers who had attempted impressionism had not found the success to which Abel Gance (La Roue), Jean Epstein (Coeur fidèle) and Germaine Dulac (La Souriante Madame Beudet) had achieved. Though this would be the year that Jean Renoir...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 2/15/2017
- Screen Anarchy
Spring EquinoxOn November 10, James Benning premiered five of his latest works (thinking of red, wavelength, measuring change, Spring Equinox and Fall Equinox) at the Austrian Film Museum in Vienna, accompanied by a short response film by Michael Snow. Benning was also present for a Q&A before and between the screenings. Prompted by the pleasure as well as the discontent of the encounter with these films, we decided to engage in a dialogue that would offer us the time to interweave thoughts with as little space in between as possible.Dear Ivana,Writing to you about the new films of James Benning we have seen together at the Austrian Film Museum, I have the urge to begin with the end. It seems fitting, bearing in mind how Benning proceeds in his Spring Equinox, which I found to be the most vibrating film of the evening. Shot on a road passing...
- 1/2/2017
- MUBI
I would like to accompany 2011's Nana with a printed text at the door of a public screening, a text written precisely before the word “contextualize” (b. 1934) existed as the verb form of “context” (b. 1840).It would be Jean Epstein, 1921—"Now the tragedy is anatomical. The décor of the fifth act is this corner of a cheek torn by a smile. Waiting for the moment when 1,000 meters of intrigue converge in a muscular denouement satisfies me more than the rest of the film. Muscular preambles ripple beneath the skin. Shadows shift, tremble, hesitate. Something is being decided. A breeze of emotion underlines the mouth with clouds. The orography of the face vacillates. Seismic shocks begin."(…)"The film is nothing but a relay between the source of nervous energy and the auditorium which breathes its radiance…" (from “Magnification”)Or Antonin Artaud writing in 1927—"The human skin of things, the epidermis of...
- 2/6/2016
- by Andy Rector
- MUBI
Rushes collects news, articles, images, videos and more for a weekly roundup of essential items from the world of film.Vilmos ZsigmondNEWSVilmos Zsigmond, 1930 - 2016: In December we lost Haskell Wexler, and now another one of cinema's great photographers has passed. Zsigmond was paramount to such films as Altman's McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Spielberg's Close Encounter of the Third Kind, Cimino's Heaven's Gate, De Palma's Blow Out, and many more. Keyframe has a roundup.After many, many years under construction the new home of the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (Bampfa) will open in Berkeley, CA on January 31. "For the first time in sixteen years, Bampfa film screenings will take place under the same roof as the institution’s art galleries." Included in the announcement is the terrific news that the Pfa "will expand the number of film screenings it presents, hosting programs 52 weeks per year." Retrospectives devoted to Maurice Pialat,...
- 1/6/2016
- by Notebook
- MUBI
A friend pointed out that a shot of a girl on a swing in Renoir's A Day in the Country (filmed in 1936, completed in 1945) seemed surprisingly similar to one in Robert Florey's Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932). The girl swings, and the camera swings with her. Was Renoir influenced by Florey? Both men were French. Maybe Papa Jean was a Bela Lugosi fan. But now it seems like both were influenced by Charles Vanel, who includes an identical shot in the only film he directed, Dans la nuit (1929).Vanel also sets his camera on various fairground rides, and in this, as well as much of his visual style, he seems influenced by the impressionist school: Jean Epstein features a long, ecstatic funfair scene in his Cœur fidèle (1923). Like Epstein, Vanel exults in hallucinatory moments of disorientation, transient effects of light, and contrasting overheated emotion with gritty locations and a naturalistic depiction of working life.
- 11/20/2015
- by David Cairns
- MUBI
"Supersaturation freezes the crystal in an instant. So it is with the drama, like the egg at the fingertips of the naked magician, come out of nothing, of everywhere. All around, characters and actions submissively fall into order. Toward the future lies a false track which in its turn will undergo the surprising intersection with the absolute. Toward the past, the idyll, read backwards, is tragedy. The episodes each find their place, in order, deduced, bound together, comprehensible, understood. Exactly – the actors intimate – that’s why we were there. As in the beautiful syntax of a latin sentence, from the final verb, you come back to the subject."
–Jean Epstein, 1927
Motion pictures have the power to render death as a conscious state. And words like “transcendentalism” barely scratch the surface here. A more apposite term—the one Jean Epstein nuanced in his film theory, “photogenie” (“created by light”)—brings ethics into play.
–Jean Epstein, 1927
Motion pictures have the power to render death as a conscious state. And words like “transcendentalism” barely scratch the surface here. A more apposite term—the one Jean Epstein nuanced in his film theory, “photogenie” (“created by light”)—brings ethics into play.
- 3/9/2015
- by Daniel Riccuito
- MUBI
Translators introduction: This article by Mireille Latil Le Dantec, the first of two parts, was originally published in issue 40 of Cinématographe, September 1978. The previous issue of the magazine had included a dossier on "La qualité française" and a book of a never-shot script by Jean Grémillon (Le Printemps de la Liberté or The Spring of Freedom) had recently been published. The time was ripe for a re-evaluation of Grémillon's films and a resuscitation of his undervalued career. As this re-evaluation appears to still be happening nearly 40 years later—Grémillon's films have only recently seen DVD releases and a 35mm retrospective begins this week at Museum of the Moving Image in Queens—this article and its follow-up gives us an important view of a French perspective on Grémillon's work by a very perceptive critic doing the initial heavy-lifting in bringing the proper attention to the filmmaker's work.
Filmmaker maudit?...
Filmmaker maudit?...
- 11/30/2014
- by Ted Fendt
- MUBI
The Fall of the House of Usher
Directed by Jean Epstein
Written by Jean Epstein, Luis Buñuel, and Edgar Allen Poe
France, 1928
It’s hard to imagine that the house of Usher actually acts as a “house”. There’s very little in terms of warm, domestic quality about it: the halls are long and foreboding, the rooms are empty and grand, and it doesn’t seem accustomed to guests. Rather, its ornate decorations and intense lighting suggest something more of an Arthurian castle, full of fairy-tale supernatural qualities lurking in its grounds. Villagers shy away and whisper to themselves when someone utters the name “Usher”; a lone dog runs away at the property’s perimeter — the house’s haunted aura pervades anything that even dares think about it.
An unnamed visitor rides to this doomed estate of the demented Usher for little explained reason (not uncommon for the actions from...
Directed by Jean Epstein
Written by Jean Epstein, Luis Buñuel, and Edgar Allen Poe
France, 1928
It’s hard to imagine that the house of Usher actually acts as a “house”. There’s very little in terms of warm, domestic quality about it: the halls are long and foreboding, the rooms are empty and grand, and it doesn’t seem accustomed to guests. Rather, its ornate decorations and intense lighting suggest something more of an Arthurian castle, full of fairy-tale supernatural qualities lurking in its grounds. Villagers shy away and whisper to themselves when someone utters the name “Usher”; a lone dog runs away at the property’s perimeter — the house’s haunted aura pervades anything that even dares think about it.
An unnamed visitor rides to this doomed estate of the demented Usher for little explained reason (not uncommon for the actions from...
- 10/3/2014
- by Zach Lewis
- SoundOnSight
With Fantastic Fest taking over the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar for the next week, not nearly as many specialty screenings as usual are going on in town. You will not, however, notice a lack of new releases in area theaters. I'll track those down below, but first I'll take a look at what is going on across town if you aren't engaging with the fest.
On Tuesday, the Austin Film Society will be screening Antonioni's 1966 mod classic Blow Up at the Marchesa. This special evening includes a 60s themed cocktail hour starting at 6:30 pm, complete with a "complimentary 60s themed hair and nail bar" courtesy of the Aveda Institute. The film will be introduced by Ned Rifkin at 7:30 pm. Bonus: if you show up dressed in your favorite 60s clothes, you may win a prize for the evening.
The Afs Screening Room is the place to be on...
- 9/19/2014
- by Matt Shiverdecker
- Slackerwood
Charulata
Written and directed by Satyajit Ray
India, 1964
Adopting an understated approach, Satyajit Ray tells the story of Charulata the young and beautiful wife of an older man, Bhupati Dutta, who is the editor of a political newspaper. Centered on her restless days and introspective nature, the film takes place almost exclusively within the walls of the couple’s Victorian Calcutta home. The interior private space of the home will come to reflect the interior private space of the woman. The film’s great incident is the arrival of the husband’s younger cousin, Amal, who is urged to keep company with Charulata. Charulata and the cousin bond over a love of art and their friendship disrupt the fragile comfort of Charaluta’s loneliness.
To call Charulata a film without great incident would betray the internal transformations of the characters and to understate the experience of most women. In many ways,...
Written and directed by Satyajit Ray
India, 1964
Adopting an understated approach, Satyajit Ray tells the story of Charulata the young and beautiful wife of an older man, Bhupati Dutta, who is the editor of a political newspaper. Centered on her restless days and introspective nature, the film takes place almost exclusively within the walls of the couple’s Victorian Calcutta home. The interior private space of the home will come to reflect the interior private space of the woman. The film’s great incident is the arrival of the husband’s younger cousin, Amal, who is urged to keep company with Charulata. Charulata and the cousin bond over a love of art and their friendship disrupt the fragile comfort of Charaluta’s loneliness.
To call Charulata a film without great incident would betray the internal transformations of the characters and to understate the experience of most women. In many ways,...
- 7/7/2014
- by Justine Smith
- SoundOnSight
When we colloquially use the term “photogenic,” we sometimes mistake it to refer to things that are conventionally attractive: a pretty vase, a breathtaking landscape, a supermodel. But photogenic is a quality that simply attracts the eye when captured – objects, events, and people that seem befitted to the strengths of photography, or things that, when framed a particular way, draw the eye in. Sure, Brad Pitt is photogenic, but so is Boris Karloff. Photogenic is not a term of evaluation, but a term of function: an ancient cavern can be photogenic, as can a bloody war zone. Thus, the fact that cinema can and has long depicted tragedy, horror and detritus in ways that are evocative and even beautiful has never been a paradox. Cinema uses the tools of what Jean Epstein referred to as “photogenie” to take viewers into a perspectival space, where they are asked to look at and examine people and events in ways...
- 5/2/2014
- by Landon Palmer
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Shine on, kids! The full schedule for the Stanley Film Festival, which runs at the iconic and historic Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Co, April 24-27, has been announced; and we have all the details you need right here. Dig it!
From the Press Release
The Stanley Film Festival (Sff), produced by the Denver Film Society and presented by NBC Universal's Chiller, announced today its Opening Night film and several special event highlights and experiences taking place at the four-day event (April 24-27, 2014).
The Stanley Film Festival celebrates the best in independent horror cinema at the hotel that inspired The Shining. The Festival will host a full slate of films, panels, competitions, and special events - all at the beautiful and historically haunted Stanley Hotel.
The Stanley Film Festival will open Thursday, April 24, with a Gala Presentation of an original documentary from EPiX, Doc of the Dead. Directed by Colorado...
From the Press Release
The Stanley Film Festival (Sff), produced by the Denver Film Society and presented by NBC Universal's Chiller, announced today its Opening Night film and several special event highlights and experiences taking place at the four-day event (April 24-27, 2014).
The Stanley Film Festival celebrates the best in independent horror cinema at the hotel that inspired The Shining. The Festival will host a full slate of films, panels, competitions, and special events - all at the beautiful and historically haunted Stanley Hotel.
The Stanley Film Festival will open Thursday, April 24, with a Gala Presentation of an original documentary from EPiX, Doc of the Dead. Directed by Colorado...
- 4/3/2014
- by Steve Barton
- DreadCentral.com
The Stanley Hotel launched its first annual Stanley Film Festival last year and put together an impressive group of horror films and guests. After initially announcing Doc of the Dead as their opening film, we now have the full programming list, which includes screenings of The Sacrament, Dead Snow: Red vs. Dead, and much more:
“The Stanley Film Festival (Sff) produced by the Denver Film Society (Dfs) and presented by Chiller, announced today its full line-up and schedule. As previously announced, Doc of the Dead will open Sff. The festival, taking place April 24-27, will close with the mockumentary from Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords), What We Do In The Shadows, about a house of vampires trying to get back in touch with modern society. Throughout the four-day celebration of the best in horror cinema, Sff will showcase a full slate of features, shorts, panels,...
“The Stanley Film Festival (Sff) produced by the Denver Film Society (Dfs) and presented by Chiller, announced today its full line-up and schedule. As previously announced, Doc of the Dead will open Sff. The festival, taking place April 24-27, will close with the mockumentary from Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords), What We Do In The Shadows, about a house of vampires trying to get back in touch with modern society. Throughout the four-day celebration of the best in horror cinema, Sff will showcase a full slate of features, shorts, panels,...
- 4/3/2014
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Jean Epstein is finally getting a coffret of restored DVDs very soon. He's a major figure and has been much neglected, although one has to admit that few of the impressionist filmmakers around him have fared much better. His reappraisal should also boost the reputation of his sister, Marie, a filmmaker in her own right and an extraordinary figure. It's impossible to see her performance in her brother's film Coeur fidèle (1923) without practically jumping out of your seat and asking "Who's that?" Well, maybe it's possible for some people, but not for me. I speak from experience.
A magnetic screen personality, Marie never acted again, but she co-wrote Coeur fidèle and several other major films by Jean, as well as those of Jean Benoît-Lévy. There's some suspicion that she may also have helped out on the direction of some of these, uncredited, but even without getting into guesswork we can...
A magnetic screen personality, Marie never acted again, but she co-wrote Coeur fidèle and several other major films by Jean, as well as those of Jean Benoît-Lévy. There's some suspicion that she may also have helped out on the direction of some of these, uncredited, but even without getting into guesswork we can...
- 2/20/2014
- by David Cairns
- MUBI
When did a film last blow you away? The pair behind the restoration of an old silent classic about Napoleon say it's a reminder of how magnificent pure cinema can be
Napoleon is a silent film directed by Abel Gance, dramatising the youth and early career of Napoleon Bonaparte. Its most complete screening, said to be nine hours long, took place in Paris in 1927 – but this version was subsequently lost. British film-maker Kevin Brownlow saw a version as a schoolboy and subsequently restored the film to close to its original length from various prints. His restoration was first shown in London in 1980 with a score by Carl Davis. It will screen again on 30 November at the city's Royal Festival Hall.
Kevin Brownlow, restorer
It was 1953 and I was still at school. I'd borrowed a silent French film from the library for my 9.5mm projector. It was by Jean Epstein and it was awful.
Napoleon is a silent film directed by Abel Gance, dramatising the youth and early career of Napoleon Bonaparte. Its most complete screening, said to be nine hours long, took place in Paris in 1927 – but this version was subsequently lost. British film-maker Kevin Brownlow saw a version as a schoolboy and subsequently restored the film to close to its original length from various prints. His restoration was first shown in London in 1980 with a score by Carl Davis. It will screen again on 30 November at the city's Royal Festival Hall.
Kevin Brownlow, restorer
It was 1953 and I was still at school. I'd borrowed a silent French film from the library for my 9.5mm projector. It was by Jean Epstein and it was awful.
- 11/29/2013
- by Pamela Hutchinson
- The Guardian - Film News
During this year’s Festival du nouveau cinéma, held in Montréal from October 9th until the 20th, the Special Presentation section is once again packed with an exceptional line-up of films, 26 new works in all, curated from some of the world’s most respected festivals.
Here is a list of the films being presented in this section of the festival:
A Touch of Sin (Tian Zhu Ding), Jia Zhang Ke (China/Japan), winner of the Best Screenplay Award at Cannes
All is Lost, J.C. Chandor (United States)
L’Amour est un crime parfait (Love is the Perfect Crime), Arnaud Larrieu and Jean-Marie Larrieu (France/Switzerland)
La Chute de la maison Usher (The Fall of the the House of Usher), Jean Epstein (France/United States/1928), set to the music of Montréal’s own Rock Forest
Closed Curtain, Jafar Panahi and Kamboziya Partovi (Iran)
Le Démantelement, Sébastien Pilote (Québec/Canada)
Le Dernier...
Here is a list of the films being presented in this section of the festival:
A Touch of Sin (Tian Zhu Ding), Jia Zhang Ke (China/Japan), winner of the Best Screenplay Award at Cannes
All is Lost, J.C. Chandor (United States)
L’Amour est un crime parfait (Love is the Perfect Crime), Arnaud Larrieu and Jean-Marie Larrieu (France/Switzerland)
La Chute de la maison Usher (The Fall of the the House of Usher), Jean Epstein (France/United States/1928), set to the music of Montréal’s own Rock Forest
Closed Curtain, Jafar Panahi and Kamboziya Partovi (Iran)
Le Démantelement, Sébastien Pilote (Québec/Canada)
Le Dernier...
- 9/25/2013
- by Trish Ferris
- SoundOnSight
When I first saw this artwork for Fritz Lang’s Metropolis used on the Masters of Cinema 2010 Blu-ray packaging, I was convinced that it was contemporary artwork commissioned especially for that release. As familiar as I was with Heinz Schulz-Neudamm’s famous poster for the film (aka the most sought after and most expensive movie poster of all time), for some reason I had not seen this before. But when I discovered that this poster was not only an original 1927 French release poster but also that it is a four-sheet poster that stands 94 inches tall and 126 inches wide, my mind was blown. (Click on the image to see it in all its glory). Apparently an original exists in the Art Library of the Berlin State Museum (the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin) but I would assume no copy has ever come up for auction. As far as I’m concerned this...
- 9/2/2013
- by Adrian Curry
- MUBI
My, those Cinema St. Louis guys are tres occupé! Hot off the heels of their Q-Fest (the St. Louis Gay and Lesbian Film Festival), the Classic French Film Festival starts up this week at the same location. Discover the French culture! The Classic French Film Festival is sponsored by TV5MONDE USA , the French channel in the Us. I’ve never watched it but I’m sure it’s very French!
A downloadable Pdf of the fest’s program can be found Here
http://www.cinemastlouis.org/sites/default/files/downloads/2013/fffest2013_3lores.pdf
The Cinema St. Louis page about the event is Here
http://www.cinemastlouis.org/classic-french-film-festival
All films will be shown in the Winifred Moore Auditorium, Webster University’s Webster Hall, 470 E. Lockwood Ave.
$12 general admission, $10 for students and Cinema St. Louis members, free for Webster U. students
This is the Fifth Annual Classic French Film Festival,...
A downloadable Pdf of the fest’s program can be found Here
http://www.cinemastlouis.org/sites/default/files/downloads/2013/fffest2013_3lores.pdf
The Cinema St. Louis page about the event is Here
http://www.cinemastlouis.org/classic-french-film-festival
All films will be shown in the Winifred Moore Auditorium, Webster University’s Webster Hall, 470 E. Lockwood Ave.
$12 general admission, $10 for students and Cinema St. Louis members, free for Webster U. students
This is the Fifth Annual Classic French Film Festival,...
- 6/10/2013
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
News.
Jesús "Jess" Franco has passed away at the age of 82. Cléo, "a journal of film and feminism" founded by Kiva Reardon, has just unveiled its debut issue online. For your reading pleasure: pieces on Holy Motors, Haywire, Harmony Korine and more. A new issue from desistfilm is now online, including a Q&A with David Gatten conducted by Notebook regular David Phelps.
Above: an interview with Thomas Vinterberg (The Hunt) from the newly released 12th issue of The Seventh Art. As part of the Bard SummerScape Festival held at Bard College, a Russian emigré cinema series will be running this July and August, featuring films by Jean-Luc Godard, Jean Epstein and others.
Finds.
Above: via Indiewire, a gorgeous exclusive new poster for Spring Breakers (featuring an image from what just may be the film's best scene). Chinese cinema expert Shelly Kraicer has a new piece up on Cinema Scope...
Jesús "Jess" Franco has passed away at the age of 82. Cléo, "a journal of film and feminism" founded by Kiva Reardon, has just unveiled its debut issue online. For your reading pleasure: pieces on Holy Motors, Haywire, Harmony Korine and more. A new issue from desistfilm is now online, including a Q&A with David Gatten conducted by Notebook regular David Phelps.
Above: an interview with Thomas Vinterberg (The Hunt) from the newly released 12th issue of The Seventh Art. As part of the Bard SummerScape Festival held at Bard College, a Russian emigré cinema series will be running this July and August, featuring films by Jean-Luc Godard, Jean Epstein and others.
Finds.
Above: via Indiewire, a gorgeous exclusive new poster for Spring Breakers (featuring an image from what just may be the film's best scene). Chinese cinema expert Shelly Kraicer has a new piece up on Cinema Scope...
- 4/4/2013
- by Adam Cook
- MUBI
Looking back at 2012 on what films moved and impressed us, it is clear that watching old films is a crucial part of making new films meaningful. Thus, the annual tradition of our end of year poll, which calls upon our writers to pick both a new and an old film: they were challenged to choose a new film they saw in 2012—in theaters or at a festival—and creatively pair it with an old film they also saw in 2012 to create a unique double feature.
All the contributors were asked to write a paragraph explaining their 2012 fantasy double feature. What's more, each writer was given the option to list more pairings, with or without explanation, as further imaginative film programming we'd be lucky to catch in that perfect world we know doesn't exist but can keep dreaming of every time we go to the movies.
How would you program some...
All the contributors were asked to write a paragraph explaining their 2012 fantasy double feature. What's more, each writer was given the option to list more pairings, with or without explanation, as further imaginative film programming we'd be lucky to catch in that perfect world we know doesn't exist but can keep dreaming of every time we go to the movies.
How would you program some...
- 1/9/2013
- by Daniel Kasman
- MUBI
News.
Lola, one of our favorite film journals, has released some content from their third issue. The articles include a piece by Dana Linssen on the film Nadine, among others, and the nature of feminist cinephilia. Also, you shouldn't miss this collective approach (part one of two) to Holy Motors. More cinephilic delight: the full version of the Flemish film journal Photogénie is now online, featuring Tom Paulus on Olivier Assayas, Sarah Keller on Jean Epstein, and an interview with Girish Shambu. Birthdays: Hayao Miyazaki turned 72 on the 5th (speaking of which, check this out) and Jean-Marie Straub turned 80 yesterday (David Hudson has collected some related material).
Finds.
"Happy New Years", Apichatpong-style: a brief short entitled 2013. Above: new images from Hong Sang-soo's new film, Nobody's Daughter Haewon, set to debut in Berlin next month. Via Moving Image Source, filmmaker Miguel Gomes writes on Manuel Mozos and the film Xavier:
"As I see it,...
Lola, one of our favorite film journals, has released some content from their third issue. The articles include a piece by Dana Linssen on the film Nadine, among others, and the nature of feminist cinephilia. Also, you shouldn't miss this collective approach (part one of two) to Holy Motors. More cinephilic delight: the full version of the Flemish film journal Photogénie is now online, featuring Tom Paulus on Olivier Assayas, Sarah Keller on Jean Epstein, and an interview with Girish Shambu. Birthdays: Hayao Miyazaki turned 72 on the 5th (speaking of which, check this out) and Jean-Marie Straub turned 80 yesterday (David Hudson has collected some related material).
Finds.
"Happy New Years", Apichatpong-style: a brief short entitled 2013. Above: new images from Hong Sang-soo's new film, Nobody's Daughter Haewon, set to debut in Berlin next month. Via Moving Image Source, filmmaker Miguel Gomes writes on Manuel Mozos and the film Xavier:
"As I see it,...
- 1/9/2013
- by Adam Cook
- MUBI
Part of the Tony Scott: A Moving Target critical project. Go here for the project's description, index and links to project's other movement.
To the overabundance of text, sounds, images—and moving images—in Tony Scott, we reply with something like our own. So let me (try to) keep this (almost as) short as a Tony Scott shot. Scott’s death this past summer would elicit film critics’ own counterpart to American politics: opinions and generalizations bandied between two camps who were, as always, preaching to their respective choirs. And needless to say, such discourses would be about as useful, informative, and interesting as American politics. For Scott’s work was hardly encamped: the outward liberalism of Enemy of the State, perhaps Hollywood’s most overt attack on our surveillance nation and the Nsa, possible only before 9/11, concludes that only Nsa aspirants can take down the Nsa, just as Man on Fire,...
To the overabundance of text, sounds, images—and moving images—in Tony Scott, we reply with something like our own. So let me (try to) keep this (almost as) short as a Tony Scott shot. Scott’s death this past summer would elicit film critics’ own counterpart to American politics: opinions and generalizations bandied between two camps who were, as always, preaching to their respective choirs. And needless to say, such discourses would be about as useful, informative, and interesting as American politics. For Scott’s work was hardly encamped: the outward liberalism of Enemy of the State, perhaps Hollywood’s most overt attack on our surveillance nation and the Nsa, possible only before 9/11, concludes that only Nsa aspirants can take down the Nsa, just as Man on Fire,...
- 12/3/2012
- by gina telaroli
- MUBI
This article is part of the critical project Tony Scott: A Moving Target in which an analysis of a scene from a Tony Scott film is passed anonymously to the next participant in the project to respond to with an analysis of his or her own.
<- the previous analysis | movement index | the next analysis ->
“They say this place here is haunted.
Yeah, but only by a ghost...”
It’s a good way to burrow in, those Superimpositions. Those defiant anti-subtitles. “I’m having Font issues...” Walken whines somewhere. Me too. My favorite is in Domino: the fabulously absurd and banal, the “with Dad” that over-clarifies that the guy who looks nothing like Lawrence Harvey (who ever did?), that guy we’ve just seen in The Manchurian Candidate in 1962 is, in the diegetic account, still alive, and still her father in 1993. Markerian is supposedly the word for this.
Superimposition of text—against and over the weak image.
<- the previous analysis | movement index | the next analysis ->
“They say this place here is haunted.
Yeah, but only by a ghost...”
It’s a good way to burrow in, those Superimpositions. Those defiant anti-subtitles. “I’m having Font issues...” Walken whines somewhere. Me too. My favorite is in Domino: the fabulously absurd and banal, the “with Dad” that over-clarifies that the guy who looks nothing like Lawrence Harvey (who ever did?), that guy we’ve just seen in The Manchurian Candidate in 1962 is, in the diegetic account, still alive, and still her father in 1993. Markerian is supposedly the word for this.
Superimposition of text—against and over the weak image.
- 12/3/2012
- by Uncas Blythe
- MUBI
Courtesy of the Criterion Collection.
What does it mean that Charlie Chaplin wanted to be remembered by The Gold Rush?
I'll simply say that the silent version, abandoned and later "destroyed" by its creator—thank heavens Chaplin failed in the attempt—possesses a stark Beckett-like quality that does not date, though it does open doors to my own past. Looking back on childhood frights, I realize how many of them were symbolized by a key figure and his antics. Eminently sane, the Little Tramp nonetheless evokes madness when he takes his famous turn on one foot at the edge of a bottomless abyss in the man-eating Yukon. It's the kind of madness that little kids register in their gut and it's implied by every jot and tittle of The Gold Rush—the comedy, the romance, the history...even the production itself.
The entire film is founded in a stereo-optical image discovered by Chaplin.
What does it mean that Charlie Chaplin wanted to be remembered by The Gold Rush?
I'll simply say that the silent version, abandoned and later "destroyed" by its creator—thank heavens Chaplin failed in the attempt—possesses a stark Beckett-like quality that does not date, though it does open doors to my own past. Looking back on childhood frights, I realize how many of them were symbolized by a key figure and his antics. Eminently sane, the Little Tramp nonetheless evokes madness when he takes his famous turn on one foot at the edge of a bottomless abyss in the man-eating Yukon. It's the kind of madness that little kids register in their gut and it's implied by every jot and tittle of The Gold Rush—the comedy, the romance, the history...even the production itself.
The entire film is founded in a stereo-optical image discovered by Chaplin.
- 9/25/2012
- MUBI
In the wake of this past week’s essential Jean Epstein retrospective at New York’s Anthology Film Archives I was searching for posters for Epstein’s films and not having much luck. Two of the best posters I found however were both signed by the same artist, Jean A. Mercier or J.A.M., whom I’ve been wanting to feature for some time and not just for the following personal reason.
On the poster collector site Rue des Collectionneurs, Pierre Tchernia, a producer and TV host known in France as “Monsieur Cinema,” is quoted as saying (and I’ll translate as best I can): “It took a long time for me to discover that the ‘A’ in ‘J.A.M.’, the ‘A’ of Jean A. Mercier, the signature associated with the most beautiful movie posters, the most beautiful films of René Clair, the most beautiful films in general,...
On the poster collector site Rue des Collectionneurs, Pierre Tchernia, a producer and TV host known in France as “Monsieur Cinema,” is quoted as saying (and I’ll translate as best I can): “It took a long time for me to discover that the ‘A’ in ‘J.A.M.’, the ‘A’ of Jean A. Mercier, the signature associated with the most beautiful movie posters, the most beautiful films of René Clair, the most beautiful films in general,...
- 6/8/2012
- MUBI
Several famous actors, including Michel Piccoli, Pierre Arditi, Lambert Wilson, and Mathieu Amalric, receive the same phone call informing them that Antoine d'Anthac, a prominent playwright who would frequently cast all of them, has passed away. Summoned to the late man's estate by his well-mannered butler, they arrive to see Antoine's videotaped last will and testament: speaking from the screen, the deceased asks his lifelong friends to evaluate a contemporary take on his play, Eurydice, adapted by a much younger company. As the projection begins, the spectators involuntarily repeat the familiar dialogue, as if it were lifted out of their shared favorite movie; so the performance begins on its own and the spacious living room suddenly turns into a small-town railway café. Orpheus starts his soft fiddle-scraping. He is about to meet Eurydice.
"The playwright's duty," Jean Anouilh, French dramatist, once wrote, "is to produce plays on a regular basis.
"The playwright's duty," Jean Anouilh, French dramatist, once wrote, "is to produce plays on a regular basis.
- 6/4/2012
- MUBI
On the occasion of Anthology Film Archive's retrospective on Jean Epstein and the publishing of a new anthology on the filmmaker edited by Sarah Keller and Jason N. Paul, Jean Epstein: Critical Essays and New Translations, we are here reprinting the essay by Nicole Brenez, "Ultra-Modern: Jean Epstein, or Cinema 'Serving the Forces of Transgression and Revolt.'" The anthology is published by Amsterdam University Press and available in the Us and Canada from the University of Chicago Press. Many thanks to Amsterdam University Press, University of Chicago Press, Magdalena Hernas, Sarah Keller and Nicole Brenez.
Jean Epstein disappeared over half a century ago, in 1953. Yet, few filmmakers are still as alive today. At the time, a radio broadcast announced the following obituary: “Jean Epstein has just died. This name may not mean much to many of those who turn to the screens to provide them with the weekly dose of emotion they need.
Jean Epstein disappeared over half a century ago, in 1953. Yet, few filmmakers are still as alive today. At the time, a radio broadcast announced the following obituary: “Jean Epstein has just died. This name may not mean much to many of those who turn to the screens to provide them with the weekly dose of emotion they need.
- 5/30/2012
- MUBI
“From The Arthouse to The Slaughterhouse” is a new column that will take a look at the films that have impacted the history of cinema by blurring the line between the beautiful and the grotesque; the thoughtful and the bizarre; the artistic and the horrific. Not content with settling for a straightforward approach to either the arthouse or horror genre, these films defy the standards of “talky” arthouse films and “B movie” shocks and find a way to bridge the gap between the two categories. It’s a look into the films that oppose explanation, interpretation, and reasoning. Yet for some reason, they stick in the minds of both scholars and horror fans alike long after the final reel.
The 1929 silent film, Un Chien Andalou (The Andalusian Dog), is the first film we will be taking a look at. Nothing seems more appropriate to say the least. At a time...
The 1929 silent film, Un Chien Andalou (The Andalusian Dog), is the first film we will be taking a look at. Nothing seems more appropriate to say the least. At a time...
- 5/7/2012
- by Michael Haffner
- Destroy the Brain
Ménilmontant (1926) was written, directed, produced, edited and co-photographed in Paris by Dimitri Kirsanoff. And it is, on any terms, a remarkable piece of writing, direction, production, editing and cinematography.
I'm not sure why Marcel L'Herbier and Jean Epstein seem to be regarded as almost marginal figures in cinema, important, but somehow off the beaten path. I think they're as major as you can get. But Kirsanoff is even more neglected: he barely has a toehold in film history at all. And he seems to me to be in their league, though as yet I've seen only a little of his work. I'd even say that for Ménilmontant alone he should be in the highest ranks of French silent filmmakers. His career includes short, experimental films, as well as low-life melodramas and a German mountain film with Dita Parlo. His last film dates from 1957, the year of his death.
Ménilmontant falls...
I'm not sure why Marcel L'Herbier and Jean Epstein seem to be regarded as almost marginal figures in cinema, important, but somehow off the beaten path. I think they're as major as you can get. But Kirsanoff is even more neglected: he barely has a toehold in film history at all. And he seems to me to be in their league, though as yet I've seen only a little of his work. I'd even say that for Ménilmontant alone he should be in the highest ranks of French silent filmmakers. His career includes short, experimental films, as well as low-life melodramas and a German mountain film with Dita Parlo. His last film dates from 1957, the year of his death.
Ménilmontant falls...
- 1/19/2012
- MUBI
The International Film Festival Rotterdam has announced the lineup for Regained, a "renewed" section of the Signals program devoted to what it calls "the memory of film." This year's edition promises a broader ranges of genres and "will consist not only of film projections, but also exhibitions, presentations and events."
To mark the 150th anniversary of Georges Méliès's birth, Regained will present Martin Scorsese's Hugo, the newly restored Le Voyage dans la Lune (1902) and Serge Bromberg's documentary on the restoration, Le Voyage extraordinaire. "In addition, under the title Retour de Flamme, Bromberg will be opening up his box of tricks for us with a live presentation of a series of unique cartoons illustrating how the 3D-effect has been stimulating animators’ imaginations for decades."
The world premiere of Martina Kudlácek's Fragments of Kubelka will be accompanied by screenings of seven of Peter Kubelka's shorts made between 1955 and 2003.
Richard Goldgewicht's Pablo,...
To mark the 150th anniversary of Georges Méliès's birth, Regained will present Martin Scorsese's Hugo, the newly restored Le Voyage dans la Lune (1902) and Serge Bromberg's documentary on the restoration, Le Voyage extraordinaire. "In addition, under the title Retour de Flamme, Bromberg will be opening up his box of tricks for us with a live presentation of a series of unique cartoons illustrating how the 3D-effect has been stimulating animators’ imaginations for decades."
The world premiere of Martina Kudlácek's Fragments of Kubelka will be accompanied by screenings of seven of Peter Kubelka's shorts made between 1955 and 2003.
Richard Goldgewicht's Pablo,...
- 1/9/2012
- MUBI
What's in a name? It does seem a little strange that Jean Epstein, father of photogenics, should co-write with his sister Marie (herself a fascinating filmmaker) a love story, Cœur fidèle, in which the central lovers are called Jean and Marie. But it's a mistake to judge the inhabitants of bygone eras by our own ideas of what's kind of weird.
Incestuous sublimation aside (and it's strictly something you get from the credits, not something present in the story), this is love story menaced by poverty and evil, a simple fable extended by atmospherics rather than plot elaboration: Epstein as director has a love of lingering lap dissolves and double exposures, endlessly fading his protagonists in and out over and under shots of glittering waves... The hallucinatory, sunstruck quality has a foretaste of Lynch, while the scenes of dockside poverty might have influenced Sternberg's The Salvation Hunters, made two years later.
Incestuous sublimation aside (and it's strictly something you get from the credits, not something present in the story), this is love story menaced by poverty and evil, a simple fable extended by atmospherics rather than plot elaboration: Epstein as director has a love of lingering lap dissolves and double exposures, endlessly fading his protagonists in and out over and under shots of glittering waves... The hallucinatory, sunstruck quality has a foretaste of Lynch, while the scenes of dockside poverty might have influenced Sternberg's The Salvation Hunters, made two years later.
- 10/13/2011
- MUBI
"Benning's titles are 'Snakes on a Plane' direct," wrote Michael Sicinski in dispatch to Cargo from Toronto, "and this one consists, as you'd expect, of 20 shots of individuals smoking a single cigarette. The shot lasts however long it takes the given participant to mow down that cancer stick. As Benning explained (although the piece makes it fairly obvious), the ciggie is but an excuse for sustained time-based portraiture; each shot is a close-up, and the action, much more so than the smoking, is the subject forgetting his or her self-consciousness and existing as a face."
"Last year's festival brought his debut on digital, Ruhr, a massively beautiful meditation on duration," writes R Emmet Sweeney at Movie Morlocks. "Twenty Cigarettes is more of a lark, a way for him to work and hang out with his friends at the same time, kind of an avant-garde Ocean's 11."
"There's a...
"Last year's festival brought his debut on digital, Ruhr, a massively beautiful meditation on duration," writes R Emmet Sweeney at Movie Morlocks. "Twenty Cigarettes is more of a lark, a way for him to work and hang out with his friends at the same time, kind of an avant-garde Ocean's 11."
"There's a...
- 10/7/2011
- MUBI
Masters of Cinema:Jean Epstein's Cœur fidèle [True Heart] established the great French filmmaker as one of the most inventive directors of the (then still silent) art form. A pared-down tale of a barmaid oppressed by an exploitative foster family who attempt to push her into the arms of an unscrupulous regular-about-town, Marie's heart (exuberantly vivified by Gina Marès) belongs, as far as she's concerned, to the tenderly blank Jean (Léon Mathot)...Cœur fidèle drives its simple story (which, with its infamous and exhilarating "carousel sequence", helped pave the way for the narrative tradition of such Murnau masterworks as Sunrise and City Girl) on into the realm of what might be considered an early incarnation of French poetic realism -- all while still anticipating Epstein's magical, post-surrealist,...
- 6/27/2011
- Screen Anarchy
One video label that we've touched on over the last few years, but never really given proper attention is the UK's Masters of Cinema. Well, I'm hoping to give them a little bit more air time, since they are the UK equivalent, and sometime superior, of The Criterion Collection. In the last two days I've received early notification of Masters of Cinema's plans for new Dual-format sets of Shohei Imamura's Pigs & Battleships (currently found in Criterion's Pigs, Pimps, & Prostitutes on DVD) and Jean Epstein's Coeur Fidele, currently unavailable on home video in the Us. This makes the third Imamura Blu-ray from Master of Cinema after Vengeance is Mine (also on DVD from Criterion) and Profound Desires of the Gods (unavailable in the Us...
- 4/21/2011
- Screen Anarchy
Source: FilmShaft - Eureka’s Masters Of Cinema Label To Release Jean Epstein’s Cœur Fidèle
Eureka's Masters Of Cinema label often release some fabulous stuff. As cinema moves forward into the future it's sometimes easy to forget the pioneers of the medium. French film-maker Jean Epstein was a pioneer of 1920s impressionist cinema and Eureka will be releasing Cœur fidèle in dual format (Blu-ray and DVD) from 27th June.
Below we've got the cover artwork, disc details and synopsis. Definitely worth owning for those interested in cinema history and early French film.
Synopsis:
Jean Epstein's Cœur fidèle [True Heart] established the great French filmmaker as one of the most inventive directors of the (then still silent) art form. A pared-down tale of a barmaid oppressed by an exploitative foster family who attempt to push her into the arms of an unscrupulous regular-about-town, Marie's heart (exuberantly vivified by Gina Marès) belongs,...
Eureka's Masters Of Cinema label often release some fabulous stuff. As cinema moves forward into the future it's sometimes easy to forget the pioneers of the medium. French film-maker Jean Epstein was a pioneer of 1920s impressionist cinema and Eureka will be releasing Cœur fidèle in dual format (Blu-ray and DVD) from 27th June.
Below we've got the cover artwork, disc details and synopsis. Definitely worth owning for those interested in cinema history and early French film.
Synopsis:
Jean Epstein's Cœur fidèle [True Heart] established the great French filmmaker as one of the most inventive directors of the (then still silent) art form. A pared-down tale of a barmaid oppressed by an exploitative foster family who attempt to push her into the arms of an unscrupulous regular-about-town, Marie's heart (exuberantly vivified by Gina Marès) belongs,...
- 4/20/2011
- by Martyn Conterio
- FilmShaft.com
Above: Zoulikha Bouabdellah's Al Attlal (Ruines), left, and Pierre Léon's À la barbe d'Ivan, right.
Nicole Brenez has curated two programs of new work from the French avant-garde for this year’s Rendezvous with French Cinema 2011 in New York; below she has offered her program notes in French. Program one (on Saturday) concentrates on filmmakers reappropriating images; program two (Sunday) is the new feature by Ange Leccia, Nuit bleue. Below, I’ve translated Brenez’s extended appreciation of Leccia and Nuit bleue; as usual, I’ve tried to stay faithful to the sound and rhythm of the original where possible. Beneath the translated extract you'll find the full article by Ms. Brenez in its original French. —David Phelps
***
…Although Ange Leccia has also practiced re-appropriating images (especially Jean Luc-Godard’s) in his installations and his films, Nuit bleuetakes up a different aesthetic vein, one rich with a long tradition of the French avant-garde.
Nicole Brenez has curated two programs of new work from the French avant-garde for this year’s Rendezvous with French Cinema 2011 in New York; below she has offered her program notes in French. Program one (on Saturday) concentrates on filmmakers reappropriating images; program two (Sunday) is the new feature by Ange Leccia, Nuit bleue. Below, I’ve translated Brenez’s extended appreciation of Leccia and Nuit bleue; as usual, I’ve tried to stay faithful to the sound and rhythm of the original where possible. Beneath the translated extract you'll find the full article by Ms. Brenez in its original French. —David Phelps
***
…Although Ange Leccia has also practiced re-appropriating images (especially Jean Luc-Godard’s) in his installations and his films, Nuit bleuetakes up a different aesthetic vein, one rich with a long tradition of the French avant-garde.
- 3/19/2011
- MUBI
In the fall of 1946, Frank Stauffacher mounted a major, and very influential, retrospective of avant-garde film in the U.S. at the San Francisco Museum of Art. The series was called “Art in Cinema” and it featured ten different programs from filmmakers in the U.S., France, Germany and Canada.
By the mid-’40s, the avant-garde hadn’t taken a strong hold in the U.S. yet, so the majority of the films screened came from Europe, or by Europeans who relocated to the U.S. However, by that time also, the European avant-garde had pretty much completely petered out. Still, Stauffacher wanted to show that there was a continuity to avant-garde film history that, up until that point, had yet to be fully considered.
In conjunction with the series, the San Francisco Museum of Art published a catalog, pretty much like one would find with any major art exhibit.
By the mid-’40s, the avant-garde hadn’t taken a strong hold in the U.S. yet, so the majority of the films screened came from Europe, or by Europeans who relocated to the U.S. However, by that time also, the European avant-garde had pretty much completely petered out. Still, Stauffacher wanted to show that there was a continuity to avant-garde film history that, up until that point, had yet to be fully considered.
In conjunction with the series, the San Francisco Museum of Art published a catalog, pretty much like one would find with any major art exhibit.
- 12/15/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
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