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4 items from 2012

5 September 2012 7:34 AM, PDT | The Guardian - Film News | See recent The Guardian - Film News news »

This week is no laughing matter as we pick out the best clown cameos – from the weepy to the creepy

This week's Clip joint is by Martyn Conterio. Think you can do better? Email your idea for a future Clip joint to adam.boult@guardian.co.uk

The movies have turned the once buffoonish, humble clown into an often monstrous screen entity. If they're not kidnapping victims to eat (à la Killer Klowns From Outer Space) then they're pathetic, mopey sorts "crying on the inside". Coulrophobia, too, goes some way to explain what we can describe as their inherent creepiness and strangeness. After all, aren't these guys supposed to make us laugh with daft antics and pratfalls in the arena of a Big Top?

The clown has appeared in a range of titles: from melodramas to pitch black comedies. The horror film, however, feels the clown's natural home despite giving »

- Guardian readers

29 January 2012 10:00 PM, PST | Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy | See recent Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy news »

Alexander Payne is once again an Oscar-nominated director, for his wonderful film The Descendants (still my favorite picture of 2011), but you may not be aware that his love of cinema runs deep. When he agreed to introduce Lon Chaney in He Who Gets Slapped at last year’s San Francisco Silent Film Festival, he talked about his lifelong passion, and his love of silent film, with such eloquence that I later asked if he would allow me to reprint his speech. This seems as good a time as any. Like most of you, I fell in love with silent film as a child, even as my exposure to them, in 1960s and '70s Omaha, was limited. And I’m sure that like many of you, I spent all of my...

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- Leonard Maltin

25 January 2012 10:16 AM, PST | Rope of Silicon | See recent Rope Of Silicon news »

Ten Silent Films Anyone Who Liked The Artist Should See

This year's Oscar race got serious when the Golden Globes picked their winners for Best Picture. The Globes haven't always been a good barometer for which film will actually take Best Picture but they do help films garner recognition and additional box office at a critical time of the year. This year's two winners, The Artist for Best Musical or Comedy and The Descendants for Best Drama, were already considered front-runners and although neither is considered a lock at this point, the wins at last weekend's Globes ceremony certainly didn't hurt their chances. Which brings me to a question for the audience. Is The Artist getting attention simply because it is a curiosity or is it really that good? I tend to agree with Brad's review when he suggested that "... 80 or so years ago I don't think it would have »

- Bill Cody

10 January 2012 3:25 AM, PST | Den of Geek | See recent Den of Geek news »

In the first part of a new series, Zoe takes a look back at the history of MGM, one of Hollywood’s oldest and most notable studios...

Studios have come and gone since the birth of cinema, and the film business is an unpredictable one, as the history of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer reveals. Founded in 1924, its name conjures up images of lavish musicals, sweeping historical epics, glamorous stars and its mascot, Leo the lion.

It’s fair to say that MGM is one of the most famous and influential studios in Hollywood, and certainly one of the most iconic studios to come out of American film industry. But where did it all begin?

The story begins in the early 1920s. Vaudeville, previously one of the most popular forms of entertainment, is beginning to dwindle, as movies capture the public’s imagination. Enter Marcus Loew, a theatre chain owner. What Loew wanted was »

4 items from 2012