Even among the more underrated Akira Kurosawa films are timeless masterpieces.
If films like “Dersu Uzala” and “The Idiot” and “Kagemusha” aren’t talked about as much, it’s because the best-known Kurosawa titles — “Seven Samurai,” “Rashomon,” “Throne of Blood” — also happen to be among the most influential movies ever made, casting their shadow over the Spaghetti Western genre, “Star Wars,” and so many more.
Just within the past few weeks, a movie loosely based on “Seven Samurai,” Zack Snyder’s misbegotten “Rebel Moon Part 2,” started streaming, Spike Lee confirmed he’ll direct an adaptation of “High and Low,” and, let’s face it, there’d probably be no “Shogun” at all without the Kurosawa-immortalized Japanese samurai culture onscreen. Probably no director other than Fritz Lang and John Ford has influenced as many genres as Kurosawa, who died in 1998.
But instead of focusing so much on his impact, look at the films.
If films like “Dersu Uzala” and “The Idiot” and “Kagemusha” aren’t talked about as much, it’s because the best-known Kurosawa titles — “Seven Samurai,” “Rashomon,” “Throne of Blood” — also happen to be among the most influential movies ever made, casting their shadow over the Spaghetti Western genre, “Star Wars,” and so many more.
Just within the past few weeks, a movie loosely based on “Seven Samurai,” Zack Snyder’s misbegotten “Rebel Moon Part 2,” started streaming, Spike Lee confirmed he’ll direct an adaptation of “High and Low,” and, let’s face it, there’d probably be no “Shogun” at all without the Kurosawa-immortalized Japanese samurai culture onscreen. Probably no director other than Fritz Lang and John Ford has influenced as many genres as Kurosawa, who died in 1998.
But instead of focusing so much on his impact, look at the films.
- 4/25/2024
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
Moving is quickly becoming a fan favorite on Disney+. The Korean superhero drama series is based on a popular webtoon of the same name by Kang Full, he is also the creator behind the Disney+ adaptation. Directed by Park In-je and Park Younseo, Moving is filled with action, teen drama, and heartwrenching moments that will keep your eyes glued to the screen.
Moving tells the story of three high super-powered school students, who inherited their powers from their parents. While they try to hide their powers their parents try to make sure that other people don’t use them for their powers. But all of their efforts are in vain because a very dangerous fight is just ahead of them.
Moving – Episode Guide (When are the Episodes Coming Out?) Credit – Disney+
Moving doesn’t have a very easy episode guide as Disney+ has decided to release the episode in a complicated way.
Moving tells the story of three high super-powered school students, who inherited their powers from their parents. While they try to hide their powers their parents try to make sure that other people don’t use them for their powers. But all of their efforts are in vain because a very dangerous fight is just ahead of them.
Moving – Episode Guide (When are the Episodes Coming Out?) Credit – Disney+
Moving doesn’t have a very easy episode guide as Disney+ has decided to release the episode in a complicated way.
- 9/11/2023
- by Kulwant Singh
- Cinema Blind
It’s been quite a year for Prime Video already. The service is seeing huge success with its second season of “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” and its international espionage thriller “Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan” turned in its fourth and final season earlier this summer.
Unfortunately for Tolkien fans, there’s no new season of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” to dive into this August, but there are some fantastic titles coming to Prime Video all throughout the month. From Prime Video originals to hot new movies, here are the top five titles The Streamable is most excited about on the service in August 2023.
30-Day Free Trial $8.99 / month amazon.com What Are the Best Shows and Movies Coming to Prime Video in August 2023? ‘The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart’ | Aug. 4
Alice Hart has to endure a tragedy no child should have to face, losing her parents...
Unfortunately for Tolkien fans, there’s no new season of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” to dive into this August, but there are some fantastic titles coming to Prime Video all throughout the month. From Prime Video originals to hot new movies, here are the top five titles The Streamable is most excited about on the service in August 2023.
30-Day Free Trial $8.99 / month amazon.com What Are the Best Shows and Movies Coming to Prime Video in August 2023? ‘The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart’ | Aug. 4
Alice Hart has to endure a tragedy no child should have to face, losing her parents...
- 7/27/2023
- by David Satin
- The Streamable
Back in 1988, Shannon Strong was a scrappy young Denver punk musician playing in a band called the Pagan Cowboys while dreaming of something else. Inspired by the magazine ads of Neve recording consoles she taped on her bedroom wall as a kid and the flashing buttons at the fingertips of Star Trek’s Lieutenant Uhura, she wanted to be behind the recording desk as well as in front of it.
She fled the shackles of Reagan’s America first for London, then, after witnessing a “mindblowing” Einstürzende Neubauten gig, decided to explore Berlin.
She fled the shackles of Reagan’s America first for London, then, after witnessing a “mindblowing” Einstürzende Neubauten gig, decided to explore Berlin.
- 4/7/2023
- by Lo Carmen
- Rollingstone.com
Even the greatest filmmakers end up fumbling once or twice. That's simply human nature shining through — nobody is perfect, and thus, no director has a perfect filmography. They may not produce any movies you hate, necessarily, but even your favorite director has movies you think are of lesser quality than others. Take, for instance, legendary auteur Akira Kurosawa, who is often credited as one of the defining directors of cinema.
However, not even he could say that his filmography was flawless. That's because in 1951, he released "The Idiot," an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Fyodor Dostoevsky. In an interview compiled in the book, "Akira Kurosawa: Interviews," he described the making of that movie as troublesome, which isn't a surprise given how it was cut down from a whopping 265 minutes to 100 minutes. Regardless, it sounded like he had a rough go of it with the producers at Shochiku,...
However, not even he could say that his filmography was flawless. That's because in 1951, he released "The Idiot," an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Fyodor Dostoevsky. In an interview compiled in the book, "Akira Kurosawa: Interviews," he described the making of that movie as troublesome, which isn't a surprise given how it was cut down from a whopping 265 minutes to 100 minutes. Regardless, it sounded like he had a rough go of it with the producers at Shochiku,...
- 2/11/2023
- by Erin Brady
- Slash Film
One of many good things to be said about “Eo,” surely the wackiest movie in competition at Cannes this year, is that you would have no idea it was made by an 84-year-old filmmaker in only his fourth movie since the fall of the Soviet Union. A master of the aesthetically liberated New Polish Cinema — fellow alum include Krzysztof Kieślowski, Agnieszka Holland, and Krzysztof Zanussi — Jerzy Skolimowski last won plaudits on the Croisette in the late ’70s and early ’80s for a string of British-made dramas starring the likes of John Hurt and Jeremy Irons. Horror film “The Shout,” with Alan Bates, took the Grand Prix jury prize in 1978. “Moonlighting,” in 1982, won best screenplay here. New York Times critic Vincent Canby called it “one of the best films ever made about exile.”
“Eo” is not like any of those, even if it does have something to say about exile.
Told...
“Eo” is not like any of those, even if it does have something to say about exile.
Told...
- 5/20/2022
- by Adam Solomons
- Indiewire
Donkey Skin: Skolimowski Restages Bresson for the Modern Age
Robert Bresson’s 1966 film Au Hasard Balthazar is considered a masterpiece, though its reputation took a few years to catch on with its merits. Based on a passage from Dostoevsky’s The Idiot, it tells the tale of a titular donkey as he passes between owners, left to die after we’ve experienced examples of the seven deadly sins. The legendary Jerzy Skolimowski updates the exercise in his latest film Eo.
Godard hailed the original film as representing “the world in an hour and a half”.…...
Robert Bresson’s 1966 film Au Hasard Balthazar is considered a masterpiece, though its reputation took a few years to catch on with its merits. Based on a passage from Dostoevsky’s The Idiot, it tells the tale of a titular donkey as he passes between owners, left to die after we’ve experienced examples of the seven deadly sins. The legendary Jerzy Skolimowski updates the exercise in his latest film Eo.
Godard hailed the original film as representing “the world in an hour and a half”.…...
- 5/20/2022
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Ricky Gardiner, the guitarist who played stinging, obtuse leads throughout Davie Bowie’s iconic Low and Iggy Pop’s rowdy Lust for Life, has died at age 73. Tony Visconti, who co-produced Low, reported the news on Facebook, saying that Gardiner’s wife, Virginia, had notified him of the guitarist’s death. Gardiner had been battling Parkinson’s at the time of his death.
“Dearest Ricky, lovely, lovely man, shirtless in your coveralls, nicest guy who ever played guitar,” Iggy Pop wrote on Twitter. “Thanks for the memories and the songs,...
“Dearest Ricky, lovely, lovely man, shirtless in your coveralls, nicest guy who ever played guitar,” Iggy Pop wrote on Twitter. “Thanks for the memories and the songs,...
- 5/16/2022
- by Kory Grow
- Rollingstone.com
Dr. Marcus Stiglegger is an Austrian film scholar, publicist, musician and occasional director. Over the years, he has made a name for himself with countless publications in the fields of film and media theory in German, but also in English. He has been part of commentaries and other extras for editions of movies published by Arrow Video, Capelight and many other publishers. Stiglegger is the author of books like “Terrorkino. Angst/Lust im Körperhorror” (Terror cinema. Fear and lust in body horror), “SadicoNazista. Geschichte, Film und Mythos” and “Grenzüberschreitungen. Exkursionen ins Abseits der Filmgeschichte” (Transgressions. Excursions into the marginalized areas of film history) among many others. Additionally, he has written many essays on directors such as Abel Ferrara, David Cronenberg, William Friedkin and the western genre. His latest work includes the essay collection “Berlin Visionen. Filmische Stadtbilder seit 1980” (Berlin Visions. Cinematic images of urbanity since 1980) with co-publisher Stefan Jung and “Schwarz.
- 2/18/2022
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
"The Idiot" was Akira Kurosawa's 12th feature film as a director, and was released in 1951 in-between his more celebrated masterworks "Rashomon" and "Ikiru." The film is an outlier in Kurosawa's filmography in that it's typically dismissed by critics as a lesser work from the master's early era. This dismissal comes with an asterisk, however, as the version available to the public -- it is currently on The Criterion Channel -- is not complete. The cut Kurosawa submitted to Shochiku, the studio distributing it, was intended to be released in two parts and have a total running time of 265 minutes. The studio, without...
The post Why We'll Never See Akira Kurosawa's Original Version of The Idiot appeared first on /Film.
The post Why We'll Never See Akira Kurosawa's Original Version of The Idiot appeared first on /Film.
- 2/16/2022
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
This year’s Berlinale’s Forum includes the world premiere of Rita Azevedo Gomes’ latest feature film, “The Kegelstatt Trio,” adapted from the 1987 stage play, written by the late French helmer, Éric Rohmer.
The privately-funded Portuguese/Spanish co-production was shot during the lockdown, produced by Gomes and Gonzalo García Pelayo. It received post-production completion finance from the Portuguese Film and Audiovisual Institute (Ica).
Rohmer wrote “Le Trio en mi bémol,” inspired by Mozart’s composition of that name, while writing his 1989 pic, “Four Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle.”
The story revolves around a series of encounters between two former lovers who talk about what led them to drift apart, including the importance of music in cementing their relationship. Whereas the man views classical music as the supreme art form, able to move the mind and body at the profoundest level, the woman sees it as being a primarily intellectual attraction.
The privately-funded Portuguese/Spanish co-production was shot during the lockdown, produced by Gomes and Gonzalo García Pelayo. It received post-production completion finance from the Portuguese Film and Audiovisual Institute (Ica).
Rohmer wrote “Le Trio en mi bémol,” inspired by Mozart’s composition of that name, while writing his 1989 pic, “Four Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle.”
The story revolves around a series of encounters between two former lovers who talk about what led them to drift apart, including the importance of music in cementing their relationship. Whereas the man views classical music as the supreme art form, able to move the mind and body at the profoundest level, the woman sees it as being a primarily intellectual attraction.
- 2/15/2022
- by Martin Dale
- Variety Film + TV
“I am a person rarely impressed by actors… but in the case of Mifune I was completely overwhelmed. The ordinary Japanese actor might need ten feet of film to get across an impression. Toshirō Mifune needed only three feet,” said Akira Kurosawa.
One of the greatest talents in cinema history, Toshirō Mifune left behind a staggering body of work amassing over 150 starring roles. Born on April 1, 1920, a retrospective was planned for 2020 timed to his centennial and now, after a delay due to the pandemic, it will kick off next week at NYC’s Film Forum. Featuring 35mm rarities and rediscoveries imported from the libraries of The Japan Foundation and The National Film Archive of Japan, the series will run for a whopping four weeks, from February 11 through March 10, and feature 33 films.
Ahead of the retrospective, we’re pleased to exclusively debut the trailer, edited by John Zhao, highlighting what is...
One of the greatest talents in cinema history, Toshirō Mifune left behind a staggering body of work amassing over 150 starring roles. Born on April 1, 1920, a retrospective was planned for 2020 timed to his centennial and now, after a delay due to the pandemic, it will kick off next week at NYC’s Film Forum. Featuring 35mm rarities and rediscoveries imported from the libraries of The Japan Foundation and The National Film Archive of Japan, the series will run for a whopping four weeks, from February 11 through March 10, and feature 33 films.
Ahead of the retrospective, we’re pleased to exclusively debut the trailer, edited by John Zhao, highlighting what is...
- 2/4/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Malayali filmmaker John Abraham is rightly regarded as one of the most influential talents in the vast history of Indian cinema. While his magnum opus is undoubtedly the 1986 masterpiece “Amma Ariyan“, one needs to experience Abraham’s filmography in its entirety to properly understand his avant-garde sensibilities. His second film, “Donkey in a Brahmin Village”, represents a unique cultural palimpsest that has generated a legacy of its own due to the director’s posthumous recognition and subsequent critical revaluation. The recipient of national awards like the Best Feature Film in Tamil and an entry in the Ibn’s list of “100 greatest Indian films of all time,” the film is now recognised as an indispensable manifestation of John Abraham’s unsettling artistic vision.
Inspired by Robert Bresson’s 1966 drama “Au Hasard Balthazar “(which was based on a passage from Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s “The Idiot”), Abraham presents us with a disturbing parable...
Inspired by Robert Bresson’s 1966 drama “Au Hasard Balthazar “(which was based on a passage from Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s “The Idiot”), Abraham presents us with a disturbing parable...
- 5/1/2021
- by Swapnil Dhruv Bose
- AsianMoviePulse
New Order released “Be a Rebel” this morning. It’s their first new song since 2015’s Music Complete.
“In tough times we wanted to reach out with a new song,” frontman Bernard Sumner said in a statement. “We can’t play live for a while, but music is still something we can all share together. We hope you enjoy it… until we meet again.”
New Order were supposed to play American dates with Pet Shop Boys this year, but the pandemic forced them to delay the gigs until 2021. They’ve...
“In tough times we wanted to reach out with a new song,” frontman Bernard Sumner said in a statement. “We can’t play live for a while, but music is still something we can all share together. We hope you enjoy it… until we meet again.”
New Order were supposed to play American dates with Pet Shop Boys this year, but the pandemic forced them to delay the gigs until 2021. They’ve...
- 9/8/2020
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
Iggy Pop turned 73 on Tuesday and he celebrated by unearthing a cover of the Sly and the Family Stone classic “Family Affair” that he recorded with funk icon Bootsy Collins back in 1985.
“I’ve always loved this song; it came out when I was kinda on the ropes in 1971,” Iggy told the BBC. “There’s a lot of truth in it, especially in the second verse, about all sorts of questions that are coming around again now.”
The song has sat in his archive for the past 35 years. “Then one...
“I’ve always loved this song; it came out when I was kinda on the ropes in 1971,” Iggy told the BBC. “There’s a lot of truth in it, especially in the second verse, about all sorts of questions that are coming around again now.”
The song has sat in his archive for the past 35 years. “Then one...
- 4/22/2020
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
Iggy Pop’s fruitful collaboration with David Bowie in Berlin, Germany — resulting in the Stooges singer’s acclaimed 1977 solo albums The Idiot and Lust for Life — will be the focus of an upcoming 7-cd box set.
The Bowie Years features The Idiot and Lust for Life and the 1978 live LP TV Eye Live, plus a disc full of demos and rarities and three more live recordings from the era.
Ahead of The Bowie Years release on May 29th, uDiscover shared an “alternate mix” of The Idiot’s “China Girl,” a...
The Bowie Years features The Idiot and Lust for Life and the 1978 live LP TV Eye Live, plus a disc full of demos and rarities and three more live recordings from the era.
Ahead of The Bowie Years release on May 29th, uDiscover shared an “alternate mix” of The Idiot’s “China Girl,” a...
- 4/10/2020
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
This interview was originally conducted by Serge Kaganski. Suhaib Gasmelbari's Talking About Trees is Mubi Go's Film of the Week of January 31, 2020. Special thanks to Serge Kaganski and Mathieu Berthon for their permission to republish it.Suhaib Gasmelbari's documentary Talking About Trees is about Ibrahim, Manar, Suleiman and Altayeb, members of the Sudanese Film Club founded in 1989. Unable to make films for years, they have decided to revive an old cinema. They are united not only by their love of cinema and their passionate desire to restore old films and draw attention to Sudanese film history once more, but also by the fact that they all enjoyed a film education outside Sudan.Serge Koganski: What sort of cinema viewer were you during your youth in Sudan?Suhaib Gasmelbari: My journey as a cinephile is not very classic. I grew up in Sudan in the nineties, a period when...
- 1/30/2020
- MUBI
Stephen Colbert said he wasn’t “telling tales out of school” when he says President Donald Trump is in “double trouble,” thanks to his controversial phone calls with Ukraine and Turkey.
The Ukraine call asking for an investigation into the Joe Biden family, and the one with Turkey that Colbert claims “sold out our allies” in Kurdistan – “I assume for dirt on Joe Biden” – leads to only one conclusion by the late night host: Trump may be defeated by “his greatest weakness, his Achilles mouth,” as detailed in the epic poem, The Idiot, and its companion, The Oddity.
Those and other phone calls have left some aides to the President “genuinely horrified,” Colbert said. “But they’re just telling us now? Like the signs say, “If you see something, say something – two years after we can do something about it!”
Tonight: Trump continues to talk himself into trouble. #Lssc pic.
The Ukraine call asking for an investigation into the Joe Biden family, and the one with Turkey that Colbert claims “sold out our allies” in Kurdistan – “I assume for dirt on Joe Biden” – leads to only one conclusion by the late night host: Trump may be defeated by “his greatest weakness, his Achilles mouth,” as detailed in the epic poem, The Idiot, and its companion, The Oddity.
Those and other phone calls have left some aides to the President “genuinely horrified,” Colbert said. “But they’re just telling us now? Like the signs say, “If you see something, say something – two years after we can do something about it!”
Tonight: Trump continues to talk himself into trouble. #Lssc pic.
- 10/10/2019
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
It took 27 years, but Sandi Tan is finally a full-fledged filmmaker with a slew of projects lined up. And the next project may just be your favorite movie, if the Shirkers director’s elevator pitch actually comes to fruition. Tan, who rocketed to fame following the release of last year’s indie documentary darling Shirkers, is directing the […]
The post Sandi Tan to Adapt ‘The Idiot’ Into a Feature Film Described as ‘Twilight’ Meets ‘Phantom Thread’ Meets ‘Call Me By Your Name’ appeared first on /Film.
The post Sandi Tan to Adapt ‘The Idiot’ Into a Feature Film Described as ‘Twilight’ Meets ‘Phantom Thread’ Meets ‘Call Me By Your Name’ appeared first on /Film.
- 6/5/2019
- by Hoai-Tran Bui
- Slash Film
Sandi Tan isn’t wasting any more time. After charming audiences with last year’s documentary gem and Indie Spirit nominee “Shirkers” — which chronicled the filmmaker’s wild early years making a film when she was just a plucky teen bouncing around Singapore, only for the entire thing to be stolen by her would-be mentor — Tan is lining up her next big feature, and it sounds like one heck of a clever fit.
In a new interview with The Cut, Tan shares her plans to tell another story about a smart woman waylaid by a devious man, as originally told in ways that seem, well, just a bit unfilmable. Tan will soon tackle her own version of Elif Batuman’s Pulitzer Prize finalist “The Idiot,” jumping to the narrative realm with her own screenplay, which she will direct for the big screen.
While “Shirkers” was about piecing together a years-old...
In a new interview with The Cut, Tan shares her plans to tell another story about a smart woman waylaid by a devious man, as originally told in ways that seem, well, just a bit unfilmable. Tan will soon tackle her own version of Elif Batuman’s Pulitzer Prize finalist “The Idiot,” jumping to the narrative realm with her own screenplay, which she will direct for the big screen.
While “Shirkers” was about piecing together a years-old...
- 6/4/2019
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Mathieu Amalric's Barbara is showing exclusively from February 24 – March 25, 2019 on Mubi in the United States. Dear Jeanne Balibar,I have seen you but I remain doubtful about whether you have seen me. Well, actually I have heard you at first. Your trembling voice somewhere between seduction and fear, your beautiful songs. I hesitated a long time to write to you. It gave me courage that you have dealt with men who hesitate a lot in your films. It is a bit hard to approach you. You always seem to be surrounded with friends. You work with them over and over again. There are different groups I saw you with. Some women and some men appear next to you all the time, but actually you very often make it seem as if you appeared next to them. I have the feeling that following you like I have done is really...
- 2/24/2019
- MUBI
For all the acclaim hounded on the arty, independently produced horror films of recent years, they are strangely lacking in scares, perhaps due to the distance between the films’ settings and reality. The Witch is a period piece; It Follows takes place in some indeterminate, homage-laden moment where people call each other on home phones even while reading The Idiot on seashell-shaped e-readers; the recent Hereditary has teens discussing others’ frequent Facebook status updates as if it were the late ‘00s but is conspicuously devoid of cell phones; and Ti West’s string of nostalgia-tinged slasher films borrow the settings of their influences. The list could go on, but what is clear is that the predominant impulses of such films are a shift from the sociological to the psychological and the earnest to the nostalgic and ironic. Reviews cite, often with an implicitly self-congratulatory astuteness, the “references” and “homages” to...
- 7/19/2018
- MUBI
Anonymous Content, Paramount Television and Condé Nast Entertainment are teaming to develop a scripted TV series based on The New Yorker article by Elif Batuman about Japan’s rent-a-family industry. This marks the first project under Anonymous Content and Paramount TV’s first-look deal with Condé Nast.
Based on Batuman’s April 30 article, the series will be inspired by the real-life trend in Japan whereby people, who do not have close relatives, turn to rent-a-family agencies to hire spouses, parents, children and other types of “family members.” The resulting relationships can be more real than one would expect.
The series is co-production between Paramount TV and Anonymous Content. Nicole Romano and Steve Golin executive produce for Anonymous Content with Condé Nast’s Dawn Ostroff and Jon Koa.
Search is underway for a writer to pen the adaptation.
Batuman, a finalist for the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, has been a staff...
Based on Batuman’s April 30 article, the series will be inspired by the real-life trend in Japan whereby people, who do not have close relatives, turn to rent-a-family agencies to hire spouses, parents, children and other types of “family members.” The resulting relationships can be more real than one would expect.
The series is co-production between Paramount TV and Anonymous Content. Nicole Romano and Steve Golin executive produce for Anonymous Content with Condé Nast’s Dawn Ostroff and Jon Koa.
Search is underway for a writer to pen the adaptation.
Batuman, a finalist for the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, has been a staff...
- 5/24/2018
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Since releasing it in November would have been too obvious, later this month the Estonian black-and-white fantasy horror you’ve been waiting for will arrive. November, which was the country’s entry for the 90th Academy Awards, comes from director Rainer Sarnet (The Idiot, Where Souls Go), and Oscilloscope Films have now released the first trailer.
Based on Andrus Kivirähk’s hit novel “Rehepapp,” the story follows a twisted love story in the dark, creature-filled landscape of 19th century Estonia. Winner of Best Cinematography at last year’s 2017 Tribeca Film Festival, the starkly gorgeous vision comes through in this beautiful preview and it looks like The Witch fans should keep it on their radar. Check it out below, along with the trailer.
In this tale of love and survival in 19th century Estonia, peasant girl Liina longs for village boy Hans, but Hans is inexplicably infatuated by the visiting German...
Based on Andrus Kivirähk’s hit novel “Rehepapp,” the story follows a twisted love story in the dark, creature-filled landscape of 19th century Estonia. Winner of Best Cinematography at last year’s 2017 Tribeca Film Festival, the starkly gorgeous vision comes through in this beautiful preview and it looks like The Witch fans should keep it on their radar. Check it out below, along with the trailer.
In this tale of love and survival in 19th century Estonia, peasant girl Liina longs for village boy Hans, but Hans is inexplicably infatuated by the visiting German...
- 2/2/2018
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
An artist never finishes a piece of art, not really. At a certain point, a precise juncture of the creative process, they just stop working. They present the art to the public, for whom this work is—seems to be—completed, but for that artist ideas may continue to churn, what could have been done differently, what could still be done differently. They may consider the possibility of changes, of improvement. Think, for instance, of any book of collected essays or stories from a writer you admire: “These appeared, in slightly different form...” is a common preface found in the opening acknowledgements. Even precise wordsmiths like James Salter or Renata Adler tinkered with pieces after they were purportedly finished. For Salter, whose revisions were done longhand, entire new pieces of prose were born of earlier pieces, so severe were his second thoughts. He rewrote his entire 1967 novel The Arm of Flesh,...
- 1/5/2018
- MUBI
http://criterioncast.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/57_postwar_kurosawa__part_2_.mp3
This podcast focuses on Criterion’s Eclipse Series of DVDs. Hosts David Blakeslee and Trevor Berrett give an overview of each box and offer their perspectives on the unique treasures they find inside. In this first episode of a two-part series, David and Trevor discuss two films (The Idiot and I Live in Fear) from Eclipse Series 7: Postwar Kurosawa.
About the films:
Akira Kurosawa came into his own as a filmmaker directly following World War II, delving into the state of his devastated nation with a series of pensive, topical dramas. Amid Japan’s economic collapse and U.S. occupation, Kurosawa managed to find humor and redemption existing alongside despair and anxiety. In these five early films, which range from political epic to Capraesque whimsy to courtroom potboiler, Kurosawa revealed the artistic range and social acuity that would mark...
This podcast focuses on Criterion’s Eclipse Series of DVDs. Hosts David Blakeslee and Trevor Berrett give an overview of each box and offer their perspectives on the unique treasures they find inside. In this first episode of a two-part series, David and Trevor discuss two films (The Idiot and I Live in Fear) from Eclipse Series 7: Postwar Kurosawa.
About the films:
Akira Kurosawa came into his own as a filmmaker directly following World War II, delving into the state of his devastated nation with a series of pensive, topical dramas. Amid Japan’s economic collapse and U.S. occupation, Kurosawa managed to find humor and redemption existing alongside despair and anxiety. In these five early films, which range from political epic to Capraesque whimsy to courtroom potboiler, Kurosawa revealed the artistic range and social acuity that would mark...
- 5/29/2017
- by David Blakeslee
- CriterionCast
Some actors and directors go together like spaghetti and meatballs. They just gel together in a rare way that makes their collaborations special. Here is a list of the seven best parings of director and actor in film history.
7: Tim Burton & Johnny Depp:
Edward Scissorhands; Ed Wood; Sleepy Hollow; Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; Corpse Bride; Sweeney Todd; Alice in Wonderland; Dark Shadows
Of all the parings on this list, these two make the oddest films. (In a good way.) Tim Burton is one of the most visually imaginative filmmakers of his generation and Johnny Depp was once the polymorphous master of playing a wide variety of eccentric characters. They were a natural combo. Depp made most of his best films with Burton, before his current ‘Jack Sparrow’ period began. The duo had the knack for telling stories about misfits and freaks, yet making them seem sympathetic and likable.
7: Tim Burton & Johnny Depp:
Edward Scissorhands; Ed Wood; Sleepy Hollow; Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; Corpse Bride; Sweeney Todd; Alice in Wonderland; Dark Shadows
Of all the parings on this list, these two make the oddest films. (In a good way.) Tim Burton is one of the most visually imaginative filmmakers of his generation and Johnny Depp was once the polymorphous master of playing a wide variety of eccentric characters. They were a natural combo. Depp made most of his best films with Burton, before his current ‘Jack Sparrow’ period began. The duo had the knack for telling stories about misfits and freaks, yet making them seem sympathetic and likable.
- 9/5/2016
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (Rob Young)
- Cinelinx
In the early '50s, Akira Kurosawa had the kind of career-high back-to-back film projects that few filmmakers could even approach, much less compete with. With Ikiru (1952) followed by Seven Samurai (1954), Kurosawa made his two best works. The latter continues to rule the roost as the exemplar of his overall canon, but if we are to divide Kurosawa's output in half - period films and non-period films - I'd argue that Ikiru is the director's zenith for projects set in the present day. That's an enormous accomplishment, and if you consider that Ikiru, in turn, follows immediately upon the director's misguided adaptation of Dostoyevsky's The Idiot, Ikiru becomes even more impressive. (Ikiru, too, is very loosely based on a Dostoyevsky story - The Death...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 12/4/2015
- Screen Anarchy
Setsuko Hara, a Japanese actress best known for her work in the films of Yasujiro Ozu, died of pneumonia on September 5, her family revealed to the press today. She was 95. Perhaps best known for playing a widow who befriends the parents of her late husband in Tokyo Story, Ozu's 1953 masterwork, Hara also appeared in several other iconic postwar films before retiring from public life at the age of 42.Born Masae Aida in Yokohama in 1920, Hara made her screen debut at 15 in Don't Hesitate, Young Folks (1935), and later starred in the German-Japanese propaganda film The Daughter of the Samurai in 1937. After World War II, Hara worked with Akira Kurosawa, in No Regrets for Our Youth (1946) and Hakuchi (1951) (the director's adaptation of Dostoevsky's The Idiot), and Kozaburo Yoshimura, in A Ball at the Anjo House (1947). In 1949, she appeared in her first Ozu film, Late Spring, which marked the beginning of an artistic...
- 11/26/2015
- by Jackson McHenry
- Vulture
"Legendary actress Setsuko Hara, who starred in the Yasujiro Ozu movie Tokyo Story, died of pneumonia on Sept. 5 at a hospital in Kanagawa Prefecture, her family said Wednesday," reports the Nikkei Asian Review. "She was 95." Nick Pinkerton in the Voice in 2011: "Born Masae Aida, Hara was the very image of ravishing fortitude; the actress met the head-on gaze of Ozu’s camera with her headlamp eyes in six films, made four with Mikio Naruse, and played against type in the bad-girl Anastassya role in Akira Kurosawa’s 1951 The Idiot." We're collecting remembrances and tributes. » - David Hudson...
- 11/25/2015
- Fandor: Keyframe
"Legendary actress Setsuko Hara, who starred in the Yasujiro Ozu movie Tokyo Story, died of pneumonia on Sept. 5 at a hospital in Kanagawa Prefecture, her family said Wednesday," reports the Nikkei Asian Review. "She was 95." Nick Pinkerton in the Voice in 2011: "Born Masae Aida, Hara was the very image of ravishing fortitude; the actress met the head-on gaze of Ozu’s camera with her headlamp eyes in six films, made four with Mikio Naruse, and played against type in the bad-girl Anastassya role in Akira Kurosawa’s 1951 The Idiot." We're collecting remembrances and tributes. » - David Hudson...
- 11/25/2015
- Keyframe
After being a major influence on his work, Martin Scorsese worked with Milestone Films to bring forth a stellar-looking restoration of Luchino Visconti’s 1960 classic drama Rocco and His Brothers. After stopping by various festivals, including Tiff and Nyff, it’ll be released in NYC and Los Angeles next month, followed by hopefully a home release.
We now have a new trailer, which is fairly brief, but gives us a glimpse at the restoration while introducing our main ensemble. Starring Alain Delon, Annie Girardot, and Claudia Cardinale, check out the trailer and gorgeous poster (designed by Lauren Caddick) below for the film which kicks off its three-week run at Film Forum on Friday, October 9.
Joining the tragic exodus of millions from Italy’s impoverished south, the formidable matriarch of the Parondi clan (Katina Paxinou, Best Supporting Oscar winner, For Whom the Bell Tolls) and her brood emerge from Milan’s...
We now have a new trailer, which is fairly brief, but gives us a glimpse at the restoration while introducing our main ensemble. Starring Alain Delon, Annie Girardot, and Claudia Cardinale, check out the trailer and gorgeous poster (designed by Lauren Caddick) below for the film which kicks off its three-week run at Film Forum on Friday, October 9.
Joining the tragic exodus of millions from Italy’s impoverished south, the formidable matriarch of the Parondi clan (Katina Paxinou, Best Supporting Oscar winner, For Whom the Bell Tolls) and her brood emerge from Milan’s...
- 9/17/2015
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
The Cannes Film festival was an exceptional edition for French films this year. A focus on the rising generation of French actors and directors that have been highlighted in Cannes and will most certainly be the stars of tomorrow was compiled by Unifrance chief Isabelle Giordano.
They are a force to be reckoned with. Unifrance films is ready to bet that you will certainly hear about these ten talented people. They represent the French cinema of today and will soon be on the screens worldwide.
Emmanuelle Bercot
An actress and a director, Emmanuelle Bercot began by enrolling at the Cours Florent drama school and taking dancing lessons after her baccalaureate. She graduated from Femis in 1998, after winning the Prix du Jury at the Cannes Film Festival for her short film "Les Vacances," in 1997. After her first few roles in the films of Jean-François Richet and Michel Deville, her career as an actress took off when Claude Miller gave her one of the main roles in "La Classe de neige" (1998). The following year, she made the headlines with the medium-length film she directed called "La Puce," presented in the selection of Un Certain Regard at Cannes. This film tells of the love affair between a 35-year-old man and a 14-year-old girl, played by Isild Le Besco.
Her first feature-length film, "Clément" (2001), is about the life of a troubled woman who has one adventure after another with various men until she meets a 14-yearold boy. Her second film, "Backstage" (2004), continues to explore teenage angst through a relationship between a hit singer and a young obsessional fan. She earned her first critical and public acclaim with "On My Way" (2013), the third film written by the director for Catherine Deneuve, in which the star plays a woman who has decided to leave everything behind and hit the road in France.
She was indisputably the most talked about person during the Cannes Film Festival 2015, both as an actress and a director. Thierry Frémaux surprised everyone by announcing that "Standing Tall," Emmanuelle Bercot’s fourth feature-length film would open the 68th Cannes Film Festival. Emmanuelle Bercot says that she has rediscovered the social fiber of her beginnings with this tale of juvenile delinquency. After the enthusiastic and unanimous reception of her film, she won the Best Actress Award for her role as a woman under the influence of love in the film "Mon Roi" by Maïwenn, with whom she co-wrote the script for "Polisse," which won the Prix du Jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 2012
Thomas Bidegain
Thomas Bidegain may well be one of the best known French screenwriters in the profession today, but it took him ten years to achieve this status. His career path in film is anything but ordinary. He started out in the 1990s by distributing and producing independent American films: "Ice Storm" by Ang Lee and "Chasing Sleep" by Michael Walker. He came back to France and joined MK2 where he became director of distribution. In 1999, he returned to production for "Why Not." In 2007, he told the story of his attempt to stop smoking in "Arrêter de fumer tue," a personal diary that was turned into a documentary, then a book.
In the meantime, he began screenwriting and worked on several projects. In 2009, he wrote the screenplay for Jacques Audiard’s film, "A Prophet," alongside Nicolas Peufaillit and Abdel Raouf Dafri, which won the Grand Prix du Jury in 2009. He participated in Audiard’s next film, "Rust and Bone" and "Our Children" by Joachim Lafosse. He was also the co-writer for "Saint Laurent" by Bertrand Bonello. Winning a César for the best original script and a César for the best adaptation, he presented "Cowboys" at the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs in Cannes this year, his first film as a director. He is also co-writer of "Ni le ciel ni la terre" by Clément Cogitore, presented during the Semaine de la Critique, as well as co-writer of the script for Jacques Audiard’s latest film, "Dheepan," which won the Palme d’Or.
Louise Bourgoin
Louise Bourgoin attended the Ecole des Beaux Arts for five years, during which she began her career as a model. After she graduated from art school in 2004, she radically changed direction and became a presenter on cable TV. She was Miss Météo in Le Grand Journal on Canal + from 2006 to 2008. Her slot became essential viewing and attracted a wide audience, including the attention of the film industry.
She began her acting career in "The Girl from Monaco" by Anne Fontaine, and her performance earned her a César nomination for Most Promising Actress. This recognition led to a whole series of roles and launched her career in film. She headed the bill of several films in 2010 ("White as Snow" by Christophe Blanc, "Sweet Valentine" by Emma Luchini, and "Black Heaven" by Gilles Marchand). The same year, Luc Besson selected her for the leading role in "The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec."
Since then, Louise Bourgoin has played in film after film, and has taken her first steps in the international scene with her part in the American film "The Love Punch" by Joel Hopkins. She attracted attention at the Cannes Film Festival this year with her unusual role in Laurent Larivière’s first film, "I Am a Soldier," presented at Un Certain Regard.
Anaïs Demoustier
Her passion for acting started at a very young age and rapidly pushed her to take drama classes. She auditioned, when still a teenager, and got her first role alongside Isabelle Huppert in "Time of the Wolf" by Michael Haneke. After this, her career was launched and she played in a series of films among which "L’Année suivante" by Isabelle Czajka, "Hellphone" by James Huth, "The Beautiful Person" by Christophe Honoré, "Sois sage" by Juliette Garcias, "Sweet Evil" by Olivier Coussemacq, "Dear Prudene" by Rebecca Zlotowski, "Snows of Kilimanjaro" by Robert Guédiguian, "Thérèse Desqueyroux" by Claude Miller, "Quai d’Orsay" by Bertrand Tavernier, "Paris Follies" by Marc Fitoussi, etc.
A filmography rich of 30 films for an actress who isn’t 30 years old yet. In 2014, the press talked about the blooming of Anaïs Demoustier because her face and poise became essential to cinema. Present in "Bird People" by Pascale Ferran, "Caprices" by Emmanuel Mouret, "À trois on y va" by Jérôme Bonnell and "The New Girlfriend" by François Ozon, she is Marguerite in the last Valérie Donzelli’s film, "Marguerite et Julien" screened in Official selection in Cannes.
Louis Garrel
The son of actress Brigitte Sy and the director Philippe Garrel, he began his career in film thanks to his father, who started filming him at the age of six in "Emergency Kisses," alongside his mother and his grandfather, Maurice Garrel. He went onto study drama at the Conservatoire National d’Art Dramatique. He made his real cinema debut in 2001 in the film "Ceci est mon corps" by Rodolphe Marconi. Two years later, he played opposite Michael Pitt and the future Bond girl, Eva Green, in "The Dreamers" by Bernardo Bertolucci.
He then starred in another of his father’s films, "Regular Lovers". His performance earned him the César for the Most Promising Actor in 2005. Since then, he has played alongside the greatest, such as Isabelle Huppert in "Ma mère" by Christophe Honoré. This marked the beginning of a long collaboration between the filmmaker and the actor. They worked together in the film "In Paris" with Romain Duris, then in 2007 in "Love Songs" with Ludivine Sagnier, in "The Beautiful Person" with Léa Seydoux, in "Making Plans" for Lena with Chiara Mostroianni and, finally, in " Beloved" with Catherine Deneuve. He also topped the bill with Valéria Bruni Tedeschi in "Actresses," whom he worked with again in 2013 in "A Castle in Italy."
In 2010, he directed a short film, "The Little Tailor," in which he directed Léa Seydoux. He performed once again in one of his father’s films, "A Burning Hot Summer," followed by "Jealousy." In 2014, he starred in Bertrand Bonello’s film "Saint Laurent," a role which led to another César nomination, but this time in the best supporting role category. His first feature-length film, "Two Friends," presented at a Certain Regard, was applauded by the critics. He also starred in "Mon Roi," Maïwenn’s fourth feature-length film, alongside Emmanuelle and Vincent Cassel, presented as part of the official selection.
Guillaume Gouix
After studying at the Conservatoire in Marseille and the Ecole Régionale d’Acteur de Cannes, Guillaume Gouix began his career in television. He played the male lead in "The Lion Cubs," by Claire Doyon, in 2003. Noted for his performance, especially the highly physical aspect of it and his intense gaze, he then played a series of supporting roles as a young hoodlum in "Les Mauvais joueurs" by Frédéric Balekdjian and in "Chacun sa nuit," by Jean-Marc Barr and Pascal Arnold. He featured in the 2007 war film "Intimate Enemies" by Florent Emilio Siri, thus confirming his taste for complex characters.
The following year, he was applauded for his performance in the film "Behind the Walls" by Christian Faure. In 2010, he starred in "22 Bullets" by Richard Berry and in 2011, he established his reputation with roles in "Nobody Else But You" by Gérald Hustache-Mathieu, "Et soudain, tout le monde me manque" by Jennifer Devoldere, and "Jimmy Rivière," Teddy Lussi-Modeste’s film debut.
He also appeared in "Midnight in Paris" by Woody Allen. He more recently starred in "Attila Marcel," by Sylvain Chomet, in which he played the lead role, in "French Women" by Audrey Dana, and "The Connection" by Cédric Jimenez with Jean Dujardin and Gilles Lelouche. He performed in three films presented at Cannes this year ("Les Anarchistes" by Elie Wajeman, which opened the Semaine de la Critique, "La Vie en grand" by Mathieu Vadepied, which closed the week, and in "Enragés" by Eric Hannezo, screened at the Cinéma de la Plage). He also directed his first short film "Alexis Ivanovitch, vous êtes mon héros" in 2011 and will soon start on a feature-length film, which is currently being written. He will be topping the bill in 2015 with "Braqueurs," a thriller by Julien Leclercq.
Ariane Labed
Born in Greece to French parents, Ariane Labed has always navigated between her two countries. She studied drama at the University of Provence and began her acting career treading the boards. After setting up a company combining dance and theater, Ariane Labed returned to live in Greece where she played at the National Theater of Athens. 2010 was the year of her first film, "Attenberg," directed by Athiná-Rachél Tsangári. "Alps" by Yorgos Lanthi-mos, the following year, confirmed the talent of this strangely charming actress. Two years later, she starred in "Before Midnight" by Richard Linklater where she played the role of Anna. The follow-up to "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset," this third part of the saga was a great success, making Labed known to a wider audience.
In 2014, she played a young sailor in "Fidelio, Alice’s Odyssey," who is torn between faithfulness and her desire to live her life. Winning the best actress award at the Locarno Film Festival and nominated for a César, the French actress gives a brilliant performance in Lucie Borleteau’s first feature-length film. She joined Yorgos Lanthimos in Cannes in 2015, where he won the Prix du Jury for his film "The Lobster."
Vincent Macaigne
Vincent Macaigne is the leading light in young French cinema. He joined the Conservatoire National Supérieur d’Art Dramatique in Paris in 1999, appearing on stage and assuming the role of director. His free adaptations of the great classics of literature and drama earned him public and critical acclaim. He directed "The Idiot" by Dostoïevski and presented "Au moins j’aurai laissé un beau cadavre in Avignon," inspired by Hamlet. He also rapidly made a name for himself in demanding art-house films. In 2001, he was seen for the first time in "Replay" by Catherine Corsini. In 2007, he starred in "On War" by Bertrand Bonello and in 2010, in "A Burning Hot Summer" by Philippe Garrel.
Since 2011, Vincent Macaigne’s presence in short, medium and full-length films has gradually increased. Faithful to his directors, he has starred in several of their films. As is the case with his friend Guillaume Brac, who directed him in "Le Naufragé," "Tonnerre" and "Un monde sans femmes." He was awarded the Grand Prix and the Prix Télérama at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, and the Prix Lutin for Best Actor in this film. Under the direction of Vincent Mariette, he played in "Les Lézards" then "Fool Circle." In 2013, we find the funny and touching thirty-something in "La fille du 14 juillet" by Antonin Peretjatko, "Age of Panic" by Justine Triet, and "2 Autumns, 3 Winters" by Sébastien Betbeder.
He was discovered by the general public at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. Considered a figurehead of the revival of French cinema, Vincent has drawn the attention of the Cahiers du Cinéma, and even the British newspaper The Observer, which referred to him as the “new Gérard Depardieu”. In 2011, he directed "What We’ll Leave Behind," a very well-received medium-length film which won the Grand Prix at the Clermont-Ferrand Festival. He also starred in Mia Hansen-løve’s 2014 film "Eden." He plays one of the main roles in the actor Louis Garrel’s first feature-length film, "Two Friends," presented during the Semaine de la Critique. He also featured in his 2011 film, La Règle de trois.
Vimala Pons
From the Conservatoire National Supérieur d’Art Dramatique, where she attended drama classes even though she wanted to be a screenwriter, to circus tents, Vimala Pons is an acrobat in all senses of the word. The 29-year-old actress has established her physical and poetic presence in French art-house films. She began her career in film with Albert Dupontel in "Enfermés dehors" in 2006. She then starred in "Eden Log" by Franck Vestiel in 2007, then in "Granny’s Funeral" by Bruno Podalydès in 2012.
Since then, we have seen her cross France in a little blue dress in "La Fille du 14 juillet," (she plays the girl) by Antonin Peretjatko, and changing into a lioness in "Métamorphoses," by Christophe Honoré. The impetuous muse of French independent film, Vimala Pons played in "Vincent" by Thomas Salvador this year. The actress has made a name for herself in 2015, in particular with "Comme un avion" by Bruno Podalydès, "Je suis à vous tout de suite" by Baya Kasmi, "La vie très privée de Monsieur Sim" by Michel Leclerc, and "L’Ombre des femmes" by Philippe Garrel (presented at the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs this year in Cannes). She has also begun an international career, with a leading role in Paul Verhoeven’s latest film, "Elle."
Alice Winocour
The director Alice Winocour started out at Femis. After going into law, she returned to film and won three prizes for her short film "Kitchen: Prix TV5" for the best French-language short film, best international short film and the Silver Bear at the Festival of Nations (Ebensee). For "Magic Paris," she was awarded the jury prize at the St. Petersburg International Documentary, Short Film and Animated Film Festival.
She continued her career by writing the script for the film "Ordinary," by Vladimir Perisic. At the Cannes Film Festival 2012, Alice Winocour made a marked entry in the international arena with a film by a woman about women and the unchanging way of looking at them. In the film "Augustine," we are told the story of a professor and his patient, played by Vincent Lindon and Soko respectively. In 2015, she brought out her second feature-length film, "Maryland," which was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 68th Cannes Film Festival. She is also the co-writer of "Mustang," by Denis Gamze Ergüven, presented at the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs.
They are a force to be reckoned with. Unifrance films is ready to bet that you will certainly hear about these ten talented people. They represent the French cinema of today and will soon be on the screens worldwide.
Emmanuelle Bercot
An actress and a director, Emmanuelle Bercot began by enrolling at the Cours Florent drama school and taking dancing lessons after her baccalaureate. She graduated from Femis in 1998, after winning the Prix du Jury at the Cannes Film Festival for her short film "Les Vacances," in 1997. After her first few roles in the films of Jean-François Richet and Michel Deville, her career as an actress took off when Claude Miller gave her one of the main roles in "La Classe de neige" (1998). The following year, she made the headlines with the medium-length film she directed called "La Puce," presented in the selection of Un Certain Regard at Cannes. This film tells of the love affair between a 35-year-old man and a 14-year-old girl, played by Isild Le Besco.
Her first feature-length film, "Clément" (2001), is about the life of a troubled woman who has one adventure after another with various men until she meets a 14-yearold boy. Her second film, "Backstage" (2004), continues to explore teenage angst through a relationship between a hit singer and a young obsessional fan. She earned her first critical and public acclaim with "On My Way" (2013), the third film written by the director for Catherine Deneuve, in which the star plays a woman who has decided to leave everything behind and hit the road in France.
She was indisputably the most talked about person during the Cannes Film Festival 2015, both as an actress and a director. Thierry Frémaux surprised everyone by announcing that "Standing Tall," Emmanuelle Bercot’s fourth feature-length film would open the 68th Cannes Film Festival. Emmanuelle Bercot says that she has rediscovered the social fiber of her beginnings with this tale of juvenile delinquency. After the enthusiastic and unanimous reception of her film, she won the Best Actress Award for her role as a woman under the influence of love in the film "Mon Roi" by Maïwenn, with whom she co-wrote the script for "Polisse," which won the Prix du Jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 2012
Thomas Bidegain
Thomas Bidegain may well be one of the best known French screenwriters in the profession today, but it took him ten years to achieve this status. His career path in film is anything but ordinary. He started out in the 1990s by distributing and producing independent American films: "Ice Storm" by Ang Lee and "Chasing Sleep" by Michael Walker. He came back to France and joined MK2 where he became director of distribution. In 1999, he returned to production for "Why Not." In 2007, he told the story of his attempt to stop smoking in "Arrêter de fumer tue," a personal diary that was turned into a documentary, then a book.
In the meantime, he began screenwriting and worked on several projects. In 2009, he wrote the screenplay for Jacques Audiard’s film, "A Prophet," alongside Nicolas Peufaillit and Abdel Raouf Dafri, which won the Grand Prix du Jury in 2009. He participated in Audiard’s next film, "Rust and Bone" and "Our Children" by Joachim Lafosse. He was also the co-writer for "Saint Laurent" by Bertrand Bonello. Winning a César for the best original script and a César for the best adaptation, he presented "Cowboys" at the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs in Cannes this year, his first film as a director. He is also co-writer of "Ni le ciel ni la terre" by Clément Cogitore, presented during the Semaine de la Critique, as well as co-writer of the script for Jacques Audiard’s latest film, "Dheepan," which won the Palme d’Or.
Louise Bourgoin
Louise Bourgoin attended the Ecole des Beaux Arts for five years, during which she began her career as a model. After she graduated from art school in 2004, she radically changed direction and became a presenter on cable TV. She was Miss Météo in Le Grand Journal on Canal + from 2006 to 2008. Her slot became essential viewing and attracted a wide audience, including the attention of the film industry.
She began her acting career in "The Girl from Monaco" by Anne Fontaine, and her performance earned her a César nomination for Most Promising Actress. This recognition led to a whole series of roles and launched her career in film. She headed the bill of several films in 2010 ("White as Snow" by Christophe Blanc, "Sweet Valentine" by Emma Luchini, and "Black Heaven" by Gilles Marchand). The same year, Luc Besson selected her for the leading role in "The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec."
Since then, Louise Bourgoin has played in film after film, and has taken her first steps in the international scene with her part in the American film "The Love Punch" by Joel Hopkins. She attracted attention at the Cannes Film Festival this year with her unusual role in Laurent Larivière’s first film, "I Am a Soldier," presented at Un Certain Regard.
Anaïs Demoustier
Her passion for acting started at a very young age and rapidly pushed her to take drama classes. She auditioned, when still a teenager, and got her first role alongside Isabelle Huppert in "Time of the Wolf" by Michael Haneke. After this, her career was launched and she played in a series of films among which "L’Année suivante" by Isabelle Czajka, "Hellphone" by James Huth, "The Beautiful Person" by Christophe Honoré, "Sois sage" by Juliette Garcias, "Sweet Evil" by Olivier Coussemacq, "Dear Prudene" by Rebecca Zlotowski, "Snows of Kilimanjaro" by Robert Guédiguian, "Thérèse Desqueyroux" by Claude Miller, "Quai d’Orsay" by Bertrand Tavernier, "Paris Follies" by Marc Fitoussi, etc.
A filmography rich of 30 films for an actress who isn’t 30 years old yet. In 2014, the press talked about the blooming of Anaïs Demoustier because her face and poise became essential to cinema. Present in "Bird People" by Pascale Ferran, "Caprices" by Emmanuel Mouret, "À trois on y va" by Jérôme Bonnell and "The New Girlfriend" by François Ozon, she is Marguerite in the last Valérie Donzelli’s film, "Marguerite et Julien" screened in Official selection in Cannes.
Louis Garrel
The son of actress Brigitte Sy and the director Philippe Garrel, he began his career in film thanks to his father, who started filming him at the age of six in "Emergency Kisses," alongside his mother and his grandfather, Maurice Garrel. He went onto study drama at the Conservatoire National d’Art Dramatique. He made his real cinema debut in 2001 in the film "Ceci est mon corps" by Rodolphe Marconi. Two years later, he played opposite Michael Pitt and the future Bond girl, Eva Green, in "The Dreamers" by Bernardo Bertolucci.
He then starred in another of his father’s films, "Regular Lovers". His performance earned him the César for the Most Promising Actor in 2005. Since then, he has played alongside the greatest, such as Isabelle Huppert in "Ma mère" by Christophe Honoré. This marked the beginning of a long collaboration between the filmmaker and the actor. They worked together in the film "In Paris" with Romain Duris, then in 2007 in "Love Songs" with Ludivine Sagnier, in "The Beautiful Person" with Léa Seydoux, in "Making Plans" for Lena with Chiara Mostroianni and, finally, in " Beloved" with Catherine Deneuve. He also topped the bill with Valéria Bruni Tedeschi in "Actresses," whom he worked with again in 2013 in "A Castle in Italy."
In 2010, he directed a short film, "The Little Tailor," in which he directed Léa Seydoux. He performed once again in one of his father’s films, "A Burning Hot Summer," followed by "Jealousy." In 2014, he starred in Bertrand Bonello’s film "Saint Laurent," a role which led to another César nomination, but this time in the best supporting role category. His first feature-length film, "Two Friends," presented at a Certain Regard, was applauded by the critics. He also starred in "Mon Roi," Maïwenn’s fourth feature-length film, alongside Emmanuelle and Vincent Cassel, presented as part of the official selection.
Guillaume Gouix
After studying at the Conservatoire in Marseille and the Ecole Régionale d’Acteur de Cannes, Guillaume Gouix began his career in television. He played the male lead in "The Lion Cubs," by Claire Doyon, in 2003. Noted for his performance, especially the highly physical aspect of it and his intense gaze, he then played a series of supporting roles as a young hoodlum in "Les Mauvais joueurs" by Frédéric Balekdjian and in "Chacun sa nuit," by Jean-Marc Barr and Pascal Arnold. He featured in the 2007 war film "Intimate Enemies" by Florent Emilio Siri, thus confirming his taste for complex characters.
The following year, he was applauded for his performance in the film "Behind the Walls" by Christian Faure. In 2010, he starred in "22 Bullets" by Richard Berry and in 2011, he established his reputation with roles in "Nobody Else But You" by Gérald Hustache-Mathieu, "Et soudain, tout le monde me manque" by Jennifer Devoldere, and "Jimmy Rivière," Teddy Lussi-Modeste’s film debut.
He also appeared in "Midnight in Paris" by Woody Allen. He more recently starred in "Attila Marcel," by Sylvain Chomet, in which he played the lead role, in "French Women" by Audrey Dana, and "The Connection" by Cédric Jimenez with Jean Dujardin and Gilles Lelouche. He performed in three films presented at Cannes this year ("Les Anarchistes" by Elie Wajeman, which opened the Semaine de la Critique, "La Vie en grand" by Mathieu Vadepied, which closed the week, and in "Enragés" by Eric Hannezo, screened at the Cinéma de la Plage). He also directed his first short film "Alexis Ivanovitch, vous êtes mon héros" in 2011 and will soon start on a feature-length film, which is currently being written. He will be topping the bill in 2015 with "Braqueurs," a thriller by Julien Leclercq.
Ariane Labed
Born in Greece to French parents, Ariane Labed has always navigated between her two countries. She studied drama at the University of Provence and began her acting career treading the boards. After setting up a company combining dance and theater, Ariane Labed returned to live in Greece where she played at the National Theater of Athens. 2010 was the year of her first film, "Attenberg," directed by Athiná-Rachél Tsangári. "Alps" by Yorgos Lanthi-mos, the following year, confirmed the talent of this strangely charming actress. Two years later, she starred in "Before Midnight" by Richard Linklater where she played the role of Anna. The follow-up to "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset," this third part of the saga was a great success, making Labed known to a wider audience.
In 2014, she played a young sailor in "Fidelio, Alice’s Odyssey," who is torn between faithfulness and her desire to live her life. Winning the best actress award at the Locarno Film Festival and nominated for a César, the French actress gives a brilliant performance in Lucie Borleteau’s first feature-length film. She joined Yorgos Lanthimos in Cannes in 2015, where he won the Prix du Jury for his film "The Lobster."
Vincent Macaigne
Vincent Macaigne is the leading light in young French cinema. He joined the Conservatoire National Supérieur d’Art Dramatique in Paris in 1999, appearing on stage and assuming the role of director. His free adaptations of the great classics of literature and drama earned him public and critical acclaim. He directed "The Idiot" by Dostoïevski and presented "Au moins j’aurai laissé un beau cadavre in Avignon," inspired by Hamlet. He also rapidly made a name for himself in demanding art-house films. In 2001, he was seen for the first time in "Replay" by Catherine Corsini. In 2007, he starred in "On War" by Bertrand Bonello and in 2010, in "A Burning Hot Summer" by Philippe Garrel.
Since 2011, Vincent Macaigne’s presence in short, medium and full-length films has gradually increased. Faithful to his directors, he has starred in several of their films. As is the case with his friend Guillaume Brac, who directed him in "Le Naufragé," "Tonnerre" and "Un monde sans femmes." He was awarded the Grand Prix and the Prix Télérama at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, and the Prix Lutin for Best Actor in this film. Under the direction of Vincent Mariette, he played in "Les Lézards" then "Fool Circle." In 2013, we find the funny and touching thirty-something in "La fille du 14 juillet" by Antonin Peretjatko, "Age of Panic" by Justine Triet, and "2 Autumns, 3 Winters" by Sébastien Betbeder.
He was discovered by the general public at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. Considered a figurehead of the revival of French cinema, Vincent has drawn the attention of the Cahiers du Cinéma, and even the British newspaper The Observer, which referred to him as the “new Gérard Depardieu”. In 2011, he directed "What We’ll Leave Behind," a very well-received medium-length film which won the Grand Prix at the Clermont-Ferrand Festival. He also starred in Mia Hansen-løve’s 2014 film "Eden." He plays one of the main roles in the actor Louis Garrel’s first feature-length film, "Two Friends," presented during the Semaine de la Critique. He also featured in his 2011 film, La Règle de trois.
Vimala Pons
From the Conservatoire National Supérieur d’Art Dramatique, where she attended drama classes even though she wanted to be a screenwriter, to circus tents, Vimala Pons is an acrobat in all senses of the word. The 29-year-old actress has established her physical and poetic presence in French art-house films. She began her career in film with Albert Dupontel in "Enfermés dehors" in 2006. She then starred in "Eden Log" by Franck Vestiel in 2007, then in "Granny’s Funeral" by Bruno Podalydès in 2012.
Since then, we have seen her cross France in a little blue dress in "La Fille du 14 juillet," (she plays the girl) by Antonin Peretjatko, and changing into a lioness in "Métamorphoses," by Christophe Honoré. The impetuous muse of French independent film, Vimala Pons played in "Vincent" by Thomas Salvador this year. The actress has made a name for herself in 2015, in particular with "Comme un avion" by Bruno Podalydès, "Je suis à vous tout de suite" by Baya Kasmi, "La vie très privée de Monsieur Sim" by Michel Leclerc, and "L’Ombre des femmes" by Philippe Garrel (presented at the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs this year in Cannes). She has also begun an international career, with a leading role in Paul Verhoeven’s latest film, "Elle."
Alice Winocour
The director Alice Winocour started out at Femis. After going into law, she returned to film and won three prizes for her short film "Kitchen: Prix TV5" for the best French-language short film, best international short film and the Silver Bear at the Festival of Nations (Ebensee). For "Magic Paris," she was awarded the jury prize at the St. Petersburg International Documentary, Short Film and Animated Film Festival.
She continued her career by writing the script for the film "Ordinary," by Vladimir Perisic. At the Cannes Film Festival 2012, Alice Winocour made a marked entry in the international arena with a film by a woman about women and the unchanging way of looking at them. In the film "Augustine," we are told the story of a professor and his patient, played by Vincent Lindon and Soko respectively. In 2015, she brought out her second feature-length film, "Maryland," which was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 68th Cannes Film Festival. She is also the co-writer of "Mustang," by Denis Gamze Ergüven, presented at the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs.
- 7/5/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Chicago – Browsing Dostoyevsky titles with consideration for proper roles for Mark Wahlberg, one might expect the Beantown hero to take on an adaptation of “The Idiot” before anything like “The Gambler.” After all, while Wahlberg has proven to be a diverse screen force - one who has well-grown past his Funky Bunch days - he often leans towards goofy men, or at least goofy men in goofy movies.
Rating: 4.0/5.0
Such provides a nice surprise with the drama “The Gambler,” which finds him in a role the utilizes his charisma and acting skills, within a tale that doesn’t involve directors Michael Bay or Seth McFarlane. Playing a college professor who gambles his life away, the film is a showcase of his talents, like his compelling motormouth delivery, or a stable cool that he maintains even when his character is falling apart. Here’s a film that offers a scene of Marky Mark rambling about Camus,...
Rating: 4.0/5.0
Such provides a nice surprise with the drama “The Gambler,” which finds him in a role the utilizes his charisma and acting skills, within a tale that doesn’t involve directors Michael Bay or Seth McFarlane. Playing a college professor who gambles his life away, the film is a showcase of his talents, like his compelling motormouth delivery, or a stable cool that he maintains even when his character is falling apart. Here’s a film that offers a scene of Marky Mark rambling about Camus,...
- 5/14/2015
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
With more than $8.5 million at the box office over four weekends, writer/director David Robert Mitchell's moody new horror film "It Follows" may not be a sleeper hit on the order of a bona fide blockbuster like "Scream," but since its release in only four theaters in early March, it's transformed into a tidy small-scale success that no one could have predicted just a month ago. Like Wes Craven's 1996 self-aware slasher, the critically-acclaimed fright flick is a true word-of-mouth sensation; it raked in so much money in limited release that distributor Radius-twc put off the film's planned VOD debut and gave it a wide release in over 1,600 theaters. To what can we attribute this unlikely good fortune? For starters, "It Follows" is good -- very good. Along with Jennifer Kent's masterful 2014 supernatural scare machine "The Babadook," "It Follows" has arrived like a breath of fresh air in...
- 4/8/2015
- by Chris Eggertsen
- Hitfix
A review of "The Devil, Probably" by Mireille Latil-Le-Dantec. Originally published in Issue 77, July-August 1977, of Cinématographe. Translation by Ted Fendt. Thanks to Marie-Pierre Duhamel.
"I challenge you all now, all you atheists. With what will you save the world, and where have you found a normal line of progress for it, you men of science, of co-operation, of labour-wage, and all the rest of it?
With credit? What's credit? Where will credit take you? [...] Without recognizing any moral basis except the satisfaction of individual egoism and material necessity! [...] It's a law, that's true; but it's no more normal than the law of destruction, or even self-destruction. [...] Yes, sir, the law of self-destruction and the law of self-preservation are equally strong in humanity! The devil has equal dominion over humanity till the limit of time which we know not. You laugh? You don't believe in the devil? Disbelief in the devil is a French idea,...
"I challenge you all now, all you atheists. With what will you save the world, and where have you found a normal line of progress for it, you men of science, of co-operation, of labour-wage, and all the rest of it?
With credit? What's credit? Where will credit take you? [...] Without recognizing any moral basis except the satisfaction of individual egoism and material necessity! [...] It's a law, that's true; but it's no more normal than the law of destruction, or even self-destruction. [...] Yes, sir, the law of self-destruction and the law of self-preservation are equally strong in humanity! The devil has equal dominion over humanity till the limit of time which we know not. You laugh? You don't believe in the devil? Disbelief in the devil is a French idea,...
- 3/31/2014
- by Ted Fendt
- MUBI
Director Richard Ayoade has already proven with his first feature Submarine a skill for literary adaptation, a skill for setting distinct and palpable tones, a skill for creating offbeat, but endearing characters who say and do things that are at once fascinating, entertaining, and vaguely disconcerting. With his latest movie, The Double, the British filmmaker (son of a Norwegian mother and Nigerian father) has sharpened those skills to a point, crafting a cinematic world that is even more distinct and more disconcerting than his first venture. Based, after a fashion, on Dostoyevsky's The Idiot, the film stars Jesse Eisenberg as Simon, a hapless young man who lives an invisible life....
- 3/28/2014
- by Zeba Blay
- ShadowAndAct
The Double
Written & Directed by Richard Ayoade
UK, 2013
The Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky has been well served by cinema, especially his major works Crime & Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov, and The Idiot, all of which have received numerous adaptations throughout the decades. The latter was lavished with a recent Estonian take, after receiving a Japanese decoding by Kurosawa no less, as well as Indian and (naturally) Soviet versions. It has taken until 2013 for a filmmaker brave enough to approach Dostoyevsky’s binary second novel; there is a certain numerical sense of doubling, since Richard Ayoade has decided to allocate his second film as The Double, an ambitiously promising plea following Submarine back in 2010.
Abandoning the novel’s Russian setting, Ayoade’s take is set in some strange alternate Orwellian state, complete with slightly outsized costumes and angled hairstyles, creaking teak-panelled analogue technology, greyly oblique architecture and a smothering suffocation of legislative red tape.
Written & Directed by Richard Ayoade
UK, 2013
The Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky has been well served by cinema, especially his major works Crime & Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov, and The Idiot, all of which have received numerous adaptations throughout the decades. The latter was lavished with a recent Estonian take, after receiving a Japanese decoding by Kurosawa no less, as well as Indian and (naturally) Soviet versions. It has taken until 2013 for a filmmaker brave enough to approach Dostoyevsky’s binary second novel; there is a certain numerical sense of doubling, since Richard Ayoade has decided to allocate his second film as The Double, an ambitiously promising plea following Submarine back in 2010.
Abandoning the novel’s Russian setting, Ayoade’s take is set in some strange alternate Orwellian state, complete with slightly outsized costumes and angled hairstyles, creaking teak-panelled analogue technology, greyly oblique architecture and a smothering suffocation of legislative red tape.
- 10/14/2013
- by John
- SoundOnSight
★★★★★ Rereleased on DVD by Artificial Eye come two of Robert Bresson's most remarkable achievements. Au Hasard Balthazar (1966) and Mouchette (1967) share many common themes, presenting us with a taut and distressingly bleak portrait of human frailty and a world where redemption is possible only through death. Jean-Luc Godard once wrote, "Robert Bresson is French cinema, as Dostoyevsky is the Russian novel and Mozart is German music." Bresson's uniquely spiritual aesthetic was ultimately his own personal response to the question' What is cinema?', challenging the impotence of post-war French cinema.
Bresson presents us with two incredibly theoretical studies of humanity, creating scenarios where the most ordinary and pedestrian of occurrences hold spiritual meaning. These moments acquire intense significance and delicately tune the unsolicited eyes and ears of the audience towards the gentle reverberations of sorrow and hopelessness which throb beneath the tainted veneer of modern life. In the first, Au Hasard Balthazar,...
Bresson presents us with two incredibly theoretical studies of humanity, creating scenarios where the most ordinary and pedestrian of occurrences hold spiritual meaning. These moments acquire intense significance and delicately tune the unsolicited eyes and ears of the audience towards the gentle reverberations of sorrow and hopelessness which throb beneath the tainted veneer of modern life. In the first, Au Hasard Balthazar,...
- 9/3/2013
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Fyodor Dostoevsky is one of the most famous names in world literature. Author of eleven novels, some of which are among the most acclaimed in history, Dostoevsky has been praised for his superb grasp of psychology and his interest in both philosophical and religious themes.
He was born in Moscow in 1821 and published his first novel, Poor Folk, in 1846. In 1849, he was arrested for his involvement with a group of radical liberal utopians and sentenced to death by firing squad. In pure literary fashion, Dostoevsky was spared minutes before his sentence was to be carried out and instead was sentenced to 4 years labor in Siberia. After his release, he struggled for years financially but later in life he became known for his writing abilities and produced some of the masterpieces of western literature.
Although he wrote eleven novels in total, Dostoevsky is primarily remembered for five: Notes from Underground, Crime and Punishment,...
He was born in Moscow in 1821 and published his first novel, Poor Folk, in 1846. In 1849, he was arrested for his involvement with a group of radical liberal utopians and sentenced to death by firing squad. In pure literary fashion, Dostoevsky was spared minutes before his sentence was to be carried out and instead was sentenced to 4 years labor in Siberia. After his release, he struggled for years financially but later in life he became known for his writing abilities and produced some of the masterpieces of western literature.
Although he wrote eleven novels in total, Dostoevsky is primarily remembered for five: Notes from Underground, Crime and Punishment,...
- 5/29/2013
- by Paul Sorrells
- Obsessed with Film
Tom Cruise stars in ‘Oblivion’ and original and groundbreaking cinematic event from the visionary director of ‘Tron: Legacy’. On a spectacular future Earth that has evolved beyond recognition, one man’s confrontation with the past will lead him on a journey of redemption and discovery as he battles to save mankind. It’s 2077 and Jack Harper (Tom Cruise) serves as a security repairman stationed on an evacuated Earth. Living in and patrolling the breathtaking skies from thousands of feet above, Jack’s soaring existence is brought crashing down after he rescues a beautiful stranger from a downed spacecraft. Drawn to Jack through a connection that transcends logic, her arrival triggers a chain of events that forces him to question everything he thought he knew. The fate of humanity now rest solely in the hands of a man who believed our world was soon to be lost forever. ‘Oblivion’ stars Tom Cruise,...
- 4/17/2013
- by Fernando Esquivel
- LRMonline.com
The 17th edition of the International Film Festival of Kerala (Iffk) has announced its lineup. The festival will run from 7th to 14th December, 2012 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
Some of the highlights of the lineup are festival favourites of the year Amour, Chitrangada, Samhita, The Sapphires, Drapchi, Miss Lovely, Me and You, Celluloid Man, and Baandhon.
Fourteen films will screen in the Competition section while seven contemporary films will be screened in “Indian Cinema Now” section.
Complete list of films:
Competition Films
Fourteen feature films from Asia, Africa and Latin America will compete for the coveted “Suvarna Chakoram” (Golden Crow Pheasant) and other awards.
Always Brando by Ridha Behi (Tunisia)
Inheritors of the Earth by T V Chandran (India)
A Terminal Trust by by Masayuki Suo (Japan)
Shutter by Joy Mathew (India)
Today by Alain Gomis (Senegal-France)
The Repentant by Merzak Allouache (Algeria)
Sta. Niña by Manny Palo (Philippines)
Present Tense...
Some of the highlights of the lineup are festival favourites of the year Amour, Chitrangada, Samhita, The Sapphires, Drapchi, Miss Lovely, Me and You, Celluloid Man, and Baandhon.
Fourteen films will screen in the Competition section while seven contemporary films will be screened in “Indian Cinema Now” section.
Complete list of films:
Competition Films
Fourteen feature films from Asia, Africa and Latin America will compete for the coveted “Suvarna Chakoram” (Golden Crow Pheasant) and other awards.
Always Brando by Ridha Behi (Tunisia)
Inheritors of the Earth by T V Chandran (India)
A Terminal Trust by by Masayuki Suo (Japan)
Shutter by Joy Mathew (India)
Today by Alain Gomis (Senegal-France)
The Repentant by Merzak Allouache (Algeria)
Sta. Niña by Manny Palo (Philippines)
Present Tense...
- 11/2/2012
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
“We are still coming to terms with Robert Bresson, and the peculiar power and beauty of his films,” Martin Scorsese said in the 2010 book “A Passion For Film,” describing the often overlooked French filmmaker as “one of the cinema’s greatest artists.”
But while he may be revered by some as the finest French filmmaker bar Jean Renoir, outside hardcore cinephile circles he and his films are virtually unknown (perhaps regarded as too opaque or nebulous). Just consider the fact that almost every definitive book on the elusive director was published during the aughts to feel the full truth of Scorsese's statement about how we're still in the process of appreciating and understanding his life and work. Even Bresson’s actual birthdate is contested, adding further the ambiguities surrounding the director.
“Make visible what, without you, might perhaps never have been seen,” the meticulous Bresson once famously said, hinting at...
But while he may be revered by some as the finest French filmmaker bar Jean Renoir, outside hardcore cinephile circles he and his films are virtually unknown (perhaps regarded as too opaque or nebulous). Just consider the fact that almost every definitive book on the elusive director was published during the aughts to feel the full truth of Scorsese's statement about how we're still in the process of appreciating and understanding his life and work. Even Bresson’s actual birthdate is contested, adding further the ambiguities surrounding the director.
“Make visible what, without you, might perhaps never have been seen,” the meticulous Bresson once famously said, hinting at...
- 4/18/2012
- by The Playlist
- The Playlist
Laurence Topham continues our writers' favourite film series with Kurosawa's epic about 16th-century Japanese swords-for-hire
Does this review cut it? Write your own here or have your say in the comments section below
A group of samurai, along with a motley gang of armed villagers, await the arrival of 13 formidable bandits on horseback. With piercing rain beating down on them, Kambei, the leader of the samurai, solemnly says: "This is the final battle." With hellish cries, the mounted invaders charge through the black mud and into the village, where they are annihilated by a frenzy of makeshift spears and deadly arrows. Samurai swords cut into the horses, bodies drop into the mud – mud that lurched off the screen and into my socks.
Long before I was to experience the technical marvels of 3D, I was experiencing something much more cinematically powerful – the percussive power of Akira Kurosawa's editing. The subtitles didn't even register.
Does this review cut it? Write your own here or have your say in the comments section below
A group of samurai, along with a motley gang of armed villagers, await the arrival of 13 formidable bandits on horseback. With piercing rain beating down on them, Kambei, the leader of the samurai, solemnly says: "This is the final battle." With hellish cries, the mounted invaders charge through the black mud and into the village, where they are annihilated by a frenzy of makeshift spears and deadly arrows. Samurai swords cut into the horses, bodies drop into the mud – mud that lurched off the screen and into my socks.
Long before I was to experience the technical marvels of 3D, I was experiencing something much more cinematically powerful – the percussive power of Akira Kurosawa's editing. The subtitles didn't even register.
- 12/14/2011
- by Laurence Topham
- The Guardian - Film News
Akira Kurosawa remakes such as The Magnificent Seven led a Hollywood revolution in the 1960s – and now a new wave of Us adaptations could be coming
Akira Kurosawa and Hollywood may find themselves working together soon for the first time since the late director's abortive involvement in the war epic Tora! Tora! Tora!, one of several traumatic episodes that led him to attempt suicide in 1972. The remake rights to the lion's share of his movies and unproduced screenplays have been granted by the Akira Kurosawa 100 Project to the Los Angeles-based company Splendent, whose chief, Sakiko Yamada, told Variety he aimed to "help contemporary film-makers introduce a new generation of moviegoers to these unforgettable stories". The Kurosawa Project said it had received "countless" requests from Us and European film-makers, "expressing intense interest in remaking Kurosawa's movies".
The prospect of Kurosawa's influence being funnelled through Hollywood again is enticing; after all, the...
Akira Kurosawa and Hollywood may find themselves working together soon for the first time since the late director's abortive involvement in the war epic Tora! Tora! Tora!, one of several traumatic episodes that led him to attempt suicide in 1972. The remake rights to the lion's share of his movies and unproduced screenplays have been granted by the Akira Kurosawa 100 Project to the Los Angeles-based company Splendent, whose chief, Sakiko Yamada, told Variety he aimed to "help contemporary film-makers introduce a new generation of moviegoers to these unforgettable stories". The Kurosawa Project said it had received "countless" requests from Us and European film-makers, "expressing intense interest in remaking Kurosawa's movies".
The prospect of Kurosawa's influence being funnelled through Hollywood again is enticing; after all, the...
- 9/1/2011
- by John Patterson
- The Guardian - Film News
Anyone who reads literature in translation probably has some inkling of the effort it takes a specialist to mold foreign masterworks into readable prose that feels alive and inviting. Some translators have earned renown for their impeccable renditions of the classics — Lydia Davis comes to mind — but such formidably intelligent people are accustomed to working, for the most part, in complete obscurity, unknown except to the book publishers who commission their interpretive labors and those who bother to notice bylines. Until her death last year at age 87, Svetlana Geier was the most distinguished translator of Dostoyevsky in Germany, having shouldered the monumental task (beginning in 1992) of rendering the Russian novelist’s “five elephants” (Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, The Brothers Karamazov, The Devils, and The Raw Youth) into her adopted language. Born in Kiev, Ukraine, Geier began her work in the late fifties, but developed a special passion for the...
- 7/20/2011
- by Damon Smith
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Hot young things Jackson Rathbone and Erika Christensen have joined Paul Williams’ new film The Idiot. The Twilight actor and Flightplan actress will star as lovers in the feature adaptation of the Russian novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. The thriller follows a man returning to Russia from a Swiss hospital to discover a society obsessed with greed, power and sex. He soon becomes entangled in a love triangle with a beautiful but fragile woman and a secretive friend with ulterior motives. It’s unsure which of the female leads...
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- 5/15/2011
- by Total Film
- TotalFilm
Fyodor Dostoyevsky‘s novel The Idiot is getting an adaptation, too! According to the latest reports, Paul Williams will be in director’s chair, while Jackson Rathbone and Erika Christensen have signed on to star in it! Of course, all news for upcoming thriller are coming straight from Cannes, where Intandem Films is currently shopping the package [...] Jackson Rathbone and Erika Christensen in The Idiot Adaptation is a post from: www.FilmoFilia.com...
- 5/15/2011
- by Fiona
- Filmofilia
I hope you guys have been doing your English homework -- and no, CliffsNotes do not count.
Jackson Rathbone and Erika Christensen have signed on the dotted line to star in "The Idiot," based on the novel of the same name by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
Rathbone's most famous for being creepy Jasper Hale in the "Twilight" franchise, so tackling the lead role (we're assuming) of Prince Myshkin in Dostoyevsky's tome is definitely a big switcheroo for the young actor. Myshkin is described as a Christ-like figure, too innocent for the high society of St. Petersburg and its debauched sexytimes and social wheelings and dealings.
He's caught in a bizarre love triangle between two women, one young and innocent and one a naughty lady indeed. Which will Christensen play? We're gunning for Nastasya, a stunner who does whatever the eff she wants and drives all the men cuckoo with lust.
Variety...
Jackson Rathbone and Erika Christensen have signed on the dotted line to star in "The Idiot," based on the novel of the same name by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
Rathbone's most famous for being creepy Jasper Hale in the "Twilight" franchise, so tackling the lead role (we're assuming) of Prince Myshkin in Dostoyevsky's tome is definitely a big switcheroo for the young actor. Myshkin is described as a Christ-like figure, too innocent for the high society of St. Petersburg and its debauched sexytimes and social wheelings and dealings.
He's caught in a bizarre love triangle between two women, one young and innocent and one a naughty lady indeed. Which will Christensen play? We're gunning for Nastasya, a stunner who does whatever the eff she wants and drives all the men cuckoo with lust.
Variety...
- 5/13/2011
- by Jenni Miller
- NextMovie
Jackson Rathbone (Jasper in the Twilight movies) may have been an idiot to star in the disaster The Last Airbender, but he's looking pretty smart to take the lead in The Idiot. Based on Fyodor Dostoyevsky's book, Rathbone will play a really good guy with a pure, beautiful soul (I see a great way to repurpose Jesse McCartney's hit song!) who thinks he can save the world except he's caught between people who serve as obstacles: a beautiful but needy woman, the woman he's falling in love with and a friend who is trying to destroy him. "Parenthood" star Erika Christensen is also set to topline.
The book on which its based is described by BarnesandNoble.com as "Inspired by an image of Christ’s suffering, Fyodor Dostoyevsky set out to portray “a truly beautiful soul” colliding with the brutal reality of contemporary society. Returning to St. Petersburg from a Swiss sanatorium,...
The book on which its based is described by BarnesandNoble.com as "Inspired by an image of Christ’s suffering, Fyodor Dostoyevsky set out to portray “a truly beautiful soul” colliding with the brutal reality of contemporary society. Returning to St. Petersburg from a Swiss sanatorium,...
- 5/13/2011
- by tara@kidspickflicks.com (Tara the Mom)
- kidspickflicks
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