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A former Dread Central writer, Matt Serafini, once penned the idea of the “nightmare” film. The idea is a horror movie whose ethos is so psychedelic and dream-like, they both defy reality yet feel firmly planted in it, much like how a nightmare feels real, at least as long as you’re asleep. It’s a nebulous atmosphere that’s hard to explain, and I think it’s best conceptualized by the movies that achieve that feeling. Think It Follows or Carnival of Souls as two examples on opposite ends of the horror spectrum, and you’ll hopefully get an idea of what Serafini was outlining.

It’s arguably one of my favorite horror evocations. I don’t own and regularly rewatch J.S. Cardone’s The Slayer for nothing. Once you really think about it, everything from Don’t Look Now to Hour of the Wolf will make sense. Probably the...

Mad Cave Studios is bringing together four major characters from its Underworld universe for a huge crossover event called Endless Night. Written by Mark London, with art by Tom Derenick (Justice League), colors by Juancho Velez, and letters by Simon Bowland, this story will shake up the Underworld universe and set the stage for future stories.

The first issue will release with two cover options—one by Chris Weston and another by Declan Shalvey. Fans can already pre-order the comic ahead of its June 4th release.

The story follows Axel Black, a billionaire and leader of the dangerous Order of the Nine. He sends a team to Exit City to find a powerful artifact that could bring destruction if it falls into the wrong hands. To stop him, four unlikely heroes must work together:

Velveteen – A skilled assassin seeking revenge McCormick & Miller – Two detectives trying to keep order in a...

Weird is wonderful. Weird is good. Weird films challenge expectations with disorienting elements like surreal imagery, non-linear plots, and dreamlike (or nightmarish) logic. So what defines 'weird?' Ambiguity, uncomfortable atmospheres, rejection of traditional narrative structures? The beauty of it lies in bypassing our rational mind and speaking directly to our subconscious. These films remain in our thoughts, revealing different meanings every time we watch them.

2019’s The Lighthouse, directed by Robert Eggers, owns its claustrophobic black-and-white cinematography, surreal mermaid visions, and descent into madness. Its obscure mythology and sexual imagery create an air of psychological horror and dread. Lead actors Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson deliver exceptional performances as isolated lighthouse keepers whose grip on reality deteriorates. With that in mind, if you like The Lighthouse, you'll love 1968'sHour of the Wolf.

Director Ingmar Bergman Ran So Others Could Walk

Directed by Ingmar Bergman, the Swedish classic Hour of the Wolf...

In many ways, Hour of the Wolf (1968) is just like many other films directed by Ingmar Bergman,one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. It stars two of his most frequent collaborators, Max von Sydow and Liv Ullmann (the latter of whom was Bergman's partner at the time); it was filmed on the Swedish island of Fårö, where Bergman lived for much of his life; and its script was heavily inspired by Bergman's own life and relationships.

Even so, Hour of the Wolf is a unique entry in Bergman's acclaimed oeuvre for one simple reason: it's a horror film. While many of Bergman's films dealt with dark themes and featured Gothic imagery and foreboding atmospheres, Hour of the Wolf remains Bergman's only attempt to truly frighten his audience on a visceral level, taking heavy inspiration from his own nightmares. But Bergman didn't dabble in the horror genre just for shock value.

While Swedish classic Ingmar Bergman is known for his psychological dramas that explore the intricacies of human behavior, he also made a bunch of comedies, musical films, and one horror movie. Titled Hour of the Wolf, the 1968 film is simultaneously a Gothic tale, a psychological examination of a tortured mind, and a grim story of a relationship in trouble. The story revolves around Johan (Max von Sydow), an artist, and his wife Alma (Liv Ullmann), whose life deteriorates after Johan begins having visions of strange figures whom he becomes so familiar with, he gives them names and sketches them. What follows can be interpreted in many ways, including as a cautionary tale about literal monsters or an allegory about demons residing inside an artistic mind. But at its core, Hour of the Wolf is also a strangely realistic depiction of a dysfunctional relationship.

Writer-director Samuel Van Grinsven says that his new film “Went Up the Hill” was inspired by a single image of two people in a room, a coffin between them, both equally mourning the person inside, but knowing next to nothing about one another.

His film, which debuts this week at the Toronto International Film Festival, sees a young man, Jack (Dacre Montgomery), travel to a remote part of New Zealand to attend the funeral of his estranged mother. There he meets her grieving widow, Jill (Vicky Krieps). But his mother’s spirit returns, inhabiting both of their bodies to speak to the other one and instigating a threatening three-way nocturnal dance.

The film is financed with principal production investment from the New Zealand Film Commission and Screen Australia with support from Screen CanterburyNZ, Create Nsw, Spectrum Films, Stage 23, Rm Sound, Head Gear Films, Fulcrum Media Finance and the New Zealand Government’s Screen Production Grant.

Includes Spoilers for House of the Dragon season 2's finale and Massive Spoilers for Fire & Blood, the show's source material.

George R.R. Martin wanted 4 seasons with 10 episodes each. House of the Dragon seasons 3 & 4 need 10 episode seasons to capture the Dance of the Dragons. Crucial battles like the Gullet and Tumbleton, along with dragon events, require significant attention.

Plans for HBO's House of the Dragon have been revealed, with four seasons intended for the prequel series, breaking a statement previously established by George R.R. Martin and raising questions about the show's pacing. House of the Dragon's season 2 ending received critique for having too much set-up and not a significant enough climax to merit a finale, and more information has been revealed about the writing process behind season 2, pointing to the idea that a key battle had been pushed to season 3. This is likely the Battle of the Gullet.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly,...

This article contains potential future spoilers for House of the Dragon based on events from the source material.

House of the Dragon is a prequel to Game of Thrones and follows the events of the "Dance of the Dragons", the bloody civil war fought between the Blacks and the Greens. Although Game of Thrones was forced to go beyond its source material, the entire story of House of Dragon is already published in Fire & Blood, making it easier for showrunners to craft a faithful and satisfying ending. House of the Dragon has the opportunity to conclude on a high note by adapting the "Hour of the Wolf," with Cregan Stark bringing justice to Westeros in the aftermath of the Dance of the Dragons.

The second season of House of the Dragon was filled with explosive moments, bringing the war between Blacks and Greens to a bloody point of no return.

House of the Dragon's latest episodes showcase political intrigue and shocking deaths amidst the Dance of the Dragons. The Hour of the Wolf hints at dark events in Westeros, potentially leading to mass killings and unrest in the Targaryen civil war. The Hour of the Wolf may foreshadow the end of the war in House of the Dragon, mirroring events from George R.R. Martin's novel Fire & Blood.

Spoiler alert: Possible spoilers for future seasons of House of the Dragon to followConsidering how long Westeros fans had to wait for House of the Dragon to finally start its sophomore year, its shocking to realize the season is more than halfway over. Its been a solid batch of episodes thus far, filled with spectacle, shocking deaths, and a welcome return to the slow, deliberate pace and political intrigue that defined Game of Thrones at its peak. And especially since the...

Warning! This article contains Spoilers for House of the Dragon season 2, episode 5 and George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood book, on which the show is based!

Daemon's experience at Harrenhal during the Hour of the Wolf is full of dark events and psychological torture. The Hour of the Wolf is approximately 3 a.m. in Westeros, which is considered the darkest part of the night. The Hour of the Wolf refers to both Cregan Stark's rule and a time of uncertainty and grief in Westeros.

Daemons tale at Harrenhal includes a mention of the Hour of the Wolf, which is an exciting nod to House Starks most important story in House of the Dragons future. Largely isolated with only Alys Rivers, Willem Blackwood, and Simon Strong as company, Daemons story in season 2 has become increasingly concerning, with many of his scenes including terrifying confrontations at night. In addition to Daemons visions at Harrenhal,...

Warning! This article contains Spoilers for House of the Dragon season 2, episode 3 and George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood book, on which the show is based!

House of the Dragon missed introducing Black Aly during the Battle of the Burning Mill. Black Aly is a skilled archer and leader in House Blackwood, who eventually marries Lord Cregan Stark. Black Aly's introduction may be delayed until House of the Dragon season 3 or introduced sooner due to her character's popularity.

By skipping over the Battle of the Burning Mill, House of the Dragon missed a great opportunity to introduce the shows greatest member of House Stark. As the battles begin in House of the Dragon season 2, important characters from familiar Game of Thrones houses are starting to be introduced. While the Lannister twins, Lord Boros Baratheon, and Winterfells Lord Cregan Stark have already been introduced from the now underrepresented major Game of Thrones families,...

This article contains spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 1 and Fire and Blood by George R.R. Martin.

After an explosive, bloody and heartbreaking finale, Season 1 of House of the Dragon came to a close, leaving fans with one clear message; war is here and the Dance of the Dragons has begun. With much of Westeros set to play a part in the conflict to some degree, Season 2 will see the return of many familiar houses. Perhaps the most anticipated among fans is the return of the Starks, in particular, the never-before seen Cregan Stark.

In the Season 1 finale, "The Black Queen", Rhaenyra sends her son Jacaerys to the north, to seek support from Cregan Stark. It is her hope that Cregan will join them in the fight against her half-brother Aegon II and the rest of the Hightowers. Cregan Stark is a powerful leader, one who plays a major...

This year’s edition of the Toronto International Film Festival is set to take place from September 7th through the 17th, and yesterday they invited film fans to guess which ten movies they’ll be screening in their Midnight Madness lineup this year. The hints were the titles of ten movies that could be compared to the films in the lineup in some way. They were Trey Parker’s Orgazmo, Geoff Murphy’s Under Siege 2: Dark Territory, Jimmy Wang Yu’s Fantasy Mission Force, Charles Martin Smith’s Trick or Treat, Stan Brakhage’s Dog Star Man, Martin Scorsese’s After Hours, Lucio Fulci’s City of the Living Dead, Paul Schrader’s Blue Collar, Ingmar Bergman’s Hour of the Wolf, and Theodore J. Flicker’s Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang. Now TIFF has announced the full lineup for both their Midnight Madness and Discovery programmes, and...

The cover of Time magazine once proclaimed Liv Ullmann “Hollywood’s new Nordic star,” a designation that never sat well with the Norwegian actress. She was a committed performer, starring in some of Ingmar Bergman’s greatest films of the Sixties and Seventies. She was an accomplished director, with a résumé that includes the Bergman-scripted 2000 gem Faithless. She became a vocal humanitarian, traveling to hardscrabble parts of the world as a Unicef ambassador. But a star? “I never became a star,” Ullmann tells Rolling Stone in a recent interview to...

Outlander star Sam Heughan plays tour guide for a behind-the-scenes look at the Wilmington sets. “Welcome to our version of Selling Wilmington,” jokes Heughan as the nearly four-minute video begins. Heughan’s co-stars Sophie Skelton and Richard Rankin point out key locations on the set, including where Bree met her real dad for the very first time.

Both Skelton and Rankin take the time to show off the cabin where their characters had their first love scene.

The set’s massive and Sam Heughan confirms it’s grown considerably over the years as they add more and more frontage. “Some of these buildings are only fronts. Others are indoor/outdoor,” explains Heughan, adding that one of his favorite new constructions is the Red Falcon that was built in season six.

“So in the middle of Scotland, we have this beautiful early American town and there’s more to come,” says Skelton.

Starz has served up our first real look at two new key Outlander season seven cast members. The minute-and-a-half video introduces Outlander fans to Joey Phillips as Dr. Denzell Hunter and Izzy Meikle-Small as Rachel Hunter.

Phillips and Meikle-Small play siblings who have a very close, loving relationship. Phillips describes Denzell as a surgeon with a real desire to join the Continental Army because “he believes that liberty is a gift from God.” Rachel’s conflicted about Denzell’s decision but accompanies him anyway because she doesn’t really have anywhere else to go.

In the video, Izzy Meikle-Small confirms their season seven costumes will be very modest because they’re Quakers.

Season seven’s newcomers also include Charles Vandervaart as William Ransom, the secret son of Jamie Fraser. And Starz offers this description of Vandervaart’s character:

“Raised by his stepfather, Lord John Grey (David Berry), William, the ninth Earl of Ellesmere,...

Welcome to another droughtlander. Here we are again, when all of us die-hard fans of the best show on TV wait through a seemingly interminable hiatus between seasons. But never fear, dear “Outlander” fans! Gold Derby is here to help satiate your desire for more content. Throughout the lead-up to Season 7, we will be featuring fun video chats with our favorite “Outlander” super-fans, in which we will discuss the highs and lows of the just-finished sixth season, and also our favorite “Outlander” moments from years gone by.

This week, I chat with journalist/writer and fellow “Outlander” lover Reshma Gopaldas, VP Video for She Media (Twitter: @reshingbull) whose writing is featured on SheKnows and StyleCaster including her weekly show recaps (like this one for the Season 6 finale) and her latest interview with Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan. Reshma share her insights on what the show means to her, some...

What did you think of “Outlander” Season 6, Episode 7 “Sticks and Stones,” which aired Sunday, April 24, and Episode 8 “I Am Not Alone,” which aired Sunday, May 1, on Starz? Senior editor Rob Licuria and super-fan and contributing writer Paula Sullivan-Licuria dish the highs and lows of the episodes in this eighth and final installment of our ongoing video series this season (watch the video recap above).

In the seventh and penultimate episode, Claire (Caitriona Balfe) tries to overcome her demons as a nefarious rumor begins to spread on the Ridge. In the eighth and final episode, Richard Brown (Chris Larkin) and his Committee of Safety arrive to arrest Claire for murder but finding a judge to try their case proves difficult. “Sticks and Stones” is written by Danielle Berrow and directed by Jamie Payne, while “I Am Not Alone” is written by Luke Schelhaas and is also directed by Payne.

See ‘Outlander...

Are you ready for some fun “Outlander” cast news? As readers of the books are well aware, the upcoming seventh season of the Starz TV hit will introduce the “secret son” of Sam Heughan‘s Scottish highlander character Jamie Fraser. Named William Ransom, the new character will be played by 21-year-old Charles Vandervaart, a Canadian actor best known for his roles in “Lost in Space” and “The Craft: Legacy.”

“Finally! Welcome ‘son’!” Heughan tweeted after the news broke on May 5. “Outlander” Season 7 began shooting in Scotland in early April and will likely premiere sometime in 2023. Vandervaart joins returning cast members including Heughan, Caitriona Balfe, Sophie Skelton, Richard Rankin and John Bell.

Here is how Starz describes Vandervaart’s character: “Raised by his stepfather, Lord John Grey (David Berry), William, the ninth Earl of Ellesmere, is a highly anticipated character from the book series. In season seven, William arrives in Wilmington...

What did you think of “Outlander” Season 6, Episode 7, titled “Sticks and Stones,” which aired Sunday, April 24 on Starz? Senior editor Rob Licuria and super-fan and contributing writer Paula Sullivan-Licuria, who usually dish the highs and lows of each episode, decided to hold off on recapping this seventh and penultimate installment of their ongoing video series this season until next week when they discuss the season finale.

Rob and Paula instead introduce journalist/writer and “Outlander” super-fan Courtney Williams as part of their new initiative of inviting fans of the show onto their weekly recaps. Courtney, founder and host of the Outlander Behind the Scenes blog, shares her insights on what the show means to her, her favorite episode to date, and her thoughts on Season 6 so far. Watch their “Outlander” fan chat in the video above.

See ‘Outlander’ Episodes Ranked Worst to Best By Fans

In the seventh episode, in...

What did you think of “Outlander” Season 6, Episode 6, titled “The World Turned Upside Down,” which aired Sunday, April 10 on Starz? Senior editor Rob Licuria and super-fan and contributing writer Paula Sullivan-Licuria dish the highs and lows of the episode in this sixth installment of our ongoing video series this season (watch the video recap above).

In this sixth episode, as a dysentery epidemic strikes the Ridge, Claire falls gravely ill, testing her bond with her beloved Jamie. Meanwhile, the episode ends on a shocking twist as a key character is found lying dead in the Frasers’ garden with a slit throat. “The World Turned Upside Down” is written by Toni Graphia and directed by Justin Molotnikov.

See ‘Outlander’ Episodes Ranked Worst to Best By Fans

For this week’s special episode recap, Rob and Paula invited back three previous super-fan guests to dish the highs and lows of “The World...

What did you think of “Outlander” Season 6, Episode 5, titled “Give Me Liberty,” which aired Sunday, April 3 on Starz? Senior editor Rob Licuria and super-fan and contributing writer Paula Sullivan-Licuria dish the highs and lows of the episode in this fifth installment of our ongoing video series this season (watch the video recap above).

In this fifth episode, Claire (Caitriona Balfe) and Jamie (Sam Heughan) experience rising tensions in the colonies first-hand when they attend a Loyalist event in Wilmington in honor of Scottish Jacobite heroine Flora MacDonald (Shauna MacDonald), while Roger (Richard Rankin) and Brianna (Sophie Skelton) overcome a disagreement about their place at the Ridge. “Give Me Liberty” is written by Barbara Stepansky and directed by Christiana Ebohon-Green.

See ‘Outlander’ Episodes Ranked Worst to Best By Fans

“We have plenty to talk about, least of which is the episode opens on June 1746 Scotland and Bonnie Prince Charlie is being...

Hey, "Power Book IV: Force" fans. Unfortunately, we have some very bad news to deliver to you guys in this article. It turns out that for some unknown reason, Starz has elected not to air the next, new episode 9 of Power Book IV: Force's current, premiere season 1 tonight, April 3, 2022. The good news is that this delay is just for this week. Starz has officially revealed that they plan to air the new episode 9 next Sunday night, April 10, 2022 in its usual, 7 pm central standard time slot. So, certainly be on the lookout for it on that very important date. We did find out what Starz is airing instead of Power Book IV: Force's next, new episode 9 tonight. According to the TV guide listings, Starz is going to serve up a new episode of Outlander. It will be the 4th episode of its current season 6 titled, "Hour of the Wolf.

This week’s Outlander filled in the missing details about how Young Ian came to leave the Mohawk, offered a very appropriate callback to Claire and Jamie’s time in Paris and introduced the phrase “lubricated brilliance” into Mr. and Mrs. Fraser’s pillowtalk vocabulary.

Read on for the highlights of “Hour of the Wolf.”

More from TVLineOutlander Just Shortchanged One of the Saga's Biggest Emotional MomentsPower Book IV: Force Sneak Peek: Is Kate Egan on Her Way to Chicago?Leslie Jones Joins Bmf for Season 2

What Ian Was Up To | The bulk of the episode focuses on Ian’s time with the Mohawk,...

[Warning: The below contains Major spoilers for Season 6, Episode 4 of Outlander, “Hour of the Wolf.”] Outlander is continuing to shine a light on its characters outside of central couple Claire (Caitriona Balfe) and Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) with its latest installment, “Hour of the Wolf.” For most of the hour-long episode, Outlander focuses the spotlight on the couple’s nephew, Ian Murray (John Bell) as he recounts his time with the Mohawk, and fills in some blanks that the audience and his family had previously been unaware of. Moving back and forth in time, the episode tells Ian’s story through a series of flashbacks juxtaposing with a visit he and Jamie make to the Cherokee to deliver the weapons supplied by Major MacDonald (Robin Laing) and the British Army. Below, we’re breaking down all of the key moments so beware of big spoilers ahead. (Credit: Starz) The episode opens with a ceremony of sorts where Ian is groomed...

[Warning: The below contains Major spoilers for Season 6, Episode 4 of Outlander, “Hour of the Wolf.”] In Outlander‘s latest episode, “Hour of the Wolf,” the show delves into the time Ian (John Bell) spent with the Mohawk between Seasons 4 and 5, filling in some serious story gaps and unveiling a heartbreaking tale of love and loss. Faced with the demons of his past when he is unexpectedly reunited with his Mohawk brother Kaheroton (Braeden Clarke), Ian opens up to his uncle Jamie (Sam Heughan) about his love story with his Mohawk wife, Wahionhaweh (Morgan Holmstrom), who he referred to as Emily and their children lost to miscarriages. As the episode plays out, Jamie learns that Ian was asked to leave the Mohawk as Kaheroton and Emily were matched to improve her chances of bearing children. Feelings of betrayal begin to resolve for Ian when an unexpected duel with a crooked Indian Agent and Kaheroton arises. Knowing the high stakes, Ian goes...

What did you think of “Outlander” Season 6, Episode 4, titled “Hour of the Wolf,” which aired Sunday, March 27 on Starz? Senior editor Rob Licuria and super-fan and contributing writer Paula Sullivan-Licuria dish the highs and lows of the episode in this fourth installment of our ongoing video series this season (watch the video recap above).

In this fourth episode, while visiting the Cherokee, Ian (John Bell) encounters a man from his past who dredges up painful memories of his time with the Mohawk, as the episode flashes back to his time with the Mohawk before his return to Fraser’s Ridge. “Hour of the Wolf” is written by Luke Schelhaas and directed by Christiana Ebohon-Green.

See ‘Outlander’ Episodes Ranked Worst to Best By Fans

“You know what, this was my favorite one by far of the four that we have seen to date,” Rob proclaims. “A fantastic episode almost wholly about...

For those of you Sassenachs who've been wondering when we were going to find out what happened to young Ian when he was with the Mohawk, wonder no more! The latest episode of "Outlander," "Hour of the Wolf," fills us in on the details of what went down with Ian and ends with him figuring out where he belongs! Good on you, Ian.

"Hour of the Wolf" also has some ether experimentation, commentary on how America's indigenous people are going to get screwed, and a return to sexy times. Read on for a detailed discussion on all of this, though be warned! Spoilers for the...

The post In Outlander's 'Hour of the Wolf,' Things Get Real With the Cherokee appeared first on /Film.

Hey, "Outlander" fans. We hope that episode 3 delivered everything you wanted tonight. Now that episode 3 is officially in the past, we are back on here to tell you about a few things you can expect to see happen in the next, new episode 4 of Outlander's current season 6 when it makes its debut next Sunday night, March 27, 2022. We were able to scrounge up a couple of new, official spoiler teasers for this new episode 4 via Starz's official episode 4 press release. So, we're going to crack it open, right now, and see what it's working with. Let's go. First off, Starz let us know that this new episode 4 of Outlander's current season 4 has officially been named, "Hour of the Wolf." It sounds like episode 4 will feature some emotional, intense, dramatic and interesting scenes as Ian gets exposed to painful memories. Jamie is convinced to reconsider some of his beliefs and more.

Joachim Trier, writer/director of the multi-Oscar nominated film The Worst Person in the World, discusses his favorite movies with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

A History of Violence (2005)

Gremlins (1984) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review, Tfh’s retrospective links

Innerspace (1987) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

The Worst Person In The World (2021)

Back To The Future (1985)

Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959)

Hour of the Wolf (1968)

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Dennis Cozzalio’s review

Mirror (1975)

Stalker (1979) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review

Soylent Green (1973)

Dr. Strangelove (1964) – Michael Lehmann’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review

Last Year At Marienbad (1961)

The Hunt (1959)

Remonstrance (1972)

Don’t Look Now (1973) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

Bad Timing (1980) – Bernard Rose’s trailer commentary

Walkabout (1971) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary

Performance (1970) – Mark Goldblatt’s trailer commentary

Drive My Car (2021)

491 (1964)

The Seventh Seal (1957)

Persona (1966)

The Wild Strawberries...

Filmmaker Boaz Yakin discusses some of his favorite films with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.

Show Notes:

Movies Referenced In This Episode

Aviva (2020)

The Harder They Fall (2021)

The Harder They Come (1972)

Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Pulp Fiction (1994)

Fresh (1994)

Mo’ Better Blues (1990)

Safe (2012)

Scream (2022)

The Punisher (1989)

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

Kagemusha (1980) – Bernard Rose’s trailer commentary

Mean Streets (1973)

Jaws (1975) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

The 400 Blows (1959) – Robert Weide’s trailer commentary

Yojimbo (1961)

Dodes’ka-den (1970)

Short Cuts (1993) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray commentary

Casablanca (1942) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

Coonskin (1975) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary

Fritz The Cat (1972) – Mick Garris’s trailer commentary, Charlie Largent’s Blu-ray review

The Lord of the Rings (1978)

Wizards (1977)

Heavy Traffic (1973) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing

The Warriors (1979)

Quintet (1979)

Brewster McCloud (1970) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Mash (1970)

Nashville (1975) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary, Dan Perri’s trailer commentary,...

Metrograph

With her sublime debut All is Forgiven now playing, Mia Hansen-Løve has curated a series populated by the likes of Varda, Rohmer, and Edward Yang.

Museum of Modern Art

A series curated by Mark McElhatten sees India Song screen on Saturday and L’amour Fou this Sunday.

Film Forum

Miraculously rediscovered and restored, the Iranian film Chess of the Wind continues; Harold Lloyd’s For Heaven’s Sake and an Amos Vogel program screen on Sunday.

Roxy Cinema

Prints of Boarding Gate and Demonlover screen throughout the weekend; Irma Vep also plays.

IFC Center

While the 4K restoration of Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s masterpiece Cure continues and World of Wong Kar-wai keeps going, El Topo, Natural Born Killers, Mulholland Dr., House, and Hour of the Wolf have showings.

Anthology Film Archives

A series on “Folk Horror” continues.

Museum of the Moving Image

A 90th-anniversary retro of Universal Horror continues, while an Amos Vogel retrospective is underway.

“Bergman Island,” the lyrical and absorbing new drama written and directed by Mia Hansen-Løve, tells the story of two filmmakers who are a couple: Tony (Tim Roth), the more famous of the two, and Chris (Vicky Krieps), who has carved out her own independent niche in world cinema. They have a daughter they’re leaving with relatives, and the movie is about what happens when they journey to the island of Fårö, in the Baltic Sea, and settle into a remotely spacious country cottage with a windmill in the backyard. They’ve rented the place as a summer getaway in which to work on their latest screenplays.

It’s no accident, of course, that they’ve sought out this grassy, becalmed, picturesque island just off the southeast coast of Sweden. It’s the place made famous by Ingmar Bergman, who shot a number of his films there, like “Through a Glass Darkly...

Photo: ‘Scenes from a Marriage’/Sveriges Radio Please note that this is a review of the mini-series, not the theatrical version. With the announcement of its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and last week’s trailer drop, anticipation for Mia Hansen-Løve’s newest film ‘Bergman Island’ has grown immensely. The former actress’s third film to compete at the festival tells the story of a filmmaking couple who make a pilgrimage to the Swedish island of Fårö, affectionately known as Bergman Island, where the master of Cinema Ingmar Bergman lived and worked. Among his films shot there: ‘Through a Glass Darkly’, ‘Persona’, ‘Hour of the Wolf’, ‘Shame’, ‘The Passion of Anna’ and of course, ‘Scenes from a Marriage.’ Such sacred ground for cinephiles, nevertheless the vibes from such films are not particularly rainbows and sunshine. In the trailer, Vicky Krieps’ character remarks “you do realize we’re going to...

Writer, director and actress Rebecca Miller discusses a few of her favorite films with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Personal Velocity: Three Portraits (2002)

The Ballad Of Jack And Rose (2005)

The Private Lives Of Pippa Lee (2009)

Maggie’s Plan (2015)

Explorers (1985)

The Way We Were (1973)

Battleship Potemkin (1925)

Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday (1953)

Annie Hall (1977)

Repulsion (1965)

Rosemary’s Baby (1968)

Knife In The Water (1962)

The Tenant (1976)

Cries and Whispers (1972)

Persona (1966)

The Magician (1958)

Hour Of The Wolf (1968)

The Virgin Spring (1960)

The Seventh Seal (1957)

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

The Exorcist (1973)

The Shining (1980)

La Dolce Vita (1960)

Regarding Henry (1991)

Angela (1995)

Badlands (1973)

Casino (1995)

On The Waterfront (1954)

My Dinner with Andre (1981)

Jules and Jim (1962)

The Bitter Tears Of Petra von Kant (1972)

Wings Of Desire (1987)

The Killer Inside Me (1976)

The Killer Inside Me (2010)

Married To The Mob (1988)

Blue Velvet (1986)

Dune (1984)

Imitation Of Life (1934)

Imitation Of Life (1959)

Written On The Wind (1956)

Magnificent Obsession (1954)

All That Heaven Allows...

In the canon of religious horror films—exemplified by Rosemary’s Baby (1968) and The Exorcist (1973)—the devil has long made a habit of weaponizing the female body. If a possession intervenes between the body and soul, for the pious and unbelieving alike, the corporeal tends to betray or eclipse the spiritual, and so the devil seems to have the upper hand. In Saint Maud, the sophisticated debut feature from writer-director Rose Glass, the divine could not be more physical, as flesh-ripping as it is orgasmic. Morfydd Clark plays an eccentric young nurse who, in the wake of trauma, has converted to what looks an awful lot like Catholicism and has newly christened herself Maud. Now working in hospice care, her latest charge is a formerly feted dancer, Amanda (Jennifer Ehle), debilitated by what appears to be cancer. Amanda, an atheist, generally finds Maud’s piety amusing, if sometimes endearing. Maud, meanwhile,...

Above: Alternative and official UK posters for Parasite. Designers: Andrew Bannister (left) and La Boca (right).It’s been far too long since I last did one of these round-ups: nine months to be exact. A lot has changed in the world over that time of course, the most pertinent to this column being that far fewer new posters have premiered recently, and that the distractions and stresses of our current situation have led to me posting less frequently than I usually do.But, as I’ve been doing for many years, I have tallied up the most popular posters featured on my Movie Poster of the Day Instagram (previously Tumblr) and by a long shot the most popular posts of the past nine months were for the two U.K. Parasite posters above. If it seems I’m giving these astonishing works short shrift by lumping them together here...

If you had to pluck one image from cinema to evoke the heady grandeur of the mid-20th-century art-film revolution, you couldn’t do better than Max von Sydow as the shimmering-coiffed, dourly ambivalent knight Antonius Block, playing chess with Death in “The Seventh Seal.”

Released in 1957, Ingmar Bergman’s film was a dark medieval mystery tour, fusing elemental drama with the thrill of “symbolism” to provide a new kind of charge for audiences. What remains remarkable about that fateful chess game is that though von Sydow was an unknown actor, he seemed nearly as stylized as Death himself. Toweringly tall, with a tapered thin smile, eyes that twinkled even when they were in pain, and hair that fell somewhere between Nordic blond and premature white (it’s as if the character’s travails were already aging him), von Sydow cut such a striking presence in “The Seventh Seal” that he appeared captivatingly real and,...

(Von Sydow in Bergman's "Hour of the Wolf", 1968)

By Raymond Benson

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We lost one of the world’s great thespians on March 8, 2020, and it’s sad that so many in the U.S. know him only from such Hollywood-fare franchises such as Star Wars, Game of Thrones, and even James Bond.

In fact, my Facebook and Twitter feeds on March 9 were full of tributes to the late Max von Sydow, but I despaired to see so many Bond fans acknowledge him only for what amounted to a five-minute-ish cameo as Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the 1983 non-Eon Productions 007 picture, Never Say Never Again. Really? That’s what you remember him for?

Max von Sydow was so, so much more than Blofeld, or Lor San Tekka, or the Three-Eyed Raven, or even Father Merrin (The Exorcist).

For me, I knew Max von Sydow through...

He faced down Death itself in “The Seventh Seal,” then the demon Pazuzu in “The Exorcist,” and finally Kylo Ren in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”

Max von Sydow, whose death Sunday at age 90 was confirmed by Variety, did all of these things in a singular career that spanned the European arthouse to Hollywood blockbusters. Lanky and chisel-faced, he was the kind of actor who grabbed your attention immediately and held it. And his deep, resonant voice — so memorable as he’s mansplaining culture and history to Barbara Hershey in “Hannah and Her Sisters” — seemed like it really could have been capable of sending demons back to hell.

He was born April 10, 1929 in Lund, Sweden, and began his career as an actor in several films by Alf Sjöberg, an early collaborator of Ingmar Bergman, before moving to Malmö and working with Bergman himself — first on stage at the Municipal Theatre,...

Max von Sydow, the tall, tragic-faced Swedish actor whose name was virtually synonymous with the films of Ingmar Bergman, has died. He was 90.

Variety has confirmed that the actor died on Sunday.

Von Sydow, who became Bergman’s symbol for the modern man in such films as “The Passion of Anna” and “Shame” after making his Bergman debut as the errant knight in “The Seventh Seal,” also had an unusually prolific career in Hollywood and international films.

He made his American debut in the role of Jesus Christ in George Stevens’ turgid 1965 epic “The Greatest Story Ever Told” and went on to make strong impressions with audiences in “The Exorcist,” Woody Allen’s “Hannah and Her Sisters,” David Lynch’s “Dune,” “Three Days of the Condor,” “Hawaii,” “Conan the Barbarian” and “Awakenings.”

Von Sydow worked for other Scandinavian directors as well, drawing an Oscar nomination for his role in Bille August...

Things were grim in 1968, the reflection of which was interpreted by Ingmar Bergman, who delivered two of his bleakest portraits beginning with his noted horror endeavor Hour of the Wolf. His leads Max von Sydow and Liv Ullmann would reappear as another troubled couple in Shame, the director’s only foray into the future with a Kafkaesque parable about life during wartime. Long before Steve McQueen would examine a different angle of the same titular human condition, Bergman goes for something deeper and darker in this portrait of unavoidable complicity in humanity’s ultimate doing—war. Two decades after WWII and with the world in the throes of Vietnam, it’s merely a portrait of human behavior and the struggle to survive under impossible circumstances.…...

Tomorrow is the centenary of the birth of one of cinema’s greatest directors, Ingmar Bergman, and to celebrate, The Criterion Collection has announced of their most expansive releases ever. This November, they will release Ingmar Bergman’s Cinema, a 39-film box set comprising nearly all of his work, including 18 films never before released by Criterion. Curated akin to a film festival, the set features Opening, Centerpiece, and Closing Films, with many double features in between. The set also features 11 introductions and over five hours of interviews with the director himself, six making-of documentaries, a 248-page book, and much more.

As we await for its November 20 release, check out an overview from Criterion below, as well as the box art, the trailer, and the full list of films, in curated order. One can also see much more about each release and the special features on the official site.

With the...

must Netflix’s TV series are a new art form, the Canadian director suggested.

David Cronenberg, the director of Crash and Naked Lunch, delivered a damning verdict on the medium of cinema at the Neuchatel International Fantasy Film Festival in Switzerland, an event he is attending as member of the international jury.

“I don’t go to the cinema any more. [in Neuchâtel] I’ve seen more movies than I’ve seen in the last five years. [The jury] are seeing 16 films. I don’t think I’ve been to the cinema 16 times in the last five years. In that sense, for me, that cinema is already dead,...

The Fly director will grant the Hr Giger ‘Narcisse’ award for best feature.

Writer-director David Cronenberg will be jury president at the 18th edition of Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival (Nifff), which takes place in Switzerland from July 6-14.

Cronenberg, who started his career in the fantasy genre with titles such as Shivers, Scanners and Videodrome, will present the Hr Giger ‘Narcisse’ award to one of the 16 films in competition, at the closing ceremony on July 14.

Festival-goers will also be able to hear Cronenberg speak as part of a ‘New Worlds Of Fantasy’ literary forum, where there will be a...

Arriving in theaters this weekend is Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Leviathan follow-up Loveless, which is nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at this year’s Oscars. One of our top 50 films of last year, we said, “Filmed with icy precision in cold, anonymous Moscow, with some of the year’s best cinematography – by Zvyagintsev regular Mikhail Krichman – the film is upfront, provocative and, in its bitterly satirical testimony of the decay of Russian cultural life, according to some critics blunt. But it’s in that vein that Zvyagintsev so powerfully confronts the domestic terror of the central missing-child drama. Really, Loveless is the great horror film of the year.”

In anticipation of the release, today we’re featuring the director’s ten favorite films, which comes from his ballot in the latest Sight & Sound poll. Among his selections are films that also share strong religious symbolism, if more overt than the Russian director’s work,...

Dear Danny and Kelley,The Rider sounds lovely, and I’m happy to hear Chloé Zhao has built on the melancholy promise of her first film, Songs My Brother Taught Me. Artists with a gift for empathy create anticipation for new works. Artists whose single stylistic tool is shock, on the other hand, cause only dread. So it goes with mother!, Darren Aronofsky’s latest suite of seizures and my noisiest, least rewarding experience at Tiff so far. Genius is like fire in that it is born from what it burns, says Malraux, so this allegory on the malefic artistic process opens with the subtlety and maidenly restraint expected from the maker of Requiem for a Dream: a full frontal glimpse of an incinerated woman, her blistering skin suggesting a melting gold effigy. The drama proper belongs to another wax dummy, an unnamed young wife played by Jennifer Lawrence...

Aaron is joined by Dave and Matt, and they begin by battling out for Criterion Now supremacy in the first ever Samurai duel. We get into a number of topics and digressions afterward, notably Being There, Before Sunset, John Waters, the value of schlock, the mystery of Jon Mulvaney, and a lot more where that came from.

Episode Notes

6:00 – Samurai Off

14:20 – Dave and Matt on June announcements

19:30 – Being There

28:00 – Before Midnight

46:00 – News Items

1:03:40 – Short Takes (Hour of the Wolf, Proletariat Trilogy, Walkabout)

1:11:30 – FilmStruck

Episode Links The Other Side of Hope The Great Escape coming? More John Waters? Arrow Academy Releases Episode Credits Aaron West: Twitter | Website | Letterboxd Dave Eves: Twitter Matt Gasteier: Twitter | Letterboxd Criterion Now: Twitter Criterion Cast: Facebook | Twitter

Music for the show is from Fatboy Roberts’ Geek Remixed project.

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A quick look at the slinky sleight-of-hand involved in making movies about magic.

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Categories Not categorized 0% Your result has been entered into leaderboard Loading Name: E-Mail: Captcha: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Answered Review Question 1 of 10 1. Question

In 1932’s Chandu The Magician, Edmund Lowe plays the titular wizard. What famous boogie man plays his adversary?

Bela Lugosi Boris Karloff Peter Lorre Correct

Lugosi is a lot of fun but the real star of this movie is director William Cameron Menzies whose distinctive visual style graces every scene.

Incorrect

Question 2 of 10 2. Question

1953’s Houdini...

David’s Quick Take for the Tl;Dr Media Consumer:

Shame is Ingmar Bergman’s “war movie,” a disclosure that already feels to me like I said too much, since I went into this one knowing next to nothing about it and was therefore all the more pleasantly stunned and staggered by the discovery. So if you haven’t yet watched it, stop reading now, and go do so right away, or at least before you proceed much further in reading here. It’s an excellent film and in my opinion, yet another marvelous, essential “must see” entry into Bergman’s canon. (Other critics, and even the director, don’t share my assessment; I’ll address that below.) But for those who’ve seen it, I have to figure they can agree with my surprise at the inclusion of screaming fighter jets, exploding grenades, dead paratroopers hanging from branches, machine gun blasts,...