There can be no doubt if there is one person bound and determined to keep Hollywood’s long history of Westerns alive it has been Kevin Costner. Okay, well Clint Eastwood too. And that has been true right from the beginning of his career when he played the freewheeling scene stealer Jake in Lawrence Kasdan’s Silverado in 1985, and he also made an impression as title star of 1994’s Wyatt Earp. But his real mark on the genre has been not just as an actor but also as director and producer behind the scenes, first with his Oscar-winning 1990 Best Picture Dances With Wolves and 2003’s terrific Open Range with co-star Robert Duvall. For the past few seasons he has prominently been involved in a more contemporary take in his hit TV series, Yellowstone. But without question his most ambitious and sprawling swing yet, Horizon: An American Saga, which kicked off...
- 5/19/2024
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
Oscar winner John Wayne, better known as “The Duke” to his fans, starred in over 165 movies throughout his career, oftentimes playing the swaggering, macho hero of westerns and war epics. But how many of his titles remain classics? Let’s take a look back at 25 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Born in 1907 as Marion Robert Morrison, Wayne worked his way up from bit player to leading man, appearing in a number of poverty row, Z-grade westerns throughout the 1930s. He shot to stardom with his role in John Ford‘s “Stagecoach” (1939), which brought new shades of nuance and artistry to the Cowboys and Indians genre. It also kicked off a lucrative, decades-long partnership between the director and star, who would make over two dozen films together, including “The Quiet Man” (1952), “The Searchers” (1956) and “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” (1962).
Despite being one of the top box office...
Born in 1907 as Marion Robert Morrison, Wayne worked his way up from bit player to leading man, appearing in a number of poverty row, Z-grade westerns throughout the 1930s. He shot to stardom with his role in John Ford‘s “Stagecoach” (1939), which brought new shades of nuance and artistry to the Cowboys and Indians genre. It also kicked off a lucrative, decades-long partnership between the director and star, who would make over two dozen films together, including “The Quiet Man” (1952), “The Searchers” (1956) and “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” (1962).
Despite being one of the top box office...
- 5/18/2024
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
The studio once known as 20th Century Fox is a younger entity than the other major Hollywood Studios. It was founded in 1935 out of the ashes of Fox Film, compared to Warner Bros (1923), Universal Pictures (1912), Paramount Pictures (1912), Columbia Pictures (1923), and Disney (1923) — the latter being the new parent company of 20th Century Studios.
Still, Fox waited only seven years to take home the top prize at the Oscars. At the 14th Academy Awards, held in 1942, Fox's film "How Green Was My Valley" won Best Picture, presented to Fox studio chief Darryl F. Zanuck. That wasn't the only prize "Valley" won that night: it also got Best Director (John Ford), Best Supporting Actor (Donald Crisp), Best Cinematography, Black-and-White (Arthur Miller), and finally Best Art Direction -- Interior Decoration, Black-and-White.
One of the films that "Valley" beat that night was "Citizen Kane" (which got only Best Original Screenplay for director Orson Welles and his co-writer Herman J.
Still, Fox waited only seven years to take home the top prize at the Oscars. At the 14th Academy Awards, held in 1942, Fox's film "How Green Was My Valley" won Best Picture, presented to Fox studio chief Darryl F. Zanuck. That wasn't the only prize "Valley" won that night: it also got Best Director (John Ford), Best Supporting Actor (Donald Crisp), Best Cinematography, Black-and-White (Arthur Miller), and finally Best Art Direction -- Interior Decoration, Black-and-White.
One of the films that "Valley" beat that night was "Citizen Kane" (which got only Best Original Screenplay for director Orson Welles and his co-writer Herman J.
- 5/7/2024
- by Devin Meenan
- Slash Film
Production on Vin Diesel starrer Riddick: Furya has been scheduled to commence in Germany, Spain and the UK on August 26.
Rocket Science previously introduced the project to the market and has concluded key pre-sales. A UK deal will be announced shortly.
Sales have closed in: France (Metropolitan), Germany (Leonine), Spain and Latin America (Sun), Benelux (The Searchers), Poland (Kinoswiat), Canada (Elevation), Scandinavia (Scanbox), Portugal (Lusomundo), Switzerland (Ascot Elite), South Africa (Empire), Greece (Femeway), Middle East (Front Row), Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Czech/Slovak, Republic Former Yugoslavia (ProRom), Cis (Volga), and Thailand (Sahamongkhol).
CAA Media Finance represents North American rights.
The...
Rocket Science previously introduced the project to the market and has concluded key pre-sales. A UK deal will be announced shortly.
Sales have closed in: France (Metropolitan), Germany (Leonine), Spain and Latin America (Sun), Benelux (The Searchers), Poland (Kinoswiat), Canada (Elevation), Scandinavia (Scanbox), Portugal (Lusomundo), Switzerland (Ascot Elite), South Africa (Empire), Greece (Femeway), Middle East (Front Row), Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Czech/Slovak, Republic Former Yugoslavia (ProRom), Cis (Volga), and Thailand (Sahamongkhol).
CAA Media Finance represents North American rights.
The...
- 5/6/2024
- ScreenDaily
It might feel like we just rang in the new year last week, but believe it or not, summer is already here -- at the movies, anyway.
With the release of the Ryan Gosling-Emily Blunt action-romcom The Fall Guy, Hollywood's most lucrative season has officially arrived.
But the calendar is light on sure bets this year, and that's mostly because of recent box office trends that have left studio execs in a very uncertain position.
As you probably recall, Barbie and Oppenheimer were the summer box office success stories of 2023.
In retrospect, it seems like a foregone conclusion that two films that so dominated the zeitgeist would also win big commercially.
After all, prior to last year, you had to go all the way back to 2010 for a year in which the highest-grossing movie was neither a sequel nor a superhero flick.
That was the year that James Cameron...
With the release of the Ryan Gosling-Emily Blunt action-romcom The Fall Guy, Hollywood's most lucrative season has officially arrived.
But the calendar is light on sure bets this year, and that's mostly because of recent box office trends that have left studio execs in a very uncertain position.
As you probably recall, Barbie and Oppenheimer were the summer box office success stories of 2023.
In retrospect, it seems like a foregone conclusion that two films that so dominated the zeitgeist would also win big commercially.
After all, prior to last year, you had to go all the way back to 2010 for a year in which the highest-grossing movie was neither a sequel nor a superhero flick.
That was the year that James Cameron...
- 5/4/2024
- by Tyler Johnson
- TVfanatic
A highlight of 2024’s TCM Classic Film Festival was the world premiere of a pristine restoration of John Ford‘s “The Searchers,” one of the greatest Westerns ever made and certainly — given its impact on directors like Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, and Paul Schrader — one of the most influential. “The Searchers” was photographed in VistaVision, arguably the best of the widescreen formats that emerged in the 1950s to combat television’s encroachment on the film business, and to see it projected on the big screen is a transcendent experience — especially if one is lucky enough to view the 70mm print that premiered at TCM’s fest and is currently making its way around the revival circuit (it screens in Los Angeles at the American Cinematheque on May 3 and 4).
The 70mm print is the end result of a meticulous restoration project overseen by Warner Brothers Discovery and Scorsese’s Film Foundation,...
The 70mm print is the end result of a meticulous restoration project overseen by Warner Brothers Discovery and Scorsese’s Film Foundation,...
- 5/3/2024
- by Jim Hemphill
- Indiewire
Famous for his brutal roles in The Quiet Man (1952), Rio Bravo (1959) and True Grit (1969), John Wayne got much recognition as the king of Westerns alongside Clint Eastwood. His movies became not only the best examples of the genre, but also one of the biggest sources of inspiration of the 20th century’s filmmakers.
In particular, Steven Spielberg, the giant of the industry, once confessed he revisits one of Wayne’s movies every time before he makes a new film of his own, as it’s much of a great value for the director. Indeed, the 1956 Western feature is quite unmissable.
The plot of the movie seems typical of the genre - it follows a Civil War veteran looking for his abducted relative. However, it’s not as simple as it may seem, as Ethan Edwards, the main character played by Wayne, has his niece Debbie stolen by the Comanches, whom he can’t bear,...
In particular, Steven Spielberg, the giant of the industry, once confessed he revisits one of Wayne’s movies every time before he makes a new film of his own, as it’s much of a great value for the director. Indeed, the 1956 Western feature is quite unmissable.
The plot of the movie seems typical of the genre - it follows a Civil War veteran looking for his abducted relative. However, it’s not as simple as it may seem, as Ethan Edwards, the main character played by Wayne, has his niece Debbie stolen by the Comanches, whom he can’t bear,...
- 4/27/2024
- by info@startefacts.com (Ava Raxa)
- STartefacts.com
From the sweeping vistas of The Searchers to the towering Transformers of Age of Extinction, the mesas and monuments of Utah’s southern half have been a regular presence in film since the earliest days of the medium. In fact, throughout 2024 the “Beehive State” has been celebrating its considerable cinematic heritage with the retrospective exhibition “100 Years of Utah Film and Television” on display now at the Capitol Building in Salt Lake City.
But balancing responsible land use with tourism and commercial exploitation is forever a hot topic in Utah—a regular theme in Western states—and there are few exceptions made for the arts. Which is why collaboration with the steady guiding hand of local film commissions is so critical; someone to steer visiting filmmakers in the correct direction (both legally and creatively) and keep the reciprocal ecosystem of commerce between film crews and local businesses on the good foot.
But balancing responsible land use with tourism and commercial exploitation is forever a hot topic in Utah—a regular theme in Western states—and there are few exceptions made for the arts. Which is why collaboration with the steady guiding hand of local film commissions is so critical; someone to steer visiting filmmakers in the correct direction (both legally and creatively) and keep the reciprocal ecosystem of commerce between film crews and local businesses on the good foot.
- 4/26/2024
- by Matt Warren
- Film Independent News & More
John Ford, the iconic director known for such films as Stagecoach, The Grapes of Wrath, My Darling Clementine, The Searchers and much more, will be the subject of the next edition of the TCM podcast The Plot Thickens, it was announced Wednesday.
“Decoding John Ford,” hosted by Ben Mankiewicz, premieres June 6. The fifth season of the podcast, consisting of seven episodes, will feature never-before-heard archival interviews with the likes of John Wayne, Katharine Hepburn, Henry Fonda, James Stewart, Woody Strode and Ford himself.
TCM says Mankiewicz will “strip back the mythology to reveal Ford’s brilliance — alongside the often ugly, uncomfortable truths about his life and movies, asking whether we can ever truly separate art from the artist.”
“John Ford is a mercurial figure. Not surprisingly given his stature, the stereotypes about Ford are incomplete,” the host said in a statement. “This is a man defined by contradictions: he revered...
“Decoding John Ford,” hosted by Ben Mankiewicz, premieres June 6. The fifth season of the podcast, consisting of seven episodes, will feature never-before-heard archival interviews with the likes of John Wayne, Katharine Hepburn, Henry Fonda, James Stewart, Woody Strode and Ford himself.
TCM says Mankiewicz will “strip back the mythology to reveal Ford’s brilliance — alongside the often ugly, uncomfortable truths about his life and movies, asking whether we can ever truly separate art from the artist.”
“John Ford is a mercurial figure. Not surprisingly given his stature, the stereotypes about Ford are incomplete,” the host said in a statement. “This is a man defined by contradictions: he revered...
- 4/18/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The award-winning Turner Classic Movies podcast “The Plot Thickens” is ready to take on the Manifest Destiny of filmmaker John Ford.
The new fifth season, titled “Decoding John Ford,” centers on the legendary auteur best known for Westerns like “The Searchers.” Host Ben Mankiewicz dives into the mythology behind Ford’s filmography.
The seven-part podcast also examines Ford’s shelved WWII film that was commissioned by the U.S. military in 1944. Host Ben Mankiewicz travels to Europe to trace the mystery of whether the D-Day movie exists. The season debuts on June 6, the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
The season features never-before-heard archival interviews with stars like John Wayne, Katharine Hepburn, Henry Fonda, James Stewart, Woody Strode, and director Ford himself.
“John Ford is a mercurial figure. Not surprisingly given his stature, the stereotypes about Ford are incomplete,” TCM Host Ben Mankiewicz said in a release. “This is a man defined...
The new fifth season, titled “Decoding John Ford,” centers on the legendary auteur best known for Westerns like “The Searchers.” Host Ben Mankiewicz dives into the mythology behind Ford’s filmography.
The seven-part podcast also examines Ford’s shelved WWII film that was commissioned by the U.S. military in 1944. Host Ben Mankiewicz travels to Europe to trace the mystery of whether the D-Day movie exists. The season debuts on June 6, the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
The season features never-before-heard archival interviews with stars like John Wayne, Katharine Hepburn, Henry Fonda, James Stewart, Woody Strode, and director Ford himself.
“John Ford is a mercurial figure. Not surprisingly given his stature, the stereotypes about Ford are incomplete,” TCM Host Ben Mankiewicz said in a release. “This is a man defined...
- 4/18/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Chaos reigned at the Brussels premiere of “Love Lies Bleeding” on Saturday, after a barrage of homophobic and misogynistic comments during the screening led to a mass walkout followed by retaliatory protests and a police response. More than 60 queer women stormed out of the regional premiere once the screening turned toxic, while screening organizers claim at least three instances of physical violence.
“Things spun wildly out of hand,” attendee Elina Fischer tells Variety. Calling their experience “traumatic and horrible,” Fischer adds: “We were afraid for our lives, because the kinds of people who say such things during a film screening are the kinds of people who assault us. So we got scared and had to get out.”
After premiering to critical acclaim out of Sundance and Berlin, Rose Glass’ A24-produced thriller has yet to see wide release in Francophone Europe – making the recent screening at the Brussels International Fantastic...
“Things spun wildly out of hand,” attendee Elina Fischer tells Variety. Calling their experience “traumatic and horrible,” Fischer adds: “We were afraid for our lives, because the kinds of people who say such things during a film screening are the kinds of people who assault us. So we got scared and had to get out.”
After premiering to critical acclaim out of Sundance and Berlin, Rose Glass’ A24-produced thriller has yet to see wide release in Francophone Europe – making the recent screening at the Brussels International Fantastic...
- 4/15/2024
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
Possibly the greatest collection of films for a modern classic showcase is about to take place at the TCM Classic Film Festival. The Wrap has revealed that the channel Turner Classic Movies, which is dedicated to unaltered, unedited film broadcasts of renowned movies in the history of cinema, has revealed the list of titles and guest appearances that will be featured at this year’s festival. The festival this year will be commemorating the 30th anniversary of the network. The TCM Classic Festival will be taking place in Los Angeles on April 18-21.
The event will screen the world premiere of a brand-new restoration of the 1995 film Se7en, the dark crime thriller starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. Director David Fincher will be there personally to unveil the film in IMAX. Another big screening will be the director’s cut of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which will play...
The event will screen the world premiere of a brand-new restoration of the 1995 film Se7en, the dark crime thriller starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. Director David Fincher will be there personally to unveil the film in IMAX. Another big screening will be the director’s cut of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which will play...
- 3/22/2024
- by EJ Tangonan
- JoBlo.com
For those of us who remember going to the movies in 1977, we were treated to Star Wars, Smokey And The Bandit, The Spy Who Loved Me, Airport 77, The Car, Orca and Capricorn One. There was a rich wealth of movies to choose from and a time when audiences in their local cinemas would cheer and clap for the heroes. Then on December 14, 1977, coming off the success of Jaws, that director Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi masterpiece graced the screens. Close Encounters Of The Third Kind was the filmmaker’s next movie and, along with star Richard Dreyfuss and the magnificent score from composer John Williams, took audiences on a journey of mankind’s first meeting with aliens and let us know we are not alone in the universe.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind was nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning for Best Cinematography by Director of Photography Vilmos Zsigmond (The Sugarland Express...
Close Encounters of the Third Kind was nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning for Best Cinematography by Director of Photography Vilmos Zsigmond (The Sugarland Express...
- 3/21/2024
- by Melissa Thompson
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Top to bottom: Lawrence Of Arabia (Columbia Pictures), Avatar (20th Century Fox), Blade Runner 2049 (Warner Bros.)Graphic: The A.V. Club
There are artists who work on such a large scale that seeing their art in person for the first time can completely change your impression of a piece, no...
There are artists who work on such a large scale that seeing their art in person for the first time can completely change your impression of a piece, no...
- 3/21/2024
- by Cindy White
- avclub.com
The 2024 TCM Film Festival is ringing in its 15th anniversary with a slew of star-studded panels and premieres.
The festival, which takes place in Los Angeles from April 18 to 21, will kick off with a special 35mm screening of “Pulp Fiction” with actor John Travolta in attendance. This year’s festival theme is “Most Wanted: Crime and Justice in Film,” and fittingly, the festival boasts a cast reunion of prison escape drama “The Shawshank Redemption” with stars Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins.
Both “The Shawshank Redemption” and “Pulp Fiction” are celebrating 30 years since their respective 1994 releases.
The festival will close with Mel Brooks’ “Spaceballs,” with Brooks presenting the feature.
Additional programming includes the world premiere of the IMAX restoration of David Fincher’s “Se7en,” a restoration of “The Searchers” courtesy of Warner Bros. and The Film Foundation with Oscar-nominated writer/director Alexander Payne introducing the film, and “Jeopardy!” host Ken Jennings presenting the U.
The festival, which takes place in Los Angeles from April 18 to 21, will kick off with a special 35mm screening of “Pulp Fiction” with actor John Travolta in attendance. This year’s festival theme is “Most Wanted: Crime and Justice in Film,” and fittingly, the festival boasts a cast reunion of prison escape drama “The Shawshank Redemption” with stars Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins.
Both “The Shawshank Redemption” and “Pulp Fiction” are celebrating 30 years since their respective 1994 releases.
The festival will close with Mel Brooks’ “Spaceballs,” with Brooks presenting the feature.
Additional programming includes the world premiere of the IMAX restoration of David Fincher’s “Se7en,” a restoration of “The Searchers” courtesy of Warner Bros. and The Film Foundation with Oscar-nominated writer/director Alexander Payne introducing the film, and “Jeopardy!” host Ken Jennings presenting the U.
- 3/21/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Those attending the 15th annual TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood next month will have an opportunity to engage with Mel Brooks and Vitaphone, both born in 1926. One’s extinct, the other’s still going strong.
While Brooks, 97, will be on hand for a closing-night screening of his 1987 comedy Spaceballs, six Vitaphone vaudeville shorts from the 1920s will be projected in 35mm, with sound played back from their original 16-inch discs on a turntable designed and engineered by Warner Bros.’ postproduction engineering department.
Also announced Thursday:
• Steven Spielberg will participate in a Q&a with Howard Suber — the UCLA faculty member at the center of the recent six-part TCM documentary The Power of Film — ahead of a director’s cut of Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977);
• Nancy Meyers and Alexander Payne, respectively, will introduce world premiere restorations of Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest (1959) and John Ford’s The Searchers...
While Brooks, 97, will be on hand for a closing-night screening of his 1987 comedy Spaceballs, six Vitaphone vaudeville shorts from the 1920s will be projected in 35mm, with sound played back from their original 16-inch discs on a turntable designed and engineered by Warner Bros.’ postproduction engineering department.
Also announced Thursday:
• Steven Spielberg will participate in a Q&a with Howard Suber — the UCLA faculty member at the center of the recent six-part TCM documentary The Power of Film — ahead of a director’s cut of Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977);
• Nancy Meyers and Alexander Payne, respectively, will introduce world premiere restorations of Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest (1959) and John Ford’s The Searchers...
- 3/21/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The one thing that Academy Award haters and lovers can agree on is the long and fascinating history of Oscar snubs. It’s the “Predator handshake” topic that brings us all together. It happens every year: the wrong movie wins a certain award or fails to secure the nomination it deserves. Some would say it’s a big part of the awards show experience.
Every now and then, though, the Academy Awards go above and beyond by implementing a “blanket snub.” It’s one thing for a great movie or actor to not get the win or nomination they’ve earned in the eyes of theater audiences. It’s quite another to realize that there have been numerous all-time great films throughout history that didn’t even get a single Oscar nomination, much less an Oscar win.
But let’s go one step further than that. We’re not going...
Every now and then, though, the Academy Awards go above and beyond by implementing a “blanket snub.” It’s one thing for a great movie or actor to not get the win or nomination they’ve earned in the eyes of theater audiences. It’s quite another to realize that there have been numerous all-time great films throughout history that didn’t even get a single Oscar nomination, much less an Oscar win.
But let’s go one step further than that. We’re not going...
- 3/9/2024
- by Matthew Byrd
- Den of Geek
James Hawes’ true-life drama One Life starring Anthony Hopkins has broken out at the international box office through FilmNation’s network of buyers, earning $26m and counting weeks before it opens in the US through Bleecker Street on March 15.
‘One Life’: Toronto Review
The biographical drama about Nicholas Winton, the UK stockbroker who saved the lives of 669 children in the former Czechoslovakia from the Nazis, is produced by UK-Australian outfit See-Saw Films. It made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September 2023 and has gone on to open in key markets including the UK and Ireland,...
‘One Life’: Toronto Review
The biographical drama about Nicholas Winton, the UK stockbroker who saved the lives of 669 children in the former Czechoslovakia from the Nazis, is produced by UK-Australian outfit See-Saw Films. It made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September 2023 and has gone on to open in key markets including the UK and Ireland,...
- 3/1/2024
- ScreenDaily
In honour of Empire's new Star Wars prequels issue, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the trilogy's launch, we're asking – which of the prequel movies is the best? Read the case for Episode II – Attack Of The Clones below, and find the issue on newsstands now.
When the camera pans up from the opening crawl in Attack Of The Clones — the only film in the Skywalker saga to buck the tradition of the pan down — George Lucas promises us a different kind of Star Wars movie, and he delivers from the very first frame. Every time Lucas set out to make a Star Wars film, he worked to make it different from the others in the most unexpected ways — and Attack Of The Clones is somehow more unique and brilliant amongst the entire Skywalker saga.
As the first film shot entirely digitally, George Lucas didn’t just set out to change...
When the camera pans up from the opening crawl in Attack Of The Clones — the only film in the Skywalker saga to buck the tradition of the pan down — George Lucas promises us a different kind of Star Wars movie, and he delivers from the very first frame. Every time Lucas set out to make a Star Wars film, he worked to make it different from the others in the most unexpected ways — and Attack Of The Clones is somehow more unique and brilliant amongst the entire Skywalker saga.
As the first film shot entirely digitally, George Lucas didn’t just set out to change...
- 2/21/2024
- by Bryan Young
- Empire - Movies
Throughout the history of cinema, the stories of indigenous peoples in the Americas have been framed almost entirely through the gaze of immigrant European peoples. Lisandro Alonso’s challenging three part film is informed by their own stories, not just in the narratives it unfolds, but also in the structures of its storytelling.
Scripted with the aid of authors Martin Camaño and Fabian Casas, this is a film as rich in thematic and literary motifs as it is in imagery. The first segment, which stars Viggo Mortensen as a damaged man looking for trouble in a dissolute frontier town, plays out like a black and white reworking of The Searchers, taking John Ford’s vision of the Wild West to such an extreme that its nature as propaganda can no longer be denied, and at the same time speaking to the very real tragedy wrought upon Native peoples by colonial brutalisation and.
Scripted with the aid of authors Martin Camaño and Fabian Casas, this is a film as rich in thematic and literary motifs as it is in imagery. The first segment, which stars Viggo Mortensen as a damaged man looking for trouble in a dissolute frontier town, plays out like a black and white reworking of The Searchers, taking John Ford’s vision of the Wild West to such an extreme that its nature as propaganda can no longer be denied, and at the same time speaking to the very real tragedy wrought upon Native peoples by colonial brutalisation and.
- 2/16/2024
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Visiting Istanbul, you can’t help but notice all of the cats: The Turkish metropolis is swarming with strays, some gorgeous and friendly, others haggard and more stand-offish. Entire films have been made about the phenomenon (of which “Kedi” was an especially popular example). But what of the countless other souls — the human ones — who also live on the margins of this modern city? They too are invisible until noticed. But if you look closely, it becomes impossible to unsee the homeless children and street sellers, sex workers and immigrants, many of them struggling to survive.
With “Crossing,” writer-director Levan Akin wants to open our eyes to the easily overlooked. After earning international acclaim with Cannes-selected queer drama “And Then We Danced,” Akin makes a calculated choice to raise awareness of the trans community in Istanbul, but he does so through representation rather than manipulation. “Crossing” tells the engaging if...
With “Crossing,” writer-director Levan Akin wants to open our eyes to the easily overlooked. After earning international acclaim with Cannes-selected queer drama “And Then We Danced,” Akin makes a calculated choice to raise awareness of the trans community in Istanbul, but he does so through representation rather than manipulation. “Crossing” tells the engaging if...
- 2/15/2024
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
The elemental tale of man versus nature is one that we’ve been telling since the days of cave paintings. The tale of man versus a big, scary creature has been one of that tradition’s most reliably entertaining iterations since the dawn of Hollywood, and Andrew Cumming’s Stone Age thriller Out of Darkness makes for a worthy addition.
The film is set 45,000 years ago. After making a daring journey across the sea, a small band of Stone Agers have arrived in an unfamiliar place that they hope to call home. Sadly, this place isn’t the land of milk, honey, and warm, cozy caves that they’d been dreaming of. Rather, it’s a gray and barren place where rough, rocky hills seem to roll out endlessly in all directions. It makes for a dispiriting landscape during the day, and it’s even worse when darkness falls and...
The film is set 45,000 years ago. After making a daring journey across the sea, a small band of Stone Agers have arrived in an unfamiliar place that they hope to call home. Sadly, this place isn’t the land of milk, honey, and warm, cozy caves that they’d been dreaming of. Rather, it’s a gray and barren place where rough, rocky hills seem to roll out endlessly in all directions. It makes for a dispiriting landscape during the day, and it’s even worse when darkness falls and...
- 2/4/2024
- by Ross McIndoe
- Slant Magazine
The rather prolific Adilkhan Yerzhanov (15 features in 12 years) has already established his own style, by including elements of US b-movies, Western, action and violence, and a rather bleak sense of humor that make his movies quite entertaining. “Steppenwolf” continues in the same path, in a pure genre film that is inspired by the 1956 John Ford movie, “The Searchers”.
Steppenwolf is screening at International Film Festival Rotterdam
Tamara, a young woman who seems to suffer from mental issues, is walking around a small town where the police is clashing with some sort of armed groups, in search of her missing son who has been kidnapped by child organ traffickers. Bullets do not seem to touch her, but the fact that she can barely speak does not help her cause, as the people around her mostly ignore her. Eventually, she stumbles upon ‘The Steppenwolf' a man the corrupt police hire to torture convicts into confession,...
Steppenwolf is screening at International Film Festival Rotterdam
Tamara, a young woman who seems to suffer from mental issues, is walking around a small town where the police is clashing with some sort of armed groups, in search of her missing son who has been kidnapped by child organ traffickers. Bullets do not seem to touch her, but the fact that she can barely speak does not help her cause, as the people around her mostly ignore her. Eventually, she stumbles upon ‘The Steppenwolf' a man the corrupt police hire to torture convicts into confession,...
- 2/1/2024
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
There is a certain inevitability about a film inspired by Hermann Hesse’s novel “Steppenwolf,” first published in German in 1927, and two famous Westerns of the 1950s — John Ford’s “The Searchers,” and Howard Hawks’ “Red River.” The film, also called “Steppenwolf,” has its world premiere at International Film Festival Rotterdam in the Big Screen Competition section. Its teaser debuts on Variety exclusively (below).
In acclaimed Kazakh director Adilkhan Yerzhanov’s latest film, two characters who are essentially loners existing outside of the usual moral boundaries of the world come together united in a common task: to save a small boy who has gone missing.
Yerzhanov takes universal themes from Hesse’s novel and the later Hollywood Westerns, to plumb the depths of where man’s spirituality disappears into the depths of his animal origins. To explore what he calls a story of “two different heroes, two opposing characters, who...
In acclaimed Kazakh director Adilkhan Yerzhanov’s latest film, two characters who are essentially loners existing outside of the usual moral boundaries of the world come together united in a common task: to save a small boy who has gone missing.
Yerzhanov takes universal themes from Hesse’s novel and the later Hollywood Westerns, to plumb the depths of where man’s spirituality disappears into the depths of his animal origins. To explore what he calls a story of “two different heroes, two opposing characters, who...
- 1/26/2024
- by Nick Holdsworth
- Variety Film + TV
While recently scrolling Twitter, an interesting anecdote came to my attention. In the fabled George Lucas outline for a Star Wars sequel trilogy, a treatment which the filmmaker shared with the Walt Disney Company when he sold Lucasfilm for $4 billion, Lucas apparently had a strange vision for Luke Skywalker: He wanted the older version of Skywalker to be like a character in a movie Lucas almost made before Star Wars. He wanted him to be, in essence, Marlon Brando’s Col. Kurtz from Apocalypse Now, right down to the bald head and rambling gibberish.
This detail is not new. In fact, Pablo Hidalgo first confirmed the information in Star Wars: Fascinating Facts (2020). In that book (via Total Film/GamesRadar+), Hidalgo wrote, “Although Luke Skywalker only barely appears in The Force Awakens, the concept artists had a lot to imagine based on the fragments of the story they were hearing as it developed.
This detail is not new. In fact, Pablo Hidalgo first confirmed the information in Star Wars: Fascinating Facts (2020). In that book (via Total Film/GamesRadar+), Hidalgo wrote, “Although Luke Skywalker only barely appears in The Force Awakens, the concept artists had a lot to imagine based on the fragments of the story they were hearing as it developed.
- 1/24/2024
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Exclusive: Yellowstone co-creator Taylor Sheridan and his Bosque Ranch have optioned the S.C. Gwynne book Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History.
Bidding was competitive, and Bosque was aggressive to win the book. Sheridan and Jenny Wood will produce for Bosque Ranch.
A long-standing passion project of Sheridan’s since back when the project was set up at Warner Bros, the book is an exhaustive historical account of the four-decade struggle between the Comanche tribe and white settlers to control the American West. Quanah was considered its greatest chief.
Comanches were legendary fighters, with young boys able to ride horses bareback by the time they were 6 years old. They were so masterful with the bow and lance that they stopped the northern drive of colonial Spain from Mexico and halted the French expansion westward from Louisiana.
Bidding was competitive, and Bosque was aggressive to win the book. Sheridan and Jenny Wood will produce for Bosque Ranch.
A long-standing passion project of Sheridan’s since back when the project was set up at Warner Bros, the book is an exhaustive historical account of the four-decade struggle between the Comanche tribe and white settlers to control the American West. Quanah was considered its greatest chief.
Comanches were legendary fighters, with young boys able to ride horses bareback by the time they were 6 years old. They were so masterful with the bow and lance that they stopped the northern drive of colonial Spain from Mexico and halted the French expansion westward from Louisiana.
- 1/19/2024
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) has a full slate of programming set for this year, as the classic movie home celebrates its 30th anniversary.
The 15th annual TCM Classic Film Festival in April will honor film historian Jeanine Basinger with the Robert Osborne Award, and pay tribute to actor Billy Dee Williams and makeup artist Lois Burwell.
Additionally, The Plot Thickens, TCM’s official podcast about movies and the people who make them will debut later in the year following the release of Talking Pictures: A Movie Memories Podcast, TCM’s latest podcast in tandem with Max.
Extending beyond the screen, Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood will introduce a WB/TCM Classic Movie Tour in April.
“With the 30th year of TCM upon us, we both look back at all that’s been built over the last several decades and look ahead at what is undoubtedly one of the most exciting times in TCM’s history,...
The 15th annual TCM Classic Film Festival in April will honor film historian Jeanine Basinger with the Robert Osborne Award, and pay tribute to actor Billy Dee Williams and makeup artist Lois Burwell.
Additionally, The Plot Thickens, TCM’s official podcast about movies and the people who make them will debut later in the year following the release of Talking Pictures: A Movie Memories Podcast, TCM’s latest podcast in tandem with Max.
Extending beyond the screen, Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood will introduce a WB/TCM Classic Movie Tour in April.
“With the 30th year of TCM upon us, we both look back at all that’s been built over the last several decades and look ahead at what is undoubtedly one of the most exciting times in TCM’s history,...
- 1/12/2024
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Turner Classic Movies has a lot going on as it celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.
On Friday, execs from the beloved cable channel unveiled a new podcast, 2024 programming initiatives, a new branded studio tour of the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank and details about the 15th annual TCM Classic Film Festival in April.
On Jan. 16, TCM and sister streamer Max will debut Talking Pictures: A Movie Memories Podcast. TCM host Ben Mankiewicz will join filmmakers and actors as they discuss “their earliest film memories, favorite movies, creative influences and guilty pleasures,” with guests including Mel Brooks, Nancy Meyers and Patty Jenkins.
The TCM podcast The Plot Thickens is returning this year for a fifth season, with the subject yet to be disclosed.
In April, TCM will introduce a new franchise, Two for One, with prominent filmmakers co-hosting a double feature of their choice on Saturday nights. Guests will include Jenkins,...
On Friday, execs from the beloved cable channel unveiled a new podcast, 2024 programming initiatives, a new branded studio tour of the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank and details about the 15th annual TCM Classic Film Festival in April.
On Jan. 16, TCM and sister streamer Max will debut Talking Pictures: A Movie Memories Podcast. TCM host Ben Mankiewicz will join filmmakers and actors as they discuss “their earliest film memories, favorite movies, creative influences and guilty pleasures,” with guests including Mel Brooks, Nancy Meyers and Patty Jenkins.
The TCM podcast The Plot Thickens is returning this year for a fifth season, with the subject yet to be disclosed.
In April, TCM will introduce a new franchise, Two for One, with prominent filmmakers co-hosting a double feature of their choice on Saturday nights. Guests will include Jenkins,...
- 1/12/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Each winter, we invite Notebook contributors to take part in our unique twist on the year-end poll. Rather than tally their favorite new releases from the year, they’re asked to creatively pair a new release with an older film they watched for the first time that year: a “fantasy double feature.” We’re delighted by the range of responses this year; this year’s doubles offer up inspired combinations of moving-image art that might otherwise slip through the cracks.We invite you to plunge into this collective viewing scrapbook, which captures our writers at their most imaginative, adventurous, and thoughtful—maybe it'll motivate you to test some of these out (or come up with your own) over the holidays.We hope you enjoy the read, and find our sixteenth year appropriately sweet!{{notebook_form}}Paul AttardNEW: Skinamarink + Old: Room Film 1973Homebound horror films shrouded in darkness, ones that transform...
- 12/23/2023
- MUBI
Ever since Martin Scorsese‘s “Killers of the Flower Moon” premiered at Cannes, critics have celebrated it as Scorsese’s first real Western after decades in which the genre’s influence could be felt at the edges of movies like “Casino” and “Gangs of New York.” The director himself sees it a little differently. As the guest on IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast’s 250th episode, he said, “How can I make a Western? I come from the Lower East Side. The guys who made Westerns, when they came out [to Los Angeles], they were riding horses. The old cliché of the director wearing jodhpurs? Well, that’s what they did — you got around on a horse, you had to wear boots, you had to have a riding crop.”
Scorsese feels that the Western as he knew it in childhood ended with Sam Peckinpah’s “The Wild Bunch” in 1969, and that it’s...
Scorsese feels that the Western as he knew it in childhood ended with Sam Peckinpah’s “The Wild Bunch” in 1969, and that it’s...
- 12/20/2023
- by Jim Hemphill
- Indiewire
Blitz Bazawule’s big-screen adaptation of Alice Walker’s 1982 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Color Purple and its 2005 musical theater production is basically echo-chamber karaoke. The film knows the words and tunes but, with rare exception, lacks the passion and the perspective to make them truly resonate.
Walker’s book charted the emotional, sexual, and implicitly political coming of age of an African-American girl named Celie, whose life in rural, early-20th-century Georgia is several tiers below hell. She’s borne two children by a man, Alphonso, who beats and rapes her, and whom she knows as her father. And then a barbaric farmer known as Mister comes calling. He has eyes for Celie’s sister, Nettie, but Alphonso pawns off Celie instead, women being, in the eyes of these men, chattel-like property with inarguable coital benefits.
The book is written in epistolary style, with Celie addressing an unseen God throughout.
Walker’s book charted the emotional, sexual, and implicitly political coming of age of an African-American girl named Celie, whose life in rural, early-20th-century Georgia is several tiers below hell. She’s borne two children by a man, Alphonso, who beats and rapes her, and whom she knows as her father. And then a barbaric farmer known as Mister comes calling. He has eyes for Celie’s sister, Nettie, but Alphonso pawns off Celie instead, women being, in the eyes of these men, chattel-like property with inarguable coital benefits.
The book is written in epistolary style, with Celie addressing an unseen God throughout.
- 12/19/2023
- by Keith Uhlich
- Slant Magazine
Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film "Psycho" famously employed a gimmick in its advertising to set it apart from the thrillers of the day. Movie posters and other print ads featured pictures of Hitchcock himself, pointing to his wristwatch, declaring that audiences watch "Psycho" from the very beginning, or face ejection from the theater. This came at a time when many theaters were still operating by a non-scheduled system, showing a well-moneyed "A" feature, followed by cartoons, shorts, newsreels, commercials, and a cheaper "B" feature. This is where we get the term "B movie" from. The cycle would then repeat. You could spend four or five hours in the theater if you wanted to. The entire loop would then repeat, and you could catch up with the movie on its second go-'round. This is where we get the phrase, "This is where we came in."
Hitchcock, of course, was repeating the sensationalist gimmicks of William Castle,...
Hitchcock, of course, was repeating the sensationalist gimmicks of William Castle,...
- 12/19/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
When Martin Scorsese finally won the directing Oscar for 2006’s The Departed, he inspired a handful of film buffs to point out the supposed travesty implied by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences long ignoring the landmark titles on the filmmaker’s resume in favor of a remake. Few pointed out, or seemed to recall, that America’s most beloved living auteur, was not only no stranger to remakes, but took up the business of remaking, rebooting, and paying homage as a more than honorable foundation for a now-legendary body of work.
New York, New York was essentially a ticker-tape parade for old Hollywood’s Technicolor musical legacy, while Taxi Driver was a tribute either to Robert Bresson’s Pickpocket or John Ford’s The Searchers, depending on which auteur lens (Paul Schrader or Martin Scorsese) you look at it through. And 1973’s Mean Streets, the director’s third feature,...
New York, New York was essentially a ticker-tape parade for old Hollywood’s Technicolor musical legacy, while Taxi Driver was a tribute either to Robert Bresson’s Pickpocket or John Ford’s The Searchers, depending on which auteur lens (Paul Schrader or Martin Scorsese) you look at it through. And 1973’s Mean Streets, the director’s third feature,...
- 11/15/2023
- by Jaime N. Christley
- Slant Magazine
John Wayne’s 1956 Western “The Searchers” will debut a new restoration as part of the 2024 TCM Classic Film Festival in April. This marks the second Wayne film to receive a premiere of a restored print at the yearly event which takes place on Hollywood Boulevard; last year’s opening night feature was a 4K restoration of Wayne’s 1959 film “Rio Bravo.”
This year’s festival theme is “Most Wanted: Crime and Justice in Film.” Alongside “The Searchers” TCM announced that Frank Capra’s 1934 film “It Happened One Night,” Elia Kazan’s “On the Waterfront” and the 1974 musical documentary “That’s Entertainment!” will also screen as part of the four-day festival.
It’s unknown if “The Searchers” will be the film’s opening night movie, though considering “Rio Bravo” was also a restoration last year it would make sense that Warner Bros. would continue to debut new 4K prints of their films...
This year’s festival theme is “Most Wanted: Crime and Justice in Film.” Alongside “The Searchers” TCM announced that Frank Capra’s 1934 film “It Happened One Night,” Elia Kazan’s “On the Waterfront” and the 1974 musical documentary “That’s Entertainment!” will also screen as part of the four-day festival.
It’s unknown if “The Searchers” will be the film’s opening night movie, though considering “Rio Bravo” was also a restoration last year it would make sense that Warner Bros. would continue to debut new 4K prints of their films...
- 11/14/2023
- by Kristen Lopez
- The Wrap
It’s that time year again—when one might, upon their daily neighborhood perambulation, casually stumble upon a man dressed in a blood-splattered full-body jumpsuit and think to themself, this is perfectly fine and normal. But that’s the Halloween season for you, when the ghosts and goblins and AMC-obsessed Nicole Kidmans are out in full force for their yearly Halloween rituals.
Aside from meticulously inserting razor blades into the apples we all intend to hand out to local children, everyone’s favorite part of the Halloween season is—of course—the excuse to binge-watch our favorite horror movies, from the silly-scary (Hocus Pocus), to the fun-scary (Trick R Treat), to the scary-scary (The Evil Dead) or the really scary-scary (any news channel). In fact, horror movies have long been an integral part of the indie film ecosystem—turning minuscule budgets into huge box office numbers and launching the...
Aside from meticulously inserting razor blades into the apples we all intend to hand out to local children, everyone’s favorite part of the Halloween season is—of course—the excuse to binge-watch our favorite horror movies, from the silly-scary (Hocus Pocus), to the fun-scary (Trick R Treat), to the scary-scary (The Evil Dead) or the really scary-scary (any news channel). In fact, horror movies have long been an integral part of the indie film ecosystem—turning minuscule budgets into huge box office numbers and launching the...
- 10/27/2023
- by Matt Warren
- Film Independent News & More
The Masked Singer is back for season 10!
A new episode of the hit Fox singing competition series aired on Wednesday night (October 25) with returning host Nick Cannon and panelists Nicole Scherzinger, Ken Jeong, Robin Thicke, and Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg.
The show, which began in South Korea, features celebrities singing songs while wearing costumes and face masks concealing their identities until they’re eliminated.
The cast of singers will remain a secret until the masks are removed from the performers, but we do know who is returning to judge and host the successful series.
During the episode, Hawk, Husky, Tiki, and wildcard Sea Queen all took to the stage for performances.
For “Harry Potter Night”, Sea Queen performed “Love Potion No. 9″ by The Searchers.
Click inside to check out all of the clues and guesses for Sea Queen…
First Performance Clues:
- Black widow spider shown
- Went to boarding school, but...
A new episode of the hit Fox singing competition series aired on Wednesday night (October 25) with returning host Nick Cannon and panelists Nicole Scherzinger, Ken Jeong, Robin Thicke, and Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg.
The show, which began in South Korea, features celebrities singing songs while wearing costumes and face masks concealing their identities until they’re eliminated.
The cast of singers will remain a secret until the masks are removed from the performers, but we do know who is returning to judge and host the successful series.
During the episode, Hawk, Husky, Tiki, and wildcard Sea Queen all took to the stage for performances.
For “Harry Potter Night”, Sea Queen performed “Love Potion No. 9″ by The Searchers.
Click inside to check out all of the clues and guesses for Sea Queen…
First Performance Clues:
- Black widow spider shown
- Went to boarding school, but...
- 10/26/2023
- by Just Jared
- Just Jared
The Masked Singer is back for season 10!
A new episode of the hit Fox singing competition series aired on Wednesday night (October 25) with returning host Nick Cannon and panelists Nicole Scherzinger, Ken Jeong, Robin Thicke, and Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg.
The show, which began in South Korea, features celebrities singing songs while wearing costumes and face masks concealing their identities until they’re eliminated.
The cast of singers will remain a secret until the masks are removed from the performers, but we do know who is returning to judge and host the successful series.
During the episode, Hawk, Husky, Tiki, and wildcard Sea Queen all took to the stage for performances.
For “Harry Potter Night”, Sea Queen performed “Love Potion No. 9″ by The Searchers.
Click inside to check out all of the clues and guesses for Sea Queen…
First Performance Clues:
- Black widow spider shown
- Went to boarding school, but...
A new episode of the hit Fox singing competition series aired on Wednesday night (October 25) with returning host Nick Cannon and panelists Nicole Scherzinger, Ken Jeong, Robin Thicke, and Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg.
The show, which began in South Korea, features celebrities singing songs while wearing costumes and face masks concealing their identities until they’re eliminated.
The cast of singers will remain a secret until the masks are removed from the performers, but we do know who is returning to judge and host the successful series.
During the episode, Hawk, Husky, Tiki, and wildcard Sea Queen all took to the stage for performances.
For “Harry Potter Night”, Sea Queen performed “Love Potion No. 9″ by The Searchers.
Click inside to check out all of the clues and guesses for Sea Queen…
First Performance Clues:
- Black widow spider shown
- Went to boarding school, but...
- 10/26/2023
- by Just Jared
- Just Jared
Holy Moses! Has it really been 35 years since Young Guns rode with guns ablazing into theaters? You better believe it, pardner, and Lionsgate plan to celebrate the occasion with a timed 35th-anniversary release of the modern Western on a SteelBook in National 4K Ultra HD (+ Blu-ray + Digital), plus a Best Buy exclusive release on December 5th. This is the first time the film will be available in 4K with a brand-new transfer featuring Dolby Vision Hdr. A new Dolby Atmos audio mix and the original 2.0 stereo theatrical mix will be included. This is also the first time the film will be on digital and Blu-ray.
Here’s the official synopsis for Youg Guns via Lionsgate:
The year is 1878, Lincoln County. John Tunstall, a British ranch owner, hires six rebellious boys as “regulators” to protect his ranch against the ruthless Santa Fe Ring. When Tunstall is killed in an ambush, the Regulators,...
Here’s the official synopsis for Youg Guns via Lionsgate:
The year is 1878, Lincoln County. John Tunstall, a British ranch owner, hires six rebellious boys as “regulators” to protect his ranch against the ruthless Santa Fe Ring. When Tunstall is killed in an ambush, the Regulators,...
- 10/9/2023
- by Steve Seigh
- JoBlo.com
"Gunsmoke" ran for a very, very long time. Beginning as a half-hour adaptation of a similarly long-running radio show in 1955, it transitioned to an hour-long show in its 7th season, which gave its stock Western storylines a greater sense of place, and more opportunities for great, up-and-coming actors to star in them. Over the course of 20 seasons, the show told every story under the sun (often multiple times over) about the frontier town of Dodge City, Kansas.
The show's protagonist was ostensibly Marshal Matt Dillon (James Arness), whose casting has been attributed to no less a Western star than John Wayne. But the world of "Gunsmoke" went far beyond him, especially as the show went on. While Arness appeared in every one of the show's 635 episodes, he often looked more like a guest star the further along it went, showing up for scenes here and there while the supporting cast...
The show's protagonist was ostensibly Marshal Matt Dillon (James Arness), whose casting has been attributed to no less a Western star than John Wayne. But the world of "Gunsmoke" went far beyond him, especially as the show went on. While Arness appeared in every one of the show's 635 episodes, he often looked more like a guest star the further along it went, showing up for scenes here and there while the supporting cast...
- 10/9/2023
- by Anthony Crislip
- Slash Film
If you saw "The Fabelmans" — and judging from the film's underwhelming box office, you probably didn't — you might think you know exactly how Steven Spielberg broke into show business. Snap Wexley hired him to work on the hit TV sitcom "Hogan's Heroes," he got great advice from an ornery John Ford, and the rest was history.
Except Steven Spielberg didn't really work on "Hogan's Heroes," and he didn't get advice from John Ford when he was actually starting out in the industry. Instead, he met the legendary director of "How Green Was My Valley" and "The Searchers" when he was only 15 years old. It turns out that Steven Spielberg isn't really above smudging the truth a bit in his movies, if he thinks the truth gets in the way of a good story.
And like all good stories, "The Fabelmans" had to end somewhere. It didn't take "Sammy Fabelman" into his actual,...
Except Steven Spielberg didn't really work on "Hogan's Heroes," and he didn't get advice from John Ford when he was actually starting out in the industry. Instead, he met the legendary director of "How Green Was My Valley" and "The Searchers" when he was only 15 years old. It turns out that Steven Spielberg isn't really above smudging the truth a bit in his movies, if he thinks the truth gets in the way of a good story.
And like all good stories, "The Fabelmans" had to end somewhere. It didn't take "Sammy Fabelman" into his actual,...
- 10/7/2023
- by William Bibbiani
- Slash Film
Ahead of Scorsese’s Osage Nation epic hitting cinemas this month, we look at the evolution of Indigenous life in film and TV, from The Searchers to Reservation Dogs
Martin Scorsese’s rather magnificent Killers of the Flower Moon is two weeks away from cinemas, and its marketing campaign has been fascinating to observe. What was initially pitched as a Leonardo DiCaprio-starring period crime epic has been repositioned to emphasise its story of atrocities brought against the Osage Nation. The presence of Lily Gladstone, the film’s superb Indigenous star, has been elevated. It was recently announced that she’ll campaign for the best actress Oscar, not supporting, while Scorsese has admitted that the script was rewritten during filming to centre its Native American characters: “After a certain point, I realised I was making a movie about all the white guys,” he told Time magazine. No more.
Consider it...
Martin Scorsese’s rather magnificent Killers of the Flower Moon is two weeks away from cinemas, and its marketing campaign has been fascinating to observe. What was initially pitched as a Leonardo DiCaprio-starring period crime epic has been repositioned to emphasise its story of atrocities brought against the Osage Nation. The presence of Lily Gladstone, the film’s superb Indigenous star, has been elevated. It was recently announced that she’ll campaign for the best actress Oscar, not supporting, while Scorsese has admitted that the script was rewritten during filming to centre its Native American characters: “After a certain point, I realised I was making a movie about all the white guys,” he told Time magazine. No more.
Consider it...
- 10/7/2023
- by Guy Lodge
- The Guardian - Film News
As exciting and well-made as "Prey" was, it was a major bummer to see it relegated to a straight-to-streaming debut last year. But the film still has plenty going for it that rewards revisiting the action again and again. One of the biggest sources of its appeal, of course, comes from the shrewd casting of Amber Midthunder as our main hero Naru, and the choice to set the story in 1700s America, which allowed for an all-too-rare focus on an Indigenous tribe of Comanches. Drop a seemingly unstoppable Predator into the mix and, well, it's obvious why viewers responded so eagerly to director Dan Trachtenberg's latest effort.
With the 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD release once again putting the film in the news, /Film's Ethan Anderton recently had the chance to talk to the filmmaker about all the factors that went into making "Prey" as tense and thrilling as it turned out to be.
With the 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD release once again putting the film in the news, /Film's Ethan Anderton recently had the chance to talk to the filmmaker about all the factors that went into making "Prey" as tense and thrilling as it turned out to be.
- 10/3/2023
- by Jeremy Mathai
- Slash Film
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Last year, "Prey" delivered the best new installment of the "Predator" franchise since the 1987 original. Director Dan Trachtenberg took us back to the early 1700s to deliver a story of courage and survival as a young Comanche woman named Naru finds herself coming face-to-face with a Predator, with only a hatchet, a bow and arrow, a trusty canine, and a few clever tricks to help her. That meant giving us an all-new Predator to hunt her down, and Trachtenberg was both excited and challenged by the prospect of helping to create a creature from hundreds of years ago.
Leading up the physical media release of "Prey" on 4K Uhd, Blu-ray, and DVD today, we caught up with Dan Trachtenberg to ask him about developing new weapons for the Predator, how he came to focus on the Comanche as the protagonists,...
Last year, "Prey" delivered the best new installment of the "Predator" franchise since the 1987 original. Director Dan Trachtenberg took us back to the early 1700s to deliver a story of courage and survival as a young Comanche woman named Naru finds herself coming face-to-face with a Predator, with only a hatchet, a bow and arrow, a trusty canine, and a few clever tricks to help her. That meant giving us an all-new Predator to hunt her down, and Trachtenberg was both excited and challenged by the prospect of helping to create a creature from hundreds of years ago.
Leading up the physical media release of "Prey" on 4K Uhd, Blu-ray, and DVD today, we caught up with Dan Trachtenberg to ask him about developing new weapons for the Predator, how he came to focus on the Comanche as the protagonists,...
- 10/3/2023
- by Ethan Anderton
- Slash Film
A lot of articles exist on the internet listing the movies Martin Scorsese considers to be the best films of all time, but he’s not actually in favor of such rankings. Speaking to Time magazine for a video interview (see below), the “Taxi Driver” and “The Departed” icon said he is generally against top 10 best lists.
“I’ve tried to make lists over the years of films I personally feel are my favorites, whatever that means,” Scorsese said. “And then you find out that the word ‘favorite’ has different levels: Films that have impressed you the most, as opposed to films you just like to keep watching, as opposed to those you keep watching and learning from, or experiencing anew. So, they’re varied. And I’m always sort of against ’10 best’ lists.”
Scorsese gathered his favorite films into a list as recently as last December, when he participated...
“I’ve tried to make lists over the years of films I personally feel are my favorites, whatever that means,” Scorsese said. “And then you find out that the word ‘favorite’ has different levels: Films that have impressed you the most, as opposed to films you just like to keep watching, as opposed to those you keep watching and learning from, or experiencing anew. So, they’re varied. And I’m always sort of against ’10 best’ lists.”
Scorsese gathered his favorite films into a list as recently as last December, when he participated...
- 9/13/2023
- by Zack Sharf
- Variety Film + TV
Paul Schrader’s Hardcore is one of the writer-director’s most unabashedly autobiographical films. The opening montage of winter in Grand Rapids, Michigan, contains shots of the street where he grew up, his family members, and places he worked. Schrader has also mentioned in interviews that George S. Scott’s Calvinist furniture manufacturer, Jake Van Dorn, is an equivocal portrait of his father.
That entire sequence is shot through with ambivalence. The Van Dorn clan is depicted with warmth and hominess, but there are cracks evident in the facade: the disapproving comments about modern media; the passive-aggressive way in which the emotionally distant Jake talks down to a female employee; and the absence of a presiding maternal figure.
When his daughter, Kristen (Ilah Davis), inexplicably goes missing on a church trip to California, Jake is determined to track her down with the help of Andy Mast (Peter Boyle), a morally...
That entire sequence is shot through with ambivalence. The Van Dorn clan is depicted with warmth and hominess, but there are cracks evident in the facade: the disapproving comments about modern media; the passive-aggressive way in which the emotionally distant Jake talks down to a female employee; and the absence of a presiding maternal figure.
When his daughter, Kristen (Ilah Davis), inexplicably goes missing on a church trip to California, Jake is determined to track her down with the help of Andy Mast (Peter Boyle), a morally...
- 9/6/2023
- by Budd Wilkins
- Slant Magazine
The 2022 cohort included several US-financed titles that would go on to become major awards contenders.
As this year’s Venice Film Festival prepares to kick off on August 30, Screen International looks at how 2022’s Competition titles fared at the global box office.
Scroll down for box office figures
The 2022 cohort included several US-financed titles that would go on to become major awards contenders, with Oscar best actor-winner The Whale the highest-grossing competition title with global takings of $54m. Its biggest international territory outside of North America was Mexico with $8.3m.
Next was nine-time Oscar nominee The Banshees Of Inisherin on $49m,...
As this year’s Venice Film Festival prepares to kick off on August 30, Screen International looks at how 2022’s Competition titles fared at the global box office.
Scroll down for box office figures
The 2022 cohort included several US-financed titles that would go on to become major awards contenders, with Oscar best actor-winner The Whale the highest-grossing competition title with global takings of $54m. Its biggest international territory outside of North America was Mexico with $8.3m.
Next was nine-time Oscar nominee The Banshees Of Inisherin on $49m,...
- 8/23/2023
- by Orlando Parfitt
- ScreenDaily
Howdy pardners! Today, we’re galloping back to 1988, when Christopher Cain and a band of rootin’ tootin’ outlaws shot up the silver screen for the American Western action film Young Guns. Presented as a retelling of the adventures of Billy the Kid during the Lincoln Couty War, Young Gun features a murderers’ row of talent, including Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, Charlie Sheen, Dermot Mulroney, Casey Siemaszko, Terence Stamp, Jack Palance, and Terry O’Quinn.
Cain directs from a script by John Fusco. Young Guns revolves around a group of young gunmen, led by Billy the Kid, who become deputies to avenge the murder of the rancher who became their benefactor. However, when Billy takes their authority too far, they become the hunted.
Historian Paul Hutton once called Young Guns the most historically accurate of all films focusing on the dirty deeds of Billy the Kid as of its year of release.
Cain directs from a script by John Fusco. Young Guns revolves around a group of young gunmen, led by Billy the Kid, who become deputies to avenge the murder of the rancher who became their benefactor. However, when Billy takes their authority too far, they become the hunted.
Historian Paul Hutton once called Young Guns the most historically accurate of all films focusing on the dirty deeds of Billy the Kid as of its year of release.
- 8/16/2023
- by Steve Seigh
- JoBlo.com
A furious yet resiliently hopeful documentary about white America’s long and ongoing history of colonizing the Očeti Šakówin (along with the rest of this land’s indigenous people), Jesse Short Bull and Laura Tomaselli’s vital “Lakota Nation vs. United States” doesn’t waste any of its 121 minutes, but it also boasts a number of moments that effectively squeeze the film’s entire perspective into a single unforgettable image.
Chief among them: The shot of some Maga jackass at the foot of Mt. Rushmore as they greet anti-Trump protestors at the ex-president’s 2020 Independence Day event while dressed in an American flag t-shirt and holding a sign that simply reads “Fuck You.” After all, that succinct little phrase has essentially been the entire platform since America was first christened as such. At this rate, the Republican party will probably adopt it as its official slogan by 2028.
“Fuck You” was...
Chief among them: The shot of some Maga jackass at the foot of Mt. Rushmore as they greet anti-Trump protestors at the ex-president’s 2020 Independence Day event while dressed in an American flag t-shirt and holding a sign that simply reads “Fuck You.” After all, that succinct little phrase has essentially been the entire platform since America was first christened as such. At this rate, the Republican party will probably adopt it as its official slogan by 2028.
“Fuck You” was...
- 7/12/2023
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Arrow Video has announced the July 2023 lineup of their subscription-based Arrow platform, available to subscribers in the US, Canada, the UK and Ireland.
Here’s everything you need to know…
July 7 starts the month in sun and fun with the “Permanent Vacation” Collection (UK/Ire/US/CA). In desperate need of a vacay? Well, be careful who you book with, because the flicks trips in Permanent Vacation are dream holidays that you’ll never return from.
Featuring murderous mini-breaks and sun, sea, sand and psychos, these gory getaways feature everything from island paradises full of monsters and mutants to nature breaks from the rat race that will be the death of you. So, pack your sunglasses and flip-flops, but don’t bother buying a return ticket, because you’re going on a Permanent Vacation.
Titles Include: Horrors of Malformed Men, Lake Michigan Monster, The Wind.
Also on July 7, subscribers are...
Here’s everything you need to know…
July 7 starts the month in sun and fun with the “Permanent Vacation” Collection (UK/Ire/US/CA). In desperate need of a vacay? Well, be careful who you book with, because the flicks trips in Permanent Vacation are dream holidays that you’ll never return from.
Featuring murderous mini-breaks and sun, sea, sand and psychos, these gory getaways feature everything from island paradises full of monsters and mutants to nature breaks from the rat race that will be the death of you. So, pack your sunglasses and flip-flops, but don’t bother buying a return ticket, because you’re going on a Permanent Vacation.
Titles Include: Horrors of Malformed Men, Lake Michigan Monster, The Wind.
Also on July 7, subscribers are...
- 6/27/2023
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
Our latest roundup of new books related to the world of cinema is full of indelible imagery––the pale face of Lost Highway’s Mystery Man, John Ford’s craggy visage, and, of course, the Neverland sets from Hook.
Lost Highway: The Fist of Love by Scott Ryan (Tucker DS Press)
Last year, Scott Ryan covered David Lynch’s Twin Peaks prequel in Fire Walk With Me: Your Laura Disappeared. (We featured it here.) In 2023, Ryan studies what he calls “the lowest-grossing, most forgotten film of [Lynch’s] career.” Ryan’s Lost Highway: The Fist of Love is every bit as enthralling and insightful as Your Laura Disappeared. The author zeroes in on the elements of Lost Highway that turned off most (but not all) audiences in 1997 but are titillating new (and revisiting) viewers today. Ryan should know; he was one of those who looked away in the nineties: “The first time I saw it,...
Lost Highway: The Fist of Love by Scott Ryan (Tucker DS Press)
Last year, Scott Ryan covered David Lynch’s Twin Peaks prequel in Fire Walk With Me: Your Laura Disappeared. (We featured it here.) In 2023, Ryan studies what he calls “the lowest-grossing, most forgotten film of [Lynch’s] career.” Ryan’s Lost Highway: The Fist of Love is every bit as enthralling and insightful as Your Laura Disappeared. The author zeroes in on the elements of Lost Highway that turned off most (but not all) audiences in 1997 but are titillating new (and revisiting) viewers today. Ryan should know; he was one of those who looked away in the nineties: “The first time I saw it,...
- 5/30/2023
- by Christopher Schobert
- The Film Stage
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