Great Movies
Interviews
A Comedy of Ourselves: Emerald Fennell on Saltburn
An interview with the writer/director of Saltburn and Promising Young Woman.
An interview with the writer/director of Saltburn and Promising Young Woman.
A closer look at Joseph Losey's 1963 film, which has just been given a 4K release by the Criterion Collection.
Scout Tafoya's video essay series about maligned masterpieces looks at Visconti's 1973 film.
A celebration of Erich von Stroheim and the new restoration of his film Foolish Wives.
A guide to the latest on Blu-ray, DVD, and streaming services, including The Batman, Licorice Pizza, and Criterion editions of Double Indemnity and Chan is Missing.
A tribute to the late Monica Vitti, star of L'Avventura, L'Eclisse, Secret Scandal, and more.
A tribute to Norman Lloyd, the legendary actor, director and producer, whose career spanned eight decades.
An interview with Oscar-winning actor Richard Dreyfuss and Deborah Kolar, daughter of Robert Shaw, about Steven Spielberg's "Jaws."
Pierre Rissient passed away on May 6th, 2018 at the age of 81. We send our condolences to his friends and family and reprint this article by Roger in his memory.
A recap of the latest New York Film Festival and review of Woody Allen's newest film after its world premiere there.
Dan Callahan pays tribute to the late art-house goddess.
On the occasion of Isabelle Huppert's new film, "Elle," Dan Callahan looks back the most memorable roles of the enigmatic actress.
A preview of the Gene Siskel Film Center's upcoming Brit Noir film series, which runs from November 5-30.
The June 2015 edition of Unloved looks at Joseph Losey's M.
Marie writes: the following moment of happiness is brought to you by the glorious Tilda Swinton, who recently sent the Grand Poobah a photo of herself taken on her farm in Scotland, holding a batch of English Springer puppies!
Marie writes: ever stumble upon a photo taken from a movie you've never seen? Maybe it's an official production still; part of the Studio's publicity for it at the time. Or maybe it's a recent screen capture, one countless fan-made images to be found online. Either way, I collect them like pennies in jar. I've got a folder stuffed with images, all reflecting a deep love of Cinematography and I thought I'd share some - as you never know; sometimes, the road to discovering a cinematic treasure starts with a single intriguing shot....
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) Cinematography: Harry Stradling(click images to enlarge)
Camille Paglia is known for being both brilliant and wacky (possibly wacko) -- often at the same time, which is probably when she's at her most inspired. A founding contributor at Salon.com (and co-star of "It's Pat: The Movie"), Paglia spoke on the phone to Salon editor Kerry Lauerman yesterday after the news of Elizabeth Taylor's death, and offered up an extraordinary tribute. I just wanted to share some of it with you. Lauerman begins by quoting something Paglia wrote about Taylor in Penthouse in 1992:
"She wields the sexual power that feminism cannot explain and has tried to destroy. Through stars like Taylor, we sense the world-disordering impact of legendary women like Delilah, Salome, and Helen of Troy. Feminism has tried to dismiss the femme fatale as a misogynist libel, a hoary cliche. But the femme fatale expresses women's ancient and eternal control of the sexual realm." Paglia takes it from there:
Exactly. At that time, you have to realize, Elizabeth Taylor was still being underestimated as an actress. No one took her seriously -- she would even make jokes about it in public. And when I wrote that piece, Meryl Streep was constantly being touted as the greatest actress who ever lived. I was in total revolt against that and launched this protest because I think that Elizabeth Taylor is actually a greater actress than Meryl Streep, despite Streep's command of a certain kind of technical skill. [...]
If all the year-end and decade-end lists (even though we realize the decade isn't actually over until 2011) have left you dizzied and depleted, take heart! Perhaps you've missed out on some of the more invigorating, far-sighted list-based ventures. Over at Some Came Running, for example, Glenn Kenny conducted an ingenious and fascinating project, going back and taking a look at the late Manny Farber's Best Films of 1951. Meanwhile, at The Crop Duster, Robert Horton is engaged in surveying the year's best -- in non-chronological order -- from, oh, about 1919 or so, to the present, posting a new list every Sunday. What fantastic delights are to be found in these itemized accounts...
