A naïve teenager comes of age amid the carnage of World War I’s Eastern Front in this propulsive adaptation of Aleksandrs Grins’ 1934 patriotic classic “Blizzard of Souls.” With its muscular direction by former documentarian Dzintars Dreibergs, atmospheric cinematography and careful attention to period detail, this account of a troop of Latvian Riflemen fighting first for the Russian Imperial Army against invading German forces and then for an independent Latvia should appeal to WWI buffs and fans of Sam Mendes’ “1917.” While not quite in the same league as Liviu Ciulei’s “Forest of the Hanged” or Stanley Kubrick’s “Paths of Glory,” Latvia’s Oscar submission — which set box office records in its native country — does contain a strong message about the futility of war.
After German forces kill his mother on the family farm, the not-quite-17-year-old schoolboy Arturs and his aging father (Martins Vilsons), a sharp-shooting former sergeant,...
After German forces kill his mother on the family farm, the not-quite-17-year-old schoolboy Arturs and his aging father (Martins Vilsons), a sharp-shooting former sergeant,...
- 1/6/2021
- by Alissa Simon
- Variety Film + TV
"One of the most fascinating and entertaining asides in British cinema, Sabu is just meta-colonial enough to maintain relevance," writes Joseph Jon Lanthier in Slant, wrapping his review of the 30th package in Criterion's Eclipse series, Sabu!
Michael Koresky on Sabu's debut: "The seeds of Elephant Boy were sown in 1929, when [Robert] Flaherty, famous for his groundbreaking 1922 Eskimo documentary, Nanook of the North, approached Alexander Korda about doing a story, set in Mexico, about a boy and his bull. Korda wanted to work with Flaherty but changed the bull to an elephant, basing his idea on his favorite Kipling tale. When production began years later, Flaherty shot more than 55 hours of footage in India; meanwhile, Zoltán Korda was commissioned to direct the more story-driven scenes at England's Denham Studios, for which Sabu was flown in. What could have been a schizophrenic film instead became a masterful amalgamation of its two parts,...
Michael Koresky on Sabu's debut: "The seeds of Elephant Boy were sown in 1929, when [Robert] Flaherty, famous for his groundbreaking 1922 Eskimo documentary, Nanook of the North, approached Alexander Korda about doing a story, set in Mexico, about a boy and his bull. Korda wanted to work with Flaherty but changed the bull to an elephant, basing his idea on his favorite Kipling tale. When production began years later, Flaherty shot more than 55 hours of footage in India; meanwhile, Zoltán Korda was commissioned to direct the more story-driven scenes at England's Denham Studios, for which Sabu was flown in. What could have been a schizophrenic film instead became a masterful amalgamation of its two parts,...
- 11/30/2011
- MUBI
Influential Romanian film and theatre director Liviu Ciulei has died at the age of 88.
Ciulei, who had been battling ill health, passed away in his hometown of Munich, Germany on Monday, according to his actor pal Ion Caramitru.
He began his 50-year career as an actor before making a name for himself as a filmmaker.
He won the prestigious Palme d'Or award at the 1965 Cannes Film Festival in France for his work on The Forest of the Hanged, and went on to serve as the artistic director at Bucharest's Bulandra Theater for 10 years, during which time he became an icon of the Romanian theatre world.
Ciulei later held a similar position at the Gunthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the 1980s and he gave lectures at Columbia University and New York University.
Ciulei, who had been battling ill health, passed away in his hometown of Munich, Germany on Monday, according to his actor pal Ion Caramitru.
He began his 50-year career as an actor before making a name for himself as a filmmaker.
He won the prestigious Palme d'Or award at the 1965 Cannes Film Festival in France for his work on The Forest of the Hanged, and went on to serve as the artistic director at Bucharest's Bulandra Theater for 10 years, during which time he became an icon of the Romanian theatre world.
Ciulei later held a similar position at the Gunthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the 1980s and he gave lectures at Columbia University and New York University.
- 10/25/2011
- WENN
"Romanian film and theater director Liviu Ciulei, whose career spanned 50 years and included winning a top award at the Cannes Film Festival, has died at 88," reports the AP. "Ciulei, as an actor, director and set designer, was the most influential figure of Romanian theater and film in a generation." Actor Ion Caramitru is said to have exclaimed today, "An era has died! A genius had died!"
Ciulei's 1964 film Forest of the Hanged (Padurea Spânzuratilor, clip) won Best Director in Cannes and was slated for restoration by the World Cinema Foundation. Adapted from the novel by Liviu Rebreanu, it "tells the story of a young man, Apostol Bologa, from Transylvania, part of the Austria-Hungary Empire, during the First World War," notes CinEast, Festival du Film d'Europe Centrale. "The kingdom of Romania (Moldavia and Wallachia) was on the opposite side, so Apostol Bologa finds himself in the difficult situation of fighting other Romanians.
Ciulei's 1964 film Forest of the Hanged (Padurea Spânzuratilor, clip) won Best Director in Cannes and was slated for restoration by the World Cinema Foundation. Adapted from the novel by Liviu Rebreanu, it "tells the story of a young man, Apostol Bologa, from Transylvania, part of the Austria-Hungary Empire, during the First World War," notes CinEast, Festival du Film d'Europe Centrale. "The kingdom of Romania (Moldavia and Wallachia) was on the opposite side, so Apostol Bologa finds himself in the difficult situation of fighting other Romanians.
- 10/25/2011
- MUBI
Three of Anurag Kashyap’s films- Dev D, Black Friday and Gulaal, will be presented in a section called 3x3 in Transilvania international film festival. The ninth edition of the festival will be held from May 28-June 6 in Cluj and June 9-13 in Sibiu.
Dev D (2009) starring Abhay Deol, Mahie Gill and Kalki Koechli, Black Friday (2004), a film that explores the events following the March 12, 1993, bombings that ripped through Mumbai and Gulaal (2009), set in a fictional city of Rajasthan, where a member of the erstwhile royal family stakes claim to the land of Rajasthan and wants to go back to the days of royalty, challenging the very idea of democracy will be screened in the festival.
The other directors who will be featured in 3x3 are Liviu Ciulei of Romania and Wim Wenders of Germany.
Transylvania International Film Festival (Tiff) is presented by Romanian Film Promotion. Founded in 2002, Tiff is...
Dev D (2009) starring Abhay Deol, Mahie Gill and Kalki Koechli, Black Friday (2004), a film that explores the events following the March 12, 1993, bombings that ripped through Mumbai and Gulaal (2009), set in a fictional city of Rajasthan, where a member of the erstwhile royal family stakes claim to the land of Rajasthan and wants to go back to the days of royalty, challenging the very idea of democracy will be screened in the festival.
The other directors who will be featured in 3x3 are Liviu Ciulei of Romania and Wim Wenders of Germany.
Transylvania International Film Festival (Tiff) is presented by Romanian Film Promotion. Founded in 2002, Tiff is...
- 5/26/2010
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
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