Each month, the fine folks at FilmStruck and the Criterion Collection spend countless hours crafting their channels to highlight the many different types of films that they have in their streaming library. This August will feature an exciting assortment of films, as noted below.
To sign up for a free two-week trial here.
Tuesday, August 1
Tuesday’s Short + Feature: These Boots and Mystery Train
Music is at the heart of this program, which pairs a zany music video by Finnish master Aki Kaurismäki with a tune-filled career highlight from American independent-film pioneer Jim Jarmusch. In the 1993 These Boots, Kaurismäki’s band of pompadoured “Finnish Elvis” rockers, the Leningrad Cowboys, cover a Nancy Sinatra classic in their signature deadpan style. It’s the perfect prelude to Jarmusch’s 1989 Mystery Train, a homage to the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll and the musical legacy of Memphis, featuring appearances by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and Joe Strummer.
To sign up for a free two-week trial here.
Tuesday, August 1
Tuesday’s Short + Feature: These Boots and Mystery Train
Music is at the heart of this program, which pairs a zany music video by Finnish master Aki Kaurismäki with a tune-filled career highlight from American independent-film pioneer Jim Jarmusch. In the 1993 These Boots, Kaurismäki’s band of pompadoured “Finnish Elvis” rockers, the Leningrad Cowboys, cover a Nancy Sinatra classic in their signature deadpan style. It’s the perfect prelude to Jarmusch’s 1989 Mystery Train, a homage to the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll and the musical legacy of Memphis, featuring appearances by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and Joe Strummer.
- 7/24/2017
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
Next month will mark the return of New York City’s Quad Cinema, a theater reshaped and rebranded as a proper theater via the resources of Charles S. Cohen, head of the distribution outfit Cohen Media Group. While we got a few hints of the line-up during the initial announcement, they’ve now unveiled their first full repertory calendar, running from April 14th through May 4th, and it’s an embarassment of cinematic riches.
Including the previously revealed Lina Wertmüller retrospective, one inventive series that catches our eye is First Encounters, in which an artist will get to experience a film they’ve always wanted to see, but never have, and in which you’re invited to take part. The first match-ups in the series include Kenneth Lonergan‘s first viewing Edward Yang‘s Yi Yi, Noah Baumbach‘s first viewing of Withnail and I, John Turturro‘s first viewing of Pather Panchali,...
Including the previously revealed Lina Wertmüller retrospective, one inventive series that catches our eye is First Encounters, in which an artist will get to experience a film they’ve always wanted to see, but never have, and in which you’re invited to take part. The first match-ups in the series include Kenneth Lonergan‘s first viewing Edward Yang‘s Yi Yi, Noah Baumbach‘s first viewing of Withnail and I, John Turturro‘s first viewing of Pather Panchali,...
- 3/21/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Earlier this January, Barry Jenkins’ “Moonlight” won Best Picture — Drama at the 74th Golden Globes after racking up widespread critical acclaim since its world premiere at Telluride last September. The film has recently racked up eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. In honor of his new film and all the recent accolade, the Criterion Collection invited Barry Jenkins to check out the famed Criterion Closet and pick out some films to take home. Watch the video below.
Read More: National Society of Film Critics Names ‘Moonlight’ Best Picture of 2016
Jenkins picks out a host of films from the closet that have special significance for him. Some of these films include the “John Cassavetes: Five Films” box set, which Jenkins describes as “foundational”; Krzysztof Kieślowski’s ten-hour long “Dekalog,” a film Jenkins once bought on Ebay because he “felt like he had to see it”; Mathieu Kassovitz’s “La Haine,...
Read More: National Society of Film Critics Names ‘Moonlight’ Best Picture of 2016
Jenkins picks out a host of films from the closet that have special significance for him. Some of these films include the “John Cassavetes: Five Films” box set, which Jenkins describes as “foundational”; Krzysztof Kieślowski’s ten-hour long “Dekalog,” a film Jenkins once bought on Ebay because he “felt like he had to see it”; Mathieu Kassovitz’s “La Haine,...
- 1/25/2017
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
We first experienced the magic of Siddharth and Garima’s writing in the Sanjay Leela Bhansali directed Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela. The duo, along with Mr. Bhansali, brilliantly transformed the story of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet into an Indian context and the result was rave reviews for the writing and the stars.
For their next project they entered the world of a love story of a warrior – Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s epic Bajirao Mastani starring Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra. For what is being called his magnus opus, Mr Bhansali went to Siddharth and Garima to paint beautiful pictures with their lyrics for three of the biggest songs, ‘Deewani Mastani’, ‘Pinga’ and ‘Mohe Rang Do Laal’.
I was granted the amazing privilege to interview Siddharth and Garima about RamLeela and it was a joy to write the piece. This week, I once again was honored with the...
For their next project they entered the world of a love story of a warrior – Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s epic Bajirao Mastani starring Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra. For what is being called his magnus opus, Mr Bhansali went to Siddharth and Garima to paint beautiful pictures with their lyrics for three of the biggest songs, ‘Deewani Mastani’, ‘Pinga’ and ‘Mohe Rang Do Laal’.
I was granted the amazing privilege to interview Siddharth and Garima about RamLeela and it was a joy to write the piece. This week, I once again was honored with the...
- 12/4/2015
- by Stacey Yount
- Bollyspice
Above: Us poster for Alphaville (Jean-Luc Godard, France, 1965).As the 53rd New York Film Festival ends today, I thought I would go back half a century and take a look at the 3rd edition of the festival. Curated by Amos Vogel and Richard Roud, the then fledgling fest comprised 17 new features, 6 retrospective selections (ranging from Feuillade’s 1915 Les vampires to Godard’s 1960 Le petit soldat), and a number of shorts or demi-features (including Chris Marker’s The Koumiko Mystery). The main slate was chock-full of masterpieces (Gertrud, Alphaville, Charulata) and films by masters (Franju, Visconti, Kurosawa) and young turks on the rise (Straub, Bellocchio, Forman, Penn, Skolimowski). And there is only one film in the list—Laurence L. Kent’s Canadian indie Caressed—that I had never heard of before.In his introduction to the festival catalog Amos Vogel wrote:“Several fascinating, contradictory facts stand out in the 1965 New York film scene.
- 10/11/2015
- by Adrian Curry
- MUBI
One of L.A.'s most eclectic and renowned festivals, the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (Iffla), has announced its 2015 lineup of narrative and documentary features and short filmsl. The impressive program, which includes several works that premiered in Cannes and Berlin, reflects the rich diversity of Indian cinema, as well as the future of Indian filmmaking, with cutting-edge filmmakers bringing their acclaimed films to Los Angeles.
Celebrating its 13th year, Iffla will run April 8-12 at ArcLight Hollywood in Los Angeles, the festival’s home since its inception. You can purchase Festival Passes and Gala tickets on the festival's website. Individual screening tickets are also available.
Iffla 2015 will screen 25 films, including four world premieres, seven North American premieres, two U.S. premieres, and 10 Los Angeles premieres. The films hail from six different countries, including India, United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Cuba, in 10 different languages, from Hindi and Tamil to English, Spanish, and German.
Highlights include: the centerpiece and world premiere screening of "One Crazy Thing," directed by Iffla alum Amit Gupta ("Jadoo") and featuring BAFTA ‘Breakthrough Brit’ winner Ray Panthaki and Daisy Bevan ("The Two Faces of January") in a comedic story about a man who meets the girl of his dreams, but struggles to find a way to tell her how he became an internet sensation and the Los Angeles premiere of Academy Award-winner Danis Tanovic's latest feature film "Tigers," starring Bollywood heartthrob Emraan Hashmi in a political thriller based on the true story of a salesman who took on a multinational pharmaceutical corporation guilty of marketing a baby formula that caused hundreds of infant deaths.
Additional highlights include: "Jai Ho," a documentary feature on one of the most prolific composers in the world, A.R. Rahman directed by Umesh Aggarwal; Kanu Behl’s "Titli," which had its world premiere at Cannes in 2014, shot on Super 16 and starring gifted newcomer, Shashank Arora, in a coming of age story set against Dehli’s dark side where perpetual cruelty and violence prevail; and "Miss India America," directed by Iffla alum Ravi Kapoor and starring Tiya Sircar ("The Internship") and Hannah Simone ("New Girl"), is the story of a woman's plan to win the crown after her boyfriend runs off with the former Miss India America.
The Opening and Closing night red-carpet galas have also been announced: Shlok Sharma’s debut feature film "Haraamkhor," starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui and produced by Anurag Kashyap ("Gangs of Wasseypur") and Guneet Monga ("The Lunchbox") will open the festival with its world premiere. Nagesh Kukunoor’s "Dhanak" ("Rainbow") will have its U.S. premiere as the Closing Night film, fresh from 2015 Berlinale where it won Grand Prix of the Generation Kplus International Jury for best feature film.
The 2015 lineup also includes titles from the diverse regional language cinemas of India. Along with Bengali and Malayalam films, Iffla will screen two Marathi language features, including the North American Premiere of "Elizabeth Ekadashi." Tamil language titles include the documentary "Amma and Apaa,"about a filmmaking South Indian/German couple and their parents, and the U.S. premiere of the delightful "The Crow’s Egg," which premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. Produced by famed South Indian actor Dhanush (best known for the popular song “Why This Kolaveri Di” from the film 3), the film follows two young boys in a slum who try to get their first bite of pizza after seeing it in an ad.
“Many of the films at this year's Iffla look at contemporary youth from diverse backgrounds, united in their creative ways of overcoming life’s situations. The palpable energy of youth spirit runs throughout our film lineup, and these stories take you on an adventurous journey,” said Jasmine Jaisinghani, Iffla’s Artistic Director. “I believe our audiences will engage with these riveting characters and be fully entertained."
A special inclusion for Iffla 2015 is a Secret Screening for passholders only, offering a first look at a film that has become a sensation in festivals around the world, winning numerous awards. The film is slated to release later this year. Directed by one of the most exciting auteurs in contemporary Indian cinema, and featuring a powerhouse performance by one of India's brightest young stars, this is a film. It's expected to be a highlight of this year's festival.
The festival’s popular “Bollywood by Night” series returns this year with an exciting screening of Bollywood smash "Taal." Directed by Subhash Ghai and featuring Anil Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, and Akshaye Khanna. Originally released in 1999 to worldwide acclaim, "Taal" features iconic music composed by A.R. Rahman and is considered one of the best soundtracks in Bollywood history.
The shorts competition showcases an diverse selection of 10 films including narrative, documentary, experimental, and animated works. Highlights of this year’s program include: acclaimed director Gitanjali Rao’s "TrueLoveStory," a stunning animated film that made its premiere at the Critics’ Week section of Cannes; Jayisha Patel's multiple award-winning documentary "A Paradise" ("Un Paraiso"); and the U.S. premiere of three of India’s National Award winners, Pranjal Dua’s "Fly, Bird" (Chidiya Udh), Christo Tomy’s "Virgin" ("Kanyaka"), and Ruchir Arun’s "Mandrake! Mandrake!." In addition, screening with "Jai Ho" will be Satyajit Ray’s "Two," a spellbinding and deeply affecting short film by India’s master storyteller, which has been beautifully preserved by the Academy Film Archive.
Attending the festival this year to present their films will be a group of celebrated filmmakers, including Nagesh Kukunoor ("Dhanak"), Kanu Behl ("Titli"), Amit Gupta ("One Crazy Thing"), Ravi Kapoor ("Miss India America"), Paresh Mokashi ("Elizabeth Ekadashi"), Bikas Mishra ("Four Colors ), Shlok Sharma and award-winning producer Guneet Monga ("Haraamkhor").
Iffla will also host a number of the films’ stars, including: Ray Panthaki and Daisy Bevan from "One Crazy Thing;" critically-acclaimed Nawazuddin Siddiqui for "Haraamkhor;" and from"Miss India America," Hannah Simone ("New Girl"), Tiya Sircar ("The Internship"), and Meera Simhan ("Anger Management") who is also the film’s co-writer.
For tickets and the festival's schedule visit Here...
Celebrating its 13th year, Iffla will run April 8-12 at ArcLight Hollywood in Los Angeles, the festival’s home since its inception. You can purchase Festival Passes and Gala tickets on the festival's website. Individual screening tickets are also available.
Iffla 2015 will screen 25 films, including four world premieres, seven North American premieres, two U.S. premieres, and 10 Los Angeles premieres. The films hail from six different countries, including India, United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Cuba, in 10 different languages, from Hindi and Tamil to English, Spanish, and German.
Highlights include: the centerpiece and world premiere screening of "One Crazy Thing," directed by Iffla alum Amit Gupta ("Jadoo") and featuring BAFTA ‘Breakthrough Brit’ winner Ray Panthaki and Daisy Bevan ("The Two Faces of January") in a comedic story about a man who meets the girl of his dreams, but struggles to find a way to tell her how he became an internet sensation and the Los Angeles premiere of Academy Award-winner Danis Tanovic's latest feature film "Tigers," starring Bollywood heartthrob Emraan Hashmi in a political thriller based on the true story of a salesman who took on a multinational pharmaceutical corporation guilty of marketing a baby formula that caused hundreds of infant deaths.
Additional highlights include: "Jai Ho," a documentary feature on one of the most prolific composers in the world, A.R. Rahman directed by Umesh Aggarwal; Kanu Behl’s "Titli," which had its world premiere at Cannes in 2014, shot on Super 16 and starring gifted newcomer, Shashank Arora, in a coming of age story set against Dehli’s dark side where perpetual cruelty and violence prevail; and "Miss India America," directed by Iffla alum Ravi Kapoor and starring Tiya Sircar ("The Internship") and Hannah Simone ("New Girl"), is the story of a woman's plan to win the crown after her boyfriend runs off with the former Miss India America.
The Opening and Closing night red-carpet galas have also been announced: Shlok Sharma’s debut feature film "Haraamkhor," starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui and produced by Anurag Kashyap ("Gangs of Wasseypur") and Guneet Monga ("The Lunchbox") will open the festival with its world premiere. Nagesh Kukunoor’s "Dhanak" ("Rainbow") will have its U.S. premiere as the Closing Night film, fresh from 2015 Berlinale where it won Grand Prix of the Generation Kplus International Jury for best feature film.
The 2015 lineup also includes titles from the diverse regional language cinemas of India. Along with Bengali and Malayalam films, Iffla will screen two Marathi language features, including the North American Premiere of "Elizabeth Ekadashi." Tamil language titles include the documentary "Amma and Apaa,"about a filmmaking South Indian/German couple and their parents, and the U.S. premiere of the delightful "The Crow’s Egg," which premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. Produced by famed South Indian actor Dhanush (best known for the popular song “Why This Kolaveri Di” from the film 3), the film follows two young boys in a slum who try to get their first bite of pizza after seeing it in an ad.
“Many of the films at this year's Iffla look at contemporary youth from diverse backgrounds, united in their creative ways of overcoming life’s situations. The palpable energy of youth spirit runs throughout our film lineup, and these stories take you on an adventurous journey,” said Jasmine Jaisinghani, Iffla’s Artistic Director. “I believe our audiences will engage with these riveting characters and be fully entertained."
A special inclusion for Iffla 2015 is a Secret Screening for passholders only, offering a first look at a film that has become a sensation in festivals around the world, winning numerous awards. The film is slated to release later this year. Directed by one of the most exciting auteurs in contemporary Indian cinema, and featuring a powerhouse performance by one of India's brightest young stars, this is a film. It's expected to be a highlight of this year's festival.
The festival’s popular “Bollywood by Night” series returns this year with an exciting screening of Bollywood smash "Taal." Directed by Subhash Ghai and featuring Anil Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, and Akshaye Khanna. Originally released in 1999 to worldwide acclaim, "Taal" features iconic music composed by A.R. Rahman and is considered one of the best soundtracks in Bollywood history.
The shorts competition showcases an diverse selection of 10 films including narrative, documentary, experimental, and animated works. Highlights of this year’s program include: acclaimed director Gitanjali Rao’s "TrueLoveStory," a stunning animated film that made its premiere at the Critics’ Week section of Cannes; Jayisha Patel's multiple award-winning documentary "A Paradise" ("Un Paraiso"); and the U.S. premiere of three of India’s National Award winners, Pranjal Dua’s "Fly, Bird" (Chidiya Udh), Christo Tomy’s "Virgin" ("Kanyaka"), and Ruchir Arun’s "Mandrake! Mandrake!." In addition, screening with "Jai Ho" will be Satyajit Ray’s "Two," a spellbinding and deeply affecting short film by India’s master storyteller, which has been beautifully preserved by the Academy Film Archive.
Attending the festival this year to present their films will be a group of celebrated filmmakers, including Nagesh Kukunoor ("Dhanak"), Kanu Behl ("Titli"), Amit Gupta ("One Crazy Thing"), Ravi Kapoor ("Miss India America"), Paresh Mokashi ("Elizabeth Ekadashi"), Bikas Mishra ("Four Colors ), Shlok Sharma and award-winning producer Guneet Monga ("Haraamkhor").
Iffla will also host a number of the films’ stars, including: Ray Panthaki and Daisy Bevan from "One Crazy Thing;" critically-acclaimed Nawazuddin Siddiqui for "Haraamkhor;" and from"Miss India America," Hannah Simone ("New Girl"), Tiya Sircar ("The Internship"), and Meera Simhan ("Anger Management") who is also the film’s co-writer.
For tickets and the festival's schedule visit Here...
- 3/24/2015
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Sydney's Buzz
The National Film Development Corporation (Nfdc) has announced the nine scripts selected for the second edition of the National Script Lab to be held from October 2014 – March 2015.
Actor Konkona Sensharma and editor Ranjeet Bahadur are among the nine writers whose scripts have been selected.
The first screenwriting workshop will be held from October 12 – 17, 2014 at the Courtyard Marriott, Chakan, Pune, followed by two more workshops and one-to-one consultation sessions over the next six months.
Marten Rabarts (Senior Consultant, Training and Development, Nfdc), Olivia Stewart (Producer of The House of Mirth, Brassed Off, and script consultant on The Lunchbox), and Rajat Kapoor, writer-director of Ankhon Dekhi will mentor these scriptwriters.
Also as part of the National Script Lab program, the screenwriters will also attend Nfdc Film Bazaar 2014 (Nov 20–24) to network and introduce their upcoming projects to both the Indian and international film industry delegates attending the market.
This year the Script Lab...
Actor Konkona Sensharma and editor Ranjeet Bahadur are among the nine writers whose scripts have been selected.
The first screenwriting workshop will be held from October 12 – 17, 2014 at the Courtyard Marriott, Chakan, Pune, followed by two more workshops and one-to-one consultation sessions over the next six months.
Marten Rabarts (Senior Consultant, Training and Development, Nfdc), Olivia Stewart (Producer of The House of Mirth, Brassed Off, and script consultant on The Lunchbox), and Rajat Kapoor, writer-director of Ankhon Dekhi will mentor these scriptwriters.
Also as part of the National Script Lab program, the screenwriters will also attend Nfdc Film Bazaar 2014 (Nov 20–24) to network and introduce their upcoming projects to both the Indian and international film industry delegates attending the market.
This year the Script Lab...
- 10/3/2014
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
★★★★☆Place is an inherent part of cinema, it's the sand beneath the feet of form and breathes around content whilst acting within the consciousness of the viewer not unlike the unseen but very much felt constant of existential dread. Two of the artists most associated with place (in this case Bengal) were the dual polymaths Satyajit Ray and Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tragore. In 1964 they collaborated for the second time on a film, Charulata (following their 1961 effort Teen Kanya), back in cinemas this week. Ray called Charulata his favourite of all his films and the one that is he had to remake it he would change nothing. The film is also an adaptation of Tragore's novella Nashtanir, first published in 1901.
- 8/20/2014
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Soukarya Ghoshal’s Bengali film Pendulum- a tale of time, about time travel, released in theatres on March 7
In 1949 Kurt Godel tried to theoretically expand the space-time continuum of Einstein’s Physics by proposing the existence of closed time-like curves allowing for time-travel within a defined universe ‘space’. The theory and the subsequent implications in accepting it were complicated and hence yet to be conclusive. However this concept of traveling in time has been an interesting tenet in much of the fiction and the films of the science-fiction genre.
Needless-to-say, it becomes imperative for any auteur to be masterly clear in her vision of the time dilation in order to reflect that in her art. Cinema being a medium which is supposed to intrigue a wide expanse of the population with varying degrees of intellect, it should be a compulsion for the director to keep the narrative (linear or otherwise) malleable.
In 1949 Kurt Godel tried to theoretically expand the space-time continuum of Einstein’s Physics by proposing the existence of closed time-like curves allowing for time-travel within a defined universe ‘space’. The theory and the subsequent implications in accepting it were complicated and hence yet to be conclusive. However this concept of traveling in time has been an interesting tenet in much of the fiction and the films of the science-fiction genre.
Needless-to-say, it becomes imperative for any auteur to be masterly clear in her vision of the time dilation in order to reflect that in her art. Cinema being a medium which is supposed to intrigue a wide expanse of the population with varying degrees of intellect, it should be a compulsion for the director to keep the narrative (linear or otherwise) malleable.
- 3/12/2014
- by Amitava Nag
- DearCinema.com
Kaushik Ganguly’s Apur Panchali takes off on Pather Panchali and is about the child actor who played Apu in the film – Subir Banerjee – and what happened to him because he never made another film after Ray’s masterpiece.
Cinema in India has now split up into several pan-Indian categories. Apart from the mainstream Hindi film we have the ‘indie’ cinema represented by films like The Lunchbox and Ship of Theseus as well as the documentary (Fire in the Blood), which has become commercially viable, as it was not. Apart from these categories, there is the regional art film which, unlike its popular counterpart, is pan-Indian rather than local – because it is aimed at audiences at film festivals and other pan-Indian cultural gatherings, and cannot be imagined without subtitles in English. The pan-Indian art film is gaining ground across India and well-known film critics were also recommending the Indian Panorama...
Cinema in India has now split up into several pan-Indian categories. Apart from the mainstream Hindi film we have the ‘indie’ cinema represented by films like The Lunchbox and Ship of Theseus as well as the documentary (Fire in the Blood), which has become commercially viable, as it was not. Apart from these categories, there is the regional art film which, unlike its popular counterpart, is pan-Indian rather than local – because it is aimed at audiences at film festivals and other pan-Indian cultural gatherings, and cannot be imagined without subtitles in English. The pan-Indian art film is gaining ground across India and well-known film critics were also recommending the Indian Panorama...
- 2/13/2014
- by MK Raghavendra
- DearCinema.com
Iffi to screen festival favorites Blue is the Warmest Colour, Ilo Ilo, The Past among others
A still from The Coffin Maker
Two Indian Films; Apu’s Song by Kaushik Ganguly and The Coffin Maker by Veena Bakshi have been selected in the International Competition section at the International Film Festival of India (Iffi) to be held in Goa from November 20-30, 2013.
Apu’s Song is a real-life story inspired by Subir Banerjee, the child actor who played the iconic role of Apu in Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali. The film released theatrically in August 1955 and it has been 58 long years hence. But ironically Subir never became a part of any film again in his entire life. On his way to receive an award in a film festival in Germany, he reminisces about his life.
The Coffin Maker by Veena Bakshi (India) is set in a small village in Goa.
A still from The Coffin Maker
Two Indian Films; Apu’s Song by Kaushik Ganguly and The Coffin Maker by Veena Bakshi have been selected in the International Competition section at the International Film Festival of India (Iffi) to be held in Goa from November 20-30, 2013.
Apu’s Song is a real-life story inspired by Subir Banerjee, the child actor who played the iconic role of Apu in Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali. The film released theatrically in August 1955 and it has been 58 long years hence. But ironically Subir never became a part of any film again in his entire life. On his way to receive an award in a film festival in Germany, he reminisces about his life.
The Coffin Maker by Veena Bakshi (India) is set in a small village in Goa.
- 11/13/2013
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
F rom the works of masters like Costa-Gavras and Asghar Farhadi to newcomers like Nagraj Manjule and Kim Mordaunt, the Mumbai Film Festival 2013 offers above 200 films to choose from for an entire week!
Anu Rangachar, the Program Director of Mumbai Film Festival, lists her 20 favourite films in the lineup.
1. The Act of Killing
Dir.: Joshua Oppenheimer (2012 / Col. / 115′)
Section: The Real Reel
The film won the Panorama Audience Award and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the Berlin International Film Festival 2013 and the Cph:dox Award at the Cph:dox Film Festival 2012. It has bagged several other awards in film festivals at Istanbul, Prague, Geneva, Warsaw, Barcelona, Zagreb, Mexico, etc.
An Indonesian documentary, The Act of Killing challenges the total impunity on genocide by the death squad leaders. In 1965, Anwar Congo and his friends were promoted to the ranks of Death Squad Leaders to help the army obliterate more than one million alleged communists,...
Anu Rangachar, the Program Director of Mumbai Film Festival, lists her 20 favourite films in the lineup.
1. The Act of Killing
Dir.: Joshua Oppenheimer (2012 / Col. / 115′)
Section: The Real Reel
The film won the Panorama Audience Award and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the Berlin International Film Festival 2013 and the Cph:dox Award at the Cph:dox Film Festival 2012. It has bagged several other awards in film festivals at Istanbul, Prague, Geneva, Warsaw, Barcelona, Zagreb, Mexico, etc.
An Indonesian documentary, The Act of Killing challenges the total impunity on genocide by the death squad leaders. In 1965, Anwar Congo and his friends were promoted to the ranks of Death Squad Leaders to help the army obliterate more than one million alleged communists,...
- 10/10/2013
- by Editorial Team
- DearCinema.com
It’s hard to imagine a film that would stand up to Satyajit Ray’s 1969 film Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne (based on a story by Ray’s grandfather, Upendrakishore Ray), but book illustrator and animator Shilpa Ranade manages to do just that with her animated version, Goopi Gawaiiya Bagha Bajaiiya (The World of Goopy and Bagha), screening at the Toronto International Film Festival. The bones of the story remain the same: singer Goopi and drummer Bagha meet in the forest after being banished from their respective kingdoms – both love the music they make, but their lack of talent and its resulting cacophony does not endear them to anyone. However, the king of the ghosts hears them, and, oddly enthralled by them, decides to grant them a number of boons: delicious food that appears when they clap for it; a pair of wonderful shoes that will transport them wherever they wish...
- 9/6/2013
- by Katherine Matthews
- Bollyspice
Over the past few weeks, the Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) began unveiling the films that will feature as part of this year’s festival line-up. Although this year features fewer films from India and the Indian diaspora (not surprising since last year’s focus on Mumbai in the City to City programme gave viewers an incredibly rich line-up of films), there are, still, some wonderful viewing opportunities in store for South Asian film fans at Tiff 2013.
Two Indian films will receive Gala Premieres this year. The festival will present the North American Premiere of The Lunchbox, written and directed by Ritesh Batra. The film, which was well received at this year’s Cannes film festival, traces the unexpected friendship that develops between two strangers, middle-class housewife Ila and lonely office worker Saajan, after a mix up in the delivery of a lunchbox intended for Ila’s husband. The film stars Irrfan Khan,...
Two Indian films will receive Gala Premieres this year. The festival will present the North American Premiere of The Lunchbox, written and directed by Ritesh Batra. The film, which was well received at this year’s Cannes film festival, traces the unexpected friendship that develops between two strangers, middle-class housewife Ila and lonely office worker Saajan, after a mix up in the delivery of a lunchbox intended for Ila’s husband. The film stars Irrfan Khan,...
- 8/18/2013
- by Katherine Matthews
- Bollyspice
Kick-Ass 2 | 2 Guns | Planes | The Big City | Once Upon A Time In Mumbai Again | Bachelorette | Call Girl | Aftershock | Kuma | When The Dragon Swallowed The Sun
Kick-Ass 2 (15)
(Jeff Wadlow, 2013, Us/UK) Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloë Moretz, Jim Carrey, 103 mins
The amateur Avengers return, though the sequel finds them weighed down by their superhero lifestyles, or is it audience expectations? The ingredients that made the first movie such a pleasure are all here – absurd alter-egos, ultraviolence, high-school angst, swearing – just minus the element of surprise. As a result, this incident-packed story struggles to recapture that balance between comic-book zaniness and real-world teen comedy.
2 Guns (15)
(Baltasar Kormákur, 2013, Us) Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg, Paula Patton. 109 mins
Two double-crossed undercover agents must unravel a convoluted conspiracy (and learn to get along, of course) in what could almost be a Lethal Weapon reboot. Washington and Wahlberg spark off each other nicely, which is all that's needed.
Kick-Ass 2 (15)
(Jeff Wadlow, 2013, Us/UK) Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloë Moretz, Jim Carrey, 103 mins
The amateur Avengers return, though the sequel finds them weighed down by their superhero lifestyles, or is it audience expectations? The ingredients that made the first movie such a pleasure are all here – absurd alter-egos, ultraviolence, high-school angst, swearing – just minus the element of surprise. As a result, this incident-packed story struggles to recapture that balance between comic-book zaniness and real-world teen comedy.
2 Guns (15)
(Baltasar Kormákur, 2013, Us) Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg, Paula Patton. 109 mins
Two double-crossed undercover agents must unravel a convoluted conspiracy (and learn to get along, of course) in what could almost be a Lethal Weapon reboot. Washington and Wahlberg spark off each other nicely, which is all that's needed.
- 8/17/2013
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
While the British Film Institute (BFI) is releasing a restored version of Satyajit Ray’s “Mahanagar” in the UK to mark the 50th anniversary of the film; National award winning film critic and scholar Shoma Chatterji revisits Ray’s 1963 masterpiece
Image courtesy: Arindam Saha Sardar & Soumendu Roy
M ahanagar is set in 1955. Ray’s own moving away from his joint family in 1948 was a forerunner of the major shifts in Bengali society following independence. Mahanagar was based on a short story penned by Narendranath Mitra named “Abataranika”. Narendra Mitra, who was alive then, is said to have approved of Ray’s script. The original story placed the husband at the centre. Ray shifted the emphasis to place it on the wife, Arati. This change of focus re-wrote the history of women in Indian cinema. It traced the beginnings of the working wife in a lower middle-class family of Calcutta, her...
Image courtesy: Arindam Saha Sardar & Soumendu Roy
M ahanagar is set in 1955. Ray’s own moving away from his joint family in 1948 was a forerunner of the major shifts in Bengali society following independence. Mahanagar was based on a short story penned by Narendranath Mitra named “Abataranika”. Narendra Mitra, who was alive then, is said to have approved of Ray’s script. The original story placed the husband at the centre. Ray shifted the emphasis to place it on the wife, Arati. This change of focus re-wrote the history of women in Indian cinema. It traced the beginnings of the working wife in a lower middle-class family of Calcutta, her...
- 7/20/2013
- by Shoma A. Chatterji
- DearCinema.com
The British Film Institute (BFI) is hosting a special two-month Satyajit Ray season, the first of which will be held in August. Ray’s films will be screened throughout the month in London, in association with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Ray received an Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement-just before his death in Calcutta-in 1992.
The films to be screened as part of Ray season in August are Pather Panchali, Aparajito, Mahanagar, Jalsaghar, Apur Sansar, Devi, Teen Kanya, Charulata, Kanchenjungha, Nayak, Kapurush, Chiriakhana, Abhijan and Parash Pathar.
Two documentaries directed by Ray– commemorating writer, artist and composer Rabindranath Tagore and Satyajit Ray’s father Sukumar Ray will also be screened.
A Masterclass will be conducted on Pather Panchali by filmmaker and teacher Mamoun Hassan, who headed the BFI in 1970s.
As reported earlier, BFI will also release Ray’s Mahanagar to mark the 50th anniversary of the film.
Ray received an Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement-just before his death in Calcutta-in 1992.
The films to be screened as part of Ray season in August are Pather Panchali, Aparajito, Mahanagar, Jalsaghar, Apur Sansar, Devi, Teen Kanya, Charulata, Kanchenjungha, Nayak, Kapurush, Chiriakhana, Abhijan and Parash Pathar.
Two documentaries directed by Ray– commemorating writer, artist and composer Rabindranath Tagore and Satyajit Ray’s father Sukumar Ray will also be screened.
A Masterclass will be conducted on Pather Panchali by filmmaker and teacher Mamoun Hassan, who headed the BFI in 1970s.
As reported earlier, BFI will also release Ray’s Mahanagar to mark the 50th anniversary of the film.
- 7/15/2013
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
May 3, 1913 went down in history as the release date of the first Indian film Raja Harishchandra by Dadasaheb Phalke. Exactly 100 years later releases a documentary Celluloid Man by Shivendra Singh Dungarpur that leads us to the man responsible for finding and preserving whatever remained of India’s first film and the films that were made thereafter. The man who gave us our cinematic history by building the National Film Archive. DearCinema.com reproduces a detailed interview with P.K Nair. This interview was recorded in Pune in 2008 for Asian Film Foundation to mark his felicitation with Satyajit Ray Memorial Award.
What memories do you have of watching your first film?
It was in the early forties, at the height of war. I must have been hardly eight years old.
The venue: a Tent Cinema in Thiruvnanthapuram Putharikandam Maidan, almost the same venue of the present Padmanabha Theatre. Nearly half the...
What memories do you have of watching your first film?
It was in the early forties, at the height of war. I must have been hardly eight years old.
The venue: a Tent Cinema in Thiruvnanthapuram Putharikandam Maidan, almost the same venue of the present Padmanabha Theatre. Nearly half the...
- 5/2/2013
- by Bikas Mishra
- DearCinema.com
A still from “Charulata”
Satyajit Ray’s Charulata (The Lonely Wife) is one among the twenty feature films to be presented at Cannes Classics, as part of the Official Selection.
Based on a story by Rabindranath Tagore about a lonely housewife, the film features Soumitra Chatterjee, Madhabi Mukherjee and Shailen Mukherjee. It won Satyajit Ray a Silver Bear for Best Director at Berlin international film festival in 1965.
Cannes Classics was created in 2004 to present old films and masterpieces from cinematographic history that have been carefully restored. It is also a way to pay tribute to the essential work being down by copyrightholders, film libraries, production companies and national archives throughout the world.
This year’s programme of Cannes Classics is made up of twenty feature-length films and three documentaries.
Restored Prints
Borom Sarret (1963, 20’) by Ousmane Sembène
Charulata (Charluta: The Lonely Wife) (1964, 1:57) by Satyajit Ray
Cleopatra (1963, 4:03) by Joseph L. Mankiewicz...
Satyajit Ray’s Charulata (The Lonely Wife) is one among the twenty feature films to be presented at Cannes Classics, as part of the Official Selection.
Based on a story by Rabindranath Tagore about a lonely housewife, the film features Soumitra Chatterjee, Madhabi Mukherjee and Shailen Mukherjee. It won Satyajit Ray a Silver Bear for Best Director at Berlin international film festival in 1965.
Cannes Classics was created in 2004 to present old films and masterpieces from cinematographic history that have been carefully restored. It is also a way to pay tribute to the essential work being down by copyrightholders, film libraries, production companies and national archives throughout the world.
This year’s programme of Cannes Classics is made up of twenty feature-length films and three documentaries.
Restored Prints
Borom Sarret (1963, 20’) by Ousmane Sembène
Charulata (Charluta: The Lonely Wife) (1964, 1:57) by Satyajit Ray
Cleopatra (1963, 4:03) by Joseph L. Mankiewicz...
- 4/30/2013
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
The Bradford International Film Festival is typically an underground-friendly fest. This year appears to be no exception with two very special experimental film retrospectives, as well as a few modern underground-type flicks.
The 19th annual Biff will roll on April 11-21 at several locations around Bradford and Leeds in England, including the National Media Museum, Hebden Bridge Picture House, Hyde Park Picture House and other venues.
Biff is hosting a tribute to Stan Brakhage this year by screening the prolific filmmaker’s magnum opus, Dog Star Man, as well as a selection of his short films, from 1963′s legendary Mothlight to 1994′s Black Ice. There’s also going to be an epic-sized tribute/retrospective of experimental films from Austria, a country with a proud avant-garde filmmaking tradition that’s typically overlooked.
From Austria, Biff is, of course, screening two works from one of the experimental film world’s biggest masters,...
The 19th annual Biff will roll on April 11-21 at several locations around Bradford and Leeds in England, including the National Media Museum, Hebden Bridge Picture House, Hyde Park Picture House and other venues.
Biff is hosting a tribute to Stan Brakhage this year by screening the prolific filmmaker’s magnum opus, Dog Star Man, as well as a selection of his short films, from 1963′s legendary Mothlight to 1994′s Black Ice. There’s also going to be an epic-sized tribute/retrospective of experimental films from Austria, a country with a proud avant-garde filmmaking tradition that’s typically overlooked.
From Austria, Biff is, of course, screening two works from one of the experimental film world’s biggest masters,...
- 3/11/2013
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
News.
Lola, one of our favorite film journals, has released some content from their third issue. The articles include a piece by Dana Linssen on the film Nadine, among others, and the nature of feminist cinephilia. Also, you shouldn't miss this collective approach (part one of two) to Holy Motors. More cinephilic delight: the full version of the Flemish film journal Photogénie is now online, featuring Tom Paulus on Olivier Assayas, Sarah Keller on Jean Epstein, and an interview with Girish Shambu. Birthdays: Hayao Miyazaki turned 72 on the 5th (speaking of which, check this out) and Jean-Marie Straub turned 80 yesterday (David Hudson has collected some related material).
Finds.
"Happy New Years", Apichatpong-style: a brief short entitled 2013. Above: new images from Hong Sang-soo's new film, Nobody's Daughter Haewon, set to debut in Berlin next month. Via Moving Image Source, filmmaker Miguel Gomes writes on Manuel Mozos and the film Xavier:
"As I see it,...
Lola, one of our favorite film journals, has released some content from their third issue. The articles include a piece by Dana Linssen on the film Nadine, among others, and the nature of feminist cinephilia. Also, you shouldn't miss this collective approach (part one of two) to Holy Motors. More cinephilic delight: the full version of the Flemish film journal Photogénie is now online, featuring Tom Paulus on Olivier Assayas, Sarah Keller on Jean Epstein, and an interview with Girish Shambu. Birthdays: Hayao Miyazaki turned 72 on the 5th (speaking of which, check this out) and Jean-Marie Straub turned 80 yesterday (David Hudson has collected some related material).
Finds.
"Happy New Years", Apichatpong-style: a brief short entitled 2013. Above: new images from Hong Sang-soo's new film, Nobody's Daughter Haewon, set to debut in Berlin next month. Via Moving Image Source, filmmaker Miguel Gomes writes on Manuel Mozos and the film Xavier:
"As I see it,...
- 1/9/2013
- by Adam Cook
- MUBI
[ Anirban Roy
Until Aashpordha or Audacity, Anirban Roy made films in the Us. When he returned to his hometown Kolkata, he decided to adapt his long forgotten short story into a film. Aashpordha has been travelling to several film festivals like Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles where it won the Audience award, AFI Fest and New York International Film Festival.
The film has been sold for braodcast in three countries; Sbs (Australia), Svt (Sweden) and Chello Multicanal (Spain).
Here Anirban Roy talks about his experience and the story behind Aashpordha:
Tell us about Aashapordha.
A thirteen-year-old Indian girl dares to challenge the authority of her traditional father. That’s the basic plot line of Aashpordha (Audacity). It is a story of rebellion, where the small attains a victory over the big. It’s a tight slap on the face of the authoritarian in each one of us. For characters and relationships in the film,...
Until Aashpordha or Audacity, Anirban Roy made films in the Us. When he returned to his hometown Kolkata, he decided to adapt his long forgotten short story into a film. Aashpordha has been travelling to several film festivals like Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles where it won the Audience award, AFI Fest and New York International Film Festival.
The film has been sold for braodcast in three countries; Sbs (Australia), Svt (Sweden) and Chello Multicanal (Spain).
Here Anirban Roy talks about his experience and the story behind Aashpordha:
Tell us about Aashapordha.
A thirteen-year-old Indian girl dares to challenge the authority of her traditional father. That’s the basic plot line of Aashpordha (Audacity). It is a story of rebellion, where the small attains a victory over the big. It’s a tight slap on the face of the authoritarian in each one of us. For characters and relationships in the film,...
- 11/16/2012
- by Anita Thomas
- DearCinema.com
Every 10 years the British film magazine Sight & Sound draws up a list of the 50 Greatest Films Ever Made. It is a list that is held with very high regard in the industry as it compiles and compares lists from esteemed critics and filmmakers from around the world. Every time that the list has been compiled since 1962, Orson Welles’ perennial classic Citizen Kane has topped the poll. But now its reign as “the Greatest Film Ever Made” has been toppled by none other than Alfred Hitchcock.
The official list, drawn up by 846 academics/critics (including Roger Ebert), names Vertigo, the 1958 classic thriller from Alfred Hitchock, as the greatest film ever made with Citizen Kane in second. When the list was compiled in 2002, Vertigo missed out on the top spot by 5 votes, which marked a change in film tastes and the arrival of a new wave of film critics. In this poll,...
The official list, drawn up by 846 academics/critics (including Roger Ebert), names Vertigo, the 1958 classic thriller from Alfred Hitchock, as the greatest film ever made with Citizen Kane in second. When the list was compiled in 2002, Vertigo missed out on the top spot by 5 votes, which marked a change in film tastes and the arrival of a new wave of film critics. In this poll,...
- 8/1/2012
- by Will Chadwick
- We Got This Covered
Pran Kishan Sikand
Pran Kishan Sikand dreamt of becoming a professional photographer. Little did he know that a measly, humble ‘paan’ (betel leaf) would change his life and set him on his destined path. It was 1939 or thereabouts. Pran was at a ‘paan’ shop at Lahore, enjoying a munch with his friends when a stranger approached him and asked whether he wanted to act in films. Pran was amused and asked his name. Stranger introduced himself as Muhammad Walli, a renowned film maker in the flourishing film district of Lahore. He said he was making a Punjabi film and Pran looked a perfect fit for the role of a villain in the film. Pran just brushed him off. Walli kept insisting that he pay a visit to the studio, and pushed a piece of paper with his address into Pran’s hands. The film was Yamla Jat (1940), a runaway hit that year.
Pran Kishan Sikand dreamt of becoming a professional photographer. Little did he know that a measly, humble ‘paan’ (betel leaf) would change his life and set him on his destined path. It was 1939 or thereabouts. Pran was at a ‘paan’ shop at Lahore, enjoying a munch with his friends when a stranger approached him and asked whether he wanted to act in films. Pran was amused and asked his name. Stranger introduced himself as Muhammad Walli, a renowned film maker in the flourishing film district of Lahore. He said he was making a Punjabi film and Pran looked a perfect fit for the role of a villain in the film. Pran just brushed him off. Walli kept insisting that he pay a visit to the studio, and pushed a piece of paper with his address into Pran’s hands. The film was Yamla Jat (1940), a runaway hit that year.
- 7/26/2012
- by Amborish Roychoudhury
- DearCinema.com
Bollywood actress Raima Sen was in London for the closing event at the London Indian Film Festival on Tuesday 3rd July.
Two of Raima Sen’s Bengali movies, Abosheshey and Baishey Srabon where screened at the two week film festival, with the actress walking the red carpet for the UK premier of the Bengali thriller Baishey Srabon.
Held at Cineworld, Haymarket the red carpet event began with the announcement of this year’s winner of the Satyajit Ray Foundation’s Short Film Competition. The prize went to Neeraj Ghaywan, for his film Shor, which tells the tale of a husband and wife living in Mumbai’s ghettos.
Baishey Srabon tells the story of two journalists and two cops chasing a psycho killer who is taking revenge in Kolkata, leaving behind couplets of famous Bengali poets as hints.
After the screening of the thriller, Raima Sen participated in a Q&A...
Two of Raima Sen’s Bengali movies, Abosheshey and Baishey Srabon where screened at the two week film festival, with the actress walking the red carpet for the UK premier of the Bengali thriller Baishey Srabon.
Held at Cineworld, Haymarket the red carpet event began with the announcement of this year’s winner of the Satyajit Ray Foundation’s Short Film Competition. The prize went to Neeraj Ghaywan, for his film Shor, which tells the tale of a husband and wife living in Mumbai’s ghettos.
Baishey Srabon tells the story of two journalists and two cops chasing a psycho killer who is taking revenge in Kolkata, leaving behind couplets of famous Bengali poets as hints.
After the screening of the thriller, Raima Sen participated in a Q&A...
- 7/8/2012
- by Meera Sharma
- Bollyspice
In 2006, before I started The Playlist film blog, out of boredom I began what I called the The Playlist Soundtrack Series. A sort of "If I Were _______ (insert filmmaker's name here)" type thing. The concept was naive and simple: choose a handful of music-savvy filmmakers whose work I admired and create imaginary soundtracks for movies they hadn't made, based on their taste and music they might conceivably use one day. It began as nothing more than a fun exercise for me, as I had time on my hands back then.
Eventually, I had amassed a half a dozen of these soundtracks in various states of completion, and to host them somewhere I started The Playlist blog in 2007. It then became a place to discuss music in film, soundtracks, etc., and when that topic was outgrown slightly (after a while you tend to hit all the classic film and soundtrack bases...
Eventually, I had amassed a half a dozen of these soundtracks in various states of completion, and to host them somewhere I started The Playlist blog in 2007. It then became a place to discuss music in film, soundtracks, etc., and when that topic was outgrown slightly (after a while you tend to hit all the classic film and soundtrack bases...
- 5/25/2012
- by The Playlist
- The Playlist
Your Weekly Source for the Newest Releases to Blu-Ray Tuesday, July 19th, 2011
Amelie (2001)
Synopsis: Bursting with imagination and having seen her share of tragedy and fantasy, Amélie is not like the other girls. When she grows up she becomes a waitress in a Montmartre bar run by a former dancer. Amelie enjoys simple pleasures until she discovers that her goal in life is to help others. To that end, she invents all sorts of tricks that allow her to intervene incognito into other people’s lives, including an imbibing concierge and her hypochondriac neighbor. But Amélie’s most difficult case turns out to be Nino Quicampoix, a lonely sex shop employee who collects photos abandoned at coin-operated photobooths. (blu-ray.com)
Special Features: The Look of Amelie featurette; Fantasies of Audrey Tatou; Q&A with the director and cast; Auditions; Storyboard to screen comparisons; An Intimate Chat With Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet...
Amelie (2001)
Synopsis: Bursting with imagination and having seen her share of tragedy and fantasy, Amélie is not like the other girls. When she grows up she becomes a waitress in a Montmartre bar run by a former dancer. Amelie enjoys simple pleasures until she discovers that her goal in life is to help others. To that end, she invents all sorts of tricks that allow her to intervene incognito into other people’s lives, including an imbibing concierge and her hypochondriac neighbor. But Amélie’s most difficult case turns out to be Nino Quicampoix, a lonely sex shop employee who collects photos abandoned at coin-operated photobooths. (blu-ray.com)
Special Features: The Look of Amelie featurette; Fantasies of Audrey Tatou; Q&A with the director and cast; Auditions; Storyboard to screen comparisons; An Intimate Chat With Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet...
- 7/18/2011
- by Travis Keune
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
DVD Playhouse—July 2011
By Allen Gardner
The Music Room (Criterion) Satyajit Ray’s 1958 masterpiece looks at the life of a fallen aristocrat as a metaphor for an India that is not only becoming Westernized, but modernized technologically and culturally beyond recognition. When the beloved music room, where he has hosted lavish concerts in the past, starts falling into disrepair as attendance drops steadily, the man realizes his way of life is vanishing. Stunningly shot in black & white, one of Ray’s finest works. Bonuses: Documentary on Ray from 1984 by Shyam Benegal; Interviews with Ray biographer Andrew Robinson and filmmaker Mira Nair; Excerpt from 1981 roundtable discussion between Ray, critic Michael Ciment, director Claude Sautet. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Full screen. Dolby 1.0 mono.
Beauty And The Beast (Criterion) Jean Cocteau’s sublime adaptation of the classic fairy tale become a beloved classic upon its 1946 release, and hasn’t faded since.
By Allen Gardner
The Music Room (Criterion) Satyajit Ray’s 1958 masterpiece looks at the life of a fallen aristocrat as a metaphor for an India that is not only becoming Westernized, but modernized technologically and culturally beyond recognition. When the beloved music room, where he has hosted lavish concerts in the past, starts falling into disrepair as attendance drops steadily, the man realizes his way of life is vanishing. Stunningly shot in black & white, one of Ray’s finest works. Bonuses: Documentary on Ray from 1984 by Shyam Benegal; Interviews with Ray biographer Andrew Robinson and filmmaker Mira Nair; Excerpt from 1981 roundtable discussion between Ray, critic Michael Ciment, director Claude Sautet. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Full screen. Dolby 1.0 mono.
Beauty And The Beast (Criterion) Jean Cocteau’s sublime adaptation of the classic fairy tale become a beloved classic upon its 1946 release, and hasn’t faded since.
- 7/7/2011
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
A new wave of Indian independent film is breaking the all-singing, all-dancing stereotype of Bollywood via low-cost, offbeat movies and edgier subject matter
A sleazy shop assistant seduces a vulnerable colleague for a money-spinning sex tape; two hopelessly-in-love students are brutally murdered by the girl's family; an intrepid TV reporter embarks on an expose of the notorious casting couch. This triptych of stories set in 21st-century metropolitan India unfolds over 98 minutes of blurry, trembling CCTV, mobile phone, camcorder and hidden-camera footage in the film LSD: Love, Sex Aur Dhokha (Love, Sex and Betrayal).
Surely the only Indian film to reference sex and drugs in both its title and abbreviation, LSD: Love, Sex Aur Dhokha is one of the new wave of Indian indies – edgy, off-beat films challenging the stereotype of Indian cinema as tear-jerking, all-singing, all-dancing Bollywood. It fared more than respectably when it was released in India last year,...
A sleazy shop assistant seduces a vulnerable colleague for a money-spinning sex tape; two hopelessly-in-love students are brutally murdered by the girl's family; an intrepid TV reporter embarks on an expose of the notorious casting couch. This triptych of stories set in 21st-century metropolitan India unfolds over 98 minutes of blurry, trembling CCTV, mobile phone, camcorder and hidden-camera footage in the film LSD: Love, Sex Aur Dhokha (Love, Sex and Betrayal).
Surely the only Indian film to reference sex and drugs in both its title and abbreviation, LSD: Love, Sex Aur Dhokha is one of the new wave of Indian indies – edgy, off-beat films challenging the stereotype of Indian cinema as tear-jerking, all-singing, all-dancing Bollywood. It fared more than respectably when it was released in India last year,...
- 6/23/2011
- The Guardian - Film News
Long Shadows: The Late Work of Satyajit Ray opens this evening and runs through April 26 at the Film Society of Lincoln Center: "Of special interest is Home and the World [1984; image above], his final, wonderful adaptation of a work by his mentor, Rabindranath Tagore (whose 150th anniversary we celebrate this year), as well as his final, luminous work, The Stranger, an extraordinary summing up of so much of Ray's worldview graced with a sensational lead performance by Utpal Dutt." Plus, "we asked some friends of the Film Society: what film would you recommend seeing, and why?" Meantime, Paul Brunick posts a roundup on Distant Thunder (1973) at Alt Screen. Update, 4/20: Salman Rushdie for the Fslc on The Golden Fortress (1974): "The film is a true delight and the moment when the Golden Fortress is discovered — when it is revealed not to be a child's fantasy but a real place, shimmering on...
- 4/20/2011
- MUBI
Adoor Gopalakrishnan is an exceptional film-maker. Not only does his oeuvre hold the colours of the rainbow, but more importantly when the social world tries to teach us to run and ruin – ourselves and the life round us, he is a graceful exception to this ‘accepted’ norm. Hence, a book on Adoor – his films and the creative mind behind this palette was due for many years. Starting a career in 1972 (feature film consideration) in the last 40 years Adoor made 11 feature films. There are probably few books and many essays on him in Malayali language – the official language of Kerala, where Adoor lives and centres his cinema. There is however an extreme dearth of material on Adoor in English – which also goes on to show the state of regional cinema and its acceptance and expanse. Gautam Bhaskaran’s Adoor Gopalakrishnan: A Life in Cinema which came out this year and...
- 4/20/2011
- by Amitava Nag
- DearCinema.com
Note: I’ll be updating this page as Criterion makes the release dates and final art available. – Ryan 4/15/2011
Well here we are, another mid-month Criterion new release announcement. This time last year, we were treated to the incredible one-two punch announcement of Black Narcissus and the Red Shoes as upgraded DVD/Blu-ray editions. This time around we have even more to be excited about.
First up, a couple of films that we’ve actually already covered on the podcast will finally be getting Blu-ray upgrades. One of our very first episodes was on Mike Leigh’s Naked (a film that I wasn’t too hot on, but I loved Leigh’s Topsy Turvy). Now you’ll finally be able to see this incredibly daring and raw look at England in the early 90s, with David Thewlis as the immortal Johnny. I found the dialogue to be a little too rapid and not very naturalistic,...
Well here we are, another mid-month Criterion new release announcement. This time last year, we were treated to the incredible one-two punch announcement of Black Narcissus and the Red Shoes as upgraded DVD/Blu-ray editions. This time around we have even more to be excited about.
First up, a couple of films that we’ve actually already covered on the podcast will finally be getting Blu-ray upgrades. One of our very first episodes was on Mike Leigh’s Naked (a film that I wasn’t too hot on, but I loved Leigh’s Topsy Turvy). Now you’ll finally be able to see this incredibly daring and raw look at England in the early 90s, with David Thewlis as the immortal Johnny. I found the dialogue to be a little too rapid and not very naturalistic,...
- 4/15/2011
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
Screenwriters often don’t recognized even when they deserve appreciations patently because it’s a situation of praising actors and other technicians alone. Precisely, the credits of Screenwriters literally goes unnoticed under such scenarios, nonetheless, here comes a talented screenwriter from God’s own country, who has won laurels for his spellbinding screenplay for the film ‘Ananthapurathu Veedu’ as his earnest efforts have turned spotlights on him.
Of course, he holds special mentions for having generated a new-dimensioned supernatural thriller of blending fun, frolic, emotions and twists. The young screenwriter feels so invigorated for having worked with versatile screenwriter Indira Soundarajan in this film.
We bring you an exclusive interview with Sharath Haridasan, an avid ad filmmaker and screenwriter, who is all set to make his debut directorial with ‘Jayakumaranin Thiraikadhai’…
Can you just share your previous experiences before getting into films?
I had been a freelance copywriter in advertising...
Of course, he holds special mentions for having generated a new-dimensioned supernatural thriller of blending fun, frolic, emotions and twists. The young screenwriter feels so invigorated for having worked with versatile screenwriter Indira Soundarajan in this film.
We bring you an exclusive interview with Sharath Haridasan, an avid ad filmmaker and screenwriter, who is all set to make his debut directorial with ‘Jayakumaranin Thiraikadhai’…
Can you just share your previous experiences before getting into films?
I had been a freelance copywriter in advertising...
- 7/21/2010
- by Editor
- KollywoodToday
The London Indian Film Festival launches begins on July 15 By devansh patel The London Indian Film Festival launches from July 15- 20 in London with a range of cutting-edge movies from some of India's hottest independent talents, we aren't talking Bollywood here, but films that challenge, make you think and show a more realistic view of India today in all its colour and diversity. The Festival's selection of films are screened across London, opening in the city centre at Cineworld (Haymarket), then Barbican, Nehru Centre, Watermans and Genesis cinemas. The Festival covers a wide range of themes from family dramas, coming-of age tales to twisted urban romance. What pervades many of these movies is a new more assured Indian cool, experimenting with cinematic styles, new technology and influenced by themes both East and West, which has helped them win favour with the young in-crowd in super cities like Mumbai. The London...
- 6/18/2010
- by Devansh Patel
- BollywoodHungama
The 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival is set to run June 17-27 in a brand new location. Oh, it’s still in L.A, but it’s moving across town, from Westwood — where it’s been held the past few years — all the way over to Downtown.
The main “hub” for the fest will be the new L.A. Live complex, but there will also be screenings at other locations, such as the Downtown Independent and Redcat theaters. The city is really trying to build downtown up into a major arts and culture hub, so the festival moving there fits in with that agenda. Film Independent, the organization that runs Laff, also runs the annual Independent Spirit Awards, an event that also moved downtown — from Santa Monica — this year.
On Bad Lit, I tend to like to put up festival lineups that include days and times of screenings. However, since I...
The main “hub” for the fest will be the new L.A. Live complex, but there will also be screenings at other locations, such as the Downtown Independent and Redcat theaters. The city is really trying to build downtown up into a major arts and culture hub, so the festival moving there fits in with that agenda. Film Independent, the organization that runs Laff, also runs the annual Independent Spirit Awards, an event that also moved downtown — from Santa Monica — this year.
On Bad Lit, I tend to like to put up festival lineups that include days and times of screenings. However, since I...
- 5/17/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Like the headline says, the complete lineup for the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival has been announced and it's a fascinating, eclectic mix. How happy am I to see music doc Separado! in there? Pretty damn happy, as it's one of my absolute favorites of the year and has been resoundingly overlooked. Read the complete announcement below!
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Los Angeles (May 4, 2010) - Today Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards, the Los Angeles Film Festival, and year-round artist development programs and exhibition events, announced the official selections for the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival, presented by the Los Angeles Times. The Festival will run from Thursday, June 17 to Sunday, June 27 in downtown Los Angeles, with its central hub at L.A. Live. Now in its sixteenth year, the Festival is recognized as a world-class event, showcasing the best in new American...
Normal 0 false false false En-ca X-none X-none MicrosoftInternetExplorer4
Los Angeles (May 4, 2010) - Today Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards, the Los Angeles Film Festival, and year-round artist development programs and exhibition events, announced the official selections for the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival, presented by the Los Angeles Times. The Festival will run from Thursday, June 17 to Sunday, June 27 in downtown Los Angeles, with its central hub at L.A. Live. Now in its sixteenth year, the Festival is recognized as a world-class event, showcasing the best in new American...
- 5/4/2010
- Screen Anarchy
Today Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards, the Los Angeles Film Festival, and year-round artist development programs and exhibition events, announced the official selections for the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival, presented by the Los Angeles Times. The Festival will run from Thursday, June 17 to Sunday, June 27 in downtown Los Angeles, with its central hub at L.A. Live. Now in its sixteenth year, the Festival is recognized as a world-class event, showcasing the best in new American and international cinema and providing the movie-loving public with access to critically acclaimed filmmakers, film industry professionals, and emerging talent from around the world.
The 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival will screen over 200 feature films, shorts, and music videos, representing more than 40 countries. This year, the Festival received more than 4,700 submissions from filmmakers around the world. The final selections represent 28 World, North American, and U.S. premieres, which more...
The 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival will screen over 200 feature films, shorts, and music videos, representing more than 40 countries. This year, the Festival received more than 4,700 submissions from filmmakers around the world. The final selections represent 28 World, North American, and U.S. premieres, which more...
- 5/4/2010
- by Staff
- Hollywoodnews.com
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- Focus Features' The Kids Are All Right to Kick Off Festival -
- World Premiere of Universal Pictures' 3-D CGI Feature Despicable Me Selected for Closing Night -
- Summit Entertainment's The Twilight Saga: Eclipse to have World Premiere -
- Galas include Animal Kingdom, Cyrus, Mahler on the Couch, Revolución,& Waiting for Superman -
Los Angeles (May 4, 2010) - Today Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards, the Los Angeles Film Festival, and year-round artist development programs and exhibition events, announced the official selections for the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival, presented by the Los Angeles Times. The Festival will run from Thursday, June 17 to Sunday, June 27 in downtown Los Angeles, with its central hub at L.A. Live. Now in its sixteenth year, the Festival is recognized as a world-class event, showcasing...
- Focus Features' The Kids Are All Right to Kick Off Festival -
- World Premiere of Universal Pictures' 3-D CGI Feature Despicable Me Selected for Closing Night -
- Summit Entertainment's The Twilight Saga: Eclipse to have World Premiere -
- Galas include Animal Kingdom, Cyrus, Mahler on the Couch, Revolución,& Waiting for Superman -
Los Angeles (May 4, 2010) - Today Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards, the Los Angeles Film Festival, and year-round artist development programs and exhibition events, announced the official selections for the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival, presented by the Los Angeles Times. The Festival will run from Thursday, June 17 to Sunday, June 27 in downtown Los Angeles, with its central hub at L.A. Live. Now in its sixteenth year, the Festival is recognized as a world-class event, showcasing...
- 5/4/2010
- by maint
- Film Independent
Vikramaditya Motwane’s “Udaan”, the film that made it to Un Certain Regard at Cannes International Film festival after seven years has been the talk of the town lately. With Udaan, Indian cinema’s seven year long jinxed relationship with the premier film festival has come to an end. Murali Nair’s Arimpara was the last film to have made it to Un Certain Regard, the section that carries the second most prestigious award, in the year 2003. Prior to that, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas was presented as a special screening out of competition at the festival in 2002.
Come to think of it, India and Cannes have had a cordial relationship right from the start. 1946, the year one of the oldest film festivals began at Cannes, Chetan Anand’s Neecha Nagar was screened as a Feature film in competition. Neecha Nagar was a pioneering effort in realistic Indian cinema and...
Come to think of it, India and Cannes have had a cordial relationship right from the start. 1946, the year one of the oldest film festivals began at Cannes, Chetan Anand’s Neecha Nagar was screened as a Feature film in competition. Neecha Nagar was a pioneering effort in realistic Indian cinema and...
- 4/20/2010
- by Nandita Dutta
- DearCinema.com
Kolkata, Satyajit Ray fans in India have a good news. The maestro's Hindi classic "Shatranj Ke Khiladi" (The Chess Players) would be restored by the United States Academy of Motion Pictures, while his controversial documentary "Sikkim" may be screened for the first time in India at the upcoming Kolkata Film Festival. "'The Chess Players', made in 1977, will be our next project. The funds have been allotted for the film. It will take a year to complete it," the Academy's noted preservationist Josef Lindner said at a press conference here Thursday. The academy has so far restored and preserved 15 feature films and two documentaries - "Sikkim" and "Two" - of the Oscar winning filmmaker since 1992. While nine feature films were restored in the first package, ...
- 11/7/2008
- Bollywoodworld.com
By Michael Atkinson
It's amazing to contemplate, but world cinema didn't really make serious feature films about children until after WWII; Vittorio De Sica's "Shoeshine" (1946) might've been the first. (You could stretch and consider Hal Roach's vivid and roughhewn "Our Gang" shorts as qualifying, and I wouldn't argue.) After the New Waves got rolling, of course, juveniles proliferated like rabbits on screen, but prior to that nearly the first half of cinema history had little or nothing to say about the bedeviled, often neglected, wide-eyed life of the pre-adult. Did cinema change with the war, or did we? Two new movies to DVD, Reha Erdem's "Times and Winds" (2006) and Ramin Bahrani's "Chop Shop" (2007), make their individual cases that little outside of the movie dynamic has changed at all, and that life as a 12-year-old in any corner of the globe is still subject to the grinding,...
It's amazing to contemplate, but world cinema didn't really make serious feature films about children until after WWII; Vittorio De Sica's "Shoeshine" (1946) might've been the first. (You could stretch and consider Hal Roach's vivid and roughhewn "Our Gang" shorts as qualifying, and I wouldn't argue.) After the New Waves got rolling, of course, juveniles proliferated like rabbits on screen, but prior to that nearly the first half of cinema history had little or nothing to say about the bedeviled, often neglected, wide-eyed life of the pre-adult. Did cinema change with the war, or did we? Two new movies to DVD, Reha Erdem's "Times and Winds" (2006) and Ramin Bahrani's "Chop Shop" (2007), make their individual cases that little outside of the movie dynamic has changed at all, and that life as a 12-year-old in any corner of the globe is still subject to the grinding,...
- 7/15/2008
- by Michael Atkinson
- ifc.com
By Neil Pedley
Prom queens and street kings hold court this week at the multiplexes while the college professors of "Smart People" and "The Visitor" preside at the art houses.
"Body of War"
Talk show legend Phil Donahue hands over the mic to Iraqi war veteran Tomas Young in this hard-hitting documentary that contrasts Young's struggle to re-enter civilian life as a paraplegic and anti-war activist with archival footage of an overeager U.S. Congress and what the filmmakers view as their hasty decision to greenlight the invasion. Although the film, co-directed by Donahue and Ellen Spiro, was named best documentary of 2007 by the National Board of Review, "Body of War" has earned equal attention for its soundtrack led by two tracks from Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, with all proceeds going to the non-profit organization Iraq Veterans Against The War. (Check out our interview with Spiro and Donahue.)
Opens in New York.
Prom queens and street kings hold court this week at the multiplexes while the college professors of "Smart People" and "The Visitor" preside at the art houses.
"Body of War"
Talk show legend Phil Donahue hands over the mic to Iraqi war veteran Tomas Young in this hard-hitting documentary that contrasts Young's struggle to re-enter civilian life as a paraplegic and anti-war activist with archival footage of an overeager U.S. Congress and what the filmmakers view as their hasty decision to greenlight the invasion. Although the film, co-directed by Donahue and Ellen Spiro, was named best documentary of 2007 by the National Board of Review, "Body of War" has earned equal attention for its soundtrack led by two tracks from Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, with all proceeds going to the non-profit organization Iraq Veterans Against The War. (Check out our interview with Spiro and Donahue.)
Opens in New York.
- 4/7/2008
- by Neil Pedley
- ifc.com
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