The Returned Gaze of the Past: Patricio Guzmán’s ‘The First Year’
Films like The First Year play a crucial role in how nations negotiate and re-negotiate their self-image, and its reemergence is yet another step forward for post-Pinochet Chile.
film restoration
3D ‘Robot Monster’ Boasts Sex, Destruction and Space Apes
Robot Monster‘s reputation as a best/worst movie might be challenged in this 3-D format showcasing a boy’s libidinous dreams.
The Awe-Inspiring ‘Film: The Living Record of Our Memory’
Film: The Living Record of Our Memory provides an awe-inspiring, expedited survey of film preservation and the urgency of capturing humankind’s visual memories lest we let these precious histories disintegrate.
Suffering in Silents: Two 1922 Melodramas from Frank Borzage
Frank Borzage, king of silent film melodrama, shows how it’s done with Back Pay‘s tale of redemption and the James Oliver Curwood-inspired The Valley of Silent Men.
The DIY Effect on Self-Funded Director Juleen Compton’s Dramas
Juleen Compton’s little-known ’60s films, Truffaut-effected Stranded and Mekas’-affirming The Plastic Dome of Norma Jean, have been lovingly restored thanks to her work ethic in a completely different field.
Sexuality in ’60s Cinema: ‘Three Films by Mai Zetterling’
Three Films by Mai Zetterling reveal the themes in the controversial director’s work: women’s lives, their fraught and ambiguous relationships with sex and motherhood, and how women interact with each other.
Film-Noir ‘Peking Express’ Is Hollywood’s First Encounter with Red China
The 1951 film-noir Peking Express (not to be confused with Shanghai Express) should be seen as Hollywood’s first attempt to deal with Communist China in the context of the Red Scare.
The 10 Best Classic Films on Blu-ray and DVD in 2022
From gentle satire to something like an anarchist paint bomb tossed into an uptight dinner party, we feature the 10 Best Classic Films on Blu-ray and DVD in 2022 – and we toss in a few more, just for kicks.
Argentine Noir ‘El Vampiro Negro’ Will Have You Swooning
Argentine noir El Vampiro Negro is a visual mastery of Expressionist nightmare with a bravura style that makes film buffs of the high studio era swoon.
Royalty and the Help Do Switcheroos in Pre-Code Comedy ‘By Candlelight’
James Whale’s pre-code comedy/romance, ‘By Candelight’ is a perfect example of Depression-era escapism into Art Deco consumer porn.
Different Countries, Same Troubled Planet: Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project, No. 4
Although the films in Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project No. 4 come from different countries, decades, and languages, they reveal similarities in social conscience and film experiments.
The Past Isn’t Past in Stanley Kwan’s Fantasy Drama ‘Rouge’
Stanley Kwan’s 1987 fantasy drama based in Hong Kong, Rouge, is part romance, part ghost story, part political fable, and all gorgeous.