Rousseau Redux: Regis Wargnier’s Disappointing Pygmy Tale Man to Man
These “noble savages” — and the issues they embody — deserve better
Category: Genres
Saving AI: Artificial Intelligence: Philosophical Aspects of Spielberg’s Neglected Robo-Epic
Human, mecha, supermecha and David
Distribute This! Blast of Silence (Allen Baron, 1961, U.S.A.)
This missing noir masterpiece enters the canon in first place
Train to Somewhere: Hou Hsiao-hsien Pays Sweet Homage to Ozu in Café Lumière
Hou honors the master while remaining true to his own vision
Comedy · DVD & Blu-ray · Pre-Code
Dinner Is Served: The Return of MGM’s Witty ’30s Romp
Cukor’s all-star gala remains a tasty dish
Documentaries · Festivals & Awards
In the Realm of the Real: The 3rd Chicago International Documentary Film Festival
“The governments will be forgotten but the masterpieces will remain.”
Compliments to the Chef: Three . . . Extremes: Dumplings Expertly Mixes Social Critique and Questionable Cuisine
Bring some dramamine to Fruit Chan’s best film to date
Documentaries · Exploitation & Erotica
Dancing and Dirging with Jason: On Shirley Clarke’s Portrait of Jason
“Going on stage would’ve been awfully redundant”
DVD & Blu-ray · Noir · Reviews
“She Loves Too Much”: The Ravishing Leave Her to Heaven on DVD
No matter what she says, don’t upset her
The Archers Hit a Bull’s-eye: Powell and Pressburger’s A Matter of Life and Death
“This is the universe. Big, isn’t it.”
DVD & Blu-ray · LGBT & Queer · Silents
Queer Silents: Different from the Others, Michael, and Sex in Chains on DVD
Kino’s unusual series spotlights German silent gay-themed cinema
God Is Dead, or Through a Glass Darkly: On Sirk’s Magnificent Obsession
Jon Halliday’s indispensable Sirk on Sirk has confirmed what Sirk’s admirers and students had long suspected: that his films are not all equally “personal,” and that he had a much[…]
Love Affairs That Always Fade: Sirk’s Doomed Romances
In Douglas Sirk’s world, romantic love doesn’t play much of a part. His characters are boxed into ruts which are ever-deepening; they cannot understand themselves or their desperate predicaments, let[…]
The Lure of the Gilded Cage: All I Desire and There’s Always Tomorrow
“Once upon a time in sunny California” reads a title card immediately after the credits for Sirk’s There’s Always Tomorrow. “Once upon a time” triggers an expectation of a fairy[…]
African American · DVD & Blu-ray · Music & Musicals
The Good, the Bad, and the Disingenuous: Jazz on DVD
You get what you pay for, if you’re lucky
Activist & Political · Animation
Only in America: On Team America: World Police
Trey Parker and Matt Stone fight Hollywood ignorance with some ignorance of their own
The Aviator: Marty and Leo Do Howard
It all started when his mother washed his balls
Beyond Subtitles: Some Thoughts on Viewing Foreign Language Films
It’s the visuals, stupid
Directors · Drama · DVD & Blu-ray · Experimental & Underground · Reviews
Doing What Moves Them at the Moment: Five of Cassavetes’ Best on DVD
The master of improv gets his due courtesy of Criterion’s extras-laden box set
No Cellos, Please, I’m American: Mike Nichols’ Closer Is Haute Merde
All glitz and no guts
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