Quickies: Random Short Reviews from Black Rose 2 to Moebius to Wattstax
“I love people reading things with hearts!”
Kubrick and the Coen Brothers Again: The Shining and Fargo
The Shining and Fargo share a view of a society “stupefied by its hypothetical aspirations”
Essays · SF & Fantasy · Writers & Critics
Patriotism, Politics, and Propaganda: The Naturalization of Friday’s Man, Robinson, in Robinson Crusoe on Mars
Defoe’s classic translates surprisingly well to outer space in this 1960s gem
The 2003 New York Film Festival
This year’s NYFF is a decidedly mixed bag of tricks
The 2003 Montréal World Film Festival
A world-class city offers a world-class fest despite some troubling backstory
O Captain! My Captain! Master and Commander
Master and Commander wants to raise your mast
Actors & Personalities · Music & Musicals
Fred and Rita Go Latin in You Were Never Lovelier
Chiu chiu to you, baby
Music & Musicals · Writers & Critics
Shakespeare Improved! Cole Porter Teaches the Old Bard New Tricks in Kiss Me Kate
“Why, you’d make a perfect shrew!”
Directors · Exploitation & Erotica · Interviews · LGBT & Queer
Keep on Truckin’ An Interview with Joe Gage
A gay-porn pioneer speaks
Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner: Native Canadians and a Glimpse in the Mirror
This breakthrough film fascinates on many levels
57th International Film Festival in Edinburgh
Not the best of times, not the worst of times
Recent DVDs: Christ in Concrete, The Garden of Eden, Breaking the Cycle, Mau Mau Sex Sex, Ordinary Sinner
Five DVDs for every taste, though some are more appetizing than others
Documentaries · Film Technology & History
Cinerama Adventure
“See it without glasses!”
Together Again in the Dark: The 2003 Chicago International Film Festival
The crowd has a thousand eyes
Characters · Drama · Essays
Tunes of Mutiny, or Making the Job Bearable: On The Caine Mutiny
“Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.”
Activist & Political · Directors
Film as a Catalyst for Social Change: Ousmane Sembene’s Borom Sarret
This 1963 short film, considered the first African-made African film, remains relevant 40 years later
Activist & Political · Actors & Personalities · Essays
The Trouble with the Governator: Being Arnold
The ascension of Arnold salvation, apocalypse, or trigger for a resurgent left?
Experimental & Underground · SF & Fantasy
Jonathan Miller’s Alice in Wonderland (1966) on DVD
Through the looking glass darkly
All That Heaven Disallows: Ali: Fear Eats the Soul on DVD
Postwar German culture is skewered in this Fassbinder masterpiece, beautifully presented by Criterion.
Knocking on Modernity’s Door: Fellini’s I Vitelloni
Postwar despair, Italian style
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