Cineaste articles from March 2007

Cineaste archives from March 2007

Critically supporting film provocateurs.(EDITORIAL)(Peter Watkins and Michael Haneke, movie directors who use their films in promoting political consciousness)
March 22, 2007... Finding cause for celebration in world events of the last five years--a period of conflict, destruction, deception, and assaults on civil liberties--is not easy. But a measure of hope has emerged in the flourishing of voices of protest...

Auteur de force: Michael Haneke's "cinema of glaciation".(The Seventh Continent; Benny's Video; 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance; Funny Games; 24 Realities per Second)(Video recording review)
March 22, 2007... Films Reviewed in This Article The Seventh Continent Written and directed by Michael Haneke; cinematography by Anton Peschke; starring Dieter Berner, Udo Samel, Leni Tanzer, Silvia Fenz and Brigit Doll DVD, color, 104 mins., German...

Trusting the text: an interview with Cate Blanchett.(Interview)(Brief biography)
March 22, 2007... During Hollywood's heyday in the Thirties and Forties, movie stars tended to be iconic--although John Wayne, Katharine Hepburn, and Humphrey Bogart portrayed a variety of roles, the public more or less expected them to maintain relatively...

Cautionary tales and alternate histories: the films of Peter Watkins.(The War Game and Culloden; The Gladiators; Punishment Park; Edvard Munch; The Journey; La Commune (Paris, 1871))(Video recording review)
March 22, 2007... DVD's Reviewed in This Article The War Game and Culloden The War Game: Written and directed by Peter Watkins; cinematography by Peter Bartlett; DVD. B&W, 49 mins., 1965. Culloden: Written and directed by Peter Watkins; cinematography...

Correcting historical lies: an interview with Ken Loach and Paul Laverty.(Interview)
March 22, 2007... When The Wind That Shakes the Barley director Ken Loach picked up the Palme d'Or at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, it provoked a furious response from the right-wing British press. The Sun described the Irish Civil War drama as "the most...

Marie Antoinette and the ghosts of the French revolution.(Video recording review)
March 22, 2007... Marie Antoinette is undergoing renovations. More than 200 years after her violent death, she has been revived, most recently as the star of a warm, sympathetic film directed by Sofia Coppola. Despite the fanfare surrounding the film's premiere,...

One country, two visions: an interview with Johnnie To.(Interview)(Brief biography)
March 22, 2007... Johnnie To, born April 22, 1955, one day before Shakespeare's presumptive birthday, has been directing, producing, and writing for television and film roughly since 1980, but the English-speaking d still isn't sure what to do with his name....

Between principle and feeling: an interview with Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck.(Interview)(Brief biography)
March 22, 2007... At an estimated six foot seven inches, writer-director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck might be the tallest film director in the world. Since his debut film, The Lives of Others, won seven Lola Awards (Germany's Academy Awards) for best film,...

Flags of Our Fathers.(Letters from Iwo Jima)(Movie review)
March 22, 2007... Flags of Our Fathers Produced by Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg, and Robert Lorenz; directed by Clint Eastwood; screenplay by William Broyles, Jr., and Paul Haggis, based on the book by James Bradley with Ron Powers; cinematography by...

Shortbus.(Movie review)
March 22, 2007... Shortbus Produced by Howard Gertler, John Cameron Mitchell, and Tim Perell; directed by John Cameron Mitchell ; written by John Cameron Mitchell; cinematography by Frank G. DeMarco; production design by Jody Asnes; costumes by Bart Mueller...

The Queen.(Movie review)
March 22, 2007... The Queen Produced by Christine Langan, Tracey Seaward and Andy Harries; directed by Stephen Frears; screenplay by Peter Morgan; cinematography by Affonso Beato; production design by Alan MacDonald; edited by Lucia Zucchetti; costumes by...

Our Daily Bread.(Movie review)
March 22, 2007... Our Daily Bread Produced by Nikolaus Geyrhalter and Michael Kitzberger; directed by Nikolaus Geyrhalter; screenplay by Nikolaus Geyrhalter and Wolfgang Widerhofer; cinematography by Nikolaus Geyrhalter; edited by Wolfgang Widerhoer. Color, 92...

The Wind That Shakes the Barley.(Movie review)
March 22, 2007... The Wind That Shakes the Barley Produced by Rebecca O'Brien; directed by Ken Loach; screenplay by Paul Laverty; cinematography by Barry Ackroyd; production design by Fergus Clegg; costumes by Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh; edited by Jonathan Morris;...

The Lives of Others.(Movie review)
March 22, 2007... The Lives of Others Produced by Quirin Berg, Dirk Hamm, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, and Max Wiedemann; written and directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck; cinematography by Hagen Bogdanski; edited by Patricia Rommel; production...

Children of Men.(Movie review)
March 22, 2007... Children of Men Produced by Marc Abraham, Eric Newman, Hilary Shor, lain Smith, and Tony Smith; written by Alfonso Cuaron, Timothy J. Sexton, David Arata, Mark Fergus, and Hawk Ostby; directed by Alfonso Cuaron; based on the P.D. James novel...

Man on the Tracks.(Passenger)(Bad Luck)(Eroica)(Video recording review)
March 22, 2007... Man on the Tracks Directed by Andrzej Munk; written by Jerzy Stawinski; with Kazimierz Opalinski. DVD, B&W, 86 mins., Polish dialog with English subtitles, 1957. Eroica Directed by Andrzej Munk; written by Jerzy Stawinski; with Edward...

Late Spring.(Video recording review)
March 22, 2007... Late Spring Directed by Yasujiro Ozu. DVD, B&W, 108 mins., 1949. Also includes Tokyo-Ga, directed by Wim Wenders. DVD, color and B&W, 92 mins., 1985. A Criterion Collection release, distributed by Image Entertainment,...

Dmitri Shostakovich: Sonata for Viola.(Testimony: The Story of Shostakovich)(Video recording review)
March 22, 2007... Dmitri Shostakovich: Sonata for Viola Directed by Semyon Aranovich and Alexander Sokurov; written by Boris Dobrodeev; cinematography by Yuri Alexandrov and Yuri Levedev; music by Dmitri Shostakovich; B&W, 75 mins., 1981. Distributed by Facets...

The John Wayne-John Ford Collection.(Video recording review)
March 22, 2007... The John Wayne-John Ford Collection Includes Stagecoach: Special Edition, The Long Voyage Home, They Were Expendable, Fort Apache, 3 Godfathers, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, The Searchers: Ultimate Collector's Edition and The Wings of Eagles. ...

Thieves' Highway.(Rififi)(Night and the City)(Video recording review)
March 22, 2007... Thieves' Highway Directed by Jules Dassin; screenplay by A.I. Bezzerides; starring Richard Conte, Valentina Cortese and Lee J. Cobb. DVD, B&W, 94 mins., 1949. Night and the City Directed by Jules Dassin; screenplay by Jo Eisinger;...

Fists in the Pocket.(Video recording review)
March 22, 2007... Fists in the Pocket Written and directed by Marco Bellocchio; cinematography by Ugo Novelle; starring Lou Castel, Paola Pitagora, Marine Mase, Liliana Gerace and Laura Betti. DVD, B&W, 108 mins., Italian dialog with English subtitles, 1965. A...

My Brilliant Career.(Video recording review)
March 22, 2007... My Brilliant Career Directed by Gillian Armstrong; screenplay by Eleanor Witcombe, based on the novel by Miles Franklin; cinematography by Don McAIpine; starring Judy Davis, Sam Neill, Wendy Hughes and Robert Grubb. DVD, color, 100 mins., 1979....

Mise Eire.(Video recording review)
March 22, 2007... Mise Eire Directed by George Morrison; script by Sean Mac Reamoinn; music by Sean O Riada; DVD, B&W, 85 mins., 1959. Distributed by Gael Linn, www.gael-linn.ie. The recent DVD release of George Morrison's seminal film Mise Eire gives...

The Fall of Berlin.(Staff Recommendations: Cineaste Editors Tout Their Favorite Recent DVD Releases)(Brief article)(Video recording review)
March 22, 2007... Mikhail Chiaureli's birthday present to the seventy-year old Stalin (1949) is the quintessential cinema contribution to the cult of the dictator. Seen today in this newly restored release, it also stands at the summit of old Soviet kitsch....

The Fallen Idol.(Staff Recommendations: Cineaste Editors Tout Their Favorite Recent DVD Releases)(Brief article)(Video recording review)
March 22, 2007... Carol Reed left as a legacy three stunningly shot, tightly constructed, memorable English thrillers, Odd Man Out (1947), The Third Man (1949), and The Fallen Idol (1948). Nominated for an Academy Award for best direction, The Fallen Idol was...

Forbidden Planet.(Staff Recommendations: Cineaste Editors Tout Their Favorite Recent DVD Releases)(Brief article)(Video recording review)
March 22, 2007... Like the invisible "monster from the Id," Forbidden Planet has left footprints all over its genre, from Star Wars to Star Trek, and has a sci-fi memorabilia store in Manhattan named after it. The film itself, though, has been somewhat eclipsed...

The Intruder.(Staff Recommendations: Cineaste Editors Tout Their Favorite Recent DVD Releases)(Video recording review)
March 22, 2007... Claire Denis's The Intruder is one of the most gorgeous movies in recent memory, as well as one of the most impenetrable. "Inspired by" an autobiographical text by the philosopher Jean-Luc Nancy, The Intruder takes to new heights Denis's...

Bill's Dirty Shorts.(Staff Recommendations: Cineaste Editors Tout Their Favorite Recent DVD Releases)(Bill's Dirty Shorts: A Collection of Bill Plympton's Naughty Cartoons)(Brief article)(Video recording review)
March 22, 2007... As digital technology and the huge success of increasingly bland and formulaic family-oriented cartoon features homogenize the American animation scene it's nice to know that Bill Plympton is still going strong. His animation--familiar to many...

So Goes the Nation.(Staff Recommendations: Cineaste Editors Tout Their Favorite Recent DVD Releases)(Brief article)(Video recording review)
March 22, 2007... Let's hear it for old-fashioned doc values of clarity, evenhandedness, and biting analysis. Admittedly, Adam Del Deo and James D. Stern's undressing of the 2004 presidential campaign breaks no new ground, either thematically or formally. It...

Citizen Spielberg.(Book review)
March 22, 2007... Citizen Spielberg by Lester D. Friedman: Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 2006. 364pp., illus. Hardcover: $75.00 and Paperback: $24.95. Anyone with an open mind who rummages through the critical history of Steven Spielberg's films...

History on Film/Film on History.(Russian War Films: On the Cinema Front, 1914-2005)(Book review)
March 22, 2007... History on Film/ Film on History by Robert A. Rosenstone. Harlow, England: Pearson Longman, 2006. 182pp. Paperback: $26.00. Russian War Films: On the Cinema Front, 1914-2005 by Denise J. Youngblood. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of...

Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11: How One Film Divided a Nation.(Forgive Us Our Spins: Michael Moore and the Future of the Left)(Book review)
March 22, 2007... Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11: How One Film Divided a Nation by Robert Brent Toplin. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas. 2006. 161 pp., illus. Hardcover; $24.95. Forgive Us Our Spins: Michael Moore and the Future of the Left by Jesse...

Marked Women: Prostitutes and Prostitution in the Cinema.(Book review)
March 22, 2007... Marked Women: Prostitutes and Prostitution in the Cinema by Russell Campbell. Madison and London: The University of Wisconsin Press, 2006. 450 pp., illus. Hardcover: $65.00 and Paperback: $24.95. During the Seventies, when popular studies...

The Films of Tod Browning.(Book review)
March 22, 2007... The Films of Tod Browning Edited by Bernd Herzogenrath. London, Black Dog Publishing Ltd., 2006. 238 pp., illus. Paperback: $45.00. The Films of Tod Browning features a very campy Bela Lugosi as Dracula on its front cover. The chapter...

The Thessaloniki Film Festival.(COMMUNIQUE)
March 22, 2007... The forty-seventh Thessaloniki Film Festival presented 305 films from forty-four nations, including a half dozen world premieres. Attendance surged past the festival record set just last year and the sale of Film Pads (festival publications...

Don't be cruel.(LETTERS)
March 22, 2007... I'm writing to correct some errors in Michael Bronski's review of Second Run's new DVD release of Shirley Clarke's classic Portrait of Jason (Cineaste, Vol. XXXII, No. 1). In his first sentence, he asserts that this film was never released on...

Recontextualizing a quote.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
March 22, 2007... Having read your film review of Zhang Yimou's Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles in the fall 2006 issue of Cineaste, I find the introduction to Zhang's past movies very well-written and informative. However, I should point out that the quote...

While I'm renewing my subscription, let me say.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
March 22, 2007... You might find it redundant for me to tell you that I enjoy the writing and intellectual analysis that has consistently filled your pages, since the subscription length [about ten years] may speak for itself. However, I would be remiss in my...

Blockade.(SHORT TAKES)(Video recording review)(Brief review)
March 22, 2007... Soon after invading the U.S.S.R. the Nazis printed invitations to an expected grand victory celebration at the famed Astoria Hotel in Leningrad. They never got their gala; Leningraders gave them 900 days of resistance. 'The Great Patriotic War'...

New Orleans: big easy to big empty.(SHORT TAKES)(Brief review)(Video recording review)
March 22, 2007... Less a piece of cinema than an all-too-brief TV report, Big Easy to Big Empty provides a quick look at some scandalous aspects of the federal nonresponse to Hurricane Katrina, just days before its one-year anniversary....

Sacco and Vanzetti.(SHORT TAKES)(Movie review)
March 22, 2007... Nearly eighty years after Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were executed in Massachusetts, their case continues to be dissected by both nostalgic leftists and hard nosed furensic experts. Long before the Rosenbergs became the topic of...

Who the #$&% Is Jackson Pollock?(SHORT TAKES)(Movie review)
March 22, 2007... Despite an elite Sixty Minutes pedigree, Harry Moses's art-world doc has a distinctly tabloid sheen. Seventy-three-year-old retired long-haul truck driver Teri Horton bought a five-dollar flea market painting as a joke for a friend. When...

Whoever says the truth shall die.(SHORT TAKES)(Video recording review)(Brief review)
March 22, 2007... Pier Paolo Pasolini's brutal murder on November 2, 1975, made lurid headlines in Italy. Giuseppe Pelosi, a teenage hustler Pasolini picked up earlier that evening, was the only man sentenced for the crime despite the fact that Pasolini's...