Famous for his great film noir work in Hollywood, Robert Siodmak may be the most intriguing of the many exile filmmakers who fled from the Nazi regime and established a career in the US. Our recent Weimar retrospective showcased some examples of his astonishing early work in Germany–one official classic, his equally remarkable follow-up film (with yet another alternative surprise ending!) and one stunning item that had been considered lost. Now that it has been “rediscovered”, Emil Jannings will never be the same.
I am not a big fan of Federico Fellini, but I have to admit his episode from the Edgar Allen Poe omnibus Histoires extraordinaires (Spirits of the Dead, 1968) is truly extraordinary. Probably because his penchant for the grotesque does not seem misplaced in the world of horror fantasy (replete with Mario Bava quote). Then, there’s Terence Stamp’s bravura performance. And it even has a donkey.
As our Godard retrospective opens, it’s time to consider the fact–Godard would surely agree–that everyone is (or should be) indebted to Raoul Walsh.
Over a decade in the making, the German synchronized sound version of Battleship Potemkin shows at the Film Museum. With composer Edmund Meisel’s truly striking score wedded to the images, this “Viennese Version” is an entirely new experience.
Or how we discovered another ending of Dino Risis’s Il segno di Venere (The Sign of Venus, 1955), starring Sophia Loren and Vittorio De Sica.
A popular and brilliant actor, Vittorio De Sica proved himself an outstanding director as well. Unfortunately, his reputation as a filmmaker is defined almost exclusively via his famous neorealist classics. Big mistake. A note on the dynamics on film history.
Four years ago today, Jean Rollin died. He was the poète maudit among those obsessive filmmakers who straddled a thin line between porn, exploitation, and personal expression during the 70’s. This Frenchman occupies a special place in film history–and in my heart.
A post to inaugurate a new series on this blog, dedicated to the undervalued filmography of the most noble of animals.
The poetic finale of The Searchers is one of the most famous scenes in film history. The actual shooting was a bit more prosaic.
The story of an unmade German television film based on a Peter Handke novel that famously features John Ford.