Category: Language

  • The Siodmak Variations

    The Siodmak Variations

    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,… […]

  • Donkeys in Cinema (2): Poe, Fellini, Stamp and a Donkey

    Donkeys in Cinema (2): Poe, Fellini, Stamp and a Donkey

    I am not a big fan of Federico Fellini, but I have to admit his episode from the Edgar Allen Poe omnibus “Histoires extraordinaires” (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).… […]

  • Walsh – Godard – Parrish – Rossen – Walsh

    Walsh – Godard – Parrish – Rossen – Walsh

    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. […]

  • Potemkin Reborn (with Sound)

    Potemkin Reborn (with Sound)

    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. […]

  • Spoiler Alert

    Spoiler Alert

    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. […]

  • The Wrong Man: How I Rediscovered De Sica

    The Wrong Man: How I Rediscovered 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. […]

  • Sex and Horror: Regarding Rollin

    Sex and Horror: Regarding Rollin

    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. […]

  • Donkeys in Cinema (1): 3 Fordian Donkeys

    Donkeys in Cinema (1): 3 Fordian Donkeys

    A post to inaugurate a new series on this blog, dedicated to the undervalued filmography of the most noble of animals. […]

  • An Iconic Image

    An Iconic Image

    The poetic finale of “The Searchers” is one of the most famous scenes in film history. The actual shooting was a bit more prosaic. […]

  • A Dream Cast

    A Dream Cast

    The story of an unmade German television film based on a Peter Handke novel that famously features John Ford. […]

  • Towards a New Narrative Film Form

    Towards a New Narrative Film Form

    On the occasion of the Film Museum’s current Gregory J. Markopoulos retrospective, we are proud to present an excerpt from Mark Webber’s recently published, beautiful anthology “Film as Film: The Collected Writings of Gregory J. Markopoulos”: Towards a New Narrative Film Form. […]

  • Surprise Visit

    Surprise Visit

    During Viennale, quite a few filmmakers showed up at the John Ford retrospective, including Abbas Kiarostami. […]