In the course of my work as a documentary filmmaker, I sometimes find hidden gems. Samuel Fuller’s “The Naked Kiss” is one of them. Read the rest
Great movies to watch: 'The Naked Kiss' (1964, Samuel Fuller)
Darth Vader's massive impact with just 34 minutes on screen
Darth Vader only appeared on screen for 34 minutes yet is the most visually iconic character of the original trilogy. Nerdwriter's Evan Puschak explains why.
Killer new trailer for "Bohemian Rhapsody," forthcoming Queen biopic
The long-awaited biopic Bohemian Rhapsody tells the story of Freddie Mercury and Queen's incredible story from their formation in 1970 to their outstanding Live Aid performance in 1985 just a few years before Mercury died due to complications from AIDS.
Hitting theaters November 2, the film stars Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury with Ben Hardy, Gwilym Lee, Joseph Mazzello, Allen Leech, and Lucy Boynton. Bryan Singer directed much of the principal photography before he was fired, apparently for repeatedly not showing up to work, and replaced by Dexter Fletcher who completed the movie.
Ghost Stories is available to download this week
I saw this trailer for Ghost Stories back in February and it grabbed hold of me immediately. Full of menace, glimpses of gorgeous cinematography and an aura of claustrophobia, it's everything I want in a horror film. I just learned that it'll be available to buy on iTunes, if you're in the United States, on July 17th. I am so stoked. Read the rest
Watch "The Frog," a deeply weird short film from 1908
Spanish film director and cinematographer Segundo Chomón (1871-1929) was a pioneer of movie special effects, camera tricks, and optical illusions at the intersection of technology, art, and magic. See more of his surreal work at the Internet Archive's "Segundo de Chomón Collection."
The Overlook Hotel: A "sequel" to The Shining
The Overlook Hotel is a deeply creepy and strange "sequel" to The Shining made entirely from clips from myriad horror films. Directed by Antonio Maria Da Silva who is best known for the excellent edit Hell's Club (2015).
Watch the trailer for Freddie Mercury/Queen biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody"
The long-awaited biopic Bohemian Rhapsody tells the story of Freddie Mercury and Queen's incredible story from their formation in 1970 to their outstanding Live Aid performance in 1985 just a few years before Mercury died due to complications from AIDS.
Hitting theaters November 2, the film stars Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury with Ben Hardy, Gwilym Lee, Joseph Mazzello, Allen Leech, and Lucy Boynton. Bryan Singer directed much of the principal photography before he was fired, apparently for repeatedly not showing up to work, and replaced by Dexter Fletcher who completed the movie.
Spliff, a film festival for stoners, by stoners
Spliff is a brand new film festival from the folks behind Dan Savage's Hump! fest. While Hump! shows homemade, but well-curated, porn, Spliff will feature films "made by the stoned for the stoned" that are a maximum of four minutes and 20 seconds in length.
The SPLIFF Film Festival is where filmmakers, artists, animators, and stoners share original film shorts exploring stoner themes. From serious takes on pot culture to stoner comedy to mind-blowing weirdness—they all have a home at SPLIFF. Creative types of all stripes entertain, challenge, and amaze SPLIFF audiences with short films that examine and/or celebrate recreational marijuana use and its liberating effects on our imaginations, appetites, libidos, and creative energies. At SPLIFF, you’ll see films that will make you laugh, films that will make you think, and films that will make you ask, “What the fuck was that?!”
The festival will show in four cities -- Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, and Denver -- in April 2019.
Filmmakers: Smoke a joint, pop an edible, or vape, then make a film and submit it for consideration by March 1, 2019. That's enough time for even the most stoniest of the stoners amongst us. Read the rest
Nice analysis of cars in films
This commentary titled Never Just A Car is a nice montage of iconic cars in films, making it fun to guess the film as each car whizzes by. Read the rest
Trailer for Quentin Tarantino's Star Trek
Let's hope if Tarantino actually gets a piece of the action, his Star Trek film is this fun.
(Nerdist)
Lovely survey of 2017's best cinematography
No Film school curated a best-of list showcasing some of the most striking and innovative cinematography from 2017. Read the rest
RIP Stephen Parr, Oddball Films' eccentric archivist
For connoisseurs of rare film, few experiences could top Oddball Films' meticulously curated one-time-only screenings from their extensive rare film collection. This short documentary looks at founder Stephen Parr, who died October 24. Read the rest
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was inspired by a crowded department store
Pioneering horror filmmaker Tobe Hooper, who died on Saturday, on the source of his inspiration for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre:
It came to him, he said, in the hardware department of a Sears-like store during a busy Christmas season, with his low tolerance for crowds as a catalyst.
“I was kind of freaking, just wanted to get out of there, get out of the crowd,” he said in the documentary. “And so I found myself in front of a chain-saw display in the hardware department, and that’s where the idea came from — ‘Well, if I pick this damn thing up and start it, they’ll part like the Red Sea and I can get out of here.’”
"Tobe Hooper, Director of ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,’ Dies at 74" (New York Times) Read the rest
"To the Right": hypnotizing supercut of lateral movement in movies
"To The Right" by Candice Drouet. With scenes from:
The Shining / The Darjeeling Limited / Holy Motors / Inherent Vice / Jackie Brown / Juno / Drive Ex Machina / Delicatessen / American Psycho / 2046 / Rebel Without A Cause / Little Miss Sunshine 1984 / The Neon Demon / The Big Lebowski / Collateral / Donnie Darko / Bronson / Catch Me If You Can Marie-Antoinette / It Follows / Lost River / Trainspotting / Still Alice / Cape Fever / Amelie Poulain The Grand Budapest Hotel / Blue Is The Warmest Color / Nightcall / Only God Forgives On the road / Boogie Nights / One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest / Saint-Laurent Reservoir Dogs / Wild Tales / O’ Brother, Where art Thou ? / Fight Club / Black Mass Twelve Years A Slave / Memento / Hail, Caesar ! / Upstream Color / La La Land
Posters for famous movies made from their key props
Jordan Bolton makes cool posters comprised of objects seen in famous movies, like this one for Amelie. Read the rest
Inside the nuclear bunker holding America's film history
From Great Big Story:
America's movie and film archive is located in an underground bunker in Culpepper, Virginia. The bunker was originally a gold storage unit that doubled as a fallout shelter for the U.S. president and his cabinet during the Cold War. Today, the Library of Congress stores all manner of film here. Archivist George Willeman is in charge of the nitrate vaults, where fragile (and combustible) old films sit undisturbed and well preserved.
Creepy clown thought to be wandering in Wisconsin was indie film marketing stunt
Last week, freaky photos appeared online of a strange person dressed in a filthy clown costume and carrying black balloons wandering the night streets of Green Bay, Wisconsin. Turns out, "Gags the Clown," as the character was known, turned out to be a hoax by indie filmmaker Adam Krause. He hoped the online freak-out would help market a new short horror film that he plans to complete in the next few months. It worked. From the Green Bay Press-Gazette:
Krause and his film crew had wanted to keep Gags' secret for a little longer and include four more Gags sightings in Green Bay to promote the film. However, according to Krause's post, some actors who did not get parts in the film "felt it was their civic duty to inform the media of what was really going on."
"Green Bay's creepy clown was marketing ploy"
