The Danes think enough of Tobias Lindholm’s A War to nominate it for best foreign-language film in this year’s Oscars. See how Bay Area reviewers Daniel Barnes and Richard von Busack view Lindholm’s “… look at the burden of leadership and the psychological toll of living through hell” in this week’s Critics Corner.
A red letter date on the local calendar, and one of the most important silent film fests in the world, the San Francisco Silent Film Festival turns 20 this year, expanding to five days and 20 programs at the famous Castro Theatre, itself a veteran of the age of silent movies. Continue reading
The technical magic of San Andreas gives the pleasure of seeing a city you love obliterated and trashed and turned into a Sargasso of debris—I mean, it looks far worse than San Francisco does already today. Continue reading
Maybe the earliest animated film is J. Stuart Blackton’s Humorous Phases of Funny Faces (1906), a chalkboard animation pair of comedy Irish caricatures. Continue reading
Directed by Chester Erskine, 1952’s Androcles and the Lion was sold as part of the 1950s cinematic craze for the Roman Empire. Continue reading
When sound arrived in motion pictures, the new technology took a universally thrilling medium and paralyzed it. Continue reading
“You see, Italy is a very poor and weak country, and that’s what makes us so strong”
—the Old Man in Catch 22
Watching Totò the clown in the 1960 Mario Monicelli film The Passionate Thief (March 5 and 7 at Pacific Film Archive) means observing someone so good at his craft that he tantalizes you with the mystery of being born to the vocation. Continue reading
Among the myriad film fests in the Bay Area, Berlin and Beyond is one of the most eclectic and daring—its criteria is nothing less than films made in a language spoken by 100 million people. Continue reading
Read two critical perspectives on Violette (2013, Martin Provost), from Richard von Busack and Mel Valentin. Violette opens in San Francisco at Landmark Cinema’s Embarcadero Center Cinema, Landmark’s Albany Twin in Albany, and Rafael Film Center in San Rafael on Friday, June 27, 2014. Continue reading
Read two critical perspectives on Jodorowsky’s Dune (2013, Frank Pavich), from Richard von Busack and Mel Valentin. Jodorowsky’s Dune will be screening Thursday, June 5 at the Castro Theatre as a special one-off event.
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