From BFI: What Makes a Film Noir? An Informative Infographic
Film Noir is not exactly a genre, not only a historical movement in film history. It is something we know when we see. Paul Schrader has written one of the best overviews of what a Film Noir actually is in his Notes On Film Noir (1972). Now the BFI has produced an entertaining and enlightening […]
Coming to AFS: Films of Outlaw Auteur Seijun Suzuki – Watch the Trailer Now!
Starting October 9 we will be presenting ACTION, ANARCHY AND AUDACITY: A SEIJUN SUZUKI RETROSPECTIVE with 35mm presentations of many films rarely seen on American screens before and, of course, the well known ones like TOKYO DRIFTER and BRANDED TO KILL. This is a very special opportunity to see the work of a man who […]
Johnnie To: Our Generation’s Tough Guy Auteur
The classic auteurs of American cinema were often men who made tough action movies with humanistic centers. Ford, Hawks, Walsh, Huston and, later, Peckinpah, Aldrich and Fuller fit this description. Understandably, super-macho movies have suffered some downturn in respectability in recent years, but there is a director at work today in the mold of those […]
The Bette Davis Episode of ‘This Is Your Life’ is Like A Weird Dream
Bette Davis was, of course, one of the screen’s greatest performers. She was also known to be thorny and impatient offscreen. When she is ambushed by the THIS IS YOUR LIFE crew while reviewing sketches with Robert Wagner and Edith Head, we can see the old familiar fire in her eyes. The following half hour […]
From Hammer To Nail: An Interview with THE MEND Writer/Director John Magary
THE MEND comes to AFS this weekend September 11 and 13. Our guest host will be filmmaker and journalist Michael Tully. In an interview for Hammer To Nail, Tully talks to the man behind THE MEND, John Magary, about the organized chaos of his acclaimed dramedy. You can read the (appropriately sprawling) piece here.
Watch This: Sid Caesar in One of the Funniest Comedy Sketches Ever
Today is the 93rd birth anniversary of Sid Caesar, the comic genius of stage, screen and (especially) television who died last year. He, along with his talented collaborators including actors Carl Reiner, Imogene Coca, Howard Morris; and writers Mel Brooks, Woody Allen and Neil Simon; helped to bring a post vaudeville comic sensibility to the […]
Cool Movie Site Alert: Clothes On Film
The site Clothes On Film (twitter handle: @clothesonfilm) is an eye-opener for people (like me) who don’t pay much conscious attention to the art of film costume. It’s an element of film storytelling roughly on a level with scenic design or even music – it’s very important to characterization and establishment of period, and, if skillfully […]
Here’s What You Need to Know About the New & Improved AFS Membership Levels
Read all about it! For years now, we’ve been listening to your requests and working to devise a better system for giving our members more and more great experiences while keeping membership dues inexpensive. Our previous membership levels were created several years ago when we were offering 7 to 10 events most months. Now we […]
Happy Birthday to the Wild Man of Hong Kong Cinema: Anthony Wong
Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, born on this day in 1961, is one of the world’s most important character actors, a mix between Nicolas Cage, Steve Buscemi and Michael Ironside. A versatile actor who can play in any range but who has often favored extreme roles, he has managed to stay very, very busy. IMDB credits him […]
Happy Kuchar Brothers Day!
Filmmaking twins George and Mike Kuchar were born on this day in 1942. George died in 2011 but Mike is happily still with us. The Kuchar Brothers made a 15 movies together, of variable lengths and the two each made solo films, with George producing an enormous number of them. The Kuchars’ main body of […]
Indie Meme’s Alka Bhanot Goes Beyond Bollywood On Lights Camera Austin
We’re very lucky to have an organization like Indie Meme in Austin, promoting screenings of South Asian films that go far beyond the usual highly commercial offerings from Bollywood. Indie Meme holds regular screening events in Austin and is also a film distributor, placing quality titles within reach of all sorts of venues throughout the […]
Watch This: Dick Cavett’s Interview with the Ever-Fascinating Richard Burton
Richard Burton was an actor of exceptional gifts, and one of his greatest gifts was that of presence. He uses his magnificent voice and sense of timing to produce something like a hypnotic state. At times, in films, he could even make the viewer forget that the material was beneath him, and it frequently was. […]
