DVD Releases for the Week of Jun. 30, 2009
I usually try to avoid showcasing movies that border on smut or exploitation, but the effort that went into the release of Women In Prison, a triple feature, is worth mention. Containing the films The Hot Box, Escape from Hell and Women in Cell Block 7, the set is a triumvirate of cheese, gore and smut-lite. The … Continue reading
Inaugural Networking Film Festival
There is a reason it rhymes with incest, and that is because Film InFest is all about rubbing elbows with fellow film enthusiasts and filmmakers in a soiree of watching and drinking. Starting tonight at 7:30pm at the NFB Cinérobothèque and continuing on at the House of Reggae for drinks and bonding, the first edition of this … Continue reading
Substratum Cinema Revisited #3
While not the first ‘spaghetti Western’, Sergio Leone’s A Fistful of Dollars (1964) is a landmark in the sub-genre. It brought Italian-funded Westerns to international recognition, made Clint Eastwood a household name and launched a series of successive and more popular films.
Three Lynch Films at Cinéma du Parc
Surrealist director David Lynch may be busy on his current online webisode interview series and absent from feature filmmaking, but his work lives on starting this week at the Cinéma du Parc with Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart and Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me.
All-Night Film for Insomniacs
Starting tonight and running 24 hours at the Cinémathèque québecoise is an ode to film sponsored by local movie magazine, 24 Images. Films include Reservoir Dogs, Modern Times and Un chien andalou. For more information check out my post on Midnight Poutine.
Do you speak Yiddish?
I certainly don’t, which is why the Montréal International Yiddish Theatre Festival may not be your top choice, unless you can understand the language. Centered at the recently revitalized Segal Centre, the festival is usually all about Yiddish-language stage productions, but this year incorporates some English-subtitled films that will draw out Yiddish-language dunces – making … Continue reading
DVD Releases for the Week of Jun. 16, 2009
Criterion Collection, distributors of high-quality remasters, are re-releasing Ingmar Bergman’s classic The Seventh Seal in a new edition. Set during the Middle Ages, it tells the story of towns beset by the Black Plague, and a knight who encounters Death in person. Of course, the overlying story is only a basis for more thematic ideas. This … Continue reading
Substratum Cinema Revisited #2
“Dance she did, and dance she must – between her two loves” goes the motto of The Red Shoes (1948). British directors’ Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger (a.k.a The Archers) most commercially successful film is engaging due as much to its luscious techicolour visuals as well as its leading triumvirate of characters.
Celebrate Frédérick Back’s Art
Frédéric Back is an award-winning animator who began working for Radio-Canada in the 1950s. Winning the Academy Award for Best Animated Short twice, he is best known for his work L’Homme qui plantait des arbres (The Man Who Planted Trees). Beginning June 17th, his collected animated works will be presented at the Cinémathèque Québécoise. Running … Continue reading
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