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Ingrid Bergman

Film

Five Movie Comebacks That Worked (and Five That Didn’t)

By Jason Bailey on

“RETIREMENT IS FOR SISSIES!” roar the posters for The Last Stand (seriously? “Sissies?” In 2012? But I digress…), the first starring role for Arnold Schwarzenegger since stepping away from the silver screen for a, shall we say, problematic stint in the California governor’s mansion. Its mid-January release date doesn’t exactly scream box-office or critical confidence, but who knows; Mr. Schwarzenegger has been underestimated before, and usually comes out ahead. Either way it goes, we thought it would be interesting to run down some of the other big-name actors who hit rough or absent patches and tried to work their way back into the spotlight with a well placed role; after the jump we’ll take a look at five comeback vehicles that took, and five that didn’t quite get the job done. … Read More

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Design

The Most Unconventional Movie Theaters in the World

By Claire Cottrell on

Ingrid Bergman, the Swedish actress most known for her role in Casablanca opposite our favorite dashing, silver screen legend, Humphrey Bogart, believed that “no form of art goes beyond ordinary consciousness as film does, straight to our emotions, deep into the twilight of the soul.”

There’s nothing we love more than a good romp beyond ordinary consciousness into the infinite depths of our soul, and the minds behind these unconventional cinematic experiences obviously agree. As imaginative, quirky and sublimely romantic as the films they play, these inventive theaters might just change the way you’ll want to see movies forever.

From a network of unauthorized cinemas in the catacombs beneath Paris to a rehabilitated vintage mobile caravan to a floating theater in an idyllic blue lagoon, click through to check out the most amazing places in the world to see a movie. Which would you most like to experience? … Read More

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Film

The Worst Acting Snubs in Oscars History

By Jason Bailey on

Now that we’ve all had the chance to let last week’s Oscar nominations sink in, the general consensus of complaint (and that’s always what they boil down to) appears to have settled on the acting nominations — specifically, the rather shocking number of brilliant performances that were snubbed outright, against expectations. Tilda Swinton, for example, was presumed a shoo-in; same goes for Albert Brooks and, to a lesser degree, Charlize Theron and Kirsten Dunst. We won’t rehash everyone who got shafted; the point is, it happened, as it seems to every year. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has a long and storied history of shutting out great performances; after the jump, we’ve assembled ten iconic acting turns that we were stunned to discover weren’t even nominated for the Oscar. … Read More

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Film

Fascinating Photos of Hitchcock Shooting ‘Notorious’

By Alison Nastasi on

One of Hitchcock’s most famous shots is the moment we see a slowly swooping camera glide its focus from the top of a ballroom, to an extreme close-up on a cellar key hidden in Ingrid Bergman’s hand in Notorious. It’s just one of many outstanding shows of bravura that the auteur is known for. The set must have been a tense place for Bergman, who was in the midst of a strained affair with Hungarian photojournalist Robert Capa. She wanted to marry, but Capa hated the Hollywood life. Before their relationship dissipated, he did shoot some stunning photos of the star on the set of Notorious with Hitch — who was quickly becoming infatuated with the actress, as he tended to do with all his leading ladies. Past the break, enjoy some great black-and-white photographs of the legendary director setting up that unforgettable movie moment. … Read More

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Film

Hitchcock’s 10 Most Desirable Leading Ladies

By Jason Bailey on

Last weekend marked the 112th birthday of the great Alfred Hitchcock — as if you had to be told, what with all those birthday parties across the nation. To mark the occasion, we considered profiling several elements of the Hitchcock filmography: his technique, his influence, his cameos. But we ultimately settled, as we so often do, on sex.

Over the course of his 60-some feature films, Hitchcock worked with a dazzling array of beautiful women, most of them fitting what became the archetypal image of the “Hitchcock blonde” — smart, sexy, and sophisticated, yet icy and cool. Theories abound as to how and why this specific type of woman was so often his cinematic object of desire (Donald Spoto’s The Dark Side of Genius offers some of the more intriguing ones), but the man knew what he liked. After the jump, we’ll run down his ten most alluring muses. … Read More

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Film

10 Memorable One-Actor Movies

By Jason Bailey on

Of particular note amongst this week’s new DVD and Blu-ray releases is Buried, Rodrigo Cortés’s tense, harrowing tale of a contractor, buried alive, trapped for the duration of the film in a 2’ x 7’ wood coffin. This is a risky formula for movie-making — not only must the filmmakers keep our interest in that confined space, but star Ryan Reynolds undertakes the considerable challenge of holding the audience’s attention, basically by himself, for 90+ minutes. … Read More

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