France’s Cannes Film Festival has seen its share of controversies since it started in 1946. Blame the Riviera sun or the filmmaking iconoclasts that gather on the red carpet each year, but various high jinks and bizarre publicity stunts have often dominated the festivities. Bold action isn’t always required to shake things up, however. Often times it’s just the movies themselves that cause a scene with audiences and the Cannes jury. With the current 66th annual festival underway, we wanted to take a look at ten of Cannes most controversial moments. … Read More
Jean-Luc Godard
The 10 Best Movies About Lovers on the Run
Good news for cinephiles: the kind folks at Criterion were kind enough to restore and release (on DVD and Blu-ray, along with the expected goody basket of bonus features) Terrence Malick’s Badlands, which is out this week. It’s mostly notable as Malick’s debut feature, but it was also a cornerstone picture of one of cinema’s most durable subgenres: the “lovers on the run” movie, in which an attractive young couple hits the road, fleeing their unfortunate crimes (and/or committing more), with the law in hot pursuit. If you’re in the mood for a marathon, we’ve got a few suggestions after the jump. … Read More
Beautiful Behind-the-Scenes Photos from 20 Art House Films
We make no secret about our fascination with behind-the-scenes photos and footage from our favorite films. So, after spotting a collection of photos from Robert Altman’s surreal dream study 3 Women on Kino Images, we went searching for more beautiful shots from art house films. Most of these stills could be artworks themselves, and several provide a humorous respite from an otherwise serious subject. Click through for more beautiful, fascinating… Read More
Awesome Photos of Filmmakers Hanging Out Together
In honor of the launch of the purty new Flavorwire 2.0, we decided to return to one of our most popular features: images of your favorite people together. We’ve previously rounded up pictures of great comedians, musicians, and writers killing some leisure time in each other’s company; today, we’ve assembled 25 shots of filmmakers chewing the fat. Again, some of the match-ups are surprising (Warhol and Hitchcock? Get outta here), some less so (spoiler: Lucas and Spielberg hang out a lot off-set too). There are even some special guest stars (BOWIE ALERT). With our thanks to the tons of Tumblrs and blogs that collect such things — especially the heroes over at Awesome People Hanging Out Together — we present this latest gallery; check it out after the jump. … Read More
10 Must-See Movies at This Year’s New York Film Festival
New York’s Film Society of Lincoln Center kicks off the fiftieth (that’s right, 5-0) New York Film Festival today, with (as expected) a terrific selection of domestic indies, foreign films, documentaries, and big fall movies on tap. Many of our most anticipated pictures (like David Chase’s Not Fade Away, Lee Daniels’ The Paperboy, Leox Carax’s Holy Motors, Olivier Assayas’ Something in the Air, and the opening night selection, Ang Lee’s Life of Pi) have not yet screened for critics, but here are our favorites from what we’ve seen so… Read More
10 Auteurs and the Typefaces They Love
If you think typeface isn’t an important element comprising a film’s aesthetic and conveying its story, you’re deeply mistaken. Don’t believe it? Try watching this video of mismatched fonts used in famous movie title sequences and see if there’s a difference. Typeface design has played a crucial role in cinema from the very beginning, when silent films relied on intertitle fonts that were both stylistically memorable and easy to read. Today, there’s an entire industry dedicated to movie title design, and typography plays a crucial role. But rather than tailor their typefaces to explicitly depict a film’s content graphically or pictorially (as many of Hollywood’s big blockbuster producers like Spielberg or Disney are wont to do), some directors prefer to make a more understated use of type design that reflects their artistic vision. Here’s a list of some of the most iconic love affairs between bold directors and the fonts that we can’t imagine seeing their movies without. … Read More
What’s On at Flavorpill: The Links That Made the Rounds in Our Office
Today at Flavorpill, we watched the new Mykki Blanco video directed by Francesco Carrozzini. We talked about pop culture’s summer vacation. We were floored by this ballpoint pen portrait, which looks amazingly real. We were surprised by the deadliest occupation in this interesting infographic. We learned
Video of the Day: All of Godard’s ‘Breathless’ in Under Four Minutes
Now that we all have the tools to do so, it seems like everyone’s speeding up or slowing down songs, movies, TV shows, and other works of popular art. Most of the time, these tricks are meaningless, but every once in a while, they actually make us think about the original in a new way — “Justin Bieber 800% slower” is unexpectedly sad and beautiful, for instance, and this Rear Window timelapse video brings an entirely new perspective to the film. We would add to that category experimental filmmaker Gerard Courant’s “Compression de À bout de souffle,” in which he speeds up Jean-Luc Godard’s French New Wave masterpiece so that it plays from beginning to end in three-and-a-half minutes. With Breathless’ plot and dialogue lost, the edit highlights both the film’s frenetic, youthful energy and its unforgettable iconography: bustling Paris and Jean Seberg in her striped top and Jean-Paul Belmondo smoking cigarettes in bed. Enjoy the cinematic adrenaline rush after the jump. … Read More
10 Amazing Unbroken Shots in Film
Out tomorrow on DVD, and worth checking out, is Silent House, a film most notable not for its haunted-house narrative (which is adequate) nor its leading performance by Elizabeth Olsen (which is quite good), but for its remarkable technique: the entire film is cleverly shot to appear as though it is captured in one unedited, unbroken take. It wasn’t, of course (it’s pieced together seamlessly via several hidden “stitches”), and isn’t the first film to try to put that trickery across; earlier films like Russian Ark, Timecode, and PVC-1 have been executed entirely in a long take, though this is one of the few films to use the technique at the service of a genre story.
These films are part of a long tradition of stylish filmmakers showing off their craft via long, elaborate shots, often incorporating extensive camera movement and busy choreography to create an unending flurry of on-screen activity. After the jump, we’ve assembled ten of our very favorites; agree, disagree, and add your own in the comments. … Read More
10 Counterculture Love Stories on Film
While Moonrise Kingdom is currently making Wes Anderson fans swoon, one film that inspired the director’s filmography is getting a Blu-ray release today from distinguished distributor Criterion. Harold and Maude was digitally restored and lovingly packaged by the company, and we can’t get enough of it. The darkly comedic, unconventional love story centers on a morbid, wealthy 19-year-old man (Bud Cort) and the bohemian 79-year-old widow he falls for (Ruth Gordon). It’s a heartbreaking, but inspiring tale, and a landmark of 1970′s cult cinema.
The youthful rebellion of the counterculture movement, and the anxiety of the Vietnam War are reflected through Harold and Maude’s relationship. The 1971 film clearly expresses an anti-war sentiment through its characters that buck authority in different ways and carve their own path despite the odds (a loving push from Gordon’s feisty octogenarian is crucial here). We thought of other cinematic couples from various points in film history that also found love in a countercultural landscape. Dig into our picks, then leave your own in the comments below. … Read More
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