#film forum

[criterioncollection]

PARIS, TEXAS (1984) begins a special run at Film Forum in New York starting November 25 courtesy of Janus Films! 💞 💞 💞

#paris texas #nastassja kinski #wim wenders #harry dean stanton #sam shepard #film forum #the criterion collection #janus films

[hyperallergic]

Pakistani cinema made history last year when Joyland (2022), written and directed by Saim Sadiq, became the first Pakistani film to premiere at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, receiving a standing ovation and international acclaim. During its festival circuit, Joyland received several prizes and was shortlisted for the Academy Awards but was banned in its home country. Despite previous clearances from federal and provincial censorship boards, distribution of the Punjabi-language film was halted by the Pakistani government last November as the film consisted of “highly objectionable material” including scenes of LGBTQ+ intimacy.

While Pakistan’s Federal Censor Board quickly reversed the nationwide ban three days later with “minor cuts” to the film’s more controversial scenes after immense criticism for censorship on social media, the Punjab Censor Board ultimately prohibited the film from being screened in the province of Punjab, where the film is set and filmed.

Now, New Yorkers can watch the contested film at Manhattan’s Film Forum theater.

#film #cinema #joyland #lgbtq+ film #film forum #new york #pakistan #saim sadiq

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

“The only insult I’ve ever received in my adult life was when someone asked me, ‘Do you have a hobby?’ A HOBBY?! DO I LOOK LIKE A FUCKING DABBLER?!”

— John Waters

Happy birthday to the Sultan of Sleaze!

Film Forum

#Film Forum #John Waters #quotes #humor #Sultan of Sleaze

[dispactke]

Because I’m so excited and thrilled to be back in the cinema on the regular, I’ve gotten into the (dubious?) habit of snapping photos of the screen during trailers, the movie, and even commercials. This was at a Film Forum screening of the brilliant James Baldwin Abroad documentary. (And among other things the trailer for Dancing the Twist in Bamako, which looks very exciting.)

#James Baldwin #james baldwin abroad #film forum #dancing the twist in bamako #cinema #classic cinema #black cinema

[cinemacentury]

Monday, March 11, 2024

“If it doesn’t hurt, it doesn’t please me.”

120. BLIND BEAST (Yasuzō Masumura, 1969) - Japan - Theatrical (35mm) - Film Forum, Theater 1 - 86 minutes. Presented as part of the series Japanese Horror. New film #111.

#j horror #film forum #transgressive fiction

[ogradyfilm]

Recently Viewed: Kenji Misumi’s Yotsuya Kaidan (1959)

[The following review contains MAJOR SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!]

Yotsuya Kaidan is Japan’s most popular and frequently adapted ghost story. While the core premise is basically consistent from version to version—penniless ronin Tamiya Iemon falsely accuses his wife of adultery as a pretext to divorce her and marry a wealthier woman, culminating in violence, regret, and vengeance from beyond the grave—the precise details of the narrative vary wildly between cinematic interpretations.

Shintoho’s 1959 film (helmed by Jigoku director Nobuo Nakagawa), for example, is a relentlessly dark (albeit vibrantly colorful) and bleakly cynical morality play; the protagonist is casually cruel and unrepentantly vile, with his grisly fate framed as karmic justice that the audience is intended to enthusiastically applaud. Keisuke Kinoshita’s 1949 duology, on the other hand, depicts Tamiya far more sympathetically; despite his (thoroughly reluctant) complicity in the terrible crimes committed against his spouse, he’s motivated primarily by economic factors beyond his control and the corruptive influence of his slimy, manipulative, verminous “friend,” Naosuke. Indeed, it is implied that the “haunting” is merely psychological—a subconscious manifestation of the central character’s guilty conscience. (Ironically, this “social realism” makes Kinoshita’s movie feel more subversive and revolutionary than Nakagawa’s comparatively lurid and gory effort.)

Kenji Misumi’s radically revisionist spin on the classic tale, however, probably takes the most liberties with the surprisingly malleable source material. Here, Tamiya (played by megastar Kazuo Hasegawa—which goes a long way towards explaining the particular “quirks” in his portrayal) is borderline heroic—an archetypal gruff-yet-chivalrous swordsman cut from the same cloth as Zatoichi and Tange Sazen. He’s also so passive and devoid of agency that he resembles the eponymous “specter” in Hammer’s The Phantom of the Opera, remaining virtually blameless for the (unnecessarily convoluted) series of events that result in his tragic downfall. He’s totally unaware of Naosuke’s devious conspiracy to humiliate, defame, and ultimately murder his wife, and although he still participates in an extramarital affair, the relationship appears to be purely transactional (and may not be overtly sexual; the extent of the “lovers’” physical intimacy is left deliberately ambiguous)—driven to desperation by poverty, he only indulges his mistress’ affections in exchange for money and lavish gifts. The editing, in fact, at one point explicitly juxtaposes his infidelity with that of his sister-in-law, who works part-time as a “waitress” at a “bathhouse” in order to supplement her husband’s meager income. Naturally, Tamiya’s relative “innocence” completely recontextualizes the story’s climax and denouement; whereas the character usually suffers an appropriately shameful, pathetic, undignified demise, Misumi allows him to achieve a measure of redemption via his glorious, honorable, beautiful death—sprawled at the feet of a bronze Buddha statue, wrapped in his wife’s favorite kimono, bathed in heavenly sunlight.

Pulpy, unsubtle, and unapologetically melodramatic even by Daiei’s standards, Yotsuya Kaidan isn’t the “best” adaptation of the original kabuki production, but Misumi’s various audacious departures from the “traditional” formula certainly distinguish it as one of the most interesting, unique, and undeniably compelling. For fans of chanbara and J-horror alike, it is essential viewing.

#Yotsuya Kaidan #Yotsuya Kwaidan #Ghost Story of Yotsuya #Kenji Misumi #Kazuo Hasegawa #Daiei #Japanese film #Japanese cinema #Japanese horror #J-horror #J horror #chanbara #Film Forum #chambara #film #writing #movie review

[travsd]

Film Forum's Sapph-o-Rama Begins Today

Launching today in New York: Sapph-o-Rama, Film Forum’s 30 film series of movies “exploring the eccentric, enduring, and genre-encompassing history of the Lesbian image in cinema”. The most perverse thing about this series is that it ends the day BEFORE Valentine’s Day. What’s up with that? There’s like two dozen potential date movies in here! Anyway, I’m not quite certain I’d have plugged the…

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#cinema #film #Film Forum #images #lesbian #Movies #Sapph-o-rama #series

[transpondster]

#louise brooks #g.w. pabst #film #film forum #pandora's box #silent film #1920s #Vimeo #lulu

[robotpussy]

#polls #personally i dont like it but thats only because i dont like fandom. the type of stuff that gets the most attention #in fandom usually just annoys me idk. how to explain it in a way that wont come off as me saying #fanfic or whatever is evil its just the fact that it just bombards alot of the conversations? #i prefer it when the thing i like has 10 fans and theyre all on one message board or forum #like for example mtvs downtown is getting popular but apart from annoying #'me and the mid nerd guy i copped by being weird and sexy' posts its not awful.... #but then smth like... clone high or smth i suddenly cant remember ppl just got so annoying abt that show?? #like i cant stand it i dont even bother watching it anymore plus its just weird to me now like i can't watch it regardless #im just rambling but personally i do not like it. like i dont want what i like to get a revival #i dont want anything new! i just want to enjoy the thing and move on 😭 #fandom seems to prioritize shipping and memes over evaluating or simply just enjoying something! #this goes for anything. music film tv books....

[moviecriticseanpatrick-blog]

#Luis Bunuel #The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie #movies #film #movie review #movie #film review #movie critic #film critic #film criticism #movie criticism #Film Forum #New York City #new york city #new york #nyc #Criterion Collection #Foreign Film #Classic #Must See #I Love this Movie #i love this movie #love this movie #favorite movies #films #i love this movie so much

[ngpopgun]

Making Monty Clift

In the 1950s, three young actors were considered part of a new breed challenging the orthodox masculine stereotypes portrayed by the likes of John Wayne.James Dean and Marlon Brando are known to many, but the third, Montgomery Clift, considered by many to be the best of the three, is starting to fade into history. Luckily, Film Forum still believes in his genius, and last month had a season of…

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#Film Forum #Montgomery Clift

[rosepompadour]

NATALIE WOOD & PAUL NEWMAN with their Golden Globes for World's Favorite Actress and Actor, 1966

#not pictured: their awards for best eyes in the business #i was at a west side story screening at film forum once and the complete stranger sitting next to me leans over and says: #'who gives a shit if she was dubbed it's all in her EYES!' #we were great friends by the end of the movie #natalie wood #paul newman #*

[the-woman-upstairs]

In the universe of the film, there is ABSOLUTELY a contingent of fans that fervently ship Argylle/Wyatt and have the dominant ship on AO3 and trade elaborate fan theories about their hidden relationship and are convinced they’re meant to be endgame but the publishers won’t allow it. Of course, they go totally BALLISTIC when they learn they’re based on the author and her boyfriend.

#argylle #argylle spoilers #my only real complaint with argylle is that we were robbed of a henry cavill/john cena kiss #there’s so much fun to be had with the universe of this film especially in regards to the book fandom #i like to believe aidan stirs up ship drama on fandom forums and social media #the minute rachel’s spy past gets declassified it’s OVER for her in fandom lol #i can appreciate not everyone being into the film’s bait and switch #but i can’t help but love a spy film that lets the female lead be a whole women struggling to define herself #while also kicking ass and having a sweet goofy guy be head over heels for her #this really is the kind of movie that fandom could have soooo much fun with #don’t even get me started on elly/rachel projecting all of her badass spy escapades on a super manly fit dude #like if he’s done everything she’s done…girl memory-holed her own bisexuality lol

[lackadaisycats]

Salutations Tracy! I am a long time fan and heard the pilot dropped a couple weeks ago! And gosh darnit if it didn't make me feel nostalgic and want to hop back on the old forum and reminisce! But I noticed the forum link is gone with the wind! Do you think you'll ever enable the forums again? Or have they gone the way of the dodo? I would love to see it up and running again, if only to relive the good ol' days. Anyhow, and with much respect and love, thank you. Thank you for giving us the gift of Lackadaisy; it is a tour de force and a much needed light when the world is saturated with glumness and woe. Pardon all the gum beatin', just a real treat to be back on the Lackadaisy train!

Oh, hey! Well, welcome back! We took the old phpbb forum down after a rather nasty DDoS attack that happened during the Kickstarter for the pilot. We still have it all backed up in case there's ever an occasion to restore it (couldn't bear to throw away all of the lovely character creating and writing people did there) but for now, I just don't have the bandwidth to babysit a forum or to try to wrangle moderators for it. Sorry about that. I get that Discord is not really everyone's cup of tea, but we do have a very active Lackadaisy server full of people into art, comics, animation, history, and cats (+ other critters) if you're looking for some community!

#lackadaisy #lackadaisycats #lackadaisy film #animation #history #cats #discord #server #forum #lackadaisy community

[cinemacentury]

Friday, March 8, 2024

"My mother was here all that time, protecting me."

116. DARK WATER (Hideo Nakata, 2002) - Japan - Theatrical (DCP) - Film Forum, Theater 1 - 101 minutes. Presented as part of the series Japanese Horror. New film #107.

#dark water #j horror #hideo nakata #film forum

[ogradyfilm]

Recently Viewed: Demon Pond

[The following review contains MINOR SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!]

At times, Masahiro Shinoda’s Demon Pond feels like two different films awkwardly stapled together.

The first is a hauntingly atmospheric arthouse horror movie about forgotten folklore, self-destructive superstitions, and the conflict between “traditional values” and “modern rationality.” The opening montage is particularly impactful, elevated by the immaculate sound design: the oppressive howl of the scorching, dusty wind; the mocking “crunch” of parched, cracked earth underfoot; and the resounding “thud” of a stone hitting the bottom of a bone-dry well elegantly convey the borderline post-apocalyptic desolation of the setting—a remote mountain village ravaged by poverty and drought.

The second is a fairly conventional Japanese ghost story reminiscent of Daiei’s 100 Monsters and Daimajin, with all of the tropes that one would expect from the genre: morally corrupt humans desecrating the natural order, wrathful gods and guardian spirits exacting terrible revenge, cataclysms of every conceivable variety (floods, typhoons, tsunamis), and hapless innocents caught in the crossfire. Shinoda’s unmistakable authorial voice, however, enriches this familiar narrative structure. The scenes depicting the Dragon Princess’ heavenly court, for example, deliberately embrace the inherent artificiality of live theater—much like the director’s earlier effort, Double Suicide (in that case, he was emulating bunraku puppetry; here, kabuki serves as the primary influence). The relatively simple yet dazzlingly colorful makeup and costuming of the monstrous retinue—lumbering ogres, grotesque Cyclopes, wizened Shinto priests sporting fleshy catfish whiskers—reminded me of Tomu Uchida’s equally evocative The Mad Fox.

While I enjoyed each of these plots on its own merits, as a whole, Demon Pond never becomes quite as compelling as its individual components. The inconsistencies in style and tone create a sense of dissonance and disharmony; the frequent shifts between the mundane and fantastical worlds feel contradictory rather than complementary. Ultimately, it’s just a muddled, confused, incoherent cinematic experience—occasionally enjoyable, but difficult to recommend.

#Demon Pond #Masahiro Shinoda #Japanese film #Japanese cinema #Film Forum #film #writing #movie review