Category: media

“Less noticed by critics [praising the film today] is something that was obvious in 1941: Many of the film’s signature devices were motifs developed by [Orson] Welles and his Mercury Theatre troupe during their years in radio.”

Russian director Alexander Sokurov’s take on the German legend Faust has won the film a Golden Lion – the top award at the Venice Film Festival.

“Of all the films made in the silent era, no more than 20% are extant, and even fewer of those are available to be seen by the public. But happily, that isn’t the end of the story. Those missing reels have not all been burned, re-used or left to rot. New discoveries are being made all the time.”

“Some specials are so niche-sensitive that they almost sound like humor-magazine parodies: CNBC, which has a series called American Greed, came up with American Greed: 9/11 Fraud, about the scams and profiteering that followed the disaster. Showtime offers The Love We Make, about Paul McCartney’s journey through New York after Sept. 11. (Bravo, thankfully, did not try to wedge its Real Housewives formula into the mix.)”

“Perhaps the whole point of 9/11 was that it could never be represented on the cinema screen. The diabolic, situationist genius of the kamikaze attacks was that they were themselves a kind of counter-cinema, a spectacle very possibly inspired by the art-form, but rendering obsolete any comparable fictions it had to offer.”

“The remake rights to the lion’s share of his movies and unproduced screenplays have been granted by the Akira Kurosawa 100 Project to the Los Angeles-based company Splendent … [The] last time Hollywood directors paid sustained attention to his films, they helped revolutionise Hollywood film-making.”

“It’s all thanks to TIFF’s decision to ditch the conventional opening feature — usually a Canadian title — for a documentary about the world’s biggest rock band, following the path of festivals like Cannes and Venice that favour star power for the opening slot.”

“Box office revenues in the U.S. and Canada hit $4.4 billion between May and Labor Day, up 4.5% from the same time a year ago, according to the National Assn. of Theatre Owners. That is a record not accounting for ticket price inflation. However, box office attendance or admissions — the number of tickets sold — rose a more modest 1% to $546 million.”

“The Indian government has asked the makers of the new James Bond movie to rewrite a planned action sequence showing people travelling on the roof of a state-run train service.” Said the railways minister, “Rooftop travel is illegal in India and it cannot be encouraged. … There are many trains in India and not all trains have people travelling on the rooftops.”

“Iranian authorities have banned documentary filmmaker Mojtaba Mirtahmasb – who co-helmed underground movie This Is Not a Film with Jafar Panahi – from traveling outside the country, according to the film’s international distributor.”