Bring up Golden Age Hollywood filmmaker Busby Berkeley, and most people conjure his staging of elaborate, kaleidoscopic dance numbers in such films as “Dames” and “Footlight Parade,” Ginger Rogers singing “We’re in the Money” at the height of the Depression in “Gold Diggers of 1933,” or his sinuous camera weaving through dancer’s legs in such hits as Oscar-nominated “42nd Street” (1933).
A three-time Oscar nominee (for Best Dance Direction), Berkeley’s musicals were credited with saving Warner Bros. from financial collapse before he became a key player in Arthur Freed’s unit at MGM, where he propelled the careers of numerous stars, including Rogers, Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, and Gene Kelly. Behind the scenes, Berkeley’s life was darker and often tragic — beset by scandal and numerous brushes with the law.
Arguably, Berkeley’s Hollywood artist’s journey is the untold story that “Babylon” wasn’t — and it coincides...
A three-time Oscar nominee (for Best Dance Direction), Berkeley’s musicals were credited with saving Warner Bros. from financial collapse before he became a key player in Arthur Freed’s unit at MGM, where he propelled the careers of numerous stars, including Rogers, Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, and Gene Kelly. Behind the scenes, Berkeley’s life was darker and often tragic — beset by scandal and numerous brushes with the law.
Arguably, Berkeley’s Hollywood artist’s journey is the untold story that “Babylon” wasn’t — and it coincides...
- 3/17/2023
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
David Chute, a longtime film critic and writer who tirelessly championed Hong Kong films in the U.S., died Nov. 8 in Los Angeles.
His daughter, Nora Chute, confirmed that he died of esophageal cancer.
Chute wrote for publications including the Boston Phoenix, Film Comment, the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, Vanity Fair, the Los Angeles Times and Variety, often advocating for genre films and international filmmakers to get the recognition they deserved.
Chute grew up in Maine with his father, Robert, a poet and biology professor at Bates College, his mother, Vicki, a novelist. He launched his career in the 70s as a film critic at the Kennebec Journal and The Maine Times, where he discovered Stephen King, who he also profiled for Take One. In 1979, King inscribed a copy of “The Shining” to David Chute, “the best film critic in America.”
In 1978, Chute joined the staff of The Boston Phoenix,...
His daughter, Nora Chute, confirmed that he died of esophageal cancer.
Chute wrote for publications including the Boston Phoenix, Film Comment, the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, Vanity Fair, the Los Angeles Times and Variety, often advocating for genre films and international filmmakers to get the recognition they deserved.
Chute grew up in Maine with his father, Robert, a poet and biology professor at Bates College, his mother, Vicki, a novelist. He launched his career in the 70s as a film critic at the Kennebec Journal and The Maine Times, where he discovered Stephen King, who he also profiled for Take One. In 1979, King inscribed a copy of “The Shining” to David Chute, “the best film critic in America.”
In 1978, Chute joined the staff of The Boston Phoenix,...
- 11/19/2021
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
Welcome to another installment of Movies to Show My Son. This is the blog series were I discuss movies I can’t wait to show my son in the future. I’ll be covering my own personal experience with the movie, movie lessons and life lessons I hope he will learn, and lastly my concerns about showing said film. This week’s film is The Bicycle Thief.
Personal Memories:
When I was growing up I never watched foreign films. It is not that I avoided them it is more so that I did not realize they existed. At that time I assumed everything was made at Hollywood and by Disney. As I grew older and wiser I realized that was not the case but still tended to stay away. The first time I ended up seeing a foreign film was around 2002 when I saw Yimou Zhang’s Hero in theaters.
Personal Memories:
When I was growing up I never watched foreign films. It is not that I avoided them it is more so that I did not realize they existed. At that time I assumed everything was made at Hollywood and by Disney. As I grew older and wiser I realized that was not the case but still tended to stay away. The first time I ended up seeing a foreign film was around 2002 when I saw Yimou Zhang’s Hero in theaters.
- 4/3/2017
- by Dan Clark
- Nerdly
Being called the French Hitchcock does Claude Chabrol a disservice, as his dark thrillers approach mystery and suspense almost completely through character, not cinematics. These three very good 1990s productions are completely different in tone and approach, and each showcases a stunning French actress.
Betty, Torment (L’enfer), The Swindle (Rien ne vas plus)
Blu-ray
3 Classic Films by Claude Chabrol
Cohen Film Collection
1992,1994,1997 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 103, 102, 105 min. / Street Date February 21, 2017 / 49.99
Starring Marie Trintignant, Stéphane Audran, Jean-François Garreaud, Yves Lambrecht; Emmanuelle Béart, François Cluzet, Nathalie Cardone, Dora Doll; Isabelle Huppert, Michel Serrault, François Cluzet, Jean-François Balmer.
Cinematography: Bernard Zitermann; Bernard Zitermann, Eduardo Serra
Film Editor: Monique Fardoulis (x3)
Original Music: Matthieu Chabrol (x3)
Written by Claude Chabrol from a novel by Georges Simenon; Claude Chabrol from a script by Henri-Georges Clouzot; Claude Chabrol
Produced by Marin Karmitz (x3)
Directed by Claude Chabrol (x3)
Not all Claude Chabrol films are equal, but...
Betty, Torment (L’enfer), The Swindle (Rien ne vas plus)
Blu-ray
3 Classic Films by Claude Chabrol
Cohen Film Collection
1992,1994,1997 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 103, 102, 105 min. / Street Date February 21, 2017 / 49.99
Starring Marie Trintignant, Stéphane Audran, Jean-François Garreaud, Yves Lambrecht; Emmanuelle Béart, François Cluzet, Nathalie Cardone, Dora Doll; Isabelle Huppert, Michel Serrault, François Cluzet, Jean-François Balmer.
Cinematography: Bernard Zitermann; Bernard Zitermann, Eduardo Serra
Film Editor: Monique Fardoulis (x3)
Original Music: Matthieu Chabrol (x3)
Written by Claude Chabrol from a novel by Georges Simenon; Claude Chabrol from a script by Henri-Georges Clouzot; Claude Chabrol
Produced by Marin Karmitz (x3)
Directed by Claude Chabrol (x3)
Not all Claude Chabrol films are equal, but...
- 2/21/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Cohen Media Group presents a double feature of two mid-period films from French auteur Alain Resnais, both significant titles overlooked on a resume of important and notable works. The first is 1983’s Love is a Bed of Roses, featuring revolving cast members who would frequent other titles from the director throughout the remainder of that decade, and also represents his first collaboration with actress/wife Sabine Azema, who would appear in nearly every one of his remaining film productions. The second is the superb 1984 film Love Unto Death, an existential portrait of love and death as fluid states of mind.
The playful Life is a Bed of Roses premiered at the Venice Film Festival and nabbed Cesar nominations for Azema as Best Supporting Actress and for production designer Jacques Saulnier. Penned by Jean Gruault (who wrote Resnais’ previous feature, 1980’s superior Mon Oncle D’Amerique), it’s a non-linear film divided into three distinct parts,...
The playful Life is a Bed of Roses premiered at the Venice Film Festival and nabbed Cesar nominations for Azema as Best Supporting Actress and for production designer Jacques Saulnier. Penned by Jean Gruault (who wrote Resnais’ previous feature, 1980’s superior Mon Oncle D’Amerique), it’s a non-linear film divided into three distinct parts,...
- 8/4/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Coming to Blu-ray for the first time from the Cohen Media Group, Claude Chabrol’s late career thriller, Nightcap (better known by its French title, Merci Pour Le Chocolat) is often lumped into conversation as merely one of the seven films the director made with actress Isabelle Huppert. While it is certainly outshined by some of their finer achievements together (particularly The Story of Women and La Ceremonie), it stands firmly on its own as an odd exercise that’s more character study than murder mystery. Chabrol seems amused at the convention and convenience of the narrative, supplied by Charlotte Armstrong’s nonsensically titled 1948 novel The Chocolate Cobweb. Armstrong was in high regard in the 1950’s (her novel Don’t Bother to Knock was turned into a very strange Marilyn Monroe vehicle in 1952), and Chabrol seems keen on retaining the rather deliberate ambience from a tradition of genre gone by.
- 10/7/2014
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
By Fred Blosser
I approached the 2013 Blu-Ray edition of André Téchiné’s “The Bronte Sisters” (1979) with mild interest, which was mostly piqued by the powerhouse casting of the three leading young actresses of 1970s French cinema -- Isabelle Adjani, Isabelle Huppert, and Marie-France Pisier -- as Emily, Anne, and Charlotte Bronte. Imagine a 2014 U.S. film teaming Scarlett Johanssen, Jennifer Lawrence and Shailene Woodley. With vague memories of “Devotion,” Hollywood’s melodramatic 1946 Bronte biopic, I was doubtful that the film itself would be particularly compelling. But I was pleasantly surprised. Relating the formative events in the lives of the three sisters and their brother Branwell (Pascal Greggory) in straightforward, episodic form, Téchiné’s interpretation is first-rate: excellently acted, emotionally moving, and visually striking with starkly beautiful cinematography by Bruno Nuytten on the Yorkshire moors where the Bronte siblings lived their sadly short lives.
In a new documentary about the making of the film,...
I approached the 2013 Blu-Ray edition of André Téchiné’s “The Bronte Sisters” (1979) with mild interest, which was mostly piqued by the powerhouse casting of the three leading young actresses of 1970s French cinema -- Isabelle Adjani, Isabelle Huppert, and Marie-France Pisier -- as Emily, Anne, and Charlotte Bronte. Imagine a 2014 U.S. film teaming Scarlett Johanssen, Jennifer Lawrence and Shailene Woodley. With vague memories of “Devotion,” Hollywood’s melodramatic 1946 Bronte biopic, I was doubtful that the film itself would be particularly compelling. But I was pleasantly surprised. Relating the formative events in the lives of the three sisters and their brother Branwell (Pascal Greggory) in straightforward, episodic form, Téchiné’s interpretation is first-rate: excellently acted, emotionally moving, and visually striking with starkly beautiful cinematography by Bruno Nuytten on the Yorkshire moors where the Bronte siblings lived their sadly short lives.
In a new documentary about the making of the film,...
- 8/20/2014
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
The Cohen Film Collection announced recently that two major films by acclaimed director Costa-Gavras – Capital, the Oscar winner’s most recent feature, and Amen, his César-winning historical drama from 2002 – have been digitally remastered and will be released in deluxe Blu-ray and DVD editions on June 10, 2014. The Blu-rays will have SRPs of $34.98 each and the DVDs will have SRPs of $24.98 each.
Wamg invites you to enter to win one of 3 Prize Packs containing the two films on Blu-ray.
Enter Your Name And E-mail In Our Comments Section Below. We Will Contact You If You Are A Winner.
Official Rules:
1. You Must Be A Us Resident. Prize Will Only Be Shipped To Us Addresses. No P.O. Boxes. No Duplicate Addresses.
2. Winners Will Be Chosen From All Qualifying Entries. No Purchase Necessary. Prizes Will Not Be Substituted Or Exchanged.
Contest Ends – Tuesday, June 24th, 11:59p est.
Since his debut in 1965, the Greek-born,...
Wamg invites you to enter to win one of 3 Prize Packs containing the two films on Blu-ray.
Enter Your Name And E-mail In Our Comments Section Below. We Will Contact You If You Are A Winner.
Official Rules:
1. You Must Be A Us Resident. Prize Will Only Be Shipped To Us Addresses. No P.O. Boxes. No Duplicate Addresses.
2. Winners Will Be Chosen From All Qualifying Entries. No Purchase Necessary. Prizes Will Not Be Substituted Or Exchanged.
Contest Ends – Tuesday, June 24th, 11:59p est.
Since his debut in 1965, the Greek-born,...
- 6/10/2014
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: May 27, 2014
Price: DVD $29.98, Blu-ray $39.98
Studio: Cohen Film Collection
The Color of Lies is one of the later movies of renowned New Wave French filmmaker Claude Chabrol (Les Cousins).
The thriller stars Sandrine Bonnaire (Queen to Play) as Vivianne, the beloved wife of Rene (Jacques Gamblin, Inspector Bellamy), a painter and art teacher who’s under suspicion when the body of 10-year-old girl is found.
Rene was the girl’s teacher and apparently the last person to see her alive and he becomes increasingly unsettled by his neighbors’ suspicions and the investigation of the inspector (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Munich). Vivianne supports Rene but gets tempted by the advances of an arrogant local TV personality (Antione de Caunes, Mumu).
Not rated, The Color of Lies looks at the culture of lies in societies, from advertising to adultery. The foreign film was nominated for the Golden Bear at the...
Price: DVD $29.98, Blu-ray $39.98
Studio: Cohen Film Collection
The Color of Lies is one of the later movies of renowned New Wave French filmmaker Claude Chabrol (Les Cousins).
The thriller stars Sandrine Bonnaire (Queen to Play) as Vivianne, the beloved wife of Rene (Jacques Gamblin, Inspector Bellamy), a painter and art teacher who’s under suspicion when the body of 10-year-old girl is found.
Rene was the girl’s teacher and apparently the last person to see her alive and he becomes increasingly unsettled by his neighbors’ suspicions and the investigation of the inspector (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Munich). Vivianne supports Rene but gets tempted by the advances of an arrogant local TV personality (Antione de Caunes, Mumu).
Not rated, The Color of Lies looks at the culture of lies in societies, from advertising to adultery. The foreign film was nominated for the Golden Bear at the...
- 5/1/2014
- by Sam
- Disc Dish
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: April 22, 2014
Price: DVD $39.98, Blu-ray $49.98
Studio: Cohen Media
Lean Poiret (l.) is on the case as Inspector Lavardin in Chicken with Vinegar.
The Inspector Lavardin Collection offers two mystery-suspense films from French filmmaker Claude Chabrol (Les Cousins) — Chicken With Vinegar (1985) and its sequel, Inspector Lavardin (1986), as well as two Lavardin television films by Chabrol.
In Chicken With Vinegar, based on the novel Une mort en trop by Dominique Roulet, a cruel invalid (Stéphane Audran, Babette’s Feast) who consistently terrorizes her teen son into abject obedience, is threatened with the loss of her home by a conniving trio who want her property as part of a deal for a lucrative development project. After several of the principal figures suffer grisly deaths, Lavardin (Jean Poiret, La Cage aux Folles) arrives to get to the bottom of it all.
The two additional Lavardin mysteries—The Black Snail (1988) and Danger...
Price: DVD $39.98, Blu-ray $49.98
Studio: Cohen Media
Lean Poiret (l.) is on the case as Inspector Lavardin in Chicken with Vinegar.
The Inspector Lavardin Collection offers two mystery-suspense films from French filmmaker Claude Chabrol (Les Cousins) — Chicken With Vinegar (1985) and its sequel, Inspector Lavardin (1986), as well as two Lavardin television films by Chabrol.
In Chicken With Vinegar, based on the novel Une mort en trop by Dominique Roulet, a cruel invalid (Stéphane Audran, Babette’s Feast) who consistently terrorizes her teen son into abject obedience, is threatened with the loss of her home by a conniving trio who want her property as part of a deal for a lucrative development project. After several of the principal figures suffer grisly deaths, Lavardin (Jean Poiret, La Cage aux Folles) arrives to get to the bottom of it all.
The two additional Lavardin mysteries—The Black Snail (1988) and Danger...
- 4/11/2014
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Chicago – Hats off to Cohen Media Group for unearthing yet another indispensable piece of cinema. Andre Téchiné, the brilliant French director perhaps best known for 1994’s “Wild Reeds,” united three great actresses to star in his ambitious, painstakingly researched 1979 portrait of the Brontë sisters who authored literary classics under male pseudonyms.
It’s ironic to see Isabelle Huppert cast in the role of the least well-known Brontë girl, Anne, considering that her screen career ended up being far more prosperous than those of her co-stars. Even at 26, Huppert has the piercing stare of a weary, time-worn soul, and her presence here is as hypnotic as ever. A mournful close-up in which her eyes close deeply upon reflection of an immediate tragedy is more achingly forlorn than the saddest of string orchestras.
Blu-ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
Indeed, Téchiné’s film is a majestic ode to the sweet sorrow of melancholia. It’s startlingly...
It’s ironic to see Isabelle Huppert cast in the role of the least well-known Brontë girl, Anne, considering that her screen career ended up being far more prosperous than those of her co-stars. Even at 26, Huppert has the piercing stare of a weary, time-worn soul, and her presence here is as hypnotic as ever. A mournful close-up in which her eyes close deeply upon reflection of an immediate tragedy is more achingly forlorn than the saddest of string orchestras.
Blu-ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
Indeed, Téchiné’s film is a majestic ode to the sweet sorrow of melancholia. It’s startlingly...
- 8/22/2013
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Stupid For Movies is a weekly live streamed web show airing on Ustream every Thursday at 8 Pm Pdt. Created by Mike Rotman (Kevin Pollak’s Chat Show, Politically Incorrect With Bill Maher), the show is hosted by La Film critics Mark Keizer and Wade Major (IGN's The Digigods). Each week Keizer and Major discuss the best and worst in movies, including reviewing the latest movies to hit the theater, recommending DVDs to “Buy, Rent or Burn”, and talk news with special anchor Chad Vader. Rotman was kind enough to invite myself and my photographer (Aka: boyfriend), Stuart, down to the Streamin’ Garage studio, named for the fact that it literally is a converted garage, to view an episode taping. Though the show does run live, episodes of the show are then converted and uploaded to blip.tv (a job Rotman does himself, a bit of which we witnessed as we...
- 5/3/2010
- by Jenni Powell
- Tubefilter.com
Chicago – The DVD Round-Up has traveled the globe this week to bring you a diverse slate of under-the-radar titles received in the HollywoodChicago.com offices this holiday season. With so many major releases this time of year, it’s hard to cover everything, but we wanted to make sure you knew these were out there in case you have a gift card burning a hole in your pocket.
One quick note: We don’t usually inject opinion into the DVD Round-Up. It’s a recurring column merely designed for informational purposes regarding some lower profile titles new on shelves. We’d like to make a rare exception for “Sita Sings the Blues,” a simply wonderful animated film that we only wish we had more time to spotlight but that we wanted to make sure you knew was available before the end of the year. Don’t just go rent it.
One quick note: We don’t usually inject opinion into the DVD Round-Up. It’s a recurring column merely designed for informational purposes regarding some lower profile titles new on shelves. We’d like to make a rare exception for “Sita Sings the Blues,” a simply wonderful animated film that we only wish we had more time to spotlight but that we wanted to make sure you knew was available before the end of the year. Don’t just go rent it.
- 12/31/2009
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
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