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Filmmaker is pleased to host the exclusive trailer premiere of Film at Lincoln Center’s forthcoming retrospective series “Marco Ferreri: Beyond the Absurd,” which was co-produced by Cinecittà. The most comprehensive U.S. retrospective of the Italian director’s work will take place at Flc from June 9 through 22, with several films presented on 35mm. Per the press release: Highlights include Ferreri’s third feature The Little Coach, starring the famous comic actor José Isbert, which established young Ferreri as a European master of black humor; The Ape Woman, which underwent harsh censorship and is now presented with its three different endings: the […]

The post Exclusive Trailer: Film at Lincoln Center’s “Marco Ferreri: Beyond the Absurd” Retrospective Series first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Filmmaker is pleased to host the exclusive trailer premiere of Film at Lincoln Center’s forthcoming retrospective series “Marco Ferreri: Beyond the Absurd,” which was co-produced by Cinecittà. The most comprehensive U.S. retrospective of the Italian director’s work will take place at Flc from June 9 through 22, with several films presented on 35mm. Per the press release: Highlights include Ferreri’s third feature The Little Coach, starring the famous comic actor José Isbert, which established young Ferreri as a European master of black humor; The Ape Woman, which underwent harsh censorship and is now presented with its three different endings: the […]

The post Exclusive Trailer: Film at Lincoln Center’s “Marco Ferreri: Beyond the Absurd” Retrospective Series first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Spain’s status as Cannes’ Marché du Film’s Country of Honor is a “milestone,” says María Peña, CEO of Icex Spain Trade & Investment.

But it’s also a mark of recognition, she says, after Spain’s big wins just this year at the Berlinale and France’s Cesars.

Peña also points to April’s MipTV, where Rafael Cobos’ “The Left Handed Son,” from Movistar Plus+, won Canneseries’ Short Format Competition, and “The Caravan,” produced by Barcelona’s Caravan Films, the first MipDoc International Buyers Screenings honors.

Last year, Spain scooped up a Berlin Golden Bear (“Alcarràs”) and an Oscar (Alberto Mielgo’s “The Windshield Wiper”).

Spain is on a roll. That cuts multiple ways, however, explaining both the Country of Honor designation, and the country’s presence at large at Cannes this year. Seven takeaways about Spain:

Talent, Large Talent

Victor Erice, Pedro Almodóvar, Alberto Mielgo, Rodrigo Blaas — Cannes...

Now for something truly remarkable from the neglected Spanish cinema. Luis García Berlanga's wicked satire is a humanistic black comedy, free of cynicism. The borderline Kafkaesque situation of an everyman forced into a profession that horrifies him is funny and warm hearted - but with a ruthless logic that points to universal issues beyond Franco Fascism. The Executioner Blu-ray The Criterion Collection 840 1963 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 92 min. / El Verdugo / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date October 25, 2016 / 39.95 Starring Nino Manfredi, Emma Penella, José Isbert . Cinematography Tonino Delli Colli Film Editor Afonso Santacana Original Music Miguel Asins Arbó Written by Luis García Berlanga, Rafael Azcona, Ennio Flaiano Produced by Nazario Belmar Directed by Luis García Berlanga

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Criterion brings us 1963's The Executioner (El Verdugo), a major discovery for film fans that thought Spanish cinema began and ended with Luis Buñuel. I've seen politically-charged Spanish films from...

We here at The CriterionCast wear our admiration for The Criterion Collection squarely on our sleeves. Not only is it in the very title of this website and the podcast from which it spawned, but it is in the very DNA of what we strive to do through both ventures. At their very best, The Criterion Collection doesn’t so much bring to light gloriously dense home video releases of beloved, crystal clear classics from the history of film, but instead highlights lesser known masterpieces from throughout the world and spanning the entirety of film’s history as an artform. Be it esoteric experimental works like that of director Jean Painleve to baroque world cinema classics like La Cienaga, Criterion’s greatest achievement is giving the world a new glimpse at world history through the lens of those directors commenting on it through their films.

And few films quite hit...