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NYC Weekend Watch is our weekly round-up of repertory offerings.

Film at Lincoln Center

Inherent Vice begins playing on 70mm; In the Mood for Love and its never-before-seen epilogue In the Mood for Love 2001 continue playing, as does a restoration of Christiane F.

Film Forum

Hearts of Darkness plays in a new restoration, while the 4K restoration of Shall We Dance? continues.

Museum of Modern Art

A Theater Near You includes films by Godard, Oshima, and Ottinger.

Anthology Film Archives

Prints of Pickpocket and A Man Escaped play in Essential Cinema.

Roxy Cinema

Jupiter Ascending and Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan screen on 35mm.

Museum of the Moving Image

Pursuant to the question of our time––is Tom Cruise evil?––a career-spanning retrospective continues with Born on the Fourth of July, Rain Man, and A Few Good Men; Titanic screens on Saturday.

Brooklyn Academy of Music

A rice-cooker retrospective begins.

For more than 70 years, the Cannes Film Festival has been synonymous with sex, and we can credit an 18-year-old Brigitte Bardot for bringing them together. Bizarrely, though, this had nothing to do with movies. Despite her global fame as a sex symbol, the actress, now 90, has only ever had one contemporary film accepted by the festival. Even then, it was as part of an ensemble, in a section of a three-part 1968 portmanteau called Spirits of the Dead, directed by Roger Vadim, Louis Malle and Federico Fellini. All three stories were based on stories by Edgar Allen Poe, and Bardot appeared in Malle’s section, William Wilson, the macabre story of a man (Alain Delon) haunted, and taunted, by his double. It never screened, though. As part of a countrywide protest — ironically, brought to boiling point in Cannes by Malle himself — the whole event was canceled.

But, by then, Bardot had...

This week, we are pleased to introduce Rushes Extra, a new series of reported pieces that go beyond the headlines to take a closer look at developing stories from throughout the film world. In this first installment, Vikram Murthi reports from the picket lines of the New York cinema workers strike at Alamo Drafthouse.Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. To keep up with our latest features, sign up for the Weekly Edit newsletter and follow us @mubinotebook on Twitter and Instagram.NEWSFerris Bueller’s Day Off.Chinese authorities are reportedly considering “reducing or banning the import of US films” in response to President Trump’s global tariffs. Though US studio earnings in China have decreased as the country has invested in their own film industry, losing access to the world’s second-largest film market would be a major blow to the American film industry.The...

While he has created some of the most notable and lasting entries in the J-horror craze of the late 1990s, this only touches the mere surface of what defines the overall work of Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa. The features he did for the sadly short-lived Director’s Company is an interesting and insightful journey through the visual and thematic landscape which he would explore further in his famous works such as “Cure”, “Creepy” or “Cloud”. “Bumpkin Soup”, also known as “The Excitement of the Do-Re-Mi-Fa Girl”, from 1985 is his sophomore feature and had previously been rejected by Nikkatsu for being “too weird” before it was picked up by Director’s Company. The playful melange of comedy, coming-of-age and even musical is an experimental take on Kurosawa’s core theme of the relationship of people and places as well as the search for meaning in the modern world.

on...

Carlos M. Quintela‘s ‘The Wolves of the East‘ starts with a voiceover stating, “There were two species of wolves that inhabited the Japanese archipelago. But now they are extinct. Now, hunters take on the role of the wolves, in maintaining the ecosystem of this region.” The hunters kill deer to maintain the ecosystem. From the first minute, Quintela establishes the parallels between nature and humans. And for the next eighty minutes, he tries to explore the complex human condition through an examination of nature’s mysteries.

The Wolves of the East is screening at Black Movie

The story unfolds around an aged hunter, Akira Nimura, who is forced to step down from his presidential position in the local hunters’ association. Nimura believes that the wolves are not extinct. To search for them, he uses the association’s funds to buy cameras without getting any approval from the others. Nimura...

According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, a prisoner of war is any person captured or interned by a belligerent power during war. In the strictest sense, it is applied only to members of regularly organized armed forces, but by broader definition, it has also included guerrillas, civilians who take up arms against an enemy openly, or noncombatants associated with a military force.

Prisoner of War films have consistently been a popular and acclaimed subgenre of war movies. In the 1950s and 1960s, Hollywood prisoner-of-war movies reached the apex of their popularity thanks to films such as Stalag 17, The Bridge on the River Kwai, and The Great Escape. Japanese auteurs such as Masaki Kobayashi and Nagisa Ōshima directed The Human Condition and Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, two iconic works within the prisoner-of-war genre. French filmmakers Jean Renoir and Robert Bresson made significant contributions to the prisoner-of-war genre through their films The Grand Illusion...

If anyone truly knows everything about everything in the DC Universe, it has to be Batman. He's not the smartest character under the DC Comics banner, but he's not far from number one. His World's Greatest Detective moniker is derived from the immense level of knowledge he holds as a crime-fighting genius - and it's all by design.

Gotham Adventures #56 by Scott Peterson, Tim Levins, Terry Beatty, Lee Loughridge, Albert T. De Guzman, and Harvey Richards gets to the root explanation as to why and how Batman knows everything. The answer is simple: the why is because he thinks he has to, while the how is by doing intense research to prepare for a scenario that he needs to know.

Upon further analyzing his reasoning and how it's affected his (and the Bat-Family's) adventures, it becomes evident why Batman is such a great detective.

Batman Seeks Knowledge For One...

Cinema is a unique art form that encapsulates love, hate, action, violence, and anger—essentially all human emotions—in a singular voice. Cinema can elate you, disgust you, sadden you, and even disappoint you. This very nature of capturing human emotions sets movies apart from other art forms and contributes to their popularity among the masses. Chinese director He Jian-jun taps into this popularity and explores how films penetrate societal consciousness in the form of cinephilia and influence everyday life in his 2004 film ‘Pirated Copy‘.

The film presents different character arcs linked by a shared passion for cinema and the shady world of film piracy in Beijing. The characters come from the fringes of society, and their lives suffer from poor economic conditions, crime, and corruption. Only cinema offers a glimpse of a utopian dream in their lives. As Hossain Sabzian said in Abbas Kiarostami’s ‘Close-Up‘, “Cinema lost me my job.

Christopher Nolan has been attracting the eyes of critics throughout his entire career. Although it was working with a minuscule budget of $6,000 and only played in a few theaters in the United States, his 1998 debut feature "Following" was praised for its tight storytelling and terse psychological underpinnings. Nolan then rose to international fame with his 2000 film "Memento," a neo-noir about a man unable to form new memories. Its backward-chronological-order plot was cleverly conceived and impeccably laid out, somehow coming to a traditional narrative climax even while running in reverse.

From there it was off to the races, so to speak. Nolan became a power player in Hollywood, directing gigantic movie stars like Al Pacino and Robin Williams in a remake of "Insomnia" and making a gigantic, zeitgeist-shifting hit with 2005's "Batman Begins." Nolan's three Batman movies are still spoken of with enthusiasm to this day. Their success also allowed him...

A female voice is asking if the person recording her knew the song “Pronce Mai”. She explains that it’s a Korean classic that she named her daughter after, and she starts singing it with a joyful force. With the first lyrics come the first images: those of a stylish young mother with her child in various locations, and finally of an island in the distance. This is the introduction to a family of two filmmakers who joined their forces to restore some fifty hours, or 100.000 feet of material on 16mm, additionally challenged with sound recordings on tape that no one has heard over thirty years.

Documentary Analysis: Voices Of The Silenced is screening at Doclisboa

The narration of the movie switches between the mother and the daughter who are telling different parts of the story surrounding Park Soo-nam‘s decades’ long effort in documenting the history of the Zainichi Korean in Japan.

Tadanobu Asano is set to receive The Hollywood Reporter’s Trailblazer Award at the upcoming 37th installment of the Tokyo International Film Festival next month.

The chameleonic screen actor has been a mainstay of Japanese cinema for nearly three decades while regularly appearing in prominent supporting parts in big Hollywood productions. But his swaggering recent performance as the irascible samurai Yabushige on FX‘s smash-hit series Shogun has given him an all-new level of global recognition over the past year. In the process of becoming an indelible fan favorite, Asano also received his first Emmy nomination for the part.

THR’s Trailblazer Award, whose recent honorees include six-time Emmy winner Jean Smart, David Oyelowo, Eva Longoria, Matt Bomer, Niecy Nash-Betts and America Ferrera, is given to artists whose work and careers illuminate stories and characters who have been traditionally marginalized in Hollywood. International editor Abid Rahman will present Asano with the award on Oct.

While its often the world premieres that get the most buzz out of any major film festival, look to their restorations lineup (if they are smart enough to have one), and a treasure trove of classics sure to be better than most premieres await. Ahead of their official lineup being unveiled on July 23, the Venice Classics slate is here, featuring films by Michelangelo Antonioni, Fritz Lang, Frederick Wiseman, Howard Hawks, Nagisa Ōshima, Anthony Mann, Lina Wertmüller, and many more.

“The programme of Venice Classics includes the commemoration of several important anniversaries.” said Festival artistic director Alberto Barbera. “First and foremost, the centennial of the birth of Marcello Mastroianni, the most beloved and celebrated Italian actor in the world, whom we will see in The Night (La notte), one of Michelangelo Antonioni’s finest films. It has been fifty years since the death of Vittorio De Sica, who in The Gold of Naples...

Venice Classics will screen restorations of Michelangelo Antonioni’s The Night and Vittorio De Sica’s The Gold Of Naples as part of an 18-film programme at the 81st Venice Film Festival (August 28-Septemer 7).

The Night, a 1961 black-and-white drama depicted a day and night in the life of a disillusioned novelist and his alienated wife, will play in the 100th anniversary year of the birth of its lead actor Marcello Mastroianni.

Scroll down for the full list of titles

De Sica’s 1954 The Gold Of Naples is formed of six episodes inspired by Giovanni Marotta’s short stories, and plays...

Up-and-coming filmmaker Kei Chikaura unveils a second impressive feature film with “Great Absence.” Where his previous movie, “Complicity,” focused on cross-cultural communication, for his newest project, Chikaura utilizes personal experiences in a co-written effort with Keita Kumano to tell a story of family reconciliation. Collaborating with the director again is legendary actor Tatsuya Fuji, best known internationally for starring in Nagisa Oshima's films “In the Realm of the Senses” and “Empire of Passion.”

Great Absence is screening at Toronto Japanese Film Festival

Takashi is an actor based in Tokyo preparing for his latest role, with guidance from his producer, Yuki, who also happens to be his wife. While rehearsing, he is summoned by law enforcement to receive news that his father, Yohji, whom he has an estranged relationship with, had his home raided following a distress call. Reluctant due to personal resentment toward his parent, he eventually decides to...

When memory slips away, what do we know to be real anymore?

That’s the question asked by “Great Absence,” a new film that sees legendary Japanese actor Tatsuya Fuji return to the big screen in a father-son drama about life, death, mortality, and morality. Filmmaker Kei Chika-ura writes and directs the feature which centers on a rekindled family amid an Alzheimers diagnosis and a suicide.

The official synopsis reads: Distanced from his father Yohji (Tatsuya Fuji) for twenty years, actor Takashi (Mirai Moriyama) is brought back home by a jarring police call. Yohji has disconnected from reality due to dementia, and his second wife Naomi (Hideko Hara) is missing. Asked where she is, the old man replies that she committed suicide. While trying to find out about the stepmother, Takashi traces the past of Yohji he has never been able to accept. And since Yohji abandoned his family 20 years ago for Naomi,...

July 10–21, 2024 · Japan Society · New York, NY

North America's largest Japanese film festival presents two weeks of contemporary premieres, including new films from Kei Chika-ura, Takeshi Kitano, Gakuryu Ishii, Shunji Iwai, Sho Miyake and Shinya Tsukamoto

31 films including 5 International Premieres, 10 North American Premieres, 4 U.S. Premieres, 2 East Coast Premieres and 7 New York Premieres

Includes the International Premiere of Shin Godzilla: ORTHOchromatic

Shin Godzilla: ORTHOchromatic © 2016,2023 Toho Co., Ltd

New York, NY—Japan Society announces the full lineup of the 17th annual Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film, the largest festival of its kind in North America. Set for July 10–August 21 in New York City, this year's edition will present over 30 films spanning 12 days across Feature Slate, Next Generation, Classics and Short Film sections. Among the festival's lineup are five International Premieres, 10 North American Premieres, four U.S. Premieres, two East Coast Premieres and seven New York Premieres. Additionally, Japan...

Unlike Cannes’ industry-catered competition section, the festival’s independent sidebar Directors’ Fortnight defines itself around audience outreach.

Headquartered halfway down the Croisette, equidistant from the Palais des Festivals, where the official selection screens for an industry-only crowd, Fortnight embraces the sprawl. The 56th edition programs 21 features and another eight shorts from May 15-25 (starting with Sophie Fillières’ posthumous “This Life of Mine”) while bringing select titles to many theaters far from the main drag.

That same selection will also offer the easiest point of access for so many locals, for whom Fortnight is often synonymous with Cannes, and who can always count on a 30-minute Q&a after each screening. Further afield, however, that clarity of identity begins to fade.

For one thing, the showcase doesn’t have a recognizable pitchman. In the time since Thierry Frémaux took over the official selection in 2004, Directors’ Fortnight has seen four artistic directors come and go,...

Nagisa Oshima was a trailblazing Japanese director active between the 1950s and '90s. A key figure in the Japanese New Wave and an inveterate rule breaker, he was not afraid to smash any taboo. His films are always provocative and often erotic, his 1976 masterpiece In the Realm of the Senses most of all. Beneath the daring subject matter and hard-hitting visuals, however, Oshima's movies offer a pointed, sophisticated critique of postwar Japan.

By the time you’ve inched toward the halfway point of the first episode of Shōgun, the epic new limited series that revisits James Clavell’s 1975 doorstopper of a historical novel about early 1600s Japan, you’ve already seen an eyeful: massive schooners, flashing swords, military processions, political power plays, a father and his infant son sentenced to death, a half-dozen English prisoners awaiting their fate in a pit. And then, out of nowhere, a character rides in on horseback. He’s shot from behind, but there’s something about the way he holds himself,...

Despite the efforts of festivals around the world, releasing and distribution companies, and streaming channels, which have gotten rather more intense during the last few years, the majority of titles produced in Japan, S. Korea and Hong Kong, which number hundreds every year remain unknown, particularly to the Western audience. As such, we decided to focus on this type of films exactly for our April-May tribute. And to be totally sincere, not all will be great just definitely worth watching. Here is the first batch

1. Three Resurrected Drunkards (1969) by Nagisa Oshima (Japan)

“Three Resurrected Drunkards” is an excellent sample of the cinematic tendencies of both Oshima and a whole group that tried to renovate cinema during the end of the 60s and the 70s, by combining new cinematic approaches with pointed sociopolitical commentary. The result definitely demands some knowledge of the climate of the era and the overall mentality of the Japanese towards foreigners,...

By the late 60s and the beginning of 70s, a number of independent filmmakers frequently mixed fiction with non-fiction while appropriating journalistic materials of well-known media events. Nagisa Oshima and Koji Wakamatsu were two of the most prominent directors in that regard, with “Season of Terror”, which was released just two months after “Go, Go, Second Time Virgin” , being a prominent sample.

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In that fashion, the movie begins by presenting a series of press photographs and newspaper headlines, mostly focusing on the student riots and their clashes with the police, along with the military training of what appears to be a rightist group. As soon as the rather impressive montage is finished, we are introduced to the first protagonist of the movie, a former radical leader who has been out of sight for quite some time. Next, we get to meet the other two,...

As I mentioned before, the Kim Hiro incident and particularly the way it was covered by the media, inspired a number of filmmakers to explore new cinematic methods that would examine the concepts of timeliness and actuality in cinema and the connection between documentary and fiction. Toshio Matsumoto, in a precursor to his feature debut, “Funeral Parade of Roses” came up with a 15-minute short which was presented through three projectors running different images at different speeds simultaneously, in an effort to mimic the visual layout of the newspaper, in a frame split in two that features completely different images.

Among the many images presented in frantic speed here, we have various of Kim Hiro, as the one with his portrait on the left side and newspapers on the right, which is held by an individual taking part in a street performance. Continuing this segment of the film, in which...

The issue of the Zainichi Koreans was one that interested Nagisa Oshima significantly, with him having shot the TV documentary “Forgotten Soldiers” in 1963 and the experimental short “Diary of Yunbogi” in 1965. Two events revolving around the problems of Koreans in Japan, the Kim Hiro and the Komatsugawa Incident, were also roots of inspiration for him, resulting in two films, “Death by Hanging” and “Three Resurrected Drunkards” both of which use irony, theatricality and intense avant-garde elements to portray his take on the subject.

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The overall directorial approach here becomes apparent from the beginning, as it shows three Japanese students at the beach, reenacting one of the most famous pictures of the Vietnam war, before they decide to strip to their underwear and go for a swim. While they are swimming, a hand emerges from the sand and steals their clothes,...

Veteran Japanese character actor Tadanobu Asano is having a very overdue breakthrough moment. The chameleonic film star has been a mainstay of Japanese cinema for nearly three decades, while also regularly appearing in prominent supporting parts in big Hollywood productions. But his irresistible performance in FX’s period series Shōgun is giving him an all-new level of global recognition.

Asano co-stars in Shōgun as Kashigi Yabushige, the scheming lord of Izu, a rugged region of feudal Japan where much of the series takes place. Playing the character with lived-in swagger and a fatalistic sense of humor, Asano has become one of the show’s clear fan favorites, with Reddit and Twitter threads popping up to revel in his character’s antics. Asano announced himself early in Shōgun‘s run: As many have marveled, Yabushige makes his entrance to the show by boiling a man alive but then wins the audience...

Allow me to start with a very personal note. I think that the 60s and early 70s was the most interesting period in the history of Japanese cinema, with the avant-garde approach that emerged at the time resulting in some of the most unique films ever to see the light of day. At the same time, and considering that the majority of works about Japanese cinema history we get our hands in the West are written by Western writers, it is always interesting to see how much more light locals can shed on the subject. Lastly, and in the same path, considering that the “Aesthetics of Shadow” by Daisuke Miyao was truly masterful, I was really eager to read “Cinema of Actuality”.

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After a prologue, which is, as usual in academic works, the most complicated part in the whole book,...

Since the beginning of his career, Hirokazu Koreeda became recognized for his films representing the family cinema genre—intrinsically linked with the favorite of Western critics among Japanese filmmakers: Yasujiro Ozu. This was already the case with Koreeda's 1995 debut film, “Maboroshi no hikari”, a visual meditation on loss and the passing of time, told through the eyes of a single mother who has just lost her beloved husband. Since the early 1960s and the death of Yasujiro Ozu, Western critics seemed to be engaged in an excruciating quest to find a new ancestor to Ozu's poetics of cinema—and finally, there was one; Koreeda became the new Ozu.

The similarity is there—a contemplative approach towards the mundane which translates to something more transcendental; a patient gaze onto the bonds of the family set against the backdrop of a modernizing world and changing traditions; or a talent to put...

Revolution+1.On July 8, 2022, Shinzo Abe, who had been the longest-serving prime minister of Japan in its postwar years, was shot and killed in broad daylight in a country with barely any civilian access to firearms. The suspect was immediately arrested, and commentators from all over the world began to speculate about the killer’s motive. After a few days, the police revealed that the 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami, who had built his own gun and tracked Abe’s movements, had not originally planned to kill Abe. In fact, the most high-profile political assassination in decades was carried out by a man who cared little for politics. Legendary Japanese filmmaker Masao Adachi, sensing a story sure to be misconstrued by the press, immediately began production on a biopic—not of Abe, but of Yamagami. At the North American premiere of the film, Revolution+1 (2023), last July, he said that this quick turnaround was not intended to garner controversy,...

A female voice is asking if the person recording her knew the song “Pronce Mai”. She explains that it's a Korean classic that she named her daughter after, and she starts singing it with a joyful force. With the first lyrics come the first images: those of a stylish young mother with her child in various locations, and finally of an island in the distance. This is the introduction to a family of two filmmakers who joined their forces to restore some fifty hours, or 100.000 feet of material on 16mm, additionally challenged with sound recordings on tape that no one has heard over thirty years.

Voices Of The Silenced is screening at Berlin International Film Festival

The narration of the movie switches between the mother and the daughter who are telling different parts of the story surrounding Park Soo-nam's decades' long effort in documenting the history of the Zainichi Korean in Japan.

It’s been almost a decade now that French-Canadian director Philippe Lesage’s intense, intricate dramas have been premiering in top festivals and receiving rave reviews from critics. And yet he unfortunately remains more or less unknown to general arthouse audiences.

Lesage began his career shooting documentaries, including the 2010 hospital chronicle The Heart That Beats, then made his first fictional feature, The Demons, in 2015, following it up in 2018 with Genesis. Both movies were coming-of-age stories — or more like cruel stories of youth, to cite the Nagisa Oshima film — helmed with laser-sharp precision and backed by formidable turns from a young cast. Fine-tuned and freewheeling at the same time, his narratives keep bubbling up until they boil over, in explosive sequences where the characters let it all out or start bellowing pop songs at will.

He’s a gifted and original filmmaker who should be getting more attention — which is why...

We recently learned that five years after Dragged Across Concrete, S. Craig Zahler will soon announce his next feature. In the meantime, the director has unveiled his favorite music, books, and––most pertinent to this site––films he watched in the past year.

The 21-movie list includes not only his ten favorites of the year but revival screenings as well, including Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky’s Werckmeister Harmonies, Kelly Reichardt’s Wendy and Lucy, Masaki Kobayashi’s Harakiri, Gaspar Noé’s Irreversible, Nagisa Ôshima’s The Pleasures of the Flesh, Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Memoria, and William Friedkin’s The Exorcist.

When it comes to new releases, amongst the favorites of the Bone Tomahawk director were Sean Durkin’s The Iron Claw, Skinamarink, Godzilla Minus One, the Indian action-thriller Jawan, films by Martin Scorsese and Jonathan Glazer, and the latest in the Saw franchise.

Check out the list below.

Godzilla Minus One...

Ryuhei Matsuda was born on the 9th of May, 1983, in Tokyo, to actress and producer Miyuki Matsuda and actor Yûsaku Matsuda, and only six years later he loses his father to cancer at the premature age of 40. At only 15, Ryuhei is approached by Nagisa Oshima with the life changing offer of a prominent role in his film Gohatto. Since then, Matsuda's magnetic charisma and remarkable versatility have allowed him to portray a wide range of characters, from brooding antiheroes to quirky and endearing figures, captivating audiences both in Japan and internationally.

With a unique ability to immerse himself in diverse roles, he has left an indelible mark on Japanese cinema and continues to be a beloved and influential figure in the world of acting. However, Matsuda's congenital air of disdain for the whole world, his glacial aloofness mixed with his innate handsomeness make him the prototype of effortless coolness,...

When it comes to categorizing classic films, determining the best 1970s horror movies is a touchy topic. As the decade was such a pivotal and formative era in horror cinema, there are dozens of movies that deserve to be highlighted. However, relative to their place in and contribution to horror history, some 1970s films stand out more than others.

Whether they're obscure 1970s horror movies or those largely recognized for their contributions to the genre, these films represent the best of their respective franchises and subcategories. Some of them even rank among the best Hollywood movies of the 1970s of any kind, as well as the highest-grossing. For viewers seeking the dark roots of modern horror cinema featuring monsters, slashers, ghosts, and unexplained occurrences, these are all essentials of the genre.

Related: 10 Highest-Grossing Movies Of The 1970s

Halloween (1978)

John Carpenter's Halloween is hailed as one of the best 1970s...

To celebrate the release of Mark Cousins’ new documentary The Storms of Jeremy Thomas, a portrait of the Oscar-winning producer responsible for bringing to life films by David Cronenberg, Jonathan Glazer, Jim Jarmusch, Bernardo Bertolucci, Nagisa Ôshima, Jerzy Skolimowski, and many more, NYC’s Quad Cinema is fittingly paying tribute to his career with a fantastic retrospective.

“Jeremy Thomas Presents” kicks off today and runs through September 28 at Quad Cinema, with The Storms of Jeremy Thomas opening this Friday, September 22. As the retrospective commences, we’re pleased to exclusively share the trailer along with comments directly from Thomas looking back at the making of these iconic films.

Sexy Beast

I was sent a script with a Jonathan Glazer attached, called “Sexy Beast”. It was on a Friday night, and I read it over the weekend. The screenplay was brilliant, and on the Monday I bought it before anyone else could.

While our massive, 60-film fall movie preview gives a hint at what to expect this season, it’s time to dive deeper into September. With films from Ethan Coen, Yorgos Lanthimos, and Luca Guadagnino being ripped off the month’s release calendar because studios don’t want to pay actors and writers fairly, it means the fall’s first offerings are a bit lighter––thankfully giving some truly independent productions further room to shine.

12. The Storms of Jeremy Thomas (Mark Cousins; Sept. 22 in theaters)

What do films like David Cronenberg’s Crash, Jonathan Glazer’s Sexy Beast, Jerzy Skolimowski’s Eo, Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive, Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor, Nagisa Ôshima’s Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, and (many) more have in common? They were produced by Oscar winner Jeremy Thomas. A new documentary by cinephile Mark Cousins, The Storms of Jeremy Thomas, explores the making of his most notable films.

Among the many films produced and distributed by Art Theatre Guild, the body of work of director Kazuo Kuroki remains one of the most interesting. While it never reached the same kind of attention than the features of his peers such as Nagisa Oshima and Akio Jissoji, his projects dealing with the psychological landscape of Japan after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are some of the best the company ever produced. Similar to the aforementioned directors, his time of Atg was also defined by stories which involved a critical view on Japanese society, especially the relation of people and authority, of crime and police, which is quite evident in his 1970 feature “Evil Spirits of Japan”.

Follow our coverage of Atg by clicking on the link below

The story revolves around two men: a yakuza named Murase and a policeman by the name of Ochiai (both played by Kei Sato...

What do films like David Cronenberg’s Crash, Jonathan Glazer’s Sexy Beast, Jerzy Skolimowski’s Sexy Beast, Jerzy Skolimowski’s Eo, Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive, Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor, Nagisa Ôshima’s Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, and more have in common? They were produced by Oscar winner Jeremy Thomas. A new documentary by cinephile Mark Cousins, The Storms of Jeremy Thomas, now explores the making of many of his most notable films. Ahead of a release on September 22 the first trailer has now landed.

Here’s the synopsis: “Jeremy Thomas, the Oscar-winning producer of films like Eo and The Last Emperor, is joined by documentarian Mark Cousins on his annual pilgrimage to the Cannes Film Festival, to give an intimate glimpse into the life of the legendary icon behind some of the most acclaimed and controversial films of all time. Featuring insights into a life lived just off-frame,...

Signaling the 10th anniversary since the introduction of Art Theatre Guild, “The Ceremony” is one of the best works of Nagisa Oshima and one of those films that highlights how multilayered, both audiovisuallly and contextually, cinema can be. The movie won multiple awards in 1972, both from Kinema Junpo and Mainichi Concours.

Follow our coverage of Atg by clicking on the link below

The story begins with Masuo Sakurada, a young man, receiving a shocking telegram from his cousin Terumichi. Not sure if it is true or not, he embarks on a trip towards his cousin's cabin, along with his cousin Ritsuko, in order to discover the truth. As the fact that, for him, Ritsuko is more than a relative, the terrible story of the Sakuradas also comes to the fore, as the trip proves to be also one down a terrible memory lane.

In that fashion, the movie unfolds in three axes.

The passing of Ryuichi Sakamoto in March 2023 marked a sad and significant loss for the world of music. Debuting with his experimental solo EP Thousand Knives (1978) at the age of twenty-six, Sakamoto would go on to have a 45-year-long career as a musician, producing countless solo albums and film scores, as well as music with the Japanese electropop band Yellow Magic Orchestra. Tracing his blossoming career in the mid-1980s was French photographer Elizabeth Lennard, who directed the made-for-tv documentary “Tokyo Melody: un film sur Ryuichi Sakamoto” (1985). The film presents an economically prosperous Tokyo, along with an intimate portrait of Sakamoto as he works on his then-upcoming solo album, Ongaku Zukan (1984).

Tokyo Melody is screening at Japan Cuts

As far as documentaries go, “Tokyo Melody” is distinctly hands-off. We're introduced to Sakamoto as he fiddles with what is presumably a new piece of recording equipment in the park, although the...

"It's not the same as coming in and being inspired." They got Nolan! Wow! Dive into movie geek heaven in this latest offering of the "Vidéo Club" series made by Konbini exploring an old video store in Paris with famous filmmakers. We've posted videos of Brad Pitt and Terry Gilliam and M. Night Shyamalan and Wes Anderson already in this classic video store. This time they got to bring in director Christopher Nolan to visit with his lead actor Cillian Murphy from Oppenheimer while they were in Paris on their promo tour (before the strike a few weeks ago). Nolan makes me want to watch Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent (aka Correspondent 17 in French), The Hill starring Sean Connery, and Nagisa Ôshima's Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, and he also chats about how Fritz Lang's Dr. Mabuse had a big influence on his Joker. Murphy talks about working with Ken Loach,...

NYC Weekend Watch is our weekly round-up of repertory offerings.

Museum of Modern Art

Films by Olivier Assayas, Jacques Rivette, Park Chan-wook, and Bong Joon-ho screen on 35mm as part of “Views from the Vault.”

IFC Center

A series on sex scenes brings Crash, Cruising, Don’t Look Now, Persona and more; Twilight and A Nightmare on Elm Street have late showings, while The Wicker Man plays in a new restoration.

Anthology Film Archives

Films by Nagisa Ōshima, including the David Bowie-led Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, are subject of a retrospective that has its final weekend.

Roxy Cinema

35mm prints of Jackass Number Two, Go, and Tokyo Drift screen, while the restoration of Raging Bull and Juliet Berto’s Neige plays.

Film at Lincoln Center

The Mother and the Whore continues in a 4K restoration.

Film Forum

A massive Billy Wilder retrospective is underway; Godard’s Contempt and Midnight Cowboy play in 4K restorations.

NYC Weekend Watch is our weekly round-up of repertory offerings.

Museum of Modern Art

Films by Jacques Rivette, Jane Campion, Harmony Korine, and John Waters screen in “Views from the Vault.”

Film Forum

A massive Billy Wilder retrospective is underway; Godard’s Contempt and Midnight Cowboy play in 4K restorations.

Roxy Cinema

35mm prints of Donnie Darko, Manhattan, and Preminger’s Laura screen.

Anthology Film Archives

Eight films by Nagisa Ōshima, one of the greatest Japanese directors, are subject of a retrospective while Sunrise plays in Essential Cinema.

Museum of the Moving Image

A summer movie series includes Purple Rain and Do the Right Thing, while a print of The Royal Tenenbaums screens on Saturday.

Film at Lincoln Center

As The Mother and the Whore continues in a 4K restoration.

IFC Center

The David Lynch and Studio Ghibli retrospectives continue while Scary Movie, Raising Arizona, and A Nightmare on Elm Street have late showings.

NYC Weekend Watch is our weekly round-up of repertory offerings.

Anthology Film Archives

Eight films by Nagisa Ōshima, one of the greatest Japanese directors, are subject of a retrospective.

Film at Lincoln Center

As The Mother and the Whore continues in a 4K restoration, the full Jean Eustache retrospective gets underway; Out of Sight plays for free this Friday night on Governors Island.

Roxy Cinema

35mm prints of Casino and Visconti’s The Damned screen, while Party Girl and Brick and Mirror show in 4K restorations.

Metrograph

Documentary filmmaker Tom Palazzolo is subject of a rare retrospective.

Film Forum

Godard’s Contempt and Midnight Cowboy play in 4K restorations.

Museum of the Moving Image

The original Star Wars trilogy, Roger Rabbit, and An American Werewolf in London play in a summer movie series, while a print of The Royal Tenenbaums screens on Saturday and Sunday; The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms also shows.

Japan’s Hiroshi Teshigahara, who seemed on track for greatness after winning two Oscar nominations for “Woman in the Sands,” will be the subject of a San Sebastian Festival retrospective.

Nominated for best foreign-language film in 1964, and winning Teshigahara a best director Academy Award nomination a year later, “Woman in the Sands” was just Teshigahara’s second feature, a social and erotic allegory which yoked the political convictions of Teshigahara and screenwriter Kobo Abe, both members of Japan’s communist party in their youth, with Abe’s penchant for the darkly surreal.

Turning on an entomologist from Tokyo who discovers a young widow living at the bottom of an enormous sandpit on a deserted beach, it also won a Cannes Special Jury prize. Hailed as a masterpiece, and building on 1961’s “The Pitfall,” a political allegory which won Teshigahara fans, with Abe adapting his TV play, it looked like Teshigahara...

Arrow Video has announced the July 2023 lineup of their subscription-based Arrow platform, available to subscribers in the US, Canada, the UK and Ireland.

Here’s everything you need to know…

July 7 starts the month in sun and fun with the “Permanent Vacation” Collection (UK/Ire/US/CA). In desperate need of a vacay? Well, be careful who you book with, because the flicks trips in Permanent Vacation are dream holidays that you’ll never return from.

Featuring murderous mini-breaks and sun, sea, sand and psychos, these gory getaways feature everything from island paradises full of monsters and mutants to nature breaks from the rat race that will be the death of you. So, pack your sunglasses and flip-flops, but don’t bother buying a return ticket, because you’re going on a Permanent Vacation.

Titles Include: Horrors of Malformed Men, Lake Michigan Monster, The Wind.

Also on July 7, subscribers are...

Arrow Offers Classic and Cutting Edge Cult Cinema - July 2023 Lineup Includes Spaghetti Westerns, a Trip Through History, the Inspiration of Josh Ruben and More!: "London, UK - Arrow Video is excited to announce the July 2023 lineup of their subscription-based Arrow platform, available to subscribers in the US, Canada, the UK and Ireland.

July 7 starts the month in sun and fun with Permanent Vacation (UK/Ire/US/CA).

In desperate need of a vacay? Well, be careful who you book with, because the flicks trips in Permanent Vacation are dream holidays that you’ll never return from.

Featuring murderous mini-breaks and sun, sea, sand and psychos, these gory getaways feature everything from island paradises full of monsters and mutants to nature breaks from the rat race that will be the death of you. So, pack your sunglasses and flip-flops, but don’t bother buying a return ticket, because you...

The cinematic world experienced a significant loss with the passing of Ryuichi Sakamoto in March 2023. The acclaimed Japanese composer has worked with some of the best filmmakers during his 40-year career work in film, winning an Oscar for the epic 1987 historical drama The Last Emperor.

Related: 10 Best Movies With Famous Soundtracks

Along with venerated filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci, Sakamoto worked with everyone from Pedro Almodovar and Brian De Palma to Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and Nagisa Oshima to create arresting soundscapes and ambient film scores that help reverberate the dramatic mood of each story told. It's time to highlight Ryuichi Sakamoto's absolute best movie scores to honor the artist's lasting legacy.

Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983)

Sakamoto's first film score came via Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, an underrated war film about a British soldier attempting to bridge the customary gap between the oppressors and the oppressed. Haunting and hopeful at once, the lilting...

by Palomo Lin-Linares

How does one categorize the films of Nagisa Oshima? Even among his brethren new wave directors, he stands as an auteur independent of any particular movement. “Japanese Summer: Double Suicide,” in all its absurdism, provocation, and politically charged imagery, is a perfect example of Oshima's non-conformist method of expression.

on Amazon by clicking on the image below

The film opens with a series of left hook vignettes, connected by cultural imagery which serve as an introduction to the film's language and style. Nejiko, a young sexually obsessed woman (Keiko Sakurai) meets Otoko, a man obsessed with death (Kei Sato). This pseudo romance is interrupted when the couple are taken prisoner by mysterious gangsters and placed in a hideaway. Here they meet the rest of the movie's characters that are composed of equally obsessed oddballs: a television loving fascist, a trigger happy kid, an anarchist,...

NYC Weekend Watch is our weekly round-up of repertory offerings.

Film Forum

A retrospective on New York movies is underway, featuring Polanski, Scorsese, Spike Lee, and Hitchcock; Fellini’s early masterwork I Vitelloni continues screening; The Muppets Take Manhattan plays this Sunday.

Film at Lincoln Center

“The World of Apichatpong Weerasethakul” brings films directed and curated by the Thai master (who we talked to about the retrospective), among them work from Oshima, Kiarostami, Cassavetes and more.

Museum of Modern Art

A Rialto Pictures retrospective offers a smorgasbord of classic films, including Grand Illusion, Army of Shadows, and The Conversation on 35mm.

Museum of the Moving Image

Steven Spielberg’s greatest film, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, plays on 35mm this Friday and Saturday while a series on summer movies continues with The Omen.

Japan Society

One of Japan’s greatest directors, Shinji Somai, is subject of a retrospective that continues with...

Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI, and sign up for our weekly email newsletter by clicking here.REMEMBRANCERyuichi Sakamoto: Coda.Ryuichi Sakamoto died last week at the age of 71. He was the keyboardist for Yellow Magic Orchestra, who revolutionized techno in the early ’80s, and later became a pioneering composer for film—notably Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor (1987) and Nagisa Oshima’s Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983), in which he stars. It is impossible to sum up his impact in a bullet point, but we offer up a few finds: below, a clip from the 1985 film Tokyo Melody, in which Sakamoto shows us how to compose on the then-state-of-the-art Fairlight Cmi. Here, a 2018 New York Times piece about his quest to create the ideal background playlist for a beloved restaurant. “If I was an architect, I would be a bad one,...

The world mourns the loss of a man behind some of the most beautiful, mesmerizing, and transcendent music ever composed. On March 23rd, 2023, renowned composer Ryuichi Sakamoto passed away at 71. The cause of death was cancer, something he had battled for quite some time. Since his early days as a member and founder of the “Yellow Magic Orchestra,” Sakamoto demonstrated range as a composer and would be an influential figure covering a wide range of genres from electronic to classical. His work has often been fittingly described as atmospheric, emotional, hypnotic, beautiful, and majestic. He was also open about being an environmentalist, studying world culture, and advocating for peace. Journalists Gigova and Orie, in an article on CNN's website, detail his activism stating, “Outside music, Sakamoto was known for activism — and in particular for his anti-nuclear views, which saw him demonstrating against nuclear power plants and co-organizing a “No Nukes...