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With only six feature films to his name, four of which featured his iconic onscreen alter ego, the cinema of Jacques Tati remains an island of unique delight despite his influence on decades of filmmakers since and comparative efforts of peers from his own period (considering Marguerite Duras’ critique, now widely accepted, concerning the taken-for-granted stylistic likeness between Tati and Robert Bresson, a director whose subject matters were a bit less pleasant or comical). Without Tati and his bumbling character Monsieur Hulot, sputtering about memorably in a series of some of the most well-crafted moments of ingenious, highly organized chaos ever put to celluloid, we’d be without latter day influences, like Roy Andersson, Otar Iosseliani, several Peter Sellers characters, and even Rowan Atkinson’s similarly crafted Mr. Bean.

At the time, Tati’s obvious influences date back to the silent era, where Buster Keaton and Charles Chaplin crafted the...

Exclusive: Documentary about legendary Israeli producers sells to France, Japan and Australia.

Hilla Medalia’s feature documentary The Go-Go Boys, capturing the life and times of legendary Israeli producers Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus, has been racking up sales following its premiere in Cannes Classics.

Paris-based Other Angle has sold it France (Paradis Film), Japan (Nikkatsu Corporation) and Australia (Champion Pictures) and is close to sealing deals for the UK and Germany.

Both Golan and Globus were in town for the documentary’s packed out premiere last week followed by a party at their spiritual Cannes home of the Carlton, where they did business for more than 20 years.

The company has also sealed deals on hit French, found-footage comedy hit Babysitting in which a young employee trashes his boss’s house when he is asked to babysit for the weekend.

The picture, which has drawn 1.7m spectators in France, has sold to Spain (Inopia Films), Hungary (Cinetel...

The Cinema de la Plage where screenings of classic films are held at 9:30 each night; click for a larger look

Photo: Brad Brevet I already mentioned how Warner Home Video would be releasing a *new* Stanley Kubrick Blu-ray collection, this time including high definition versions of Lolita and Barry Lyndon with previously released HD versions of Spartacus, Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Shining, Full Metal Jacket, Eyes Wide Shut and a new 40th Anniversary Edition of A Clockwork Orange. That set hits Blu-ray on May 31, but Kubrick's now-40-year-old A Clockwork Orange will be hitting the Cannes Croisette a little bit earlier than that.

Another, late night look at the Cinema de la Plage; click for a larger look

Photo: Brad Brevet It had been previously announced, but yesterday the Cannes Film Festival made it official that A Clockwork Orange would be part of the...

The Cannes Film Festival's unveiled its Classics program today: "Fourteen films, five documentaries, surprises, a Masterclass (Malcolm McDowell), new or restored prints: The program is based on proposals from national archives, cinematheques, studios, producers and distributors. Rare classics to discover or re-discover, they will be presented in 35mm or high definition digital prints."

The Films

The first round of descriptions comes straight from the Festival.

A Trip to the Moon (Le Voyage dans la lune) by Georges Méliès (France, 1902, 16'). "The color version of Georges Méliès most famous film, A Trip to the Moon (1902) is visible again 109 years after its release: having been long considered lost, this version was found in 1993 in Barcelona. In 2010, a full restoration is initiated by Lobster Films, Gan Foundation for Cinema and Technicolor Foundation for Heritage Cinema. The digital tools of today allows them to re-assemble the fragments of 13 375 images from the film and restore them one by one.

Cannes Classics is a recent addition to the festival, and will enjoy its 8th instalment this year. Part of the line-up of this section of the fest is screened at Ceinema de la Plage, that’s right, on the beach. You’ve got to admit that it’s pretty cool – an open-aired screening of a classic film on the French Riviera, away from the exclusivity of the Palais, and able to be enjoyed by Panini-eating passers-by on the Croisette. There should be more of this at the festival, it’s good for the soul.

This year’s line-up of films includes work by Stanley Kubrick, Bernardo Bertolucci, Euzhan Palcy (currently being honored by MoMA in New York) and Jerry Schatzberg, whose photograph of Faye Dunaway is embedded into this year’s festival poster above.

Robert DeNiro and Jane Rosenthal will present a screening of “A Bronx Tale” to celebrate ten...

Cannes Classics is a recent addition to the festival, and will enjoy its 8th instalment this year. Part of the line-up of this section of the fest is screened at Ceinema de la Plage, that’s right, on the beach. You’ve got to admit that it’s pretty cool – an open-aired screening of a classic film on the French Riviera, away from the exclusivity of the Palais, and able to be enjoyed by Panini-eating passers-by on the Croisette. There should be more of this at the festival, it’s good for the soul.

This year’s line-up of films includes work by Stanley Kubrick, Bernardo Bertolucci, Euzhan Palcy (currently being honored by MoMA in New York) and Jerry Schatzberg, whose photograph of Faye Dunaway is embedded into this year’s festival poster above.

Robert DeNiro and Jane Rosenthal will present a screening of “A Bronx Tale” to celebrate ten...