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Nyt Amanda Peet on why she doesn't read reviews

Variety Ron Howard to produce and direct much discussed political book Hillbilly Elegy. A very odd fit if you ask us, since Howard is skilled at broad-stroked popcorn pictures, not nuanced thematic drama

Nyt Radley Metzger, erotic cinema pioneer (The Lickerish Quartet, Score) has died at 88

Shadowplay looks back at Joan Crawford in Torch Song with some notes on Feud

Interview Mag talks to Pilou Asbaek (A War, Ghost in the Shell) 

Mnpp John Waters still making trouble onscreen and in print 

Theater Mania Provincetown's got an amazing lineup of concerts this summer including Sutton Foster and Megan Hilty

Coming Soon Some Scarlet Witch action from the Avengers: Infinity War set. It's always amusing to see how strange these things look before visual fx

i09 reviews the direct to video animated feature Teen Titans: Judas Contract, based on the classic...

Radley Metzger died on March 31st at the age of 88, something that has not been widely reported in the mainstream and film press. This omission doesn’t necessarily surprise — though it does disturb — me. Like his work, Radley was largely marginalized because his films often included naked people having sex. Yes, the films were about sex but they were also about a lot more. Films like Score, Camille 2000 and The Lickerish Quartet were more than just softcore films. As the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s 2014 sold-out retrospective demonstrated to new audiences, Metzer’s films had strong visuals […]...

Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveriesNEWSRadley Metzger's The Lickerish QuartetRadley Metzger, whose groundbreaking erotic films helped set standards of style for both mainstream and arthouse cinema, has died at 88. His classics Camille 2000 (1969) and The Lickerish Quartet (1970) were featured on Mubi last year. Critic and programmer Steve Macfarlane interviewed the director at Slant Magazine for the Film Society of Lincoln Center's 2014 retrospective devoted to Metzger.Recommended VIEWINGThe Cinémathèque française has been on a roll uploading video discussions that have taken place at their Paris cinema. This 34 minute talk is between Wes Anderson and director/producer Barbet Schroeder.The Criterion Collection has recently released a new edition of Michelangelo Antonioni's masterpiece Blow-Up, and has uploaded this stellar clip of actor David Hemmings speaking on a talk show about making the film.Recommended READINGHoward Hawks' ScarfaceHow does Chicago intertwine itself with crime and the culture created in the mix of the two?...

Cult Epics has long been one of our favorite home video distributors for their unwavering dedication to the darkest corners of upsetting and challenging cinema. From their releases of Radley Metzger's late '60s softcore masterpieces Score, The Lickerish Quartet, and Camille 2000, to their championing of German underground legend Jorg Buttgereit, to their astoung releases of disturbing classics like Agustin Villaronga's In a Glass Cage and Gerald Kargl's Angst, Cult Epics has never shied away from a challenging title, often introducing home video enthusiasts to films they may not have known existed. Now, as they celebrate their 25th year, Cult Epics is getting ready to release their first book, a hardcover exploration of their legacy titled Cult Epics Comprehensive Guide to Cult Cinema. The book...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Next month will mark the return of New York City’s Quad Cinema, a theater reshaped and rebranded as a proper theater via the resources of Charles S. Cohen, head of the distribution outfit Cohen Media Group. While we got a few hints of the line-up during the initial announcement, they’ve now unveiled their first full repertory calendar, running from April 14th through May 4th, and it’s an embarassment of cinematic riches.

Including the previously revealed Lina Wertmüller retrospective, one inventive series that catches our eye is First Encounters, in which an artist will get to experience a film they’ve always wanted to see, but never have, and in which you’re invited to take part. The first match-ups in the series include Kenneth Lonergan‘s first viewing Edward Yang‘s Yi Yi, Noah Baumbach‘s first viewing of Withnail and I, John Turturro‘s first viewing of Pather Panchali,...

With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit the interwebs. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.

Almost Holy (Steve Hoover)

The most fascinating part of Steve Hoover‘s latest documentary Almost Holy is how its subject Gennadiy Mokhnenko parallels the life of well-known Russian cartoon Krokodil Gena. The latter deals with a lonely crocodile zoo worker named Gena and his friend Cheburashka: a young, abandoned creature rejected by the establishment employing him. The two therefore construct a home for the lonely as...

The Lickerish Quartet

Directed by Radley Metzger

Screenplay by Michael DeForrest

Italy| USA | West Germany, 1970

America’s number one softcore purveyor, Radley Metzger, and one of the pioneers of sex cinema, is best known as the director of such erotic milestones as Little Mother, Score and the French lesbian drama Therese and Isabelle. With all of his features, he was acclaimed for his stylish visuals and some say he was one of the best directors of the “porno chic” era of adult cinema. Just before making the transition into hardcore adult films, he directed what many believe to be his greatest and most mainstream movie, The Lickerish Quartet.

In a variation of Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Teorema, the film opens on an aristocratic family of three who watch a stag film together. There’s the father (Frank Wolff); his wife (Erika Remberg), and her grown son (Paolo Turco), who all...

I first came to know of Radley Metzger through his posters, which bears out what the 85-year-old erstwhile king of high-class erotica told me recently, that “my respect for poster design came from my realization that more people would see my posters—for a longer period—than would see my films.” That should be rectified somewhat next week when the Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York embarks on a week-long, 8-film retrospective of Metzger’s legendary, ground-breaking “Art Cinema Erotica.”

The poster that first caught my eye was for a 1975 film directed by one Henry Paris. The film was the arrestingly titled The Opening of Misty Beethoven and I was struck by its combination of the austere and the voluptuous: its clean, monochrome simplicity, its beautifully balanced composition, and its nice use of the blocky serif typeface Clarendon, a favorite of mine. That juxtaposed with the lead-off quote...

The fine folks over at Olive Films have been carving out quite a nice niche for themselves by distributing obscure little titles that never seem to get enough love. Well, get set, kids, because things are gonna get even better. Read on for details.

From the Press Release

Olive Films has entered into an exclusive multi-year distribution agreement with Cult Epics, the independent label known for its catalog of cult classic horror, art-house and erotica titles from the 1920s to the present.

The deal includes all North American distribution rights across all platforms including theatrical, packaged media, digital, VOD, television and more. The deal was announced by Olive Films/Martini Entertainment Senior Vice President Eric D. Wilkinson.

“I’m excited to bring the Cult Epics studio under the Olive Films family of labels that also includes our recent partnership with 108 Media,” stated Wilkinson. “Cult Epics’ catalog of titles is a...

I love when I am presented with opportunities to expose others to the glory of Radley Metzger and Arrow Video's recent Blu-ray special editions give me an opportunity to do just that. This trio of Metzger's most well-known works on Blu-ray is a great primer to those looking to get into his work on a larger scale. Score, The Lickerish Quartet, and Camille 2000 represent some of the very best softcore erotic drama/comedy of this golden age, and these Blu-ray discs are a great way to experience for the first (and second, and third, etc...) time!ScoreMetzger's controversial swinger comedy appears on UK Blu-ray in it's original theatrical format, which is kind of a shame as the Us disc from Cult Epics has a longer more...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

The Lickerish Quartet

Review by Pete of Mondo Squallido

Stars: Silvana Venturelli, Frank Wolff, Erika Remberg, Paolo Turco | Written by Michael DeForrest | Directed by Radley Metzger

The second film chronologically from Arrow’s three Metzger releases is The Lickerish Quartet. A film that upon it’s release was critically praised by the likes of Andy Warhol but panned by critics such as Roger Ebert. A film that blurs reality and illusion and a film that is for some both visually complex and intellectually stimulating. The Lickerish Quartet is easily one of Metzger’s most ambitious films from his filmography.

The film opens up with a rich couple played by Frank Wolff and Erika Remberg watching pornography with Remberg’s son played by Paolo Turco. After becoming bored of the film, they decide to go to a travelling carnival to watch a live stunt show. One of the riders, played by...

It’s Monday, so we all know what that means! Yes, it’s time for another rundown of DVDs and Blu-ray’s hitting stores online and offline this week. It’s a very light week this week, so let us breakdown the new releases and highlight what you should – and shouldn’t – be buying from today, February 11th 2013.

Pick Of The Week

Sinister (DVD/Blu-ray)

Desperately in need of a best seller to revive his struggling career, true crime writer Ellison (Ethan Hawke), moves his family to the scene of his most recent story; the unsolved, gruesome murder of a loving, happy suburban family. Shunned by the local community and strained by his obligations to his family, the discovery of a batch of home movies in the attic offers Ellison shocking proof to the crime he is investigating and the terrifying realisation that his investigation may be putting his family in mortal danger.

Your Weekly Source for the Newest Releases to Blu-Ray Tuesday, August 30th, 2011

The 5th Quarter: Special Edition (2010)

Synopsis: In February, 2006, young Luke Abbate accepted a ride home from a fellow student following his high-school team practice. In a severe case of irresponsible and reckless teen-age driving, and over the objections of Luke and the other young passengers, the driver lost control of the car at nearly 90 miles-per-hour, spinning off a narrow road and landing in an embankment some seventy feet below. Luke suffered irreparable brain damage, and died in the hospital two days later – just four days before his sixteenth birthday. (highdefdigest.com)

Special Features: Making-of Featurette.

Bereavement (2010)

Synopsis: The horrific account of 6 year old Martin Bristol, abducted from his backyard swing and forced to witness the brutal crimes of a deranged madman. (highdefdigest.com)

Special Features:

Commentary track with director/writer Stevan Mena Behind the scenes featurette Deleted...

Cult Epics, in their continuing charge to become the king of artsy erotica on home video, have announced their upcoming special edition Blu-ray and DVD of Tinto Brass's Monamour.  This follows stellar presentations of Radley Metzger's Score, The Lickerish Quartet, and Camille 2000 in HD, and I expect nothing less than excellence from Cult Epics on this disc.  In addition to the main film, they are including a rare short film from Brass titles Kick the Cock, which is making it's home video debut on the Monamour Blu-ray/DVD.  See what Cult Epics has to say and check out the pre-order links below:Tinto Brass'S Monamour "Salaciously entertaining and shows the director's unique flair for portraying the female form." - Twitch Film"Monamour gets a first rate release...

“Crudity is in the eye of the beholder.” So says Erika Remberg in the opening scene of Radley Metzger’s 1970 softcore feature The Lickerish Quartet, one of a string of Metzger films that attempted to bring artistry to erotica at a time when cinema was open to that. Remberg is referring to a pornographic film that she watches with her husband Frank Wolff in front of their milquetoast grown son Paolo Turco, but she could also be describing the guiding principles of Metzger, a director who dealt with sex frankly and creatively in his long career, which extended to ...

Cult Epics are on a roll lately!  Yesterday I posted a review of their stellar Blu-ray of The Lickerish Quartet, as well as an announcement for their brand new extended Blu-ray of Camille 2000 in June.  The hits just keep on coming as this morning they've announced that they are re-releasing Agusti Villaronga's classic shocker In a Glass Cage in theaters and on Blu-ray/DVD this year!  Here are the details:agusti Villaronga's "In A Glass Cage"To Make U.S. Theatrical Run This Yearfilm Released By Cult Epics Will Open May 12In San Francisco And May 20 In Los ANGELESLos Angeles, CA (April 28, 2011) -Cult Epics is pleased to announce San Francisco and Los Angeles theatrical release dates for In a Glass Cage. The film was directed...

Hot on the heels of their awesome release of The Lickerish Quartet, Cult Epics have announced some cool new details for their imminent release of another Radley Metzger classic, Camille 2000.Cult Epics have managed to secure a never before seen recut of the film by Metzger and will be releasing it for the first time in a high definition transfer on both Blu-ray and DVD. Camille 2000 (Extended Version) Directed by: Radley Metzger Stars: Daniele Gaubert, Nino Castelnuovo, Eleonora Rossi Drago A child of the sixties sexual revolution, beautiful, sensuous Marguerite (Daniel Gaubert) is addicted to sex and money. She is kept by a wealthy man, has a string of young lovers and hosts wild orgies in her luxurious villa. When she falls in love...

Cult Epics have taken on the erotica of Radley Metzger in a very serious way.  In fact, very few labels can say they've taken 60's and 70's arthouse erotica as seriously as Cult Epics.  Between their collection of Radley Metzger on DVD and Blu-ray and their upcoming Tinto Brass release on Blu-ray, I think they're position in this small field is secure.  It is one thing, though, to simply release these films on Blu-ray, it is altogether another to produce releases worthy of the format.  Have Cult Epics succeeded in this regard?  The answer, with a few minor caveats, is yes.The Lickerish Quartet is one of Metzger's most well known works, and the last of his erotic films not to feature any hardcore action.  Is...

Despite Tyler Perry’s remarkably consistent appeal to churchgoing audiences, his latest film “Madea’s Big Happy Family” didn’t quite live up to his previous films’ box office demolition derby: it came in second to “Rio,” Fox’s family-friendly adventure about a romance between two beautiful Brazilian birds. All that really means, however, is that audiences are more interested than even in markedly different sorts of entertainment, which is why we’ve chosen an especially eclectic collection of home video choices this week.

I’ve always felt that live-action musicals, with literally five exceptions*, are not for me. The idea that a group of strangers could suddenly burst into simultaneous song and dance with no prior opportunity to rehearse is simply ridiculous. And where’s the music coming from anyway? Preposterous. Armed with that kind of attitude it seems obvious that I would avoid any effort to watch a Bollywood film… at least until this week. In addition to my surprising Pick Of the Week other new titles hitting the street today include the BBC’s Human Planet series, the forty-year-old awesomely-titled softcore flick The Lickerish Quartet, the killer boar movie Chawz, and many more. (*The only great movie musicals are: Happiness Of the Katakuris, Meet the Feebles, The Muppet Movie, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, and The Wizard Of Oz) If you see something you like, click on the image to buy it from Amazon. 3 Idiots...

Following the colorful re-issue of Radley Metzger’s colorful 1970s erotic favorite Score! last fall, Cult Epics will release two other Metzger titles on Blu-ray and DVD: The Lickerish Quartet (1970) will be available on April 26 and Camille 2000 (1969) comes out on June 14.

The sexy stylings of Radley Metzger are on display in The Lickerish Quartet.

The Lickerish Quartet Blu-ray and DVD carry the list prices of $34.98 and $29.98, respectively. The Camille 2000 Blu-ray and DVD are also priced at $34.98 and $29.98.

In The Lickerish Quartet, an aristocratic family becomes obsessed with a striking blond actress (Silvano Venturelli) while watching her in what appears to be a crude, silent stag film. After a visit to a local carnival, they meet the girl in person and invite her back to their mansion, upon which time she takes turns seducing the family members and unlocking their fantasies, family secrets and hidden desires.

The Lickerish Quartet...

A look at what's new on DVD today:

"Black Lightning" (2009)

Directed by Dmitriy Kiselev and Aleksandr Voytinskiy

Released by Universal Studios

"Wanted" director Timur Bekmambetov produced this Russian action flick about a man and his flying car, using the same effects team that worked on all of his previous films including "Night Watch." A Russian trailer is here since where we're going, we don't need to understand words.

"7th Hunt" (2010)

Directed by Jon Cohen

Released by Vanguard Cinema

A motley group of young adults are abducted and forced to fend for their survival at an abandoned military training center in the middle of nowhere in Jon Cohen's thriller.

"Alien Vs. Ninja" (2010)

Directed by Seiji Chiba

Released by Funimation

A selection of last year's New York Asian Film Festival, Seiji Chiba's crazy genre mashup may just be "the best and wittiest movie ever to air at 2am on the SyFy Channel" in the future,...

Reviewer: Jeffrey M. Anderson

Rating (out of 5): ***½

Radley Metzger is widely acknowledged as one of America's greatest erotic filmmakers, which basically means that he's more serious than Russ Meyer and his films more artful than most porn. Metzger is perhaps best known for Camille 2000 (1969), The Lickerish Quartet (1970), The Opening of Misty Beethoven (1975), and Score, which has been re-released on DVD in an uncensored version.

Adapted by Jerry Douglas from his own play, Score features four main characters, plus a fifth supporting character. It takes place over a weekend in a fictitious European city. A "swinging" couple, Elvira (Claire Wilbur) and Jack (Gerald Grant) have a running contest to see who can seduce more members of the same sex. They lure other couples over for dinner, and Elvira sleeps with the woman, while Jack sleeps with the man. Their latest victims are newly married Eddie (Casey Donovan) and Betsy...

81-year-old filmmaker and distributor Radley Metzger has never been an artist who chased cheap thrills. Until the sea change of the '70s, when theatrically-released erotica was rejected in favor of hardcore pornography like Deep Throat, Metzger gained international acclaim for directing sophisticated, literate and lavishly stylized erotic films like The Lickerish Quartet, Camille 2000 and Therese and Isabelle. This week, Metzger's 1972 milestone Score, a film that Interview once said "hilariously hits the bull's-eye of bisexual chic," has been made available and uncut for the first on DVD/Blu-ray from Cult Epics:

Score is based on a 1971 hit Off-Broadway play that follows the erotic exploits of a happily married swinging couple (Claire Wilbur and Gerald Grant) who make a bet that they can seduce a couple of naïve young newlyweds during a weekend get-together at their luxury Riviera Villa. The young couple is played by Lynn Lowry, who starred in...

Mubi's teaming up with two festivals this week to offer a wide-ranging selection of films you can watch from anywhere. Starting today. And for free.

The 17th Oldenburg International Film Festival, opening today, is featuring a retrospective of work by the legendary master of Euro-erotica Radley Metzger. Two of those films — Camille 2000 (1969) and The Lickerish Quartet (1970; image above) — are featured in the online program along with eight shorts from new filmmakers competing for the German Independence Award. Watch them here from today through Sunday. (Note: The Metzgers are viewable everywhere but in the Us; The Drifter everywhere but in Germany.)

The online program we're co-presenting with Alpha-ville features five films from this new Festival of Digital Arts, Music and Culture happening in London this weekend, and you can watch them for free through September 22. Right here.