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Terracotta Distribution has got a sale going on this month for 10 of their kung fu titles, simply go to this link. You’ll be able to watch the Terracotta’s Classic Kung Fu Collection as well as the likes of The Masked Avengers, Five Element Ninjas and One-Armed Swordsman at over 40% off.

In addition to this, we’d like to draw attention to their wider catalogue that are available on Amazon Prime. Otherwise, you can always check out the VOD platform to be able to stream any of their back catalogue, click here.

Here’s a quick guide to the Top 5 Kung Fu films released so far in the Terracotta’s Classic Kung Fu Collection:

Hero Of Shaolin

Fearless Shaolin monks battle ninja assassins, vicious gangs, and even the Undead, in their quest to take the Golden Sutra to Tibet.

Stars Alexander Lo Rei, (Wu Tang Vs Ninja), Kim Fan,...

Hnn | Horrornews.net

Go beyond your wildest fear when the Vestron Video Collector’s Series releases the third entry in the iconic Re-Animator series, Beyond Re-Animator, arriving on limited edition Blu-ray™ on July 24 from Lionsgate. Directed by horror veteran Brian Yuzna (The Dentist, Faust, Return of the Living Dead III) and starring Jeffrey Combs as Dr. Herbert West, …

The post Vestron’s Beyond Re-Animator Coming to Blu-ray 7/24 first appeared on Hnn | Horrornews.net...

★★★☆☆ Billed as a free interpretation of Goethe's original play, Alexander Sokurov's Faust (2011) sees the Russian auteur returning to his proclivity for challenging depictions of male protagonists, to somewhat perplexing results. Collating his traditional cinematic interests, namely the fragility and combined strengths and weaknesses of masculinity, Faust is a slow moving, murkily fascinating depiction of moral ambiguity, painted on a broad and visually operatic canvas that eschews straightforwardness in favour of a dreamlike narrative texture.

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Ghost Stories: Volumes 1&2

If being scared out of your wits is what Christmas is all about for you, then blame the BBC. For most of the 1970s, and again in the 2000s, a tiny portion of the licence fee went to creating a series of short films based on the ghostly writings of the great Mr James. These were broadcast in the small hours of the festive season and made their mark not just because they weren't joining in with the more traditional fun, but because they were among the best things British television has ever produced.

The series started off in an unconventional manner, with Jonathan Miller directing a classic version of James's Whistle And I'll Come To You. Miller's film laid the template for all that followed: shot on location on film, cast one well-respected, not too famous actor – in this case Sir Michael Hordern – then heat...

London, June 2: Hollywood film director Michael Mann will lead the jury at this year's Venice Film Festival, organisers have announced.

Best known for crime dramas 'Heat' and 'The Insider', Mann, 69, will help decide the winner of the prestigious Golden Lion prize, the BBC reported.

Alexander Sokurov's adaptation of Faust won the award last year. Previous winners of the award include.

Alberto Barbera, the festival's new director, has said he wants a 'less glitzy' event this year

The new director of the Venice film festival has promised a "more sober, less glitzy" event for the 69th edition later this year.

Artistic director Alberto Barbera, who was appointed in December, has revealed plans to cut the number of films showing on the Lido. There will be fewer than 50 films in total at this year's festival, with only 18 showing in competition, he told Italian reporters.

"We're starting a change in Venice's skin, in which within two or three years we will have a nice rebirth," Barbera told Italian journalists. "The festival is like a grand old lady, a refined lady, but one in need of being freshened up. I believe a festival should take responsibility for its choice, and not to simply select dozens and dozens of titles."

Us film-makers being considered for...

This ponderous movie is regarded by its writer-director, the talented Russian mystic Alexander Sokurov, as the concluding section of a quartet of films on the subject of the corrupting effects of power, following on from his biographical studies of Hitler (Moloch), Lenin (Taurus) and the emperor Hirohito (The Sun). It won the Golden Lion at Venice last year but is a dull affair, made in German, set in 18th-century central Europe, shot in the Czech Republic and Iceland. It has the impoverished, lugubrious scholar Faust pursuing the meaning of life and taking up with Mauritius, a grotesquely repellent version of Mephistopheles. Mauritius works as the town's pawnbroker and moneylender and reveals during one of his pointless romps with Faust to have his penis attached to his backside. After much rambling talk, Faust sells his soul to Mauritius in order to have sex with the local beauty, Margarete. He signs the...

Based on a gothic series that ran on American TV during the far-off 1960s, Dark Shadows stars Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins, the scion of a prosperous British mercantile family in 18th-century New England, who's turned into a vampire by a local witch and buried at night in the local woods. Accidentally disinterred in 1972, during that brief period between Watergate and the end of the Vietnam war, Barnabas sets about restoring the family's fortune. Made in Britain, exquisitely shot by the French cameraman Bruno Delbonnel (who lit Amelie, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Sokurov's Faust) and beautifully designed by Burton's regular collaborator, Rick Heinrichs, Dark Shadows is a visual delight. Depp is a poised, proud, sad figure, frightened by his own ability to cause harm. But ultimately the film is rather ordinary, a bit like a modest Roger Corman horror flick embarrassed by the size of its budget.

Dark Shadows (12A)

(Tim Burton, 2012, Us) Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Eva Green, Chloë Grace Moretz, Jackie Earle Haley. 113 mins

Another expensive pop-gothic fantasy (remake) for Depp and Burton's gallery – how long before either they get bored or we do? This time Johnny's an effete 18th-century vampire, reawakened in 1972 to reunite with his dysfunctional Addams-like descendants and marvel at the modern world. Expect fish-out-of-water silliness, a light shade of darkness, and the usual descent into messiness.

Café De Flore (15)

(Jean-Marc Vallée, 2011, Can) Vanessa Paradis, Kevin Parent, Hélène Florent. 121 mins

Music and mystery add a great deal to this well-made emotional drama, which switches between a present-day DJ and a 1970s mother (Paradis) whose child has Down's syndrome.

Beloved (15)

(Christophe Honoré, 2011, Fra/UK/Cze) Chiara Mastroianni, Ludivine Sagnier, Catherine Deneuve. 139 mins

Using flashbacks and musical moments, Honoré tells the story of a former prostitute, her daughter and the men in their lives.

Sokurov's version of Goethe's tragedy is part bad dream, part music-less opera, with hallucinatory flashes of fear

Aleksandr Sokurov's Faust is a version of Goethe's tragedy that won the Golden Lion at last year's Venice film festival; it is being presented as the last part of a "cinematic tetralogy" with three earlier films, Moloch (1999) about Hitler, Taurus (2001) about Lenin and The Sun (2005) about Hirohito. Generally, when directors claim this, it is a transparent ploy to shift the back-catalogue DVDs, but this surely can't be true of such a distinguished film-maker, and there is some dramatic interest in linking fictional Faust with three historical figures, each pondering power, destiny, heaven and hell.

The Austrian actor Johannes Zeiler is Faust, dissecting grisly corpses in a vaguely delineated central Europe in what looks like the 16th century of Marlowe's Faustus. He is brooding over the location of the soul (perhaps...

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Aleksandr Sokurov’s four-part meditation on the interplay between power and evil comes to a close with Faust, a challenging, dense take on Goethe’s famed text. With the previous three parts focusing on the travails of historical figures – Moloch on Hitler, Taurus on Lenin and The Sun on Hirohito – Faust might seem like a peculiar post-script, especially when it unfolds like a spiritual prequel, revealing just a little about what might have driven these men to unthinkable behaviours.

Sokurov’s film – which won the Golden Lion at least year’s Venice Film Festival – keenly plays fast and loose with the source material, changing plot structure, character machinations and location, rendering the project, for better and for worse, very much his own. The core premise of course remains the same; the well-meaning if frustrated Doctor Faust (Johannes Zeiler) visits a cantankerous moneylender (Anton Adasinsky), and after signing in his own blood,...

★★★★☆ Making its way to UK cinemas eight months on from its Golden Lion win at last year's Venice Film Festival, Alexander Sokurov's Faust (2011) has lost little of its enigmatic zeal in the interim period. Critical opinion has been somewhat divided on this final chapter in the Russian director's tetralogy (which includes 1999's Moloch, 2000's Taurus and 2005's The Sun), yet for all its over-ambition and debatable inaccessibility, this unique take on Goethe's classic tale remains one of the most mesmeric, hypnotic cinematic experiences of the last twelve months.

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American Pie: Reunion (15)

(Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, 2012, Us) Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott, Eugene Levy, Alyson Hannigan. 113 mins

It's rare to see teen-movie characters all grown up, and this illustrates the reason why: they just make us feel old. The gang's all here, reverting to their old non-pc habits even as they mourn their lost youth. It's patchy and often dodgy comedy, but there's still something heartening about Stifler's defiant idiocy and Jim's dad's middle-age second chance.

Safe (15)

(Boaz Yakin, 2012, Us) Jason Statham, Catherine Chan. 94 mins

Triads, Russian mobsters, cops and everyone else in New York falls foul of Statham in another ludicrous but fast-moving actioner.

Two Years At Sea (U)

(Ben Rivers, 2012, UK) Jake Williams. 90 mins

Extraordinary, otherworldly observation of a modern-day Scottish hermit.

Goodbye First Love (15)

(Mia Hansen-Løve, 2011, Fra/Ger) Lola Créton, Sebastian Urzendowsky. 111 mins

Heartfelt study of a young teen's formative romantic fortunes.

The Lucky One (12A)

(Scott Hicks,...

Our Deaths, in memoriam was the project title of Lav Diaz' Kagadanan sa Banwaan Ning mga Engkanto (2007). For the Ferroni Brigade, it became the motto of Venice 2011—specters of dear lives gone seemed to roam the event, the Mostra internazionale d’arte cinematografica as well as the Esposizione internazionale d'arte, and beyond.

We always commemorate the murder of Nika Bohinc and Alexis Tioseco on September 1st 2009, quietly, invariably in Venice; it was here that we heard about the crime; now, whenever we go to the press room to check our e-mails, deep down something inside us is afraid of getting another message like that one; fittingly, one of the last films we saw this year was Diaz' latest, Siglo ng Pagluluwal (Century of Birthing, 2011), which ends with a dedication to them, and talks about the way our loved ones, just like cherished ideas, notions and visions are essentially eternal,...

DVD Release Date: Feb. 21, 2012

Price: DVD $39.98

Studio: Lionsgate

The international series Borgia, which aired through Netflix’s Instant Streaming service, has the same inspiration as Showtime’s TV show The Borgias.

The historical series follows exploits of the Borgia family, whose patriarch, Rodrigo Borgia (John Doman, TV’s Rizzoli & Isles), is a powerful and greedy Pope during the time of the Renaissance. Rodrigo controls the church to gain power for his family, including his three sons (Mark Ryder of Robin Hood, Stanley Weber of Agatha Christie’s Poirot and Adam Misik) and daughter (Isolda Dychauk, Faust). Together, the Borgia emerge as the ultimate crime family.

The show was created by Tom Fontana, who won three Emmy Awards for Homicide: Life On the Streets and St. Elsewhere.

The three-disc DVD contains all 12 hour-long episodes of the first season of Borgia, plus a making-of featurette.

Buy or Rent Borgia: Season...

It's been an incredible year in the world of showbiz, with the usual headline-grabbing antics, scandal, sleaze, celebrity births, star weddings, and bitter break-ups. Here, WENN takes a look back at the final six months of 2011...

July

The month of July was overshadowed by the sudden and shocking death of British singer Amy Winehouse. The Back to Black hitmaker was found dead at her home in London at the age of 27 and the news sent the world of showbusiness into mourning. Tributes poured in from both fans and famous friends following the tragedy, and Winehouse's music shot back into the charts.

The headlines were also dominated by celebrity divorces as Jennifer Lopez announced her split from husband of seven years, Marc Anthony, the father of her young twins, Max and Emme. Arnold Schwarzenegger's marriage also came to an abrupt end as his wife Maria Shriver filed for divorce following revelations the actor/politician fathered a lovechild with the family's housekeeper.

Scarlett Johansson's divorce from Ryan Reynolds was finalised and Patricia Arquette's split from husband Thomas Jane was also made official.

In happier news, all eyes were on Monaco as the world geared up for the second royal wedding of the year, following the union of Britain’s Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge in April. In the same month as the British royals flew to Canada to begin their first international tour as a married couple, Prince Albert of Monaco married his fiancee, South African beauty Charlene Wittstock. The couple exchanged vows in two ceremonies in Monte Carlo and the former swimmer became her Serene Highness Princess Charlene of Monaco. British supermodel Kate Moss also became a married woman as she wed rocker Jamie Hince in a lavish ceremony in the English countryside, while it was also an exciting month for the Beckham family as former Spice Girls star Victoria, already mother to three boys, gave birth to her first daughter, Harper Seven.

There was also baby joy for Hollywood actress Kate Hudson - she welcomed a son called Bingham with her rocker fiance Matt Bellamy. Singer Jewel, actress Selma Blair and former Fugees star Lauryn Hill also became parents. British artist/director Sam Taylor-Wood also hit headlines after she confirmed she was expecting a second baby with her 21-year-old fiance, actor Aaron Johnson, a year after the birth of their daughter. The couple met on the set of their 2009 film Nowhere Boy and became parents together in 2010.

July also saw troubled British rocker Pete Doherty granted his freedom after serving less than half of his six-month prison sentence for cocaine possession. Another beleaguered star to walk free from jail was rapper Dmx, who served seven months behind bars for a probation violation. However, David Gilmour’s son Charlie found himself on the other side of the prison walls as he was ordered to serve 16 months in jail for his part in the 2010 student riots in London. The Pink Floyd star’s son was charged with violent disorder for causing chaos in the British capital and swinging from a flag on the city’s Cenotaph war memorial. (Lr/Zn)

August

The usual serenity of the summer months was shattered this year when Kate Winslet cheated death in a devastating inferno at Richard Branson's luxury island home, and a string of British stars appealed for calm as widespread rioting broke out in the U.K.

Winslet was holidaying at Virgin boss Branson's Necker Island retreat when lightning struck the property, sparking a huge blaze which gutted the home. Her party of 20 miraculously escaped unscathed - and Winslet was later hailed a heroine after it emerged she carried Branson's 90-year-old mother from the property during the drama.

As unrest, looting, and arson broke out for several nights in the U.K., showbiz stars including Idris Elba, Natasha Bedingfield and Boy George called for calm, and there was also bad news for Sir Paul McCartney - who learned his phone had been hacked by the tabloid press - and veteran actress Margot Kidder, who was arrested during an environment protest at the White House.

Tragedy struck at the Indiana State Fair, when a horrific stage collapse left seven revellers dead and more than 40 injured, actor Rowan Atkinson was treated in hospital after wrecking his rare sports car by crashing it into a tree, and French actor Gerard Depardieu was left red-faced when he was thrown off a plane in Paris, France for urinating in the cabin after he was refused access to the toilet during take-off.

It was ladies night at the MTV Video Music Awards as Katy Perry, Britney Spears and Lady Gaga took home two honours each - and Beyonce announced her pregnancy news. And at the Teen Choice Awards, Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez were crowned queens of the event when they scooped whopping 11 awards between them.

Kings of Leon finally succumbed to their relentless touring schedule and axed their remaining U.S. dates to allow frontman Caleb Followill to recover from "vocal issues and exhaustion", Aerosmith rocker Tom Hamilton and Deep Purple star Jon Lord both announced they were battling cancer, Bono was hospitalised with chest pains, and Norwegian pop band A-ha thrilled fans by announcing they were to reform.

In family news, Kiss star Paul Stanley became a father again, and there were also welcome additions for Ethan Hawke, funnywoman Tina Fey, illusionist David Copperfield, Jessica Alba, and Benicio del Toro, who fathered a child with Rod Stewart's daughter Kimberly.

There were wedding bells for country singer Chely Wright and filmmaker Sofia Coppola, but romance took a plunge for George Michael and Geri Halliwell, who both split from their partners. Also joining the singles club was Arctic Monkeys rocker Alex Turner, who broke up with MTV presenter Alexa Chung after four years together.

The showbiz world bid farewell to songwriting legend Jerry Leiber, who died of cardiopulmonary failure at the age of 78, Police Academy star Charles 'Bubba' Smith, Bollywood veteran Shammi Kapoor, blues legend David 'Honeyboy' Edwards, Warrant rocker Jani Lane, and Motown hitmaker Nickolas Ashford. (Zn/Lr)

September

September was a month rapper T.I. would like to both remember and forget - he completed an 11-month prison sentence for a probation violation only to run into legal trouble again soon after his initial release for conducting illegal business deals on his way to a halfway house. It wasn't a great month for Madonna either - her movie take on the romance between Wallis Simpson and Edward VIII was savaged by critics at the Venice Film Festival, while her ex-husband Guy Ritchie became a dad again.

Celine Dion was left shaken up after an intruder was found running a bath at her Montreal, Canada home; Neil Diamond revealed his engagement, and Dr. Conrad Murray's involuntary manslaughter trial got underway in Los Angeles as prosecutors attempted to prove the medic was responsible for Michael Jackson's death.

R.E.M. announced they were splitting after 31 years; My Chemical Romance fired drummer Michael Pedicone after accusing him of stealing from them; Boyzone singer Ronan Keating swam the Irish Sea for Cancer Research in the U.K., and Sir Paul McCartney became a grandfather again and was named the MusiCares Person of the Year - while he also celebrated as his first ballet score debuted in New York.

The Amy Winehouse Foundation was launched on what would have been the tragic singer's 28th birthday, and the star's Body & Soul duet with Tony Bennett became a hit, making the 85-year-old crooner the oldest living artist to have a single in America's Hot 100.

Eddie Murphy was confirmed as the host for the 2012 Oscars; model Lauren Bush became Lauren Lauren when she exchanged vows with Ralph Lauren's son David; British funnyman David Walliams braved the chills of the River Thames and a stomach bug to complete a charity 140-mile swim in eight days.

Actress Evan Rachel Wood lost a tooth during a boozy night out in Paris; Reese Witherspoon was hospitalised after she was hit by a car while out jogging in Santa Monica, California; soul legend Chaka Khan won temporary custody of her granddaughter after claiming the girl's mother was struggling with drug abuse issues, and British The Saturdays singer Una Healy announced she was pregnant.

Inxs dropped frontman J.D. fortune for a second time and replaced him with Ciaran Gribbin; Austin Powers henchman Joseph Son was sentenced to life behind bars for a Christmas Eve rape in 1990, and George Clooney went public with his new girl, Stacey Kiebler, at the Toronto Film Festival in Canada.

Ashton Kutcher had a month of ups and downs - his debut on TV sitcom Two and a Half Men was a big hit as 28 million Americans tuned in, but then came the news that his marriage to Demi Moore was in trouble amid infidelity rumours. Comedienne Wanda Sykes opened up about her breast cancer battle and double mastectomy; Sharon Stone won a restraining order against an obsessed fan and promptly put the home he visited uninvited on the market, and reality TV star and filmmaker Jack Osbourne announced his engagement to actress Lisa Stelly and followed that up with the news he was to become a dad.

Third time was not the charm for Clueless star Stacy Dash, who announced her plans to divorce husband number three, Emmanuel Xuereb, and X-Men star James Marsden's wife also joined the divorce club as she filed papers against her husband. Elizabeth Hurley's love life was on the up - she accepted cricket star Shane Warne's wedding proposal just three months after divorcing Arun Nayar.

Meanwhile, Elton John launched his new Million Dollar Piano residency in Las Vegas; Smokey Robinson accepted the coveted Ella Award at the Society of Singers Gala, and the month wrapped up with Shania Twain's alleged stalker pleading guilty to harassing the singer in court in Ontario, Canada.

Among September's Hollywood weddings, Amy Smart married reality TV star Carter Oosterhouse; Cougar Town co-stars David Rogers and Sally Pressman became man and wife, and model-turned-actress Molly Sims wed in a Napa Valley vineyard in California. There were also nuptials for British filmmaker Michael Winner and DJ/producer Mark Ronson, while R&B singer Keyshia Cole and former Friends star David Schwimmer both renewed vows with their spouses in Hawaii and London, respectively.

There was baby news for model Jodie Kidd, who gave birth to a son; actress Mary McCormack, who became a mum for the third time, and January Jones, who welcomed Xander Dane to the world while staying mum about the tot's father. Actors Emily Deschanel, Ana Ortiz, Mike Myers, Danny McBride and Jenna Fischer also became new parents. In the music world, former Spice Girl Melanie Brown gave birth to her third daughter, and country star John Rich and former Pussycat Dolls member Carmit Bachar welcomed babies too.

On September's sick list were rocker Scott Weiland and pop stars Katy Perry and Adele, who both scrapped shows due to illness, while Megadeth headbanger Dave Mustaine underwent surgery for a serious neck injury.

The month's big winners included movie mogul Tyler Perry, who was named Forbes magazine's Highest Paid Man in Entertainment; actor Michael Fassbender and director Alexander Sokurov, who claimed Best Actor and Best Film honours, respectively, for Shame and Faust at the Venice Film Festival. Gritty TV drama Boardwalk Empire picked up eight Emmy Awards; Calle 13 landed a record 10 Latin Grammy Award nominations, and Happy Days star Henry Winkler picked up an honorary Order of the British Empire medal at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C.

Also winning: P.J. Harvey, who scooped the Mercury Prize in Britain, Arcade Fire, who claimed Canada's Polaris Prize, and U2 and Rolling Stone Keith Richards, who were named GQ magazine's Men of the Year.

September's losers included Scarlett Johansson, who was left exposed in a series of leaked naked phone photos; Cameron Diaz, who split from baseball beau Alex Rodriguez, and John Travolta, whose beloved Mercedes-Benz was stolen outside a Jaguar dealership in Santa Monica, while his Swordfish co-star Halle Berry broke her foot while on location in Spain.

Meanwhile, we said a sad goodbye to a slew of famous faces, including actors Andy Whitfield and Cliff Robertson; beloved TV stars Mary Fickett and Vesta Williams; actor Jack Garner; French DJ Mehdi Faveris-Essadi; blues great Willie 'Big Eyes' Smith; R&B hitmaker Vesta Williams; gospel icon Jessy Dixon; celebrated British writer/producer David Croft; Happy Gilmore star Frances Bay, and moviemakers David Pressman, Charles Dubin, George Kachar and Paul Hunt. (Kl/Mt)

October

October was a big month for celebrity weddings - funnyman Seth Rogen tied the knot with longtime girlfriend Lauren Miller, Twilight star Nikki Reed married singer/songwriter Paul McDonald, and former Beverly Hills, 90210 actress Shannen Doherty walked down the aisle for the third time when she exchanged vows with celebrity photographer Kurt Iswarienko. Also hoping to make it third-time lucky was Robin Williams, who wed graphic designer Susan Schneider.

Also taking the plunge was Kiss rocker Gene Simmons, who married his girlfriend of 28 years, Shannon Tweed, and Sir Paul McCartney, who exchanged vows with American heiress Nancy Shevell on what would have been his former Beatles bandmate John Lennon’s 71st birthday.

And Sex & the City star Mario Cantone made good use of New York's new gay rights bill by solidifying his love for longtime partner Jerry Dixon.

A number of other stars announced their intention to wed in October - NCIS: Los Angeles star Eric Christian Olsen proposed to girlfriend Sarah Wright and Trace Cyrus popped the question to Disney actress Brenda Song. And actress Kaley Cuoco was sporting a new sparkler after boyfriend Josh 'Lazie' Resnik got down on bended knee. Also officially off the market were former child star Frankie Muniz, The Devil Wears Prada actor Stanley Tucci, rapper The Game and Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love's grown-up little girl Francis Bean Cobain.

A number of other celebrities were prepping their homes for babies - movie star Bruce Willis, American footballer Tony Romo, former Dawson's Creek hunk James Van Der Beek, and actress Kaitlin Olson all announced they are expecting little ones, and Jessica Simpson ended months of speculation by announcing she was pregnant.

And October's new parents included Ne-Yo, who welcomed a baby boy, model Ali Landry, who gave birth to her second child, actress Spencer Grammer, who became a first time mum, and France's First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, who became a mum for the second time when baby Giulia was born. Reality TV star Tori Spelling took home baby number three, as did Jackass funnyman Johnny Knoxville. And Sex & the City beauty Kristin Davis, The Help actress Viola Davis and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation veteran Mariska Hargitay all adopted babies.

But it wasn't such a happy month for rapper Rick Ross, who suffered two seizures on his way to a concert, or socialite Kim Kardashian who filed for divorce from husband Kris Humphries after just 72 days of marriage.

In other news, Star Trek actor Zachary Quinto announced he was gay and troubled actress Lindsay Lohan had her probation revoked after failing to complete her required community service hours. She also faced a limousine lawsuit for allegedly neglecting to pay a bill, her dad was arrested - twice, and she was served a lawsuit for reportedly attacking a Betty Ford Clinic employee during her stay there last year.

Meanwhile, the stars came out to show their support for the Occupy Wall Street protests, which were originally launched in New York City in a bid to end corporate greed, and the world mourned the loss of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, British TV and radio personality Sir Jimmy Savile, The Charlie Daniels Band keyboard player Joel 'Taz' Digregorio, former Weezer star Mikey Welsh, veteran British actress Betty Driver, The Miracles guitarist Marv Tarplin, pianist Roger Williams and IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon, who died in a horrific car smash at the Indy300.

November

British bachelor Hugh Grant stunned the world when he announced he had a new love in his life - a baby girl he had fathered during a brief relationship with Chinese model/actress Tinglan Hong. He wasn't the only star to join the celebrity parents' club in November - singer Lily Allen had a reason to Smile again after giving birth to a daughter, her first child with new husband Sam Cooper, while newsman Piers Morgan and his wife Celia Walden also became parents to a little girl. Maggie Gyllenhaal and her husband Peter Sarsgaard announced they were expecting their second child, as did reality TV star Kourtney Kardashian and her partner Scott Disick.

Selena Gomez revealed she is set to become a big sister, while Justin Bieber had some unwanted baby news of his own - he found himself at the centre of a paternity scandal following allegations he had impregnated 20-year-old Mariah Yeater following a backstage tryst in Los Angeles last year. The Baby hitmaker denied the claim and Yeater subsequently dropped the lawsuit.

Lindsay Lohan's troubles hit the headlines again after she was sentenced to serve 30 days behind bars for a probation violation, although she was released after less than five hours due to jail overcrowding. Dr. Conrad Murray was not so lucky - he was convicted of involuntary manslaughter relating to the death of Michael Jackson and sentenced to the maximum of four years behind bars.

In other legal matters, country singer Mindy McCready sparked a manhunt after she took her five-year-old son Zander from his father's Florida home without permission; Tim McGraw won a court battle with his record company bosses releasing him from his contract; and TLC star T-Boz declared bankruptcy.

Hugh Grant, Sienna Miller and Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling became driving forces in the push to improve British press standards following the News of the World phone-hacking scandal earlier this year - the three stars were called to give evidence to the Leveson Inquiry and told how they had had their voicemails, emails and other private messages intercepted by private investigators working on behalf of tabloid reporters.

The sporting world mourned the death of boxing great Joe Frazier at the age of 67, just days after it was revealed he was battling liver cancer, while the hip-hop industry was rocked by the passing of rap icon Heavy D, who collapsed outside his Los Angeles home and was later declared dead at 44. British moviemaker Ken Russell also passed away, aged 84, and longtime Oscars producer Gil Cates died at 77. Meanwhile, Beatles fans remembered George Harrison on 29 November as fans marked the 10th anniversary of his death.

Veteran pop star George Michael was forced to scrap the remainder of his European tour after he was struck down by a serious bout of pneumonia; Bee Gees singer Robin Gibb also spent time in hospital after suffering abdominal pains, and Adele and Keith Urban had a quiet month as they both recovered from vocal cord surgery, while heavy rock fans rejoiced as the original members of Black Sabbath announced they would be reuniting for a new album and tour in 2012.

It was ladies' night at the American Music Awards as Taylor Swift and Adele walked away with three honours each, while Lady Gaga reigned over the MTV Europe Music Awards and newlyweds Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton ruled the Country Music Association Awards by taking home the two top vocalist prizes. November also saw Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher end weeks of speculation about their marriage by calling it quits, while Sugarland singer Jennifer Nettles tied the knot and Anne Hathaway began making plans to wed boyfriend Adam Schulman, and former The Hills star Kristin Cavallari and American footballer Jay Cutler became engaged again, months after they broke off their initial plans to marry.

And it was a busy month for the film industry - the latest Twilight movie, Breaking Dawn - Part 1, landed the biggest global debut in the film franchise's history, thanks to a massive $284 million (£177.5 million) opening weekend haul; Golden Globes bosses decided to bring back controversial comedian Ricky Gervais to host his third prizegiving in 2012; Billy Crystal stepped in for Eddie Murphy as the host of the 2012 Academy Awards a day after the comic and producer pal Brett Ratner resigned, and the race for the Oscars kicked off with the Gotham Independent Film Awards, where Terrence Malick's Tree of Life and Mike Mills' acclaimed Beginners made history when they became the first films to tie for the Best Feature prize in the ceremony's 21-year history.

December

The holiday bells were peeling for newlyweds A.J. McLean, actress Judy Greer, reality TV star Jeff Probst and Yeah Yeah Yeahs rocker Karen O, while Sinead O'Connor married an addiction counsellor in Las Vegas only to call off the union 16 days later. There were also splits for actress Debra Messing and Chaz Bono.

Britney Spears led the month's bride and grooms-to-be when she accepted former agent Jason Trawick's proposal on his 40th birthday, while Steven Tyler, John Legend, Matthew McConaughey, basketball legend Michael Jordan and Lady Antebellum's Dave Haywood all popped the question to their girlfriends - and there was baby news for new dads Robert De Niro, Halle Berry's ex Eric Benet, actor Charlie Day, Westlife star Kian Egan, actress/singer Fantasia Barrino, Essence Atkins and pop star Dev, while actress Alyson Hannigan, Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty, Kings of Leon star Caleb Followill's supermodel wife Lily Aldridge, Alessandra Ambrosio and Irish singer Andrea Corr announced they were pregnant.

There was drama for rapper Tyler, The Creator, who was arrested for alleged acts of vandalism during a show in Hollywood; singer Christina Perri, who was attacked in a car-jacking incident; Barry Manilow, who underwent hip surgery, and Morrissey, whose concert in Puebla, Mexico was evacuated following an earthquake, while Britain's Prince Philip and R&B star Etta James spent Christmas in hospital.

Lindsay Lohan bared all for Playboy magazine; Adam Lambert was arrested in Finland following a pre-Christmas bust-up with his boyfriend; rapper The Game halted a gig in Norway to confront a bottle-throwing fan; boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr. was sentenced to 90 days in jail for a 2010 fight with his ex; a man who leaked an unfinished new Madonna song online was arrested in Spain, and Michael Douglas' incarcerated son Cameron was handed an extra four-and-a-half years behind bars for another drug conviction.

And there was yet more drama for Terrence Howard, who requested a restraining order against his wife; model Lauren Scruggs, who lost her hand and an eye in a freak plane propeller accident; Hollywood couple Eric Dane and Rebecca Gayheart, who had to vacate their home after high winds brought a tree crashing into their living room, and pop star Selena Gomez suffered a family tragedy when her mother miscarried.

Meanwhile, Jodie Foster's estranged father was jailed for five years after he was found guilty of a property scam; Angelina Jolie was sued by a Croatian journalist who alleged his chronicle of the Bosnian War inspired her directorial debut; Kirsten Dunst won a restraining order against an obsessed French fan; an extra died of a heart attack while shooting The Dark Knight Rises in New York; Goodfellas actor Tony Darrow was sentenced to six months behind bars for arranging a real-life mob beating, and Charlie Sheen had to change his phone number when he accidentally tweeted it to his followers.

The month's big winners included singer Melanie Amaro, who became the first U.S. X Factor winner; Julio Iglesias, who was named Spain's best-selling recording artist of all time; Russell Simmons, who was crowned PETA's Person of the Year; Chaka Khan, who won permanent custody of her granddaughter; Lady Gaga, who was hailed the year's highest earning female musician, and Taylor Swift who picked up Billboard magazine's coveted Woman of The Year honour.

Also winning in December: Guns N' Roses, the Beastie Boys and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who were all announced as the members of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's Class of 2012, and Twilight star Kristen Stewart, who was named Forbes magazine's Most Lucrative Star. Adele dominated the year's end album and singles polls; Jason Newsted reunited with Metallica for their 30th anniversary bash in San Francisco, and Martin Scorsese's first 3D movie Hugo was the surprise Best Film winner at the National Board of Review Awards in America.

In other movie news, Transformers: Dark of The Moon was named the year's most mistake-ridden film; Orson Welles' Citizen Kane Oscar sold at auction for $861,000; Drive dominated the Satellite Awards while The Help, The Artist and The Descendants picked up the lion's share of nominations for the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards, and Angelina Jolie's directorial debut, In The Land of Blood and Honey, also picked up Golden Globes nods and she was named the 2012 recipient of the Stanley Kramer Award at the Producer's Guild of America Awards.

In music news, Amy Winehouse's posthumous album debuted at number one in Britain; 30 Seconds To Mars broke a concert record at a show in New York - their 309th in a single album cycle, and Gucci Mane was released from prison.

Wrapping up the month, Oscar winner Colin Firth was immortalised in wax at Madame Tussauds in London; Men's Health magazine bosses crowned Jennifer Aniston the Hottest Woman of All Time; Liz Taylor's diamonds and gems set a new auction record by becoming the most valuable private jewellery collection; Lmfao were forced to abandon a gig in Honduras after a fire broke out at the venue; Welsh opera star Katherine Jenkins announced her split from fiance Gethin Jones, and Coldplay rang in 2012 with a $1.6 million gig in Abu Dhabi.

And the last month of the year saw the notable deaths of actor Bill McKinney, soul stars Dobie Gray and Howard Tate, M*A*S*H regular Harry Morgan, Clark Gable and Loretta Young's love child Judy Lewis, actress Doe Avedon Siegel, former child star Susan Gordon, country singer Billie Jo Spears, Aussie actor Graham Bown, world leaders Vaclav Havel and Kim Jong-Il, songwriter Ralph MacDonald, Kojak star Dan Frazer, directors Don Sharp and Yoshimitsu Morita, writer Christopher Hitchens and Tarzan's chimp sidekick Cheetah, who died of liver failure, aged 80.

Beau Bridges, George Clooney in Alexander Payne's The Descendants

Water For Elephants, Soul Surfer, The Guard Among Satellite Awards Winners

Best Film

The Artist

* The Descendants

Drive

The Help

Hugo

Midnight in Paris

Moneyball

Shame

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

War Horse

Best Actor

George Clooney, The Descendants

Leonardo diCaprio, J. Edgar

Michael Fassbender, Shame

Brendan Gleeson, The Guard

* Ryan Gosling, Drive

Tom Hardy, Warrior

Woody Harrelson, Rampart

Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Michael Shannon, Take Shelter

Best Actress

Olivia Colman, Tyrannosaur

Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs

* Viola Davis, The Help

Vera Farmiga, Higher Ground

Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene

Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady

Charlize Theron, Young Adult

Emily Watson, Oranges and Sunshine

Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn

Michelle Yeoh, The Lady

Best Supporting Actor

Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn

* Albert Brooks, Drive

Colin Farrell, Horrible Bosses

Jonah Hill, Moneyball

Viggo Mortensen, A Dangerous Method

Nick Nolte,...

We have added all six posters for Aleksandr Sokurov directed free interpretation of the Faust legend, a modern interpretation of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s literary masterpiece on the search for knowledge. The film’s Faustian seeker is a professor, played by Johannes Zeiler who sells his soul for the love of Margarete (Isolda Dychauk). Also featured is the [...]

Continue reading Faust Movie Posters on FilmoFilia.

Related posts:Venice 2011: Faust Movie Photos and Clip 2011 Venice Film Festival Winners Venice Film Festival 2011 Announcements...

"At least one eternal truth can be abstracted from Dw Griffith's 1915 film The Birth of a Nation," proposes Dave Kehr in the New York Times: "people can be very, very advanced in some areas, and very, very backward in others…. Even now, in Kino International's fine new Blu-ray edition, The Birth of a Nation continues to thrill and confound, to exalt and appall in equal measure. Griffith's racial caricatures were crude in 1915; seen today, as the film approaches its 100th anniversary, these images may seem more ludicrous than dangerous (watermelon plays a major role), but in reminding us of how far we have come, they remind us how far we have yet to go. Paradoxically, the overriding theme of The Birth of a Nation is one of unification, of the harmonizing of diverse elements — social and regional, political and personal, North and South, male and female — into an original...

The retrospective Aleksandr Sokurov: A Spiritual Voice opens on Thursday at BFI Southbank in London and runs through December 30. For Steve Rose, who meets Sokurov for the Guardian, "overshadowing his entire career is his 'tetralogy of power,' a magnum opus conceived in 1980 and only completed this year. The first three films focused on 20th-century leaders — Hitler in 1999's Moloch, Lenin in 2001's Taurus, and Emperor Hirohito in 2005's The Sun — pinning them down in isolated, almost abstract domestic situations. The final movie, a loose adaptation of Goethe's Faust, is almost a complete departure…. Why make three movies on historical subjects and one on a fictional one? 'Why do you think?' I suggest Faust is a sort of prequel to the other three. 'Maybe,' he nods. Or is it that the first three deal with the death of power, whereas Faust addresses its acquisition? 'But he never gets this power,...

He is the great Russian director who once shot a whole film in a single take. Aleksandr Sokurov talks to Steve Rose about Soviet spies, fallen dictators – and how he got Putin to fund his latest work

At the end of a challenging conversation that, conducted via a translator, strains my intellectual faculties to their limit but barely flexes his, Aleksandr Sokurov makes an astounding statement. "I'm a very literary person, not so much a cinematographic person. I don't really like cinema very much."

Pardon? He doesn't like cinema very much? That's like hearing David Attenborough say he's never really liked animals. Here is a man who was persecuted by the communists for his films; the man who gave us a miraculous feature conducted in one single, unbroken shot, 2002's Russian Ark; the man who is the custodian of Russia's great cinematic heritage. What would he have done if he did like cinema?...

The 17th Kolkata Film festival to be held from November 10-17, 2011 has announced its lineup. Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life, Alexander Sokurov’s Faust, Godard’s Film Socialism, Bela Tarr’s The Turin Horse, among others will be presented at the International Cinema section of the festival.

Joram Lürsen’s The Magicians will be the opening film of the festival.

In a Special Tribute to Uttam Kumar—Nayak directed by Satyajit Ray and documentary Mahanayak—a Superstar’s Journey directed by Swapan Das will be screened.

A Retrospective of Japanese director Shohei Imamura will showcase films like Stolen Desire, Black Rain and Vengeance is Mine, among others.

Carlo Lizzani’s Luchino Visconti: Life as in a romance, Chidananda Dasgupta’s Amodini, Mani Kaul’s Uski Roti, Luchino Visconti’s The Innocent and The Leopard will be screened in the Homage section.

Ritwik Ghatak’s Komal Gandhar and...

This year's AFI Fest opens this evening in Los Angeles with Clint Eastwood's J. Edgar, closes on November 10 with Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson's The Adventures of Tintin and, as the Playlist is reporting today, the festival will host the world premiere of Steven Soderbergh's Haywire on Sunday: "Haywire marks the big screen debut of Mma fighter Gina Carano, who takes the lead in the gritty spy thriller written by Lem Dobbs (The Limey) about Mallory Kane, a black ops soldier on a mission of revenge after she's double crossed by one of her teammates. As usual, Soderbergh has assembled a crackerjack ensemble that includes Michael Fassbender, Channing Tatum, Ewan McGregor, Michael Douglas, Bill Paxton, Michael Angarano, Matthieu Kassovitz and Antonio Banderas… 'People really get hit in this film and they get hurt,' the director told us this summer." Update: The Playlist's headline's been tweaked; Haywire...

The 52nd Thessaloniki International Film Festival is shaping up to be a truly exciting nine days, loaded with high-profile films and retrospectives. The festival opens with Alexander Payne's "The Descendants" and closes with "Martha Marcy May Marlene," but in between, the festival features a number of major films among its 124 features, including Alexander Sokurov's award-winning "Faust," "The Kid With A Bike," "Corpo Celeste," Weekend," and "Goodbye First Love." Today, ...

Up until last year, film festivals had always been a bit of a mystery to me. I had gone to a few conventions before and been shown advanced screenings of films, but to actually go to an event where all you did was watch films seemed a bit beyond my reach. Didn’t help either that I had never really lived in areas with affordable or frequent festivals. That is, up until last year when I was introduced to AFI Fest. They hooked me in with free tickets and the promise of engaging cinema from around the world. To say I had fun is a bit of an understatement. As the credits to the last film rolled, I decided that I would come back next year in a more professional manner and write about it.

Which brings us to now. AFI Fest 2011 Presented by Audi is a little over a...

Jean-Marc Vallée's Café du Flore Chantal Akerman, Joseph Cedar, Béla Tarr, Nuri Bilge Ceylan: AFI Fest 2011 World Cinema Selections Arirang: Traumatized by a near-fatal accident during filming, director Kim Ki-duk offers a visionary self-portrait of a troubled artist reeling from an emotional breakdown. Dir Kim Ki-duk. South Korea. U.S. Premiere. CAFÉ Du Flore: In his follow-up to C.R.A.Z.Y., Jean Marc Vallée tells two parallel stories connected by music about a Montreal D.J. and a mother devoted to her special-needs son. Dir/Scr Jean-Marc Vallée. Cast Vanessa Paradis, Kevin Parent, Hélène Florent, Evelyne Brochu, Marin Gerrier. Canada. U.S. Premiere. Extraterrestrial: Timecrimes director Nacho Vigalondo’s surprising second feature finds an alien invasion providing the backdrop for one of the most delightful romantic comedies in years. Dir/Scr Nacho Vigalondo. Cast Julian Villagran, Michelle Jenner, Raul Cimas, Carlos Areces, Miguel Noguera. Spain. Faust: Russian Ark director...

Jafar Panahi, This Is Not a Film AFI Fest 2011 has announced the list of movies screening in the festival's World Cinema, Breakthrough, Midnight and Shorts programs. Both World Cinema and Breakthrough feature numerous films having their U.S. premieres, including Chantal Akerman's Almayer's Folly, Jean-Marc Vallée's Café du Flore, Alexander Sokurov's Faust, in addition to the North American premiere of Alexandra-Therese Keining's (lesbian) romantic drama With Every Heartbeat. [Listed as a "World Premiere" in the AFI Fest 2011 press release, With Every Heartbeat was actually shown in Sweden last July.] Also of note are Joseph Cedar's Footnote, Israel's submission for the 2012 Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award and the winner of the Best Screenplay Award at this year's Cannes Film Festival; Asghar Farhadi's Berlin Film Festival winner A Separation, Iran's submission for the 2012 Oscar; and Mojtaba Mirtahmasb and Jafar Panahi's This Is Not a Film, in which Panahi is shown at home while awaiting a ruling on his appeal against a six-year prison sentence. (A Tehran...

On the last day of the Mumbai Film Festival, I spotted Salim Ahamed, the director of Adaminte Makan Abu standing in a corner all by himself and the temptation to go chat with him (after having seen and praised the film here) was too much to resist. Aware of the problems language may pose, I walked upto him and was surprised when he agreed to spare some time. We were limited by his knowledge of Malayalam only and my lack of it, which prevented this from being a full-fledged interview. Nevertheless, here we go:

Salim Ahamed got the seed of the idea of the film while working in a travel

Salim Ahamed receiving the national award

agency ten years back. He had known right from his college days that he wanted to make films, but kept on working in sundry places after leaving college. He already has a bank of...

BFI London Film Festival

Bearing in mind the state of Leicester Square right now (it's more of a construction site), and the cuts inflicted on British film in the past year, you could forgive the country's biggest film festival for toning things down a bit this year – except it hasn't. There's as much here as there ever was, from the rest of the world and, reassuringly, from Britain. It's heartening to see so many of our cherished auteurs back in action: Terence Davies (The Deep Blue Sea, which closes the festival); Andrea Arnold (her earthy take on Wuthering Heights); Michael Winterbottom (Trishna); Lynne Ramsay (We Need To Talk About Kevin), and Steve McQueen (Shame). And there are plenty here who could join their ranks, from as-yet-unknowns in the New British Cinema section to first-time directors Dexter Fletcher (Wild Bill) and Ralph Fiennes (Coriolanus).

From the international stage, there are recent...

David Cronenberg, the 1980s body horror auteur turned arthouse elder statesman, and the British actor turned director Ralph Fiennes are to be honoured by the BFI at this year's London film festival.

Both men will receive fellowships from the institute. Cronenberg's film A Dangerous Method is screening at the festival this year, as is Fiennes' directing debut, Coriolanus. The BFI also announced the nine-strong lineup of films which will compete for this year's best film prize, to be announced at an awards ceremony on 26 October.

Fiennes is perhaps best known for his Oscar-nominated turns in Schindler's List and The English Patient. He has become Hollywood's go-to guy for offbeat villainous roles, starring as the serial killer Francis Dolarhyde in 2002 Silence of the Lambs prequel Red Dragon and Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter films. Other roles include crusading widower Justin Quayle...

Breaking out around the time where Nyff is on its last legs, Montreal's Festival du nouveau cinéma (October 12 to 23) kicks in with about four times the size in volume, and obviously more of an eclectic range. This year is the festival's big 40 - and for the occasion they've commissioned some of the names who've been a part of the festival to each contribute a short film in the context of what is being called the "Cartes Blanches" series. Denis Côté, Deco Dawson, Sophie Deraspe, Rodrigue Jean, Zacharias Kunuk, Marie Losier, Catherine Martin, Bruce McDonald, Théodore Ushev and Denis Villeneuve will each submit a four minute short. For their opening and closing festival items they've got the distinction of showing off Foreign Film Oscar selected items in Philippe Falardeau's Monsieur Lazhar and selected as the opener well before it was announced as France's submission for Oscar is Declaration of War by Valérie Donzelli.

Today, Montreal's Festival du nouveau cinéma (Fnc), which will take place between October 12 to 23. Here's the complete line-up of feature films according to the press release we received.

Opening and closing

The 40th edition of the Fnc kicks off on Wednesday, October 12, with Declaration of War by Valérie Donzelli (France) at Cinéma Impérial (Centre Sandra & Leo Kolber, Salle Lucie & André Chagnon). This critically-acclaimed second feature by Valérie Donzelli (The Queen of Hearts) tells the love story of Roméo and Juliette who are battling to save their sick child. The director and her producer Edouard Weil will be in attendance.

Ten days later, on Saturday, October 22, Monsieur Lazhar (Quebec/Canada) by Philippe Falardeau will close the Festival. Selected to represent Canada at the Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film, Monsieur Lahzar shows the efforts of an Algerian schoolteacher to help his Grade 6 students come to terms with their teacher’s death.

I will soon post a list of films I have already seen that I highly recommend as well as a list of my most anticipated films screening at this year’s Festival du Nouveau Cinema. For now here is the press release from the festival. Make sure you read carefully because there are a ton of great films to check out.

Montreal, Tuesday September 27, 2011– Montreal’s Festival du nouveau cinéma will be celebrating its 40th edition from October 12 to 23. For the past 40 years, Canada’s oldest film festival has offered film buffs a selection of the year’s most exciting new films — a bold lineup with plenty of whimsical and surprising elements, but one that also turns its lens on social realities and the evolution of film and new technologies. Over the course of this year’s 11-day Festival, audiences of all ages can take in features and shorts, fiction films and documentaries,...

Simone Eder and Carlotta Corvi report from the Venice International Film Festival.

The 68th was certainly a memorable year with the overall quality of the films being very high and the films for the lineup well selected. Some films surprised while some films disappointed, and most of them will be talked about in the coming weeks and months.

Day 1

The longest running Film festival in the World kicked off its 68th Edition Festival at the Lido in Venice with the world premiere of George Clooney’s political drama The Ides of March starring Ryan Gosling, Clooney himself, Paul Giamatti and Phillip Seymour Hoffman,and was the first film shown in competition for the Golden Lion. Promoted as intense tale of sex, ambition, loyalty, betrayal and revenge the film was however less cynical and shocking than promised and contained a couple of weak plot points. The actors, especially the supporting cast,...

Critics of Kremlin favourite Nikita Mikhalkov urge him to withdraw his box-office flop from Academy awards nominees list

As a film which bombed at the box office and was derided by critics, Burnt By the Sun 2: Citadel seems an unlikely pick for Oscar success. But when the final list of nominees is announced later this year, the Russian turkey will take its place alongside critically acclaimed golden eagles in the race for next year's Academy award for best foreign language film.

The selection of Nikita Mikhalkov's second world war epic – which will compete against Asghar Farhadi's Golden Bear winner A Separation and Cannes hit Declaration of War – has angered the Russian film community. Vladimir Menshov, the chairman of the country's Oscars committee, has publicly called on Mikhalkov to withdraw his film. Apart from anything else, he said, there was something "inappropriate" about the veteran film-maker, who is a member of the committee,...

Well the Toronto International Film Festival has provided another incredible lineup again this year. Among the best of the fest is Steve McQueen’s Shame (so far the best of the year), Lynne Ramsay’s We Need To Talk About Kevin and Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive. Sadly I had to cut my trip short by three days, so I will be missing some key films, including Ben Wheatley’s Kill List, Bela Tarr’s Turin Horse and Bruce McDonald’s Hard Core Logo 2. We still have plenty of reviews to come in the next few days so make sure to check back for more coverage.

Luckily for me I dodged all the movies that received unanimous negative feedback. Perhaps the six films that have been panned the most by critics and audiences alike are, Sarah Polley’s Take This Waltz, Guy Maddin’s Keyhole, Madonna’s W.E., Joel Schumacher...

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin stepped in to help director Alexander Sokurov finance his critically-acclaimed Faust.

The Russian project, based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's play about a scholar who sells his soul to the devil, won over the jury at the Venice Film Festival in Italy and earned Sokurov the prestigious Golden Lion prize on Saturday, but the director admits Faust would never have been made if Putin had not offered his assistance following the global economic crisis of 2009.

The pair met to discuss the plans for the movie and Sokurov was shocked to receive an offer of $10.9 million (£6.8 million) from officials at the Fund for the Support of the Development of Mass Media just a month after their chat.

The filmmaker tells Afp, "The film would not have seen the light if Putin had not found the funding.

"I was astonished and never understood why Putin, who has never been a friend of mine, decided to support the film... (He) expressed only one wish: that the feature film, shot in German, should be a Russian production."...

"Freshly awarded the Golden Lion at Venice, Sokurov's latest is pitched as an allegorical coda to his trilogy of historic tyrants (Moloch's Hitler, Taurus's Lenin, The Sun's Hirohito)," writes Fandor's Kevin B Lee at the top of our roundup following Daniel Kasman's review, wherein he notes that Faust "opens the group up, beginning and ending in a world outside man's spaces." Back to Kevin: "[H]ere the Faust legend is interpreted as a depressed Everyman's discovery of life's meaning through lust for sex and power. As Faust and Mephistopheles (bearing a tail shaped like a shriveled penis) walk and talk their way through several shaggy set pieces depicting worldly vanity, the meandering but playful proceedings at times evoke a Medieval Euro art film turned stoner movie (all the more amusing since Putin reputedly pushed this film to convey Russian values to European audiences.)"

"In some respects Sokurov's straightest, most linear effort,...

Another new shot from Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part I and a poster for The Deep Blue Sea

"Aleksandr Sokurov‘s “Faust,” a retelling of Goethe’s tragedy, won the Golden Lion at Venice. Michael Fassbender won Best Actor for his role in “Shame", Coppa Volpi won Best Actress for “A Simple Life…" (full details)

"Hard Candy" and "30 Days of Night" director David Slade says that the "Daredevil" reboot hasn't moved forward much as "we are taking the time to get the script right. No casting, or other decisions will be made until then." Slade is working with "Fringe" scribe Brad Caleb Kane on the script…" (full details)

"CBS Films is in advanced negotiations to reel in U.S. distribution rights to "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen", the Lasse Hallstrom-directed film that premiered over the weekend in Toronto. The film drew a rousing response after the screening…" (full details...

68th Venice Film Festival Wrap Up

The 68th Venice Film Festival has wrapped up, with Aleksandr Sokurov's film Faust taking the top prize of the Golden Lion for Best Picture. The Russian director was given the award by the head of the year's jury Darren Aranofsky. This film is the fourth in the director's Goethe’s classic tragedy tetrology, following Molokh, Telets and The Sun. Faust however is the first in thet tetrology about a mythical person. His others films Moloch, was about Hitler, Taurus, about Lenin and The Sun, about Emperor Hirohito.

Thanks for reading We Got This Covered...

Roughly assembled; order within tiers based chronologically on viewing date.

01:

Cut (Amir Naderi, Japan), Anna (Alberto Grifi, Massimo Sarchielli, Italy), Faust (Aleksandr Sokurov, Russia), Louyre - This Our Still Life (Andrew Kotting, UK), Century of Birthing (Lav Diaz, Philippines)

02:

Vieni, dolce morte (dell’ego) (Paolo Brunatto, Italy), A Dangerous Method (David Cronenberg, Canada), Whores’ Glory (Michael Glawogger, Austria), A Simple Life (Ann Hui, Hk), Il potere (Augusto Tretti, Italy), Himizu (Sono Sion, Japan), Conference (Norbert Pfaffenbichler, Austria), 4:44 Last Day on Earth (Abel Ferrara, USA), Die Herde des Herrn (Romuald Karmakar, Germany), Life without Principles (Johnnie To, Hk), Late and Deep (Devin Horan, USA), Iz Tokio (Aleksej German Jr., Russia)

03:

Il canto d’amore di Alfred Prufrock (Nico D’Alessandria, Italy), Carnage (Roman Polanski, France/Germany/Poland ), Black Mirror at the National Gallery (Mark Lewis, UK), Meteor (Chrisoph Giraret, Matthias Müller, Germany), Il villaggio di cartone (Ermanno Olmi,...

The gongs have been distributed at this year's Venice Film Festival and the winner of the coveted Golden Lion is Aleksandr Sokurov's Faust, starring Hanna Schygulla, Isolda Dychauk, Georg Friedrich and Maxim Mehmet. The film looks remarkable, with cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel employing all sorts of distortion from fairground mirrors to fuzzy lenses, creating a world which is credibly off-kilter. In other news, Shangjun Cai was awarded the Silver Lion (Best Director) and Michael Fassbender won Best Actor for his role in Steve McQueen's Shame.

Read more »...

Oscar-winner Cliff Robertson has passed away: "Cliff Robertson, who was 88 when he died Saturday at his Stony Brook, N.Y., home of natural causes, had not been a force in the film industry for years, and had not been in the top ranks of leading men even at his prime. But he made a difference nonetheless in his 50-plus-year career." USA Today Alexandr Sokurov's "Faust" bests Oscar hopefuls for top honors at the Venice Film Festival: "Aleksandr Sokurov‘s 'Faust,' a retelling of Goethe’s tragedy ... was awarded the Golden Lion by [lead juror Darren] Aronofsky a few minutes ago. We had to miss the film ourselves, but word was wildly divergent, with European critics raving, but British and American ones left distinctly cooler by the project." Indiewire Patrick Mullen praises "We Need to Talk About Kevin" at the Toronto Film Festival: "'We Need to Talk About Kevin' set an awfully.

Michael Fassbender has won the top acting honour at Italy's Venice Film Festival for his role as a sex addict in Shame.

Fassbender accepted the Coppa Volpi best actor trophy at a ceremony on Saturday for his performance alongside Carey Mulligan in British director Steve McQueen's latest film.

Accepting his honour, Fassbender told the crowd, "It's just really nice when you take (a) chance and you do something that you think is relevant - you hope is relevant - and people respond the way they did."

But the festival's top prize - the Golden Lion - went to Russian filmmaker Alexander Sokurov for his take on Faust, about a scholar who sells his soul to the devil.

Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky, who served as head of the festival's jury, heaped praise on Sokurov as he presented him with the Golden Lion.

Aronofsky said, "There are some films that make you cry, there are some films that make you laugh, there are some films that change you forever after you see them; and this is one of them."...

Aleksandr Sokurov's Faust has won the Golden Lion at this year's Venice Film Festival. Now's a good time to catch up with Daniel Kasman's review.

The Jury, headed by Darren Aronofsky, awarded the Silver Lion (Best Director) to Cai Shangjun for People Mountain People Sea.

The Special Jury Prize goes to Emanuele Crialese's Terraferma. A roundup was posted earlier today.

The Osella for Best Screenplay goes to Giorgos Lanthimos and Efthymis Filippou for Alps. (Roundup and Daniel Kasman's review.)

The Osella for Best Cinematography: Robbie Ryan for Wuthering Heights. (Roundup.)

Michael Fassbender wins the Volpi Cup (Best Actor) for his performance in Steve McQueens's Shame (roundup), while the Volpi Cup for Best Actress goes to Deanie Ip for her performance in Ann Hui's A Simple Life (roundup and Daniel Kasman's review).

The Marcello Mastroianni Award (Best Young Actor) goes to Shota Sometani and Fumi Nikaido for their work in Sion Sono's Himizu.

Russian director Alexander Sokurov tops Venice Fest with his Faust. The pic scripted by Sokurov took home the Golden Lion award. Faust stars Jonannes Zeiler, Hanna Schygulla, Isolda Dychauk and Georg Friedrich and tells is a version of the German legend where a man sells his soul to the devil, exchanged for knowledge. Variety reports that Jury president Darren Aronofsky stated that all of the seven jurors were unanimous in their praise of the difficult pic which showed late in the fest. Concerning Faust, Aronofsky said that "There are some films that make you cry, there are some films that make you laugh...

Michael Fassbender, whose star status has risen exponentially over the last couple of years, has just been awarded Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival. He landed the award for his turn as a sex addict in Shame, directed by Steve Hunger McQueen. Fassbender also stars in A Dangerous Method, which was also shown at Venice. Hong Kong actress Deanie Yip was named Best Actress for A Simple Life, and Russian director Aleksandr Sokurov's Faust took home the Golden Lion for best film. Jury president Darren Aronofsky said of Faust: "The...

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This year’s Venice Film Festival had, as always, a very strong lineup, but the selection that’s risen above the rest to win the Golden Lion was Faust, the latest work from Russian Ark director Aleksandr Sokurov. Other notable wins include Michael Fassbender obtaining the Coppa Volpi for Shame, as well as Yorgos Lanthimos being honored with an Osella (Best Screenplay) statue for Alps. Shame also took home the Fipresci Award for Best Film.

Jury head Darren Aronofsky said that the slate was “exhilarating and maddening,” as there were “so many worthy films and so few prizes to give.” You can see his point when you look at everything they had to choose from. When your “losers” include Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, Wuthering Heights, Carnage, and the aforementioned Alps and Shame, you’ve got your work cut out for you. And knowing that Faust beat out all of those...

Venice, Italy — Russian director Aleksander Sokurov's "Faust," a new take on the German legend about the quest for knowledge at all cost, won the Golden Lion prize at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday.

"Faust" tells the tale of a professor, played by Johannes Zeiler, who craves knowledge and sells his soul for the love of Margarete, played by Isolda Dychauk. The Mephistopheles character is played by Anton Adasinskiy.

Dense and difficult to watch, "Faust" was nevertheless one of the critics' top choices among the 23 in-competition films at Venice this year. It marks the final chapter in Sokurov's four-film look at the relationship between man and power that began with "Moloch" in 1999 about Hitler, "Taurus" a year later about Lenin and the 2005 film "The Sun" about Japanese Emperor Hirohito.

At a post-award news conference, Sokurov made an impassioned plea for governments to continue supporting culture with state funds.

"Culture is not a luxury!

“Faust,” the final installment in Alexander Sokurov’s four-part version of Goethe’s classic tragedy, has won the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival. Darren Aranofsky, chairman of the jury, presented the Russian director the award at the closing ceremonies Saturday. The movie screens this week at the Toronto International Film Festival. Michael Fassbender (right) won the Coppa Volpi award for best actor for his work in “Shame,” by British director Steve McQueen. (Fox Searchlight acquired U.S. rights to “Shame” at the Toronto International Film Festival.) The Coppa Volpi award for best actress went to...