Anyone with more than a passing interest in the films of Orson Welles (and not just Citizen Kane) should immediately check out American: Exhibits from the C.F. Kane Museum, described at The Auteurs’ Notebook, where it is temporarily posted, as “a six-part video investigation into the work of Orson Welles by B. Kite.” Kite’s technique ... read more »

Bright Lights After Dark pauses to remember Ray Dennis Steckler, denizen of Hollywood and Las Vegas, a truly independent filmmaker who was anathema to the studios, but who nonetheless managed to produce, direct, and often star in a series of mostly self-financed and self-distributed horror/noir/comedy/rock ‘n roll films with titles like Wild Guitar, The Thrill ... read more »

DISCLAIMER – I saw this film once more than 30 years ago, so my memories of it are not exactly crystal clear. The film is minor ‘60s Godard – which means it is automatically more interesting than most Godard from the ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s, or 2000s. The film is Godard’s fourth effort in widescreen and ... read more »

Last night, I had the pleasure of attending a screening of some of Kenneth Anger’s most recent short films – hosted by Mr. Anger himself. The legendary “underground filmmaker” was surprisingly youthful and energetic for a guy born in 1927, looking not much older than he does in the picture at left, taken decades ago. ... read more »

I offer this clip as follow-up to my post re The Eye Like a Strange Balloon (Guy Maddin 1995). It shows the degree to which Maddin’s style and thematic concerns have evolved in the 12 years since the earlier film was made. Note the differences. Most obviously, Eye Like a Strange Balloon is a photographed ... read more »

Canadian Guy Maddin is virtually unique among contemporary filmmakers in that despite having made nine features – including The Saddest Music in the World, Brand Upon the Brain, and My Winnipeg – he continues to churn out film shorts. Dozens of them. As he notes in this great interview, “I put all my shorts on ... read more »

Nope. These images come from the fascinating opening credits montage of Ang Lee’s Hulk (2003) examined by Rob Humanick here. (See also, Erich Kuersten’s piece below.) Humanick rightly considers Lee’s film to be “almost great.” So why did Marvel feel it needed to “reboot” the Hulk franchise only 5 years later with a “new” more ... read more »

While searching for abstract animation in the style of Oskar Fishinger or Man Ray, I came upon this remarkable late ‘30s color short “animated” – if that’s the correct word – to a recording of Bing Crosby singing “When the Organ Played Oh Promise Me.” (The song was recorded in 1937.) So many questions. Who ... read more »

British auteur Peter Greenaway is an unabashed maker of art films. Regardless, he did have a commercial success of sorts with 1989′s The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover featuring a frequently naked Helen Mirren, and Michael Gambon as her gangster husband. Since then, however, only a few of his films have been ... read more »

Via GreenCine Daily, I want to direct you all to this terrific blog post by Dennis Cooper dedicated to the late, great Stan Brakhage (January 14, 1933 – March 9, 2003). Brakhage was the finest and most creatively productive of America’s abstract filmmakers. By “abstract,” I mean that Brakhage routinely abandoned several of the elements ... read more »