In Contention

Tag: The Seventh Seal

  • 10/7 Web Round-up

    Jodie Foster• How “Brüno” could forever change Hollywood’s depiction of homosexuality. [Slate]

    • Or should that be “Humpday?” [Time]

    • Jodie Foster goes back behind the the camera, directing and starring opposite Mel Gibson in “The Beaver.” Ahem. [Variety]

    • Given the ubiquity of the Harry Potter kids, Gill Pringle considers the rise of the well-behaved movie star. [The Independent]

    • Eternal maverick Isabelle Huppert on her “internal adventure” of her acting career. [indieWIRE]

    • Must-read of the day: Andrew O’Hehir takes a fresh look at “The Seventh Seal.” [Salon]

    • Inspired by the title of Michael Moore’s latest, Xan Brooks contemplates cinema’s least appropriate date movies. [The Guardian]

    • By the way, have you been playing Nat Roger’s fantastic “First & Last” game this month? Check it out. [The Film Experience]


  • 6/16 Web Round-up

    Bengt Ekerot in The Seventh Seal• Tom O’Neil ponders the awards prospects of comedy box office hit “The Hangover.” [Gold Derby]

    • Eugene Hernandez talks to Dennis Hopper at CineVegas. [indieWIRE]

    • Joe Flint, meanwhile, chastises Heather Graham for again playing the girl with the heart of gold from the wrong side of the tracks. [Company Town]

    • Miki Turner talks “Whatever Works” (which doesn’t really work) with Larry David. [MSNBC]

    • Nathaniel Rogers runs an early screening review of “Brüno.” [The Film Experience]

    • A.O. Scott takes a look back at “Dog Day Afternoon.” [New York Times]

    • Detroit’s woes didn’t keep bad-ass muscle cars from the screen in “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.” [USA Today]

    • As the film makes its way to Blu-ray, Glenn Kenny dives back into “The Seventh Seal.” [Some Came Running]

  • THE LISTS: Top 10 Cannes runners-up of all time

    Cinema ParadisoI’ll be honest with you, readers. Struck with the idea of waking (after its winter nap) our weekly lists feature with something suitably Cannes-themed, I started with the obvious: the 10 greatest Palme d’Or winners of all time. Simple, snappy, uncomplicated.

    Or so I thought. But as I began whittling down the titles, I came to the disheartening realization that my list looked pretty much like that of everyone else who has had a go. By the time you’ve included the inarguable likes of “Apocalypse Now,” “The Leopard,” “The Third Man” and “Taxi Driver” (and hell, that’s before I even reached 1980), there’s precious little room for idiosyncratic argument, however obtuse you may be.

    (It also leaves a sadly narrow window for personal favorites: it was when I was balancing the numbers and realized that I had to boot either “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg” or “The Knack” that I began to have doubts about the enterprise.)

    The thing is, unlike the Academy Awards, the Palme d’Or goes to a genuinely great film more often than not. Sure, there are errors of judgment now and then. (“The Child” over “Cache?” What were they thinking?) And some years present a slate so rich there are bound to be slights however you deal the cards. (I certainly wouldn’t have wanted to choose between “Pulp Fiction” and “Three Colors: Red” in 1994.) But Cannes is a festival that, an impressive amount of the time, gets it right in hindsight. Too right — for my list, anyway.

    And so it was that I decided to turn my attention to the runners-up. Cannes has always awarded a silver medal of sorts, under various monikers over the years: the Special Jury Prize, the Grand Prix du Jury and, currently, the simply but sweetly named Grand Prix. A significant number of future classics have been handed this accolade, but it’s a sadly undersung one: as with so many things in life, first place is all that counts in the history books.

    So I’m taking a moment to give this honorable category of winners their due. What follows is my selection of the 10 greatest runners-up in Cannes history. There’s a daunting range of films to choose from (check out the full list here and here), so this list turned out to be pretty agonizing too. (No “L’avventura?” Mon dieu!) A couple of titles here were robbed, but many of them were simply unlucky to come up against formidable competitors. All of them, however, deserve to recognized as the Cannes champs they are.

    (more…)

  • Vote on the next Criterion Blu-ray release

    I’ve gone head-first into the tank for Blu-ray ever since I broke down and bought a player last year.  And despite a high retail tag in most quarters, Amazon.com remains the number one spot for finding the best deals.

    Criterion has slowly been putting together a rather varied slate of titles on Blu, from Wes Anderson’s “Bottle Rocket” to Gregory Nava’s “Norte” to David Fincher’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” which will be hitting store shelves tomorrow.  Ingmar Bergman’s “The Seventh Seal” hits next month, which has me doubly excited, but frankly I’ve been a touch disappointed with the output so far.  Where’s the Malick stuff fer cryin’ out loud?

    Amazon has now partnered with Criterion to give you a say in their release schedule allowing customers to vote for the next Criterion Blu-ray release.  A list of five possible titles has been offered up:

    Together with the Criterion Collection, we’re offering customers the unique opportunity to select an upcoming Blu-ray release from the Criterion Collection. From now until May 25th, select from Au Revoir Les Enfants, Down By Law, Howards End, Kwaidan, and Picnic at Hanging Rock. The winning title will be released later in 2009.

    My vote went to Peter Weir’s “Picnic at Hanging Rock,” but I wasn’t totally impressed by that quintet of possibilities.  Regardless, I’m glad Criterion is in the HD fold and I’m sure the company will continue to deliver, as always.