Scorsese can get lots of people Very Mad Online by making simple factual statements about what the corporate consolidation of the American film industry is doing to American art and culture. He did it in 2019, when he wrote in the New York Times that risk-averse “modern film franchises [are] market-researched, audience-tested, vetted, modified, … [Read more...]
Martin Scorsese picks legendary Indonesian psychological drama ‘Lewat Djam Malam’ for Criterion release
A recently restored classic Indonesian movie is about to be available for home viewing in the US and Canada thanks to legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese. Lewat Djam Malam, released internationally as After The Curfew, is a 1954 psychological drama/neo-noir film by prominent film director Usmar Ismail, a man regarded as the pioneer of Indonesian … [Read more...]
Spike Lee Gets His Fourth Film on the National Film Registry: “Sometimes Dreams Come True”
The 2019 edition of the list, which gives films of cultural, historic, or aesthetic significance a permanent home in the Library of Congress, ranges from Lee’s landmark She’s Gotta Have It to a 1903 reel filmed at Ellis Island—and virtually everything in between. For the fourth time, Spike Lee has had a film inducted into the National Film … [Read more...]
‘Joker’: The 1 Way Warner Bros. Refused to Give Todd Phillips Creative Freedom
Since its release, Joker has been everywhere. Indeed, director Todd Phillips’ loose adaptation of the DC Comics character has been shattering box office records. For better or worse, Joker is one of the most talked-about films of 2019. Fans of the film credit that resonance with audiences to Phillips’ distinctive vision. The director intended … [Read more...]
Scorsese may be right that Marvel is ‘not cinema’ – but superhero films make us feel more than identity-politics Oscar bait
Scorsese’s claim that Marvel movies are not ‘cinema’ highlights the gap between the films people want and the ones the film industry, and culture at large, esteems. This gap reflects a broader alienation between “people” and elite taste-makers across all social spheres. But… ‘Endgame’ grossed $2.8 billion at the BO, Scorsese’s latest is on … [Read more...]
Martin Scorsese declares Marvel Cinematic Universe ‘not cinema’
Martin Scorsese may be one of the world’s greatest directors and a human film encyclopedia, but his definition of “cinema” doesn’t include the most popular movies on Earth. In a recent interview in Empire, the Oscar-winning legend said of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, “I don’t see them. I tried, you know? But that’s not cinema. Honestly, the … [Read more...]
