Category Archives: Cinema

Bob Rafelson’s Five Easy Pieces Returns in Newly Restored 4K Edition

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five-easy-piecesFilm Forum will present a new 4K restoration of Bob Rafelson’s landmark drama Five Easy Pieces from December 19 to 25. Released in 1970, the film is considered a defining work of the New Hollywood era and features one of Jack Nicholson’s most celebrated early performances.

Nicholson stars as Bobby Dupea, a former piano prodigy turned oil-rig worker drifting through a life he can’t fully commit to. The film follows his uneasy relationships, including his volatile dynamic with girlfriend Rayette (Karen Black), encounters with fellow travelers on the road, and a return to his estranged family for a final attempt at reconciliation. Its blend of working-class realism, counterculture disillusionment, and character driven storytelling helped cement the film’s reputation as a touchstone of American independent cinema.

Shot by cinematographer László Kovács, the film was written by Carole Eastman, under the pseudonym Adrien Joyce, from sketches developed with Rafelson. Five Easy Pieces went on to earn four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actress.

The restoration offers audiences a rare chance to revisit the film on the big screen more than fifty years after its release.

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Film Forum to Host Weeklong Hitchcock and Herrmann Festival

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vertigoFilm Forum is set to launch Hitchcock and Herrmann, a one-week festival celebrating one of cinema’s most influential director-composer partnerships. Running December 12 to 18, the series highlights the collaboration between Alfred Hitchcock and legendary composer Bernard Herrmann, whose work together shaped some of the most iconic suspense films ever made.

The program showcases newly restored 4K presentations of classics including North by Northwest, Psycho, Vertigo, The Birds, The Trouble With Harry, The Man Who Knew Too Much, as well as a 35mm screening of The Wrong Man. The festival coincides with the release of Steven C. Smith’s new book Hitchcock & Herrmann: The Friendship & Film Scores That Changed Cinema. Smith will appear throughout the week to introduce select screenings, participate in conversations, and deliver an illustrated talk titled “Hitchcock & Herrmann: The Sound of Murder.”

Additional events include a discussion on The Wrong Man with author Jason Isralowitz and Film Forum Repertory Artistic Director Bruce Goldstein, exploring the real wrongful-conviction case that inspired Hitchcock’s film.

The full schedule, including introductions and special events, is available through Film Forum.

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New 4K Restoration of Stanley Donen’s Charade Opens December 5 at Film Forum

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CharadeA new 4K restoration of Stanley Donen’s 1963 classic Charade will screen at Film Forum in New York from December 5 to 11. Starring Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, and Walter Matthau, the film blends romance, suspense, and comedy, often described as “the most Hitchcock movie Hitchcock never made.”

Set in Paris, Charade follows a widow pursued by several men trying to recover stolen money linked to her late husband. Known for its sharp dialogue, stylish direction, and the chemistry between Grant and Hepburn, the film remains one of Donen’s most celebrated works.

The restoration brings renewed clarity to the film’s cinematography and design, offering audiences a chance to revisit the title on the big screen more than six decades after its release.

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Mexico’s Oscar Entry “We Shall Not Be Moved” Explores Legacy of the 1968 Student Movement

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We-Shall-Not-Be-MovedWe Shall Not Be Moved (No nos moverán), Mexico’s official submission for the 98th Academy Awards, will begin its U.S. theatrical run on November 28 at Cinema Village in New York City, presented by Cinema Tropical. The film will then expand to additional cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, Tucson, and Houston.

The debut feature by Pierre Saint-Martin Castellanos, the film is a dark dramedy about memory, loss, and the legacy of Mexico’s 1968 student movement, one of the nation’s most significant and tragic historical events. Shot in striking black and white, it stars Luisa Huertas as Socorro, a 67-year-old retired lawyer haunted by her brother’s death during the Tlatelolco massacre. Decades later, she sets out on a dangerous mission to confront the man responsible, forcing her family and herself to reckon with the past.

We Shall Not Be Moved premiered at the Guadalajara International Film Festival, where it won Best Mexican Film and the Audience Award. It went on to receive four Ariel Awards for Best First Feature, Screenplay, Actress, and Breakthrough Actor, and has screened at over 40 international film festivals. The film has also achieved a remarkable 14-week theatrical run in Mexico, the longest of any Mexican film this year, and will represent Mexico at the Goya Awards.

Director Pierre Saint-Martin Castellanos and lead actress Luisa Huertas are available for interviews.

We Shall Not Be Moved is both a personal and political exploration of how the wounds of violence and resistance continue to shape families and national identity in modern Mexico.

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Rising Sun Media Brings Yakutian Cinema to Amazon Prime Video with Four Landmark Films

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Rising-Sun-MediaFour acclaimed films by Yakutian filmmaker Stepan Burnashev (Black Snow, Our Winter, Cursed Land-Fate, and Aita) are now streaming globally on Amazon Prime Video through Rising Sun Media, marking a milestone for Sakhawood, the independent film movement from Russia’s Sakha Republic in Siberia.

Known for their emotional depth, poetic realism, and Indigenous storytelling, Burnashev’s works are often created on small budgets with local non-professional actors. His films explore survival, identity, and spiritual resilience set against the stark Siberian landscape.

Among the four titles, Aita stands out for its political resonance. It was banned in Russia in 2023 for being “contrary to the principles of the unity of the peoples of Russia,” which Burnashev described as proof of the film’s power to “disturb systems of silence.”

“This is what independent filmmaking is about,” said Nadav Streett of Rising Sun Media. “Creating despite the odds and finding new audiences who are ready to listen to voices from the periphery.”

Founded in 2007 in Los Angeles, Rising Sun Media is known for bringing bold international and independent films to major digital platforms.

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Luis Buñuel’s “Viridiana” Returns in New 4K Restoration at Film Forum

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ViridianaJanus Films will release a new 4K restoration of Luis Buñuel’s Palme d’Or-winning classic Viridiana (1961), opening November 14 for a one-week engagement at Film Forum in New York City.

Banned in Franco-era Spain and condemned by the Vatican upon release, Viridiana remains one of cinema’s most provocative works. The film follows a novice nun (Silvia Pinal) whose idealistic faith collides with corruption and hypocrisy when she moves in with her uncle, played by Fernando Rey, in a narrative that skewers religious dogma and human weakness.

Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 1961 Cannes Film Festival, the film has long been regarded as one of Buñuel’s masterpieces. Co-written with Julio Alejandro and photographed by José F. Aguayo, the restoration showcases the film’s bold imagery and subversive wit for a new generation of audiences.

Viridiana runs November 14 to 20, 2025, exclusively at Film Forum.

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Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller, Kadir Nelson Join Jessica Alba for Lucas Museum Panel at L.A. Comic Con

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Rendering of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art offered fans an early look at its 2026 opening during a panel at Los Angeles Comic Con, where filmmaker Robert Rodriguez, comic creator Frank Miller, and painter-illustrator Kadir Nelson joined moderator Jessica Alba for a discussion on the power of visual storytelling.

The conversation explored the impact of comics, cinema, and illustration as forms of “narrative art,” a term the museum’s founders George Lucas and Mellody Hobson use to describe popular visual storytelling across cultures and eras. A preview video showcased renderings of the museum, selections from its collection, and a recorded message from the founders.

Set to open in Los Angeles in 2026, the Lucas Museum will be the first institution dedicated to narrative art, presenting works ranging from ancient cave drawings to comic books, magazine illustrations, and digital media.

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Japan Society to Spotlight Shiguéhiko Hasumi With October Film Series in New York

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japan-filmsJapan Society will present Shiguéhiko Hasumi: Another History of the Movie in America and Japan, a ten-day retrospective honoring Japan’s most influential living film scholar, running October 9–18, 2025.

Curated by Hasumi, a longtime critic, theorist, and mentor to directors including Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Shinji Aoyama, the program explores the intersections of American and Japanese cinema through a personal lens. Highlights include Michael Mann’s Collateral, Makoto Sato’s 1992 documentary Living on the River Agano, and a rare pairing of shorts by Kurosawa and Aoyama.

The series will also feature Richard Fleischer’s The Boston Strangler, Robert Aldrich’s …All the Marbles, and Mikio Naruse’s Tsuruhachi and Tsurujiro. Locarno winner Sho Miyake will attend the second weekend, presenting his 2022 boxing drama Small, Slow But Steady and participating in a closing-night discussion on Hasumi’s critical legacy.

Hasumi, celebrated for his groundbreaking writings on Yasujiro Ozu and John Ford, was President of the University of Tokyo from 1997 to 2001. His work has shaped generations of filmmakers and critics, influencing both Japanese and international cinema.

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Robert Redford, Hollywood Icon and Architect of Independent Cinema, Dies at 89

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By Armando

Robert Redford during the filming of The Sting (1973). Photo by Ken Dare, Los Angeles Times / Courtesy of the Dutch National Archives.

Robert Redford, the Oscar-winning actor, director, and visionary who built Sundance into the home of independent film, has died at his home in Utah. He was 89. Redford was first known as one of Hollywood’s most magnetic leading men, but his greatest impact came later, as he reshaped the future of filmmaking by giving independent voices a place to be heard.

Redford began his career in television and on Broadway before breaking through in film. His first leading role that brought him recognition was Barefoot in the Park (1967) opposite Jane Fonda. Two years later, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) made him a household name. His pairing with Paul Newman became one of the most beloved duos in film history. They reunited in The Sting (1973), which became a massive hit and earned Redford an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.

An American Icon

In the 1970s, Redford wasn’t just a star. With his blond hair, windswept style, and natural charisma, he became a cultural symbol of American masculinity. But he quickly proved he was more than an image. In The Candidate (1972), Jeremiah Johnson (1972), Three Days of the Condor (1975), and All the President’s Men (1976), he pursued stories with political and social weight. By the end of the decade, he had become both a top box office draw and one of the most respected actors of his generation.

Behind the Camera

In 1980, Redford made his directing debut with Ordinary People, a family drama that went on to win four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. The film marked his transformation from leading man to accomplished filmmaker and proved he could command just as much respect behind the camera.
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“Darling” 4K Restoration to Open at Film Forum for 60th Anniversary Run

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darling-film-classicJohn Schlesinger’s Darling (1965), starring Julie Christie, Dirk Bogarde, and Laurence Harvey, returns to the big screen in a new 4K restoration for its 60th anniversary. The bittersweet satire of Swinging London will screen at Film Forum in New York from October 10 to October 23.

The film, which helped define the British New Wave, earned five Academy Award nominations, winning Best Actress for Christie, Best Original Screenplay for Frederic Raphael, and Best Costume Design for Julie Harris. Christie’s performance as ambitious model Diana Scott launched her to international stardom.

Darling also earned four BAFTAs and three New York Film Critics Circle Awards, cementing its place as a cultural landmark of the 1960s.

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