Modern Times Modern Times
This was supposed to be Charlie Chaplin's first talkie, but he wisely realized that to preserve the charm of the Little Tramp, he also had to preserve the silence.
Dec 18, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Mark Van Doren
Atlantic City Atlantic City
Aging numbers-man Burt Lancaster yearns for the day when even the Atlantic Ocean "was something."
Dec 18, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Robert Hatch
The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek
Preston Sturges received two Oscar nominations for 1944 films. This was one of them--even though it was written on the fly as it was being filmed.
Dec 18, 2008 / Books & the Arts / James Agee
Reading in an Age of Depression Reading in an Age of Depression
An editor ponders the publishing industry meltdown--and the precarious future of books.
Dec 18, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Tom Engelhardt
Partisans of Oblivion: A Situationist Novel Partisans of Oblivion: A Situationist Novel
Michèle Bernstein's Situationist novel explores a Paris hovering between Old World and New Wave.
Dec 17, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Joshua Clover
Between the Dead and the Living: Jack Spicer’s Second Life Between the Dead and the Living: Jack Spicer’s Second Life
A new collection of poems by Jack Spicer returns one of the great American visionaries to print.
Dec 17, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Barry Schwabsky
Ives’s Ears: Charles Ives Reconsidered Ives’s Ears: Charles Ives Reconsidered
In songs, symphonies and sonatas, Charles Ives furnished America's musical past with a future.
Dec 17, 2008 / Books & the Arts / David Schiff
Answer Answer
a moment of stillness, demanding an answer. When does a moment end? * Starbucks prayer, "Make morning good again." * Leaf shadows on pavement: word meaning to slide carelessly, repeatedly, to absentmindedly caress. * For I so loved the world that I set up my only son to be arrested.
Dec 17, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Rae Armantrout
Of Mice and Men Of Mice and Men
...And their sons. This film had the unusual distinction of starring two "Jr."s, Lon Chaney and Noah Beery, both scions of silent film actors.
Dec 16, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Franz Hoellering
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
A movie that portrays politicians as corrupt? Believe it or not, this film nearly didn't get made for precisely that reason.
Dec 16, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Franz Hoellering