Film

The Great Collapsing Culture Bubble

The Great Collapsing Culture Bubble The Great Collapsing Culture Bubble

From classic movies to documentaries, the foundations of film culture are under siege from cost-cutting executives.

Jun 29, 2023 / Ben Schwartz

A sculpture called “Anything to Say,” which features life-sized bronze figures of whistleblowers (left-right) Edward Snowden, Julian Assange, and Chelsea Manning, is unveiled at Parliament Square, London, during a protest for Assange’s release from prison.

Julian Assange and Arnon Milchan: The Lopsided Scales of American Justice Julian Assange and Arnon Milchan: The Lopsided Scales of American Justice

One has boasted of espionage. The other revealed massive government wrongdoing. So why is the whistleblower in jail?

Jun 27, 2023 / James Bamford

Quintessa Swindell and Joel Edgerton in “Master Gardener.”

Paul Schrader’s Unlikely Optimism Paul Schrader’s Unlikely Optimism

Master Gardener seems designed to provoke. But in his late age, the filmmaker has settled into an earnest style, fixated on love and second chances.

Jun 15, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Vikram Murthi

A scene from “Unrest”

The Swiss Village That Made Kropotkin an Anarchist The Swiss Village That Made Kropotkin an Anarchist

Cyril Schäublin’s Unrest may be the most orderly movie about anarchists ever made.

Jun 14, 2023 / Books & the Arts / J. Hoberman

Robert DeNiro and Martin Scorcese on the set of

Raging Bullshit: Credits and the Hollywood Economy Raging Bullshit: Credits and the Hollywood Economy

The Max streaming platform debuted a credit system that obscures the actual work done by film writers and other creative workers. 

Jun 8, 2023 / Ben Schwartz

Michelle Williams and Hong Chau in “Showing Up.”

Kelly Reichardt’s Cinema of Class Conflict Kelly Reichardt’s Cinema of Class Conflict

In her latest film, Showing Up, she continues a career-long project of examining the bitter resentments produced by inequality. 

May 31, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Alex Kong

George Lucas looks at the Death Star.

What Makes Special Effects Work? What Makes Special Effects Work?

In Empire of Effects, Julie Turnock examines how George Lucas and Industrial Light & Magic transformed the way we make and view movies.

May 30, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Malcolm Harris

Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1980.

The Indulgences of Rainer Werner Fassbinder The Indulgences of Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Ian Penman’s study of the German filmmaker’s work elucidates his “cocaine communism”—an aesthetics and politics of revolution and pleasure.

May 18, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Andrew Marzoni

Joaquin Phoenix in “Beau Is Afraid.”

Is There Anything Below the Surface in “Beau Is Afraid”? Is There Anything Below the Surface in “Beau Is Afraid”?

When mothers and dreams are involved, it is hard not to think of Freud. But in Ari Aster’s latest, very little is left to the imagination.

May 16, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Jorge Cotte

Striking writers outside the set for the Showtime series

AI and the Hollywood Writers’ Strike AI and the Hollywood Writers’ Strike

Creative workers are fighting to preserve the human factor in the entertainment industry. 

May 8, 2023 / Ben Schwartz

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