4 (or more) Shots From 4 (or more) Films is just what it says it is, 4 (or more) shots from 4 (or more) of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 (or more) Shots From 4 (or more) Films lets the visuals do the talking.
Today, TSL celebrates the 116 anniversary of the birth of Michael Powell, the British visionary who changed the face of cinema, both on his own and through his collaboration with Emeric Pressburger. It seems appropriate that we pay tribute to Powell on the day before October, as his 1960 film Peeping Tom is considered by many to be the first slasher film. (It’s not but it’s influence on the genre cannot be overstated.)
In honor of Michael Powell, TSL is proud to present….
4 Shots From 4 Michael Powell Films
The Thief of Bagdad (1940, dir by Michael Powell, Tim Whalen, and Ludwig Berger, DP: George Perinal)
Black Narcissus (1947, dir by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, DP: Jack Cardiff)
The Red Shoes (1948, dir by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, DP: Jack Cardiff)
Peeping Tom (1960, dir by Michael Powell, DP: Otto Heller)
4 (or more) Shots From 4 (or more) Films is just what it says it is, 4 (or more) shots from 4 (or more) of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 (or more) Shots From 4 (or more) Films lets the visuals do the talking.
Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy 51st birthday to Danish director Nicholas Winding Refn! Drivewas one of the first films to really be celebrated on this site, receiving reviews from several contributors. Personally, I preferred The Neon Demon.
In honor of of the man and his work, it’s time for….
4 Shots from 4 Nicolas Winding Refn Films
Bronson (2008, dir by Nicolas Winding Refn, DP: Larry Smith)
Drive (2011, dir by Nicolas Winding Refn, DP: Newton Thomas Sigel)
Only God Forgives (2013,dir by Nicolas Winding Refn, DP: Larry Smith)
The Neon Demon (2016, dir by Nicolas Winding Refn, DP: Natasha Braier)
4 (or more) Shots From 4 (or more) Films is just what it says it is, 4 (or more) shots from 4 (or more) of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 (or more) Shots From 4 (or more) Films lets the visuals do the talking.
99 years ago today, Arthur Penn was born in Philadelphia. In the 50s, Penn was one of the new crop of directors who made a name for themselves directing for television. Like most of his colleagues, he transitioned into film. Unlike many of his colleagues, he remained a fiercely iconoclastic director, one who was willing to challenge the conventions of Hollywood. While his early films often struggled at the box office, he was respected by actors and hailed as a visionary by the directors of the French New Wave.
In 1967, he and Warren Beatty changed the course of American cinema with Bonnie and Clyde. Penn followed up that classic film with movies like Alice’s Restaurant, Little Big Man, Night Moves, and a handful of others. When he died in 2010, Penn was hailed as one of the most influential (if sometimes underrated) directors of all time.
Today, in honor of the anniversary of his birth, the Shattered Lens offers up….
4 Shots From 4 Arthur Penn Films
Mickey One (1965, dir by Arthur Penn, DP: Ghislain Cloquet)
Bonnie and Clyde (1967, dir by Arthur Penn, DP: Burnett Guffey)
Little Big Man (1970, dir by Arthur Penn, DP: Harry Stradling Jr)
Night Moves (1975, dir by Arthur Penn, DP: Bruce Surtees)
It’s time for me to do my monthly Oscar predictions. Again, as I’ve said in the past, the majority of these predictions are based on a combination of instinct and wishful thinking. However, the picture may become a bit clearer as early as the end of this week. With the Venice and Telluride film festivals right around the corner and Toronto also swift approaching, critics are finally going to get a chance to see some of the contenders and, as the early reviews come in, it should be easier to pick the probable nominees from the also-rans.
Personally, I will curious to see how people react to Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog. Among the other possibilities that we’ll be hearing about: Spencer, King Richard, Dune, The Lost Daughter, The Last Duel, and Belfast.
If you’re curious to see how my thinking has developed, check out my predictions for March and April and May and June and July!
4 (or more) Shots From 4 (or more) Films is just what it says it is, 4 (or more) shots from 4 (or more) of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 (or more) Shots From 4 (or more) Films lets the visuals do the talking.
Today would have been Wes Craven’s 82nd birthday. I have to admit that I was shocked to be reminded that Craven was 76 years old when he tragically passed away in 2015. I always assumed that he was much younger, perhaps in his late 50s. Perhaps that’s because Craven himself always seemed so energetic and enthusiastic about both horror and cinema. He was one of the best ambassadors that the horror genre could have asked for.
Today, in honor of Wes Craven, we present to you….
6 Shots From 6 Wes Craven Films
The Hills Have Eyes (1977, dir by Wes Craven, DP: Eric Saarinen)
Swamp Thing (dir by Wes Craven, DP: Robbie Greenberg)
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984, dir by Wes Craven, DP: Jacques Haitkin)
The People Under The Stairs (1991, dir by Wes Craven, DP: Sandi Sissel)
New Nightmare (1994, dir by Wes Craven, DP: Mark Irwin)
It’s that time of the month again! It’s time for me to make my early Oscar predictions.
This year, the Cannes Film Festival really didn’t clear much up. TheFrenchDispatch was acclaimed but, in every review, there was an admission that, for everyone who absolutely loved it, there would probably be someone else who would absolutely hate it. I did decided to include RedRocket on my list of predictions, based on the Cannes reaction. I’m still not a 100% convinced that it’s going to be a contender, of course. But the idea of a Simon Rex movie being nominated for best picture was just too wonderfully strange for me to ignore. That’s the same logic that led to me including Pig as a best picture nominee, by the way.
On the Ridely Scott front, the overacting in the trailer for HouseofGucci really turned me off so I dropped it from all of my predictions. TheLastDuel looks like it might have a chance, however.
Anyway, the main thing to remember when looking at these predictions is that the majority of them are just random guesses, based on hunches and past Academy behavior. So, as always, take them with several grains of salt.
If you’re curious to see how my thinking has developed, check out my predictions for March and April and May and June!
When it comes to Cannes, it’s often a fool’s errand to try to predict what will win. The critics and the viewers will definitely have their opinions of the films that they see but, in the end, it all comes down to the members of the Jury and the Jury almost always seems to go their own way. Probably the easiest way to sabotage a film’s chances at Cannes is to announce, early-on, that the film is a lock for Palme.
For all of the acclaim that greeted TheFrenchDispatch, RedRocket, FlagDay. and a few others, the 2021 Cannes Jury, led by Spike Lee, gave the Palme d’Or to Julia Docournau’s Titane. I can’t wait to see Titane as I absolutely loved Ducournau’s previous film, Raw. Annette, which was kind of the love it or hate it film of the festival picked up the award for Best Director. As much fun as some of us had imagining a world where Simon Rex was named Best Actor for RedRocket, the jury went with Caleb Landry Jones for Nitram.
What does this mean for the Oscars? Probably not much. Of course, winning at Cannes can help a film’s Oscar chances. Most recently, it probably helped out both TreeofLife and Parasite. I could imagine Caleb Landry Jones maybe getting a boost as far as a possible Best Actor nomination is concerned, depending on how Nitram is received in the States. But, in the end, Cannes is usually viewed as being a bit too quirky and unpredictable for it to be a dependable precursor. When it comes to film festival acclaim, the Oscars tend to pay more attention to Telluride and Venice. In the end, it’ll probably be films like TheFrenchDispatch and RedRocket that benefit the most from being acclaimed (if not awarded) at Cannes.
With all that in mind, here are the winners!
Official awards
In Competition
The following awards were presented for films shown In Competition:
Palme d’Or: Titane by Julia Ducournau
Grand Prix:
A Hero by Asghar Farhadi
Compartment No. 6 by Juho Kuosmanen
Jury Prize:
Ahed’s Knee by Nadav Lapid
Memoria by Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Best Director: Leos Carax for Annette
Best Actress: Renate Reinsve for The Worst Person in the World
Best Actor: Caleb Landry Jones for Nitram
Best Screenplay: Ryusuke Hamaguchi & Takamasa Oe for Drive My Car
Un Certain Regard
Un Certain Regard Award: Unclenching the Fists by Kira Kovalenko
Un Certain Regard Jury Prize: Great Freedom by Sebastian Meise
Un Certain Regard Ensemble Prize: Bonne mère by Hafsia Herzi
Un Certain Regard Prize of Courage: La Civil by Teodora Mihai
Un Certain Regard Prize of Originality: Lamb by Valdimar Jóhannsson
Un Certain Regard Special Mention: Prayers for the Stolen by Tatiana Huezo
Golden Camera
Caméra d’Or: Murina by Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović
Short Films
Short Film Palme d’Or: All the Crows in the World by Tang Yi
Special Mention: August Sky by Jasmin Tenucci
Cinéfondation
First Prize: The Salamander Child by Théo Degen
Second Prize: Cicada by Yoon Daewoen
Third Prize:
Love Stories on the Move by Carina-Gabriela Daşoveanu
Cantareira by Rodrigo Ribeyro
Honorary Palme d’Or
Honorary Palme d’Or: Jodie Foster and Marco Bellocchio
Independent awards
FIPRESCI Prizes
In Competition: Drive My Car by Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Un Certain Regard: Playground by Laura Wandel
Parallel section: Feathers by Omar El Zohairy (International Critics’ Week)
Ecumenical Prize
Prize of the Ecumenical Jury: Drive My Car by Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Special Mention: Compartment No. 6 by Juho Kuosmanen
International Critics’ Week
Nespresso Grand Prize: Feathers by Omar El Zohairy
Leitz Cine Discovery Prize for Short Film: Lili Alone by Zou Jing
Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award: Sandra Melissa Torres for Amparo
Directors’ Fortnight
Europa Cinemas Label Award for Best European Film: A Chiara by Jonas Carpignano
SACD Award for Best French-language Film: Magnetic Beats by Vincent Maël Cardona
Carrosse d’Or: Frederick Wiseman
L’Œil d’or
L’Œil d’or: A Night of Knowing Nothing by Payal Kapadia
Queer Palm
Queer Palm Award: The Divide by Catherine Corsini
Prix François Chalais
François Chalais Prize: A Hero by Asghar Farhadi
Special Mention: Freda by Gessica Généus
Cannes Soundtrack Award
Cannes Soundtrack Award:
Ron Mael & Russell Mael for Annette
Rone for Paris, 13th District
Palm Dog
Palm Dog Award: Rosie, Dora and Snowbear for The Souvenir Part II
Trophée Chopard
Chopard Trophy: Jessie Buckley and Kingsley Ben-Adir
It’s the end of the month and that means that it’s time for me to post my monthly predictions!
What has chanced since I last made my predictions in May? Though it was acclaimed by critics, the box office failure of InTheHeights has probably ended that film’s time as an Oscar contender. For all the musicals that are coming out this year, only Spielberg’s WestSideStory really seems like a good bet to emerge as a major contender. DearEvanHansen was pretty much eliminated from consideration as soon as its trailer dropped. Tick, Tick….Boom seems to be destined to be loved by theater kids while being dismissed by everyone else. I’d love to see Joe Wright and Peter Dinklage nominated but my instincts are telling me that Cyrano will probably not be a huge contender. In the end, WestSideStory seems like the most likely musical nominee.
I’ve been reading up on Jane Campion’s ThePoweroftheDog, which is set to premiere at Venice and then be released via Netflix. Based on a novel by Thomas Savage, this sounds like the type of film that could potentially be a strong contender, depending on what approach Campion takes the story. The main character of Phil Burbank is the type of bigger-than-life role that could lead to Oscar glory. (The closest recent equivalent to Phil would probably be Daniel Day-Lewis in ThereWillBeBlood.) Phil is a sharply intelligent but cruelly manipulative Montana rancher, the type who brags about castrating cattle while quoting Ovid and who goes out of his way to bully anyone who he considers to be effeminate. Of course, there’s a secret behind all of Phil’s cruelty and how the film handles that secret will have a lot to do with how strongly the film comes on during awards season. Phil is being played by Benedict Cumberbatch, which is …. interesting casting. (Personally, I probably would have begged Michael Fassbender to take the role.) Still, it seems like Phil could be the type of change-of-pace role that, should Cumberbatch’s casting pay off, could lead to Oscar glory.
Coming up in July, we’ve got Cannes and we’ll be getting our first look at contenders like Wes Anderson’s TheFrenchDispatch. Though Cannes is hardly a reliable precursor, the Oscar race should start to become a bit clearer as the festival start up and the contenders — many of which we’ve been waiting to see for over two years — will finally start to be released. Until then, take all predictions with a grain of salt!
If you’re curious to see how my thinking has developed, check out my predictions for March and April and May.
4 (or more) Shots From 4 (or more) Films is just what it says it is, 4 (or more) shots from 4 (or more) of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 (or more) Shots From 4 (or more) Films lets the visuals do the talking.
115 years ago today, Billy Wilder was born in what was-then Austria-Hungary and what is today Poland. Having started his film career as a screenwriter in Germany, Wilder fled to the United States after the rise of Hitler. (Many members of Wilder’s family would subsequently die in the Holocaust.) He went on to establish himself as one of the great studio directors, a filmmaker who could seemingly master any genre and whose films were often distinguished by an irreverent wit and a welcome skepticism when it came to accepting any sort of conventional wisdom. He made the type of films that could only be made by someone who had seen humanity at its worst but who also understood what people were capable of at their best. Wilder made dramas that could make you laugh and comedies that could make you cry. He was a master filmmaker, one whose work continues to influence directors to this day.
Today, in honor of Billy Wilder’s legacy, the Shattered Lens presents….
4 Shots From 4 Billy Wilder Films
Double Indemnity (1944, dir by Billy Wilder, DP: John Seitz)
Sunset Boulevard (1950, dir by Billy Wilder, DP; John F. Seitz)
The Apartment (1960, dir by Billy Wilder, DP: Ernest Laszlo)
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970, dir by Billy Wilder, DP: Christopher Challis)
4 (or more) Shots From 4 (or more) Films is just what it says it is, 4 (or more) shots from 4 (or more) of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 (or more) Shots From 4 (or more) Films lets the visuals do the talking.
94 years ago today, Lucio Fulci — the maestro of Italian genre filmmaking — was born in Rome. Fulci would go on to direct some of the most visually stunning (and, occasionally, most narratively incoherent) films ever made. Fulci worked in all genres but he’ll probably always be best remembered for launching the Italian zombie boom with Zombi2. His subsequent Beyond trilogy continues to fascinate and delight lovers of both horror and grindhouse filmmaking.
Lucio Fulci, needless to say, is a pretty popular figure here at the TSL. In honor of the date of his birth, it’s time for….
Through the Shattered Lens 