Yesterday, Polish director Andrezj Wajda died at age 90. He was among the most distinguished Polish filmmakers of his generation or in general: his accolades include a Palme d’Or for his labor rights film Man of Iron and a 1999 honorary Oscar for his lifetime body of work. As with Man of Iron, many of […]
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New Acquisitions – September 2016, Part 2
Yes, part two! A steady stream of DVDs continues to flow into the library, and we’re getting them on the shelves for you. This month in particular had a focus on international films, so let’s talk about those. Pictured above is A Town Called Panic, the first stop-motion film ever screened at the Cannes Film […]
Continue readingNew Acquisitions – September 2016
With the first week of classes almost in the bag, we have the Labor Day weekend to look forward to. And with a tropical storm possibly bearing down on us, what better way than to escape a long, stormy weekend than grabbing a few movies? We’re continuing to add new films to our collection that […]
Continue readingGene Wilder and his triumphant Mel Brooks comedies
As with everyone else, we’re saddened by the news of the death of Gene Wilder. He was Willy Wonka, of course, but he was also one of the greatest comedic actors of the 20th century. His collaborations with Mel Brooks and Richard Pryor are all-time classics, and hearing that someone with such a sharp mind […]
Continue readingBBC critics poll names the top movies of the century
Time for another list of great films as decided by critics! This time, the BBC asked critics to name the best films of this century. David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive tops their selections, and it gets more eclectic the deeper you look. Compared with similar lists about the golden age of Hollywood, BBC’s list has an […]
Continue readingAlternative programming: Getting real about Rio
from Rio de Janeiro: Urban Future The 2016 Rio Olympics start tomorrow, and this year seems particularly fraught. Every Olympic event has some enormous, costly, potentially negative impact on its host – remember the broken hotels in Sochi and the wasted construction in Athens? – but Rio has it worst in recent memory. The Zika […]
Continue readingNew Acquisitions – August 2016
One month left in summer! Everyone panic! Well, don’t actually panic. We’re getting everything set for the fall semester, and we’re stocking up on more new acquisitions. As before, we’re in the process of replacing as many of our VHSes with DVDs as possible. But we’re also plugging other holes in our collection. We’ve added […]
Continue readingDirector Edgar Wright names is favorite 1000 movies (Yes, 1000)
Edgar Wright is one of the most distinctive, stylized directors working in film right now. If you’ve seen Hot Fuzz and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, you’ll recognize his unmistakable, kinetic energy. We’re all ears when he wants to share his thoughts on the art of filmmaking. As it turns out, Wright was happy to […]
Continue readingMeet the Media Services guide collection
When we buy new items for the collection, sometimes they come with bonus guides full of interviews, essays, and commentary. These are super useful for anyone researching film or wanting to learn more about film history. We keep these guides stashed on shelves in the back corner of Media Services, and we realized that we […]
Continue readingRIP Abbas Kiarostami, defining voice of Iranian cinema
Over the weekend, Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami died at age 76. Kiarostami was perhaps the greatest and most renowned Iranian filmmaker; he is the only to win a Palme d’Or, had an outsized influence on world cinema, and brought international attention to the Iranian film industry. His admirers include Martin Scorsese and Jean-Luc Godard, who […]
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