Haters be warned: the new Ghostbusters movie comes out this Friday, and we are extremely excited. It looks like a whole load of fun, and we’re glad to see a big-budgeted action comedy in theaters. But it’s impossible to talk about Ghostbusters in a vacuum, because the discussion around the movie has been dominated by […]
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 […]
Continue readingNew Acquisitions – July 2016
This month, we’ve added some of the most critically movies of 2015 to our collection, including The Revenant, Creed, and Concussion. But we want to focus on a particular fascinating movie that probably passed under your radar. The Tribe is a Ukrainian crime movie filmed entirely in Ukrainian sign language. There are no translations or […]
Continue readingMedia Services at the Movies: The Purge: Election Year
The summer blockbuster season is here! “Media Services at the Movies” will look at what big movie is coming out this week, then offer a few movies like it from our collection. To be honest, we dismissed The Purge at first as more thinly plotted horror about people breaking into your house. Maybe it was. […]
Continue readingThe five years in Chicago when movies were forbidden
from Exhibitors Herald,via Wikimedia Commons Today, we learned about a truly bizarre moment in film history that we want to share. For as often as you hear people (usually wrongly) claiming censorship of media, you’ve never lived through anything like the reign of Major M.L.C. Funkhouser, film censor of the city of Chicago. As The […]
Continue readingLearn the secrets of directing from Adam Nimoy this Thursday
image via School of Communication website Maybe you’ve had to direct a student film for class. Exciting! But that means you have to direct people, and if you don’t have experience managing a set, you may be awkward to work with your actors without accidentally being a jerk. You need to learn the best way […]
Continue readingMedia Services at the Movies: Independence Day: Resurgence
The summer blockbuster season is here! “Media Services at the Movies” will look at what big movie is coming out this week, then offer a few movies like it from our collection. Marvel’s brand of interconnected, tonally similar action dominates the movie landscape today, but it’s difficult to understate what a massive effect Independence Day […]
Continue readingAFI Docs begins tonight with a Werner Herzog treat on Friday
AFI Docs has arrived! For one week every summer, the American Film Institute takes over DC, hosting five days of screenings for new documentaries and documentary shorts. AFI Docs attracts top talent from around the world – including, this year, a special event with Werner Herzog and his new film Lo and Behold. Tickets for […]
Continue readingSee Inside Out tonight in Adams Morgan!
It’s been a while since we checked in with all the outdoor movie screenings happening in DC this summer. As it turns out, there’s one tonight! The Adams Morgan BID will be screening Inside Out tonight at the Marie Reed School Soccer Field, just a block or two away from Amsterdam Falafelshop. The movie starts […]
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