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In recent years, there have been a number of dramas and documentaries detailing the appalling mistreatment of Native American children forcibly held in church- and state-run Indian Boarding Schools — ranging from the Taylor Sheridan-produced “1923” to the Oscar-nominated “Sugarcane” — for such historical overviews to comprise a subgenre. Such eye-opening depictions of 19th and 20th-century atrocities, much like the contemporary accounts on the issue of Missing or Murdered Indigenous Women, are not merely instructive, but necessary. Trouble is, that wealth of resources means an exceptional documentary like “Remaining Native” runs the risk of being passed over by viewers who assume there’s nothing more to be said on the subject. That would be unfortunate and misguided.

Director Paige Bethmann’s technically polished and utterly absorbing film skillfully forges a link between past and present by focusing on Kutoven “Ku” Stevens, a 17-year-old Native American determined to earn a University of Oregon...

Words cannot express the monumental loss of Gene Hackman, arguably the finest actor of any Hollywood generation. As investigators sift through the suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of Hackman, his wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, and one of their dogs, pointing fans toward one of Hackman's final TV appearances may help ease the pain.

In 2008, well into retirement, Hackman briefly appeared on The Food Network's culinary road show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Humble, humorous, down-to-earth, and as natural in front of non-famous locals as he was in front of a movie camera, Hackman's delightful cameo sheds insight into his small-town New Mexico life post-Hollywood.

Gene Hackman Was a One-of-a-Kind Performer

For younger crowds who may be unaware of Gene Hackman's unparalleled acting greatness, the two-time Oscar winner amassed 101 credits from 1961 to 2004. After breaking out in Bonnie and Clyde in 1967, Hackman showcased tremendous range and natural onscreen charisma across all genres.

Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.

Chaos: The Manson Murders (Errol Morris)

Over half a century later, what new information can be gleaned from the nights of August 9 and 10, 1969? Tom O’Neill and Dan Piepenbring’s riveting (if convoluted) book Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties––released in June 2019, between the Cannes premiere and theatrical release of Quentin Tarantino’s cathartic rewrite of that history––argues that while all the evidence of the murders has been gleaned, there’s a complex and knotty web of conspiracies for the motivations, some more plausible than others. To pare down the 528-page book to its most overarching theory, it postulates Manson may have been allowed (and perhaps even directed) by the CIA to concoct a reign...

Gene Hackman was a legend where I grew up. Granted, he was a legend practically everywhere, but in Pasadena, California, to theater kids and movie geeks, he was hope incarnate.

Pasadena is the home to the historic (and aptly titled) Pasadena Playhouse, a venerable theatrical institution and a college with a list of alumni that boggles the mind: David Niven, Tyrone Power, Martha Graham, Lee J. Cobb, Leonard Nimoy, Angela Bassett, Ernest Borgnine, Jean Arthur, William Holden, Ariana Grande, Dustin Hoffman — and of course Gene Hackman. But Hackman had something none of those other famous actors ever had: the lowest scores of any actor, by that point, in the Pasadena Playhouse’s history.

In fact, Hackman and his friend and contemporary Hoffman were voted “Least Likely to Succeed,” which is a pretty crappy category, if we’re being honest. It’s like dropping the Razzie for Worst Picture in the middle of the Oscars telecast.

Two-time Oscar winner, Gene Hackman has died at the age of 95. The iconic actor was found dead at their Santa Fe, N.M. home alongside his 63-year-old classical pianist wife Betsy Arakawa and their dog.

Whilst not deemed suspicious, their deaths are currently being investigated.

Former Marine turned actor Hackman, who won two Oscars for his roles in 1971’s ‘The French Connection’ and 1992’s ‘Unforgiven’ made his mark in Hollywood with his role as Clyde Barrow’s explosive older brother in the 1967 film ‘Bonnie and Clyde,’ which brought him his first Oscar nomination in supporting actor. He also found himself with Oscar nominations for this roles as FBI Special Agent Rupert Anderson in ‘Mississippi Burning,’ Gene Garrison in Gil Cates’ ‘I Never Sang for My Father,’

Also in news – ‘Pink Floyd at Pompeii – McMlxxii’ to return to cinemas this spring

Having appeared in over 80 films his career spanned from the...

Unfortunately, we have to get the day started with some sad news today, as it has been reported that we’ve lost one of the great legends of cinema, Gene Hackman, at the age of 95. Hackman, his retired pianist wife, 63-year-old Betsy Arakawa, and their dog were all found dead at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico on Wednesday afternoon. Yahoo reports that New Mexico police have said that the causes of death are under investigation, “but they do not believe foul play is a factor at this time.” Of course, there’s a lot of speculation going around that the cause of death may be carbon monoxide poisoning, but nothing has been confirmed as of right now.

Born on January 30, 1930 in San Bernadino, California, Eugene Allen Hackman did a lot of moving around in his younger years, but had already decided that he wanted to be an actor...

Gene Hackman, the versatile leading man renowned for his smoldering performance as hard-nosed New York City narc Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in The French Connection, has died. He was 95.

The much-admired two-time Oscar winner and his second wife, Betsy Hackman, 64, were found dead Wednesday at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. They had lived in a gated community northeast of the city since the 1980s.

In a statement to the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said, “We can confirm that both Gene Hackman and his wife were found deceased Wednesday afternoon at their residence on Sunset Trail.” One of their three dogs also died.

A search warrant ruled that the deaths were “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation.”

His daughters, Elizabeth and Leslie, and granddaughter Annie noted in a statement that Hackman was “loved and admired by millions around...

Gene Hackman, a two-time Oscar winner for “The French Connection” and “Unforgiven,” and his wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, were found dead Wednesday afternoon in their Santa Fe, N.M. home. The office of Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza confirmed their deaths to Variety after midnight Thursday. There is no immediate indication of foul play, per authorities, though the Sheriff’s office did not immediately provide a cause of death. Hackman was 95. Arakawa was 63.

On Wednesday, Sheriff’s deputies visited the home of Hackman and Arakawa, who married in 1991. The couple was found dead, alongside their dog.

“All I can say is that we’re in the middle of a preliminary death investigation, waiting on approval of a search warrant,” the sheriff told the Santa Fe New Mexican. The statement came before authorities had positively identified the pair, per the publication. “I want to assure the community and neighborhood...

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Between his big-screen acting debut in Robert Rossen's vastly underrated "Lilith" and his swan song "Welcome to Mooseport," Gene Hackman had a reputation for being a prolific and, at times, nowhere-near-choosy-enough actor given his considerable talents. But when you look over that 40-year career, you don't see an egregious number of turkeys. The Dan Aykroyd buddy-cop comedy "Loose Cannons" or his third go-round as Lex Luthor in "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" are probably the twin nadirs of his career, but mostly Hackman had a propensity to make many mediocre movies watchable. He was the reason you'd find yourself halfway through Nicholas Meyer's ho-hum spy thriller "Company Business" without any real complaints. Could it be better? Absolutely. But it had Hackman.

The movies -- great, average, or garbage -- haven't had Hackman since 2004, which never ceases to stink.

10 Celebrities Who Started as Background Actors - Main Image

The journey to stardom is not an easy one. While some celebrities are fortunate enough to be born into the business, others must work tirelessly to climb the ladder of success.

In fact, many of today's most famous stars began their careers as extras in television shows or movies, often just passing by as vague silhouettes in the background—so unrecognizable that you might be surprised to learn they were ever there.

Every actor has a story to tell, many of which come from humble beginnings that can be truly inspiring.

After all, nobody starts at the top, and becoming a great actor doesn’t happen overnight. With that in mind, here are ten celebrities who started as background actors, and their journeys might just surprise you.

1. Brad Pitt

Many may know Brad Pitt as Hollywood royalty, but his journey to stardom began much more modestly.

There are very few events in human history as relentlessly documented and recorded as the Olympic Games. From 1912 onwards, the International Olympics Council produced over 40 documentaries chronicling the pinnacle of sports and athletics, as a way to document and preserve the highlights of the thousands of competitors who compete for the gold every year. While those often straightforward, paint-by-numbers documentaries largely fell out of fashion with the rise of television — and now, there are likely more people keeping up with the games via social media than there are consistent cable watchers tuning in — films made about the games from more independent sources remain key touchstone classics to this day.

It’s no surprise why the Olympics would draw filmmakers and documentarians. As the highest platform of athleticism on the planet, the games features human beings at their absolute peaks, and many of the participants are the types of physical specimens...

Sports movies have been a popular genre since the earliest days of cinema, but generally only for the types of competitions that are widely available to the majority of American viewers. Theres been no shortage of films about baseball, football, basketball, boxing, and even tennis, but the number of projects that follow snow-bound sports have been fewer and further between. Theres an international quality to these sports that may make it harder to approach a film about them. Nonetheless, films about sports like skiing have the opportunity to both engage their audiences in a compelling story and teach them about a unique field of competition. Downhill Racer is a brilliant film about international skiing that cuts deeper than most inspirational sports films.

Dabney Coleman, the American character actor best known as the sexist boss in 1980 comedy 9 To 5, has died. He was 92.

Born in Texas, Coleman served in the US Army in Europe in the 1950s and studied law at university before beginning his screen career in the 1960s with appearances in TV series including The Outer Limits, The Fugitive and Bonanza. His early feature films included Downhill Racer and The Towering Inferno.

He became more widely recognised after appearing alongside Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton in Twentieth Century Fox comedy 9 To 5, a major hit by the...

Dabney Coleman, the character actor who delighted audiences in films like 9 to 5, Dragnet, The Muppets Take Manhattan, Tootsie, WarGames, Cloak & Dagger, You’ve Got Mail, and the TV shows The Guardian and Boardwalk Empire, has died at 92. The news leaked earlier today but has only just been confirmed by his daughter, Quincy Coleman. Often underappreciated in Hollywood’s vast populous of show-stopping performers, Dabney Coleman was a master of playing smarmy, selfish, hot-headed, and dick-ish characters with class and playfulness. Details about Coleman’s passing spread quietly on Twitter before getting confirmed by mainstream outlets, with many showing their love for Mr. Coleman’s rich body of work and unforgettable contributions to the entertainment industry.

Dabney Coleman made his Broadway debut in a brief run of A Call on Kuprin before setting up camp in the television space with roles in Kraft Suspense Theater’s The Threatening Eye and as Dr.

Couch Slut’s aesthetic was firmly established on their debut album, My Life as a Woman, the cover of which featured a black-and-white drawing of a man ejaculating onto a woman’s face. Leandro De Cotis’s artwork is as integral to the band’s branding as Raymond Pettibon’s was for Black Flag’s in the late 1970s and early ’80s. Couch Slut’s music depicts a life so cruel that survival seems like a victory, but it also features a feminist undercurrent, distinguishing it from that of their male edgelord precursors.

Couch Slut doesn’t push their lyrics to the forefront. The vocals are mixed low, and lead singer Megan Ostrozits tends toward a feral cry or alternates between speaking and screaming on tracks like “The Donkey,” from the band’s fourth album, You Could Do It Tonight. Sexual assault and self-harm are recurrent themes throughout the eight...

Directors are lining up left and right each month to share their favorite films from the TCM lineup, and the latest is Jason Reitman. He follows Steven Spielberg going deep on “Meet Me in St. Louis,” Martin Scorsese praising “Madonna of the Seven Moons,” Guillermo del Toro making the case why overlooked “Suspicion” is top-tier Hitchcock, and so many more.

IndieWire simply loves directors sharing their favorite films and paying tribute to the directors and screenwriters behind them. And that enthusiasm comes across loud and clear in “SNL 1975” director Reitman’s picks. First up, Reitman, whose always had an ear for dialogue himself, talks about what’s so great about the patter in Barry Levinson’s “Diner.”

“[‘Diner’] is probably one of the best first movies for a filmmaker of all time,” Reitman said. “And the dialogue is delicious. You can’t look at a Quentin Tarantino movie and...

Unlike many stars from the New Hollywood era, Robert Redford didn’t peak in the 1960s and ‘70s. While he’s certainly best associated with films like Three Days of the Condor, Jeremiah Johnson, Downhill Racer, and The Candidate, that doesn’t mean that he hasn’t stayed active in the decades that followed. Many of Redford’s greatest roles have been in recent films such as The Old Man & The Gun and All is Lost, which prove that his star power has remained just as endearing throughout the 21st century. In fact, he surprised us big time with his role in Marvel's Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Redford did some particularly heartfelt work in the underrated 2015 dramedy A Walk in the Woods, a film that nearly reunited him with his most beloved co-star: Paul Newman.

With both Disney and Warner Bros. turning 100 this year, it’s a great time to remember the Golden Age of moviemaking. The business is changing at a precipitous rate, and recent studio mergers have forever altered the longtime map of Hollywood production.

Actors and crew members, like armies, march on their stomachs, and since the dawn of the industry, it’s been up to the studios where they’re shooting to keep them well fortified. Studio executives and office workers, too, needed a convenient place to eat on the lots.

While researching the recent Culinary Historians presentation “Lunching on the Lot,” a 1997 quote from Variety story turned up which deftly explained what studio commissaries meant to the business. “After a gourmet tour of studio eateries, however, one thing is clear — It ain’t the chow that’s important. When the tribe hunkers down for its daily repast, ritual and symbolism are the rule.

Unlike many stars from the New Hollywood era, Robert Redford didn’t peak in the 1960s and ‘70s. While he’s certainly best associated with films like Three Days of the Condor, Jeremiah Johnson, Downhill Racer, and The Candidate, that doesn’t mean that he hasn’t stayed active in the decades that followed. Many of Redford’s greatest roles have been in recent films such as The Old Man & The Gun and All is Lost, which prove that his star power has remained just as endearing throughout the 21st century. Redford did some particularly heartfelt work in the underrated 2015 dramedy A Walk in the Woods, a film that nearly reunited him with his most beloved co-star: Paul Newman.

For years, much of the film industry has considered Sundance as a ’90s legacy, one most famous for launching the festival that cemented a market for American independent film. However, the seeds for that phenomenon were sown in the previous decade.

Hollywood raced into the ’80s with its blockbuster juices flowing, as the box-office sensations of “Jaws” and then “Star Wars” rejuvenated the studio confidence in mass-market commercial storytelling, and the prospects of small-scale independent filmmaking seemed more marginalized than ever. Enter Robert Redford’s Sundance Institute, which launched its first feature film lab in 1981, and created a seminal resource for working outside the system still unparalleled in the U.S. today.

In the midst of the studios getting a second wind, Redford felt unnerved. Though the movie star made a successful pivot to directing with “Ordinary People” in 1980, he had long felt that Hollywood underserved movies made with an economy of means.

Horror delights, rom-coms and a new sci-fi series starring Christoph Waltz are just a few of the highlights arriving on Amazon Prime Video in February. This month sees the debut of the second and final season of “Carnival Row” on Feb. 17, while Feb. 24 is when “The Consultant” – a “Severance”-like thriller series starring Waltz and directed by “WandaVision’s” Matt Shakman – drops.

In terms of new original Prime Video movies, on Feb. 10 there’s “Somebody I Used to Know,” a romantic comedy starring Alison Brie who co-wrote the script with her husband Dave Franco (who serves as director).

And you’ll find last year’s buzzy horror hit “Smile” on the streaming service on Feb. 21, while “Mad Max: Fury Road” filmmaker George Miller’s “Three Thousand Years of Longing” arrives on Feb. 17.

That’s not to mention noteworthy library additions like “A.I.,” “The Talented Mr. Ripley” and “Almost Famous.

February is the shortest month of the year but Prime Video is paying that no mind with its jam-packed list of new releases for February 2023.

This really is an uncommonly stuffed month on the Amazon streamer and it all starts with a handful of Amazon Originals. Amazon’s original offerings kick off with the release of Dave Franco-directed romcom Somebody I Used to Know on Feb. 10. That is followed by Carnival Row season 2 – a gritty fantasy crime drama is set in a world of steampunky fairies. The show stars Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevigne and this batch of episodes will be its swan song. Meanwhile The Consultant on Feb. 24 is a dark comedy workplace thriller starring Christoph Waltz.

The biggest hits this month, however, might just be some recent cinema faves. If February is for lovers, Amazon didn’t get the memo as there are quite a few horror movies of note here.

Prime Video got off to a fast start this summer with the release of The Boys season 3 on June 3. Now, as we enter the dog days, Prime Video is set to keep the warm weather good times rolling with a new twist on an old classic. That’s right, Amazon’s list of new releases for August 2022 is highlighted by some good old-fashioned baseball.

A League of Their Own, the TV adaptation of Penny Marshall’s 1992 movie, is set to premiere on Aug. 12. Like the movie before it, the series will dramatize the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League which saw women playing America’s pastime while the major leagues were on pause for World War II. Abbi Jacobson (Broad City) co-created the show and will star as catcher Carson Shaw.

Other Prime Video Originals of note this month include season 2 of British comedy The Outlaws on and the Ron Howard-directed Thirteen Lives,...

Prime Video will continue rolling out its summer slate in the month of August, releasing new original series, as well as a mix of suspenseful films, action movies and more.

Amazon’s series version of “A League of Their Own” will debut its eight-episode first season on Aug. 12, introducing new characters and stories set in the historical opening of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League (Aagpbl).

Ron Howard’s “Thirteen Lives” tells the real-life story of how a young boys’ soccer team was rescued from the Thai mountain cave where they got stuck for 10 days along with their coach.

Other new film arrivals include hits from earlier this summer, “The Lost City” starring Sandra Bullock, Daniel Radcliffe, Channing Tatum and Brad Pitt, as well as “Sonic the Hedgehog 2.” Academy Award-nominated film “Licorice Pizza” also arrives on Prime Video this month.

Freevee will also have new arrivals this month.

In a British cinema scene increasingly dominated by multiplexes, Islington’s Screen on the Green remains something of a landmark. It may no longer be the independent it once was — having been bought 14 years ago by the boutique Everyman chain — but the North London stalwart still stands out, its quirky half-moon facade, red neon signage and pun-heavy marquee beckoning audiences into its single, intimate auditorium.

The programming these days mixes artsy discernment with commercial necessity: this week’s bill, for example, balances “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and “Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness,” with an offbeat short film screening and album launch on the weekend. That balance of inclusivity and eccentricity has kept it a go-to venue for London film lovers, and is very much the legacy of its former owner, British exhibition and distribution legend Romaine Hart, who passed away last December at the age of 88.

In...

Walter Coblenz, the Oscar- and Emmy-nominated producer behind All the President’s Men and nearly two dozen other titles, died on March 16, aged 93. A cause of death has not been disclosed.

Born in Germany in 1928, Coblenz claimed his first and only Oscar nom in 1977 for the aforementioned Alan J. Pakula film, which was up for Best Picture and seven other awards, winning four including Best Supporting Actor, Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium, Art Direction-Set Decoration and Sound. Coblenz’s nomination came three years after he landed an Emmy nom for his work on NBC’s limited series The Blue Knight.

Over the course of his career, he also produced such titles as Her Majesty, Money Talks, The Babe, 18 Again!, For Keeps?, Sister, Sister, SpaceCamp, Strange Invaders, The Legend of the Lone Ranger, The Onion Field and The Candidate, along with a number of TV movies.

Coblenz...

Walter Coblenz, the Oscar-nominated producer behind “All the President’s Men” and the Emmy-nominated limited series “The Blue Knight,” has died. He was 93.

Coblenz, who served as the senior vice president of Tristar Pictures and Carolco Pictures, oversaw productions on such titles as “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” “The Natural,” “Places in the Heart” and more. His other notable credits include “The Candidate,” “The Onion Field,” “Money Talks,” “The Legend of the Lone Ranger” and “Her Majesty.”

He garnered an Emmy nomination for producing the drama miniseries “The Blue Knight,” about a veteran Los Angeles cop.

Coblenz died March 16, his son said in a statement.

Beginning his career in Hollywood as a stage manager for “The Jerry Lewis Show” and “The Hollywood Palace,” Coblenz later served as an assistant director on the series “Daktari” and Robert Redford and Gene Hackman-starring sports drama “Downhill Racer.” He later reunited with Redford on “All the President’s Men,...

Walter Coblenz, who was Oscar-nominated for producing “All the President’s Men” and also produced “The Candidate” and “The Onion Field,” died March 16. He was 93.

Coblenz also produced the Emmy-nominated Joseph Wambaugh TV mini-series adaptation “The Blue Knight.”

After serving as assistant director and production manager on Robert Redford’s “Downhill Racer,” he went on to work with Redford on “The Candidate” and “All the Presidents Men,” which racked up eight Oscar nominations and four wins.

Coblenz served as Sr. V.P. of production at both Tri-Star Pictures and Carolco Pictures, where he oversaw production on films including “The Natural.” “Places in the Heart,” “Terminator 2,” “The Doors” and “Rambling Rose.”

His other producing credits include “Money Talks,” “Her Majesty,” “The Babe” and “18 Again.”

Born in Germany, Koblenz came to the U.S. as a child and graduated from the University of Houston. He began his career as a camera...

March 2022 is a great month for blonde women with cold, dead stares on Hulu.

With its list of new releases for March 2022, Hulu is highlighting two major original series ripped straight from the headlines. The first is The Dropout, which premieres on March 3. This show stars Amanda Seyfried (taking over from the previously cast Kate McKinnon) as Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. This story about high-level corporate fraud is truly wild, enough so to accommodate several books, podcasts, and even an upcoming film starring Jennifer Lawrence. Hulu is certainly hoping its version is the definitive one.

Read more TV Pam & Tommy Will Make You Hate Everyone But Pam By Alec Bojalad Movies Why The Princess Bride Is a Perfect Fantasy Movie By David Crow

The Dropout‘s spiritual counterpart will be The Girl From Plainville, which premieres on March 29. This is another story you might be familiar with. If not, just...

Hart, who founded the “Screen On” cinema chain and distribution company Mainline Pictures, died on December 28

Tributes have been paid to Romaine Hart OBE (1933-2021), one of the doyennes of UK independent arthouse exhibition and distribution, who died on December 28 aged 88.

Hart was the founder of the “Screen On” chain and distribution company Mainline Pictures. She gave a significant boost to the careers of several prominent current industry figures, among them Mia Bays, the new director of the BFI Film Fund, and producers Lucy Darwin (Match Point), Stephen Woolley (Number 9 Films) and John Battsek.

“It is an extraordinary legacy that she has left behind,...

Film company boss who was the driving force behind the creation of the trailblazing Screen on the Green in the 1970s

When Romaine Hart transformed the Rex, a 1950s fleapit cinema in Islington, north London, into the Screen on the Green in 1970, she set a standard that would have a profound influence on the ways in which audiences appreciate first-run arthouse films. Described by Quentin Tarantino as “the coolest cinema in London”, the Screen on the Green would inspire generations of future film-makers.

Romaine, who has died aged 88 of a heart attack after a typically fulsome Christmas, rejected the fusty, traditional ways of mainstream cinema management. In a blaze of art nouveau inspired branding, the Screen’s opening night premiere of Downhill Racer, starring Robert Redford, included Laurence Olivier, Richard Attenborough and Bryan Forbes among the audience. The cinema’s luxurious seats were made of purple velvet and the ushers wore hot pants.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife director Jason Reitman takes hosts Joe Dante and Josh Olson on a journey through some of his favorite cinematic tonal shifts.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)

Thank You For Smoking (2006)

Up In The Air (2009)

Juno (2007)

Young Adult (2011)

Citizen Kane (1941) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

Seven Samurai (1954) Brian Trenchard-Smith’s trailer commentary

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Rififi (1955)

Titane (2021)

Cannibal Girls (1973)

Raw (2016)

Hellraiser (1987)

A Serbian Film (2010)

Cast Away (2000)

What Lies Beneath (2000)

Million Dollar Baby (2004)

Downhill Racer (1968) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review

Breaking Away (1979)

Boys Don’t Cry (1999)

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

The Great Waldo Pepper (1975)

Psycho (1960) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairings

Psycho (1998) – Ti West’s trailer commentary

Last Night In Soho (2021)

Funny Games (1997)

Funny Games (2008)

The Piano Teacher (2001) – Charlie Largent’s Criterion Blu-ray

I, The Jury (1982)

Mother! (2017)

Mulholland Drive (2001)

Tully (2018)

Gremlins (1984) – Glenn Erickson’s 4K Blu-ray review, Tfh’s 30th anniversary links...

If 2021 has been a calvacade of bad decisions, dashed hopes, and warning signs for cinema’s strength, the Criterion Channel’s monthly programming has at least buttressed our hopes for something like a better tomorrow. Anyway. The Channel will let us ride out distended (holi)days in the family home with an extensive Alfred Hitchcock series to bring the family together—from the established Rear Window and Vertigo to the (let’s just guess) lesser-seen Downhill and Young and Innocent—Johnnie To’s Throw Down and Orson Welles’ The Magnificent Ambersons in their Criterion editions, and some streaming premieres: Ste. Anne, Lydia Lunch: The War is Never Over, and The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love.

Special notice to Yvonne Rainer’s brain-expanding Film About a Woman Who . . .—debuting in “Female Gaze: Women Directors + Women Cinematographers,” a series that does as it says on the tin—and a Joseph Cotten retro boasting Ambersons,...

I’ve written here before about my fondness for director Michael Ritchie, particularly his streak in the 1970s when he made one great movie after another about the dark side of the American competitive spirit. Most of his best films – Downhill Racer (1969), The Candidate (1972), The Bad News Bears (1976) – are wry meditations on what it really means to win (and lose) in a culture where winning is valued above all else; one of the most memorable moments in all of his work comes at the conclusion of The Candidate, when Robert Redford’s senatorial candidate wins his election […]

The post Smile, Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Carole Lombard: Jim Hemphill’s Home Video Recommendations first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

I’ve written here before about my fondness for director Michael Ritchie, particularly his streak in the 1970s when he made one great movie after another about the dark side of the American competitive spirit. Most of his best films – Downhill Racer (1969), The Candidate (1972), The Bad News Bears (1976) – are wry meditations on what it really means to win (and lose) in a culture where winning is valued above all else; one of the most memorable moments in all of his work comes at the conclusion of The Candidate, when Robert Redford’s senatorial candidate wins his election […]

The post Smile, Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Carole Lombard: Jim Hemphill’s Home Video Recommendations first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Hey, remember when they released that picture of the CGI movie Sonic the Hedgehog and it was so freakish and unnerving that animators had to work overtime to fix it? Anywho, Sonic the Hedgehog is coming to Hulu this month.

The heroic blue hedgehog who just wants to go fast is far from the only exciting new film or TV show coming to Hulu in February 2021. The library titles are unusually packed this month. In addition to Sonic, the sublimely goofy Mars Attacks!, 2020 horror film Possessor, and the first six Star Trek films all arrive on Feb. 1. Later on in the month are Antebellum (Feb. 5) and Nomadland (Feb. 19).

It’s a good thing that the library titles are strong because Hulu isn’t brining many originals of note to the table in February 2021. Into the Dark continues on its spooky mission with the Valentine-centric Tentacles dropping on Feb. 12. That will...

“Bonnie and Clyde” (1967)

In one of his first big-screen roles, Gene Hackman earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor as the older brother of Warren Beatty’s bank robber Clyde Barrow.

“Downhill Racer” (1969)

Robert Redford stars as a narcissistic skier, while Hackman plays the Olympic coach trying to hold the team together.

“I Never Sang for My Father” (1970)

Hackman earned his second Oscar nomination playing a professor seeking to re-establish his connection to his difficult, now ailing father in an adaptation of Robert Anderson’s hit Broadway play.

“The French Connection” (1971)

Hackman graduated to Hollywood leading man with his portrayal of a hardboiled NYPD narcotics detective named Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle (loosely based on a real-life detective). William Friedkin’s film won five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Hackman.

“The Poseidon Adventure” (1972)

Hackman was one of five Oscar winners cast in this disaster epic, playing a straight-talking...

The Summer Olympics are just a test of who can run fastest, jump highest, score the most goals. There’s real danger in the winter games! Try skiing down a mountain at high speeds, taking a sled through an icy slide, jumping as far as you can and not breaking your legs on a massive ski jump or not breaking your neck by falling on the ice. The best movies set at the Winter Olympics are about the underdogs who risked their lives and surprised the world…and Will Ferrell sliding crotch first across the ice. But they’re still exciting!

“Downhill Racer” (1969)

“Downhill Racer” came out when Robert Redford was at the peak of his fame and when Gene Hackman was just at the beginning of a run of sensational performances, so you know Michael Ritchie’s film has to be good. “Downhill Racer” is a tense drama about...

Sylvester Stallone Confirms Appearance in The Suicide Squad — Sylvester Stallone recently confirmed on his Instagram that he will be appearing in the next Suicide Squad movie. Even after having spent decades in the film industry — from his humble origins in Downhill Racer in 1969, to his breakthrough starring role in Rocky in 1976, [...]

Continue reading: The Suicide Squad (2021): Sylvester Stallone Confirms Appearance in Soft Reboot...

What better way to kick off a new month than a look at the many movies coming to Hulu? Ok, if you don’t have a Hulu subscription you might need an alternative. Maybe this list will convince you to take one out, though (not that I’m there salesperson). But enough patter, let’s crack on with it.

Here’s every new film that arrived on July 1st:

12 and Holding (2006)

2001 Maniacs (2005)

52 Pick-Up (1986)

A Bridge Too Far (1977)

A Complete History of My Sexual Failures (2009)

A Kid Like Jake (2018)

A Mighty Wind (2003)

A Storks Journey (2017)

An Eye for a Eye (1966)

The Axe Murders of Villisca (2017)

The Bellboy (1960)

Beloved (2012)

Best In Show (2000)

Between Us (2017)

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970)

Birdwatchers (2010)

Boogie Woogie (2010)

The Bounty (1984)

Brokedown Palace (1998)

Buffy, the Vampire Slayer (1992)

Bug (1975)

Buried (2010)

Cadaver (2009)

California Dreamin’ (2009)

Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1974)

Catcher Was A Spy (2018)

The Catechism Cataclysm (2011)

Change of Plans (2010)

Cheech & Chong...

The coldest and most unforgiving movie about skiing this side of “Downhill Racer” — and just as fascinated by the loneliness of bombing down the slopes with the world at your back — Charlène Favier’s “Slalom” is . From the opening moments of her debut feature, Favier pivots between powerlessness and control with the same breakneck agility that her teenage heroine navigates the gates on each run; the film moves in one direction (downhill), and it leans into every turn like it’s already charted the fastest course to the bottom. But predictability can be a necessary ingredient for precision, and “Slalom” is so effective because of how well it tucks into the heart of its story, as though shaving a few milliseconds off its running time might be the difference between victory and a lifetime of victimhood.

Fifteen-year-old Lyz Lopez has been accepted to a super-competitive ski training academy in the French Alps.

With so many streaming services to choose from, it can often be difficult to find the right one to spend your hard-earned dough on. That being said, Hulu has remained among the most exciting and content-heavy platforms alongside Netflix, really cementing itself as one of the most appealing options out there in recent years thanks to its collection of original content and very, very deep library of licensed films.

Like every other streaming service, they bring us new titles every month and July is looking to be quite a good one. Especially if you’re a horror fan. Admittedly, Hulu has always been pretty reliable when it comes to this particular genre, and that’s a reputation they seem intent to keep, as next month will bring us the likes of The Devil’s Rejects, Freddy vs. Jason, Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare, House of 1000 Corpses, The Ninth Gate, The House That Jack Built...

Hulu is out with its list of everything new coming to the streaming service in July.

Highlights include season three of “90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days” and season one of “90 Day Fiance: The Other Way: Complete Season 1,” as well as some classic movies like “The Color Purple” and “Best in Show,” all coming July 1.

A new Hulu original movie “Palm Springs” drops on July 10, and a new episode of “Into the Dark” called “The Current Occupant” premieres July 17.

Movies leaving Hulu on July 31 include “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight,” “Thelma & Louise” and “Wayne’s World.”

See the full list of everything new and leaving the streamer below.

Also Read: ABC Already Changes Fall TV Schedule, Moves 'Black-ish' Up From Midseason

July 1

1000-lb Sisters: Complete Season 1 (TLC)

90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days: Complete Season 3 (TLC)

90 Day Fiance: The Other Way: Complete Season 1 (TLC)

BBQ Rig Race: Complete Season...

Perhaps the most exciting piece of content coming to Hulu in July 2020 is…a movie? Remember those? You would buy a ticket and then go sit in a dark room with other people eating Buncha Crunch. Sounds wild!

Yes, more and more feature films are turning to streaming services for their summer releases. And with their list of new offerings for July 2020, Hulu got itself a big fish. Palm Springs is a Groundhog Day-style comedy starring Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti as star-crossed lovers forced to live the same day over and over again. It premieres on Hulu on July 10.

And that’s not the only original movie coming to Hulu in July. Romanian crime thriller The Whistlers premieres on July 2. Sasheer Zamata comedy The Weekend follows on July 15. Then Hulu caps the month off with the Julia Garner-starring The Assistant on July 20. There’s good movie news...

With so many streaming services available now, it can often be hard to pick the right one to spend your hard-earned money on. However, Hulu has remained among the most successful and content-heavy platforms alongside Netflix and has only gotten better with age. Whereas it had very few worthwhile movies years ago, now it often has some of the best films you can find to watch, and they’re offered up alongside brand new episodes of shows from various major networks. Like every other streaming service, Hulu updates their content throughout each month, and July is looking to add quite a lot of good stuff.

First up, superhero fans will be happy to hear that Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 swings onto the service on July 1st. This polarizing third entry for the Tobey Maguire version of the popular web-slinger sees Peter Parker bond with a symbiote that brings out...

Above: Alternative and official UK posters for Parasite. Designers: Andrew Bannister (left) and La Boca (right).It’s been far too long since I last did one of these round-ups: nine months to be exact. A lot has changed in the world over that time of course, the most pertinent to this column being that far fewer new posters have premiered recently, and that the distractions and stresses of our current situation have led to me posting less frequently than I usually do.But, as I’ve been doing for many years, I have tallied up the most popular posters featured on my Movie Poster of the Day Instagram (previously Tumblr) and by a long shot the most popular posts of the past nine months were for the two U.K. Parasite posters above. If it seems I’m giving these astonishing works short shrift by lumping them together here...

Right now, in this galaxy… featuring Lloyd Kaufman, Brad Simpson, Gilbert Hernandez, Grant Moninger and Blaire Bercy.

Please support the Hollywood Food Coalition. Text “Give” to 323.402.5704 or visit https://hofoco.org/donate!

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Mondo Keazunt (1955)

The Human Tornado (1976)

Gigot (1962)

The Hustler (1961)

How to Commit Marriage (1969)

The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)

Citizen Kane (1941)

Touch of Evil (1958)

The Last Man On Earth (1963)

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

The Omega Man (1971)

I Am Legend (2007)

Panic In Year Zero! (1962)

Dogtooth (2009)

The Entity (1983)

Shelf Life (1993)

The Killers (1964)

The Next Voice You Hear… (1950)

Donovan’s Brain (1953)

Talk About A Stranger (1952)

Julius Caesar (1950)

They Saved Hitler’s Brain (1968)

The Exterminating Angel (1962)

The Jerk (1979)

Kings Row (1942)

Santa Fe Trail (1940

Bedtime For Bonzo (1951)

The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter (19468)

Point Blank (1967)

House of Wax (1953)

Black Shampoo (1976)

A History Of Violence (2005)

Return To Oz (1985)

Death Wish 4: The Crackdown (1987)

The Anderson Tapes (1971)

Psycho (1960)

Two Evil Eyes (1990)

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three...

The pleasures of minimalism are on display in Sister Hyde Design's design for the great recession drama, Moving in 2008. Every now and again, I note an homage to one of the more iconic posters of the late 1960s, the Robert Redford sports drama, Downhill Racer. Itself, perhaps, a riff on the memorable key art for Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby. Either way, it is a great way to get both a close up and a 'small figure in the landscape' in the same image, juxtaposed for further effect, on a field of drab beige, the sad colour of home interiors of the early 2000s, or at least the ones real-estate agents stage for a new buyer. Calogero Carucci's tragic story is set during the recession of...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Robert Redford celebrated his milestone 80th birthday on Thursday. TheWrap honors the great actor by looking back at 15 of his most memorable movies.

Redford has played just about every character, from a Western outlaw to a talented American skier.

“Barefoot in the Park”

One of Redford’s earlier films before he hit the peak of stardom, it’s an old fashioned romantic comedy about two newlyweds who are the complete opposite of each other.

“Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”

Redford plays the Sundance Kid, an outlaw, in this critically acclaimed Western.

The film won 4 Academy Awards and is ranked as the 50th greatest American film by the American Film Institute.

“Downhill Racer”

Redford plays an overly confident skier who is incapable of understanding or being involved in anything but himself.

Roger Ebert called it “the best movie ever made about sports — without really being about sports at all.”

“The...

In 1977 Burt Reynolds was on top of the Hollywood world, a bankable star whose popularity knew no bounds. In between his payday Smokey and the Bandit vehicles, he tried working with directors Peter Bogdanovich, Robert Aldrich, Stanley Donen … and with this film, the highly entertaining, somewhat unpredictable Michael Ritchie. The adaptation of Dan Jenkins’ NFL football book takes a left turn into social satire (or honest reportage), and centers on a romantic triangle with Jill Clayburgh and Kris Kristofferson. You might not remember all of its non- PC rough edges … which were already Sop for comedies of the ’70s.

Semi-Tough

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1977 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 108 min. / Street Date January 21, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Burt Reynolds, Kris Kristofferson, Jill Clayburgh, Robert Preston, Brian Dennehy, Bert Convy, Roger E. Mosley, Lotte Lenya, Richard Masur, Carl Weathers, Mary Jo Catlett, Ron Silver.

Cinematography: Charles Rosher Jr.

Film Editor: Richard A.