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In a show as dense and complicated as Game of Thrones, it is hard to be completely consistent. The writers are ultimately fallible, and with so many plots, characters, and motivations—and so much worldbuilding and lore—sometimes things are forgotten, even by the people whose job it is to write the show. From Season 6 onwards, showrunners found themselves with no source material to rely on, which explains why so many contradictions started to take over the narrative.

By the end of Game of Thrones, these inconsistencies would build up to be one of the many things fans complained about the show. At the end of the day, the lack of cohesion led to the show's infamously unsatisfying conclusion. There are key inconsistencies to take into consideration, from plotholes to questionable creative choices: some that occurred early on when Game of Thrones was trying to find the right tone and...

Game of Thrones was quite a roller-coaster throughout its eight seasons — in terms of both narrative progression and audience reception. Although heavily criticized for its reductionist storylines and questionable character arcs, there is no doubt that Game of Thrones is one of the most influential TV shows of the 21st century. Each episode is crafted with incredible skill, from cinematography and set design to music and dialogue.

A large chunk of them are thematically undecided, but there are more than a few that highlight the visceral darkness embodied by their characters. Game of Thrones is well-known for its depictions of physical and emotional violence, but the most impactful moments are those that instill a sense of uncomfortable premonition in their viewers.

Updated on February 11, 2025, by Ajay Aravind: The darkness over Westeros grows stronger and stronger following the mysterious death of Jon Arryn, reaching its pinnacle during Daenerys' destruction of King's Landing.

When Hajime Isayama's Attack on Titan hit the manga scene in 2009, it took the world by storm – a post-apocalyptic, dark fantasy tale about humanity's isolation from the man-eating monsters known as Titans that have been terrorizing them as long as they can remember. Following main protagonist Eren Yaeger on his sworn mission to destroy all Titans, Attack on Titan is unquestionably one of the most tragic, beautiful and heartrending anime of the last decade and a half.

Sixteen years later, both the manga and the anime adaptation have come to a close, and now the epic final chapters arriving on the big screen in North America on February 10, 2025, for a limited, four-day run that finally allows Isayama-sensei's masterpiece to be experienced the way he always intended. Before that, however, Crunchyroll Studios released the Attack on Titan Limited Edition Final Season: The Final Chapters in a beautiful box set that...

When "Game of Thrones" ended its run on HBO back in 2019, it left a somewhat disastrous legacy behind with a series finale that, in this writer's opinion, absolutely stunk (though some of my colleagues may beg to differ on that point). Still, if you go back and re-examine the show despite its total dud of an ending — the majority of the seasons are still pretty good, at least! — you may notice one thing: showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss shot in some seriously stunning locations.

In fact, if you look at "Game of Thrones" through a totally different lens, you could view it as a sort of twisted tourism ad for various locales all over the world; even though characters you love might get murdered in them, the locations are definitely gorgeous! Perhaps the coolest thing about all of the cities and vistas seen throughout "Game of Thrones," though, is...

Dragons are among the most powerful creatures to ever exist in Westeros, but several have died in House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones. Ever since Daenerys Targaryen’s three dragon eggs hatched on Khal Drogo’s funeral pyre, dragons have been one of the most fantastical, awe-inspiring parts of this world, which on-screen has been true across both Thrones and its prequel show. They’re a force of nature, and spectacular when they’re unleashed.

Fire cannot kill a dragon. Daenerys says as much in Game of Thrones (and the first A Song of Ice and Fire book). But that doesn’t mean they can’t die, as seen multiple times. Thanks to George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, there’ll be even more dragons dying in House of the Dragon season 3, but a few have already perished.

Is Sunfyre, King Aegon II’s Dragon, Dead?

Before getting into the list proper,...

Quick Links What Was The Battle Of The Bastards? Kit Harington Actually Punched Iwan Rheon The Competition Between Jon and Ramsay Goes Beyond The Small Screen

The "Battle of the Bastards" was one of the moments Game of Thrones fans had been anticipating for years. Fans had grown incredibly attached to Jon Snow and his underdog story, being a Stark bastard who found a home at The Wall. Fans had long theorized Jon was much more than Ned Stark led everyone to believe, so when Jon finally left The Wall, fans knew it was time for the fan-favorite Game of Thrones character to ascend to great power.

On the other side of the conflict is Ramsay Bolton, the legitimized bastard son of Roose Bolton, who betrayed House Stark at the "Red Wedding." Ramsay was pure evil, having spent a good portion of his tenure on the show torturing Theon Greyjoy...

There are clear tensions between Jon Snow and the Night King throughout Game of Thrones, and this may leave viewers wondering why the characters never fight one another in the HBO series. Whenever the Night King and Jon Snow come across one another in Game of Thrones, their interactions are limited to intense staredowns. Even during the Battle of Winterfell, Jon fights the Night King's army but he doesn't clash with the villain himself. The same is true during the Massacre at Hardhome, and Jon considers attacking him when he kills Dany's dragon. However, he doesn't get close.

All these interactions between Jon and the Night King appear to be building towards a showdown between them later on. However, it's Arya Stark who ultimately defeats the leader of the White Walkers. This is a part of Game of Thrones' ending that gets a lot of criticism, as the rivalry...

Let's be honest: not every "Game of Thrones" episode is a winner. Sure, the show's first four seasons are basically unimpeachable — and I think a strong argument can be made that, in the aftermath of a particularly bleak fifth entry, season 6 is actually really good — but the drop-off in quality when you get into the show's (frequently derided) later seasons is quite apparent, resulting in some really rough episodes. So, which ones are the absolute worst of the worst?

Because I can't nominate "all of season 7 and 8" for this dubious honor, I made some tough decisions and chose the five absolute crappiest "Game of Thrones" episodes, though there were some contenders I couldn't include here. Basically anything involving the Dorne plotline could have qualified, or anything involving the faceless assassin school in Braavos that beats the spirit out of Maisie Williams' Arya Stark. But installments like "No One" or "Mother's...

This past weekend, Heritage Auctions auctioned off nearly 900 props, costumes, maps and more from Game of Thrones. There were bidding wars galore, and at the end of the three-day session, every single lot was sold for a total of $21,115,718, according to Heritage Auctions itself.

In the end, this was the most successful auction themed around a single film or TV show, and the second most successful auction in the history of Heritage Auctions. The most successful, interestingly, was a 2011 auction featuring pieces of Hollywood memorabilia archived by movie star Debbie Reynolds, which included items like the camera on which George Lucas shot Star Wars and clothing worn by Marilyn Monroe. I guess Hollywood as a whole still beats Westeros.

All in all, 32 items from the Game of Thrones auction fetched $100,000 or more. Let's look at a sampling:

Obviously, the Iron Throne commanded the highest price: $1,490,000Jon Snow's sword Longclaw was very popular.

Fans of HBO’s Game of Thrones recently got a chance to bring of Westeros into their homes. Heritage Auctions recently attracted thousands of fans from around the world selling all sorts of memorabilia from the show. One prominent item involved in the auction was a special throne, which ended up selling for a large sum of money.

A Touring Throne Proved A Hot Item At Auction

In an event lasting from October 10th to the 12th, dubbed “Game of Thrones: The Auction,” Heritage Auctions sold over 900 items from the show. The series drew in over 4,500 bidders from around the globe.

One such item of interest was an “original touring Iron Throne molded from the original screen-used throne.” The bidding for the throne was said to have nearly lasted six minutes until the final big settled at a seven-figure price.

Joffrey on ‘Game Of Thrones’ – HBO

A Heritage Auctions release...

Over its eight seasons, Game of Thrones had a lot of episodes that hit hard. The Rains of Castamere will forever go down as the biggest surprise for non-book readers, while watching Viserion get turned into a tool for the Night King in Season 7s Beyond the Wall stabbed us in the heart just as much. But if theres one thing the series did almost perfectly, it was the season finales. Perhaps the biggest one of all, aside from the series finale, was Season 6s The Winds of Winter. Named after the book that we are still (and will forever be) waiting for, the last episode of the sixth season was quite literally explosive.

Game of Thrones is one of those shows that seemed like it could do nothing wrong... until it did. In fact, there isn't a single episode rated under 8.0 on IMDb in the first four seasons, and even after that, there are still multiple episodes with a rating of 9.8 or higher, a feat that's practically unheard of with other television series!

But the bigger they are, the harder they fall, and Game of Thrones is perhaps the most infamous example. The highest-rated episode in season 8 was a 7.9, lower than any episode from a prior season. Even without ratings systems factored in, it's rare to find fans that don't hate at least a few episodes in season 8, if not the season as a whole.

With that being said, it would be easy to call the last six episodes of Game of Thrones the worst in the franchise and call it a day.

House of the Dragon Season 2 just came to a conclusion, and fans cannot keep calm about everything they saw. What has been a point of contention among many viewers this season finally came to a standstill when Rhaenyra reached Harrenhal and Daemon bent his knee to the queen. But the change in him did not come from the goodness of his heart, but rather a vision he saw in the Godswood.

A still from House of the Dragon Season 2 finale | HBO

Daemon’s storyline this season has not been the most exciting, with fans rueing the fate of such an emboldened character from season one becoming a shell of himself in the second. But the finale gave us some reprieve when Alys brings Daemon to the Godswood and he gets a vision of the Song of Fire and Ice. Nostalgia for the win, eh?

Daemon’s Vision In The Godswood...

Exclusive: BAFTA nominee and Emmy winner Christopher Eccleston (Thor: The Dark World) and Thomas W. Gabrielsson (A Royal Affair) have rounded out the cast of Cold War biopic Whispers of Freedom as production wraps in Berlin.

Set in 1980s East Berlin, the British-German co-production is based on the tragic true story of young East German Chris Gueffroy in the lead up to his attempted escape from the isolated Eastern bloc state. Gueffroy was the last person to be shot and the second-last to die in an escape attempt while trying to flee to the West across the Berlin Wall.

Eccleston, best known for portraying the ninth incarnation of The Doctor in Doctor Who, and for playing Malekith in Thor: The Dark World, joins the cast to lend his voice as East German radio personality Herbert Köfer.

Swedish vet Gabrielsson, who most recently appeared opposite Mads Mikkelsen in The Promised Land,...

After HBO’s Game of Thrones series cemented an indelible legacy in the Television world, its prequel series, House of the Dragon, continues to follow in the same footsteps. From bringing an epic narrative and unpredictable plot twists, the show has also adopted a distinctive tradition, which will be evident in the ongoing season.

A still of Milly Alcock and Matt Smith in House of the Dragon season 2 | HBO

For the unversed, the acclaimed show has often saved its most impactful episodes for the penultimate spot each season. And the ongoing show isn’t shying away from doing the same in Season 2.

House of the Dragon Continues the Penultimate Episode Tradition

Set approximately 200 years before the events of the original show, House of the Dragon follows the history of House Targaryen, focusing on the Targaryen civil war, better known as the Dance of the Dragons.

This issue, along with the succession conflict,...

Includes Spoilers for House of the Dragon season 2, episode 4.

House of the Dragon redeems a divisive Game of Thrones season 7 dragon battle episode. Alan Taylor's return to direct brings emotional depth & stunning visuals to House of the Dragon season 2, episode 4. Season 2, episode 4 offers an intense dragon clash packed with drama, plot twists, and thematic depth in Targaryen war.

House of the Dragon season 2, episode 4, offered redemption to the Game of Thrones franchise for one of the original show's silliest episodes. Game of Thrones season 8 was widely criticized, leaving any future spinoffs with a daunting responsibility. House of the Dragon has constant pressure to maintain a certain level of quality for the franchise to move forward after audiences nearly lost interest after the Game of Thrones ending. The series has been a tremendous success so far, with the recent "The Red Dragon and the Gold" receiving the prequel's highest reviews yet.

Benjen Stark's mysterious appearances on Game of Thrones left fans with more questions than answers. The Children of the Forest saved Benjen from becoming a White Walker, using dragonglass to prevent the transformation, begging the question of why they didn't do this to save more lives. Benjen's unconfirmed death in the series leaves open the possibility that he may still be alive in the Game of Thrones universe.

Despite being such a small part of the show, Benjen Stark left a lot of unanswered questions following his time on Game of Thrones, feeling like more of a mystery than an actual character. Benjen was introduced in the very first episode as the younger brother of Ned Stark and First Ranger in the Night's Watch. He soon went missing beyond the Wall, only to reappear in season 6 as a man who is half-human and half-Walker. He then disappears once again, but...

House of the Dragon season 2 intensifies a Daenerys plot hole from Game of Thrones. Cregan Stark tells the story of King Jaehaerys and Queen Alysanne's dragons refusing to fly beyond the Wall, but it's not explained why they wouldn't (or couldn't) when Daenerys flew her dragons North of it in Game of Thrones. It's possible this is related to the magic of the Wall or the threat of the White Walkers, but it's largely unexplained right now.

House of the Dragon season 2, episode 1 makes one Daenerys Targaryen plot hole from Game of Thrones a lot worse. For the most part, House of the Dragons timeline means it doesnt have too much of an impact on its predecessor, since this is all happening 170+ years earlier. There are some exceptions, however, such as Aegon the Conqueror's A Song of Ice and Fire recontextualizing the White Walkers defeat.

Theres nothing quite so dramatic...

Ned Stark's belief about Cersei Lannister's children in Game of Thrones season 1 is said to be a plot hole and based on flimsy evidence. However, this isn't really accurate, as the show (and book before it) provided multiple good reasons for Ned's allegations. While there may have been flaws in Ned's approach, his actions were driven by a deep sense of honor and duty.

Game of Thrones season 1 seemingly has a plot hole in part of Ned Stark's story, but that's not actually the case. When it comes to plot holes in HBO's fantasy hit, it tends to be the build-up to Game of Thrones' ending that comes in for the most criticism. That's certainly true of things like season 7, episode 6, "Beyond the Wall." (just how fast did Gendry run? How fast can a raven fly?) and season 8, episode 4, "The Last of the Starks," (where Daenerys Targaryen forgot about...

The final two seasons of the hit HBO fantasy series "Game of Thrones" left fans pretty divided, with some who still loved the show in all its weird glory and others who felt as if many of the characters were let down by the series' writing. While the quality of those later seasons is the source of much contention, one thing is tough to argue: the battles of the final two seasons are pretty darn great. Sure, they're no Battle of the Blackwater or Battle of the Bastards but there are some monumentally cool moments in some of those later battles, especially the Battle of the Frozen Lake in the season 7 episode "Beyond the Wall." According to one of the show's directors, some of those moments were actually improvised right there on the spot. One of the most intense moments in the whole battle, in which fan favorite Tormund Giantsbane...

One of the best things about the sprawling HBO fantasy series "Game of Thrones" is that there are an incredible number of wonderful characters with great moments of interaction between them. Sometimes these little moments could be more fun and thrilling than the big battles between zombies and dragons or even the political scheming of wannabe kings and queens, and in the case of one of these moments, it was entirely an improvised moment between some very talented actors. There's a very meme-able moment in the season 7 episode "Beyond the Wall" that features Kristofer Hivju's wildling character Tormund Giantsbane shooting his shot with the woman of his dreams, bringing a great bit of levity to the rather dire circumstances of those later seasons. According to series co-creator and showrunner Dan Weiss, that moment was entirely because of Hivju, which absolutely rules. 

There's something really lovable about Tormund despite his being a slightly terrifying,...

As a final tribute to Attack on Titan, professional artists from around the world have created stunning pieces inspired by the beloved franchise.

As detailed in a recent press release, the English, Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese and German-dubbed versions of Attack on Titan's finale are scheduled to premiere on Crunchyroll on Jan. 7 at 9 p.m. Pst. In cooperation with Kodansha, Crunchyroll has commissioned talented artists from across the globe to create portraits for the franchise using their own signature styles and techniques. This lineup includes Adam Burke, Matt Taylor, Thomas von Kummant, Hieu Nguyen (aka Kelogsloops), Marguerite Sauvage and Jacopo Camagni.

Related Crunchyroll Lands One of the Longest-Running Series in Anime History Anime fans get excited as one of the longest-running TV anime series of all time heads over to the Crunchyroll platform. Close As the world of Titans and humanity clashes in an epic finale, five key...

Psycho-Pass has launched Wristlink replica watches as part of the iconic cyberpunk anime series' 10th anniversary celebration.

Japanese company Movic, a group company of Japan's largest anime retailer Animate, will release wristwatches designed after the Wristlinks featured in the hit anime series Psycho-Pass. The replica watches are made to order upon purchase and are now available for pre-order from the Animate Online Shop, Animate stores in Japan and the Movic online shop. According to PR Times, each watch costs US$140 and will come in two style variants: Supervisor and Executive Officer.

Related Crunchyroll Brings Back the Iconic Akira Leather Jacket Crunchyroll is once again selling its limited edition iconic red leather Akira Jacket in honor of the film's 30th anniversary. Close

Based on the miniature communication devices used by the Public Safety Bureau in the Psycho-Pass movies and TV series, the wristwatch designs evoke the hologram technology and overall aesthetic...

Fans of the iconic Attack on Titan franchise can ring in the New Year with "Beyond the Wall" sake.

Sake retailer Tippsy Sake is selling its "Beyond the Wall" collection, which features four unique bottles from the Japanese sake brand Daina of the Kikunosato Brewing Company. The bottles are each designed to symbolize a certain Attack on Titan character. The Eren is labeled "Made for a hero", with a "rich flavor as pure and straightforward as Eren’s heart" (so likely a flavor highly up to debate). The Mikasa is labeled "At the top of its game" and has been aged for 13 years, created for sipping. The Levi is labeled "Fit for a captain" and is made with "the king of sake rice, Yamadanishiki, and delivers a rich, complex flavor befitting Captain Levi’s reputation and status." Finally, The Pure Titan is a "Take on the titans" and, like the...

House of the Dragon director Clare Kilner recently defended the 10-year time jump midway through the Game of Thrones spinoff's first season.

Kilner insisted that House of the Dragon's creative team remains unphased by the controversy surrounding Season 1's chronological shake-up in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. "I think they feel it paid off," she said. "You can't please everyone, and storytelling is so personal. When you're on set, you just have to make decisions and own them, and I'm sure that's true with showrunners as well. We're really invested in these characters now and understand where they came from -- especially with the fighting between [the characters as] kids and what they did to each other -- and the effect of that feels very present in this season."

Related: George R. R. Martin Offers House of the Dragon Season 2 Update

In the same interview, Kilner also touched on another major...

Game of Thrones brought down the Wall using an undead dragon, but the storyline leading up to it was contrived and poorly executed. The Winds of Winter can improve upon this by finding a better way to bring down the Wall. Unlike in Game of Thrones, the Night King does not exist in the books, so a different approach is needed to bring the Wall down. The presence of an old warhorn, possibly the Horn of Winter, could fulfill this role. The Horn of Winter has been subtly mentioned throughout the books and is likely in the possession of Sam. Its potential involvement in bringing down the Wall after years of set up could lead to a more satisfying and logical storyline in The Winds of Winter.

Game of Thrones set up but then dropped a better way to bring the Wall down than the Night King and wight Viserion,...

In a series like Game of Thrones that puts so much focus into its world-building and long-term storytelling, the ebb and flow of the show relies on the audience being on board for the long haul. Characters go on deep journeys of personal growth that span multiple seasons, and various conflicts boil over after plenty of build-up.

Related: 10 Best TV Episodes That Can Be Watched Stand-Alone

Despite this serial structure that demands cliffhangers and episodes to link together, several Game of Thrones episodes can still stand by themselves. Newcomers to the franchise can enjoy these without missing out on too much aside from the obvious helping of context. These stand-alone episodes tend to be action-centric, showing Game of Thrones at its brutal and fantastical best.

"The Broken Man" Season 6, Episode 7

Sandor "The Hound" Clegane was assumed dead after his tussle with Brienne at the end of Season 4, but he reappeared...

(Welcome to Best Action Scene Ever, a column dedicated to breaking down the best, most effective action sequences throughout the genre. In this edition, we give some love to the first and, yes, the best of the battles staged in HBO's "Game of Thrones.")

We've somehow made it through nine editions of this column before expanding to include television, a medium that has grown exponentially in the last few decades to tell big-budget stories through a startlingly cinematic lens. As much as the previous era of "Prestige TV" helped pave the way for television shows to be taken much more seriously, it wasn't until "Game of Thrones" that global audiences could truly grasp what that meant. In its latter days, the flagship HBO series became known for ramping up the existential threat of its White Walker plotline, pouring millions of dollars of resources into staging blockbuster-sized set pieces with utterly convincing dragon VFX,...

Game of Thrones actor Ciarán Hinds admits that he was "put off" by the show's gratuitous sex scenes. Based on the acclaimed fantasy novels by author George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones ran for 8 seasons on HBO from 2011 to 2019. Hinds joined the show as Mance Rayder, aka the Wildling King Beyond the Wall, in season 3, playing the role until season 5.

In a recent interview with The Independent following his casting in The Rings of Power season 2, Hinds recalls that he was initially hesitant to join Game of Thrones because of its excessive sexuality. For Hinds, all the graphic sex was taking away from the actual story being told. Check out Hinds' full comment below:

“I was rather put off by the amount of sexuality that was going on in it, because it was taking away from the actual political storytelling. But that’s business, I guess, from their perspective.

Ciarán Hinds is speaking out on the amount of sex in “Game of Thrones.”

Following the infamous criticisms on nudity and sex portrayed in the hit HBO series, Hinds admitted that he was “rather put off” by just how much sex was shown.

“I was rather put off by the amount of sexuality that was going on in it, because it was taking away from the actual political storytelling,” Hinds told The Independent. “But that’s business, I guess, from their perspective.”

Hinds portrayed Mance Rayder, aka the King Beyond the Wall, from Season 3 to Season 5. The “Belfast” actor is now set to appear in Season 2 of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.”

“Game of Thrones” prequel series “House of the Dragon” went out of its way to distance itself from the original series, based on George R.R. Martin’s novels.

“‘Game Of Thrones’ had a negative...

If they do not want to be persecuted by the state, while keeping their chances at the international film festival circuit, the Iranian filmmakers must not be too open in their criticism towards the state policies. Carefully inserted metaphors are usually the way to go for covering tracks and Vahid Jalilvand has so far managed to do so with his previous films, “Wednesday, May 9” (2015) and “No Date, No Signature” (2017) which both premiered at Venice Horizons section. He tries to do the same with his newest effort “Beyond the Wall”, which premiered at the main competition of last year’s Venice. After a tour of festivals like Toronto, Busan, Hamburg and Göteborg, it was shown at the competition of Belgrade International Film Festival, where we caught it.

When we meet our protagonist, Ali, he is in such a desperate state that he tries to commit suicide in his spartan apartment in...

The Film Circuit begins with Telluride, a small but perfect film festival in the mountains of Colorado as simultaneously Venice unfurls the films that will soon be released in the wonderful arthouse cinemas of Europe, followed closely by Toronto whose films foretell the coming year’s Oscars nominees. It is a very exciting time to be on the festival circuit.

And simultaneously with these great screenings are sidebars, panel discussions, workshops, master classes and all around great networking for filmmakers around the world.

Venezia 79 Competition

Il Signore Delle Formiche

Director Gianni Amelio

Main Cast Luigi Lo Cascio, Elio Germano, Leonardo Maltese, Sara Serraiocco / Italy / 134’

The Whale

Director Darren Aronofsky

Main Cast Brendan Fraser, Sadie Sink, Hong Chau, Samantha Morton, Ty Simpkins / USA / 117’

White Noise

Director Noah Baumbach

Main Cast Adam Driver, Greta Gerwig, Don Cheadle, Raffey Cassidy, Sam Nivola, May Nivola, Jodie Turner-Smith, André L. Benjamin and Lars Eidinger / USA / 136’

L’IMMENSITÀ

Director Emanuele Crialese

Main Cast Penélope Cruz, Luana Giuliani, Vincenzo Amato, Patrizio Francioni / Italy, France / 97’

Saint Omer

Director Alice Diop

Main Cast Kayije Kagame, Guslagie Malanda, Valérie Dréville, Aurélia Petit / France / 123’

Blonde

Director Andrew Dominik

Main Cast Ana de Armas, Adrien Brody, Bobby Cannavale, Xavier Samuel, Julianne Nicholson, Lily Fisher / USA / 166’

TÁR

Director Todd Field

Main Cast Cate Blanchett, Noémie Merlant, Nina Hoss, Sophie Kauer, Julian Glover, Allan Corduner, Mark Strong / USA / 158’

Love Life

Director Kôji Fukada

Main Cast Fumino Kimura, Kento Nagayama, Atom Sunada / Japan, France / 123’

Bardo, Falsa CRÓNICA De Unas Cuantas Verdades

Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu

Main Cast Daniel Giménez Cacho, Griselda Siciliani, Ximena Lamadrid, Iker Sanchez Solano, Andrés Almeida, Francisco Rubio / Mexico / 174’

Athena

Director Romain Gavras

Main Cast Dali Benssalah, Sami Slimane, Anthony Bajon, Ouassini Embarek, Alexis Manenti / France / 97’

Bones And All

Director Luca Guadagnino

Main Cast Taylor Russell, Timothée Chalamet, Mark Rylance, André Holland, Chloë Sevigny, Jessica Harper, David Gordon Green, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jake Horowitz / USA / 130’

The Eternal Daughter

Director Joanna Hogg

Main Cast Tilda Swinton, Joseph Mydell, Carly-Sophia Davies / UK, USA / 96’

Shab, Dakheli, Divar (Beyond The Wall)

Director Vahid Jalilvand

Main Cast Navid Mohammadzadeh, Diana Habibi, Amir Aghaee / Iran / 126’

The Banshees Of Inisherin

Director Martin McDonagh

Main Cast Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon, Barry Keoghan / Ireland, UK, USA / 109’

Argentina, 1985

Director Santiago Mitre

Main Cast Ricardo Darín, Peter Lanzani, Alejandra Flechner, Norman Briski / Argentina, USA / 140’

Chiara

Director Susanna Nicchiarelli

Main Cast Margherita Mazzucco, Andrea Carpenzano, Carlotta Natoli, Paola Tiziana Cruciani, Luigi Lo Cascio / Italy, Belgium / 106’

Monica

Director Andrea Pallaoro

Main Cast Trace Lysette, Patricia Clarkson, Adriana Barraza, Emily Browning, Joshua Close / USA, Italy / 113’

Khers Nist (No Bears)

Director Jafar Panahi

Main Cast Jafar Panahi, Naser Hashemi, Vahid Mobaseri, Bakhtiar Panjeei, Mina Kavani, Reza Heydari / Iran / 107’

All The Beauty And The Bloodshed

Director Laura Poitras

USA / 117’

Un Couple

Director Frederick Wiseman

Main Cast Nathalie Boutefeu / France, USA / 64’

The Son

Director Florian Zeller

Main Cast Hugh Jackman, Laura Dern, Vanessa Kirby, Zen McGrath, Anthony Hopkins, Hugh Quarshie / UK / 124’

Les Miens

Director Roschdy Zem

Main Cast Sami Bouajila, Roschdy Zem, Meriem Serbah, Maïwenn, Rachid Bouchareb, Abel Jafrei, Nina Zem / France / 85’

Les Enfants Des Autres

Director Rebecca Zlotowski

Main Cast Virginie Efira, Roschdy Zem, Chiara Mastroianni, Callie Ferreira / France / 104’

Toronto is in spite of itself in a civilized sort of way in competition for the premieres with Venice, though the sequential festivals are serving different constituencies. Still, The Whale, for example is premiering in Venice and then traveling to TIFF.

TIFF Gala Presentations:

The Whale directed by Darren Aronofsky, produced and to be distributed in U.S. and actng as international sales agent A24.

TIFF says: “Brendan Fraser gives a career-defining performance in Darren Aronofsky’s arrestingly intimate drama about a reclusive English professor struggling with personal relationships and self-acceptance, adapted from the stage play by Samuel D. Hunter.”

Alice, Darling by Mary Nighy

Also playing are Alice, Darling (Mary Nighy) in which Anna Kendrick captures the anxious psychology of a woman in an abusive relationship as her friends try to reconnect with her while on a cottage getaway.

Black Ice(Hubert Davis) about Black hockey players facing systemic racism in the sport.

The Greatest Beer Run Ever (Peter Farrelly) about man’s story of leaving New York in 1967 to bring beer to his childhood buddies in the Army while they are fighting in Vietnam. An Apple TV+ production.

Butcher’s Crossing (Gabe Polsky) is a frontier epic about an Ivy League drop-out as he travels to the Colorado wilderness, where he joins a team of buffalo hunters on a journey that puts his life and sanity at risk. Based on the highly acclaimed novel by John Williams. Isa Altitude

The Hummingbird (Francesca Archibugi)Hunt (Jung-jae Lee)A Jazzman’s Blues (Tyler Perry)Kacchey Limbu (Shubham Yogi)Moving On (Paul Weitz)Paris Memories (Alice Winocour)Prisoner’s Daughter (Catherine Hardwicke)Raymond & Ray (Rodrigo García)Roost (Amy Redford)Sidney (Reginald Hudlin)The Son (Florian Zeller)The Swimmers (Sally El Hosaini)What’s Love Got to Do With It? (Shekhar Kapur)The Woman King(Gina Prince-Bythewood)

Special PRESENTATIONSAllelujah (Sir Richard Eyre)All Quiet on the Western Front (Edward Berger)The Banshees Of Inisherin (Martin McDonagh)Blueback (Robert Connolly)The Blue Caftan (Maryam Touzani)Broker (Hirokazu Kore-eda)Brother (Clement Virgo)Bros (Nicholas Stoller)Catherine Called Birdy (Lena Dunham)Causeway (Lila Neugebauer)Chevalier (Stephen Williams)Corsage (Marie Kreutzer)Decision to Leave (Park Chan-wook)Devotion (Jd Dillard)Driving (Madeleine Christian Carion)El Suplente (Diego Lerman)Empire of Light...

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Iranian director Vahid Jalilvand’s second film No Date, No Signature became Iran’s submission in 2019 for the Oscars’ Best Film Not in the English Language category. It would be a miracle if his latest, Venice competition entrant Beyond the Wall, gleaned the same honor, not because it wouldn’t be a worthy choice — it’s a ravaging, powerful work. It’s just that it’s impossible to imagine the Iranian authorities would approve submitting it.

Overtly critical of the repressive state apparatus, especially its capriciously cruel and violent police forces and merciless justice system, this feature played in Venice without Iranian government support and no doubt places Jalilvand in the ranks of audacious cinema dissidents, along with currently imprisoned filmmakers Jafar Panahi (whose latest No Bears also plays Venice this year), Mohammad Rasoulof and Mostafa Aleahmad.

For this twisty study of guilt and self-sacrifice,...

by Cláudio Alves

Neither Vahid Jalilvand nor Andrew Dominik is a newbie when it comes to the Venice Film Festival. Though the Iranian director never before competed for the Golden Lion, his films have won many prizes at the Lido, screening within the festival's parallel sections. Maybe Beyond the Wall can repeat the feat and nab some trophy from Julianne Moore's jury. As for Andrew Dominik, his adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates' Blonde is already the topic of much controversy. Critics are divided regarding the movie's depiction of sexual exploitation – some see it as a ruthless dissection of celebrity culture, and others lament another voyeuristic desecration of Marilyn Monroe's personhood, intimacy, her legacy.

For the Venice at Home program, let's remember two instances when these cineastes directed their leading men towards acting prizes. No Date, No Signature won Navis Mohammadzadeh the Venice Horizons Award in 2017. Ten years before that,...

Nobody emerges unscathed — least of all the audience — from Vahid Jalilvand’s highly effective, deeply unpleasant “Beyond the Wall,” a morbidly violent allegory for the effects of state-sponsored trauma on the individual that places contemporary Iranian society somewhere on the map between the sixth and seventh circles of hell. A strange combination of intricate, almost sci-fi-inflected psychological thriller, splenetic social-breakdown broadside and two-hander (torture) chamber drama, it is an exercise in bravura filmmaking applied to a story so relentlessly grim you might wish it were a little less well-made, giving you an excuse to look away. In his 2017 film “No Date No Signature” (which won Best Director and Best Actor in Venice’s Horizons sidebar), Jalilvand pictured a stratified society teetering on the edge of legality and morality; here, however, it has toppled entirely into the abyss. The only way is down, and the filmmaker is bringing you with it.

Blind Man’s Bluff: Jalilvand Plays Cheap Tricks with Overwrought Melodrama

To crib from (of all people) Margaret Thatcher, no one would remember the Good Samaritan saga at the heart of Vahid Jalilvand’s Beyond the Wall if it weren’t for a B-grade histrionic twist intended to elevate its narrative cachet. In Persian, the original title technically translates to Night, Interior, Wall, a much more poetic approach to this histrionic tale about a recently blinded driver confronted with protecting a desperate woman eluding the police.

Initially, the extended build up revolves around two lost souls abandoned by the world, it would seem, with a main protagonist attempting to seek some sort of solace or salvation through a good, apparently altruistic deed.…...

While the history of cinema is filled with flawed portrayals of disabilities this new era seems to have invited some ingenuity. “Sound of Metal” used brilliant sound design to show the deterioration and distortion of deafness. Similarly

The film, at first seems like it may be building to an art-house Iranian version of shlocky horror-pic “Don’t Breathe.” Leila (Diana Habibi), a desperate woman on the run, finds shelter in a Spartan apartment. While the sirens call outside and the police flood the building, she huddles under a table, hand over her own mouth trying to stifle her own sobs. The apartment belongs to Ali (Navid Mohammadzadeh), a man who has lost most of his vision and despite what his doctor says, has little interest in taking the required medications to preserve what little he has left. The film shows us scenes from Ali’s point of view, how the light...

The constant arrests and impediments of its filmmakers hasn’t stopped Iranian cinema from soaring to greater heights.

After the showcase of Iranian cinema at Berlin, Cannes and Karlovy Vary, Venice has five films from the country, two of which are in competition, reports Variety.

What’s more? Leila Hatami, star of Cannes festival jurist Asghar Farhadi’s ‘A Separation’, is a member of Venice’s main jury panel.

“We have never received so many submissions from Iran, and many of them are good,” says Venice chief Alberto Barbera, quoted by Variety.

He notes that “the paradox is that this is happening at a time when the Iranian regime is among the most rigidly conservative and repressive in the world,” and is responding to uprisings sparked by the country’s harsh economic conditions by re-incarcerating directors such as Jafar Panahi, whose latest film “No Bears” launches from Venice, fellow dissident filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof,...

Iranian cinema is having a great year despite the many impediments film directors face there, including being jailed.

Reflecting this burst of irrepressible cinematic energy, after strong showing of Iranian cinema at Berlin, Cannes and Karlovy Vary, Venice has five films from the country, two of which are in competition. Also, Leila Hatami, star of Cannes festival jurist Asghar Farhadi’s “A Separation,” is a member of Venice’s main jury panel.

“We have never received so many submissions from Iran, and many of them are good,” says Venice chief Alberto Barbera. He notes that “the paradox is that this is happening at a time when the Iranian regime is among the most rigidly conservative and repressive in the world,” and is responding to uprisings sparked by the country’s harsh economic conditions by re-incarcerating directors such as Jafar Panahi, whose latest film “No Bears” launches from Venice, fellow dissident filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof,...

The panel included Orwa Nyrabia, Vanja Kaludjercic and Alberto Barbera.

Venice Film Festival gathered a group of industry representatives in collaboration with activists’ association the International Coalition Filmmakers at Risk (Icfr) to raise awareness of the plight of filmmakers who have suffered oppression and arrests in the past year.

“The danger of forgetting these stories is very relevant,” said International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) director Orwa Nyrabia, one of the speakers at the Filmmakers Under Attack: Taking Stock, Taking Action panel organised in collaboration with the Icfr.

The panel also drew attention to an Icfr initiative that seeks to provide...

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As the Venice Film Festival celebrates Iranian cinema — there are four Iranian films screening at the 79th Biennale — back home in Tehran, Iranian filmmakers and artists are facing the harshest crackdown in decades.

The hardline government of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has stepped up pressure on dissident artists and all critics of the regime to toe the line. In July, authorities arrested three prominent directors: Mostafa Aleahmad (2009’s Poosteh), 2020 Berlin’s Golden Bear winner Mohammad Rasoulof (There Is No Evil) and Jafar Panahi, winner of Venice’s Golden Lion for Dayereh (2000) and of Berlin’s Golden Bear for Taxi (2015).

Aleahmad and Rasoulof were among some 170 prominent Iranian filmmakers, artists and actors who signed an open letter May 29 calling for security forces in the country to “lay down their arms” and side with the people over a government described in the letter as rife with “corruption,...

Miguel Sapochnik will step down as co-showrunner on House of the Dragon after Season 1. Pic credit: ©ImageCollect.com/F. Sadou/AdMedia

While HBO has recently renewed its epic fantasy series, House of the Dragon, for a second season, it appears one of the co-showrunners will not be returning in Season 2.

Miguel Sapochnik signed up as co-showrunner on its prequel series alongside Ryan Condal, and they have worked together on Season 1, which is currently airing on HBO.

Sapochnik is probably best known for his work on Game of Thrones, where he helped produce some of the most iconic battle scenes in the series.

Most notably, he directed Hardhome, The Battle of the Bastards, and The Long Night, all of which showcased large battle scenes.

In addition to this, he also directed The Bells, which was the final battle sequence in the original series and saw Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) completely flip...

It's said that when you play the game of thrones, you win or you die because there is no middle ground. But it appears that when you play in the "House of the Dragon," you exit before you burn out.

As we just learned from The Hollywood Reporter, co-showrunner and director Miguel Sapochnik is stepping down from his role on the hit HBO fantasy drama after only two episodes have been made available to the public. According to THR's sources, Sapochnik is allegedly exiting after a grueling three years of production to bring "House of the Dragon" to life. The series' co-creator Ryan Condal will now act as a sole showrunner, and will continue working in close proximity with co-creator George R.R. Martin. Sapochnik will remain an executive producer through the rest of the series, and has entered an exclusive first-look deal with HBO for new projects.

"Working within the...

There’ll be a transfer of power behind the scenes of House of the Dragon, too: Miguel Sapochnik, who served as co-showrunner and director during the Game of Thrones prequel’s first season, is leaving the HBO series ahead of Season 2.

Sapochnik, who directed key Game of Thrones episodes like “Battle of the Bastards” and “Hardhome,” shared showrunner duties on House of the Dragon‘s freshman season with co-creator Ryan Condal and directed the pilot as well. Condal will now serve as sole showrunner in Season 2.

More from TVLineHouse of the Dragon Audience Rises in Week 2, on Heels of Quick...

HBO’s “Game of Thrones” prequel “House of the Dragon” has emerged as a certified blockbuster hit — but the epic fantasy series must do battle in Season 2 without co-showrunner, director and executive producer Miguel Sapochnik.

Sapochnik is stepping away from the series, but entering into a first-look deal with HBO to develop new projects and will remain listed as an executive producer for the remainder of the series. Fellow Season 1 co-showrunner and EP Ryan Condal will assume the top creative role and continue consulting with co-creator and author George R.R. Martin. “Game of Thrones” veteran director Alan Taylor will be brought on as a director and EP for multiple Season 2 episodes.

“Working within the ‘Thrones’ universe for the past few years has been an honor and a privilege, especially spending the last two with the amazing cast and crew of ‘House of the Dragon,’” Sapochnik said in a statement. “I...

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There’s been a big shake-up inside House of the Dragon: The HBO fantasy drama’s co-showrunner and director Miguel Sapochnik is stepping down from the freshly launched hit series.

Sources say Sapochnik is exiting the show after pouring an exhausting three years of effort into the Game of Thrones prequel. Dragon co-creator Ryan Condal will now serve as the show’s sole showrunner and continue to work closely with co-creator George R.R. Martin. Sapochnik has also entered into a first-look deal with HBO to develop new projects and will remain an executive producer for the duration of the series.

The production has hired another acclaimed Thrones veteran, Alan Taylor, to serve as an executive producer and to direct multiple episodes in season two.

“Working within the Thrones universe for the past few years has been an honor and a privilege, especially...

The Toronto International Film Festival returns in September 2022 for its 47th edition — 11 days of international and Canadian cinema, special events featuring some of the biggest names in film, and TIFF’s Industry Conference, offering diverse and innovative perspectives on the art and business of film. The full programme can be found Here.

Here is a selection of Asian titles:

Features A Gaza Weekend

A Gaza Weekend

Basil Khalil ­- Palestine, United Kingdom, 2022

A Long Break

Davit Pirtskhalava – Georgia, 2022

A Man of Reason

Jung Woo-sung – South Korea, 2022

Alam

Firas Khoury – France, Tunisia, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, 2022

Autobiography

Makbul Mubarak – Indonesia, France, Singapore, Poland, Philippines, Germany, Qatar, 2022

Beyond the Wall

Beyond the Wall

Shab, Dkheli, Divar – Iran, 2022

Broker

Hirokazu Kore-eda – South Korea, 2022

Decision to Leave

Park Chan-wook – South Korea, 2022

Hunt

Lee Jung-jae – South Korea, 2022

In Her Hands

Tamana Ayazi, Marcel Mettelsiefen – United States of America, Afghanistan, 2022

Joyland

Joyland

Saim Sadiq – Pakistan, 2022

Kacchey Limbu

Shubham Yogi – India,...

As the Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon swoops onto our screens, many fantasy fans will be bracing themselves. Keeping up with its predecessor was a serious commitment until 2019 when, after eight years and 73 episodes, the game was over at last. As the dust and ash settled, I think it’s fair to say the overall feeling, shared by viewers and reviewers but presumably by the cast, crew and producers, too, was one of relief. The final series of Game of Thrones attracted an amazing amount of opprobrium online, including a petition for the whole thing to be rewritten and shot.

Not all of the criticism was justified. The pacing was uneven, with some stories feeling rushed and others too slow. One or two major figures started acting totally out of character. Yet no ending would have satisfied all of one of the most rabid fanbases around.

As the Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon swoops onto our screens, many fantasy fans will be bracing themselves. Keeping up with its predecessor was a serious commitment until 2019 when, after eight years and 73 episodes, the game was over at last. As the dust and ash settled, I think it’s fair to say the overall feeling, shared by viewers and reviewers but presumably by the cast, crew and producers, too, was one of relief. The final series of Game of Thrones attracted an amazing amount of opprobrium online, including a petition for the whole thing to be rewritten and shot.

Not all of the criticism was justified. The pacing was uneven, with some stories feeling rushed and others too slow. One or two major figures started acting totally out of character. Yet no ending would have satisfied all of one of the most rabid fanbases around.

After front-loading the section with Canadiana last week, we now know the entire make-up of the Contemporary World Cinema Program and there are plenty of worthy film festival titles to look out for including the world premiere grabs for Ulrich Seidl‘s Sparta and Christophe Honoré‘s Winter Boy (Le Lycéen). TIFF lands the North American Premiere screenings for Cannes titles in Aftersun (Charlotte Wells), Godland (Hlynur Pálmason), R.M.N. (Cristian Mungiu) and The Worst Ones. As we know, Close will be headed to Telluride instead.

Venice competition titles Love Life and Beyond the Wall join the program – and we got a slew of items from the Orizzonti section (The Happiest Man in the World) and Venice Days (Stonewalling).…...