News

Quick LinksJohn Wick Is Attempting a Woman-Led Replacement MovieAtomic Blonde Is Already the Perfect ReplacementAtomic Blonde Was an Abject SuccessBallerina Should Be Even More Successful

TheJohn Wick franchise has become one of Hollywood's biggest recent successes. Despite lacking an established intellectual property, the movies broke through in a space increasingly ruled by sequels and adaptations. With Keanu Reeves as the leading man, the movies feature action and a complicated political scene that only gets more complicated with every new release. The world has even begun to expand, thanks to the success of its recent spin-off, The Continental: From the World of John Wick. Having been released on Peacock and Prime Video, it showcased the Continental Hotel long before John Wick's retirement.

Though John Wick managed to set itself apart, there were places where it fell into the realm of traditional action. The gun-fu fighting style was new, but the hero himself was not.

Even if the John Wick movies have come to an end for the foreseeable future, audiences' appetite for movies about iconic assassins operating in heightened criminal underworlds has yet to be satisfied. Many new action movies tried to copy John Wick's style and success, but to no avail. Rather than watch these obvious imitations, newcomers to the colorful world of action movies and crime fiction looked to older movies instead.

One such movie they should check out while waiting for the next John Wick — whether it's a direct follow-up to Keanu Reeves' blockbuster franchise or a spiritual successor — is Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai. Released 26 years ago, Ghost Dog is an indie crime movie about aging assassins working in a modern-day criminal underworld. Beyond these surface level parallels, Ghost Dog and John Wick share a lot in common — specifically how they humanized their focal assassins and evoked themes of mortality.

Brothers and collaborators John David and Malcolm Washington didn’t come to play in the Criterion Closet. As writer/director and star of “The Piano Lesson” Malcolm put it at the start of their visit, “We’re here to do some shopping.” And shop they did, filling their tote bags with some of cinema’s greatest delights, starting with the hefty 10-film series from Polish auteur Krzysztof Kieślowski, “Dekalog,” Andrei Tarkovsky’s “Mirror,” and the Hughes Brothers’ “Menace II Society.”

“Actually, I learned a lot from Allen Hughes,” John David said of the “Menace II Society” co-director. “The influence and the importance of sound and music and how it can really change the mood or the scene in a way that I never stopped to think about it before.”

He also praised the work of John Cassavetes, particularly “Faces” and “Opening Night,” calling the naturalism on display “very inspiring.” Calling...

There’s a notion in the film industry that comedies don’t travel. Jokes have a regional audience, and humor gets lost in translation, the thinking goes. But director Matthew Rankin thinks more of audiences than that. His new film, “Universal Language,” was selected by Canada as the country’s submission for the Oscars’ international feature category, but you’d be forgiven if you were unable to place it.

Set in an alternate Great White North where Tim Hortons coffee shops are Persian tea houses and the principal language is Farsi, Rankin’s film gently imagines a world without cinematic borders: an absurdist but warm-hearted vision that has disoriented and delighted festival audiences since its premiere in the Director’s Fortnight section at Cannes.

“As much as we don’t think of it as a political film, there is something radical to this gesture,” Rankin says on a Zoom call.

Before we dive into Winona Ryder’s picks from the Criterion Closet, we have some breaking news that takes precedent. In a stunning reveal this week, a poster on Reddit shared a photo with the Criterion community showing that their famous closet wasn’t an actual closet, but rather a set placed within a van.

The closet, is actually a van.

byu/throgmortal incriterion

A spokesperson for Criterion responded to IndieWire’s request for comment by confirming that its videos are actually filmed in a closet in Criterion’s office in New York City. Nevertheless, this photo may imply Criterion has plans of taking their closet on the road and social media is abuzz with intrigue.

Iconic actress Ryder stopped by the closet ahead of her film “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” premiering at Venice Film Festival and spoke of the space as if it were a holy sanctuary.

“I am so lucky...

Some unexpected gangster films, like Layer Cake or Miller's Crossing, have had a significant impact on the genre's evolution. Directors like Warren Beatty and the Coen brothers brought unique elements like comic strip characters and dark humor to crime films. The gangster genre continues to evolve with unconventional storytelling, challenging typical character types and narrative structures.

A few unexpected films within the gangster genre have made a large impact, influencing many of the stories that exist today. The subgenre of crime films has a few consistent visual and narrative devices that have continued to be used, but like any other genre, there have also been changes attributed to trailblazing films. While directors like Martin Scorsese and Brian De Palma are significant players in the genre, some more unexpected names shouldn't go unnoticed.

Films like Layer Cake or Miller's Crossing aren't unknown to fans of crime-related stories, but they also aren't...

Quick Links Jean-Pierre Melville and the Many Cultural Influences on Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai Seijun Suzuki and the Countless Japanese Inspirations on Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai Hip-Hop and Italian Influences on Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai

Jim Jarmusch's Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is a genre-bending masterpiece that first premiered 25 years ago at the 52nd Cannes Film Festival. An amalgamation of Japanese, African American, French, and Italian cultural influences, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is one of cinema's most unique takes on crime drama. Although a pastiche of the existential gangster films of Jean-Pierre Melville and the eccentric yakuza movies of Seijun Suzuki, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is much more than just a copy-and-paste film of cinema's past. Jarmusch's observational directorial style, minimalistic aesthetic, and use of deadpan, absurdist humor make Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai...

James Hamilton has lived an envious life. As staff photographer at Crawdaddy, The New York Herald, Harper’s Bazaar, The Village Voice, and The New York Observer, Hamilton chronicled the faces of New York culture, from Meryl Streep and Liza Minnelli to Jean-Luc Godard and Wes Anderson. One balmy night in 1980, I witnessed Hamilton shooting the iconic photo of Kurt Russell as Snake Plissken in John Carpenter’s “Escape from New York,” standing under the Statue of Liberty.

During the pandemic Hamilton began posting his gorgeous black-and-white photographs on his Facebook page on the celebrity’s birthday. He’s now in the habit. “Every day, it seems there’s someone I’ve photographed,” he said. And he owns his own photos. After he saw the art department at Harper’s Bazaar throwing out negatives, he possessively held his work close. He would happily stay up late at night inhaling photo-chemicals...

To celebrate the release of Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, available to own on 4K Uhd, Steelbook, Blu-ray, DVD & Digital from 23rd October, we are giving away Blu-Rays to 2 lucky winners!

Jim Jarmusch’s 90s classic Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai, gloriously restored in 4K and making its Uhd debut, is a superbly sharp, unique thriller featuring a magnificent lead performance from Forest Whitaker (Bird) in an iconoclastic mix of hip-hop, gangster movie and martial arts, with influences from Kurosawa, Suzuki and Melville.

Forest Whitaker (Ghost Dog) lives above the world, alongside a flock of birds, in a homemade shack on the roof of an abandoned building. Guided by the words of an ancient samurai text, Ghost Dog is a professional killer able to dissolve into the night and move through the city unnoticed. When Ghost Dog’s code is dangerously betrayed by the dysfunctional mafia family that occasionally employs him,...

Netflix has debuted a teaser trailer for the psychological thriller ‘Leave the World Behind.’

Amanda and her husband Clay, rent a luxurious home for the weekend with their kids, Archie (Charlie Evans) and Rose (Farrah Mackenzie). Their vacation is soon upended when two strangers — G.H. and his daughter Ruth — arrive in the night, bearing news of a mysterious cyberattack and seeking refuge in the house they claim is theirs. The two families reckon with a looming disaster that grows more terrifying by the minute, forcing everyone to come to terms with their places in a collapsing world.

Based on the National Book Award-nominated novel by Rumaan Alam, Sam Esmail directs. Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, Mahershala Ali, Myha’la, Farrah Mackenzie, Charlie Evans and Kevin Bacon star.

Also in trailers – Fantastic trailer for the Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai 4K Restoration

The feature hits the streamer on December 8th.

Jim Jarmusch’s ’90s classic ‘Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai’ has had the restoration treatment in 4K and will be making its Uhd debut. To honour this news the superbly sharp, unique thriller featuring a magnificent lead performance from Forest Whitaker (Bird) in an iconoclastic mix of hip-hop, gangster movie and martial arts, with influences from Kurosawa, Suzuki and Melville gets a brand new trailer.

Forest Whitaker (Ghost Dog) lives above the world, alongside a flock of birds, in a homemade shack on the roof of an abandoned building. Guided by the words of an ancient samurai text, Ghost Dog is a professional killer able to dissolve into the night and move through the city unnoticed. When Ghost Dog’s code is dangerously betrayed by the dysfunctional mafia family that occasionally employs him, he reacts strictly in accordance with the Way of the Samurai.

Featuring moody cinematography by the great Robby Müller,...

Though not a setting often associated with the realm of comedy, there have been dozens of hilarious movies throughout the years that have taken place within the walls of a prison. Many likely spring to mind. And while Down by Law (1986) wasn't one of them, the film at hand in terms of sheer hilarity outshines those that may have. Written and directed by Jim Jarmusch, this is the funniest prison movie ever made regardless of popularity and critical acclaim.

And although Down by Law by no means made waves at the worldwide box office, it was well-received upon release by critics and audiences alike. Marking the third feature film of the aforementioned American auteur following Stranger Than Paradise (1980) and Permanent Vacation (1984), this was by far his funniest film to that point. One could argue it remains the most uproarious Jarmusch film even four decades later. And despite its many competitors,...

In principle, using the rainy-day, kitchen-sink post-rock of Manchester band The Smiths so prominently in a film like The Killer seems incredibly perverse, given that it’s an exotic, globe-trotting thriller about an American assassin. But in reality, it’s actually a very sound choice indeed: legend has it that the band’s singer, Morrissey, had two reasons for naming his band so, the first being that “Smith” is one of the most common and thus unremarkable surnames in the world. The second, and much more subversive theory, suggests that it’s also a reference to David and Maureen Smith, brother-in-law and sister of ’60s serial killer Myra Hindley, the snappily dressed couple whose testimony blew open the Moors Murderers case and whose beatnik likenesses adorn the cover of Sonic Youth’s 1990 album “Goo”.

There’s a slight chance David Fincher and his creative team may not know these things,...

August is here and with it a whole host of new movies to watch on streaming has arrived. It can be daunting thumbing through the lists of what’s new on Netflix, Prime Video, Max, Hulu, Disney+, Peacock and Paramount+, and that’s where we come in handy. Below, we’ve put together a curated list of some of the best new movies to stream this month, including brand new originals like Gal Gadot’s actioner “Heart of Stone,” new releases making their streaming debut like “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” and excellent library titles such as David Fincher’s “Zodiac.”

You’ll find all of that and more in our curated list of the best new movies to stream in August.

“Mixtape” Paramount+

Paramount+ – Aug. 1

This new documentary details how mix tape culture helped hip-hop culture enter the mainstream. From the official press release: “Before radio play, the internet,...

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is an unconventional tribute to the samurai philosophy, bringing it into a contemporary urban setting. Director Jim Jarmusch mixes different languages, races, and ethnic backgrounds in his films, emphasizing multiculturalism. Jarmusch's films often challenge traditional narrative structures and play with established movie genres, offering unique perspectives on familiar themes.

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is Jim Jarmusch's unconventional approach to the philosophy of samurai, brought to a contemporary scenario. The film has a fairly simple storyline: a lonely hitman, known as Ghost Dog (played by Forest Whitaker), finds himself trapped in a dangerous mob scheme when a hit goes terribly wrong. As the mob rushes after him, Ghost Dog patiently carries out a plan to get back at his enemies, meeting a range of peculiar characters on the way.

Jarmusch is one of the best directors working today, and his greatest...

RZA spoke about his Problemista director and castmate Julio Torres in his exclusive uInterview.

RZA spoke about the meaning of the odd film title.

“Well, by the end of the day, we all got a lot of problems,” RZA told uInterview at SXSW in Austin, Texas. “You better try to solve them, you know what I mean. And don’t be that mouse going through that maze and not figuring your way out. Take that.”

He believes that Torres has his problems figured out.

“Julio got it packed down y’all, he got it down,” he said flatly.

RZA stars as the husband of Elizabeth, played by Tilda Swinton, who is an artist who has passed away.

Torres plays Alejandro, the main character, who is an aspiring toy designer who goes on a journey trying to figure out how to stay in the United States when his visa expires. He...

Many of Hollywood's all-time greatest movies can be categorized as westerns. Take those by John Ford, for example: Stagecoach (1939), The Searchers (1956), and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) are all considered among the finest projects to ever grace the silver screen. There's also Sergio Leone with The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) and Once Upon a Time in the West (1969), and Clint Eastwood with The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) and Unforgiven (1992).

And none of that is to even mention films such as High Noon (1952), Rio Bravo (1959), and The Wild Bunch (1969), or even more contemporary movies like 3:10 to Yuma (2007), True Grit (2010), and Django Unchained (2012). That's a lot of content. And with all of those classics spread throughout several decades, even more westerns have fallen by the wayside.

Written and directed by Jim Jarmusch — one of America's greatest yet most underrated auteurs — Dead Man (1995) is the single greatest western you've never seen.

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.

A Compassionate Spy (Steve James)

See an exclusive clip above.

The latest film from acclaimed documentarian Steve James, A Compassionate Spy, comes with a fascinating subject: the spy who leaked nuclear information from the Manhattan Project to the Soviet Union, therefore ensuring that America could not establish a nuclear monopoly on the world. It’s easy to see why James would be drawn to the spy, Theodore “Ted” Hall, and his wife Joan as he has often been interested in using individuals as the framework to explore larger societal issues. Utilizing a hybrid of recreations, archival footage, and modern-day interviews, James crafts a portrait of a man, a relationship, and the sheer weight of the decision to betray your country to save the world.

It was more than a little heartening to see Roger Corman paid tribute by Quentin Tarantino at Cannes’ closing night. By now the director-producer-mogul’s imprint on cinema is understood to eclipse, rough estimate, 99.5% of anybody who’s touched the medium, but on a night for celebrating what’s new, trend-following, and manicured it could’ve hardly been more necessary. Thus I’m further heartened seeing the Criterion Channel will host a retrospective of Corman’s Edgar Allan Poe adaptations running eight films and aptly titled “Grindhouse Gothic,” though I might save the selections for October.

Centerpiece, though, is a hip hop series including Bill Duke’s superb Deep Cover, Ghost Dog, and numerous documentaries––among them Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest, making Michael Rapaport a Criterion-approved auteur. Ten films starring Kay Francis and 21 Eurothrillers round out series; streaming premieres include the Dardenne brothers’ Tori and Lokita,...

Robert Fitzgerald Diggs, better known by his stage name RZA, is a famed American rapper, filmmaker, actor, and record producer. He became widely recognized for his role as a de facto leader of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, which he co-founded in 1991, having produced the greatest number of albums of any other member in the group.

RZA Biography: Age, Early Life, Family, Education

RZA was born on July 5, 1969 (RZA’s age: 53) in Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York. He was named after former president John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert, two people whom RZA’s mother had greatly admired. RZA has went on to call his birth name an “honorable” one, especially given the legacy of these two celebrated figures.

Early on in his childhood, RZA was encouraged to read and study. He encountered hip-hop music when he was just nine years old, and was already competing in rap battles at age eleven.

Sqürl is the musical outfit featuring legendary indie filmmaker Jim Jarmusch alongside Carter Logan, a co-producer on Jarmusch’s recent movies. After releasing a series of soundtracks and EPs, the duo have just unveiled their first proper full-length studio album, Silver Haze.

Music has been an integral part of Jarmusch’s movies throughout his career, starting with his groundbreaking ’80s films Stranger Than Paradise and Down By Law, and continuing in the ’90s with Dead Man and Ghost Dog. For his recent films, he and Logan have teamed up to compose the scores.

Now, the pair have unveiled Silver Haze, a guest-filled album that was just released via Sacred Bones Records. Among the notable contributors are Marc Ribot, Charlotte Gainsbourg, and Anika.

Consequence caught up with Jarmusch and Logan to discuss the new album, along with its various guest musicians. During the conversation, the pair also talked about their process of scoring movies,...

Sqürl is the musical outfit featuring legendary indie filmmaker Jim Jarmusch alongside Carter Logan, a co-producer on Jarmusch’s recent movies. After releasing a series of soundtracks and EPs, the duo have just unveiled their first proper full-length studio album, Silver Haze.

Music has been an integral part of Jarmusch’s movies throughout his career, starting with his groundbreaking ’80s films Stranger Than Paradise and Down By Law, and continuing in the ’90s with Dead Man and Ghost Dog. For his recent films, he and Logan have teamed up to compose the scores.

Now, the pair have unveiled Silver Haze, a guest-filled album that was just released via Sacred Bones Records. Among the notable contributors are Marc Ribot, Charlotte Gainsbourg, and Anika.

Consequence caught up with Jarmusch and Logan to discuss the new album, along with its various guest musicians. During the conversation, the pair also talked about their process of scoring movies,...

At 70, the outsider movie hero is releasing his first album. He muses on music, the demise of film and finding joy in mistakes

There are few film-makers quite as particular about music as Jim Jarmusch. Over the years, he’s enlisted Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA to score his hitman-meets-samurai flick Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, had Tom Waits and Iggy Pop jacked up on caffeine and locking horns in a thick swirl of smoke in 2003’s Coffee and Cigarettes, and got Neil Young to let rip some improvised guitar for the soundtrack to Dead Man. Not to mention that his films feature acting turns by everyone from Joe Strummer to Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and he directed a documentary on the Stooges along the way.

“Music’s always been there,” he says, in his unmistakable deep baritone register, speaking from New York. “Since being a teenager, music has been...

The Dead Don´t Die is a movie written and directed by Jim Jarmusch it has an exceptional cast headed by Bill Murray. And, Adam Driver, of course.

So we have seen this funny movie that is intelligent as well. Good lines and lots of irony in The Dead Don´t Die.

Storyline

In the small town of Centerville, the citizens have to face a… plague of living dead. When Earth deviates from its axis… ugly things happen.

The Movie The Dead Don’t Die (2019)

Jim Jarmusch´s usual irony, with the sardonic touch added by Bill Murray. A movie inside a movie that laughs at itself. It is still just a zombie movie, okay… but this is entertaining and it has its political and social satire.

The movie is an apparent amusement that is rather heavy handed with a much deeper irony. Lots of dark humor (lots and lots). It...

Danny Masterson has opted not to testify in his ongoing rape trial, he told the court in downtown Los Angeles Monday morning.

The That ’70s Show star has been charged with three counts of forceable rape dating from 2001 to 2003. He has denied the allegations and faces 45 years to life in prison if convicted. Masterson’s decision not to testify follows weeks of intense testimonies from the three women attached to the rape charges, and from a fourth woman (Ghost Dog actress Tricia Vessey) who also alleged that Masterson raped her,...

Henry Silva, who gave memorable turns over the course of a 40+-year career as a distinct presence on the big screen, has died. He was 95.

A genuinely commanding and terrifying presence, Henry Silva’s extensive career put him in numerous roles in action flicks, thrillers and exploitation movies. An early turn in The Tall T marked him as a face to watch–and be frightened of. A series of westerns and adventurers led to him being cast as one of Danny Ocean’s 11. In a fitting close to his career, Henry Silva made a cameo in Steven Soderbergh’s remake.

Other key roles in Henry Silva’s career include those in The Manchurian Candidate (1962), Johnny Cool (1963), Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979), Sharky’s Machine (1981), and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (2000), which is easily one of his finest performances.

There, too, was the barrage of Italian crime movies that...

Henry Silva, an actor with a striking look who often played villains and had credits in hundreds of films including “Ocean’s Eleven” and “The Manchurian Candidate,” died of natural causes Wednesday at the Motion Picture Picture and Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, Calif., his son Scott confirmed. He was 95.

One of Silva’s most memorable roles came in John Frankenheimer’s classic thriller “The Manchurian Candidate” (1962), in which he played Chunjin, the Korean houseboy for Laurence Harvey’s Raymond Shaw — and an agent for the Communists — who engages in a thrilling, well-choreographed martial arts battle with Frank Sinatra’s Major Bennett Marco in Shaw’s New York apartment.

Silva appeared in a number of other movies with Sinatra, including the original, Rat Pack-populated “Ocean’s Eleven” (1960) with Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr., where he was one of the 11 thieves, and 1962 Western “Sergeants 3.”

His death was...

Click here to read the full article.

Henry Silva, the rugged New York actor who portrayed heavies and heroes of various ethnicities in a career highlighted by turns in A Hatful of Rain, The Manchurian Candidate and Johnny Cool, has died. He was 95.

Silva died Wednesday of natural causes at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, his son Scott Silva told The Hollywood Reporter.

Silva also played the Draconian commander “Killer” Kane in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979), just one in a lineup of his bad guys seen in The Tall T (1957), The Bravados (1958), Il Boss (1973), Sharky’s Machine (1981), Above the Law (1988), Dick Tracy (1990) and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999).

“Henry Silva is one of those guys you most likely will recognize even if you don’t know his name,” onetime Crimespree magazine writer Dave Wahlman wrote in 2016. “His face is something straight...

And just like that, winter has come again. HBO Max’s list of new releases for August 2022 is highlighted by the return of the king. Or more accurately: the return of the queen … of the Seven Kingdoms.

Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon is set to premiere on HBO and HBO Max on Aug. 21, just over three years after Game of Thrones concluded in controversial fashion with “The Iron Throne.” This new series is a prequel, depicting the civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons from George R.R. Martin’s lore. When dragon fights dragon, the realm will be torn asunder. But the viewer will certainly delight in all the Targaryen action.

Read more TV How House of the Dragon Is Approaching the Game of Thrones Ending Backlash By David Crow TV House of the Dragon: What Rickard Stark Means for the Game of Thrones Spinoff...

Forest Whitaker has shed new plot details about Francis Ford Coppola’s mystery project “Megalopolis,” which is set to start shooting in August.

The actor-producer, who is in Cannes to receive the festival’s honorary Palme d’Or, suggested he had a substantial role in the new movie, and spoke favorably of Coppola’s script, which is a long-gestating passion project that’s been in the works for 20 years. Coppola invested more than 100 million of his own resources to make the film, which is his first as a director since 2016’s “Distant Vision.”

“The cast is coming together,” said Whittaker, who praised Coppola as an “amazing filmmaker” that he was excited to work with. The “Last King of Scotland” Oscar winner will star in “Megalopolis” alongside Adam Driver, Nathalie Emmanuel and Jon Voight.

The movie’s plot has been something of a mystery, with Coppola saying in the past that...

Forest Whitaker also produced Cannes’s title ’For The Sake Of Peace’ which will premiere in Special Screenings.

Academy-award winning US actor, director and producer Forest Whitaker will receive the honorary Palme d’Or at the opening ceremony of the 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival (May 17-28).

Whitaker first attended Cannes in 1988 as the star of Clint Eastwood’s Bird where he won the best actor prize. He has since returned to the festival for Bill Duke’s A Rage in Harlem, Abel Ferrara’s Body Snatchers, and Jim Jarmusch’s Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai.

Forest Whitaker will receive the honorary Palme d’or at the opening ceremony of the 75th Cannes Film Festival, following the footsteps of Jodie Foster.

Previous Cannes Palme d’Or honorees include Jeanne Moreau, Bernardo Bertolucci, Manoel de Oliveira, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Agnès Varda, or Alain Delon. The award pays tribute to a “sparkling artistic journey, a rare personality as well as a discreet but strong humanitarian commitment to key topical issues,” said the festival.

As part of the tribute, Christophe Castagne and Thomas Sametin’s movie “For the Sake of Peace,” which Whitaker produced, will play in the Special Screening section on May 18.

“34 years ago, attending Cannes for the first time changed my life, and assured me that I’d made the right decision to devote myself to finding connectivity in humanity through film,” said Whitaker. “It’s always a privilege to return to this beautiful festival to both screen my own work,...

American filmmaker Jim Jarmusch has directed the new music video for Cat Power‘s version of The Pogues’ “A Pair of Brown Eyes” (see below) from her new album Covers, which is currently out on Domino Records.

A director widely considered one of the film industry’s most original and unique minds, Jarmusch’s filmography includes acknowledged classics such as “Down By Law,” “Stranger Than Paradise,” “Night On Earth,” and the Forest Whitaker action pic “Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai.” It’s also worth mentioning Jarmusch’s musical reach is similarly pathbreaking, having worked with luminaries Tom Waits, Neil Young, RZA, Gza, Joe Strummer, Iggy Pop, and more.

Continue reading Jim Jarmusch Directs Cat Power’s New “A Pair Of Brown Eyes” Music Video at The Playlist.

The Motion Picture Sound Editors said today that Anthony “Chic” Ciccolini III will receive the 2022 Mpse Career Achievement Award during the group’s annual awards ceremony in March.

Ciccolini has designed and edited sound for scores of films and TV shows and is best known for his long association with filmmaker Ron Howard. He has served as supervising sound editor on a dozen Howard-director films ranging from the 1986 comedy Gung Ho and Apollo 13, to Best Picture Oscar winner A Beautiful Mind and 2011’s The Dilemma.

Howard is being honored with this year’s Mpse Filmmaker Award.

“From the heart-pounding excitement of Apollo 13 to the infectious wit of Sex and the City, Chic Ciccolini has consistently found imaginative ways to enrich stories with sound,” Mpse president Mark Lanza said. “He puts his heart and soul into every project and has served as a generous mentor to many of his industry peers.

Exclusive: Rapper, actor, filmmaker, and record producer RZA and screenwriter Alex Tse, who co-created and co-showrun together the Hulu series Wu Tang: An American Saga, have partnered to form Xen Diagram Media, one of the industry’s first Black and Asian creator-led production companies.

The company has taken out its first project, Kid Punchy, a one-hour drama written and executive produced by Graham Gordy, which has been set up at AC Studios. RZA will direct and executive produce, along with Tse and Matt DeRoss for Anonymous Content. David Levine, Anonymous Content Chief Creative Officer, will oversee for AC Studios.

The company is also developing Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai as a one-hour series for television, based on the 1999 feature written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. The film starred Forest Whitaker as the title character, the mysterious “Ghost Dog”, a Mafia hitman, who follows...

From Pig starring Nicolas Cage, Writer/Director Michael Sarnoski and Writer/Producer Vanessa Block join Josh and Joe to discuss the movies that inspired them during the creation of their film.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Nobody (2021)

Infested (2002)

The Big Chill (1983)

A History of Violence (2005)

Pig (2021)

Mandy (2018)

John Wick (2014)

The Testimony (2015)

No Country For Old Men (2007) [Both] – John Badham’s trailer commentary

The Maltese Falcon (1941) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

Blood Simple (1984) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review, Dennis Cozzaliio’s review

Leaving Las Vegas (1995)

Raising Arizona (1987)

Moonstruck (1987) – Glenn Erickson’s trailer commentary

Joe (2013)

Witness For The Prosecution (1957) [Vanessa Block] – Larry Cohen’s trailer commentary

Easter Parade (1948)

Titanic (1997)

Never Been Kissed (1999)

Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review

The Crow (1994)

Jurassic Park (1993)

Midnight Cowboy (1969) [Michael Sarnoski] – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion...

As Forest Whitaker prepares to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Newport Beach Film Festival on June 16, the prolific Academy Award- and Emmy-winning actor with a career spanning four decades says he finds himself increasingly reconnecting with the way he approached the work when he was just starting out.

There’s a “joy when I’m working on a part in the discovery of looking at it and trying to figure out the people,” he says.

For example, he notes that by focusing more deeply on the needs of his “Godfather of Harlem” character, real-life crime boss Bumpy Johnson, the character itself leads the way to his performance.

“That’s the way I was working before,” he says. “I started to go back to basics sometimes, and it’s making things more exciting for me again.”

Whitaker admits he feels fortunate to have been allowed to play an astonishingly...

Sometimes, a short film or commercial can be a low-stakes opportunity to take risks. Many filmmakers use music videos or commercial shorts to either try out certain techniques or often use it as an opportunity to work with a new actor they’ve never collaborated with before. And sometimes, a paycheck is good too. Whatever the case may be, Jim Jarmusch has returned to direct the new short film/commercial for Yves Saint Laurent to promote the label’s Women’s Summer ‘21 collection.

Continue reading Jim Jarmusch’s New ‘Saint Laurent Short Film Features Charlotte Gainsbourg, Julianne Moore & Chloë Sevigny at The Playlist.

Academy Award winner and much-celebrated actor Forest Whitaker has joined Tom Hardy in director Gareth Evans' upcoming action flick, Havoc. The movie will debut on Netflix and is sure to be another action movie classic from the director of The Raid. Havoc falls under Evans' new exclusive deal with Netflix, which he recently signed with the streaming giant.

Havoc is set after a drug deal gone wrong, when a bruised detective must fight his way through a criminal underworld to rescue a politician's estranged son, while unravelling a deep web of corruption and conspiracy that ensnares his entire city. Tom Hardy is of course on board to star as the main character, the downtrodden "bruised detective", with the Forest Whitaker character currently unknown.

Havoc is due to be written and directed by Gareth Evans, who has quickly become the action movie director to watch since breaking onto the scene with 2011's The Raid.

Forest Whitaker has joined Tom Hardy in the upcoming Netflix crime drama film “Havoc,” Variety has learned.

The film hails from writer, director, and producer Gareth Evans, the first under a new exclusive multi-year deal to produce and direct films for the streamer.

In “Havoc,” after a drug deal gone wrong, a bruised detective must fight his way through a criminal underworld to rescue a politician’s estranged son, while unraveling a deep web of corruption and conspiracy that ensnares his entire city. Hardy’s casting was reported in February.

Whitaker won the Academy Award and Golden Globe for best actor for his portrayal of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in “The Last King of Scotland.” He has turned in tour de force performances in a number of other films, including but not limited to “Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai,” “The Butler,” “Black Panther,” “Platoon,” “Bird,” and “The Great Debaters.

Arising from the Japanese chambara (sword fighting) movies, the imperial-era samurai has been a subject of fascination for many films. Akira Kurosawa redefined the concept of a lonely, honorable samurai hero while in contemporary times, Takashi Miike crafted more gruesome, swashbuckling stories. In English-speaking cinema, samurai and ronin (samurais without a master) have been reinterpreted as in the case of The Last Samurai, and 47 Ronin.

Related: Japan’s 10 Best Samurai Films Of All Time, Ranked On Rotten Tomatoes

In a few other films, the samurai character might not be an actual warrior from Japan's past but might incorporate the samurai mentality in their daily actions. Examples include Ghost Dog and Six-String Samurai.

After unveiling the discs that will be arriving in April, including Bong Joon Ho’s Memories of Murder, Olivier Assayas’ Irma Vep, and more, Criterion has now announced what will be coming to their streaming channel next month.

Highlights include retrospectives dedicated to Guy Maddin, Ruby Dee, Lana Turner, and Gordon Parks, plus selections from Marlene Dietrich & Josef von Sternberg’s stellar box set. They will also present the exclusive streaming premieres of Bill Duke’s The Killing Floor, William Greaves’s Nationtime, Kevin Jerome Everson’s Park Lanes, and more.

Jim Jarmusch’s Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, which recently arrived on the collection, will be landing on the channel as well, along with a special “Lovers on the Run” series including film noir (They Live by Night) to New Hollywood (Badlands) to the French New Wave (Pierrot le fou) to Blaxploitation (Thomasine & Bushrod) and beyond. Also...

Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSAbove: Joaquin Phoenix in Joker (2019). The first few details have emerged regarding Ari Aster's next feature, with Joaquin Phoenix in talks to star. Tentatively titled Beau is Afraid, the film (previously a 2011 short film by Aster) involves an anxious man's surreal and nightmarish trek to his overbearing mother's home following her death. Meanwhile, Spike Lee has announced his plans to direct a musical about the launch of launch of Pfizer’s erectile dysfunction drug, Viagra. Recommended VIEWINGNew York's Screen Slate and Collaborative Cataloging Japan recently hosted a Twitch discussion with legendary filmmaker Masao Adachi on Gewaltpia: Motoharu Jonouchi and the Japanese Avant-Garde. The stream will remain online through tomorrow, and then will be available to Screen Slate's Patreon supporters. Omelia Contadina, by Jr and Alice Rohrwacher in collaboration with the inhabitants of the Alfina plateau,...

Criterion adds another excellent title to its collection of Jim Jarmusch films this week with the Blu-ray and DVD releases of Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, a 1999 feature that stands alongside Dead Man as one of Jarmusch’s richest and most fascinating movies. Like Dead Man, Ghost Dog follows a stripped-down narrative that’s made extraordinarily complex by the sophisticated network of cinematic, literary, and historical allusions Jarmusch weaves through it; in another director’s hands the same story could be a routine genre programmer, but the force and depth of Jarmusch’s philosophical vision elevates the film to a level […]

The post Ghost Dog, Moonstruck and Libeled Lady: Jim Hemphill's Home Video Recommendations first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Criterion adds another excellent title to its collection of Jim Jarmusch films this week with the Blu-ray and DVD releases of Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, a 1999 feature that stands alongside Dead Man as one of Jarmusch’s richest and most fascinating movies. Like Dead Man, Ghost Dog follows a stripped-down narrative that’s made extraordinarily complex by the sophisticated network of cinematic, literary, and historical allusions Jarmusch weaves through it; in another director’s hands the same story could be a routine genre programmer, but the force and depth of Jarmusch’s philosophical vision elevates the film to a level […]

The post Ghost Dog, Moonstruck and Libeled Lady: Jim Hemphill's Home Video Recommendations first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Every week, discriminating viewers are confronted with a flurry of choices: new releases on disc and on-demand, vintage, and original movies on any number of streaming platforms, catalog titles making a splash on Blu-ray or 4K. This biweekly column sifts through all of those choices to pluck out the movies most worth your time, no matter how you’re watching.

There’s not much to speak of in terms of new releases this week, aside from a new (and enjoyable) Werner Herzog documentary, but no worries; we’ve got an embarrassment of riches from the catalog, including three great New York movies from Criterion, three engaging Clint Eastwood movies from Kl Studio Classics, a pair of ‘80s comedies, and an Allison Anders gem that’s ripe for rediscovery.

Continue reading The 11 Best Movies To Buy Or Stream This Week: ‘Nomad,’ ‘Gone Girl,’ ‘Ghost Dog’ & More at The Playlist.

With Jim Jarmusch’s Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai newly released by Criterion Collection today, Filmmaker is publishing online for the first time Peter Bowen’s interview with Jarmusch and actor Forest Whitaker from our Winter, 2000 print issue. In Jim Jarmusch’s latest adventure, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, the title character, played by Forest Whitaker, is set on a collision course with the mob after a local boss’s daughter (Tricia Vessey) witnesses him making a hit. Soon, Ghost Dog is declared a “liability,” and a hit is ordered on him as well. Naturally, this mysterious urban samurai easily eludes […]

The post "The Violence in the Film is Simply a Reflection of the History of Human Beings": Writer/Director Jim Jarmusch and Actor Forest Whitaker on Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

With Jim Jarmusch’s Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai newly released by Criterion Collection today, Filmmaker is publishing online for the first time Peter Bowen’s interview with Jarmusch and actor Forest Whitaker from our Winter, 2000 print issue. In Jim Jarmusch’s latest adventure, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, the title character, played by Forest Whitaker, is set on a collision course with the mob after a local boss’s daughter (Tricia Vessey) witnesses him making a hit. Soon, Ghost Dog is declared a “liability,” and a hit is ordered on him as well. Naturally, this mysterious urban samurai easily eludes […]

The post "The Violence in the Film is Simply a Reflection of the History of Human Beings": Writer/Director Jim Jarmusch and Actor Forest Whitaker on Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

I saw Jim Jarmusch's 1999 film, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, a long time ago, and didn't remember it well beyond vague feelings and dreamy after-images. Revisiting it this week ahead of its release as part of the Criterion Collection (spine #1057), those memories proved on-point. There is a meditative purity to Ghost Dog, playing perfectly to Jarmusch's strengths. It's an absorbing rewatch, one which only seems to have gained power in the 21 years since its theatrical release. All of which might make it sound like Ghost Dog is too ephemeral or elliptical to really sink one's teeth into, which couldn't be further from the truth. It...

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

The Criterion Collection could easily take a month off in 2020, maybe two, and rest easy at winning the title for best cinephile DVD/Blu-Ray company (how many years in a row they’ve already won that title is something we’ll leave you to debate with friends). 2020 has already included an amazing and essential box set from French New Wave legend Agnès Varda, another upcoming box set from Federico Fellini which is sure to astound, and plenty of landmark, long-awaited soon-to-come releases like “Moonstruck,” Jim Jarmusch‘s hip hop/ninja assassin mash-up, “Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai,” Claudia Weill‘s seminal feminist indie classic “Girlfriends,” Bong Joon Ho’s Oscar-winning “Parasite” class warfare drama, David Lynch‘s “Elephant Man,” and earlier this summer, “Come & See,” the legendary WWII film from Soviet director Elem Klimov.

Continue reading Criterion December Titles Include David Cronenberg’s ‘Crash,’ Alejandro Iñárritu’s ‘Amores Perros’ & More at The Playlist.