The Current
A magazine of film culture past and present, with new articles, interviews, and videos published every day
Recent Articles
sex, lies, and videotape: Some Kind of Skin Flick
Flesh has rarely been as alive on-screen as it is in Steven Soderbergh’s feature debut, an intimate drama that changed the face of American independent film.
Memories of a Martial-Arts Master
In this outtake from an interview with Shangkuan Ling-fung, the Taiwanese wuxia icon gets nostalgic about her encounters with Bruce Lee.
No, But I Saw the Game
In this essay originally published in the New Yorker, Roger Angell hails Ron Shelton’s comic ode to baseball as one of the few movies to capture the essence of the sport.
Getting Baseball Right: A Conversation with Roger Angell
The legendary baseball writer talks about the no-nonsense pleasures of one of the all-time great sports movies and the classic essay he wrote about it.
An Early Sound-Era Comedy in Miami
French master René Clair, who achieved comedy magic at the dawn of film sound, takes the spotlight in a program next Wednesday at the Miami Beach Cinematheque.
How Ron Shelton Did Justice to the “Talking Sport”
The director of Bull Durham explains the ins and outs of bringing baseball to the screen and why Kevin Costner is the finest athletic actor he’s worked with.
Introducing Ingmar Bergman’s Cinema
Criterion producer Abbey Lustgarten walks us through the structure and features of a monumental new box set celebrating the Swedish master, releasing this November.
Cristian Mungiu’s Closet Picks
The director of Graduation and Beyond the Hills shares personal stories of growing up as a movie lover in Romania and picks up a few of his favorite films.
Dragon Inn: Poised for Battle
The martial-arts film was never the same after King Hu got his hands on it, reinventing the genre with subtle editing and dazzling choreography.
The Birth of a Hollywood Bad Girl
The product of consummate artistry and savvy promotion, Marlene Dietrich’s salacious image opened up erotic frontiers for a generation of moviegoers.
Dropping in on the Texas Theatre
The movie theater Lee Harvey Oswald ducked into after shooting John F. Kennedy has undergone a reinvention, becoming one of the most exciting cultural hubs in Dallas.
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Spotlight
Keeping Score
From melodic theme music to boundary-pushing soundscapes, the wide-ranging art of film scoring takes the spotlight in this selection of articles and videos.
