The Current
A magazine of film culture past and present, with new articles, interviews, and videos published every day
Recent Articles
The Joy and Pain of One Good Meal in Bicycle Thieves
The great Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke recalls what his first encounters with Vittorio De Sica’s masterpiece taught him about the possibilities of cinematic realism.
An Unseen Side of Orson
Mark Cousins’s illuminating new documentary about Welles’s work as a graphic artist premieres theatrically in New York this weekend.
Richard E. Grant’s Closet Picks
The Oscar-nominated veteran bags a few favorite movies—and delivers some spot-on impressions of Jeanne Moreau and Dustin Hoffman while he’s at it.
Renoir’s Roundelay in Massachusetts
A shining model of humanism in cinema, The Rules of the Game screens at the Coolidge Corner Theatre, accompanied by a talk with a noted scholar.
An Opera for Everyone
Ingmar Bergman expert Peter Cowie discusses the idiosyncratic ways the Swedish master brought the delight of Mozart to the screen.
The Kid Brother: Mettle Is Stronger than Muscle
There was more to Harold Lloyd than laughter. In one of his best movies, the silent-film legend deftly balanced elements of action and romance with his signature slapstick set pieces.
Tracing the Roots of Khalik Allah’s “Camera Ministry”
The director of Black Mother explains how the twin influences of hip-hop culture and international art-house cinema brought him to his artistic calling.
Lev Kalman’s Top 10
In this list selected with his filmmaking partner Whitney Horn, the codirector of L for Leisure and Two Plains & a Fancy lingers on the weird and wonderful details in some favorite movies.
Charles Burnett Calls Forth the Ghosts of the Old World
In an interview program on our edition of To Sleep with Anger, the director and his actors discuss the African-American folkloric traditions at the heart of the film.
David Byrne’s Wild Texas Odyssey Heads to Austin
Next week at the SXSW Film Festival, the Talking Heads frontman’s first and only feature film screens in our 4K restoration, with the director in attendance.
The Funny Man with the Pardon: Billy Gilbert in His Girl Friday
The famously blustery comedy veteran transforms into a hilariously timid messenger in Howard Hawks’s fast-talking screwball masterpiece.
Transposing To Sleep with Anger to Paint
The Atlanta-based artist Charly Palmer took on the challenge of distilling the intricacies of Charles Burnett’s family portrait into a single painting.
Video
Spotlight
Studio Visits
In this series of video profiles, we drop in on some of the talented illustrators and designers who create the cover art for our editions.
