The Current
A magazine of film culture past and present, with new articles, interviews, and videos published every day
Recent Articles
From Folk Ditty to Rally Anthem: Nashville’s “It Don’t Worry Me”
Performed by the late Barbara Harris, the final song in Robert Altman’s masterpiece is a provocative mix of genres and conflicting cultural resonances.
Missed Connections: A Conversation with Christian Petzold
In quietly simmering dramas that depict solitary characters on the margins of society, German director Christian Petzold brings the ghosts of history into conversation with modern life.
Candy-Colored Fassbinder in Madison
Rainer Werner Fassbinder skewered the emptiness of capitalist values in Lola, a fifties-set homage to Josef von Sternberg’s The Blue Angel, playing this Sunday at the University of Wisconsin.
Angela Rizza Conjures Magic with The Princess Bride
Known for her lush and imaginative children’s-book illustrations, the artist got her dream assignment when we asked her to work on our edition of Rob Reiner’s beloved classic.
Jon Dieringer’s Top 10
The founder of the website Screen Slate picks a selection of favorites, including an ’80s indie gem, shockers ranging from Eraserhead to Canoa, and two films that capture the “twilit feeling of childhood.”
True Stories: Everybody Has Tones
David Byrne cracked open the profound strangeness of small-town Texas in this wonderfully symphonic film, his sole foray into narrative-feature directing.
Alice Rohrwacher’s Top 10
The Cannes-prize-winning director of The Wonders and Happy as Lazzaro shares the films that inspire her, including works that allow her to “participate in true genius.”
Long Live the Spirit of FilmStruck
The lights may go out at midnight, but we will still be carrying the torch.
A World Gone Mad in Minneapolis
Godfrey Reggio’s Koyaanisqatsi, a fiercely experimental look at the excesses of modernity, screens tonight at the Trylon cinema in Minneapolis.
A New Restoration Brings Detour Back to the Big Screen
Long available only in substandard public-domain prints, Edgar G. Ulmer’s noir masterpiece looks better than ever in the new restoration opening at New York’s Film Forum this week.
The Power of Flashbacks in Julien Duvivier’s Lydia
David Bordwell briefly traces the history of nonlinear storytelling through the lens of this great French melodrama from the 1940s.
The “Very Unusual” Fashion Show at the Heart of True Stories
In this video, artist Adelle Lutz and director David Byrne discuss the weird and wonderful outfits in a particularly outrageous set piece in the film.
Video
Spotlight
Ingmar Bergman’s Cinema
A selection of essays commissioned for our new box set, in commemoration of the Swedish master’s hundredth birthday.
