American Movie

Jun 3, 1991 — Jean Marais on the set of Beauty and the Beast An excerpt from Cocteau: A Biography (1970) by Francis Steegmuller Beauty and the Beast, the first film of Cocteau’s own since The Blood of a Poet, and his finest poem since...

Mar 11, 1991 — The long absent comic essence of the silent era was suddenly revived in the hands of lovable and wildly antic filmmaker Jacques Tati.

Nov 14, 1988 — It is sometimes as important to be in touch with the truths of your own time as it is to be in touch with its metaphors. 2001: A Space Odyssey, one of the most influential films ever made, constructed a...

Mar 25, 2025 — The Cinémathèque presents six shady tales from the 1970s.

Jan 24, 2020 — In 2017, writer-director Paul Schrader was enjoying one of the peaks of his storied career with the release of First Reformed, a deeply unnerving drama that grapples with his perennial themes of sin, guilt, and faith. During the production of...

Jan 5, 2011 — The blog Dangerous Minds has just posted a short entry focusing on the early-seventies almost-collaboration between Ron and Russell Mael, of the Los Angeles pop-rock band Sparks, and Jacques Tati, revealing what might have been a fascinating final chapter to...

Aug 3, 2021 — With two short films and his acclaimed debut feature, No Data Plan, now playing on the Criterion Channel, the Filipino American filmmaker discusses his vision of the immigrant experience.

Nov 29, 2019 — American gangsters, Chinese filmmakers, and a Czech animator are featured in this week’s round.

Nov 2, 2017 — Two leading figures in American independent cinema talk about the challenges of bringing their visions to life on shoestring budgets.

Jul 7, 2016 — In honor of the director, we look back at his quintessentially American narratives.