The Dirt

Jul 15, 2021 — The annual showcase of emerging talent wraps its sixtieth edition with the presentation of six awards.

Sep 27, 2019 — Charlie Chaplin gave The Circus (1928) one of his favorite themes, some of his most sublime gags, and an incomparably poignant ending. It’s a hugely personal work, which draws on moments from his whole career, from his early stage work...

Oct 15, 2001 — The French director’s crime film conveys both the flow and the form of the prison experience.

Feb 19, 2025 — Gus Van Sant’s lyrical exploration of addiction and faith—adapted from an autobiographical novel by James Fogle—influenced cinematic drug depictions throughout the nineties and helped to initiate a wave of American independent filmmaking.

Oct 13, 2023 — Look who’s talking: Martin Scorsese, Michael Mann, Nathaniel Dorsky, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Gregg Araki . . .

Dec 8, 2022 — We can look forward to new work from Ira Sachs, Nicole Holofcener, Randall Park and Adrian Tomine, and Brandon Cronenberg.

Oct 2, 2020 — The Lady Eve, from 1941, is my favorite of all of Preston Sturges’s comedies. I would wager to say that it’s Barbara Stanwyck’s best performance, though I also love her in Double Indemnity and Forty Guns. Heck, I love her in everything she’s in. But...

Aug 10, 2020 — A slyly feminist film by the only woman directing in the Hollywood studio system of her thirties-and-early-forties heyday, Dorothy Arzner’s Dance, Girl, Dance stands as one of the era’s most groundbreaking—and entertaining—backstage sagas. And as it turned out, a different...

Jul 10, 2018 — 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.

May 18, 2018 — Critics split over this “urban western,” Garrone’s fourth film in competition.