This Is Not a Film

May 10, 2018 — The followup to Mrs. Fang is an oral history of China’s “Anti-Rightist Campaign” in the late 1950s.

Sep 27, 2017 — In conjunction with a new edition of Stan Brakhage’s Metaphors on Vision, we’re sharing a selection from the opening pages of this seminal work.

Dec 6, 2016 — Photo by Janet Pierson In the late eighties and early nineties, American independent film was coming into its own both artistically and commercially, and John Pierson was at the center of the movement. Once described by the New York Times...

Nov 11, 2016 — This week’s Friday Night Double Feature on the Criterion Channel demonstrates how much suspense a superb director can wring from an intriguing premise without resorting to yelling “boo!” or splashing gore.

Oct 21, 2016 — Did You See This? The 2016 Gotham Award nominations were announced yesterday, and we were proud to see Kirsten Johnson’s Cameraperson, a Janus Films release, in contention for best documentary. Writing on Claude Arnaud’s expansive new book, Jean Cocteau: A...

Sep 30, 2016 — Did You See This? In anticipation of the fifty-fourth annual New York Film Festival, opening tonight, Indiewire has surveyed the must-see films playing in the revivals section, including Gillo Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers, Tomás Gutiérrez Alea’s Memories of Underdevelopment,...

Apr 26, 2016 — “It is not an exaggeration to say that before Primary, documentary as we know it today—the art of candid observation—didn’t exist,” writes Thom Powers.

Jan 15, 2016 — The filmmaker and cinematographer had a lifelong commitment to the camera and how it could be used to foster dialogue and action.

May 11, 2015 — The poignancy of Leo McCarey's tearjerker is due as much to the director's scrupulous aesthetic choices as his unforgettable characters and story.

Jan 13, 2015 — Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s characters play an endlessly layered game of dress-up in this tale of sadomasochistic love.