Second Act

Oct 15, 2001 — Preston Sturges’s beloved comedy provides insights into the way Hollywood formulas work on us.

Sep 17, 2001 — Jirí Menzel’s war comedy is an absurdist symphony of self-absorption and impotence.

Dec 9, 1991 — This rarely seen, overlooked gem, featuring what may be one of Marlon Brando’s most fascinating characterizations, was Gillo Pontecorvo’s worthy follow-up to his political masterpiece The Battle of Algiers. The brilliant radical Italian director achieved something unique in cinema, by...

Nov 11, 1991 — The following notes are by Mark Kasdan, co-writer and associate producer of Silverado. Albert Camus wrote that a person’s lifework may be “nothing but a long journey to find again, by all the detours of art, the two or three...

Jan 28, 1991 — The following review, one of the most renowned in the history of film criticism, appeared in The New Yorker magazine on October 28, 1972. It is reprinted with the permission of the author, Pauline Kael. Bernardo Bertolucci’s Last Tango in...

Feb 8, 2019 — An actor in film, television, and theater, Raúl Castillo is best known for his portrayal of Paps in the critically acclaimed We the Animals, for which he was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award, and for his role as Richie...

Nov 29, 2017 — Tracy Letts is an American playwright, screenwriter, and actor. He received the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for drama for his play August: Osage County and a Tony Award for his portrayal of George in a revival of Who’s Afraid of Virginia...

Sep 1, 2016 — Actor, writer, and director Illeana Douglas is the granddaughter of two-time Academy Award–winning actor Melvyn Douglas. She has starred in Cape Fear (1991), To Die For (1995), Grace of My Heart (1996), Picture Perfect (1997), and Ghost World (2001). In...

Nov 30, 2015 — Ana Lily Amirpour is an Iranian-American director, writer, producer, and actor best known for her award-winning debut film, the Persian-language vampire western A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014). Her second feature, The Bad Batch, is scheduled for release...

Jan 5, 2004 — “Sometimes I think of my death,” Kurosawa has written: “I think of ceasing to be . . . and it is from these thoughts that Ikiru came.” The story of a man who knows he is going to die, the...