The Watch

Jul 20, 2016 — In his staggeringly ambitious masterwork A Touch of Zen, Chinese filmmaker King Hu imbues dynamic scenes of combat with balletic grace and audacious stylistic experimentation.

Aug 20, 2015 — Repertory PicksIn 1979, Roman Polanski broke out of the more claustrophobic spaces of his early thrillers like Repulsion, Rosemary’s Baby, and The Tenant with Tess, an exquisitely detailed adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s classic book Tess of the d’Urbervilles, proving his...

Nov 25, 2014 — More than just observational, Les Blank’s sensual documentaries are personal and participatory celebrations of American culture.

Nov 4, 2014 — In cinema history, there truly is no gag like a Tati gag.

Oct 16, 2014 — Repertory PicksThe Loft Cinema in Tucson, Arizona, is kicking off its annual Loft Film Fest tonight with a very special event. The Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist and screenwriter Larry McMurtry will appear in person for a screening of The Last Picture...

Mar 21, 2014 — Did You See This?• A Dangerous Game still worth playing • Charlotte Gainsbourg gets intimate with Lars von Trier again. • Porn in a pinch! • Films under the influence • Defining American cool • Watch Tsai Ming-liang’s latest. •...

Oct 25, 2012 — The following piece by Sunday Bloody Sunday screenwriter Penelope Gilliatt originally appeared as the introduction to the 1971 U.S. publication of the script. A friend of mine who had started scrubbing at fourteen and went on to be a barmaid...

Aug 16, 2011 — “It is my best film. I always loved it. I always believed in it. It is real cinema, done for cinema—like art for art.” That was Roman Polanski’s view of Cul-de-sac in 1970, four years after its release and just...

Jun 14, 2011 —   The dance along the artery The circulation of the lymph Are figured in the drift of stars —T. S. Eliot, Four Quartets   The year is 1954: a fabulous bit of film history is about to unfurl. Grips are...

Dec 8, 2010 — Over at his New Yorker blog, The Front Row, Richard Brody dives back into Jean Renoir’s Boudu Saved from Drowning, the Criterion edition of which is his DVD pick of the week. Over a lovingly assembled montage of clips from...