GreenCineStaff's blog

(As first seen on GreenCine Daily.) 

"Like Luis Buñuel, and in particular, like Buñuel's main heir, Manoel de Oliveira, Resnais's career trajectory seems to have been to quickly abandon evocations of a subjective consciousness in favor of a blatantly theatrical, questionably objective style that dryly notes the precise behavior of delusional people acting only on the logic of their own emotions, which isn't very logical at all," writes David Pratt-Robson in the Auteurs's Notebook, reviewing Mélo. "But only for Resnais has the move been frequently disastrous, with his hypocrites way too systematically hypocritical, and with his occasional attempts to sympathize with these idiots via cute camera tricks and sound effects coming off as feeble nods to avant-garde roots by a man who is himself mired in outdated Vaudeville gimmickry."

» continue reading "DVD Spotlight: Week of 5/13."

By Erin Donovan

» continue reading "Best (and Worst) Movie Moms"

(Cross-posted with GreenCine Daily.)

"As with pre-codes, a lot of smaller musicals along the lines of Born to Dance had to wait until the emergence of TCM before fans could really enjoy them again," writes John McElwee at Greenbriar Picture Shows. "DVD release has done the rest. Warner's Classic Musicals From The Dream Factory series has been the fulfillment of dreams for fans who've waited lifetimes to see these favorites truly showcased as they deserve."

CLICK ON FOR MORE!

» continue reading "DVD Spotlight: 4/22."

Haunting secrets of the past resurface when a child mysteriously disappears in the supernatural thriller The Orphanage [also on Blu-ray], a spinetingler with a jaw-dropping twist that will take your very last breath away! "A fastidiously grim ghost story that rattles the bones of the haunted-house genre and finds plenty of fresh (but not too bloody) meat." (Justin Chang, Village Voice) Produced by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth) and directed by J. A. Bayona, The Orphanage is now out on DVD. And now, thanks to New Line Home Entertainment and GreenCine, you can win a copy of The Orphanage yourself if you're one of 5 (five) lucky winners.

To enter the drawing, send an email to contest@greencine.com, including your name, email address and, if you're a GreenCine member, your username in the email, and "The Orphanage" in the subject header. Entries without all this information will not be considered. (You will not be added to a mailing list!)

Winners will be selected at random from all valid entries. The deadline is Friday, May 9. Winners will be notified by e-mail and announced in future editions of the GreenCine Dispatch newsletter.

PS: Don't miss our interview with the film's director and screenwriter here >> 

By Erin Donovan

"Yeah yeah yeah, we all love Al Gore and his jaunty powerpoint presentation but Inconvenient Truth is not the only fruit, dear viewers. Here I suggest a few other environmentally-focused documentaries to make you laugh, cry, act - and seethe with anger."

With the release of The 11th Hour and Sharkwater today, and the notoriety received by a certain Oscar-winning doc about global warming last year, Erin Donovan brings us recommendations for some other environmental documentaries you need to see.

» continue reading "Top 10 Environmental Documentaries That Don't Rhyme With A Schminconvenient Schmuth."

"The 11th Hour" is the last moment when change is possible. The film The 11th Hour, now out on DVD, explores how we’ve arrived at this moment -- how we live, how we impact the earth's ecosystems, and what we can do to change our course. It features gorgeous photography along with ongoing dialogues with experts from all over the world, including former Soviet Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev, renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, former head of the CIA R. James Woolsey and sustainable design experts William McDonough and Bruce Mau in addition to over 50 leading scientists, thinkers and leaders who discuss the most important issues that face our planet and people. Produced and narrated by actor Leonardo DiCaprio, The 11th Hour is "essential viewing," wrote the NY Times' Manhola Dargis, "an unnerving, surprisingly affecting documentary." The DVD is packaged with 100% certifiably renewable resources. And now, thanks to Warner Brothers and GreenCine, you can win a copy of The 11th Hour yourself if you're one of 3 lucky winners.

To enter the drawing...

» continue reading "The 11th Hour: DVD Giveaway Contest"

By Monica Peck

When filmmaking and film viewing get out of the hands of studios and distributors, conventional constraints go the way of the bathwater. One recent trend is longer films - even longer versions of previously released films - and with DVD we have a better way of appreciating them. As Filipino filmmaker Lav Diaz explained in a recent interview with Green Cine: "There are different concepts of viewing now. My films are just like paintings that are just there. Nothing changes. You can watch it for eight hours, and you can have a more fulfilling experience. Or you can leave the house, go to work, and when you come home, it is still there."

» continue reading "Ten Ridiculously Long Movies (That You Still Need to See*)"

Reviewer: Jeffrey M. Anderson
Rating (out of 5): ****½

The pre-code era reigned in Hollywood roughly from the end of the silent era to the middle of 1934 when the Hays Code began cracking down on certain aberrant behavior in movies. In 2006, Warner Home Video released the tantalizing Volume One of its Forbidden Hollywood Collection, featuring two different cuts of the ultimate pre-code movie Baby Face (1933). That was a keeper, but pre-code fans know that there are dozens more films out there, and many not yet available on video or DVD. Forbidden Hollywood: Volume 2 has finally surfaced with -- count 'em -- five new films. Each one is more seductive than the last, though I'm afraid none of them quite rank with the astonishing Baby Face.

The new set begins elegantly with two Oscar-winning Norma Shearer films, The Divorcee (1930) and A Free Soul (1931).

» continue reading "Forbidden Hollywood Collection Vol. 2: More pre-code delights"

» continue reading "New and Coming Releases: February 19, 2008"

Re-issues, indies, anime and Oscar-winning 'toons, Hollywood fare with great ensembles highlight this week's valentine of new releases.

» continue reading "New and Coming Releases: February 12, 2008"