Deborah Kerr @ 100: The legend, the legacy, "The Innocents"

by Cláudio Alves

For decades she held the record of being the most Oscar-nominated actress never to have won the statuette, with six unsuccessful nominations. In a piteous gesture, the Academy granted her an honorary award in 1994. How fitting that Deborah Kerr received such tribute from the hands of Glenn Close, the current holder of the older actress' erstwhile record. Considering this trivia, it'd be easy to remember Kerr's legacy through the prism of Oscar history. That would be a mistake. I state it as someone who first encountered the British thespian through her nominated roles, constructing a mental image limited by AMPAS' taste. As it turns out, despite her numerous nods, the most outstanding Kerr performances weren't so highly celebrated by the Academy. Simply told, that Oscar-y sextet doesn't do her justice. 

To celebrate Deborah Kerr's centennial, let's remember her range beyond golden laurels, her incandescent talent, the power she brought to her films. Let's honor her by reflecting on the actress' greatest work - the nightmare that is The Innocents…

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NYFF: The visual wonder of "The Tragedy of Macbeth"

By Nathaniel R

“When” is the first word of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, uttered by one of three witches. Though the word precedes a question it sounds more like a definitive statement in Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth; the writer/director even grants the word its own solo title card. Later the word “Tomorrow” will also grace the screen alone. Time, we immediately understand, is at the heart of the latest big screen Shakespeare. And it’s running out. Coen’s adaptation casts two older-than-usual actors as the titular Lord (Denzel Washington) and Lady (Frances McDormand). As a result their infamous power grab plays like a violently desperate game of “last chance”…

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The Tonys Return: A Year and a Half Late, But Right OnTime

by Patrick Ball

Hamilton, just celebrated at the Emmys, swept the Tonys six years ago.

Eighteen months after Broadway’s curtains dropped due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, they finally rose again last week as New Yorkers and theater lovers across the country welcomed their favorite witches, lions, and founding fathers back to Broadway. Correspondingly, The American Theater Wing and The Broadway League have set the 74th annual Tony Awards for the curtailed 2019-2020 Broadway season for this Sunday. Yes, you read that right, this weekend awards are finally being handed out for productions from an eligibility window that ran from the literal *summer* of 2019 to February 2020 -- a lifetime ago! (It's been two years and three months since the 73rd annual Tony Awards were held.)

Luckily, theater-related talent and content has been gracing our screens in abundance over the past year to help ease the wait...

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Nathaniel in Venice: "Power of the Dog" and "Madeleine Collins"

Nathaniel reporting from Venice, day 1 part 2

Day 1 (continued). I didn’t expect death to linger so completely over Parallel Mothers and curiously my opening night at the fest kept on inviting the grim reaper in. The first day of screenings ended with Jane Campion’s The Power of Dog in which death is far less of a subject but clouds the vast Montana skies.  But first I took in Madeleine Collins, a French addition of our favorite subgenre here at The Film Experience, Women Who Lie To Themselves™  in which everyone in the film avoids talking about a death they probably should have spent lots more time processing.  

Madeleine Colllins (Antoine Barraud)
Elisa already hit the highlight of the film in her brief capsule, but it bears repeating: Virginie Efira! Virginie Efira! Virginie Efira!

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Judy Holliday @ 100: The Oscar Winner's Fascinating Career

by Brent Calderwood

I’m just going to say it. I’m glad Judy Holliday won the Best Actress Oscar for the 1950 comedy Born Yesterday. I’m not saying she should have won—I’m not even saying I would have voted for her if I’d been a member of the Academy. But if I could have been there when the winner was announced on March 29, 1951, I would have been cheering the loudest.

Today—100 years after Holliday’s birth and 56 years and two weeks after her untimely death—Holliday’s Sea Biscuit victory over frontrunners Bette Davis for All About Eve and Gloria Swanson for Sunset Boulevard is still a topic of discussion and debate...

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