Happy Bastille Day!

by Cláudio Alves

On this day, 233 years ago, revolutionaries stormed the Bastille, seizing control of the medieval fortress turned political prison, a symbol of royal authority over the people. The event is often thought of as the inciting incident of the French Revolution. This time of radical societal change, which lasted until 1799, represents one of the most critical points in human history, the endpoint to the early modern period. To mark the occasion, since 1790, France has celebrated the Fête de la Fédération, a national holiday commonly known as Bastille Day. As a self-described French Revolution nerd who's been obsessing over the subject since middle school, it's a pleasure to combine that passion with another immortal love of mine - cinema. What better way for a cinephile to celebrate the date?

So, without further ado, let's explore how filmmakers have looked at this chapter in history. There are countless approaches, of course, but I shall focus on ten examples, including THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AS...

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Cannes Diary #7: Park and Cronenberg are back with incredible movies

by Elisa Giudici

The masters are back with masterful movies! Seeing Park Chan-wook’s Decision to Leave followed by David Cronenberg’s Crimes of future with only a 20 minutes break between them seemed almost a waste. These two are among the most (rightfully) hyped movies of the entire year and of this Cannes edition. I really wanted some time after the first especially to think fully on what I had just seen, savoring the first impression instead of deep diving into an equally immersive but radically different film experience. Especially considering that one of the two is a perfect movie, a rare five out of five stars, 10 out of 10, or whatever other token of appreciation you can imagine.

Those two films and a new French movie after the jump...

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When Thelma Ritter should have won

by Cláudio Alves

Before "Noirvember" ends, it's imperative to explore some examples of the shadowy underbelly of Classic Hollywood. The Criterion Channel has programmed a vast array of film noir offerings, from Robert Mitchum's early successes to a cornucopia of Twentieth Century-Fox delights. You will find many a classic within the latter, including the Samuel Fuller masterpiece that should have earned one of the industry's hardest-working character actresses an overdue Academy Award. Throughout her career, Thelma Ritter was Oscar-nominated six times, always in the Best Supporting Actress category (an all time record), but always lost. 1953's perfect Pickup On South Street should have been her time to win…

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Smackdown '37: Bossy Women and Fragile Wrecks

Welcome back to the Supporting Actress Smackdown. Each month we pick an Oscar vintage to explore through the lens of actressing at the edges. This episode takes us back to 1937, which was only the second year of the category. 

THE NOMINEES  It was only the second year of the Supporting Actress category yet the tropes and shortlist makeup were already falling into place. Oscar voters went with a mix of industry veterans (Alice Brady the first consecutive nominee in this category), stage stars transferring to film (Dame May Whitty), fresh faces (Anne Shirley), and rising talent (Andrea Leeds, Claire Trevor) to play an array of familiar types: the martyr mom, the tetchy elder, the sad / confused daughter, the insecure actress, and the complicated hooker...

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Almost There: Linda Fiorentino in "The Last Seduction"

by Cláudio Alves

Since last month, the Criterion Channel is offering a collection of neo-noirs, modern films from the 70s onwards that perpetuate the tradition of 1940s and 50s crime pictures. Freer to explore matters of sex and violence, these versions of film noir tend to be more visceral, updating old archetypes into vicious evocations of misanthropic cinema. For actressexuals, the evolution of the femme fatale is especially enticing. From Kathleen Turner's oversexed take on a Phyllis Dietrichson type in Body Heat to Nora Zehetner's mysterious high-schooler in Brick, this immortal character has gone through an infinite myriad of transfigurations. Maybe none of them caused as much hubbub during her awards season as Linda Fiorentino in John Dahl's The Last Seduction…

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