Sally Kellerman (1937-2022)

by Nathaniel R

The original "Hot Lips" Houlihan, actress Sally Kellerman has passed away at 84 after a battle with dementia. The willowy California blonde landed her first screen role when she was just a teenager in the B movie Reform School Girl (1957) after which she paid her dues with over a decade's worth of guest spots on various television series and small movie roles. Fame took its time arriving. She finally broke through as the lusty nurse in Robert Altman's hit war comedy MASH (1970), landing an Oscar nomination...

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Monica Vitti (1931-2022) What makes a great actor?

by Timothy Lyons

This year’s Best Actress discussion / post-BAFTA nomination shake-up has reached a new height of confused scrambling. Things have, for now, refocused on the single consistent presence throughout precursor season: Lady Gaga as the murderous Patrizia Reggiani in House of Gucci. When watching the film, it became clear to me how much Gaga’s distinctive visage bears striking resemblance to that of the great Italian star Monica Vitti. This came into sad focus today on my learning of the legend’s passing on Wednesday at the age of ninety from complications related to Alzheimer’s.

I will get quickly back to the subject at hand but to help in drawing out Vitti’s unique gifts, a little more on Gaga in Gucci as a comparison…

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Gaspard Ulliel (1984-2022)

by Eric Blume

My heart broke this morning, waking up to news that the great French actor Gaspard Ulliel passed away today as a result of a skiing accident. He was just 37. This is a true tragedy, and a huge loss to the cinema.Despite his youth, he'd been in the film business for over twenty years...

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Sidney Poitier (1927-2022)

by Nathaniel R

The Oscar winning actor Sidney Poitier has died at the age of 94 in the Bahamas, leaving a remarkable legacy behind. Do you remember when you first became aware of Sidney Poitier? It can be difficult to pinpoint for stars of his magnitude. The most legendary actors become so much a part of the cultural fabric that it feels as if they have always existed. As if they have always been part of the very conception of "Hollywood" as our dream machine, as if the cinema couldn't have existed without them. But this is not strictly true. Hollywood had no room for any sidney poitiers before Sidney Poitier. His undeniable charisma and dramatic talent were potent enough to force Tinseltown's gates open, and reconceptualize who could be a movie star. And, it must be said, his good timing helped too...

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Peter Bogdanovich (1939-2022)

by Eric Blume

Oscar-nominated director Peter Bogdanovich has died at age 82.  Famous primarily for directing three classic films consecutively early in his career, he was a true lover of the medium and a key influence on fostering in a new energy in American cinema during the 1970s. 

Bogdanovich's early career was as a film programmer for New Yorks' Museum of Modern Art.  He watched over 400 films a year and kept reviews for each one of them.  His passion for and understanding of film got him a gig as assistant to Roger Corman, who helped him direct his first film, Targets, in 1968.  This led to the three-film master stretch for which Bogdanovich is most remembered and treasured...

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