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- NYFCC 2025 winners
- A Streetcar Named Desire: That’s What Williams Wrote. Deal With It.
- “Intellect and taste count, but I cut with my feelings.” — legendary editor Dede Allen
- “My aesthetic is that of the sniper on the roof.” — Jean-Luc Godard
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Author Archives: sheila
Review: The Chronology of Water (2025)
This is Kristen Stewart’s directorial debut. (She directed a short film in 2017. This is her first feature.) It’s an adaptation of Lidia Yuknavitch’s 2011 memoir of the same name and it’s an extraordinary piece of work. I can’t say … Continue reading
Review: Come Closer (2025)
Tom Nesher’s Come Closer is a work of personal catharsis, and I respect a lot of what she did. I reviewed for Ebert.
“Even to this day, I watch The Wizard of Oz like I did when I was five years old. I get really involved in it.” — Lynne Ramsay
“When I go to the cinema, I want to have a cinematic experience. Some people ignore the sound and you end up seeing something you might see on television and it doesn’t explore the form. Sound is the other picture. … Continue reading
Posted in Directors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged Joaquin Phoenix, Lynne Ramsay, Scotland, Tilda Swinton, women directors
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“Elvis may be the King of Rock and Roll, but I am the Queen.” — Little Richard
It’s his birthday today. One of the best documentaries of the year is Lisa Cortes’ Little Richard: I Am Everything, which I had the pleasure of reviewing for Ebert. Little Richard. Live performance of “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On”, 1963. … Continue reading
“The ability to think for one’s self depends upon one’s mastery of the language.” — Joan Didion
It’s her birthday today. Someone said that Didion’s (seemingly) simple sentences are like a perfect puzzle. If you remove one line from a paragraph, everything falls apart. Her writing is that well-constructed. She was a notoriously painstaking self-editor. She would … Continue reading
NYFCC 2025 winners
We met yesterday to vote on the year’s best. It’s always a somewhat grueling process, because it’s about counting, and tallying up all the blind votes. We often go into multiple rounds. But we did eventually come up with the … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged Brazil, Iranian film, Jafar Panahi, Paul Thomas Anderson, Russia, women directors
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A Streetcar Named Desire: That’s What Williams Wrote. Deal With It.
A re-post for the anniversary of Streetcar debuting on Broadway. I wrote this essay after seeing a 2011 production of Streetcar at Williamstown. Directed by David Cromer Starring Sam Rockwell as Stanley Kowalski, Jessica Hecht as Blanche DuBois, Ana Reeder … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, On This Day, Theatre
Tagged A Streetcar Named Desire, Sam Rockwell, scripts, Tennessee Williams
54 Comments
“Intellect and taste count, but I cut with my feelings.” — legendary editor Dede Allen
It’s her birthday today. Here’s a list of just some of her credits as an editor: The Hustler America America Bonnie & Clyde Rachel Rachel Alice’s Restaurant Little Big Man Serpico Night Moves Dog Day Afternoon Missouri Breaks Slap Shot … Continue reading
“My aesthetic is that of the sniper on the roof.” — Jean-Luc Godard
He was born on this day. Coincidentally, the year before Jean-Luc Godard died, I decided to watch his filmography in chronological order, starting with his shorts (many of which are on YouTube). I wrote about this experience in my December … Continue reading
“I have trouble working off things that are too preconceived, like storyboards.” — Terrence Malick
“When people express what is most important to them, it often comes out in cliches. That doesn’t make them laughable — it’s something tender about them. As though in struggling to reach what’s most personal about them they could only … Continue reading
Posted in Directors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged Badlands, Days of Heaven, Terrence Malick
6 Comments