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Italian director Gillo Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers, a classic of political filmmaking from 1965, has gotten its theatrical rerelease by Rialto Pictures and reignited controversy as commentators have attempted to either establish or dispel its relation to current events. While it’s true that the film’s specific context is Algeria’s fight for independence from colonial France beginning in ’54, its riveting depiction of miltary occupation, checkpoints and curfews, terrorist insurgency, and the collective will of a people forging a national identity has undeniable contemporary relevance.

Pontecorvo once described the film as a “hymn . . . in homage to …

My day job consists of being a graphic artist, so I thought I’d post the above drawing I did several years ago in light of the newly-announced Orson Welles retrospective happening simultaneously in late-February at the Film Forum in New York City and the American Cinematheque in Los Angeles.

While it will be a treat to see any monumental, baroque Welles film on the big screen (like 1962’s The Trial, a criminally underrated movie), I’m particularly excited about the rare bits and scraps of unfinished projects compiled by the Munich Filmmuseum in this series.

For more info on Welles, …

ïindieWIRE has posted their top twenty undistributed films of 2003, starting (alphabetically) with one of my favorites, Ross McElwee’s Bright Leaves.

ïDVD Beaver has posted a shot comparison of the new UK DVD of F.W. Murnau’s 1924 masterpiece, The Last Laugh, an 80th anniversary special edition based on the 2003 restoration by Murnau Stiftung/Transit Films. It is far superior to the 2001 Kino release.

ïI’m leaving for PSIFF today, but I’ve decided to cut my trip short–expect a summary and a look at Rialto Pictures’ rerelease of The Battle of Algiers in a few days.…

I’m pleased to announce a site I co-admin, Masters of Cinema, has been nominated by Cinemarati for Best Film-Related Web Site of 2003. I also whole-heartedly endorse our competition:

NOMINEES

ï Bright Lights Film Journal
ï DVD Beaver
ïThe Fog of War
ï GreenCine Daily
ïMasters of Cinema
ïMidnight Eye
ï Senses of Cinema
ïThe Tulse Luper Suitcases Web Archive

As I mentioned in my earlier blog, I’m going to be out-of-town for a few days for the Palm Springs International Film Festival. I hope to find an Internet cafÈ and make some screening updates to the blog, but we’ll see.

In the meantime, a site reader who goes by the name Samurai Jack has contributed the excellent, historically sensitive piece below on Alexander Sokurov’s wonderful 2002/2003 film, Russian Ark. (But if the writer would prefer to go by any other name, I’d love to change the credit. 😉 ) It has been released as a fine DVD by …

Happy New Year, everyone!

Back from the holidays, I thought I’d list my requisite end of the year top ten lists, although I hasten to add that there are plenty of films I’ve yet to see. (For example, I’m still looking forward to seeing Tsai Ling-miang’s Goodbye Dragon Inn and Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Distant, both of which I’ll get to see at the impressive Palm Springs International Film Festival in about a week.) In addition, release and exhibition dates for one’s hometown vary wildly and virtually any argument for restricting a list to one or the other category will …