cinema

A few weeks ago, Andy Warhol’s portrait of screen legend Marilyn Monroe, called “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn,” was sold at Christie’s for $195 million.

High quality detective or crime dramas occasionally have enjoyed longer lives than my living room sofa and my large kitchen appliances. Midsomer Murders has aired for twenty-two seasons, 132 episodes, and Silent Witness chugs along with twenty-five seasons and 228 two-hour-long episodes. Law and Order, Criminal Minds, Foyles War and others have had healthy runs.

Not all comedies provide carefree entertainment. In the case of the Bill & Ted trio of features, there are strange threatening occurrences and paranormal death experiences. The franchise of sci fi comedies began in 1989 with Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. It stars Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, and the late great George Carlin, and follows a couple of high school students, goofy California dudes, from their history class to adventures in time travel via a magical phone booth. They gather up a bevy of historical figures in hopes of passing their history course. If they fail, Ted’s father will send Ted to a military school, and Ted and Bill’s band, the Wyld Stallions, will itself become ancient history!

The award-winning Ukrainian documentary and feature filmmaker, Sergey (Sergei) Loznitsa, made entertainment news in late February when he harshly criticized the European Film Academy (EFA) when the body made what he considered a weak statement on the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. However, when the EFA imposed a ban on Russian films from their awards, Loznitsa disagreed, noting that all film artists should be recognized for their good work.

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of an oddball film called The Ruling Class. Peter O’Toole stars in this colorful feature which smashes any genre label. Upon its release in the U.S. in 1972, with several minutes cut for who knows what reason, critics had mixed reactions. The film didn’t make a lot of money. But a group of cinephiles latched on to it, and The Ruling Class became a cult film. By the way, today those missing minutes are restored.

Recently I received an email from my friend, artist and film maven Everett Aison, regarding a movie called Brighton 4th. While Everett is not prone to exaggeration, this message was all in caps: YOU MUST SEE THIS FILM.” Immediately, I located a new DVD release from Kino Lorber.

Kenneth Branagh brings to life memories of the days of his childhood in Belfast. There is an old bit of advice to writers that, in order to portray a situation with assurance and heart, authors have got to know the territory of which they write. So true. And Branagh proves this in Belfast, a compendium of stories and people from his childhood in a working-class neighborhood in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Greta Schiller’s recent documentary, The Land of Azaba, takes viewers to a place on the Spanish-Portuguese border, a nature reserve where ecological restoration is taking place. People with a passion for conservation are conducting an extensive experiment. As part of a worldwide movement to re-balance the ecosystem, they have taken control of a measure of land, a large meadow called The Dehesa.

So many 21st century movies have titles that include the words “after life.” Even Jason Reitman’s recent Ghostbusters comedy is called Ghostbusters: Afterlife. In a world where tragic events from the Black Death to the Apocalypse seem closer to our reality, I suppose After Life is quite a saleable title at the box office and as a home-viewing choice.