Don’t Believe the Hype Speaking to AP, Jim Cameron (The Terminator) warned that his forthcoming 3-D motion-capture sci-fi thriller, Avatar, couldn't possibly live up to the hype on the internet. When he came to this realization, he reportedly "went out and got drunk, contemplated the whole thing and got over it." <Read Article>French Fest '08 Coming Soon Cinephiles and Francophiles in the greater Chicagoland area don't have to wait much longer. The 12th Annual Festival of New French Cinema opens at Facets on Dec. 5 with a program consisting of 13 diverse films, each making their Chicago Premiere. <Read Article>The Big Ideas Behind the Arts The Times asked experts from across the media spectrum to identify key concepts that will redefine the arts. With film in mind, screenwriting guru Robert McKee (see: Brian Cox's portrayal in Adaptation) thinks movies will gravitate more towards paranoia and cynicism. <Read Article>
Polanski Doc Cited in Court The N.Y. Times reports that Marina Zenovich's documentary, Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, was cited by Polanski's lawyers in the Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday. His defense argued that the case should be dismissed on grounds of judicial wrongdoing. (Registration req.) <Read Article>Attacks Worry Bollywood The terrorist attacks in Mumbai have some Bollywood insiders concerned about how the tragedy will affect multi-million dollar deals with Hollywood. According to the Hollywood Reporter, though, Hollywood studios remain committed to the Indian market. <Read Article>'Slumdog' Sweeps BIFAs Slumdog Millionaire, the latest film from Danny Boyle after Sunshine, won awards for best film, best director, and best newcomer (Dev Patel) at the British Independent Film Awards. The Guardian has more. <Read Article>
Terrorism in Hindi Films Films that deal with external aggression are not new to India—just look at Sholay, Karma, The Terrorist, and Sarfarosh. After the recent Mumbai attacks, though, Glamsham.com considers how the Indian film industry will tackle the issue of terrorism in relation to the individual and civil society. <Read Article>NY Times Picks Fairbanks Times critic Dave Kehr highlights the week's best new DVDs, chiefly Douglas Fairbanks: A Modern Musketeer, "an extraordinary, well-produced set of 10 features and one short film…This one's a keeper." (Registration req.) <Read Article>Golden Age of Shanghai Film Shanghai Daily has a feature on the city's thriving film industry during the 1920s-30s. Shanghai was not only ahead of Western cinemas in certain regards, but films like Twin Sisters and A Spray of Plum Blossoms provided the Chinese people with an opportunity to see modern culture in action. <Read Article>
Recent News
Schrader Done with Hollywood After having Exorcist: The Beginning stripped away from him, it's not hard to comprehend why writer- director Paul Schrader would call Hollywood a "barren, barren place." According to Hollywood Reporter, he's even looking to Bollywood for his next picture. <Read Article>Bordwell Reps 80s Movies There is an assumption that 1980s movies were simply shameful, commercial fare for teens. On his blog, David Bordwell goes to bat for the maligned decade, citing creativity with old genres (Near Dark), flourishing comedies (Beetlejuice), and mixtures of "middlebrow, semi-highbrow" (Choose Me) as reasons not to write-off the blockbuster era. <Read Article>London Mayor to Peddle 'High Culture' to Youth The London mayor's chief of arts and culture told The Guardian that the city plans to offer teens greater access to "high culture." They believe arts chiefs have been "extremely patronising" in targeting young people with "hip-hop, new media and film," and instead want kids to be exposed to "old musical instruments," opera, and ballet. <Read Article>
One Critic Gets Too Critical According to Defamer, the authority on ruddy gossip, WNBC critic Jeffrey Lyons allegedly referred to Roger Ebert as a "pathetic old putz" at a press screening. Lyons was supposedly defending his son, Ben, who was appointment as the new co-host of the show Ebert cofounded almost 30 years ago. Allegedly. <Read Article>Q&A with David Lynch The Int'l Herald Tribune asked David Lynch about meditation, his upcoming marriage, and why anyone would want to watch Blue Velvet on a small screen. "…they think they've seen the film, but they really haven't." <Read Article>
Journal Seeks Essays on Tarr Editors of the new Unspoken Cinema Journal are seeking submissions for their inaugural issue, which will focus on the work of Bela Tarr (Satantango). Deadline for issue 1 is Jan. 19. <Read Article>New Media & Old Moviegoing After watching It's a Wonderful Life on his laptop, The N.Y. Times's A.O. Scott wrote an article about the future of moviegoing in the YouTube age. "The answer does not seem to be that people will stop going to the movies…But the ubiquity of screens — and also of cameras — may also mean the death, or at least the transfiguration, of cinema as we know it." (Registration req.) <Read Article>
Facets Video Proudly Presents...
Delbaran Director Abolfazl Jalili offers a compassionate story of a young Afghan refugee living illegally in Iran. Though the film is… <Read Article>Faith of the Century: A History of Communism Communism spread to all of the continents of the world over the course of the 20th century. Hundreds of millions were… <Read Article>
Artists Under the Big Top: Perplexed Hannelore Hoger stars as Leni Peickert in Alexander Kluge's compelling parable about art vs. entertainment, culture vs. commerce… <Read Article>Celine Genevieve, the village nurse, finds Celine, a confused girl with suicidal tendencies, wandering the ward of the hospital one morning… <Read Article>
My Heart Is Mine Alone The story of the real-life love affair between Jewish poet Else Lasker- Schueler and Nazi poet Gottfried Benn is told through… <Read Article>Anger In this taut thriller from Polish filmmaker Marcin Ziebinski, a young man named Pawel inherits a secluded old mansion in the… <Read Article>
Must-See Movies at the Cinematheque (1517 W. Fullerton Ave. Chicago)
Deep within the Mojave Desert, the U.S. army has erected a cluster of fake Iraqi villages where American soldiers spend three weeks training before deployment. Full Battle Rattle observes Army officers explaining local customs to a confused force, under orders to bring "peace and stability" to a place they know nothing about.
Winner of a Special Jury Award at the SXSW Film Festival. <Read Article>
It's that time of year again! The 12th Annual Festival of French Cinema returns to introduce you to the next generation of film writers, directors and actors from France. As always, we will bring you a wide selection of genres and styles.
The festival is co-presented by Facets and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in Chicago, with the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs supplying several prints. <Read Article>
Migrants on Malkovich's Mind The Int'l Herald Tribune reports that John Malkovich (Con Air) plans to direct a documentary about the plight of migrant children who cross illegally into the United States. Canana Films, a company owned by Y Tu Mama Tambien stars Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal, will produce. <Read Article>The Art of DVD Chaptering Spurred by recent DVD releases of the films of Marguerite Duras (Nathalie Granger), Australian film critic Adrian Martin wrote an article for Moving Image Source on the "world of possibilities in the unstudied field of DVD chaptering." <Read Article>
'Twilight' Raises Studio Profile You can't swing a bloodless corpse without hitting an article about vampires these days. Luckily, The N.Y. Times put out a story that's less about teen vamps and more about a fledgling studio that has stumbled onto a goldmine. (Registration req.) <Read Article>Thomson on Tastemaking LA Weekly features an exclusive excerpt from film critic David Thomson's new book on 1000 select movies. "The pantheon of film culture is an untidy place," he writes, before suggesting that Eastern Promises be included in the canon and that Eisenstein is in need of recovery. <Read Article>
New at the 'Theque Head to the Videotheque to find Facets' picks for this week's best new and upcoming DVD releases, including new Criterion Collection editions of films by Wong Kar-wai, Wes Anderson and Martin Ritt, a milestone theater piece directed by Peter Brook, a British take on the Iraq War, and more! <Read Article>Facets' Top Picks Which flicks hold this month's top spots? Head to the Videotheque and check out Facets' picks for the top 10 DVD releases for November to find out! <Read Article>Search Our Collection Looking for a particular film on DVD and/or VHS? You can find it at Facets. Our entire collection is searchable by genre, director, country of origin, subject matter and more. Head inside for more! <Read Article>
The Top 50 Looking for the hottest DVDs available? Explore the top 50 best-sellers at Facets to find what you need and more!
Only at the Videotheque! <Read Article>The Big Renters With tons of DVDs streaming into Facets every month, picking the right movie to rent is often tricky.
Head to Facets Rentals and browse the top 50 most-rented movies at Facets for suggestions. <Read Article>
On the Chalkboard Each month, the Facets Rentals staff pays tribute to a genre, actor, director, or whatever tickles their cinematic fancy. This month, they pay tribute to presidents in the movies!.
Visit the Rental Department for more! <Read Article>Important Imports Facets searches the world to find the rarest, most hard-to-find films on DVD, many of which are unavailable for domestic purchase in the United States.
Head to the Videotheque to browse our picks of the best and most exciting. <Read Article>
Facets Features
Win a New Holiday Favorite on DVD! What's your favorite film set around or dealing with the upcoming holidays? Tell us and win a DVD of Felicidades, Lucho Bender's acclaimed debut feature set on a hot and humid Christmas Eve in Buenos Aires!
Learn more at Facets Features! <Read Article>Milos on Worldview Facets' Executive Director Milos Stehlik is a frequent contributor to Chicago Public Radio's global affairs program, Worldview. Head to their website for his latest film commentary. <Read Article>Explore the Archives Facets brings the world of cinema to your fingertips at the Facets Features Archives.
Revisit past CineChat events, preview clips from Facets Exclusive DVDs, and explore a wide variety of links from all over the web, ranging from the fun to the educational. <Read Article>
Free Movies! Looking for free movies to watch on your computer? Facets has you covered!
Each week, Facets' Free Film Portal spotlights a different set of films, interviews and more available free online--everything from fine arts programs and documentaries to American and foreign-language classics and more, including our featured film, Jonas Mekas' 1971 short, Warhol and Maciunas.
Visit Facets Features for more! <Read Article>Meet the Critics Find cinema's greatest critics, past and present, at Facets Features, everyone from Vincent Canby, Pauline Kael, J. Hoberman and Andrew Sarris to Chicago locals Roger Ebert and Jonathan Rosenbaum. <Read Article>
Film festival news and winners from around the world! Essential movie lists! Celebrity top ten favorites! Exclusive reviews and interviews! Facets' massive catalog category search! And much more! <Read Article>Celebrity Faves What do Werner Herzog, Studs Terkel, John Sayles, Michael Moore, Stephen Sondheim, Guy Maddin, Terry Jones and Camille Paglia all have in common?
They've all given lists of their top ten favorite films to Facets! Find them and more at Facets Features. <Read Article>
The N.Y. Times reports that Marina Zenovich's documentary, 
Slumdog Millionaire, the latest film from Danny Boyle after 
Times critic Dave Kehr highlights the week's best new DVDs, chiefly 
After having 
The Int'l Herald Tribune asked 
Editors of the new Unspoken Cinema Journal are seeking submissions for their inaugural issue, which will focus on the work of Bela Tarr (
Director Abolfazl Jalili offers a compassionate story of a young Afghan refugee living illegally in Iran. Though the film is…
Communism spread to all of the continents of the world over the course of the 20th century. Hundreds of millions were…
Hannelore Hoger stars as Leni Peickert in Alexander Kluge's compelling parable about art vs. entertainment, culture vs. commerce…
Genevieve, the village nurse, finds Celine, a confused girl with suicidal tendencies, wandering the ward of the hospital one morning…
The story of the real-life love affair between Jewish poet Else Lasker- Schueler and Nazi poet Gottfried Benn is told through…
In this taut thriller from Polish filmmaker Marcin Ziebinski, a young man named Pawel inherits a secluded old mansion in the…
Nov. 28-
Dec. 5-
You can't swing a bloodless corpse without hitting an article about vampires these days. Luckily, The N.Y. Times put out a story that's less about teen vamps and more about a fledgling studio that has stumbled onto a goldmine. (Registration req.)
Head to the Videotheque to find Facets' picks for this week's best new and upcoming DVD releases, including new Criterion Collection editions of films by Wong Kar-wai, Wes Anderson and Martin Ritt, a milestone theater piece directed by Peter Brook, a British take on the Iraq War, and more!
Looking for the hottest DVDs available? Explore the top 50 best-sellers at Facets to find what you need and more!
With tons of DVDs streaming into Facets every month, picking the right movie to rent is often tricky.
Each month, the Facets Rentals staff pays tribute to a genre, actor, director, or whatever tickles their cinematic fancy. This month, they pay tribute to presidents in the movies!.
What's your favorite film set around or dealing with the upcoming holidays? Tell us and win a DVD of 
Facets' Executive Director Milos Stehlik is a frequent contributor to Chicago Public Radio's global affairs program, Worldview. Head to their 
Facets brings the world of cinema to your fingertips at the Facets Features Archives.
Find cinema's greatest critics, past and present, at Facets Features, everyone from Vincent Canby, Pauline Kael, J. Hoberman and Andrew Sarris to Chicago locals Roger Ebert and Jonathan Rosenbaum.
What can you find at Facets Features?
What do Werner Herzog, Studs Terkel, John Sayles, Michael Moore, Stephen Sondheim, Guy Maddin, Terry Jones and Camille Paglia all have in common?
