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Essentially a lost film, legendary director Charles Burnett’s 1999 feature The Annihilation of Fish mostly lived on the festival circuit (and in bootlegs) for a quarter-century until a recent miraculous restoration by the UCLA Film & Television Archive and The Film Foundation. Despite featuring recognizable leads in James Earl Jones and Lynn Redgrave, one bad review from an influential critic (who seemed strangely wary of the film’s tonal risk-taking) was enough to sink its commercial prospects for potential distributors.

A mental-illness romantic comedy of sorts, the film has a strangeness that may be potentially alienating to some, but it seems inexplicable, years later, that a work which so movingly wears its heart on its sleeve would be denied the audience it deserved. Burnett, a straight shooter, joined us over Zoom to discuss the film’s new path as well as the state of cinema and, frankly, American society today.

Erich Anderson, the familiar character actor who made his film debut in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, played Keri Russell’s father on Felicity and recurred on shows from Steven Bochco, has died. He was 67.

Anderson died Saturday after a “brutal struggle with cancer,” his wife of 21 years, actress Saxon Trainor, and her brother-in-law, Michael O’Malley, announced in an Instagram post.

In Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984), Anderson portrayed Rob Dier, who while attempting to avenge his sister’s death meets his brutal end at the hands of Jason in a basement.

He appeared as Dr. Edward Porter, father of Russell’s Felicity Porter, in the 1998 pilot for Felicity, then returned for eight more episodes of the WB network show during its four-season run through 2002.

For Bochco, Anderson played pitcher Bobby Stang on NBC’s Bay City Blues in 1983-84 and drug dealer Don Kirkendall on ABC’s...

Horror delights, rom-coms and a new sci-fi series starring Christoph Waltz are just a few of the highlights arriving on Amazon Prime Video in February. This month sees the debut of the second and final season of “Carnival Row” on Feb. 17, while Feb. 24 is when “The Consultant” – a “Severance”-like thriller series starring Waltz and directed by “WandaVision’s” Matt Shakman – drops.

In terms of new original Prime Video movies, on Feb. 10 there’s “Somebody I Used to Know,” a romantic comedy starring Alison Brie who co-wrote the script with her husband Dave Franco (who serves as director).

And you’ll find last year’s buzzy horror hit “Smile” on the streaming service on Feb. 21, while “Mad Max: Fury Road” filmmaker George Miller’s “Three Thousand Years of Longing” arrives on Feb. 17.

That’s not to mention noteworthy library additions like “A.I.,” “The Talented Mr. Ripley” and “Almost Famous.

February is the shortest month of the year but Prime Video is paying that no mind with its jam-packed list of new releases for February 2023.

This really is an uncommonly stuffed month on the Amazon streamer and it all starts with a handful of Amazon Originals. Amazon’s original offerings kick off with the release of Dave Franco-directed romcom Somebody I Used to Know on Feb. 10. That is followed by Carnival Row season 2 – a gritty fantasy crime drama is set in a world of steampunky fairies. The show stars Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevigne and this batch of episodes will be its swan song. Meanwhile The Consultant on Feb. 24 is a dark comedy workplace thriller starring Christoph Waltz.

The biggest hits this month, however, might just be some recent cinema faves. If February is for lovers, Amazon didn’t get the memo as there are quite a few horror movies of note here.

The confused, frightened, complying face of a young black boy as two Metropolitan police stop, search, and humiliate him on the street: This is one of the first things we see in Red, White, and Blue, the third in Steve McQueen’s Small Axe pentalogy, now streaming on Amazon Prime Video. It’s an image that grows even more charged in hindsight, a few scenes (spanning years) later, when the boy’s father — who’d swooped in to save him in that earlier encounter — is badly beaten by the police...

Actress Carrie Coon joins Josh and Joe to discuss the Best of what she’s been watching during the pandemic.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

The Nest (2020)

Gone Girl (2014)

The Philadelphia Story (1940)

Sabrina (1954)

The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957)

Apocalypse Now (1979)

Opening Night (1977)

Husbands (1971)

Too Late Blues (1961)

Rosemary’s Baby (1968)

Faces (1968)

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976)

Gloria (1980)

Mephisto (1981)

The Cremator (1969)

Zama (2017)

Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts (2017)

Wanda (1970)

Blue Collar (1978)

The Lunchbox (2013)

63 Up (2019)

To Sleep With Anger (1990)

Killer of Sheep (1978)

The Glass Shield (1994)

My Brother’s Wedding (1983)

Rita, Sue and Bob Too (1987)

Rio Bravo (1959)

Chilly Scenes of Winter (1979)

Cutter’s Way (1981)

Scenes From A Marriage (1973)

The Magician (1958)

The Silence (1963)

The Magic Flute (1975)

The Last House on the Left (1972)

The Virgin Spring (1963)

Summer with Monika (1953)

The Seventh Seal (1957)

Wings of Desire (1987)

Black Girl (1966)

Fat Girl (2001)

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)

Parasite (2019)

Jesus of Montreal (1989)

Other Notable Items...

“Is all or a portion of your spouse's income deposited in a checking account, joint checking account, your spouse's separate checking savings account, your separate checking and savings account…?” The administrator's tedious voice continues in this fashion, stern and unforgiving. More questions concerning money, welfare checks, and the daily American grind, asked by faceless system operators on the other end of a telephone line build layers of sound on top of metallic instruments, bells, and the buzzing of Los Angeles and the advertisements of an American dream. The dissonance of this swirling sound design, the intro of Haile Gerima’s Bush Mama (1979), takes one specifically to a place, a class, and a people: The Black working class experience, the sounds of a restless city. The opening of this mixtape encapsulates the vitality and experimentation of sound design and music in the films of the L.A. Rebellion, a film movement...

Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSThe great maestro Ennio Morricone died on Monday at the age of 91. Morricone was best known for his acclaimed compositions in films like The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The Untouchables, The Battle of Algiers, and so many more. His self-written obituary begins: “I, Ennio Morricone, am dead.”The 2020 invitees of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences include a wide range of international artists, from Garrett Bradley and Terence Davies to Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers and Zhao Tao.Recommended Viewing This year, Japan Cuts, the annual festival organized by the Japan Society of New York City, is commemorating the life and work of the late Nobuhiko Obayashi. An exclusive video tribute to Obayashi by Shinya Tsukamoto, who describes seeing Obayashi's films for the first time as a student, can be found for free at the festival's online platform.

The earliest Charles Burnett film to survive is his second, Several Friends (1969); the first is lost. Several Friends ambles in and out of a day in the lives of different friend groups who don’t intersect but are bound by a looming sense that, for reasons big enough to know but too abstract to confront, they can’t seem to get where they’re trying to go. This sense of a confinement beyond comprehension and just short of being acknowledged has something akin to Luis Buñuel’s The Exterminating Angel, where aristocrats find themselves inexplicably bound to a dinner party. There are no barriers between them and the exit, not so much as a locked door, but whenever the ne’er do wells get up to go, they find themselves turning back. Other than the obvious class differences, there is a key distinction between the two films. In Several Friends,...

Hulu has confirmed that several of its original series will be debuting new episodes on the streaming service in October, including the first installment of the horror anthology “Into the Dark” as well as more of season 1 of the Sean Penn drama “The First.” And there will also be new to Hulu seasons of some of your favorites reality shows from other networks, including various editions of “Little Women” and “The Real Housewives.”

Likewise, there will be plenty of movies making their first Hulu appearances including the Oscar-winning “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” and “Raging Bull.”

See Netflix schedule: Here’s what is coming and leaving in October

Available October 1

Television

60 Days In – Complete Season 4

America’s Book of Secrets – Complete Season 1 & 2

American Pickers – Complete Season 18

Ancient Aliens – Complete Season 4

Bob’s Burgers – Season 9 Premiere

El Clon – Complete Season 1

Escaping Polygamy – Complete Season 3

Family Guy – Season 16 Premiere

Hoarders – Complete...

The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted Tuesday night (September 5) to present Honorary Awards to writer-director Charles Burnett, cinematographer Owen Roizman, actor Donald Sutherland and director Agnès Varda. The four Oscar® statuettes will be presented at the Academy’s 9th Annual Governors Awards on Saturday, November 11, at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland Center.

“This year’s Governors Awards reflect the breadth of international, independent and mainstream filmmaking, and are tributes to four great artists whose work embodies the diversity of our shared humanity,” said Academy President John Bailey.

Born in Mississippi and raised in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, Burnett is an independent filmmaker whose work has been praised for its portrayal of the African-American experience. He wrote, directed, produced, photographed and edited his first feature film, “Killer of Sheep,” in 1977. His other features include “My Brother’s Wedding,...

The annual honorary Governors Awards are when Oscar lobbyists see the first results of the season, and this batch is notable for its global diversity: a Belgian woman filmmaker, a Canadian movie star, and an African-American director. The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted September 5, and they go to actor Donald Sutherland, writer-director Agnes Varda, and American independent filmmaker Charles Burnett and cinematographer Owen Roizman.

The statues will be presented November 11 at the 9th annual Governors Awards ceremony at Hollywood & Highland.

“This year’s Governors Awards reflect the breadth of international, independent and mainstream filmmaking, and are tributes to four great artists whose work embodies the diversity of our shared humanity,” said Academy president John Bailey.

Read More:New Academy President John Bailey is Willing to Ask if Movies Need Theaters For Oscar Qualification, and Other Radical Ideas

Never nominated for an Oscar, Canadian-born...

The annual honorary Governors Awards are when Oscar lobbyists see the first results of the season, and this batch is notable for its global diversity: a Belgian woman filmmaker, a Canadian movie star, and an African-American director. The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted September 5, and they go to actor Donald Sutherland, writer-director Agnes Varda, and American independent filmmaker Charles Burnett and cinematographer Owen Roizman.

The statues will be presented November 11 at the 9th annualGovernors Awards ceremony at Hollywood & Highland.

“This year’s Governors Awards reflect the breadth of international, independent and mainstream filmmaking, and are tributes to four great artists whose work embodies the diversity of our shared humanity,” said Academy president John Bailey.

Read More:New Academy President John Bailey is Willing to Ask if Movies Need Theaters For Oscar Qualification, and Other Radical Ideas

Canadian-born Sutherland began his career — boasting more...

As we stated last fall on this site, Charles Burnett’s excellent drama “The Glass Shield” is his “most explicitly political” film. But it is also, perhaps, somewhat frustrating as well. Not that it was his intention. Even Burnett will admit that the… Continue Reading →...

On Friday the British Film Institute unveiled their upcoming Blu-ray and DVD release slate, and it promises to be a wealth of riches, including the early Scorsese classics Who's That Knocking at my Door? and Oscar winner Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore coming to Blu-ray in March for the first time anywhere in the world.  January sees the dual-format release of El Sur, from Spirit of the Beehive director Victor Erice, and a 2-disc set of Charlie Chaplin: The Essanay Comedies, available in both DVD and Blu-ray editions. Charles Burnett's The Glass Shield, starring Michael Boatman, Ice Cube and Lori Petty, will also get a dual-format release, rather than the previously announced DVD only. Neil Jordan's Oscar-winning Ira thriller The Crying Game is rescheduled for...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

The St. Louis Central Library downtown (1301 Olive Blvd) is teaming up with Cinema St. Louis and the St. Louis International Film Festival to present Directors Cut: The Films Of Charles Burnett.

Charles Burnett is a writer-director whose work has received extensive honors. Born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, his family soon moved to the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. Burnett studied creative writing at UCLA before entering the University’s graduate film program. His thesis project, Killer of Sheep (1977), won accolades at film festivals and a critical devotion; in 1990, it was among the first titles named to the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry. European financing allowed Burnett to shoot his second feature, My Brother’s Wedding (1983), but a rushed debut prevented the filmmaker from completing his final cut until 2007. In 1988, Burnett was awarded the prestigious John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur (“genius grant”) Fellowship. His first widely released film, To Sleep with Anger...

Film Society of Lincoln Center (NYC) ended its Charles Burnett mini-retrospective last week; a 1-week run of “To Sleep with Anger” and a special screening of “The Glass Shield” that began on the 9th and ended on the 15th, which may travel… Continue Reading →...

Since any New York City cinephile has a nearly suffocating wealth of theatrical options, we figured it’d be best to compile some of the more worthwhile repertory showings into one handy list. Displayed below are a few of the city’s most reliable theaters and links to screenings of their weekend offerings — films you’re not likely to see in a theater again anytime soon, and many of which are, also, on 35mm. If you have a chance to attend any of these, we’re of the mind that it’s time extremely well-spent.

Metrograph

The Magnificent Ambersons, Demy‘s Model Shop, and Mad Max play as part of “Welcome to Metrograph: A to Z.”

The Kurosawa series comes to an end with The Hidden Fortress this Saturday.

Chan Is Missing returns to theaters on a 35mm print; Visconti‘s Sandra screens on Sunday, as does the Disney documentary Bears.

With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit the interwebs. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.

Almost Holy (Steve Hoover)

The most fascinating part of Steve Hoover‘s latest documentary Almost Holy is how its subject Gennadiy Mokhnenko parallels the life of well-known Russian cartoon Krokodil Gena. The latter deals with a lonely crocodile zoo worker named Gena and his friend Cheburashka: a young, abandoned creature rejected by the establishment employing him. The two therefore construct a home for the lonely as...

Den Of Geek Staff Sep 21, 2018

We have a list of the new Hulu movies and shows arriving in October 2018.

Happy Huluween!

Hulu is blessed to have a name that sounds roughly enough like "Hallow." That means it's basically honor-bound to bring the heat for Halloween. Thankfully for the October 2018 new releases, Hulu is bringing us the spookies that we need. The Blair Witch Project, The Others, and Child's Play all arrive this month. And if you're looking for some more wholesome creepies, The Nightmare Before Christmas should do. And if that weren't enough, Hulu is debuting its own horror show - anthology series Into the Dark.

For those shamefully unable to get into the Halloween spirit, Hulu is bringing in some other fun film options. Galaxy Quest, Music and Lyrics, and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective should help out with that.

Then of course, are the usual and typically deep TV offerings.

London Film Festival | Drive In Film Club | Black History Month

London Film Festival

You know all those films you've been reading rave reviews about from festivals like Cannes and Venice, depressed in the knowledge you'll have to wait months to see them? Well, this is your chance. Steve McQueen's 12 Years A Slave, Palme d'Or winner Blue Is The Warmest Colour, the Coens' Inside Llewyn Davies and Jonathan Glazer's Under The Skin are some of the most talked-about titles coming London's way. To guide you through it, films are organised into themes, most of them imperative verbs – Love, Dare, Laugh, Thrill, Debate – though there's still a section of red-carpet galas. These include a double dose of Tom Hanks, in Paul Greengrass's Somali pirate thriller Captain Phillips (Odeon Leicester Square, WC2, Wed; Cineworld Haymarket, SW1, Thu), and Saving Mr Banks, in which he plays Walt Disney, schmoozing Emma Thompson over Mary Poppins.

A reminder for B… As part of MoMA’s Charles Burnett retrospective that began last week, today, at 4:30Pm titled Charles Burnett: The Power To Endure, you can watch a program of short films by Charles Burnett when they screen tonight at MoMA – films that I doubt most of us have seen! These are films he made between 1969 and 2007, since his student days through the recent past. So, consider it a treat!

Titles, years and running times include: Several Friends, 1969, 21 min; The Horse, 1973, 14 min; When It Rains, 1995. 13 min; Olivia’s Story, 2000. 14 min; and Quiet As Kept, 2007. 6 min.

That should be interesting viewing, and I’m looking forward it!

And keep in mind that the retrospective runs through April 25th, with practically Burnett’s entire oeuvre in the lineup of films to screen, although a week into the series, several have already been shown. However, there will be some repeats; for example,...

Damn! I totally effed up and scheduled our podcast season debut tonight, completely forgetting that the MoMA Charles Burnett retrospective also begins tonight! And with his masterpiece too, Killer Of Sheep, which I Still haven’t seen on the big screen, and really want to. I have the recently released DVD issue, but, I think this is a film I’d really love to see in a theater, in all its gritty black and white glory.

Anyway… I already alerted you to this about 2 or 3 weeks ago, so consider this a reminder! MoMA sent out the below press release which details the entire retrospective.

But I’ll break it down for you:

What is it? Charles Burnett is being feted at MoMA (the Museum of Modern Art, here in New York City) with a series titled Charles Burnett: The Power To Endure.

When is it? April 6-25, 2011.

Where is it?...

Have you purchased your tickets yet?

I already alerted you to this 2 weeks ago week I believe it was. Consider this a reminder! MoMA sent out the below press release which details the entire retrospective.

But I’ll break it down for you:

What is it? Charles Burnett is being feted at MoMA (the Museum of Modern Art, here in New York City) with a complete retrospective titled Charles Burnett: The Power To Endure.

When is it? April 6-25, 2011.

Where is it? At MoMA of course – specifically, the Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters.

How much will each screening cost you? $10 adults; $8 seniors, 65 years and over with I.D. $6 full-time students with current I.D.

The full lineup follows below. As can be expected, Killer Of Sheep, My Brother’s Wedding, To Sleep With Anger, The Glass Shield, and other of his most known films, will screen.

But of most...

HollywoodNews.com: The Los Angeles Film Festival has announced its jurors for the festival that kicks off today at L.A. Live.

The narrative jury consists of director Charles Burnett (Killer of Sheep, The Glass Shield),

screenwriter/producer Larry Karaszewski (Ed Wood, The People vs. Larry Flynt), and La

Weekly film critic Ella Taylor. The documentary jury is comprised of director/actress Karen

Moncrief (Blue Car, The Dead Girl), director Arthur Dong (Licensed to Kill, Hollywood

Chinese), and film critic and journalist Robert Abele. Writer/performer Sandra Tsing-Loh

(solo show “Mother on Fire,” novel If You Lived Here, You’d Be Home By Now), actor Andrew

Garfield (Boy A, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus) and director Tommy O’Haver (An

American Crime, Ella Enchanted) round out the shorts jury.

“I’m so excited to have all these great talents join us at the Festival this year,” said Artistic

Director David Ansen.

Aloe Entertainment, along with Img and Schroeder-Ptacek Prods., are bringing the story of Barack Obama's mother to the screen, readying a feature-length doc to be directed by Charles Burnett.

"Stanley Ann Dunham: A Most Generous Spirit" will show how Dunham raised a young Obama in Indonesia and Hawaii as well as her pioneering work in the field of Third World microfinance, which assists small entrepreneurs, mostly women, in developing countries.

"She gave a lot of the backbone to our current president and his compassion to the people," said Mary Aloe, who is executive producing. "With these small-scale economies, she took a concept that was emerging just as women were getting their rights and got them to think outside the box. She is a fascinating woman, and she was ahead of her time."

Stanley Ann Dunham with a young Barack Obama The project will begin shooting early next year in Indonesia,...