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My Friend Ivan LapshinImage: International Film Exchange

When I was an undergrad in film school, one of the pillar courses was a two-semester film history class that would act as a broad survey to give us a foundation as aspiring filmmakers and workers. Naturally, this course was also about its...

Exploring a few possibilities.

According to a new New York Daily News interview with Carrie Fisher’s brother Todd, he and Fisher’s daughter Billie Lourd, “have granted the studio rights to use recent footage [of Fisher] for the finale.” Since the actress’s sudden death last December, fans have wondered about how the Star Wars franchise will handle the loss of such a central figure — especially considering that some sources have claimed that Carrie Fisher was originally to have a larger role in Episode IX than in Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, scheduled for release this December. Taken in conjunction with other statements released by Disney thus far, including that The Last Jedi will not be modified to reflect Fisher’s death and that Disney and Lucasfilm seem to be standing by their January statement that CGI will not be used to “resurrect” Fisher as it was to re-create Peter Cushing’s likeness in Rogue One, one...

Flicker Alley's release 0f The House of Mystery (La maison du mystère) restores to light a major movie serial almost lost forever, and allows us again to appreciate the talents of the White Russian filmmakers who greatly energized French filmmaking in the 1920s. In particular, star Ivan Mosjoukine and director Alexander Volkoff, who would also collaborate on Kean (1924) and Casanova (1927) are approaching the height of their powers.The plot is pure melodrama: a mill owner is framed for murder, escapes from a penal colony, and spends years trying to clear his name, while the real killer woos his wife. But the ten episodes use their extended cumulative running time to explore nuances of character rather than to pile on implausible escapes and battles (though there are a few extremely impressive examples of those). The result is a tale of injustice that grips and satisfies, while displaying a highly sophisticated cinematic sense.

An international star of the silent era, Ivan Mosjoukine (and maker of The Burning Crucible) may not be very well-known today, but there are some good reasons why. One: the Russian Revolution prevented his becoming a long-term icon of Russian cinema; Two: he turned down the lead role in what would have been his most famous film, Abel Gance’s Napoleon. Three: Hollywood did come calling, but their relationship didn’t work out. Four: a heavy accent hobbled his hitherto flourishing European career when Talkies arrived. And five: he died young, succumbing to tuberculosis in 1939.>> - Dennis Harvey...

An international star of the silent era, Ivan Mosjoukine (and maker of The Burning Crucible) may not be very well-known today, but there are some good reasons why. One: the Russian Revolution prevented his becoming a long-term icon of Russian cinema; Two: he turned down the lead role in what would have been his most famous film, Abel Gance’s Napoleon. Three: Hollywood did come calling, but their relationship didn’t work out. Four: a heavy accent hobbled his hitherto flourishing European career when Talkies arrived. And five: he died young, succumbing to tuberculosis in 1939.>> - Dennis Harvey...

When I first saw this artwork for Fritz Lang’s Metropolis used on the Masters of Cinema 2010 Blu-ray packaging, I was convinced that it was contemporary artwork commissioned especially for that release. As familiar as I was with Heinz Schulz-Neudamm’s famous poster for the film (aka the most sought after and most expensive movie poster of all time), for some reason I had not seen this before. But when I discovered that this poster was not only an original 1927 French release poster but also that it is a four-sheet poster that stands 94 inches tall and 126 inches wide, my mind was blown. (Click on the image to see it in all its glory). Apparently an original exists in the Art Library of the Berlin State Museum (the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin) but I would assume no copy has ever come up for auction. As far as I’m concerned this...