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The Francis Ford Coppola masterpiece “The Godfather” (1972) has been voted the greatest Oscar Best Picture winner ever. The results are from a recent Gold Derby ballot cast by 29 of our film experts and editors, who ranked all 96 movie champs.

Ranking in second place is the Michael Curtiz classic “Casablanca” (1943). Following in third place is the powerful Steven Spielberg film “Schindler’s List” (1993). Rounding out the top five are Coppola’s “The Godfather Part II” (1974) in fourth place and Billy Wilder‘s “The Apartment” (196o) in fifth place.

At the bottom of the list of the Best Picture winners is “The Greatest Show on Earth” (1952) from Cecil B. DeMille. Just above that film in the rankings are “Cimarron” (1931) from Wesley Ruggles, “The Broadway Melody” (1929) from Harry Beaumont, “Crash” (2005) from Paul Haggis, and “Around the World in 80 Days’ (1956) from Michael Anderson.

Our photo gallery above features the full top 10. See the complete rankings of all 96 films below.

The Francis Ford Coppola masterpiece “The Godfather” (1972) has been voted the greatest Oscar Best Picture winner ever. The results are from a recent Gold Derby ballot cast by 29 of our film experts and editors, who ranked all 96 movie champs.

Ranking in second place is the Michael Curtiz classic “Casablanca” (1943). Following in third place is the powerful Steven Spielberg film “Schindler’s List” (1993). Rounding out the top five are Coppola’s “The Godfather Part II” (1974) in fourth place and Billy Wilder‘s “The Apartment” (196o) in fifth place.

The worst among 96 Best Picture winners is “The Greatest Show on Earth” (1952) from Cecil B. DeMille. Just above that film on the bottom of the rankings are “Cimarron” (1931) from Wesley Ruggles, “The Broadway Melody” (1929) from Harry Beaumont, “Crash” (2005) from Paul Haggis, and “Around the World in 80 Days’ (1956) from Michael Anderson.

Our photo gallery below features the full top 10. See the complete rankings of all 96 films below.

Marlon Brando transformed into all different kinds of people on the big screen. He was a dockworker in On the Waterfront, Shakespeare’s Mark Antony in Julius Caesar, and a temperamental and abusive drunk in A Streetcar Named Desire. But it was while he was preparing to become the mafia boss Vito Corleone in The Godfather that he decided to try a new role based in the real world: the founder of an ecological island resort in Tahiti. Playing pretend for so long gave him an edge of boundless confidence...

Actors are often lauded for their striking performances or contributions to the industry, but some become immortalized due to their works. Marlon Brando is one such name who is considered to have revolutionized acting and the entertainment industry.

The Godfather actor was as phenomenal onscreen as he was controversial off it. Matt Dillon got the golden opportunity to step into the shoes of his senior but soon came to regret his choice. However, the American Dreamer star didn’t shy away from the role due to the actor’s tricky past. Rather, it was his legacy that made things challenging.

The reason behind the hesitation: Not the past

Marlon Brando created waves in Hollywood, charming the audience with his god-like looks and moving performances. The A Streetcar Named Desire actor had innumerable hits, but his personal life was embroiled in controversies.

Marlon Brando in The Godfather | Credits: Paramount Pictures

Jessica Palud...

Marlon Brando is an icon of cinema. Whether you like him or not, he is undoubtedly one of the greatest and most talented actors we’ve ever seen. He had the pathos; he had the ability to take on the most complex of roles, and that earned him the status of a proper icon.

Well, that and his amazing roles, which include films such as The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, On the Waterfront, Last Tango in Paris, and many more.

But Brando’s private life was as dynamic as his career. The actor was known as a problematic person with a difficult personality, which made it hard to work with him on more than one occasion. All of this got even more difficult as Brando got older, and by the time he reached old age, more people wanted to avoid him than work with him.

And while Brando’s life deserves a whole series,...

From 2020 to 2022, Bruce Willis cranked out a huge number of movies, most of them low-budget sci-fi/action films that all went straight-to-video, and usually playing brief, supporting roles. The many films were, by and large, panned by critics and mocked by baffled fans, all of whom wondered by Willis didn't appear to have much on-camera dialogue, or why he wasn't the lead character. In three years, he appeared in 22 movies. 

In March of 2022, it was announced that Willis had been diagnosed with aphasia, a brain condition that affected his ability to speak and comprehend language. Many of the above fans expressed their deepest apologies, and even the Razzies, in a rare show of good taste, retraced Willis' Worst Actor nominations. Willis retired from acting because of his condition. In February 2023, Willis, now 69, was also diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, and he remains in the care of his family. 

Willis, of course,...

Plot: Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) and his symbiote pal Venom are on the run following the events of the last film being pursued by adversaries that are both human and not.

Review: Let’s face it – the Venom series has never exactly been a critical darling. Done on a relatively modest scale for Sony’s Spider-Verse and shackled by a PG-13 rating, this Tom Hardy-led franchise has, surprisingly enough, printed money for its home studio. While they’ve never risen above modest, turn-your-brain-off B-movie fare, they’ve been much better than other live-action Spider-verse offerings like Madame Web and Morbius. With this billed as The Last Dance for the character at Sony, does this short-lived franchise end on a high?

Here’s the thing – if you dug the other Venom movies, you’ll probably get a kick out of this one. It’s unapologetically a low-stakes superhero movie, reminiscent...

November 2024, Criterion Channel is set to deliver an exceptional lineup of films that will excite cinephiles and casual viewers alike. The month promises a rich exploration of genres, featuring a strong selection of Coen Brothers classics such as Blood Simple (1984) and The Big Lebowski (1998), along with their more recent works like A Serious Man (2009) and Inside Llewyn Davis (2013). Noir and crime enthusiasts will revel in an array of titles, including The Maltese Falcon (1941), Gilda (1946), and The Big Heat (1953), showcasing the genre’s iconic narratives and stylistic depth. International cinema also shines through with compelling French dramas like Fat Girl (2001) and Dheepan (2015), highlighting diverse storytelling from around the globe.

The lineup doesn’t shy away from classic drama, featuring timeless films like On the Waterfront (1954) and Seven Samurai (1954), which continue to resonate with contemporary audiences. Additionally, viewers can look forward to a variety of documentary and experimental films, including Wild Wheels...

Get ready to venture into the dark side of the California dream.

Production has started on East of Eden, the Netflix adaptation of the 1952 novel by Nobel Prize–winning author John Steinbeck.The seven-episode limited series, written and executive produced by Zoe Kazan, will film in several locations across New Zealand and will star Florence Pugh, who will also executive produce.

The new take on the classic novel continues the legacy of Zoe’s grandfather, Elia Kazan, who directed the 1955 East of Eden film starring James Dean.

“In the process of bringing this family saga to life, the resonance of my own familial connection to the material has not been lost on me,” Kazan told Netflix. “But it is Steinbeck’s writing — personal, shocking, profound, and...

With Janus possessing the much-needed restorations, Catherine Breillat is getting her biggest-ever spotlight in November’s Criterion Channel series spanning 1976’s A Real Young Girl to 2004’s Anatomy of Hell––just one of numerous retrospectives arriving next month. They’re also spotlighting Ida Lupino, directorial efforts of John Turturro (who also gets an “Adventures In Moviegoing”), the Coen brothers, and Jacques Audiard.

In a slightly more macroscopic view, Columbia Noir and a new edition of “Queersighting” ring in Noirvember. Gregg Araki’s Teen Apocalypse trilogy and Miller’s Crossing get Criterion Editions, while restorations of David Bowie-starrer The Linguini Incident, Med Hondo’s West Indies, and Dennis Hopper’s Out of the Blue make streaming debuts; and Kevin Jerome Everson’s Tonsler Park arrives just in time for another grim election day.

See the full list of titles arriving in November below:

36 fillette, Catherine Breillat, 1988

Anatomy of Hell, Catherine Breillat,...

Some fictional characters are so intrinsically tied to the people who portrayed them that it's nearly impossible to picture anyone else in that role. Columbo, the disheveled detective who helped take down the bad guys on TV over three decades on the series of the same name, just couldn't be anyone but Peter Falk. That's like suggesting someone other than Alan Alda play the television version of Hawkeye on "M.A.S.H."! Dressed in an eternally-wrinkled, too-big trenchcoat and always chomping on a cigar, Falk brings both a unique appearance and performance to the character, looking and acting unlike any other cop on TV. Without Falk, "Columbo" may never have been successful, and it certainly wouldn't have been the same. Back when the series was first being developed, however, the people in charge had some very different performers in mind.

"Columbo" was created by writers Richard Levinson and William Link, who first...

Six films make their 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray debut in the new Columbia Classics Volume 5 deluxe 4K disc set: more details here.

At the top end of collectable boxsets for the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray format is the terrific range of Columbia Classics collections. Each of the boxes contain six films on the 4K disc format, as well as a deluxe book. Furthermore, the majority of films that have appeared in the sets haven’t enjoyed an individual release. Not so keen on that aspect, as it puts a sizeable financial barrier in the way of owning some films on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray.

For the minute though, I’ll concentrate on the latest set, Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Volume 5, that’s now been confirmed for UK release.

The six films chosen for inclusion this time are All The King’s Men, On The Waterfront, A Man For All Seasons,...

Marlon Brando is a name that resonates deeply in the world of cinema. Often heralded as one of the greatest actors of all time, his influence and performances have shaped the landscape of Hollywood. From his explosive breakout role in “A Streetcar Named Desire” to his iconic portrayal of Vito Corleone in “The Godfather,” Brando’s career spanned decades and left an indelible mark on the film industry. This blog post will explore the pivotal moments and transformations in Marlon Brando’s life, showcasing how he became a legendary figure in acting.

Early Life and Acting Training at The Actors Studio

Marlon Brando’s upbringing in Omaha, Nebraska, was marked by a complex family dynamic. His father, a commercial artist with a penchant for alcohol, and his mother, an actress, created an environment filled with both inspiration and instability. This early exposure to the arts, coupled with personal hardships, played...

Brian Cox thinks cinema is “in a very bad way,” with the Marvel and DC Universes partly to blame.

The legendary actor of stage and screen — who most recently garnered critical acclaim for his award-winning role in HBO’s Succession — spoke at an Edinburgh International Film Festival panel on Saturday. When asked about the recent critical success of globally popular TV shows, Cox cited the latest MCU installment Deadpool & Wolverine as a great example of cinematic “party time.”

“What’s happened is that television is doing what cinema used to do,” Cox told the audience of television’s originality. “I think cinema is in a very bad way. I think it’s lost its place because of, partly, the grandiose element between Marvel, DC and all of that. And I think it’s beginning to implode, actually. You’re kind of losing the plot.”

He discussed Ryan Reynolds and...

Every great screen performance expands the medium in its own way, giving audiences something to respond to, while offering fresh ideas to future actors. A select few can be said to have redefined the craft entirely: Orson Welles in “Citizen Kane,” Marlon Brando in “On the Waterfront,” Toshiro Mifune in “Rashomon” and Gena Rowlands in “A Woman Under the Influence.”

Rowlands died Wednesday at age 94, half a century after “A Woman Under the Influence” premiered at the New York Film Festival in 1974. Rowlands was the last to go from among a tight clique of titans — actors who transformed modern cinema: Peter Falk, Seymour Cassel, Ben Gazzara and, of course, Rowlands’ late husband, actor-director John Cassavetes.

Younger audiences who know Rowlands only as the memory-challenged older woman in “The Notebook” (directed by her son Nick Cassavetes) or for her Emmy-winning turn in “Hysterical Blindness” owe it to themselves to investigate her most important work,...

Tim Blake Nelson is about to shoot a “spectacular” Western “Shoot” in Spain, directed by Guillermo Navarro. Guillermo Del Toro’s regular cinematographer, he already won an Academy Award for “Pan’s Labyrinth.”

“We have a great cast and a script written by British writer Ian Wilson. Westerns change, reflecting a cultural moment when it’s made. ‘Yellowstone,’ ‘Power of the Dog’… each generation needs to furnish its own take on film genres. This one is about the power of the gun as a corrupting force,” he reveals.

“It’s absolutely a current script, but it’s 100% true to its time. We are starting to shoot in November. The great thing about Westerns is that they require big vistas, but good Westerns don’t have to cost $100 million. We made ‘Old Henry’ for $1.2 million. It’s a way of having a superhero film with natural environments and no visual effects.”

There...

The iconic Criterion Collection has expanded into viral Closet trips, its streaming channel, and of course its staple 4k restorations on Blu-ray. Now, the Criterion Collection celebrates 40 years since its founding with a monumental 40-film box set including works from auteurs Agnès Varda, Spike Lee, Jean-Luc Godard, and Federico Fellini.

The box set, titled CC40, spans an eclectic selection of curated classic films that includes special features and essays. The collection encompasses the works “frequently chosen by the hundreds of filmmakers, actors, writers, and other movie-loving luminaries who have visited Criterion over the years, as documented in our popular Closet Picks video series,” per the official press release. “Neither a historical survey nor a top-40 compilation, this exciting, personal, unpredictable anthology reflects the cinematic joys and inspirations of the creative community that makes the Criterion Collection possible.”

The 40th anniversary Blu-ray box set includes films like “8½” (1963), “All That Jazz...

With nearly 1,700 titles in their catalog, it’s hard to discern where exactly to start when exploring the Criterion Collection. To celebrate their 40th anniversary, the company has now made it a bit easier as they’ve unveiled CC40, a 40-film, 49-disc collection retailing for around $640 that is now the new go-to gift for that budding cinephile in your life.

“This monumental forty-film box set celebrates forty years of the Criterion Collection by gathering an electrifying mix of classic and contemporary films, and presenting them with all their special features and essays in a deluxe clothbound, slipcased edition,” they note. “CC40’s eclectic selection includes the releases most frequently chosen by the hundreds of filmmakers, actors, writers, and other movie-loving luminaries who have visited Criterion over the years, as documented in our popular Closet Picks video series. Neither a historical survey nor a top-forty compilation, this exciting, personal, unpredictable anthology...

In László Benedek's 1953 crime drama "The Wild One," a young woman dancing with a member of the Black Rebels Motorcycle Club asks their leader, the pouty-lipped Johnny (Marlon Brando), what he's rebelling against, to which Johnny replies, unsmiling, "Whaddya got?" The most famous line of Brando's career up there with "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse," it also might as well have been a mission statement for the notoriously temperamental, wild card actor.

Brando's career trajectory reflected his disposition. Where the 1950s saw him collecting accolades and awards left and right, the actor's ill-reputable conduct overshadowed practically everything he did onscreen in the decade that came after. It wasn't until the '70s that Brando's legacy as a screen icon was restored, even as he continued to try and sabotage himself with his unpredictable behavior and seeming apathy towards many of the films he worked on.

Less than four weeks before Eva Marie Saint (“On the Waterfront”) bested Claire Trevor (“The High and the Mighty”) in the 1955 Best Supporting Actress Oscar race, the pair were jointly defeated by Judith Anderson (“Macbeth”) in the Emmy category of Best Single Performance by an Actress. This made them the first of 63 women to compete for the top film and TV performance honors in a single year. Scroll through our photo gallery to find out who has followed in their footsteps.

Seventeen members of this group prevailed at the Oscars but lost at the Emmys while another 18 did the opposite. The only actress who has ever won both awards in a 12-month span is Holly Hunter (1993-1994 – Emmy: “The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom”; Oscar: “The Piano”). An even dozen women – from Lee Grant (1971; 1976-1977) to Olivia Colman (2019; 2020-2022) – each achieved such dual nominations on more than one occasion.

Less than four weeks before Eva Marie Saint (“On the Waterfront”) bested Claire Trevor (“The High and the Mighty”) in the 1955 Best Supporting Actress Oscar race, the pair were jointly defeated by Judith Anderson (“Macbeth”) in the Emmy category of Best Single Performance by an Actress. This made them the first of 63 women to compete for the top film and TV performance honors in a single year. Scroll through our photo gallery to find out who has followed in their footsteps.

Seventeen members of this group prevailed at the Oscars but lost at the Emmys while another 18 did the opposite. The only actress who has ever won both awards in a 12-month span is Holly Hunter (1993-1994 – Emmy: “The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom”; Oscar: “The Piano”). An even dozen women – from Lee Grant (1971; 1976-1977) to Olivia Colman (2019; 2020-2022) – each achieved such dual nominations on more than one occasion.

While perhaps not as immediately obvious as a drooling xenomorph with acid-for-blood, one of the many secrets to the Alien franchise’s longevity has been its casting. The original 1979 movie directed by Ridley Scott is rightly celebrated for introducing Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley to the world, yet that whole film’s ensemble is pretty extraordinary. For all intents and purposes, it marked American audiences’ introductions to John Hurt and Ian Holm while also featuring an overall grizzled naturalism, courtesy of actors like Tom Skerritt and Yaphet Kotto.

When the folks starring in the series’ latest iteration, Alien: Romulus, think back to the ’79 movie today, they’re still in a bit of awe. Actor David Jonsson, who plays a benevolent android named Andy in the film, enthuses the first Alien is “almost a theater piece” with its reliance on an often quiet, unshowy ensemble. Alien: Romulus star Cailee Spaeny, meanwhile,...

Culver City, Calif. – Celebrate 100 years of Columbia Pictures and complete your Columbia Classics collection as Sony Pictures Home Entertainment proudly debuts six more iconic films from its library on 4K Ultra HD disc for the first time ever, exclusively within the Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Volume 5, available October 1. This must-own set includes a variety of powerful and moving award-winning favorites: All The King’S Men, On The Waterfront, A Man For All Seasons, Tootsie, The Age Of Innocence and Little Women (2019). Each film is presented in 4K resolution with Dolby Vision High Dynamic Range, and five of the films include immersive Dolby Atmos mixes.

The six films in the Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Volume 5 are only available on 4K Ultra HD disc within this special limited edition collector’s set. Included with the collection is a gorgeous hardbound 80-page book, featuring in-depth sections about the making of...

Douglass Fake, founder of leading movie soundtrack label Intrada and producer of more than 700 albums of movie and TV music, died Saturday at a Richmond, Calif., hospital after a long illness. He was 72.

Fake’s many credits include the first complete restoration of Leonard Bernstein’s “On the Waterfront,” a lavish 5-cd release of Elmer Bernstein’s “The Ten Commandments” and the debut of several Henry Mancini scores including “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” previously only available in abridged pop recordings.

Among the label’s best sellers were expansions of previously incomplete recordings of such classics as John Williams’ “Jaws,” Alan Silvestri’s “Back to the Future” and Jerry Goldsmith’s “Alien.” Fake also supervised the re-recording of a dozen albums of classic film music including Bernard Herrmann’s “The Man Who Knew Too Much” and Miklos Rozsa’s “Ivanhoe,” “Spellbound” and “Julius Caesar.”

A longtime film-music fan, Fake launched Intrada Records...

Joan Benedict, who starred on the original Steve Allen Show and Candid Camera and portrayed the tyrannical hotel queen Leona Helmsley in a one-woman stage show, has died. She was 96.

Benedict died June 24 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles of complications from a stroke, a family spokesperson announced.

Benedict was married to actor John Myhers, who played personnel man Bert Bratt in the 1967 film adaptation of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, from 1962 until his 1992 death and to Oscar-winning actor Rod Steiger (On the Waterfront, In the Heat of the Night) from 2000 until his death in 2002.

She then had a relationship with actor Jeremy Slate (Hell’s Angels ’69, One Life to Live) until he died in 2006 from esophageal cancer at 80.

“Both of my husbands, and my lifetime partner, Jeremy, were wonderful men who respected me as an actress,” she said in 2016. “They all died from different forms of cancer,...

Over the 96 years of Academy Awards history, over 900 men and women have been honored with acting nominations. On July 4, 2024, the oldest surviving acting winner (or nominee) has turned 100 years old. Our research shows that Eva Marie Saint joins a very short list of centenarians who received Oscar acting nominations, with four winning the award.

A star of stage, radio, TV and film, Saint won the Best Supporting Actress statue in 1955 for her debut movie performance in “On the Waterfront;” she is also the earliest surviving acting winner, and one of the last stars of the Golden Era. She later starred alongside Cary Grant in one of Alfred Hitchcock‘s most acclaimed films, “North by Northwest” (1959), and became known to a younger generation as Clark Kent’s adoptive mother in “Superman Returns” (2006). Although she’s never received another Oscar nomination, she’s earned five Emmy nominations, winning Best Miniseries Supporting Actress...

“The longer you live, I think really the smarter you get…and hopefully, as an actress, that makes you a better actress, because you can understand things better.” Words of wisdom from the fascinating and elegant Eva Marie Saint, as told to TCM’s late host Robert Osborne in an interview that first aired in 2014. This special, Eva Marie Saint: Live From the TCM Classic Film Festival, is being replayed on July 4 (10/9c), marking her 100th birthday. It’s also the first of four Thursdays celebrating her as Star of the Month, a tribute that includes 1954’s On the Waterfront (8/7c). Her first feature film role, as the sensitive Edie Doyle, won Saint an Oscar as supporting actress opposite her Actors Studio colleague Marlon Brando. “I felt that he could see right through me,” she marvels, recalling that Brando’s unpredictable line readings for each take “kept you on your toes.

Just as most young actors who headed to New York post World War II, Eva Marie Saint was a staple on live television. In fact, her first TV appearance was in 1947 in a production of “A Christmas Carol” starring John Carradine as Scrooge. Saint, who celebrates her 100th birthday on July 4, told me in a 2013 L.A. Times interview that she didn’t appear on screen in her first TV gig that same year on NBC’s “The Borden Show.” She was hired to simply supply applause off-camera and called her parents to tell them the good news. “After the show, they called me and mom said, ‘Honey, we just love the show, and Dad thinks he heard you applauding.”’

Doing live TV got the lithe blonde actress a lot of exposure. One time it was way too much exposure. Between 1950-52, Saint appeared as the daughter of a high-powered San...

The oldest surviving Oscar winner is turning 100 this year! Classy, smart and with a warmth that belies her cool blonde beauty, Eva Marie Saint made a name for herself on stage, radio, television and film, earning numerous accolades over a nearly eight-decade career, and appearing alongside some of Hollywood’s most acclaimed stars.

Saint was born on July 4, 1924, in New Jersey, and raised in New York, before becoming an NBC page. After steady work on radio and TV, Saint won an Outer Critics Circle Award for her role in the 1953 play “The Trip to Bountiful.”

The following year, Saint made her movie debut opposite Marlon Brando in Elia Kazan‘s “On the Waterfront,” which garnered her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, and launched an impressive film career. Over the next two decades, she co-starred alongside Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Cary Grant, Paul Newman, Warren Beatty, Angela Lansbury and...

If you’re trying to decide between Max and Netflix, you’re looking at two of the most impressive streaming services around. While Netflix is the default streamer for millions of people, we can make a case that Max is the better choice. Why? Let’s dig in.

Max vs. Netfflix: Price

Max vs. Netfflix: Movies

Max vs. Netfflix: TV

Max vs. Netfflix: Children’s Content

Max vs. Netfflix: Sports

Max vs. Netfflix: Bottom Line

Max vs. Netfflix: Price

Max is $9.99 / month with ads, $16.99 ad-free, and $20.99 if you want 4K.

Netflix is $6.99 / month with ads or $15.49 to go ad-free, and $22.99 for the 4K option.

Sign Up $9.99+ / month Max.com Sign Up $6.99+ / month netflix.com Max vs. Netfflix: Movies

We can make a case that Max has the best movie library of any streaming service since the Warner Bros. archive goes back 100 years and includes some of the biggest blockbusters ever created.

At the 27th Academy Awards, Oscar helped Edmond O’Brien win an Oscar.

O’Brien played sleazy show biz publicist Oscar Muldoon in 1954’s “The Barefoot Contessa,” which starred Humphrey Bogart and Ava Gardner. Bogart had been crowned Best Actor of 1951 for “The African Queen,” and had also contended for the same award for 1943’s Best Picture, “Casablanca.” Gardner was coming off of her first and only nomination, for Best Actress in 1953’s “Mogambo.” “The Barefoot Contessa” was written and directed by Academy favorite Joseph L. Mankiewicz, who had won back-to-back Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay Oscars for 1949’s “A Letter to Three Wives” and 1950’s Best Picture, “All About Eve.”

”The Barefoot Contessa” didn’t fare quite as well at the Oscars as “Letter” or “Eve.” Neither Bogart or Gardner received nominations, though Bogart was cited for his role in that same year’s Best Picture entry “The Caine Mutiny.

Imagine dipping into a time capsule and emerging with a slice of cinematic history—could there be a more thrilling comeback? That is the electrifying sensation we are getting as Billy Zane is working hard to play Marlon Brando.

Billy, 58, sported no shirt in one of the photos of his upcoming biopic, Waltzing with Brando, where he can be seen assuming the role of the renowned Hollywood star. Have you seen the transformation? The resemblance is uncanny, leaving us with goosebumps and high hopes.

Fans are abuzz, likening Zane’s potential resurgence to Brendan Fraser’s heartwarming comeback with The Whale, and we can’t help but agree. The hours of meticulous research, pouring over Brando’s classic performances and mannerisms, and silent anticipation have all led up to this moment.

Billy Zane on the set of Marlon Brando’s biopic | Instagram: @billyzane

The Return of Billy Zane: A...

An iconic woman needs an apt setting.

So, to mark its 100th anniversary, Columbia Pictures has teamed with the Municipality of Cannes to put the studio’s instantly recognizable Torch Lady and roster of legendary actresses on full display as part of a free photographic exhibit in the historic city’s town square, just off the Croisette and with the Palais and Mediterranean Sea serving as a backdrop.

The exhibit, dubbed “Lighting the Way: From the Torch Lady to Leading Ladies,” includes outdoor installations emblazoned with Columbia’s longstanding symbol as well as more than 30 rare photographs from the studio’s archive spanning Hollywood’s Golden Age through present day, The photographs include ones of Katherine Hepburn, Deborah Kerr, Claudette Colbert, Ann-Margret, Meryl Streep, Viola Davis, Julia Roberts, Michelle Yeoh, and, naturally, “Gilda” star Rita Hayworth. A restored version of that film is screening this year as part of the festival’s Cannes Classics program.

Marlon Brando is among the pantheon of the greatest actors to have ever graced the silver screen. He popularized the art of method acting and maintaining the intensity of his characters throughout production. His award-winning and acclaimed performances in A Streetcar Named Desire, On the Waterfront, and The Godfather continued to be analyzed and admired by current actors.

Marlon Brando as Colonel Walter Kurtz in Apocalypse Now

One of his most recognizable antagonistic performances was in Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, Brando has had an infamous reputation for being difficult to work with. During the film, Brando and his co-star Dennis Hopper had a misunderstanding, where Brando threw a tantrum, resulting in a feud that almost turned physical.

Dennis Hopper Got Pissed With Marlon Brando’s Insults and Almost Fought Him

Marlon Brando requested his scenes to be shot separately from Dennis Hopper in Apocalypse Now

By the late 70s,...

Exclusive: To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Columbia Pictures, the municipality of Cannes will present a free photographic exhibition titled “Lighting the Way: From the Torch Lady to Leading Ladies.” The photos will be on display for the general public on Cours Félix Faure in Cannes from May 13 to June 10.

Led by Columbia Pictures’ iconic Lady with the Torch, the exhibition will consist of over 30 rare photographs from Columbia’s archive and highlighting legendary actresses from Hollywood’s Golden Age and beyond, including Katherine Hepburn, Deborah Kerr, Claudette Colbert, Ann-Margret, Meryl Streep, Viola Davis, Julia Roberts, Michelle Yeoh and Rita Hayworth. A restored version of Hayworth’s Gilda is screening as part of the Cannes Film Festival’s Cannes Classics program this year.

Said Tom Rothman, Chairman & CEO of Sony Pictures’ Motion Picture Group, “Columbia Pictures may have been founded by men, but women have always been vital to its growth and impact.

Later this month, the Green Mountain State will roll out the red carpet for the United States’ newest international film festival: The Vermont Film & Folklore Festival, which will open in Manchester, Vermont on Thursday, May 23 with a full lineup of award-winning narrative features, documentaries, and shorts from around the world, including a spotlight on Vermont-made films.

Founded by a pair of indie film luminaries and recent Manchester transplants — MovieMaker Magazine founder Tim Rhys and Filmmaker Magazine co-founder Karol Martesko-Fenster — the festival will play home to screenings of more than 40 new and classic films, including rare 16mm screenings of some of Hollywood’s most beloved movies, including 70th anniversary screenings of “On the Waterfront” and “La Strada,” a 75th anniversary screening of James Cagney’s “White Heat,” and an 80th anniversary screening of “Double Indemnity, and more.

The festival will kick off at The Southern Vermont Arts Center with the opening...

With its list of May 2024 releases, Amazon Prime Video is giving us the kindest gift of all: cougar Anne Hathaway.

May 2 sees the premiere of The Idea of You, a romantic-comedy that features Hathaway as a 40-year-old mom finding romance with a 24-year-old boy band singer (Nicholas Galitzine). Having saved the medium of film forever, Prime Video is celebrating with some big time library titles this month as well. American Fiction and BlacKkKlansman arrive on May 14 and will be followed by Creed and Pearl: An X-traordinary Origin Story on May 16.

For its TV offerings, Prime is leading off with Outer Range season 2 on May 16. This James Brolin sci-fi Western will continue the mysteries of the strange happenings on Thanos’ ranch. Reality TV fans will be able to enjoy the Daniel Tosh-hosted competition series The Goat on May 9.

Here’s everything coming to Prime Video and Freevee in April – Amazon...

by Chad Kennerk

K.J. Relth-Miller, Director of Film Programs.

All images courtesy the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.

The Academy’s annual ceremony is just one aspect of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ overall examination and recognition of film. The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is the largest museum in the United States devoted to the art, science, and artists behind the magic of the movies. Through exhibitions, curated film series and extensive programming, the Academy Museum celebrates and captures the stories behind the art of moviemaking. The museum’s David Geffen and Ted Mann theatres present a year-round robust calendar of screenings, film series, member programs, panel discussions, and more. Through retrospectives and thematic film series, the artistic and cultural contributions of those in front of and behind the camera are illuminated and explored.

One of the great actors of the 20th century, Marlon Brando studied...

In Tennessee Williams' play "A Streetcar Named Desire," Blanche DuBois desperately clings to certain beliefs. She is keenly intent on reinforcing the societal values and morals inherent in her aristocratic lineage, shunning realism for the magic of a nostalgic past that hides something darker, and repressing her guilt with the help of self-soothing mechanisms. When faced with the terrible nature of reality, which culminates in the character of her brother-in-law Stanley, Blanche is forced to reckon with the cycles of the violence that mark her existence, along with the precious fantasies woven to protect herself from true growth or healing. When she smashes a mirror, the delusions also shatter, with fantasy having no hold on her perception of reality anymore.

The mirror-smashing scene is seminal to understanding Blanche in Williams' play, and "On the Waterfront" director Elia Kazan's film adaptation of the story also dramatizes this to chilling effect,...

I never liked Tom Ripley but I keep meeting him.

I’ve “met” Ripley in five films, and he’s now the protagonist of a somber eight-part Netflix series. So filmmakers clearly find his character intriguing. Even though he has no character.

That, in itself, reminds me that Hollywood is suffering the same problem as Washington: an absence of vital young protagonists. Voters are confronted by an election that’s really a rerun, likely opened by a debate no one wants to witness.

In filmmaking, the worldwide success of Oppenheimer told us that a complex story becomes more interesting if it’s also about someone interesting. Yet movies with vibrant young protagonists seem to be losing their moment.

Dan Lin, the new chief of film at Netflix, confides a desire — since rebutted by Ted Sarandos on Thursday’s Q1 earnings call — to steer away from mindless mega-budget action films like...

Pulp Fiction stars John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman and Harvey Keitel reunited Thursday to celebrate the movie’s 30th Anniversary as part of this year’s TCM Classic Film Festival.

The theme of this year’s festival, which runs through April 21, Is Most Wanted: Crime and Justice in Film. Besides Pulp Fiction, other movies that are included this year are Chinatown, Dirty Harry, Dog Day Afternoon, In Cold Blood, North by Northwest, and On the Waterfront.

As is tradition with the festival, all screenings include special introductions to provide context about the films. Thursday’s screening of Pulp Fiction at the Tcl Chinese Theater included a conversation with Travolta, Thurman, Jackson and Keitel. Other film stars in attendance included Rosanna Arquette, Phil Lamarr, Burr Steers, Eric Stoltz, Julia Sweeney, and Frank Whaley.

Pulp Fiction was released in 1994 and directed by Quentin Tarantino. He and Roger Avary won an Oscar for writing the screenplay.

If Criterion24/7 hasn’t completely colonized your attention every time you open the Channel––this is to say: if you’re stronger than me––their May lineup may be of interest. First and foremost I’m happy to see a Michael Roemer triple-feature: his superlative Nothing But a Man, arriving in a Criterion Edition, and the recently rediscovered The Plot Against Harry and Vengeance is Mine, three distinct features that suggest a long-lost voice of American movies. Meanwhile, Nobuhiko Obayashi’s Antiwar Trilogy four by Sara Driver, and a wide collection from Ayoka Chenzira fill out the auteurist sets.

Series-wise, a highlight of 1999 goes beyond the well-established canon with films like Trick and Bye Bye Africa, while of course including Sofia Coppola, Michael Mann, Scorsese, and Claire Denis. Films starring Shirley Maclaine, a study of 1960s paranoia, and Columbia’s “golden era” (read: 1950-1961) are curated; meanwhile, The Breaking Ice,...

Actor Ron Thompson, best known for starring alongside Robert Blake in the ABC crime series Baretta and his performance in the iconic 1981 film American Pop, has died. He was 83. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Thompson was found dead in his Los Angeles apartment on Saturday afternoon (April 13). He was discovered by his friend and former co-worker Joe Black, a filmmaker who worked with Thompson on Hate Horses (2017), Chicks, Man (2018), Suffrage (2023), and many other projects. No cause of death was given. “For a man of his age, he was so full of life; he had such a presence,” Black told THR, referring to Thompson as “the Sam Jackson to my Tarantino.” Born on January 31, 1941, in Louisville, Kentucky, Thompson moved with his family to Miami in 1945 and soon became fascinated with acting, especially after seeing Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront. Thompson’s first acting gig came in 1960 when he appeared as...

Ron Thompson, the unheralded actor who starred on Broadway for Charles Gordone in the Pulitzer Prize-winning No Place to Be Somebody and played father and son musicians for Ralph Bakshi in the animated cult classic American Pop, has died. He was 83.

Filmmaker Joe Black told The Hollywood Reporter that he found Thompson in his Van Nuys apartment on Saturday afternoon. The two had worked together in eight features, including Hate Horses (2017), Chicks, Man (2018) and Suffrage (2023), and Black visited him a couple times a week to help him out.

“For a man of his age, he was so full of life, he had such a presence,” Black said. He called Thompson “the Sam Jackson to my Tarantino.”

In 1969, Thompson originated off-Broadway the role of Shanty Mulligan in the Joseph Papp-produced No Place to Be Somebody, starring Ron O’Neal, then accompanied the drama to Broadway and on a tour around the country.

Ron Thompson, a veteran character actor best known for his role in Ralph Bakshi’s rotoscope film American Pop and his 1970s TV series portrayal of Detective Nopke in Baretta, died Saturday in Los Angeles. He was 83. No cause was given by his friend Professor Rel Dowdell of Hampton University, who confirmed the death.

Thompson had a brief career as a rock singer in the 1960s and wrote and recorded a number of singles as Ronnie Thompson.

He also originated the role of Shanty Mulligan in the Pulitzer Prize winning play No Place to Be Somebody by Charles Gordone. He also won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for his 1973 lead performance in the play Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?

Born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1941, Ron, his older brother, and parents moved to Miami, Florida in ’45. Ron began to show talents as a singer/performer at an early age,...

Upcoming Sonic The Hedgehog TV spin-off Knuckles isn’t just about a cartoon echidna; it’s also a character study, according to its exec producer.

Move over Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver, or Isabelle Huppert in The Piano Teacher. When it comes to character studies, it’s in a Sonic The Hedgehog TV series you’ll find the human condition most soulfully laid bare.

This is according to executive producer and Toby Ascher, who’s talked to Paste about his upcoming series Knuckles, coming soon to Paramount+. It’ll feature Idris Elba as the titular cartoon echidna who first appeared in 2022’s Sonic The Hedgehog 2. The six-part limited series, Ascher says, allows he and his creative team to “really do character studies.”

“We got really excited about the idea of expanding our characters in our world into television, specifically, because it gives us a platform to really do character studies,...

Rod Steiger is primarily remembered for his tough guys in such films as “Al Capone,” “The Big Knife” and his Oscar-winning performance in “In the Heat of the Night.” But his performances include such diverse characters as a meek Holocaust survivor in “The Pawnbroker” and a fey embalmer in the satire “The Loved One.”

In addition to his performance in “In the Heat of the Night,” for which Steiger also won a Golden Globe as well, he was Oscar-nominated for “The Pawnbroker” and for his iconic performance as the brother of Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando) in the back seat of that car in Elia Kazan‘s “On the Waterfront.”

So let’s raise a glass to the late great man and honor him by counting down his 12 greatest screen performances, ranked from worst to best.

While he was researching subjects for his next book in 2022, writer-producer-author Burt Kearns noted that the centennial of Marlon Brando’s birth was coming up: April 3, 2024 (this past Wednesday). At the same time, he understood that the world didn’t need another Brando biography. “There had already been so many of those,” Kearns notes, “including one that Brando himself collaborated on.” Yet he was fascinated by the actor (who died in 2004) who perfected The Method. And as a longtime journalist, the more Kearns dug into the life and career of Brando, the more astounded he grew at the influence the acting legend had on Western society, popular culture and the American psyche.

“And it all goes back to Brando’s role in the 1953 film ‘The Wild One’,” Kearns asserts, “and that singular image.”

The image of which the author speaks is the one of Brando that graces the cover of his fascinating new book,...

Dev Patel’s feature directorial debut Monkey Man leads the new films at this weekend’s UK-Ireland box office, starting in 592 cinemas through Universal.

Directed, produced, from a story by and starring Patel, Monkey Man follows an anonymous young man who unleashes a campaign of violence against the corrupt leaders who murdered his mother, and continue to systematically victimise the poor and powerless.

Filmed in early 2021, Netflix originally bought worldwide rights to Monkey Man. After Jordan Peele boarded the title as producer through his Monkeypaw Productions, Universal acquired it from Netflix earlier this year. It debuted at SXSW last month.

Marlon Brando – the man whom Time magazine crowned the greatest actor of the 20th century back in 1998 – would be celebrating his 100th birthday today had he not died 20 years ago. Born on April 3, 1924, Brando was a fascinating if divisive character, a perpetually enigmatic figure whose impact not only on the acting profession but on American popular culture itself can’t be overstated. He starred in numerous iconic roles, from Stanley Kowalski in “A Streetcar Named Desire” to Terry Malloy in “On the Waterfront” to Julius Caesar in “Julius Caesar” to Vito Corleone in “The Godfather.”

While he wound up nominated for eight Academy Awards and six Golden Globes and won two of each, it was the one honor Brando rejected, of course, that came to define his awards legacy: his Best Actor win for “The Godfather” in 1973 in which he sent actress and purported Native American representative Sacheen Littlefeather (a.