She could never be a saint, but she thought she could be a martyr if they killed her quick.—Flannery O’Connor The mist uncovers Japanese soldiers as well as the grim sight of severed heads by the side of the hot springs where Catholic priests are being tortured. A priest kneels down in horror, almost catatonic, unable to bring himself to believe in the evilness of these men, the men of the Inquisitor. Why are these priests, who came to this “swamp of Japan” to spread the Word of the Lord, suffering so immensely on the hands of these soldiers?To the modern, secular audience, the theme of Silence (2016) is of great irony: the all-powerful Catholic Church, the institution that spread terror across Europe for 700 years with her bonfires and witch hunts and enforcing an almost maddening outlook at faith and personal behavior, comes to an unconquerable land where...
- 3/28/2017
- MUBI
Like the first words out of a baby’s mouth, the first lines uttered in a film are important. These are our picks for the 10 best opening lines in film.
Spring is upon us, and what better way to celebrate the beginning of brighter days than to celebrate the best film beginnings of all time! Check back all month long as we look at the films with the best beginnings.
Check out the previous entries into this series here:
Top 10 Opening Credits Sequences in Film
Top 10 Opening Shots in Film
Top 10 Opening Scenes in Film
It can be argued that a character’s lines can move a film forward and have more of an impact on the audience than any amount of action or breathtaking filmmaking. Lines, including narrations provide a source of information often more direct than an image. It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words,...
Spring is upon us, and what better way to celebrate the beginning of brighter days than to celebrate the best film beginnings of all time! Check back all month long as we look at the films with the best beginnings.
Check out the previous entries into this series here:
Top 10 Opening Credits Sequences in Film
Top 10 Opening Shots in Film
Top 10 Opening Scenes in Film
It can be argued that a character’s lines can move a film forward and have more of an impact on the audience than any amount of action or breathtaking filmmaking. Lines, including narrations provide a source of information often more direct than an image. It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words,...
- 4/27/2016
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (G.S. Perno)
- Cinelinx
Who doesn’t love a good gangster movie? They contain some of the most iconic characters (“Scarface”), memorable scenes (“The Godfather”), and best lines (anything from “The Untouchables”) in cinema. There’s a reason producers keep returning to organized crime — when the stars align, mafia films are hard to top, reaping big box office returns and raking in both awards and critical acclaim. Hollywood’s been making gangster flicks for almost as long as there’s been a movie industry, since the time when actual gangsters ran speakeasies and smuggled hooch from state to state. Prolific Vimeo user Jorge Luengo Ruiz has crafted yet another supercut, this time paying tribute to over 80 years of gangsters in movies. The not-quite-three-and-a-half-minute video begins with a defining bit of voice over from Henry Hill (Ray Liotta, “Goodfellas”), which sums up the supercut perfectly. “As far back as I could remember, I always wanted to be a gangster.
- 3/25/2015
- by Zach Hollwedel
- The Playlist
"As far back as I can remember I always wanted to be a gangster," goes the opening voiceover to Martin Scorsese's "Goodfellas." With that piece of dialogue, a gangster classic was born. It's hard to believe that this year will mark the 25th anniversary of the movie, and the Tribeca Film Festival will celebrate in grand style. Organizers have announced that "Goodfellas" will close the 2015 edition of the festival, with Jon Stewart moderating a conversation with the film's creators and cast following the screening on April 25th. No word yet on who will be in attendance, but a chance to see the movie on the big screen should be reason enough to snap up tickets. Trailer below and full press release after that. The Tribeca Film Festival runs from April 15-26. 25Th Anniversary Of Goodfellas To Close 2015 Tribeca Film Festival On April 25 *** Cast And Creators To Reunite For Post...
- 3/18/2015
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Netflix taps into local cinema talent for political drama set against backdrop of France’s third largest city.
Netflix has greenlit its first French original series, a political drama set entitled Marseille, set against the backdrop of the southern French port city due to hit screens at the end of 2015.
The eight-part series, described as “a tale of power, corruption and redemption”, revolves around a city election between the long-time mayor Robert Taro and a younger ambitious candidate.
Netflix’s announcement comes on the eve of its highly anticipated arrival in France – a move that prompted alarm in some parts of the local film and TV industry because it is expected to put pressure on the country’s highly regulated release windows and audiovisual financing system.
“Marseille is an ambitious, diabolically smart, fictitious exploration of local politics in one of the world’s most vibrant and fascinating cities.” said Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos.
“We are delighted...
Netflix has greenlit its first French original series, a political drama set entitled Marseille, set against the backdrop of the southern French port city due to hit screens at the end of 2015.
The eight-part series, described as “a tale of power, corruption and redemption”, revolves around a city election between the long-time mayor Robert Taro and a younger ambitious candidate.
Netflix’s announcement comes on the eve of its highly anticipated arrival in France – a move that prompted alarm in some parts of the local film and TV industry because it is expected to put pressure on the country’s highly regulated release windows and audiovisual financing system.
“Marseille is an ambitious, diabolically smart, fictitious exploration of local politics in one of the world’s most vibrant and fascinating cities.” said Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos.
“We are delighted...
- 8/28/2014
- ScreenDaily
In Martin Scorsese’s GoodFellas, a pre-Quentin Tarantino movie that is turning out to be the post-Tarantino touchstone for how to make a drama about the lethal seductions of bad behavior (Boogie Nights, The Sopranos, and American Hustle are all honorary sons of GoodFellas), Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), the shark/schlub wise-guy antihero, sucks the audience right into his dream of doing whatever the hell he pleases the moment he announces, in that opening voiceover, “As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster.” To watch GoodFellas is to think: And who wouldn’t?...
- 1/3/2014
- by Owen Gleiberman
- EW - Inside Movies
In a career that is now entering its 45th year, Martin Scorsese’s is considered one of the most acclaimed in film history. He has built his career on telling visually stunning and equally impressive stories over the years, but he is also one of the most inspiring directors for an actor to work with. Actors under Scorsese’s direction are given an opportunity to not only work with one of the greatest modern film-makers, but also flourish in their trade.
This list celebrates not only the craftsmanship and quality of Scorsese’s films but also the performances that he helped create with the actors mentioned herein. Throughout his career, Scorsese has directed 18 different Academy Award nominated performances, with 5 actors winning the Oscar under his charge. Without Scorsese’s sure handed direction, it is rest assured that none of these films or performances would have been as memorable as they were.
This list celebrates not only the craftsmanship and quality of Scorsese’s films but also the performances that he helped create with the actors mentioned herein. Throughout his career, Scorsese has directed 18 different Academy Award nominated performances, with 5 actors winning the Oscar under his charge. Without Scorsese’s sure handed direction, it is rest assured that none of these films or performances would have been as memorable as they were.
- 1/3/2013
- by Kyle Hytonen
- Obsessed with Film
“As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster.” This famous piece of narration, from Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas, isn’t repeated in the new gangster drama Kill The Irishman, but it certainly feels implied. The ever-present voiceover, the oft-ironic mix of period pop songs and old standards on the soundtrack, the cast of gangster-genre regulars (including Paul Sorvino): All make the comparison unmistakable, and inevitably unflattering. But the biggest problem with Kill The Irishman isn’t that it rips off Goodfellas, because plenty of good films and television shows have ripped it off well ...
- 3/24/2011
- avclub.com
Martin Scorsese, 1990
Has Martin Scorsese made a better film in the last two decades than this visceral insider's view of New York mob existence, drawn from the real-life story of Henry Hill? Whatever you make of its morals, and the charge that it glamourises the mafia, it's hard to deny the sheer explosive power of Goodfellas, still undiminished 20 years after its release. Mafia allure is precisely what the film is about. Ray Liotta's Henry Hill says it loud and clear at the very start: "As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster. To me, being a gangster was better than being president of the United States."
To this young, half-Sicilian half-Irish kid growing up in an impoverished Brooklyn, joining the local mob opens up a world where everything exists for the taking. It means sharp suits, flash cars, gold watches, beautiful women. It...
Has Martin Scorsese made a better film in the last two decades than this visceral insider's view of New York mob existence, drawn from the real-life story of Henry Hill? Whatever you make of its morals, and the charge that it glamourises the mafia, it's hard to deny the sheer explosive power of Goodfellas, still undiminished 20 years after its release. Mafia allure is precisely what the film is about. Ray Liotta's Henry Hill says it loud and clear at the very start: "As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster. To me, being a gangster was better than being president of the United States."
To this young, half-Sicilian half-Irish kid growing up in an impoverished Brooklyn, joining the local mob opens up a world where everything exists for the taking. It means sharp suits, flash cars, gold watches, beautiful women. It...
- 10/17/2010
- by Killian Fox
- The Guardian - Film News
"As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster." Of course Henry Hill wanted to be a gangster -- they never seem to go out of style. HBO's series "Boardwalk Empire" instantly got picked up for a second season after just one episode, Martin Scorsese wants to round up Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci for a mob movie, and we're reminiscing about the 20th anniversary of Goodfellas. Speaking of that mafia masterpiece, how would you like some more?...
- 9/22/2010
- by Dave Davis
- JoBlo.com
Opening the fest is the North American premiere of Emmanuel Mouret's French sex comedy Please Please Me! (which I think should logically be picked up for the U.S. market - see trailer here) and the ten day fest will be closing with the North American premiere of Radu Mihaileanu's The Concert - a Weinstein Co. title starring Melanie Laurent that will most likely open sometime early in 2010. - Now in its 15th year, Montreal's Cinemania Film Festival, one of North America's better French language fests has unveiled its 30-title roster with its usual mix of films from the big four (Cannes, Berlin, Venice and Toronto) and select tiles from the Rotterdams, Locarnos, Karlovy Varys and Sundances. Opening the fest is the North American premiere of Emmanuel Mouret's French sex comedy Please Please Me! (which I think should logically be picked up for the U.
- 12/13/2009
- by Ioncinema.com Staff
- IONCINEMA.com
- As usual, Wild Bunch comes to Cannes this year loaded up in film offerings with most notably three antcipated titles in post production status: Aronofsky's The Wrestler, Belge helmer Jaco Van Dormael's Mr Nobody and Claire Denis' White Material. The Paris-based company has a heavy slate which is comprised of Cannes selected films and market projects. A Complete History Of My Sexual Failure by Chris Waitt - Completed Afterwards by Gilles Bourdos - Post-Production Buddhas Collapsed Out Of Shame by Hana Makhmalbaf - Completed Camino by Javier Fesser - Post-Production Che - Part 1 by Steven Soderbergh - Completed Che - Part 2 by Steven Soderbergh - Completed Chelsea On The Rocks by Abel Ferrara - Completed Don't Look Back by Marina De Van - Post-Production Dorothy Mills by Agnès Merlet - Completed Downloading Nancy by Johan Renck - Completed Hollywood : I'm Sleeping Over Tonight by Antoine De Maximy
- 5/15/2008
- IONCINEMA.com
Locarno International Film Festival
LOCARNO, Switzerland -- Wry, nostalgic and wonderfully nutty, Samuel Benchetrit's comedy I Always Wanted to be a Gangster is a warm if cockeyed homage to old-time crime movies.
Masterfully shot in the Academy aspect ratio and vivid black-and-white of Bogie and Cagney pictures, it relates the earnest but ham-fisted attempts by a group of unrelated characters to turn their hands to crime. It might be a hard sell, but lovers of old movies and those who relish screen comedy that is written, staged and performed smartly Will Love this.
The only link between each of the stories is a functional cafeteria on the outskirts of Paris, where conurbation is cementing over both greenery and the illusory recollection of better times. But Benchetrit weaves his yarns together so cleverly that the film does not feel episodic. He succeeds in switching from goofball slapstick to screwball banter to the driest observational wit -- and back again -- without missing a beat.
The film begins and ends with two would-be villains who seem made for each other. Franck (Edouard Baer) is a witless hoodlum whose stab at robbing the cafeteria at gunpoint is hampered by the absence of a gun and the fact that he's locked his keys inside his getaway car. Susie (Anna Mouglalis) is the sassy waitress who laughs at his feeble hold-up technique largely because she has his gun. The backstory to this, and to the other chapters, is told in silent-movie style complete with title cards.
Meanwhile, a pair of bumbling and essentially decent kidnappers, played by Bouli Lanners and Serge Lariviere, have broken into a rich man's home and grabbed his daughter Selma El Mouissi) for ransom. They couldn't know that, though she is spoiled and nubile, she is also suicidal, and her father is happy to be rid of her.
Still, they leave a message on dad's phone to arrange an exchange meeting at the cafeteria, where, by chance, two groups of touring musicians arrive with vocalists Alain Bashung and the single-named Arno playing versions of themselves. One is successful, the other not so much, and when temptation is offered, it's too hard to resist.
Then there's the gang of retired criminals who have come together at what used to be their hideout because one of them is mortally ill and they want to fulfill youthful pledges to one another. These old reprobates are played by a wonderful array of character actors: Jean Rochefort, Laurent Terzieff, Jean-Pierre Kalfon, Venantino Venantini and Roger Dumas. Being together again makes them long for one more heist, but the bank they robbed in their last job 25 years ago isn't what it used to be.
The finest compliment to the filmmakers and splendid cast is that you wish the movie wouldn't end. These are marvelously rendered characters, and it would be great to spend more time in their misguided but endearing company.
LOCARNO, Switzerland -- Wry, nostalgic and wonderfully nutty, Samuel Benchetrit's comedy I Always Wanted to be a Gangster is a warm if cockeyed homage to old-time crime movies.
Masterfully shot in the Academy aspect ratio and vivid black-and-white of Bogie and Cagney pictures, it relates the earnest but ham-fisted attempts by a group of unrelated characters to turn their hands to crime. It might be a hard sell, but lovers of old movies and those who relish screen comedy that is written, staged and performed smartly Will Love this.
The only link between each of the stories is a functional cafeteria on the outskirts of Paris, where conurbation is cementing over both greenery and the illusory recollection of better times. But Benchetrit weaves his yarns together so cleverly that the film does not feel episodic. He succeeds in switching from goofball slapstick to screwball banter to the driest observational wit -- and back again -- without missing a beat.
The film begins and ends with two would-be villains who seem made for each other. Franck (Edouard Baer) is a witless hoodlum whose stab at robbing the cafeteria at gunpoint is hampered by the absence of a gun and the fact that he's locked his keys inside his getaway car. Susie (Anna Mouglalis) is the sassy waitress who laughs at his feeble hold-up technique largely because she has his gun. The backstory to this, and to the other chapters, is told in silent-movie style complete with title cards.
Meanwhile, a pair of bumbling and essentially decent kidnappers, played by Bouli Lanners and Serge Lariviere, have broken into a rich man's home and grabbed his daughter Selma El Mouissi) for ransom. They couldn't know that, though she is spoiled and nubile, she is also suicidal, and her father is happy to be rid of her.
Still, they leave a message on dad's phone to arrange an exchange meeting at the cafeteria, where, by chance, two groups of touring musicians arrive with vocalists Alain Bashung and the single-named Arno playing versions of themselves. One is successful, the other not so much, and when temptation is offered, it's too hard to resist.
Then there's the gang of retired criminals who have come together at what used to be their hideout because one of them is mortally ill and they want to fulfill youthful pledges to one another. These old reprobates are played by a wonderful array of character actors: Jean Rochefort, Laurent Terzieff, Jean-Pierre Kalfon, Venantino Venantini and Roger Dumas. Being together again makes them long for one more heist, but the bank they robbed in their last job 25 years ago isn't what it used to be.
The finest compliment to the filmmakers and splendid cast is that you wish the movie wouldn't end. These are marvelously rendered characters, and it would be great to spend more time in their misguided but endearing company.
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