Happy New Year to all movie lovers! We wish you all a 2013 full of amazing cinema. Speaking of amazing cinema, let’s start the New Year right with something very special.

You may know of the great American filmmaker Nicholas Ray — the director of such classics as Rebel with a Cause and the noir In a Lonely Place. That said, the chances are you haven’t heard of his final feature film; an experimental, collaborative, multi-screen work he made with college students after his exile from Hollywood. MUBI is currently showing this film throughout most of the world, as well as another wonderful film about the director.

(more…)

Score:

• 5 Comments
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook

This week MUBI is highlighting the works of a major new upcoming talent. It isn’t often a great new director emerges from Canada; only Xavier Dolan, Guy Maddin, David Cronenberg and Michael Snow seem to have made major waves outside the nation’s boundaries of late. The name to add to that list is Denis Côté, a unique, emerging voice who is constantly experimenting, which means his movies are always vibrant, interesting, and surprising.

Anthology Film Archives, one of the major repertory cinemas in the US, recently gave Côté a complete retrospective, commenting that the director is “one of the most gifted of contemporary Canadian filmmakers.” Côté’s new zoo documentary, Bestiaire, is currently on the festival circuit, and with that and the Anthology retrospective, we thought it was a good time to highlight the filmmaker’s work now showing on

MUBI:

(more…)

Score:

• 3 Comments
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook

This week on MUBI we have two choice documentaries for all you film buffs out there. Both are directed by Daniel Raim, and both are must sees! They are explorations of the craft and artistry performed behind the scenes of some of Hollywood’s great classics.

The Man on Lincoln’s Nose

For this short feature, I’m going to leave it to Andrew Horton’s excellent piece written in Cineaste magazine:

“Production design has always been a key part of the Hollywood filmmaking process, but until recently the field received very little critical attention. But thanks to Daniel Raim’s lucid and concise Oscar-nominated documentary about Robert Boyle, one of Hollywood’s best art directors, a general audience now has a chance to savor what these masters of their craft have contributed.

“Boyle tells stories about working on everything from Hitchcock’s North by Northwest, The Birds and Marnie to Fiddler on the Roof. Boyle is quite eloquent and witty in explaining his craft, and others, including fellow art director Henry Bumstead, are also interviewed.

“Raim’s film is a welcome gift to everyone anywhere who wants to know more about what has and continues to make Hollywood Hollywood.”

Available in: Everywhere!

(more…)

Score:

• 2 Comments
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook

This week we’re particularly excited and proud to announce a collaboration between MUBI and the Venice Film Festival. Venice International Film Critics Week, now in its 27th edition, has long been an exhilarating and diverse independent section of the annual Venice event. Critics Week highlights the first works by emerging directors, and serves as a prominent launch pad for the future careers of cinema’s most exciting names. MUBI is proud to present a special retrospective celebrating a decade of Critics Week, running now through October 8th. Several films are even playing for free!

Two of the highlights in include:

Martha (Marcelino Islas Hernández, Mexico)

Martha is a 75-year old woman who lives alone in a social interest house in the outskirts of Mexico City. When she decides to end her life, Martha’s thrilling journey towards death will surprisingly lead her, for the first time, to life.

The Chicago Reader said:
“Writer-director Marcelino Islas Hernandez portrays the woman as a person of submerged passions, noting her devotion to fiery telenovelas and framing her like a bloom against luminous saffron walls.”

(more…)

Score:

• 1 Comment
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook

This week on MUBI we’re excited to announce a new series of films: SCANDI SENSATIONS!

From Lars von Trier to Dragon Tattoo, and everything in between, Scandinavian cinema has everyone’s attention. Duly, MUBI is partnering with Nordisk Film & TV Fond to present some cinematic gems from the region.

As always with a global platform, available titles vary from country to country, but one particular movie I wanted to recommend is Danish director Christoffer Boe’s festival gem Beast.

Bruno loves his wife Maxine, but both his feelings and his body are slowly undergoing a transformation. Something is beginning to stir inside him and there is nothing he can do to stop it. Because when you first delve into the dark side of love to find power, aggression and hatred, there is no turning back.

It’s a dark, gripping trip and a fascinating new take on the turmoil of a loving relationship.

More titles will be added soon, so check back often to see what makes Scandinavia’s cool climate so hot!

Score:

• 5 Comments
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook