“I feel swept by destiny into a strange, beautiful dream.” —Swept Away The first part of this essay explored director Lina Wertmüller’s first two, important collaborations with the actor Giancarlo Giannini: The Seduction of Mimi (1972) and Love and Anarchy (1974), ...

Known for her explorations of political and sexual themes—with onscreen sexual and romantic relationships often serving as allegories for political conflicts—Italian director Lina Wertmüller has often been unfairly neglected alongside contemporaries like Fellini, Pasolini, Bunuel, and other male directors working ...

“When this kind of fire starts it’s very hard to put out. The tender boughs of innocence burn first, and the wind rises, and then all goodness is in jeopardy.” —Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me Following hot on the ...

Spectacular Optical, a small print Canadian publisher run by Kier-La Janisse, has become known for their unusual film anthologies focused on things like the Satanic Panic, kids-themed movies and TV shows, and the films of Jean Rollin. Their upcoming offering, ...

While even most casual film noir fans seem to be acquainted with Robert Aldrich’s nihilistic late, great entry in the canon, Kiss Me Deadly (1955), a noir-tinged film he made later that year with much of the same creative team, ...

Film noir is one of those curious film movements that is both uniquely American but somehow also thoroughly European. Made up of the creative talents of European expatriates and shaped by the response of European critics to American films, film ...

While Ewald André Dupont’s Varieté (Variety, 1925) and William A. Wellman’s Beggars of Life (1928) come from two different studio systems—Weimar Germany’s legendary UFA in the case of Varieté, while Beggars of Life was a Hollywood production—they have a striking ...

While porn has often gotten a bad rap from feminists over the years, a few women have worked tirelessly to change perceptions of female desire — and how that desire plays into art and performance. Key examples include porn and sex-positive ...

“Her exultant dream of freedom ended—a helpless captive in the desert wastes.” —The Sheik The legacy of Italian-born star Rudolph Valentino seems to be largely relegated to silent film fans and early Hollywood aficionados, thanks in part to his highly ...

“Fire does not burn them. No weapon of iron can wound them, and the snakes harmlessly lick up the sweat from their heated cheeks. Fierce bulls fall to the ground, victims to numberless, tearing female hands, and sturdy trees are ...