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On Friday August 23 2024, National Geographic broadcasts Cesar Millan: Better Human Better Dog!

Life Saving Match Season 5 Episode 5 Episode Summary

The upcoming episode of “Cesar Millan: Better Human Better Dog,” titled “Life Saving Match,” promises to be both heartwarming and insightful. Airing on National Geographic, this episode focuses on the special bond between humans and dogs, showcasing how they can help each other heal and grow.

In this episode, Cesar Millan meets a woman who is in need of support and companionship. He believes that a dog can play a crucial role in her healing process. Viewers will see how the right match can bring comfort and joy to someone going through a tough time. Cesar’s expertise in understanding dog behavior will shine as he finds the perfect canine companion for her.

Additionally, the episode features a Maltipom that has developed territorial behaviors. Cesar will work to address these issues,...

Tokyo International Film Festival has unveiled the international competition jury for its 37th edition.

Hong Kong filmmaker Johnnie To, French actress Chiara Mastroianni, Hungarian writer/director Ildiko Enyedi and Japanese actress Ai Hashimoto will join Hong Kong star Tony Leung, who was previously named this year’s jury president.

The full line-up of this year’s programme will be announced in late September ahead of the festival, which is set to run October 28 to November 6.

To is the acclaimed director of films such as Breaking News and Drug War and sat on the Berlinale international competition jury in 2023. He is also a regular at Cannes,...

The International Jury for this year’s Venice International Film Festival has been finalized after the previous confirmation of French actress Isabelle Huppert as its chair.

Now, American director and screenwriter James Gray, British director and screenwriter Andrew Haigh, Polish director, screenwriter, and producer Agnieszka Holland, and Brazilian director-screenwriter Kleber Mendonça Filho are the latest additions to the jury. They will join Mauritanian director, screenwriter and producer Abderrahmane Sissako, Italian director-screenwriter Giuseppe Tornatore, German director-screenwriter Julia von Heinz and Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi.

The prestigious Golden Lion for best film and other awards will be revealed during the festival’s closing ceremony on Sept. 7.

Gray made his directorial debut in 1994 with Little Odessa, which received the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival. His other projects include The Yards (2000), starring Joaquin Phoenix, Two Lovers (2008) and The Immigrant (2013). The Lost City of Z had its world premiere at the New York...

Mélanie Laurent und Guillaume Canet, Hauptdarsteller des Eröffnungsfilms „Le Déluge“, werden im Rahmen der Eröffnungsgala des 77. Locarno Film Festival mit dem Excellence Award Davide Campari ausgezeichnet.

Guillaume Canet und Mélanie Laurent werden beim Locarno Film Festival mit dem Excellence Award Davide Campari geehrt (Credit: Locarno Film Festival)

Die beiden französischen Schauspieler Mélanie Laurent und Guillaume Canet werden im Rahmen der Eröffnungsgala des Locarno Film Festival am 7. August mit dem Excellence Award Davide Campari, den das Festival an Schauspieler mit außergewöhnlichen Karrieren vergibt, ausgezeichnet. Wie das Festival heute bekannt gab, wird ihnen die Auszeichnung vor dem vor dem Eröffnungsfilm, Gianluca Jodices „Le Déluge“, überreicht. In dem Historiendrama spielen Mélanie Laurent und Guillaume Canet Marie-Antoinette und Ludwig XVI.

Giona A. Nazzaro, Künstlerische Leiterin: „Mélanie Laurent und Guillaume Canet haben sich im Laufe der Jahre ihre eigenen und erkennbaren schauspielerischen Wege gebahnt. Im Dienste der französischen und europäischen Tradition des Autorenkinos, die sich...

On Friday June 14 2024, National Geographic broadcasts Cesar Millan: Better Human Better Dog!

Socialization Struggles Season 4 Episode 10 Episode Summary

In this episode of “Cesar Millan: Better Human Better Dog” on National Geographic, viewers are in for an enlightening journey as Cesar tackles the challenges of socialization faced by both dogs and their human companions. Titled “Socialization Struggles,” this installment delves into the rehabilitation of two destructive Boston terriers and a senior husky who is embarking on a significant social step.

As Cesar works his magic, viewers will witness his unique approach to canine behavior and training, rooted in understanding and empathy. With years of experience and a deep understanding of dog psychology, Cesar guides both dogs and their owners toward a harmonious relationship built on trust and mutual respect.

Through a combination of training techniques, exercise, and positive reinforcement, Cesar helps the Boston terriers overcome their destructive behaviors, paving the way...

In a sign of Folivari’s widening ambitions, the French animation powerhouse will handle world sales of the Sherlock Holmes spinoff “The Baker Street Four” through its newly launched distribution branch Folivari International.

Adapted from a local comic book series that pairs Arthur Conan Doyle’s great detective with four streetwise urchins, the title was developed in-house, with Folivari and Blue Spirit (“Blue Eye Samurai”) tackling creative duties and Canal+ set as commissioning broadcaster.

Headed by Melissa Vega – former acquisitions and international sales manager at Dandelooo – Folivari International has picked up three additional titles, among them Folivari originals “Nino Dino” and “Kiki & Ailen” and the Chilean/Brazilian preschool series “Guitar & Drum,” co-produced by Hype Animation and Punkrobot.

That Vega and Folivari founding partner Damien Brunner both share Franco-Spanish backgrounds lends the upstart distributor a desire to look for projects from further afield.

“What works in Latin America often works just...

Portugal is this year’s Country of Honor at the Annecy Animation Festival, so we’ve decided to take a close look at the current generation of artists who are helping to inspire a new era for the country’s animation sector and, increasingly, making waves abroad.

Below is a list, in no particular order, of 11 exciting Portuguese animation talents to keep an eye on. Some have been around for several years and already started to put together impressive bodies of work, while others are just emerging on the scene.

Rodrigo Goulão De Sousa

The work of Gobelins-trained filmmaker Rodrigo Goulão De Sousa features a distinct 2D aesthetic and genre-heavy horror and thriller themes that regularly border on the unsettling. The combination makes his titles feel as contemporary thematically as they do aesthetically, expanding the ways that animation can be used to frighten audiences. De Sousa’s appearance on our list is well-timed,...

French producer Sylvie Pialat will replace Spanish director Rogrigo Sorogoyen as Cannes Critics’ Week president.

“Due to personal circumstances, and much to our regret, Rodrigo Sorogoyen has had to step down as president of the jury for the 63rd Semaine de la Critique,” Critics’ Week said on Saturday (May 11).

The 11th-hour changeover will also see French filmmaker Iris Kaltenback join the jury alongside previously announced members Rwandan actress Eliane Umuhire, Belgian director of photography Virginie Surdej, and Canadian journalist and film critic Ben Croll.

Pialat was originally on the jury, and will now act as the group’s president.

Pialat...

Exclusive: Belgian distribution and production company Belga Films Group is reuniting with award-winning director Jaco Van Dormael to produce The Magician of Auschwitz, which will be his first English-language feature in 15 years after shooting mainly in French.

Van Dormael will direct from a screenplay adaptation by Jacob Marx Rice of Portuguese journalist and writer José António Dos Santos’ twin novels ‘The Magician of Auschwitz’ and ‘The Birkenau Scrolls’, about a Portuguese soldier, Russian girl and Jewish magician thrown together in the horror of Auschwitz.

Dos Santos drew the novels from authentic manuscripts written by members of the Sonderkommando during the Holocaust and found hidden near death camp crematoria post-liberation. They shed light on the harrowing experiences of the members of special command units composed of prisoners who were forced to help run the gas chambers and crematoria.

“Dos Santos casts a rare historical spotlight on the delusional beliefs on which...

Get ready for an intense and transformative episode of “Cesar Millan: Better Human Better Dog” this Friday, May 17, 2024, at 9:00 Pm on National Geographic. In Season 4’s installment titled “Brutal Labradoodle,” renowned dog behaviorist Cesar Millan takes on the challenge of rehabilitating an aggressive Labradoodle with a troubling history of biting.

With his signature blend of patience, compassion, and expertise, Cesar dives headfirst into the task of helping this troubled canine overcome its aggressive tendencies. As viewers follow along, they’ll witness firsthand the remarkable transformation that can occur when humans and dogs work together to address behavioral issues.

Through real-life demonstrations and practical advice, Cesar equips both dog owners and enthusiasts with valuable insights into understanding and managing canine behavior. From establishing clear boundaries to fostering trust and respect, “Cesar Millan: Better Human Better Dog” offers a wealth of knowledge for anyone looking to build a stronger bond with their furry companions.

Marco Bellocchio is the 84-year-old Italian director behind films like “Fists in the Pocket” from 1965, “Vincere” from 2009, and “Devil in the Flesh” from 1986. His strict Catholic upbringing has led him to make films that take a critical eye toward the Church, condemning its politics and documented history of abuse. Now, he is taking the Church to task once again with his latest film, “Kidnapped: The Abduction of Edgardo Mortara,” out May 24 from Cohen Media Group. Watch the trailer, an IndieWire exclusive, below.

Here’s the official synopsis: “In 1858, in the Jewish quarter of Bologna, the Pope’s soldiers burst into the home of the Mortara family. By order of the cardinal, they have come to take Edgardo, their seven-year-old son. The child had been secretly baptized by his nurse as a baby and the papal law is unquestionable: he must receive a Catholic education. Edgardo’s parents, distraught, will do...

The San Sebastian Film Festival will fete Cate Blanchett with its honorary Donostia Award at its forthcoming 72nd edition.

Blanchett, the second Australian actor to receive San Sebastian’s highest honorary award after Hugh Jackman, will also serve as the image for the festival’s main poster. Check out the poster below.

Blanchett will receive the award in person in San Sebastian and it will be her first visit to the festival. But she has had several films screen at the fest, including Babel and Veronica Guerin.

Over a career spanning more than three decades, Blanchett has racked up more than 200 awards, including two Oscars, two Volpi Cups at the Venice Festival, four Baftas and four Golden Globes, an honorary César, and Goya for lifetime achievement. Her credits include collaborations with filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese, Terrence Malick, Steven Soderbergh, Steven Spielberg,...

In a rather surprising turn of events, after Cannes skipped on premiering Emmanuelle––Audrey Diwan’s follow-up to her Golden Lion-winning Happening––the film won’t be at Venice, Telluride, or TIFF either as the 72nd San Sebastian Festival announced it will world premiere as their opening night film on September 20. Starring Noémie Merlant, Naomi Watts, Jamie Campbell Bower, and Will Sharpe, see the full announcement below along with a new still.

The French production Emmanuelle directed by Audrey Diwan will open the 72nd San Sebastian Festival in competition. The feature film will be screened as a world premiere on 20 September and will be attended by its director and leading cast.

Diwan, winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival with Happening / L’événement in 2021, co-wrote the screenplay with fellow filmmaker Rebecca Zlotowski. The film follows the steps of a woman in search of a lost pleasure, whose...

Films Boutique has taken world sales rights to documentary “Elementary,” directed by Claire Simon, ahead of the film’s world premiere in the Special Screenings section of the Cannes Film Festival.

The film was shot at the Makarenko public elementary school on the outskirts of Paris. “Children want to learn and to be cheered while teachers know they do not only teach, they also educate,” according to a press statement. “With care, tenacity and effort, children are trained to become not only responsible citizens but also human beings.”

Simon previously directed the documentary “Our Body” (Notre Corps), which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in 2023 and was nominated for a César as best documentary in 2024. The film was also part of the Documentary Film Selection of the European Film Awards in 2023.

Jean-Christophe Simon, CEO of Films Boutique, said: “Following the fantastic international reception of ‘Our Body’ last year, we are...

FilmNation and Charades are teaming up to present “Alpha,” the new film from Julia Ducournau, to buyers at Cannes.

It’s the same place where Ducournau caused a sensation with 2021’s “Titane,” her subversive and divisive body horror film, which won the Palme d’Or, the festival’s top award. Ducournau became the second female director to win the award, following Jane Campion (“The Piano”). “Anatomy of a Fall” director Justine Triet would become the third female winner in 2023. Ducournau’s other films include 2016’s “Raw,” a coming-of-age film about a young vegetarian who develops a taste for cannibalism.

“Alpha’s” cast includes Golshifteh Farahani, who appeared in “The Patience Stone” and “Paterson,” as well as César award-winning Tahar Rahim, best known for his work in “The Mauritanian,” “A Prophet” and “The Serpent.”

“‘Alpha’ is Julia’s most personal, profound work yet, and we are looking forward to a global...

The Cannes Film Festival has unveiled the eight jurors who will be joining jury president Greta Gerwig for the event’s 2024 edition (May 14-25).

They are American actress Lily Gladstone, French actress Eva Green, French actor and producer Omar Sy, Lebanese director and screenwriter Nadine Labaki, Spanish director and screenwriter Juan Antonio Bayona, Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda, Turkish screenwriter and photographer Ebru Ceylan, and Italian actor Pierfrancisco Favino.

The jury will award the Palme d’Or to one of the 22 films in competition at the closing ceremony on May 25. Anatomy Of A Fall picked up the top prize last year.

Other Angle Pictures has boarded international sales on Christine Paillard and Chad Chenouga’s A Smile Doesn’t Lie and will kick off sales in Cannes in May.

The film, whose French title Pourquoi tu souris? means ‘why do you smile?’, follows a man who is always smiling despite life’s hassles. He heads to Bordeaux to start a new life, passes himself off as a migrant and forms an unlikely trio with a humanitarian woman and homeless man who secretly leads them into a questionable situation. It stars Simply Black’s Jean-Pascal Zadi, Emmanuelle Devos and 2023 breakout star Raphael Quenard.

Don’t miss the heart-pounding episode of “Cesar Millan: Better Human Better Dog” airing on National Geographic at 9:00 Pm on Saturday, April 20, 2024. In Season 3 Episode 21 titled “Shocked and Stunned,” the Cbp (Customs and Border Protection) agents are faced with a race against time as they uncover an undeclared stun gun.

As tensions rise, the Cbp agents must work swiftly to locate the owner of the stun gun before his plane boards. With the clock ticking, viewers will be on the edge of their seats as the agents employ their expertise and resources to solve the mystery and prevent a potential security breach.

Through captivating storytelling and real-life drama, “Cesar Millan: Better Human Better Dog” offers viewers an inside look at the challenges faced by law enforcement officers tasked with protecting our borders. From unexpected discoveries to high-stakes confrontations, this episode promises to keep viewers shocked, stunned, and thoroughly entertained.

Goodfellas has boarded Julien Colonna’s father-daughter coming-of-age thriller Le Royaume ahead of the film’s world premiere in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard.

The debut feature is set in Corsica in summer 1995 and follows a teenage girl (played by Ghjuvanna Benedetti) who discovers her father (Saveriu Santucci) in hiding in an isolated villa with his clan of men. As war breaks out in the underworld, the noose tightens around the clan and death strikes. Forced to go on the run, the father-daughter duo must learn to understand and love each other.

The film is produced by Hugo Selignac and Antoine Lafon at Mediawan-owned Chi-Fou-Mi,...

Exclusive: La Haine filmmaker Mathieu Kassovitz is returning to the director’s chair to make English-language passion project The Big War, which will mark the first movie he has helmed in 13 years.

“This is a project I’ve been working on for twenty years,” Kassovitz explained about the live action-animation hybrid project, which he has scripted with The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride and Edward Scissorhands scribe Caroline Thompson.

“It is inspired by cult French graphic novel La Bete Est Morte, which was written during the Second World War,” says the Frenchman, also known for starring in movies including Amélie and Munich and hit TV series Le Bureau Des Legendes. “It reimagines that war as enacted by animals. The Nazis are the wolves who go after the ‘vermin’ — the rabbits — who represent the war’s victims. The story focuses on two rabbits who go after their family who have been...

Exclusive: Metro International has sold UK and Irish rights to Carol Morley’s Typist Artist Pirate King to Modern Films. Deal was finalized this week in Cannes.

Drawing from the extensive archives of forgotten artist Audrey Amiss, the feature is a road movie of her life. The film uses real events and actual dialogue from Amiss’s letters and diaries to create an imaginary trip where we explore the world as Audrey perceived it.

BAFTA nominee Carol Morley (Dreams Of A Life) directs from her original screenplay. BAFTA winner Monica Dolan (The Dig) and BAFTA nominee Kelly Macdonald (Boardwalk Empire) star alongside BAFTA winner Gina McKee (Phantom Thread).

Pic is produced by Cairo Cannon of Cannon and Morley Productions (Out of Blue) with Oscar winner Jane Campion, Anne Sheehan and Reno Antoniades as executive producers. BAFTA nominee Ameenah Ayub Allen (Rocks) is also producer.

The film drew largely positive reviews...

The story template of “Homecoming” is a standard one: Years after an unexplained trauma, a family returns to the place they once called home, where hidden truths come to light and bitter conflicts arise over the course of one seemingly idyllic summer. Yet for all the secrets and lies that shape the narrative of Catherine Corsini’s straightforwardly told but consistently intriguing new film, its most interesting tensions often emerge from things its characters already know, even if they haven’t acknowledged them out loud. For Black single parent Khédidja (Aïssatou Diallo Sagna), arriving at the Corsican birthplace of her children after 15 years away, disinterring a buried past throws her maternal insecurities into sharp relief; for her teenage daughters Jessica (Suzy Bemba) and Farah (Esther Gohourou), what revelations the trip yields only underline their respective senses of not-belonging in their own small family.

This is complex, delicate material, simmering with...

Swiss director Maxime Rappaz isn’t sure if there is more space for stories about more mature women these days. But he is certainly willing to give it a try.

“I am fascinated by that phase in someone’s life,” he tells Variety, opening up about his fiftysomething protagonist played byJeanne Balibar.

“I want as many people as possible to see it, that’s for sure. But also women who think it’s already too late for them to change things. If this film can trigger something in them, it would make me so happy.”

In his feature debut “Let Me Go,” the opening film of Cannes’ Acid sidebar, Claudine keeps dedicating herself to her differently abled, Princess Diana-obsessed son.

But every once in a while, she puts on the same white dress and heads to the same hotel in the mountains, where she meets and romances men. The shorter their stay,...

The letter targets “the political positions displayed by the Cannes Festival” in particular.

More than 123 French actors and actresses have signed an open letter denouncing sexual harassment in the French film industry, calling it “a dysfunctional system that crushes and annihilates”.

On the same day that Cannes welcomed Maïwenn’s Jeanne Du Barry and its star Johnny Depp, and just ahead of the premiere of Catherine Corsini’s Homecoming in competition, the letter targets “the political positions displayed by the Cannes Festival” in particular. “By rolling out the red carpet to men and women who assault, the festival sends the...

Ruben Östlund is one of only nine filmmakers to win the Palme d’Or twice — and both movies went on to score Oscar nominations. The Swedish director’s 2017 art world satire “The Square” landed a Best International Feature Film nomination, while last year’s anarchic cruise ship opus “Triangle of Sadness” wound up notching noms in both Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay.

However, when IndieWire asked him about the relationship between the Palme d’Or and the Oscar race during a press conference for the Cannes jury he presides over this year, he was unequivocal about which prize meant more to him. “For me, it’s an easy choice if I have to choose between an Oscar and a Palme d’Or,” he said. “I’d rather have one more than have an Oscar.”

For now, Östlund gets to experience the other side of the equation, serving as president...

Exclusive: The Outlaws star Charles Babalola is set to headline Showtime’s King Shaka, (fka Shaka: King of the Zulu Nation), executive produced by Antoine Fuqua.

Babalola will play the title role in the epic drama series, centered around one man’s personal journey from stigmatized childhood to warrior king, which hails from writers Olu Odebunmi and Tolu Awosika, Propagate, Fuqua Films and CBS Studios. Production kicks off next month in the historic KwaZulu-Natal (Kzn) South Africa province, the birthplace of King Shaka, and will be fully shot in South Africa for a 2023 debut on Showtime.

Also cast as series regulars in King Shaka are Aïssa Maïga (The Fear Index) as Nandi, Shaka’s devoted mother who will sacrifice everything to fulfill her son’s destiny; and Thando Dlomo (The Woman King) as Pampatha, a herder who finds her fate forever entwined with Shaka’s. Thapelo Mokoena (Bulletproof) will guest star as Gendeyana,...

Alain Goldman, the well-respected French producer of “La Vie en rose” who’s just joined forces with Banijay, has teamed up with Amazon Prime Video on “Alphonse,” a humor-laced series by Nicolas Bedos (“La Belle Epoque”)

The high-concept Prime original series is based on an original idea by Jean Dujardin, the Oscar-winning actor of “The Artist,” and Bedos. It marks the TV debut of Bedos, the Cesar-winning filmmaker of “Monsieur & Madame Adelman” and “La Belle Epoque,” which played out of competition at Cannes in 2019 and sold worldwide

Dujardin will star alongside Pierre Arditi (“La Belle Epoque”), Charlotte Gainsbourg and Nicole Garcia (“Lupin”).

As the series’ teaser poster (pictured above) suggests it, the entire series will unfold in Paris and will showcase some beautiful areas of the French capital.

Although the plot remains under wraps, Goldman revealed that Dujardin will play Alphonse, a chameleon-like man whose main mission is...

Kristen Stewart has a self-deprecating approach to her career spanning more than 50 films, and that took flight with the release of the “Twilight” franchise. The actress, now an Oscar contender for her turn as Princess Diana in Pablo Larraín’s upcoming festival favorite “Spencer,” spoke to the Sunday Times (via Yahoo) about her body of work, which since breaking away from “Twilight” has long been revered by critics.

Stewart, who has starred in films from directors like David Fincher and Woody Allen, said that choosing roles can be a “total crapshoot.” She added, “I’ve probably made five really good films out of 45 or 50 films? Ones that I go, ‘Wow, that person made a top-to-bottom beautiful piece of work!’”

When asked what films she counts among her best, she cited the films of Olivier Assayas, for whom she starred in “Personal Shopper” and “Clouds of Sils Maria,” which made her...

Just because community is a beautiful thing never means it's an easy thing. Family relations, most everyone knows, can prove especially dicey. Even in comedies. Especially in comedies. In the early 1930s, just as the movies were learning to talk, French theater playwright and impresario Marcel Pagnol honed in on this truth as he brought his now-revered Marseille Trilogy to motion picture screens. Released between 1931 and 1936, the three films, Marius, Fanny and César, boast a cozy continuity in characters and the terrific actors playing them, not to mention their provincial seaside location. Originating on stage in Paris, Pagnol's initial entry, Marius, proved to be a popular hit as a film as well as a play. It immediately gave way to a followup one...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Each month, the fine folks at FilmStruck and the Criterion Collection spend countless hours crafting their channels to highlight the many different types of films that they have in their streaming library. This August will feature an exciting assortment of films, as noted below.

To sign up for a free two-week trial here.

Tuesday, August 1

Tuesday’s Short + Feature: These Boots and Mystery Train

Music is at the heart of this program, which pairs a zany music video by Finnish master Aki Kaurismäki with a tune-filled career highlight from American independent-film pioneer Jim Jarmusch. In the 1993 These Boots, Kaurismäki’s band of pompadoured “Finnish Elvis” rockers, the Leningrad Cowboys, cover a Nancy Sinatra classic in their signature deadpan style. It’s the perfect prelude to Jarmusch’s 1989 Mystery Train, a homage to the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll and the musical legacy of Memphis, featuring appearances by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and Joe Strummer.

No longer out of reach, Marcel Pagnol’s stunning 3-feature saga of love and honor in a French seaport is one of the great movie experiences — and the most emotional workout this viewer has seen in years. The tradition of greatness in the French sound cinema began with gems like these, starring legendary actors that were sometimes billed only with their last names: Raimu, Charpin. Those two, Pierre Fresnay and Orane Demazis are simply unforgettable — it’s 6.5 hours of dramatic wonderment.

Marcel Pagnol’s The Marseille Trilogy

Marius * Fanny * César

Blu-ray

The Criterion Collection 881-884

1931 – 1936 / B&W / 1:19 flat full frame, 1:19 flat full frame, 1:37 flat full frame / 127 * 127 * 141 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date June 20, 2017 / 79.96

Starring: Raimu, Pierre Fresnay, Orane Demazis, Fernand Charpin, Alida Rouffe, Paul Dullac, Robert Vattier, André Fouché.

Cinematography: Ted Pahle, Nicolas Toporkoff, Willy Faktorovitch

Original Music: ?, Vincent Scotto, Vincent Scotto

Written by Marcel Pagnol

Produced by Ted Pahle,...

Marcel Pagnols’ Marseille Trilogy, Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog” and Nicholas Ray’s “They Live by Night” are among the new titles joining the Criterion Collection this June. In addition, Kenji Mizoguchi’s “Ugetsu” and Sam Peckinpah’s “Straw Dogs” are being upgraded in new Blu-ray editions. More information below.

Read More: The Criterion Collection Announces May Titles: ‘Ghost World,’ ‘Dheepan,’ ‘Jeanne Dielman’ and More

“Ugetsu”

“Having refined his craft in the silent era, Kenji Mizoguchi was an elder statesman of Japanese cinema-fiercely revered by Akira Kurosawa and other younger directors-by the time he made ‘Ugetsu.’ And with this exquisite ghost story, a fatalistic wartime tragedy derived from stories by Akinari Ueda and Guy de Maupassant, he created a touchstone of his art, his long takes and sweeping camera guiding the viewer through a delirious narrative about two villagers whose pursuit of fame and...

It’s mid-month, which means it is time for the next line-up for The Criterion Collection. Arriving in June is Sam Pekcinpah‘s controversial Dustin Hoffman-led thriller Straw Dogs, Alfred Hitchcock‘s early silent film The Lodger (which also includes his film from the same year of 1927, Downhill), and perhaps the most substantial release of the month, Marcel Pagnol’s The Marseille Trilogy, featuring Marius, Fanny, and César.

Also in the line-up is is Nicholas Ray‘s directorial debut, the 1948 drama They Live by Night, as well as a Blu-ray upgrade of Kenji Mizoguchi‘s landmark classic Ugetsu, which recently enjoyed a 4K theatrical restoration. Check out all the details on the releases below by clicking the box art.

Welcome back to the first Weekend Warrior of 2017, your weekly look at the new movies hitting theaters this weekend, as well as other cool events and things to check out (when applicable).

We’ll bypass the past couple holiday weekends cause that was so 2016, and we’ll instead get right into the new movies opening on Friday including two that opened in select cities and are expanding nationwide.

Underworld: Blood Wars (Sony/Screen Gems)

Cast: Kate Beckinsale, Theo James, Tobias Menzies, Lara Pulver, Charles Dance, James Faulkner, Peter Andersson, Clementine Nicholson, Bradley James, Daisy Head

Director: Anna Foerster (debut feature from director of TV shows Outlander & Criminal Minds)

Genre: Action, Horror, Thriller

Rated R

Plot: The vampire death dealer Selene (Kate Beckinsale) finds herself facing both Lycans and vampires, both of them trying to use the blood of her daughter to create new hybrids, so she and David (Theo James...

With a new restoration of Marcel Pagnol's "Marseilles Trilogy" coming to art-house cinemas, Mubi is showing three later Pagnol adaptations: Joshua Logan's Fanny (1961) and Daniel Auteuil's Fanny (2013) and Marius (2013) in the United States.The sea calls to Marius like a siren song, a tantalizing beckon to a life of mobility, exhilaration, and maritime adventure. It is a life far from his current reality, slinging drinks in his father’s shoreline bar, but it is a tempting existence that forever fills his fantasies and directs his path forward. Little wonder, really. The port of Marseilles is teeming with the influence of a sailor’s life, from the towering ships, their sails and masts hovering above the liquid horizon, to the shopfront interiors adorned with innumerable images of nautical signification, paintings and model ships that testify to the lifeblood of this city. Lifeblood, maybe, but also a curse. For Marius (Pierre Fresnay), his father,...

Moonlight fan poster by Tony StellaMoonlight, Deadpool, Mel Gibson, Trolls: a portrait of mainstream cinema in 2016 in the form of the eclectic list of nominees for the 2017 Golden Globes.Speaking of awards, the European Film Awards were announced over the weekend, with Germany's Toni Erdmann deservedly winning in the film, direction, actor, actress, and screenwriter categories. A moment of pride: our film, The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki, took home the Discovery award.An even more handsome list of films can be found at Film Comment's best released and unreleased films of the year. The poll is discussed in the magazine's latest podcast.The First Look series, a January festival at New York's Museum of the Moving Image, has always been on the cutting edge of film programming, and the 2017 First Look lineup looks very strong indeed, including a video game (!), Hirokazu Kore-eda's After the Storm,...

“I am not the father of neorealism on screen, you are,” said director Roberto Rossellini to novelist, playwright and filmmaker Marcel Pagnol, one of the most prolific artists in the early years of cinema. Now, many will soon be able to watch one of Pagnol’s defining works in his career: the epic “Marseille Trilogy,” a saga of love, labor and good food in 1930’s France, which will return to theaters in a brand-new 4K restoration this January.

Read More: ‘Mulholland Drive’ Returns To UK Theaters Next Year In New 4K Restoration

The series follows young barkeep Marius (Pierre Fresnay) who is in love with the cockle monger Fanny (Orane Demazis), but cannot quell his wanderlust. Stretching out over years, their romance plays out amidst many provincial characters, like Marius’ father César (Raimu), who struggles to keep his family and community together, and Honoré Panisse (Fernand Charpin), the aged widower vying for Fanny’s hand.

The French Film Festival had its Scottish media launch this morning ahead of it's run from November 4 to December 7 - with one or two additional early screenings on November 3.

Speaking at the launch in Edinburgh's Filmhouse, festival director Richard Mow said: As Britain seeks to sever its ties with our European colleagues, this festival hopes to strengthen these cultural bonds."

There is plenty to look forward to in the coming month, from French cinema classics to the latest hits from the Gallic cinema circuits.

Vintage cinema to look out for includes Marcel Pagnol's classic Marseille Trilogy - Marius, Fanny and César. This decades spanning romance tells the story of Marius, a young man who dreams of life at sea only to find himself faced with a dilemma after falling for Fanny, the fishmonger's daughter. The trilogy has been restored by his grandson Nicolas...

Kenneth Lonergan’s Sundance hit, Denis Villeneuve’s Venice selection, and Pablo Larrain’s acclaimed Chilean biopic are among select titles heading to Colorado this weekend.

The 43rd edition of the Telluride Film Festival includes Clint Eastwood’s Tom Hanks starrer Sully, Barry Jenkins’ anticipated triptych Moonlight and Maren Ade’s Cannes triumph Toni Erdmann.

Joining them are Aisling Walsh’s Maudie, Gianfranco Rosi’s Berlin Golden Bear winner Fire At Sea, Damien Chazelle’s Venice opener La La Land and also from the Lido, Rama Burshtein’s Through The Wall.

Telluride runs from September 2-5. The main slate line-up appears below.

Arrival (Denis Villeneuve, Us, 2016)The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography (Errol Morris, Us 2016)Bleed For This (Ben Younger, Us, 2016)California Typewriter (Doug Nichol, Us, 2016)Chasing Trane (John Scheinfeld, Us, 2016)The End Of Eden (Angus Macqueen, UK, 2016)Finding Oscar (Ryan Suffern, Us, 2016)Fire At Sea (Gianfranco Rosi, Italy-France, 2016)Frantz ([link...

Buoyed by its worldwide premiere at the ongoing Venice Film Festival – early reviews are praising the musical as an audacious, deeply romantic feature – Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash follow-up La La Land has booked its place at Telluride 2016.

The picture, one that stars Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling in central roles, is one of the many soon-to-be-released features to be locked in for the imminent film festival, joining the ranks alongside Manchester By the Sea, Moonlight, Things to Come, Bleed For This and Clint Eastwood’s airborne thriller Sully. It is, without question, a fairly stacked lineup, which only has us all the more excited for the onset of the Toronto International Film Festival later this month.

But over the coming weekend, it is Telluride that will take center stage. Similar to La La Land, today’s unveiling confirms a second festival appearance for Denis Villeneuve’s intriguing sci-fi pic Arrival.

One of the last question marks of the early fall film festival onslaught was Telluride Film Festival, who announces their line-up just a day before the event kicks off. Today now brings the slate for the 43rd edition of the festival, which runs from Friday through Monday.

Featuring the world premiere of Clint Eastwood‘s Sully, there’s also the Venice favorites La La Land and Arrival, as well as past festival highlights and some highly-anticipated dramas headed to Tiff, including Manchester By the Sea, Moonlight, Things to Come, Bleed For This, Toni Erdmann, Una, Neruda, and more. Check out the line-up below, along with links to our reviews where available.

Line-Up

Arrival (d. Denis Villeneuve, U.S., 2016)

The B-side: Elsa Dorfman’S Portrait Photography (d. Errol Morris, U.S., 2016)

Bleed For This (d. Ben Younger, U.S., 2016)

California Typewriter (d. Doug Nichol, U.S., 2016)

Chasing Trane (d. John Scheinfeld,...

The Telluride Film Festival has announced its lineup for the 2016 edition, which begins Friday. As usual, the exclusive Labor Day weekend gathering of industry insiders and midwestern movie buffs will offer a sneak peak at highly anticipated fall films, including several awards season hopefuls, alongside several favorites from the festival circuit, smaller discoveries and classic films.

Damien Chazelle’s vibrant ode to musicals of the past, “La La Land,” will head to Telluride fresh from the Lionsgate release’s successful opening night slot at the Venice Film Festival, while another Venice premiere, Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi “Arrival,” comes to Telluride courtesy of Paramount alongside a special tribute to star Amy Adams. Another tributee, Casey Affleck, will be in town with Sundance hit “Manchester By the Sea,” which Amazon famously acquired at the Park City gathering for a hefty price tag.

Read More: ‘Manchester By The Sea’ Trailer: Discover Why Kenneth Lonergan...

Michel Galabru (right) and Louis de Funès in 'Le gendarme et les gendarmettes.' 'La Cage aux Folles' actor Michel Galabru dead at 93 Michel Galabru, best known internationally for his role as a rabidly reactionary politician in the comedy hit La Cage aux Folles, died in his sleep today, Jan. 4, '16, in Paris. The Moroccan-born Galabru (Oct. 27, 1922, in Safi) was 93. Throughout his nearly seven-decade career, Galabru was seen in more than 200 films – or, in his own words, “182 days,” as he was frequently cast in minor roles that required only a couple of days of work. He also appeared on stage, training at the Comédie Française and studying under film and stage veteran Louis Jouvet (Bizarre Bizarre, Quai des Orfèvres), and was featured in more than 70 television productions. Michel Galabru movies Michel Galabru's film debut took place in Maurice de Canonge's La bataille du feu (“The Battle of Fire,...

Danièle Delorme and Jean Gabin in 'Deadlier Than the Male.' Danièle Delorme movies (See previous post: “Danièle Delorme: 'Gigi' 1949 Actress Became Rare Woman Director's Muse.”) “Every actor would like to make a movie with Charles Chaplin or René Clair,” Danièle Delorme explains in the filmed interview (ca. 1960) embedded further below, adding that oftentimes it wasn't up to them to decide with whom they would get to work. Yet, although frequently beyond her control, Delorme managed to collaborate with a number of major (mostly French) filmmakers throughout her six-decade movie career. Aside from her Jacqueline Audry films discussed in the previous Danièle Delorme article, below are a few of her most notable efforts – usually playing naive-looking young women of modest means and deceptively inconspicuous sexuality, whose inner character may or may not match their external appearance. Ouvert pour cause d'inventaire (“Open for Inventory Causes,” 1946), an unreleased, no-budget comedy notable...

Marc Allégret: From André Gide lover to Simone Simon mentor (photo: Marc Allégret) (See previous post: "Simone Simon Remembered: Sex Kitten and Femme Fatale.") Simone Simon became a film star following the international critical and financial success of the 1934 romantic drama Lac aux Dames, directed by her self-appointed mentor – and alleged lover – Marc Allégret.[1] The son of an evangelical missionary, Marc Allégret (born on December 22, 1900, in Basel, Switzerland) was to have become a lawyer. At age 16, his life took a different path as a result of his romantic involvement – and elopement to London – with his mentor and later "adoptive uncle" André Gide (1947 Nobel Prize winner in Literature), more than 30 years his senior and married to Madeleine Rondeaux for more than two decades. In various forms – including a threesome with painter Théo Van Rysselberghe's daughter Elisabeth – the Allégret-Gide relationship remained steady until the late '20s and their trip to...

Simone Simon in 'La Bête Humaine' 1938: Jean Renoir's film noir (photo: Jean Gabin and Simone Simon in 'La Bête Humaine') (See previous post: "'Cat People' 1942 Actress Simone Simon Remembered.") In the late 1930s, with her Hollywood career stalled while facing competition at 20th Century-Fox from another French import, Annabella (later Tyrone Power's wife), Simone Simon returned to France. Once there, she reestablished herself as an actress to be reckoned with in Jean Renoir's La Bête Humaine. An updated version of Émile Zola's 1890 novel, La Bête Humaine is enveloped in a dark, brooding atmosphere not uncommon in pre-World War II French films. Known for their "poetic realism," examples from that era include Renoir's own The Lower Depths (1936), Julien Duvivier's La Belle Équipe (1936) and Pépé le Moko (1937), and particularly Marcel Carné's Port of Shadows (1938) and Daybreak (1939).[11] This thematic and...

Sean Penn: Honorary César goes Hollywood – again (photo: Sean Penn in '21 Grams') Sean Penn, 54, will receive the 2015 Honorary César (César d'Honneur), the French Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Crafts has announced. That means the French Academy's powers-that-be are once again trying to make the Prix César ceremony relevant to the American media. Their tactic is to hand out the career award to a widely known and relatively young – i.e., media friendly – Hollywood celebrity. (Scroll down for more such examples.) In the words of the French Academy, Honorary César 2015 recipient Sean Penn is a "living legend" and "a stand-alone icon in American cinema." It has also hailed the two-time Best Actor Oscar winner as a "mythical actor, a politically active personality and an exceptional director." Penn will be honored at the César Awards ceremony on Feb. 20, 2015. Sean Penn movies Sean Penn movies range from the teen comedy...

Picking up where Marius left off, actor-director Daniel Auteuil's Fanny — the second entry in his planned adaptation of Marcel Pagnol's 1930s Marseilles trilogy — offers both the same pleasures (bighearted performances, an engaging maritime setting) and drawbacks (unabashedly dated values, a rigid theatricality) as its predecessor.

But the narrative circumstances make for an overall tone that is less sprightly: Alexandre Desplat's score does a lot of heavy melodramatic lifting as Fanny (Victoire Bélézy) and César (Auteuil) mourn the sudden departure of their beloved Marius (Raphaël Personnaz), who has hopped aboard the Malaisie for a five-year voyage. With Marius gone, the port's wealthy sailmaker, Panisse (Je...

Following the stateside success of Daniel Auteuil's "The Well-Digger's Daughter," Kino Lorber has again acquired all U.S. rights to release Auteuil's latest feature film adaptations of Marcel Pagnol's work. The two works are part of an multi-year project to remake films by Pagnol. "Kino Lorber was the natural choice for the U.S. distribution of Marius and Fanny," wrote Saya Huddleston, VP, Pathé International. "Their track record in giving due exposure to Daniel Auteuil's directorial debut, 'The Well-Digger's Daughter' is excellent. We are thrilled to be teaming up with them again." Kino Lorber will release both "Marius" and "Fanny" in early 2014, following the theatrical, home video and digital plan established for "The Well-Digger's Daughter." Here are synopses of the two films, courtesy of Kino. Marius (2013) This moving love story by Marcel Pagnol is set at the Old Port of Marseille, in the Bar de la Marine,...

Actor with a natural and rebellious style, she helped to launch the French New Wave

Bernadette Lafont, who has died aged 74, could have claimed to be the first female star of the Nouvelle Vague. François Truffaut chose the sensual, dark-haired, 18-year-old Lafont and her new husband, Gérard Blain, to play lovers in the director's first professional film, Les Mistons (The Mischief-Makers, 1957). In this charming short, shot in Nîmes one summer, a group of pubescent boys spy on Lafont and Blain's lovemaking in the fields. Blain and Lafont were also picked to appear in arguably the first French New Wave feature, Claude Chabrol's Le Beau Serge (1958). In this film, about a young man returning to his childhood home, Lafont played the "village vamp".

Lafont's fresh look and performance style crystallised the movement's ideological and cinematic ambitions. Truffaut and his colleagues found mainstream stars inadequate to their needs, using instead unknown and non-professional actors,...