The first Charles Addams' strip that might be considered a part of the Addams Family canon was published in the pages of the New Yorker on August 6, 1938. In it, a vacuum cleaner salesman stands just inside a large, creepy, obviously haunted mansion, addressing the denizens, a cadaverous vampire woman and a brutish bearded man. The salesman, unperturbed by his grim surroundings offers his sales pitch, declares that no well-appointed home should be without such an appliance.
58 of Addams' 1,300 cartoon strips would feature his oddball Family, a nameless clan of ghouls who cherished horror and death. Throughout the '40s, a central canon of Family members would solidify, and come to include a squat, beastly patriarch, his skeletal wife, their two murderous children, a witchy grandmother, a fecklessly weird bald uncle, and their Frankensteinian live-in butler. In Addams' strips, the Family would talk about how much they loved destructive storms, how...
58 of Addams' 1,300 cartoon strips would feature his oddball Family, a nameless clan of ghouls who cherished horror and death. Throughout the '40s, a central canon of Family members would solidify, and come to include a squat, beastly patriarch, his skeletal wife, their two murderous children, a witchy grandmother, a fecklessly weird bald uncle, and their Frankensteinian live-in butler. In Addams' strips, the Family would talk about how much they loved destructive storms, how...
- 5/18/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
The Animal Kingdom (Thomas Cailley)
In The Animal Kingdom, an Un Certain Regard-selected science-fiction romp from France, human-animal mutations are the new norm. Director Thomas Cailley begins things in media res with a familiar disaster-movie scene: François (Romain Duris) and Émile (Paul Kircher)––father and son, respectively––are stuck in traffic, making chit-chat, when something slowly begins capturing the attention of other drivers. An ambulance across the way begins to rumble. Then a man with a large winged arm bursts out, causing some damage before scurrying down a tunnel. Only mildly ruffled, François exchanges a jaded aphorism with another driver over: “Strange times.” – Rory O. (full review)
Where to Stream: VOD
Dream Scenario (Kristoffer Borgli)
The ever-evolving nature of fame and infamy gets examined in Dream Scenario,...
The Animal Kingdom (Thomas Cailley)
In The Animal Kingdom, an Un Certain Regard-selected science-fiction romp from France, human-animal mutations are the new norm. Director Thomas Cailley begins things in media res with a familiar disaster-movie scene: François (Romain Duris) and Émile (Paul Kircher)––father and son, respectively––are stuck in traffic, making chit-chat, when something slowly begins capturing the attention of other drivers. An ambulance across the way begins to rumble. Then a man with a large winged arm bursts out, causing some damage before scurrying down a tunnel. Only mildly ruffled, François exchanges a jaded aphorism with another driver over: “Strange times.” – Rory O. (full review)
Where to Stream: VOD
Dream Scenario (Kristoffer Borgli)
The ever-evolving nature of fame and infamy gets examined in Dream Scenario,...
- 3/15/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
"Please keep me from giving birth to a chicken." Kino Lorber has revealed a new trailer for a 4K restoration of this 1990s indie film called Household Saints, made by NYC-native filmmaker Nancy Savoca. This originally premiered at the 1993 Toronto Film Festival, and it screened again at this year's New York Film Festival for its 30th anniversary. Adapted from Francine Prose's novel of the same name, it's an unsettling drama about three generations of Italian-American women struggling to get by in post-wwii New York's Little Italy. Kino Lorber and Milestone Films are proud to present a new 4K restoration of Nancy Savoca's Household Saints, featuring a cast inclduing Tracey Ullman, Vincent D'Onofrio, Lili Taylor, Judith Malina, and Michael Imperioli. The film has been digitally restored and remastered by Lightbox Film Center at University of the Arts (Philadelphia) in collaboration with Milestone Films with support from Ron and Suzanne Naples.
- 12/18/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
One of the great restorations of the last year––in the sense that not only is it of pristine quality, but that it invites an underseen gem back into the conversation––is that of Nancy Savoca’s 1993 drama Household Saints, which was executive-produced by Jonathan Demme. Led by Tracey Ullman, Vincent D’Onofrio, Lili Taylor, Judith Malina, Illeana Douglas, and Michael Imperioli, the ambitious, carefully observed drama follows the courtship of an Italian-American family before expanding into a tale of religious conviction. Scripted by Savoca and Richard Guay based on Francine Prose’s novel, the new 4K restoration premiered at New York Film Festival and now Kino Lorber and Milestone Films will open it theatrically on January 12 at the IFC Center. Ahead of the release, we’re pleased to exclusively premiere the new trailer.
Here’s the synopsis: “Based on Francine Prose’s fifth novel, Nancy Savoca’s comic chronicle of...
Here’s the synopsis: “Based on Francine Prose’s fifth novel, Nancy Savoca’s comic chronicle of...
- 12/18/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Following Main Slate and Spotlight, the 61st New York Film Festival has unveiled its Revivals lineup, featuring new restorations of classic and overlooked films. Highlights include Manoel de Oliveira’s Abraham’s Valley, Jean Renoir‘s The Woman on the Beach, Bahram Beyzaie’s The Stranger and the Fog, Abel Gance’s La Roue, Paul Vecchiali’s The Strangler, Lee Grant’s Tell Me a Riddle, Nancy Savoca’s Household Saints, Horace Ové’s Pressure, and more.
“This year’s edition of Revivals is a thrilling showcase of cinema history, packed with groundbreaking discoveries and long unseen classics alike, all in outstanding restorations,” said Florence Almozini, Senior Director of Programming at Film at Lincoln Center and NYFF Revivals Programmer. “We never cease to be amazed at the lasting influence of these cinematic gems on our collective sense of cinema, with the way they have tackled cultural, societal, or political issues with such modernity and artistry.
“This year’s edition of Revivals is a thrilling showcase of cinema history, packed with groundbreaking discoveries and long unseen classics alike, all in outstanding restorations,” said Florence Almozini, Senior Director of Programming at Film at Lincoln Center and NYFF Revivals Programmer. “We never cease to be amazed at the lasting influence of these cinematic gems on our collective sense of cinema, with the way they have tackled cultural, societal, or political issues with such modernity and artistry.
- 8/21/2023
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Click here to read the full article.
[The following story includes major spoilers from Wednesday season one and plot details from Smallville.]
With the Netflix series Wednesday, creators Al Gough and Miles Millar gave viewers something they had never seen before: the world of Wednesday Addams, away from her kooky, lovable family.
The breakout show, which opened to the second-largest premiere week in the two-year history of Nielsen’s weekly rankings, is the latest in a long list of Addams Family adaptations. What’s unique about Wednesday, however, is that it largely follows one member of the clan (with a helping hand, ahem, from Thing) and her life at Nevermore Academy, a boarding school for “outcasts, freaks and monsters.” Within days of being at her new school, the teen goth icon is wrapped up in a fantastical whodunnit that she’ll spend the entirety of the first season solving: Who’s killing Nevermore students, and why?
By the end of the finale, Wednesday discovers that her almost-beau,...
[The following story includes major spoilers from Wednesday season one and plot details from Smallville.]
With the Netflix series Wednesday, creators Al Gough and Miles Millar gave viewers something they had never seen before: the world of Wednesday Addams, away from her kooky, lovable family.
The breakout show, which opened to the second-largest premiere week in the two-year history of Nielsen’s weekly rankings, is the latest in a long list of Addams Family adaptations. What’s unique about Wednesday, however, is that it largely follows one member of the clan (with a helping hand, ahem, from Thing) and her life at Nevermore Academy, a boarding school for “outcasts, freaks and monsters.” Within days of being at her new school, the teen goth icon is wrapped up in a fantastical whodunnit that she’ll spend the entirety of the first season solving: Who’s killing Nevermore students, and why?
By the end of the finale, Wednesday discovers that her almost-beau,...
- 12/23/2022
- by Christy Piña
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Barry Sonnenfeld leaped from hot cinematographer status to A- list director with this sure-footed big screen adaptation of the TV show based on Charles Addams’s marvelously morbid New Yorker cartoons. The cast is ideal: Anjelica Huston and Raul Julia complement TV’s Carolyn Jones and John Astin without inviting comparisons. Winning an imaginary award for making sick jokes safe for PG-13, the script has true wit. The characters have depth as well, which is wonderful. Daring to be out of step with the times, the elaborate production, costumes and special effects are all on the same page: director Sonnenfeld and producer Scott Rudin see to it that the goofy premise never wears thin. The 4K encoding is a dazzler.
The Addams Family
4K Ultra-hd + Digital Code
‘With More Mamushka!’
Paramount Home Video
1991 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 99 min. / Street Date November 23, 2021 /
Starring: Anjelica Huston, Raul Julia, Christopher Lloyd, Dan Hedaya, Elizabeth Wilson,...
The Addams Family
4K Ultra-hd + Digital Code
‘With More Mamushka!’
Paramount Home Video
1991 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 99 min. / Street Date November 23, 2021 /
Starring: Anjelica Huston, Raul Julia, Christopher Lloyd, Dan Hedaya, Elizabeth Wilson,...
- 11/23/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Legendary actress and Co-Founder of The Living Theatre Judith Malina will be honored by an 'Educational Visionary' Lifetime Achievement Award, presented to her by celebrated Academy Award-winning actress Olympia Dukakis, tonight, November 14, 7 Pm, in the Gala Benefit event 'Dance for Dance,' sponsored by Mark DeGarmo amp DancersDynamic Forms, Inc. Mddf. The award is presented annually to 'visionaries who have contributed to promoting innovation in education through the arts,' and celebrates Ms. Malina on her lifelong contributions to the arts and education through the arts.
- 11/14/2014
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Legendary actress and Co-Founder of The Living Theatre Judith Malina will be honored by an 'Educational Visionary' Lifetime Achievement Award, presented to her by celebrated Academy Award-winning actress Olympia Dukakis, Friday, November 14, 7 Pm, in the Gala Benefit event 'Dance for Dance,' sponsored by Mark DeGarmo amp DancersDynamic Forms, Inc. Mddf. The award is presented annually to 'visionaries who have contributed to promoting innovation in education through the arts,' and celebrates Ms. Malina on her lifelong contributions to the arts and education through the arts.
- 10/7/2014
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
The following article accompanies the audiovisual essay Paratheatre - Plays Without Stages (From I to IV) by Adrian Martin and Cristina Álvarez López and commissioned by Chris Luscri for the 2014 Melbourne International Film Festival premiere of Jacques Rivette's 1971 magnum opus Out 1 - Noli me tangere.
In Jacques Rivette’s monumental Out 1 (1971), we see two theatrical works perpetually in progress — until, due to the force of many factors both internal and external, both projects collapse. Yet what we witness are not, in any conventional or normative sense, rehearsals. They are more like what Jerzy Grotwoski called paratheatre: playing without a stage, without an audience ever in mind or in attendance, playing for the sake of playing itself, for the process of working it out and working it through.
Every critical commentary on Out 1 (and its double, Out 1: Spectre from 1974) refers to the prominent place in it of theatre — a prominent place it enjoys,...
In Jacques Rivette’s monumental Out 1 (1971), we see two theatrical works perpetually in progress — until, due to the force of many factors both internal and external, both projects collapse. Yet what we witness are not, in any conventional or normative sense, rehearsals. They are more like what Jerzy Grotwoski called paratheatre: playing without a stage, without an audience ever in mind or in attendance, playing for the sake of playing itself, for the process of working it out and working it through.
Every critical commentary on Out 1 (and its double, Out 1: Spectre from 1974) refers to the prominent place in it of theatre — a prominent place it enjoys,...
- 8/7/2014
- by Cristina Álvarez López & Adrian Martin
- MUBI
The Warner Bros. catalog contains dozens of horror classics that have yet to make their way to Blu-ray and we hope to see more of them getting the high-definition upgrade in the near future. However, one title that has made Warner Bros. Home Entertainment’s release list is 1991′s The Addams Family and we have a look at the official cover art.
“When long-lost Uncle Fester (Christopher Lloyd) reappears after twenty-five years in the Bermuda Triangle, Gomez (Raul Julia) and Morticia Addams (Anjelica Huston) plan a celebration to wake the dead. But their daughter Wednesday (Christina Ricci) barely has time to warm up her electric chair before Thing points out Fester’s uncommonly “normal” behavior. Could this Fester be a fake, part of an evil scheme to raid the Addams fortune?”
Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, The Addams Family stars Anjelica Huston, Raúl Juliá, Christopher Lloyd, Christina Ricci, Jimmy Workman, Judith Malina,...
“When long-lost Uncle Fester (Christopher Lloyd) reappears after twenty-five years in the Bermuda Triangle, Gomez (Raul Julia) and Morticia Addams (Anjelica Huston) plan a celebration to wake the dead. But their daughter Wednesday (Christina Ricci) barely has time to warm up her electric chair before Thing points out Fester’s uncommonly “normal” behavior. Could this Fester be a fake, part of an evil scheme to raid the Addams fortune?”
Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, The Addams Family stars Anjelica Huston, Raúl Juliá, Christopher Lloyd, Christina Ricci, Jimmy Workman, Judith Malina,...
- 5/15/2014
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
The Living Theatre, the longest-running experimental theater company in the United States, will celebrate its 65th anniversary this fall -- but it almost didn't survive the spring. Faced with eviction in May, the venerable theater, founded in 1947, did a very 21st-century thing: It launched an urgent fundraising campaign through the donation site Lucky Ant to raise $24,000, the necessary cost of covering overdue rent and hiring a consultant. Had the fundraising been unsuccessful, more than theater space would have been lost: 86-year-old founder and artistic director Judith Malina, who lives in the building, would have been evicted.Fundraising sites such as Lucky Ant, Kickstarter, and Indiegogo have become increasingly popular for independent artists and theater companies. Across social networks, the theater's website, and mainstream media, the Living Theatre displayed the link to its designated page on Lucky Ant alongside a plea to "save the living." The Doors' Facebook page, which...
- 6/13/2012
- by [email protected] (Lonnie Firestone)
- backstage.com
From a chorus with Oscar potential to a New York theater institution to a young girl obsessed with global warming to the incomparable Joe Papp, see these films first before the rest of the world! Our special Sunday-only films embody the spirit of originality and diversity that we hold so dear at the Tribeca Film Festival. Join the minds behind the Once Upon a Lullaby: The PS22 Chorus Story, including chorus teacher Gregg Breinberg, after the screening as they discuss their journey to the Oscars and the important role that media arts plays in young people's development. Love and Politics is a touching documentary that goes behind the curtain into the life of Judith Malina, one of the co-founders of The Living Theater and New York acting legend. Director Jenny Deller, Lili Taylor, Amy Madigan, Perla Haney-Jardine and others will be in attendance at Future Weather, a film about a...
- 4/27/2012
- TribecaFilm.com
DVD Release Date: April 17, 2012
Price: DVD $29.99
Studio: Zeitgeist
The renowned intellectual looks to the future in Paul Goodman Changed My Life.
Paul Goodman Changed My Life is a 2011 documentary film on the noted novelist and psychotherapist who rose to prominence in the late 1950s and 1960s.
Born in New York City in 1911, Goodman was the author of dozens of books including 1960s highly regarded Growing Up Absurd: Problems of Youth in the Organized Society and was a respected poet, playwright, urban planner. Further, he was a founder of Gestalt therapy and most uniquely, an out-queer married family man (in the 1940s!). Goodman was (and is) considered—in intellectual circles—to have been a “moral compass” of sorts for the burgeoning counterculture of the 1960s.
Directed and co-produced by Jonathan Lee, Paul Goodman Changed My Life is filled with archival footage of Goodman and Mad Men-era NYC, stills, passages of Goodman...
Price: DVD $29.99
Studio: Zeitgeist
The renowned intellectual looks to the future in Paul Goodman Changed My Life.
Paul Goodman Changed My Life is a 2011 documentary film on the noted novelist and psychotherapist who rose to prominence in the late 1950s and 1960s.
Born in New York City in 1911, Goodman was the author of dozens of books including 1960s highly regarded Growing Up Absurd: Problems of Youth in the Organized Society and was a respected poet, playwright, urban planner. Further, he was a founder of Gestalt therapy and most uniquely, an out-queer married family man (in the 1940s!). Goodman was (and is) considered—in intellectual circles—to have been a “moral compass” of sorts for the burgeoning counterculture of the 1960s.
Directed and co-produced by Jonathan Lee, Paul Goodman Changed My Life is filled with archival footage of Goodman and Mad Men-era NYC, stills, passages of Goodman...
- 3/16/2012
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
The Castillo Theatre will hold its 2011 annual gala benefit entitled, Women Onstage, on Monday, November 7th at the All Stars Project, 543 West 42nd Street between 10th amp 11th Avenue at 630 p.m. The gala will recognize and honor four inspirational women of the theatre. Carmen de Lavallade, Gabrielle L. Kurlander, Judith Malina, and Daphne Rubin-Vega have all lived lives of outstanding artistic achievement and have used their achievements to inspire others.
- 11/7/2011
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Journalist Alex Goldblum has posted an audio interview, embedded above, with actress Judith Malina about her experience appearing in Jack Smith’s seminal 1963 underground film Flaming Creatures. Although the film was made close to 50 years ago, Malina has a good recollection of the filming, including Smith’s more outrageous directions. Word of warning: Malina’s comments play over scenes of the actual film, which are Nsfw as they include male and female nudity.
The nicest part of the interview is the glowing terms with which Malina describes Smith, who was known as a very difficult person to get along with. But, Malina only speaks of him as a great artist who worked with actors the way painters work with paint. (That’s a somewhat paraphrase of her comments.) Even when Smith asks her to commit an outrageous act, Malina apparently didn’t hesitate.
I’m not enough of a scholar...
The nicest part of the interview is the glowing terms with which Malina describes Smith, who was known as a very difficult person to get along with. But, Malina only speaks of him as a great artist who worked with actors the way painters work with paint. (That’s a somewhat paraphrase of her comments.) Even when Smith asks her to commit an outrageous act, Malina apparently didn’t hesitate.
I’m not enough of a scholar...
- 5/18/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The decades-old cliché goes, watching other people's home movies is hell frozen over. Strangely, this is true only if you know the people, and it's their vacation in Tahoe that you're forced to sit through after a few cocktails and a bellyful of spinach lasagna, as they narrate the landscapes and sigh at their own kids' antics and wistfully recall the best restaurant sea bass they've ever eaten. As Daffy Duck said, I demand that you shoot me now.
Removed from that cloying context, though, home movies are raw and beautiful cinema, mysterious, bewitching and filled with the melancholy for the passage of time, as anyone who has seen "Capturing the Friedmans" (I mean that heartbreaking 8mm footage of the roof-dancing girl, whose demise tipped the whole family into doom), or Ken Jacobs' "Urban Peasants" (family home movies, edited together without intervention) knows. In fact, the allure of old...
Removed from that cloying context, though, home movies are raw and beautiful cinema, mysterious, bewitching and filled with the melancholy for the passage of time, as anyone who has seen "Capturing the Friedmans" (I mean that heartbreaking 8mm footage of the roof-dancing girl, whose demise tipped the whole family into doom), or Ken Jacobs' "Urban Peasants" (family home movies, edited together without intervention) knows. In fact, the allure of old...
- 9/1/2009
- by Michael Atkinson
- ifc.com
Join the members of the Martin E. Segal Theatre for a two-day celebration of The Living Theatre, including screenings of work, documentaries, panel discussions, staged readings, and more. Invited participants include: Thomas Walker, Alisa Solomon, Carlo Altomare, Kenneth Brown, Joan MacIntosh, Cyndy Rosenthal, Marvin Carlson, and David Savran. The event will cuminate in the presentation of the Edwin Booth Award by the Doctoral Theatre Students Association to Judith Malina.
- 3/16/2009
- BroadwayWorld.com
In the Mirror of Maya Deren
Opening date: Friday, Jan. 24
NEW YORK -- A long overdue documentary portrait of one of our most important avant-garde filmmakers, Martine Kudlacek's "In the Mirror of Maya Deren" never quite achieves the stylistic distinction of its subject's best work. But this well-organized, fairly comprehensive account of this prototypical bohemian Village artist, who died in 1961 at age 44 from a cerebral hemorrhage, should become an essential element of film scholarship. And, with its copious footage of the highly attractive and colorful filmmaker herself -- she appeared in most of her own works -- it could well spark interest in a Hollywood biopic. The film is playing an exclusive theatrical engagement at New York's Anthology Film Archives.
Largely unknown today, Deren, who emigrated from the Ukraine with her parents at age 5, started her artistic career as a dancer. Later, in collaboration with her husband, Czech filmmaker Alexander Hammid, she pioneered the independent avant-garde film movement with a series of short B&W 16mm films made in the 1940s, including their best-known work "Meshes of an Afternoon", which won an award at the 1947 Cannes International Film Festival. She was the first filmmaker to win a Guggenheim Award and also was one of the first to self-promote, by leasing New York's Provincetown Playhouse to show several of her films.
Featuring excepts from most of her films, as well as footage shot in Haiti for a project that was never completed, this documentary also includes interviews with many of Deren's contemporaries and colleagues, including Stan Brakhage, Jonas Mekas, Amos Vogel, Judith Malina and Hammid, who she divorced in 1947. Many testify as to Deren's colorful and mercurial personality, recalling such moments as when she threw a refrigerator across a kitchen in a fit of rage. Deren herself is also heard from, in excerpts from recordings of lectures she gave about her films.
IN THE MIRROR OF MAYA DEREN
Zeitgeist Films
Credits:
Director-Screenwriter: Martina Kudlacek
Producers: Johannes Rosenberger, Constantin Wulff, Navigator Film
Cinematographer: Wolfgant Lehner
Editor: Henry Hills
Music: John Zorn
Running time -- 103 minutes
No MPAA rating...
NEW YORK -- A long overdue documentary portrait of one of our most important avant-garde filmmakers, Martine Kudlacek's "In the Mirror of Maya Deren" never quite achieves the stylistic distinction of its subject's best work. But this well-organized, fairly comprehensive account of this prototypical bohemian Village artist, who died in 1961 at age 44 from a cerebral hemorrhage, should become an essential element of film scholarship. And, with its copious footage of the highly attractive and colorful filmmaker herself -- she appeared in most of her own works -- it could well spark interest in a Hollywood biopic. The film is playing an exclusive theatrical engagement at New York's Anthology Film Archives.
Largely unknown today, Deren, who emigrated from the Ukraine with her parents at age 5, started her artistic career as a dancer. Later, in collaboration with her husband, Czech filmmaker Alexander Hammid, she pioneered the independent avant-garde film movement with a series of short B&W 16mm films made in the 1940s, including their best-known work "Meshes of an Afternoon", which won an award at the 1947 Cannes International Film Festival. She was the first filmmaker to win a Guggenheim Award and also was one of the first to self-promote, by leasing New York's Provincetown Playhouse to show several of her films.
Featuring excepts from most of her films, as well as footage shot in Haiti for a project that was never completed, this documentary also includes interviews with many of Deren's contemporaries and colleagues, including Stan Brakhage, Jonas Mekas, Amos Vogel, Judith Malina and Hammid, who she divorced in 1947. Many testify as to Deren's colorful and mercurial personality, recalling such moments as when she threw a refrigerator across a kitchen in a fit of rage. Deren herself is also heard from, in excerpts from recordings of lectures she gave about her films.
IN THE MIRROR OF MAYA DEREN
Zeitgeist Films
Credits:
Director-Screenwriter: Martina Kudlacek
Producers: Johannes Rosenberger, Constantin Wulff, Navigator Film
Cinematographer: Wolfgant Lehner
Editor: Henry Hills
Music: John Zorn
Running time -- 103 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 2/3/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Film review: 'The Deli'
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- "The Deli", which serves up a thick and not particularly appetizing slice of New York life, is the kind of laid-back comedy that will leaves audiences hungry for more.
Presenting a colorful cast of New York actors in the ramshackle tale of a delicatessen owner struggling to pay his gambling debts while dealing with myriad eccentric friends, relatives and customers, its minor charms won't get it much attention in a commercial environment. Inexplicably given a recommendation by the National Board of Review, it was showcased recently at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival.
John Gallagher's feature does give a welcome opportunity for heavy-set chararcter actor Mike Starr to shine in a starring role. He plays Johnny Amico, a deli owner whose gambling habit has put him in jeopardy with the neighborhood mobsters. To make things worse, his mother's number has just come in, but Johnny, although he's taken her money, hasn't placed a bet on it in years.
A lot of familiar faces pass through the deli, including Iceas a meat delivery man; Chris Noth as a trash man; David Johanson as a rambunctious cabbie; and the model Iman (which could account for the inclusion of some David Bowie songs on the soundtrack) as a woman searching for an avocado, etc.
Also showing up in tiny roles are figures such as veteran rapper Heavy D, Heather Matarazzo ("Welcome to the Dollhouse"), Michael Imperioli, Debi Mazar, William McNamara, Jerry Stiller, Shirley Stoler and Burt Young as the neighborhood gangster. Clearly, the filmmakers were able to call in some debts of their own.
Gallagher and John Dorian's anecdotal screenplay is short on true wit or resonance and doesn't add up to very much, but it does offer the opportunity for the colorful cast to provide some amusing moments, and the film manages to present a vivid and authentic depiction of an Italian working-class neighborhood.
Further adding to the atmosphere is the canny use of music from Rome-based CAM Original Soundtracks, including classic themes from composers such as Nino Rota and Ennio Morricone.
THE DELI
Golden Monkey Pictures
Director: John Gallagher
Screenplay: John Dorian, John Gallagher
Producer: Sylvia Caminer
Executive producer: John Dorrian
Director of photography: Robert Lechterman
Editor: Sue Blainey
Original score: Ernie Mannix
Color/stereo
Cast:
Johnny: Mike Starr
Andy: Matt Keeslar
Mrs. Amico: Judith Malina
Pinky: Brian Vincent
Eric the Soda Man: Michael Badalucco
Bo: Heavy D
Phil the Meat Man: Ice
Running time -- 98 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Presenting a colorful cast of New York actors in the ramshackle tale of a delicatessen owner struggling to pay his gambling debts while dealing with myriad eccentric friends, relatives and customers, its minor charms won't get it much attention in a commercial environment. Inexplicably given a recommendation by the National Board of Review, it was showcased recently at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival.
John Gallagher's feature does give a welcome opportunity for heavy-set chararcter actor Mike Starr to shine in a starring role. He plays Johnny Amico, a deli owner whose gambling habit has put him in jeopardy with the neighborhood mobsters. To make things worse, his mother's number has just come in, but Johnny, although he's taken her money, hasn't placed a bet on it in years.
A lot of familiar faces pass through the deli, including Iceas a meat delivery man; Chris Noth as a trash man; David Johanson as a rambunctious cabbie; and the model Iman (which could account for the inclusion of some David Bowie songs on the soundtrack) as a woman searching for an avocado, etc.
Also showing up in tiny roles are figures such as veteran rapper Heavy D, Heather Matarazzo ("Welcome to the Dollhouse"), Michael Imperioli, Debi Mazar, William McNamara, Jerry Stiller, Shirley Stoler and Burt Young as the neighborhood gangster. Clearly, the filmmakers were able to call in some debts of their own.
Gallagher and John Dorian's anecdotal screenplay is short on true wit or resonance and doesn't add up to very much, but it does offer the opportunity for the colorful cast to provide some amusing moments, and the film manages to present a vivid and authentic depiction of an Italian working-class neighborhood.
Further adding to the atmosphere is the canny use of music from Rome-based CAM Original Soundtracks, including classic themes from composers such as Nino Rota and Ennio Morricone.
THE DELI
Golden Monkey Pictures
Director: John Gallagher
Screenplay: John Dorian, John Gallagher
Producer: Sylvia Caminer
Executive producer: John Dorrian
Director of photography: Robert Lechterman
Editor: Sue Blainey
Original score: Ernie Mannix
Color/stereo
Cast:
Johnny: Mike Starr
Andy: Matt Keeslar
Mrs. Amico: Judith Malina
Pinky: Brian Vincent
Eric the Soda Man: Michael Badalucco
Bo: Heavy D
Phil the Meat Man: Ice
Running time -- 98 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 11/19/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
'Household Saints'
NEW YORK -- Filmmaker Nancy Savoca, whose last project was the ill-fated "Dogfight, '' has made another film about Italian-Americans in her new "Household Saints, '' but she has replaced the realism of "True Love'' with a fantastical fairy-tale quality that is both the strength and weakness of her film.
Told in the form of an extended flashback, the film relates the history of the marriage between Joseph Santangelo (Vincent D'Onofrio), a butcher, and Catherine Falconetti (Tracey Ullman), the 17-year-old daughter of his widowed friend Lino (Victor Argo). One night in the 1950s, in the midst of a torrid heat wave, Joseph, Lino and Catherine's brother Nicky (Michael Rispoli) get involved in a heated game of pinochle. In one wager over a single hand, Lino bets his daughter's hand in marriage vs. a blast of cold air from Joseph's freezer, and loses.
The seemingly misbegotten union, which occurs over Catherine's objections, actually turns out charmed, despite the families' squabbles and the sniping of Joseph's old-world mother Carmela (Judith Malina)., whose favorite story is about how she made delicious soup from clam shells that she dug out of the garbage. Eventually, Joseph and Catherine have a child, Teresa, whom they name after the saint of flowers and labor.
The first two-thirds of the film, detailing the courtship and first years of the marriage, has a sweet charm and flavorful ethnic humor, aided by the expert comic work of the cast (Ullman, in an atypical role, gives a beautifully modulated and restrained performance). With the arrival of Teresa, played from the age of 13 on by Lili Taylor, the film turns darker, as the character becomes increasingly obsessed with the idea that she is experiencing divine visitations.
Her behavior becomes ever more bizarre; she agrees to have sex with her nerdy boyfriend because she thinks he has been sent by God; and she experiences a visit from Jesus while she is ironing. The latter incident results in her commitment, and a tragic finale that results in her unofficial ascension to sainthood.
Savoca is unable to make the latter scenes truly work, and they are particularly jarring after the light-hearted build-up that has preceded them. Taylor, as usual, gives an amazing performance, her most intense yet. But the film is not stylish enough to carry across its intention of being a modern-day folktale. "Household Saints'' is imaginative and audacious, qualities rare in today's cinema, but it falls short of its aspirations.
HOUSEHOLD SAINTS
Fine Line Features Release
Director Nancy Savoca
Executive producer Jonathan Demme
Producers Richard Guay, Peter Newman
Screenplay Nancy Savoca, Richard Guay
Director of photography Bobby Bukowski
Editor Beth Kling
Costumes Eugenie Bafaloukos
Cast:
Catherine Falconetti Tracey Ullman
Joseph Santangelo Vincent D'Onofrio
Teresa Lili Taylor
Carmela Santangelo Judith Malina
Nicky Falconetti Michael Rispoli
Lino Falconetti Victor Argo
Running time -- 124 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
Told in the form of an extended flashback, the film relates the history of the marriage between Joseph Santangelo (Vincent D'Onofrio), a butcher, and Catherine Falconetti (Tracey Ullman), the 17-year-old daughter of his widowed friend Lino (Victor Argo). One night in the 1950s, in the midst of a torrid heat wave, Joseph, Lino and Catherine's brother Nicky (Michael Rispoli) get involved in a heated game of pinochle. In one wager over a single hand, Lino bets his daughter's hand in marriage vs. a blast of cold air from Joseph's freezer, and loses.
The seemingly misbegotten union, which occurs over Catherine's objections, actually turns out charmed, despite the families' squabbles and the sniping of Joseph's old-world mother Carmela (Judith Malina)., whose favorite story is about how she made delicious soup from clam shells that she dug out of the garbage. Eventually, Joseph and Catherine have a child, Teresa, whom they name after the saint of flowers and labor.
The first two-thirds of the film, detailing the courtship and first years of the marriage, has a sweet charm and flavorful ethnic humor, aided by the expert comic work of the cast (Ullman, in an atypical role, gives a beautifully modulated and restrained performance). With the arrival of Teresa, played from the age of 13 on by Lili Taylor, the film turns darker, as the character becomes increasingly obsessed with the idea that she is experiencing divine visitations.
Her behavior becomes ever more bizarre; she agrees to have sex with her nerdy boyfriend because she thinks he has been sent by God; and she experiences a visit from Jesus while she is ironing. The latter incident results in her commitment, and a tragic finale that results in her unofficial ascension to sainthood.
Savoca is unable to make the latter scenes truly work, and they are particularly jarring after the light-hearted build-up that has preceded them. Taylor, as usual, gives an amazing performance, her most intense yet. But the film is not stylish enough to carry across its intention of being a modern-day folktale. "Household Saints'' is imaginative and audacious, qualities rare in today's cinema, but it falls short of its aspirations.
HOUSEHOLD SAINTS
Fine Line Features Release
Director Nancy Savoca
Executive producer Jonathan Demme
Producers Richard Guay, Peter Newman
Screenplay Nancy Savoca, Richard Guay
Director of photography Bobby Bukowski
Editor Beth Kling
Costumes Eugenie Bafaloukos
Cast:
Catherine Falconetti Tracey Ullman
Joseph Santangelo Vincent D'Onofrio
Teresa Lili Taylor
Carmela Santangelo Judith Malina
Nicky Falconetti Michael Rispoli
Lino Falconetti Victor Argo
Running time -- 124 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
- 9/15/1993
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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