December is a time to celebrate the holidays, right? Well, then what better way to celebrate than buying yourself some incredible Criterion disks? Criterion clearly knows December is a gift-giving time, as the company has a stellar lineup of disks coming our way at the end of the year. 

READ MORE: 2024 Fall Film Preview: 50 Movies To Watch

Leading the way is “Paris, Texas,” Wim Wenders’ incredible 1984 film starring Harry Dean Stanton.

Continue reading Criterion’s December Releases Include ‘Paris, Texas,’ ‘8 1/2,’ ‘No Country For Old Men’ & More at The Playlist.

Alberto Lattuada, the Italian filmmaker who generously supplied Federico Fellini’s first director’s credit for 1950’s “Variety Lights,” once claimed that he “invented Fellini.” His peer, Massimo Mida, disputed this, noting that if anyone invented il Maestro, it was legendary Italian auteur Roberto Rossellini. Respectfully, they’re both wrong. For his part, Fellini, who now towers over Mida, Lattuada, and arguably Rossellini in Italy’s cinematic canon, credits Rome for shaping him.

Continue reading Federico Fellini: The Essential Films at The Playlist.

The British Film Institute has recently started their own podcast discussing the film industry, and they recently turned their attention to Martin Scorsese. In a two-part episode, the BFI Podcast plays clips from a previously unreleased interview with the director from 1987. It’s great listening to a relatively early interview with the legendary director discussing his influences.

The interview followed a special screening of three hand-selected films from the director, “Citizen Kane,” “8 1/2,” and finally, “Rocco and his Brothers.” Scorsese speaks about each film and the influence it had on his own art.

Continue reading Martin Scorsese Talks ‘Citizen Kane,’ ‘8 1/2,’ & ‘Rocco And His Brothers’ On BFI Podcast at The Playlist.

Watch: Trailer For Federico Fellini's Newly Restored Classic '8 1/2'

Continue reading Watch: Trailer For Federico Fellini’s Newly Restored Classic ‘8 1/2’ at The Playlist.

Continue reading The Dream Team Reunites: Pacino, Pesci Joining De Niro In Scorsese’s ‘The Irishman’ at The Playlist.

Oh yeah, and this guy named Daniel Day-Lewis who has taken over for the departed Javier Bardem, according to Variety (though this seems new considering last time we had checked in DDL was only, “in talks”). The project is a Broadway musical adaptation of “Nine,” which itself was a quasi-adaptation of Fellini’s surrealistic classic, “8 1/2.”

So excellent cast, great pedigree, etc.

Continue reading Rob Marshall Tries To Derail ‘Nine’ By Casting Fergie Alongside Daniel Day-Lewis at The Playlist.