We’ve known, for a while now, that Martin Scorsese is a big fan of Ari Aster. Several years ago, the legendary director raved about Aster’s second film, “Midsommar.” Now, as Aster receives some of the harshest critiques of his relatively young career, thanks to his third film, “Beau is Afraid,” Scorsese is there to back him up, yet again. 

READ MORE: ‘Beau Is Afraid’ Review: Joaquin Phoenix Guides Ari Aster’s Hilarious, Horrific, Despairing Nightmare, Hellish Mom Comedy

During a Q&A alongside Ari Aster (via A24), Martin Scorsese talks about the young filmmaker’s career, up to this point, and how he believes Aster is one of the best directors working today.

Continue reading Martin Scorsese Praises Ari Aster & Compares Reception Of ‘Beau Is Afraid’ To Kubrick’s ‘Barry Lyndon’ at The Playlist.

In some ways, we’ve only gotten a small taste of what filmmaker Mark Romanek is capable of. In nearly 20 years, thanks to the fickle nature of the film industry, projects that have fallen apart and an unwillingness on his part to compromise the work, Romanek has only made two feature films, the psychological thriller, “One Hour Photo” (2002), the first film to cast the beloved comedian Robin Williams as a sociopath, and the melancholy sci-fi romance “Never Let Me Go,” from writer Alex Garland.

Continue reading The Movies That Changed My Life: ‘Tales From The Loop’ Filmmaker Mark Romanek at The Playlist.

Richard Linklater had a celebrated return to form with the debut of his new film “Last Flag Flying,” which was shown opening night at the New York Film Festival. Following its warm festival debut, Linklater sat down with NYFF Director Kent Jones to discuss the films that inspired him most. “What is film?  Linklater said, “To me its moments. Not necessarily the best moment in a film or the most emotional ones, but the moments that jarred me as a viewer and a filmmaker.”

As expected, his choices included some of the greatest films ever made, starting with “Raging Bull.” “That film changed my life,” he remarked, “make no mistake.” Emphasizing the sound design of the film, and a presence of a flaw in the scene he chose, Linklater applauded the picture, saying that, “recreating something but also translating that realness into it is so profound.”  He reminisced that as a teen he discussed the film with a friend who said that “Raging Bull” was an exact depiction of what it was like growing up in New York at the time.

Continue reading Richard Linklater On His Favorite Films & Cinematic Influences [NYFF] at The Playlist.

October is the season of tricks or treats, but for the folks at Criterion, they’ve only got the good stuff. The boutique label has unveiled their lineup for the year’s scariest month, and it’s pretty damn incredible.

Kicking things off is David Lynch‘s “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me.” With the new series set to be wrapped by then, this will be the perfect way to continue uncovering the many mysteries packed into the show.

Continue reading ‘Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me,’ ‘Barry Lyndon,’ ‘Personal Shopper’ & More Coming To Criterion at The Playlist.

With only two feature films under his belt to date, writer/director Adam Leon has made a big noise by using very little. His breakout film, “Gimme The Loot,” was fresh, exciting, and low-key caper film that captured the attention of SXSW, Cannes, and beyond. For his followup, Leon tells another intimate, authentic New York City story with “Tramps.” Premiering last fall at the Toronto International Film Festival, it may not have had glitzy A-list stars, but the crowd-pleasing charmer sparked a small bidding war, with streaming titans Netflix coming out on top.

Continue reading The Movies That Changed My Life: ‘Tramps’ Director Adam Leon at The Playlist.

In a catalog with no shortage of masterpieces, for many fans of Stanley Kubrick, “Barry Lyndon” is near the top of the list. The director’s visually stunning, melancholy, and hilarious adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray‘s novel is almost staggering in its technical precision, and it’s matched by Kubrick’s exacting vision. However, the director tried a couple different avenues before landing on how he would present the tale of the titular character, with different ideas for the score and narration considered through the editing process.

Continue reading Stanley Kubrick Considered Nino Rota Score, Using Intertitles Instead Of Narration For ‘Barry Lyndon’ at The Playlist.

With the world at our fingertips nowadays, art forms feed into others as we are constantly inspired whether nose-deep into a great novel, or scrolling through an online catalog. And yes, life imitates art, but cinema juxtaposes both into a stunning amalgam of characters, scenery, sets, and dialogue, creating unforgettable universes of its own. Oftentimes directors take their own direction from varying forms of inspiration, whether adapting a screenplay from a book (an ongoing trend) , or creating a backdrop that adds dimension to a painting they like, a la David Lynch and his adoration for artist Edward Hopper.

Continue reading Fine Art & Film Come Together In This Supercut at The Playlist.

After countless rumors of release dates, delays, and social media teases, this past weekend, Frank Ocean floored the music world by dropping two albums — Endless and Blonde — along with a massive magazine titled, “Boys Don’t Cry.” He ended the four year drought since 2012’s Channel Orange is a huge way, and in the process, gave his fans no shortage of material to wade through.

Continue reading Frank Ocean’s 100 Favorite Films Includes Movies By Stanley Kubrick, Werner Herzog, Paul Thomas Anderson, More at The Playlist.

There’s a reason Stanley Kubrick‘s “Barry Lyndon” won several Oscars, including Best Cinematography, Art Direction, and Costume Design: It seamlessly replicates William Makepeace Thackeray‘s novel “The Luck of Barry Lyndon” and creates a stunning atmosphere in which a lurid young Irishman (Ryan O’Neil) destroys his privileged life by spying and amounting large debts. ‘Lyndon,’ aside from boasting a beautiful classical soundtrack and some aptly stoic performances, looks more than any other film like a string of paintings; it’s fine art brought to life, as only Stanley Kubrick could have done.

Continue reading Parallels: Stanley Kubrick’s ‘Barry Lyndon’ And Fine Art at The Playlist.

Richard Strauss may never have dreamed that his 1896 tone poem, inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche, “Thus spoke Zarathustra,” would be infamous thanks to the use of the fanfare in Stanley Kubrick‘s stunning 1968 “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Then again, if Strauss were alive at the time, perhaps he’d of picked Kubrick to direct a version of “Salome” on the stage (what I would give to see that).

Continue reading Pay Tribute To The Cinematic Genius Of Stanley Kubrick at The Playlist.

As so often, it was Martin Scorsese who said it best: “Watching a Kubrick film is like gazing up at a mountaintop. You look up and wonder, how could anyone have climbed that high?” For cinema lovers, there may be no director as likely to inspire a figurative crick in the neck as Stanley Kubrick, whose seminal satire “Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb” comes to The Criterion Collection this week.

Continue reading The Essentials: The Best Stanley Kubrick Film Ranked at The Playlist.

Ask any cinephile what Stanley Kubrick‘s greatest film is, and you’re likely to get a variety of answers. There is a revisionist camp that asserts the director’s final film “Eyes Wide Shut” is his masterpiece, while others might choose an early work like “Paths Of Glory.” And there are some who will hold up Kubrick’s epic period drama “Barry Lyndon” as his towering achievement.

Continue reading Re-Release Trailer For Stanley Kubrick’s Epic ‘Barry Lyndon’ Introduces A Soldier, Hero, And Opportunist at The Playlist.

Watch: 5-Minute Supercut Of Stanley Kubrick's Work Focuses On The Quiet Before The Storm

Continue reading Watch: 5-Minute Supercut Of Stanley Kubrick’s Work Focuses On The Quiet Before The Storm at The Playlist.

Watch: 19-Minute Look Back At Stanley Kubrick’s Overlooked Masterpiece 'Barry Lyndon'

Continue reading Forgotten Masterpiece: Stanley Kubrick’s ‘Barry Lyndon’ at The Playlist.