Kino International Podcast

Now on DVD. From the farms and fields of Arkansas to the deadly streets of Baghdad, Off to War tracks the citizen soldiers of the Arkansas National Guard as they come face to face with the horrors of war. As seen on the Discovery Times Channel.

BILLY WILDER SPEAKS - The wit and wisdom of one of Hollywood's most acclaimed filmmakers.. Illustrated with film clips, rare photographs and artwork, Billy Wilder Speaks is a lively lesson in filmmaking, from one of its undisputed masters. As seen on Turner Classic Movies. Now on DVD from Kino International, http://www.kino.com .

OLD JOY - A Film by Kelly Reichardt. The story of two old friends, who reunite for a weekend camping trip in Oregon’s Cascade Mountains. OLD JOY is the critically-acclaimed film The New York Times calls, “A MUST SEE!” Starring Will Oldham and Daniel London, the film features a soundtrack by Yo La Tengo. Coming soon. Visit http://www.kino.com/oldjoy .

Previously available in the U.S. only in a severely truncated version, Mauritz Stiller's The Saga of Gösta Berling - the film that made Greta Garbo a star -- has been restored to its proper luster. Now available on DVD from Kino on Video (www.kino.com).

From Bret Wood, (Hell's Highway) comes an all-new feature Psychopathia Sexualis, tales of deviance and hidden desire from the case studies of Krafft-Ebing. Opens soon, visit official site at http://www.psychopathia.com . Mature Content.

Mixing animation and live action LOOK BOTH WAYS follows the misadventures of Meryl (Justine Clarke) a woman who imagines disaster everywhere. Named Best Film at the Australian Academy Awards. Official site at http://www.kino.com/lookbothways .

Excerpt from Poppin' the Cork, a 1933 short film starring a very young Milton Berle. Part of Kino's new DVD CAVALCADE OF COMEDY. Available from www.kino.com.

Excerpt from the Kino DVD ROBERT BENCHLEY AND THE KNIGHTS OF THE ALGOINQUIN. The Joys and Perils of Modern Life Through the Eyes of a Legendary American Humorist. Visit http://www.kino.com/video

The story of a community located on an abandoned oil tanker in the Persian Gulf, IRON ISLAND chronicles the lives of the people living on this floating village. Opening soon in theatres.

Before King Kong, before his Academy Award triumph, Adrien Brody was electrifying as Jack, a dark hearted, smooth operating con-man with a poet's soul.

Directed by Wong Kar-Wai, FALLEN ANGELS intertwines two exhilarating tales of love and isolation set in the neon-washed underworld of present-day Hong Kong.

Set on the outskirts of Paris, “la petite Jérusalem” is the largely Jewish neighborhood where religion, ethnic struggle, philosophy, love and desire collide. This skillful debut from writer-director Karin Albou focuses on 18-year old student Laura, as she tries to reconcile Western philosophy with her strict Orthodox upbringing. The resulting sexual discoveries and entanglements that both Laura and her married sister find themselves in create havoc while ultimately freeing both women from their self-imposed dictums. Coming soon to theatres from Kino International.

A Christmas Carol. Directed by J. Searle Dawley (?). Adapted from the story by Charles Dickens. Cast: Marc MacDermott (Scrooge). © 23 December 1910; Released 23 December 1910. American producers were already making Christmas films in the late nineteenth century. As the motion picture industry gained in size and stability, many companies made their release an annual ritual. The Edison Manufacturing Company offered The Night Before Christmas in December 1905, The Little Girl Who Did Not Believe in Santa Claus in December 19071, A Street Waif’s Christmas (released 18 December 1908), A Gift from Santa Claus (released 17 December 1909), and A Christmas Carol (released 23 December 1910). ). In fact, the Essanay Motion Picture Company had already turned Dickens’ story into a film back in 1908. This Edison picture was the second film adaptation of the Christmas classic (though the earliest version to be extant). Back in 1910, critics already held strong and divergent opinions about many of these films. A regular reviewer for Moving Picture World praised this adaptation of Dickens’ story as “so cleverly reproduced that the characters actually live before one. There is Scrooge at his office, lacking the spirit of Christmas, abusing those around him and refusing to contribute for the benefit of those who are in need.” It is one of the best releases of this company for a long time,” he concluded. “The actors have caught the spirit of the selection and have interpreted the characters with rare fidelity. … In truth, it would be difficult to suggest any improvement for this excellent film.” (MPW, 7 January 1911, 32.) Two weeks earlier, however, Moving Picture World columnist Thomas Bedding had expressed his disappointment with the Edison film, feeling that its sentimental themes were “dealt with sufficiently in the magazines and in everyday life without presenting them as entertainment.” For this reason he urged the Edison company “to adopt different themes, more of the merry-making order.” (“Christmas on the Screen,” Moving Picture World, 24 December 1910, 1459.) In truth, critics and moviegoers generally offered unflattering comments on Edison productions made from mid-1908 through 1910, though the company made an impressive rebound during 1911.

LOVE ME TONIGHT (1932) is a madcap musical tour de force of infectious melody, effortless vivacity, and ceaseless invention from first frame to last. Building on a foundation of songs by Rodgers and Hart (Babes in Arms, Pal Joey), director Rouben Mamoulian (Applause) shepherds Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald through an exuberant romp that film maven Leslie Halliwell declared, "the most fluently cinematic comedy musical ever made." Now on DVD.

Perhaps the most famous and influential of all silent films, Fritz Lang's METROPOLIS had for 75 years been seen only in shortened or truncated versions. Now, restored in Germany with state-of-the-art digital technology, under the supervision of the Murnau Foundation, and with the original 1927 orchestral score by Gottfried Huppertz.