Production Company(ies)
Twentieth Century Fox,
 
Distributor
ThinkFilm
 
Release Type

 
Filming Location(s)
Paks, Hungary
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for some disturbing Holocaust images including nudity, and brief strong language
 
Year of Release
2005
 

 
Genre(s)
History/Drama
 
Keyword(s)
Fateless, Marcell Nagy, Áron Dimény, János Bán, Holocaust, Drama, History, Lajos Koltai, Imre Kertész, Andras Hamori, Péter Barbalics, Ildiko Kennedy, Jonathan Olsberg, ThinkFilm, Dolby Digital, R, $195.9K, reviewed by Ty Burr, Peter Bradshaw, Robert Hanks, Rachel Cameron, Steve O’Hagan, Trevor Johnston, Debbie Lynn Elias, Eve Tushnet, Cole Smithey, Anton Bitel, Enrique Buchichio, Lewis Beale, Cynthia S, Daisy M, Daniel P, directed by Lajos Koltai, written by Imre Kertész, produced by Andras Hamori, Péter Barbalics, Ildiko Kennedy, Jonathan Olsberg, starring Marcell Nagy as György Köves, Áron Dimény as Bandi Citrom, András M Kecskés as Finn, József Gyabronka as Unlucky man, Endre Harkányi as Old Kollmann, Daniel Craig as US Army Sergeant
 

Cast & Crew

Marcell Nagy

György Köves

Áron Dimény

Bandi Citrom

András M. Kecskés

György Köves

Bandi Citrom

Finn

Unlucky man

Old Kollmann

Marcell Nagy – György Köves
Áron Dimény – Bandi Citrom
András M. Kecskés – Finn
József Gyabronka – Unlucky man
Endre Harkányi – Old Kollmann
Daniel Craig – US Army Sergeant

 

Lajos Koltai

Imre Kertész

Andras Hamori

Péter Barbalics

Ildiko Kennedy

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Lajos Koltai
 
Writer(s)
Imre Kertész
 
Producer(s)
Andras Hamori, Péter Barbalics, Ildiko Kennedy, Jonathan Olsberg

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
6 wins & 7 nominations
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Ty Burr

Peter Bradshaw

Robert Hanks

Rachel Cameron

Steve O’Hagan

Boston Globe

Guardian

Independent (UK)

BBC.com

Empire Magazine

FATELESS
  All Critics (65) | Top Critics (30) | Fresh (61) | Rotten (4)
  Fateless looks man’s inhumanity to man square in the eye and pronounces it standard operating procedure, and that may be the greater horror.
 
  June 2, 2006 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
  Ty Burr
  Boston Globe
  TOP CRITIC
  Is the survivor entitled to ordinary human happiness — or is this human emotion an act of disloyalty and diminution? These questions are a vital part of this outstanding film’s dark and sombre power.
 
  May 6, 2006 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Peter Bradshaw
  Guardian
  TOP CRITIC
  Perhaps the fault lies more with Ennio Morricone’s lavish, emotionally bullying music, which cancels out all the reticence and nuance of the script.
 
  May 6, 2006 | Rating: 3/5
 
  Robert Hanks
  Independent (UK)
  TOP CRITIC
  Fiercely unsentimental and surprisingly beautiful, Hungarian drama Fateless does the seemingly impossible: it succeeds in portraying the subject of the Holocaust in a new and devastating light.
 
  May 5, 2006 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Rachel Cameron
  BBC.com
  TOP CRITIC
  We’re meant to see the camps with a naive adolescent eye, but director Koltai misjudges his material, and his fastidious paletting and highly orchestrated set-pieces are curiously low-impact; beautiful where they should be beastly.
 
  May 5, 2006 | Rating: 3/5
 
  Steve O’Hagan
  Empire Magazine
  TOP CRITIC
  Relatively few films touching on the Holocaust are worthy of their subject; this one is.
 
  May 4, 2006
 
  Trevor Johnston
  Time Out
  TOP CRITIC
  This is really the first holocaust film that doesn’t just say it was an atrocity; it gives a new psychological perspective that shows a sense of hope and possibly even joy hidden in the horrors.
 
  November 7, 2019
 
  Debbie Lynn Elias
  Behind The Lens
  It conveys a feeling of exhaustion. Mist drifts through the camp, lending a beauty which does not point to any meaning or goodness, a kind of drained beauty.
 
  February 8, 2019
 
  Eve Tushnet
  Patheos
  “Fateless” is an essential film in the canon of holocaust film because it vividly tracks the specific brand of hatred that torture and genocidal murder inures.
 
  April 20, 2009 | Rating: A
 
  Cole Smithey
  ColeSmithey.com
  In cutting through the conventional cliches of Holocaust presentation to a more singular truth, Gyuri defies viewers to refuse him the license to tell his own story as he himself saw and felt it, rather than as others might prefer him to tell it.
 
  July 6, 2007
 
  Anton Bitel
  Eye for Film
  Una película de sobrecogedora belleza que se las arregla para arrojar nueva luz sobre un tema trillado y recurrente.
 
  March 25, 2007 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Enrique Buchichio
  Uruguay Total
  Masterfully directed, acted and shot, this is world cinema at its absolute finest.
 
  March 1, 2007
 
  Lewis Beale
  Film Journal International…

 

Plot
An Hungarian youth comes of age at Buchenwald during World War II. György Köves is 14, the son of a merchant who’s sent to a forced labor camp. After his father’s departure, György gets a job at a brickyard; his bus is stopped and its Jewish occupants sent to camps. There, György find camaraderie, suffering, cruelty, illness, and death. He hears advice on preserving one’s dignity and self-esteem. He discovers hatred. If he does survive and returns to Budapest, what will he find? What is natural; what is it to be a Jew? Sepia, black and white, and color alternate to shade the mood.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
The cast includes Daniel Craig in a small role as a US Army Sergeant.
 

 
Lajos-Koltai.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Shochiku
 
Distributor
Warner Independent
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Nablus, Palestine
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material and brief strong language
 
Year of Release
2005
 

 
Genre(s)
Drama
 
Keyword(s)
Paradise Now, PG-13, Drama, 1h 30m, 89% Tomatometer, 87% Audience Score, suicide bombers, terrorism, Palestine, Israel, Arabic, directed by Hany Abu-Assad, written by Hany Abu-Assad and Bero Beyer, starring Ali Suliman as Khaled, Kais Nashif as Said, Lubna Azabal as Suha, Amer Hlehel as Jamal, Hiam Abbass as Said’s mother, Ashraf Barhom as Abu-Karem, produced by Bero Beyer, reviewed by Nigel Andrews, Victoria Segal, Roger Moore, Ken Tucker, Marjorie Baumgarten, Roger Ebert, David Lamble, Mattie Lucas, Hannah Brown, Fernando F Croce, Brandon Fibbs, Chelsea Bain, box office gross USA $1.5M, budget, PG-13 rating, drama genre, Warner Independent distributor
 

Cast & Crew

Kais Nashif

Ali Suliman

Lubna Azabal

Amer Hlehel

Hiam Abbass

Said

Khaled

Suha

Jamal

Said’s mother

Kais Nashif – Said
Ali Suliman – Khaled
Lubna Azabal – Suha
Amer Hlehel – Jamal
Hiam Abbass – Said’s mother
Ashraf Barhom – Abu-Karem

 

Hany Abu-Assad

Hany Abu-Assad

Bero Beyer

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Hany Abu-Assad
 
Writer(s)
Hany Abu-Assad, Bero Beyer
 
Producer(s)
Bero Beyer

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
13 wins & 17 nominations total
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
 

Top Reviews

Nigel Andrews

Victoria Segal

Roger Moore

Ken Tucker

Marjorie Baumgarten

Financial Times

New Statesman

Orlando Sentinel

New York Magazine/Vulture

Austin Chronicle

PARADISE NOW
  All Critics (103) | Top Critics (39) | Fresh (92) | Rotten (11)
  With inspired judgment and skill, the film embeds its debating points in the trajectory of the story, or humanises them with everyday emotions.
 
  October 7, 2018
 
  Nigel Andrews
  Financial Times
  TOP CRITIC
  … it has the great advantage of letting an audience feel it is seeing things it would otherwise never see.
 
  September 26, 2017
 
  Victoria Segal
  New Statesman
  TOP CRITIC
  … it says more about Middle Eastern politics from the Palestinian side than any movie, period.
 
  January 27, 2006 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Roger Moore
  Orlando Sentinel
  TOP CRITIC
  … remarkable …
 
  December 9, 2005
 
  Ken Tucker
  New York Magazine/Vulture
  TOP CRITIC
  The film continues to twist and turn until the very end, keeping us guessing as to what the would-be martyrs will do.
 
  December 6, 2005 | Rating: 3.5/5
 
  Marjorie Baumgarten
  Austin Chronicle
  TOP CRITIC
  Certainly what Said says will not come as a surprise to any Israeli. It’s simply that they disagree. We may disagree, too, and yet watch the film with a fearsome fascination.
 
  December 6, 2005 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Roger Ebert
  Chicago Sun-Times
  TOP CRITIC
  A timely piece about an excruciating moral dilemma.
 
  May 9, 2020
 
  David Lamble
  Bay Area Reporter
  So distinctive in mood, tone and perspective that it demands to be noticed.
 
  June 5, 2019 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Mattie Lucas
  The Dispatch (Lexington, NC)
  If you actually see it, you’ll find this look inside the minds of two terrorists both fascinating and frightening.
 
  March 2, 2016
 
  Hannah Brown
  Jerusalem Post
  The filmmaker keeps the thorny issues under control
 
  September 1, 2009
 
  Fernando F. Croce
  CinePassion
  Could a more important, relevant and complimentary film to Munich have come out in 2005?
 
  February 28, 2008 | Rating: 8/10
 
  Brandon Fibbs
  BrandonFibbs.com
  October 21, 2006 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
  Chelsea Bain
  Boston Herald…

 

Plot
Palestinians Said and Khaled, now in young adulthood, have been lifelong friends living in Nablus in the West Bank. They have both had what they consider a difficult life, now working side-by-side in unfulfilling jobs as auto mechanics in a small garage, being unfulfilling as difficult as the jobs were to get. Those difficult lives includes feeling like they are prisoners in the West Bank, Said who has only left the region once on a medical issue when he was six. They blame all their problems on the oppression by the Israelis. As such, they have volunteered and have been accepted by a Palestinian resistance group to carry out a suicide bombing mission in Tel Aviv: after the initial response to the first bomb, the second bomb would be detonated at the same site. Following the bombing, the resistance group would release pre-taped video messages of Said and Khaled confessing to the bombing in the name of God. The mission would require Said and Khaled to cross “illegally” into Israel. They are not afraid of death in light of their deaths having some meaning, and in feeling like their lives are like being dead anyway. In the process of carrying out the mission, they end up being separated which could jeopardize not only the mission but their individual lives without their death being in the name of a cause, that is if they cannot locate each other. In this their time apart, Said and Khaled may have time to think about what they are about to do, their thoughts not only shaped by their different family histories, but Said’s budding friendship/romance with a young woman named Suha, the daughter of a wealthy and famed Palestinian, she who has only recently moved back to the West Bank after years living overseas.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
The film features Palestinian actors Ali Suliman and Kais Nashif in the lead roles.
 

 
Hany-Abu-Assad.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
American Zoetrope Zoetrope Studios,
 
Distributor
Lionsgate Films
 
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Katmai National Park, Alaska, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language
 
Year of Release
2005
 

 
Genre(s)
Documentary/Biography
 
Keyword(s)
starring, directed by, written by, documentary, biography, R rating, Werner Herzog, Erik Nelson, Timothy Treadwell, grizzly bears, Alaska, conservationist, nature, tragedy, box office, Lionsgate Films, critic reviews, reviewed by, audience score, producer, produced by, budget, Heather Havrilesky, Zadie Smith, Joshua Katzman, Joshua Rothkopf, Dan Jolin, Steven D Greydanus, Matt Brunson, Brian Eggert, Allen Almachar, Micheal Compton, David Keyes, Nick Rogers, Spencer S, Kyle M, Dann M, Christopher H
 

Cast & Crew

Werner Herzog

Jewel Palovak

Warren Queeney

Carol Dexter

Val Dexter

Narrator

Jewel Palovak

Warren Queeney

Carol Dexter

Val Dexter

Werner Herzog – Narrator
Jewel Palovak
Warren Queeney
Carol Dexter
Val Dexter
Sam Egli

 

Werner Herzog

Werner Herzog

Erik Nelson

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Werner Herzog
 
Writer(s)
Werner Herzog
 
Producer(s)
Erik Nelson

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
21 wins & 17 nominations
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Heather Havrilesky

Zadie Smith

Joshua Katzman

Joshua Rothkopf

Dan Jolin

Salon.com

Daily Telegraph (UK)

Chicago Reader

Time Out

Empire Magazine

GRIZZLY MAN
  All Critics (144) | Top Critics (50) | Fresh (133) | Rotten (11)
  Of course, the legendary filmmaker can’t resist inserting his own outsize ego into the story, but somehow this documentary has room for two larger-than-life characters.
 
  July 16, 2019
 
  Heather Havrilesky
  Salon.com
  TOP CRITIC
  Herzog has his documentary in hand, explaining that what we have here “iz on astone-ishing story of beauty and depth”. He’s not wrong.
 
  January 16, 2018
 
  Zadie Smith
  Daily Telegraph (UK)
  TOP CRITIC
  Like so much of Herzog’s work, both narrative and documentary, this is an engrossing look at obsessive behavior gone terribly awry.
 
  April 29, 2008
 
  Joshua Katzman
  Chicago Reader
  TOP CRITIC
  Treadwell, a failed TV actor, is presented as someone desperate to give and receive love. That he went to such extremes is tragic, but also, in Herzog’s sympathetic eyes, deeply human.
 
  August 16, 2007
 
  Joshua Rothkopf
  Time Out
  TOP CRITIC
  Part punk wildlife doc, part diary of a twisted soul, part cautionary tale, Grizzly Man is a complex, unique and engrossing journey into the murky recesses of an unhinged mind.
 
  April 1, 2006 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Dan Jolin
  Empire Magazine
  TOP CRITIC
  At turns fascinating and banal… a film that dances around vital questions about the human condition that it is barely able to articulate, let alone address.
 
  February 11, 2006 | Rating: B-
 
  Steven D. Greydanus
  Decent Films
  TOP CRITIC
  Fascinating.
 
  May 24, 2022 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
  Matt Brunson
  Film Frenzy
  Grizzly Man reveals Herzog’s ambition as a documentarian through his depiction and desire to understand Treadwell, a man who looked to Nature for comfort, yet ultimately became a victim of the sublime.
 
  February 14, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Brian Eggert
  Deep Focus Review
  Grizzly Man is a documentary that shows the very essence of human nature pushed to the limit, where love and obsession can propel a person beyond the boarders of reason.
 
  August 13, 2020 | Rating: A+
 
  Allen Almachar
  The MacGuffin
  A stirring documentary that adds to an already growing list of fascinating films from the genre this year.
 
  November 19, 2019 | Rating: A-
 
  Micheal Compton
  Bowling Green Daily News
  Herzog’s stirring, thought-provoking documentary meditates with exceeding insight into the mind that drove the man.
 
  December 11, 2013
 
  David Keyes
  Cinemaphile.org
  Werner Herzog forgoes judging Timothy Treadwell’s disputed methods or questionable mental state – letting viewers decide based on footage that suggests Treadwell essentially sought some sort of transmutation from flesh to fur.
 
  September 25, 2010 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Nick Rogers
  The Film Yap…

 

Plot
A docudrama that centers on amateur grizzly bear expert Timothy Treadwell. He periodically journeyed to Alaska to study and live with the bears. He was killed, along with his girlfriend, Amie Huguenard, by a rogue bear in October 2003. The films explores Treadwell’s compassionate life as he found solace among these endangered animals.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Werner Herzog, the director of Grizzly Man, also serves as the film’s narrator.
 

 
Werner-Herzog.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Participant First Look Media, Anonymous Content
 
Distributor
Sony Pictures Entertainment
 
Release Type

 
Filming Location(s)
New York City, New York, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for some sexuality and language
 
Year of Release
2005
 

 
Genre(s)
Romance/LGBTQ+
 
Keyword(s)
Saving Face, R-rated, Romance/LGBTQ+, 1h 36m, directed by Alice Wu, written by Alice Wu, starring Michelle Krusiec, Joan Chen, Lynn Chen, Jessica Hecht, Ato Essandoh, Nathanel Geng, Stimson Cho, produced by James Lassiter, Will Smith, Teddy Zee, reviewed by Terry Nguyen, Alyx Vesey, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Scott Tobias, Marrit Ingman, Peter Howell, Amanda Jane Stern, Mattie Lucas, Ren Jender, Dorothy Woodend, Cynthia Fuchs, box office gross $1.2M, budget unknown, Sony Pictures Entertainment, family drama, romantic comedy, LGBTQ+ romance, cultural taboos, lesbian, traditional grandparents, widowed mother, romantic secrets, pregnancy, openly gay, bilingual script, Chinese-American, prejudice, modernity, rebellion, respect, antiquity
 

Cast & Crew

Michelle Krusiec,Wil

Joan Chen,Ma

Lynn Chen,Vivian

Jessica Hecht,Randi

Ato Essandoh,Jay

Wil

Ma

Vivian

Randi

Jay

Michelle Krusiec – Wil
Joan Chen – Ma
Lynn Chen – Vivian
Jessica Hecht – Randi
Ato Essandoh – Jay
Nathanel Geng – Stimson Cho

 

Alice Wu

NA

James Lassiter

Will Smith

Teddy Zee

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Alice Wu
 
Writer(s)
NA
 
Producer(s)
James Lassiter, Will Smith, Teddy Zee

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
3 wins & 3 nominations
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Terry Nguyen

Alyx Vesey

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Scott Tobias

Marrit Ingman

Vox

Bitch Media

Chicago Reader

AV Club

Austin Chronicle

SAVING FACE
  All Critics (89) | Top Critics (31) | Fresh (77) | Rotten (12)
  Why do rom-coms always get happy endings, and not family dramas? With Saving Face, Wu dares to ask: Why not both?
 
  May 4, 2022
 
  Terry Nguyen
  Vox
  TOP CRITIC
  Saving Face could get really preachy if it wanted to. But that it addresses multiple concerns with a light touch is one of its virtues.
 
  January 11, 2021
 
  Alyx Vesey
  Bitch Media
  TOP CRITIC
  Abjectly collapses into feel-good nonsense.
 
  February 9, 2007
 
  Jonathan Rosenbaum
  Chicago Reader
  TOP CRITIC
  The message here, as in every quirky ethnic romantic comedy, is ‘follow your heart.’ But wouldn’t it be great if for once the characters cared more about the continuity of antiquated cultural traditions than their own personal happiness?
 
  September 26, 2005
 
  Scott Tobias
  AV Club
  TOP CRITIC
  … surprisingly fresh and charming overall.
 
  July 5, 2005 | Rating: 3/5
 
  Marrit Ingman
  Austin Chronicle
  TOP CRITIC
  Goes beyond the obvious into something a lot more current and meaningful: the need to make your own love, even if society looks askance.
 
  July 1, 2005 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Peter Howell
  Toronto Star
  TOP CRITIC
  Saving Face is a beautifully crafted movie about the fight between family tradition and finding a new way for yourself.
 
  December 30, 2020
 
  Amanda Jane Stern
  Film Inquiry
  The result is a good, if occasionally uneven, film that should have and could have been great.
 
  June 5, 2019 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Mattie Lucas
  The Dispatch (Lexington, NC)
  Saving Face is one of the few films focused on queer people of color and their families. Having those two elements together might seem like a modest achievement, but Pariah is one of the only recent films that also includes both.
 
  March 9, 2019
 
  Ren Jender
  Bitch Flicks
  Although everyone seems to be trying very hard, it has a deadly earnestness that squashes any fun flat.
 
  August 24, 2017
 
  Dorothy Woodend
  The Tyee (British Columbia)
  Chinese-American mom and daughter reconnect.
 
  December 17, 2010 | Rating: 3/5
 
  Cynthia Fuchs
  Common Sense Media
  Wu has abundant affection for her characters and a sharp eye for how they interact.
 
  August 3, 2007 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Rob Gonsalves
  eFilmCritic.com…

 

Plot
In Manhattan, the brilliant Chinese-American lesbian surgeon Wil is surprised by the arrival of her forty-eight year old widow mother to her apartment. Ma was banished from Flushing, Queens, when her father discovered that she was pregnant. The presence of Ma affects the personal life of Wil, who is in love with the daughter of her boss at the hospital, the dancer Vivian Shing. Once her grandfather has promised that her mother would only return to Flushing remarried or proving that it was an immaculate conception, Wil tries to find a Chinese bachelor to marry Ma.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Joan Chen, who plays Hwei-lan in Saving Face, is a well-known Chinese actress who has appeared in numerous films and TV shows, including The Last Emperor and Twin Peaks.
 

 
Alice-Wu.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Columbia Pictures,
 
Distributor
Fine Line Features
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
UK
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for depiction of strong thematic material
 
Year of Release
2005
 

 
Genre(s)
Drama
 
Keyword(s)
starring Imelda Staunton, Philip Davis, Alex Kelly, Daniel Mays, Peter Wight, Adrian Scarborough, Heather Craney, directed by Mike Leigh, written by Mike Leigh, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Amy Taubin, Nick Schager, Roger Moore, Marjorie Baumgarten, Adrian Hennigan, Fresh Kernels, producer Simon Channing Williams, MPAA rating R, Fine Line Features, Surround, Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS, Flat (1.37:1), abortion, 1950s England, housekeeper, selfless devotion, unwavering care, illegal activities, authorities, freedom, Imelda Staunton as Vera Drake, Philip Davis as Stan, Peter Wight as Det Inspector Webster, Adrian Scarborough as Frank, Heather Craney as Joyce, Daniel Mays as Sid
 

Cast & Crew

Imelda Staunton

Philip Davis

Peter Wight

Adrian Scarborough

Heather Craney

Vera Drake

Stan

Det. Inspector Webster

Frank

Joyce

Imelda Staunton – Vera Drake
Philip Davis – Stan
Peter Wight – Det. Inspector Webster
Adrian Scarborough – Frank
Heather Craney – Joyce
Daniel Mays – Sid

 

Mike Leigh

Mike Leigh

Simon Channing Williams

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Mike Leigh
 
Writer(s)
Mike Leigh
 
Producer(s)
Simon Channing Williams

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 3 Oscars
41 wins & 45 nominations total
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
 

Top Reviews

Amy Taubin

Nick Schager

Roger Moore

Marjorie Baumgarten

Adrian Hennigan

Film Comment Magazine

Lessons of Darkness

Orlando Sentinel

Austin Chronicle

BBC.com

VERA DRAKE
  All Critics (161) | Top Critics (51) | Fresh (148) | Rotten (13)
  The heroine of Mike Leigh’s wonderfully subtle and relentlessly harrowing new film is a cheerful, compactly built middle-aged woman who spends her waking hours in perpetual motion.
 
  November 19, 2013
 
  Amy Taubin
  Film Comment Magazine
  TOP CRITIC
  Puts a tender human face on this explosive subject.
 
  May 4, 2005 | Rating: B+
 
  Nick Schager
  Lessons of Darkness
  TOP CRITIC
  With Vera Drake, [Leigh] has made his most controversial and accessible work
 
  January 28, 2005 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Roger Moore
  Orlando Sentinel
  TOP CRITIC
  [Leigh’s] best picture in some time.
 
  January 24, 2005 | Rating: 3.5/5
 
  Marjorie Baumgarten
  Austin Chronicle
  TOP CRITIC
  Aside from the performances, which are uniformly excellent, the greatest strength of Mike Leigh’s drama is its non-judgmental stance on abortion.
 
  January 15, 2005 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Adrian Hennigan
  BBC.com
  TOP CRITIC
  All the actors so completely fade away that you come out of the film thinking you’ve seen the real people, not players reciting a script.
 
  November 4, 2004 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Richard Nilsen
  Arizona Republic
  TOP CRITIC
  The family scenes are meticulously constructed. Leigh’s concern for the fate of his often repressed and damaged characters is genuine and rare.
 
  March 5, 2021
 
  Joanne Laurier
  World Socialist Web Site
  A high-quality drama which lays bare one of the great moral conundrums of our time, provoking much thought on the issue of terminated pregnancy without declaring how you should think.
 
  July 13, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Leigh Paatsch
  Herald Sun (Australia)
  Cleverly, Leigh has plucked a thorny issue from the past and used it to highlight inequalities that still exist. Leigh, the grandfather of British social cinema, has no time for nostalgia.
 
  April 23, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Miles Fielder
  The List
  August 7, 2008 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Jim Lane
  Sacramento News & Review
  December 27, 2007 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Joe Lozito
  Big Picture Big Sound
  In a hopelessly polarized debate, Leigh allows us to see real people involved in real situations. The film will keep people on either side of the abortion debates talking.
 
  November 10, 2006 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Stefan Ulstein
  Christianity Today…

 

Plot
Vera Drake is a selfless woman who is completely devoted to, and loved by, her working class family. She spends her days doting on them and caring for her sick neighbor and elderly mother. However, she also secretly visits women and helps them induce miscarriages for unwanted pregnancies. While the practice itself was illegal in 1950s England, Vera sees herself as simply helping women in need, and always does so with a smile and kind words of encouragement. When the authorities finally find her out, Vera’s world and family life rapidly unravel.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Imelda Staunton delivers a “piercingly powerful performance” as Vera Drake, according to the critics consensus on Fresh Kernels.
 

 
Mike-Leigh.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Stanley Kubrick Productions,
 
Distributor
Sony Pictures Classics
 
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
 
Filming Location(s)
Radio City Music Hall – New York City, New York, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for brief strong language
 
Year of Release
2004
 

 
Genre(s)
Documentary
 
Keyword(s)
Lightning in a Bottle, documentary, blues, B.B King, Lucille, Radio City Music Hall, Buddy Guy, Mavis Staples, Dr John, Macy Gray, Chuck D, Aerosmith, Antoine Fuqua, Margaret Bodde, Alex Gibney, Jack Gulick, PG-13, brief strong language, English, Sony Pictures Classics, Dolby SR, Surround, Philip Shane, Steve Jordan, reviewed by Lisa Schwarzbaum, Peter Travers, Richard Harrington, Sean Daly, Roger Moore, Howard Cohen, Jason Gorber, Eric D Snider, Jeffrey Bruner, David Cornelius, Jeff Vice, Sean P Means, starring Buddy Guy, Solomon Burke
 

Cast & Crew

Buddy Guy

Solomon Burke

Antoine Fuqua

Philip Shane

Steve Jordan

Buddy Guy

Solomon Burke

Antoine Fuqua

Philip Shane

Steve Jordan

Buddy Guy – self
Solomon Burke – self
Antoine Fuqua – Director
Philip Shane – Film Editing
Steve Jordan – Original Music
Margaret Bodde – Producer

 

Antoine Fuqua

NA

Margaret Bodde

Alex Gibney

Jack Gulick

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Antoine Fuqua
 
Writer(s)
NA
 
Producer(s)
Margaret Bodde, Alex Gibney, Jack Gulick

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
1 win & 2 nominations
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Lisa Schwarzbaum

Peter Travers

Richard Harrington

Sean Daly

Roger Moore

Entertainment Weekly

Rolling Stone

Washington Post

Orlando Sentinel

Miami Herald

LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE
  All Critics (62) | Top Critics (25) | Fresh (54) | Rotten (8)
  September 7, 2011 | Rating: B-
 
  Lisa Schwarzbaum
  Entertainment Weekly
  TOP CRITIC
  August 14, 2007 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Peter Travers
  Rolling Stone
  TOP CRITIC
  The event’s musical director, Steve Jordan, marvels at one point: ‘Looks like y’all hired the phone book . . . just looked up “Blues” in the Yellow Pages.’
 
  December 17, 2004
 
  Richard Harrington
  Washington Post
  TOP CRITIC
  Features a who’s who of world-wise bluesmen (and women) and newbie practitioners.
 
  December 17, 2004
 
  Sean Daly
  Washington Post
  TOP CRITIC
  If you know the blues, you’ve heard it all before. And if you don’t, the film, after a promising step-by-step primer opening, won’t help you.
 
  December 3, 2004 | Rating: 3/5
 
  Roger Moore
  Orlando Sentinel
  TOP CRITIC
  Some of the blues performances here are rousingly hot and could make believers out of the staunchest classical music snob.
 
  December 3, 2004 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Howard Cohen
  Miami Herald
  TOP CRITIC
  The filmmakers really have captured something quite spectacular with this one.
 
  June 21, 2007 | Rating: A-
 
  Jason Gorber
  Film Scouts
  It is as much a lesson in musical appreciation as it is a thrilling concert.
 
  March 28, 2005 | Rating: A-
 
  Eric D. Snider
  EricDSnider.com
  Lightning in a Bottle is a feel-good film, ironically, for fans of the blues and a solid primer for newcomers to the sound.
 
  March 25, 2005 | Rating: 3.5/5
 
  Jeffrey Bruner
  Des Moines Register
  This is music for which there are not enough superlatives.
 
  March 4, 2005 | Rating: 5/5
 
  David Cornelius
  eFilmCritic.com
  Features performances by such masters of the form as Buddy Guy, Solomon Burke, B.B. King. But the movie doesn’t depend on your knowledge of them or their works.
 
  January 7, 2005 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Jeff Vice
  Deseret News (Salt Lake City)
  [It] achieves the goal of every concert film, to make you feel like you were there – or at least wish you were there.
 
  January 7, 2005 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Sean P. Means
  Salt Lake Tribune…

 

Plot
Beginning with a stirring African folk song (Zélié performed by Angélique Kidjo) the roots are established and rapidly swell into a trunk thickened by the hardships of the Great Depression (Gamblin’ Man performed by David ‘Honeyboy’ Edwards) and the oppression of segregation (Jim Crow Blues performed by Odetta). Finally, this Blues family tree shows off vibrant new growth as it reveals the Blues’ influence on our modern wealth of talented musicians (Midnight Special performed by John Fogerty and Hound Dog done by Macy Gray). Ruth Brown gives Blll Cosby a full-throttle serenade (and a playful smoldering gaze), along with Mavis Staples and Natalie Cole. Angélique Kidjo persuades Buddy Guy to an unforgettable rendition of ‘Voodoo Child,’ shortly before Bonnie Raitt and Robert Cray accompany B.B. King and Lucille for the final number, ‘Paying the Cost to be the Boss.’ This documentary presents to the audience, with authority and candor, an authentic history of this musical form. The highly esteemed elders of this musical family are exemplary in their humbleness toward one another, rich with decades of shared memories; and their performances are of a quality rarely seen in modern times. These men and women are true artisans, yet they continue to generously pass their legacy down to select members of each musical generation. Those who grew up on this music find themselves performing on the stage with the very heroes who served as their earliest inspiration. Legends, such as Ruth Brown, Honeyboy Edwards, Clarence ‘Gatemouth’ Brown, B.B. King, Howling Wolf, and Buddy Guy, gave the world a double helping of their genius-first with song and secondly as the spirit which supplies the continuation of their art: in such artists as Natalie Cole, Jimmie Vaughan, John Fogerty, Macy Gray, Alison Krause, and Bonnie Raitt.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
The film features performances by blues legends such as B.B. King, Buddy Guy, and Solomon Burke.
 

 
Antoine-Fuqua.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Fine Line Features, Capitol Films, Channel Four Films,
 
Distributor
Focus Features
 
Release Type

 
Filming Location(s)

 
MPAA / Certificate
TV-PG
 
Year of Release
2005
 

 
Genre(s)
Drama/Romance
 
Keyword(s)
starring Keira Knightley, Matthew Macfadyen, Judi Dench, Brenda Blethyn, Rosamund Pike, Talulah Riley, Jena Malone, Donald Sutherland, Tom Hollander, Rupert Friend, Simon Woods, Kelly Reilly, Carey Mulligan, directed by Joe Wright, written by Jane Austen, Lee Hall, Deborah Moggach, produced by Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Paul Webster, drama, romance, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Robert Denerstein, Angie Errigo, Steven D Greydanus, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Ken Tucker, Sara Michelle Fetters, PG rating, Jane Austen adaptation, English countryside, marriage pressure, upper-class society, chemistry, reserved nature, modern filmmaking sensibility, period piece, beautiful visuals, elegant costumes, enchanting score
 

Cast & Crew

Keira Knightley

Matthew Macfadyen

Judi Dench

Brenda Blethyn

Rosamund Pike

Elizabeth Bennet

Mr. Darcy

Lady Catherine de Bourgh

Mrs. Bennet

Jane Bennett

Keira Knightley – Elizabeth Bennet
Matthew Macfadyen – Mr. Darcy
Judi Dench – Lady Catherine de Bourgh
Brenda Blethyn – Mrs. Bennet
Rosamund Pike – Jane Bennett
Talulah Riley – Mary Bennet

 

Joe Wright

Jane Austen

Tim Bevan

Eric Fellner

Paul Webster

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Joe Wright
 
Writer(s)
Jane Austen, Lee Hall, Deborah Moggach
 
Producer(s)
Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Paul Webster

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
NA
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Robert Denerstein

Angie Errigo

Steven D. Greydanus

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Ken Tucker

Denver Rocky Mountain News

Empire Magazine

Decent Films

Chicago Reader

New York Magazine/Vulture

PRIDE & PREJUDICE
  All Critics (180) | Top Critics (51) | Fresh (156) | Rotten (24)
  The big-screen version of Pride & Prejudice doesn’t disappoint and may even reach a few young people who normally might not be attracted to a period piece.
 
  July 27, 2021 | Rating: B
 
  Robert Denerstein
  Denver Rocky Mountain News
  TOP CRITIC
  oe Wright should be applauded for delivering a vividly realised Austen adap — one which confirms Knightley has graduated from the Jackie Bisset of the ’00s to this decade’s Julie Christie.
 
  November 15, 2011 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Angie Errigo
  Empire Magazine
  TOP CRITIC
  Breathes new life into characters and conversations never before quite wholly free from the printed page.
 
  April 12, 2006 | Rating: A-
 
  Steven D. Greydanus
  Decent Films
  TOP CRITIC
  It’s a fitfully engaging romance, it’s just not Pride and Prejudice.
 
  December 17, 2005 | Rating: 1/4
 
  Jonathan Rosenbaum
  Chicago Reader
  TOP CRITIC
  Keira’s cat-smile suggests such supernal all-knowingness that, with Austen’s adapted dialogue (via Deborah Moggach) tripping off her tongue, she comes off as an eighteenth-century Maureen Dowd.
 
  December 9, 2005
 
  Ken Tucker
  New York Magazine/Vulture
  TOP CRITIC
  Director Wright and screenwriter Moggach have streamlined the author’s prose splendidly, and combined with spirited and emotional performances by the entire cast this first Pride & Prejudice of the new millenium is a three-hankie masterpiece.
 
  December 6, 2005 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
  Sara Michelle Fetters
  MovieFreak.com
  TOP CRITIC
  Knightley makes for a spunky Lizzie but it’s MacFayden’s natural glumness that actually makes him quite the perfect Darcy.
 
  November 17, 2020
 
  Casey Cipriani
  Bustle
  Joe Wright successfully avoids the stuffy feel of those British period pieces. [Full Review in Spanish]
 
  November 20, 2019
 
  Javier Ocaña
  El Pais (Spain)
  Joe Wright reformulates the period piece into a delightful modern take. [Full Review in Spanish]
 
  November 20, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Virginia Montes
  Sensacine
  Although it might leave one wanting in regards to the complicated feelings of love, Joe Wright’s film is worth the look. [Full Review in Spanish]
 
  November 20, 2019
 
  Alberto Abuín
  Espinof
  Wright adapts the story to the rhythm of a dance, makes the dialogue not seem look like ancient prose and illuminates not with technical artifice, but with the beauty and freshness of Keira Knightley’s Elizabeth. [Full Review in Spanish]
 
  November 20, 2019 | Rating: 3/5
 
  Fausto Fernandez
  Fotogramas
  A sumptuous, condensed and very well-interpreted version of the English classic. [Full Review in Spanish]
 
  November 20, 2019
 
  Fernando Lopez
  La Nación (Argentina)…

 

Plot
In this adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic novel, Elizabeth Bennet faces pressure from her parents to marry, but when she meets the handsome and reserved Mr. Darcy, sparks fly and their fledgling relationship is threatened by his reserved nature.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Keira Knightley’s performance as Elizabeth Bennet was praised as “amazing” by an audience reviewer on Fresh Kernels.
 

 
Joe-Wright.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
BRON Studios, Bron Creative MACRO
 
Distributor
Miramax Films
 
Release Type

 
Filming Location(s)
Eiga-mura, Kanami, Kanae-chô, Fukuyama City, Hiroshima, Japan
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for strong stylized bloody violence
 
Year of Release
2003
 

 
Genre(s)
Action/Adventure
 
Keyword(s)
starring Beat Takeshi, Tadanobu Asano, Michiyo Ohkusu, Yui Natsukawa, Yûko Daike, Saburô Ishikura, directed by
 

Cast & Crew

Takeshi Kitano

Tadanobu Asano

Michiyo Ohkusu

Yui Natsukawa

Yûko Daike

Zatôichi

Ichi

Gennosuke Hattori

Aunt Oume

O-Shino

Takeshi Kitano – Zatôichi, Ichi
Tadanobu Asano – Gennosuke Hattori
Michiyo Ohkusu – Aunt Oume
Yui Natsukawa – O-Shino
Yûko Daike – Geisha Okinu Naruto
Saburô Ishikura – Boss Tashichi Ogi

 

Takeshi Kitano

Kitano Takeshi

Masayuki Mori

Takio Yoshida

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Takeshi Kitano
 
Writer(s)
Kitano Takeshi
 
Producer(s)
Masayuki Mori, Takio Yoshida

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
24 wins & 16 nominations
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Antonia Quirke

Christy Lemire

Nell Minow

David Ansen

Geoff Andrew

London Evening Standard

Associated Press

Common Sense Media

Newsweek

Time Out

ZATOICHI
  All Critics (127) | Top Critics (44) | Fresh (110) | Rotten (17)
  This film is a shebang, a full-scale show, complete with everything you would happily pay to see: costumes, tattoos, scratchy folk music, gambling in saki dens. You will eat it up.
 
  December 20, 2017
 
  Antonia Quirke
  London Evening Standard
  TOP CRITIC
  The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi begins life as a straight-up samurai movie, evolves into a slapstick comedy and ends as a rousing, tap-dancing musical.
 
  May 27, 2011
 
  Christy Lemire
  Associated Press
  TOP CRITIC
  This non-traditional samurai movie isn’t for kids.
 
  December 28, 2010 | Rating: 3/5
 
  Nell Minow
  Common Sense Media
  TOP CRITIC
  Zatoichi is a mix-and-match crowd-pleaser that shouldn’t add up, but delightfully does.
 
  November 1, 2007
 
  David Ansen
  Newsweek
  TOP CRITIC
  However improbably, Kitano pulls it off quite gloriously. Admittedly, this isn’t one of his most idiosyncratic, innovative or, indeed, satisfying works, but it’s without doubt fast, funny, fabulous to behold.
 
  February 9, 2006
 
  Geoff Andrew
  Time Out
  TOP CRITIC
  For those unfamiliar with such films, Zatoichi might be a little off-putting. But given a chance, the movie can be pretty entertaining.
 
  September 30, 2004 | Rating: 3.5/5
 
  Bill Muller
  Arizona Republic
  TOP CRITIC
  A gorgeous and evocative piece of entertainment that takes a deliberately playful approach to its genre.
 
  August 13, 2020 | Rating: B+
 
  Bryant Frazer
  Bryant Frazer’s Deep Focus
  If you’re looking for a real hero you could really do no better than Takeshi Kitano’s blind masseur, Zatoichi.
 
  August 24, 2017
 
  Dorothy Woodend
  The Tyee (British Columbia)
  Violent and bloody, carefully choreographed and filled with dry humor, Takeshi Kitano’s modern take on the classic Japanese character is a unique vision that’s told with confidence.
 
  September 27, 2009
 
  Ryan Cracknell
  Movie Views
  Zatoichi is a bloody film that also manages to be beautiful and funny.
 
  September 22, 2009 | Rating: 8/10
 
  James Plath
  Movie Metropolis
  Three-frame cuts of the action from multiple camera angles, hose-spurted blood and superimposed wounds do what they can in their primitive way to get you past the problem of improbability.
 
  September 17, 2009 | Rating: 2.5/5
 
  Jules Brenner
  Cinema Signals
  Seen now, sans all the hype and hoopla)…we can gauge Kitano’s production for what it truly is – a compelling and quite complex bit of fractured folklore.
 
  September 17, 2009 | Rating: 3.5/5
 
  Bill Gibron
  PopMatters…

 

Plot
Blind Zatoichi makes his living by gambling and giving massages. But behind his humble facade, Zatoichi is a master swordsman, gifted with lightning-fast draw and strokes of breathtaking precision. Zatoichi wanders into a town run by sinister gangs and a powerful samurai. He’s destined for violent showdowns when he stumbles on two beautiful geishas avenging their parents’ murder… Duels, wit and a touch of zen! Cult anti-hero Zatoichi is back in a sword-fighting adventure written, directed and starring Takeshi Kitano.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Takeshi Kitano, the director and star of Zatoichi, is a well-known comedian in Japan, which explains the film’s humorous moments.
 

 
Takeshi-Kitano.jpg

 
Tagline
Will you go on the record?
 
Production Company(ies)
Annapurna Pictures, Plan B Entertainment, Topical, Universal Pictures
 
Distributor
Universal Pictures
 
Release Type
THEATRICAL, THEATRICAL (WIDE)
 
Filming Location(s)
New York, New York, United States
 
MPAA / Certificate
R
 
Year of Release
2022
 

 
Genre(s)
Drama
 
Keyword(s)
starring Carey Mulligan, Zoe Kazan, Patricia Clarkson, Andre Braugher, Jennifer Ehle, Samantha Morton, directed by Maria Schrader, written by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, drama, #MeToo movement, sexual assault, journalistic integrity, New York Times reporters, box office gross, $5.8M, R rating, Universal Pictures, Dolby Digital sound mix, Flat aspect ratio, reviewed by tt stern-enzi, Wenlei Ma, David Stratton, Claudia Puig, Sara Stewart, Shirley Li, Eddie Harrison, Wesley Lovell, Rebecca Liu, Juan Pablo Russo, Carey Mulligan as Megan Twohey, Zoe Kazan as Jodi Kantor, Patricia Clarkson as Rebecca Corbett, Andre Braugher as Dean Baquet, Jennifer Ehle as Laura Madden, Samantha Morton as Zelda Perkins, produced by Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner
 

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
2 BAFTA Awards
10 wins & 36 nominations
 
Academy Awards

 

Synopsis (Warning: Spoilers!)

 
Trivia

 
Goofs
After the introductory Ireland part, in “New York 2016”, the year Apple introduced iPhone 7, a woman is using a three-camera iPhone.
 
Quotes
NA
 
Credits

 
Alternate Versions
NA
 
Soundtracks
NA
 

 
Production Company(ies)

 
Distributor
Magnolia Films
 
Release Type

 
Filming Location(s)

 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language and sexual content/nudity
 
Year of Release
2004
 

 
Genre(s)
Documentary
 
Keyword(s)
starring Charles Bukowski, directed by John Dullaghan, written by John Dullaghan, documentary, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Marc Savlov, Jane Sumner, Robert Denerstein, Lisa Kennedy, John Hartl, Roger Ebert, Richard Propes, PJ Nabarro, Patrick Nabarro, Felix Vasquez Jr., Dennis Schwartz, Matt McKillop, Duane Dudek, Bono, John Bryan, Diane Markrow, John McCormick, Magnolia Films, R rating, poetry, prose, drinking, interviews, Black Sparrow Press, Bono, Sean Penn, Harry Dean Stanton, Tom Waits
 

Cast & Crew

Bono

John Bryan

John Dullaghan

Diane Markrow

John McCormick

Bono

Self

John Bryan

Self

John Dullaghan

Bono – Self
John Bryan – Self
John Dullaghan – Director
Diane Markrow – Co-Producer
John McCormick – Co-Producer

 

John Dullaghan

NA

NA

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
John Dullaghan
 
Writer(s)
NA
 
Producer(s)
NA

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
1 nomination
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Marc Savlov

Jane Sumner

Robert Denerstein

Lisa Kennedy

John Hartl

Austin Chronicle

Dallas Morning News

Denver Rocky Mountain News

Denver Post

Seattle Times

BUKOWSKI: BORN INTO THIS
  All Critics (50) | Top Critics (21) | Fresh (42) | Rotten (8)
  Dullaghan uncovers the human being behind the myth, thanks again to old footage.
 
  January 16, 2005 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Marc Savlov
  Austin Chronicle
  TOP CRITIC
  An amazing, worthy journey.
 
  October 28, 2004 | Rating: B+
 
  Jane Sumner
  Dallas Morning News
  TOP CRITIC
  Provides an overview of Bukowski’s work and allows us to gaze into the soul of a man who built a fortress of toughness around his vulnerable core.
 
  August 20, 2004 | Rating: B+
 
  Robert Denerstein
  Denver Rocky Mountain News
  TOP CRITIC
  The filmmaker knows when to shift the rhythm of his investigation. The authenticity of art is woven with the artifice of life.
 
  August 20, 2004 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Lisa Kennedy
  Denver Post
  TOP CRITIC
  Over a period of seven years, Dullaghan interviewed hundreds of people who knew or were affected by Bukowski. The result is both wide-ranging and intimate.
 
  July 30, 2004 | Rating: 3/4
 
  John Hartl
  Seattle Times
  TOP CRITIC
  How much was legend, how much was pose, how much was real? I think it was all real, and the documentary suggests as much.
 
  July 16, 2004 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
  Roger Ebert
  Chicago Sun-Times
  TOP CRITIC
  It captures the essence of Bukowski in a powerful and beautiful way.
 
  September 4, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4.0
 
  Richard Propes
  TheIndependentCritic.com
  This excels by not merely charting the fascinating raw materials of the man’s life and work, but in finding a symbiosis between its own aesthetic and the spirit of its subject
 
  December 8, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
 
  PJ Nabarro
  Patrick Nabarro
  We witness Bukowski warts and all in his worst, in his best, and at his most violent–and we still love him for it.
 
  April 29, 2009 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Felix Vasquez Jr.
  Cinema Crazed
  This thorough documentary is essential for the poet’s fans.
 
  June 30, 2006 | Rating: A
 
  Dennis Schwartz
  Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews
  there is plenty of conflict to be found in the Bukowski’s life and work, yet little of it makes its way into Born into This
 
  April 14, 2006 | Rating: 3/5
 
  Matt McKillop
  Filmcritic.com
  [Bukowski] is never seen in less than fighting spirit or formidable form throughout the documentary Bukowski: Born into This.
 
  August 20, 2005 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Duane Dudek
  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel…

 

Plot
This documentary chronicles the life of writer Charles Bukowski, from his struggles to make a living to his rise in fame after being discovered by editor John Martin of Black Sparrow Press.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
The documentary features comments from famous fans Bono, Sean Penn, and Harry Dean Stanton.
 

 
John-Dullaghan.jpg