Anatomy of a Murder (Otto Preminger, 1959)

Otto Preminger with Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington

Otto Preminger concluded the 50s – a decade already marked by some of his most audacious work – with this courtroom drama about a country lawyer called on to defend an army lieutenant accused of murdering a bar owner who has allegedly raped the lieutenant’s wife. It is widely celebrated as one of the greatest American films.

Based on a real case, Anatomy of a Murder was adapted from a 1957 book by former prosecutor John D. Voelker, which was still a “New York Times” bestseller when the film went into production. Aside from the superb central cast, which includes James Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara and George C. Scott, the role of the judge went to real-life judge Joseph N. Welch (who is also seen calmly upbraiding Senator Joseph McCarthy in the documentary Point of Order). The film is shot entirely on location, where the actual crime and trial had taken place. The court scenes that make up the majority of the film were shot in sequence, providing the actors with an enriching sense of realism. The result is perfection.

Cinema is a Machine of Empathy

The Stranger and the Fog

“CINEMA  IS  A  MACHINE  OF  EMPATHY”:  RESTORING  AND CURATING IRANIAN’S CINEMATIC HERITAGE.

An interview with Ehsan Khoshbakht  

By André Habib (Université de Montréal)

The  international  recognition  of  Iranian  cinema  parallels  its  presence  on  the  world  festival  circuit,  from  Gaffari’s  1963  Night  of  the  Hunchback,  through  Kiarostami’s  Palme  d’or  for  The  Taste  of  Cherry  to  Rossoulof’s  in  extremis  addition to the 2024 Cannes Festival selection. These last few years, festivals (in particular  Cannes,  Venice,  Berlin,  Locarno)  have  been  pivotal  in  diagnosing  the  “state  of  affairs”  in  the  Islamic  Republic  of  Iran,  the  ongoing  creative  struggle  and resistance filmmakers have opposed to the regime. We could also add that, over the past ten years, it is also via festivals, and particularly those specialized in showcasing film restorations, that we have witnessed a reappraisal and renewed appreciation  for  works,  mostly  shot  before  the  revolution,  that  had  fallen  into  relative  oblivion  and  which  all,  in  some  respect,  display  eloquent  forms  of  politic  and  poetic  resistance.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  nowhere  is  this  truer  than  at  the  Cineteca  di  Bologna,  via  its  now  world-renowned  Cinema  Ritrovato  festival and through the work of the Immagine ritrovata laboratory. Crucial to this new wave  of  rediscoveries  is  Ehsan  Khoshbakht,  who  has,  since  2018,  worked  as  co-director of the Cinema Ritrovato festival, apart from curating many ambitious programs  across  the  world  (notably,  recently,  the  October  13th  to  November  27th MoMA program, Iranian Cinema Before the Revolution, spanning fifty years and  presenting  close  to  70  feature  and  short  films).  He  is  also  a  filmmaker,  an  architect and an essential figure, with others, of the contemporary reassessment of the importance and richness of the history of Iranian cinema. Shortly before the launch of the Fall of 2023 MoMA cycle, we had a chance to interview him for this special issue of Regards. 

London Jazz Festival | Jazz on Screen: Symphonies in Black – Duke Ellington Shorts

Jazz on Screen: Symphonies in Black: Duke Ellington Shorts

Tue 19 Nov 2024, 18:30, Location: Barbican Cinema 3

Introduction to the screening by Ehsan Khoshbakht

Join us at the Barbican for a special screening event featuring 16 captivating short films that highlight the extraordinary musical legacy of Duke Ellington and his Orchestra. Spanning nearly a quarter of a century (1929-1953), these films showcase Ellington’s performances in a variety of settings, often accompanied by dancers and singers, including the legendary Billie Holiday in Symphony in Black: A Rhapsody of Negro Life. This particular film fluidly transitions between Ellington composing in solitude, leading his band in a tuxedo at a concert, and artistic depictions of African American life, including a moving sequence with Billie Holiday portraying heartbreak similar to Bessie Smith's iconic film appearance six years prior.