Wot's Old Is New

Kuroneko (1968) NYT Critics' Pick

Kichiemon Nakamura & Kiwako Taichi in “Kuroneko.”
Tragic Love Tale of Spirits and Samurai
By MANOHLA DARGIS
Published: October 21, 2010

Pools of deepest black nearly engulf, with strange beauty and mystery, the characters in “Kuroneko,” a Japanese ghost story from 1968 about two avenging spirits and the brutal samurai they tick off. Shot in widescreen in stunning black-and-white 35 millimeter film and directed by Kaneto Shindo, “Kuroneko” had a brief run in New York in 1971 and doesn’t seem to have been back since. A Criterion DVD appears to be forthcoming, but for now a new print has been struck and is available for your delectation at Film Forum. More

Full Vision of ‘Metropolis’ Includes Lang’s Vivid Wit

By A. O. SCOTT
Published: October 21, 2010

Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis,” surely one of the most intensely studied and widely imitated films of the silent era, grows more complex and mysterious as time goes on. This is partly because the movie has not been seen in the form its director intended since 1927. The German studio UFA cut Lang’s ambitious science-fiction allegory shortly after its initial domestic release, and the American version (distributed by Paramount) was trimmed by an hour and effectively rewritten, with title cards that altered Lang’s meaning. Over the years new material has been discovered, and fresh restorations have been offered, so that the further “Metropolis” recedes into history, the newer it becomes. More

Boxing Gym - NYT Critics' Pick

A scene from “Boxing Gym,” directed by Frederick Wiseman.
Sweat, Blood and Philosophy to the Rhythms of the Sweet Science
By MANOHLA DARGIS
Published: October 21, 2010

Pugilists and philosophers of all kinds converge in Frederick Wiseman’s mesmerizing documentary “Boxing Gym.” Owned by a tight knot of muscles named Richard Lord, a trainer with a rasp in his voice and a rattail hanging down his neck, the gym is in a former warehouse with no heat and no air-conditioning. There are no frills here, just men, women and children of assorted colors, means, grace, beauty and abilities meeting among the heavy bags and peeling posters, their fists and feet drumming different time signatures. More

Yesterday, the PC

Arrived before the crack o' dawn, and spent the morning on the computer in someone's office. He emerged after I pounded on the door so he could move his pickup from the drive, to ask if I could print a form for him. Unfortunately, I had an 8:00 am meeting. He called yesterday to ask when I would be going in to work today. "Later," I told him, but he has not appeared.