films
‘We are stuck like chicken feathers to tar’: Elizabeth Taylor’s description of the fabled romance
The Burton-Taylor relationship was either one of the greatest love stories of all time or a suicide pact carried out in relentless slow motion
Complicated and slightly creepy: the Bogart-Bacall romance
Lauren Bacall was 25 years younger than Humphrey Bogart. Unlike his previous wives, she stayed – though Roger Lewis finds something creepy about their relationship
A stunning work of art: Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One reviewed
Blockbuster action movies are designed to stun the audience into submissive acceptance. Complexity, humanity, emotion and beauty are reduced to…
Evil geniuses
Does knowledge of the wrongs committed by Caravaggio, Picasso, Roman Polanski and other ‘monsters’ condition our response to their art, wonders Claire Dederer
How to save the Oscars
This Sunday’s Academy Awards will be a litmus test of whether Hollywood can uncouple itself from the political agenda of…
The time is up for long films
Why do films have to go on for so long?
No Time to Die is a compelling mess
Times being what they are, James Bond can no longer just be the main character in the Bond films. He’s…
Insane and fascinating: BBC World Service's Lazarus Heist reviewed
The narrative podcast remains a form in search of a genre. The template set by the hit show Serial —…
Alfred Brendel the Dadaist
How many people are celebrating the fact that, last week, one of Europe’s most inspired writers about music, modern art…
The Venus de Marlene
Tanjil Rashid on the legend of Dietrich
Not nul points but it’s no Spinal Tap: Eurovision Song Contest – The Story of Fire Saga reviewed
This comedy stars Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams as an Icelandic duo whose biggest dream is to represent their country…
There’s no point in bishops – Covid has shown us so
It is a relief to parents that young children are allowed out a bit now as the length of the…
In the Covid era, age isn’t just a number
When I told my seven-year-old granddaughter, over Zoom, how much I missed being with her, I added: ‘Maybe it won’t…
Now is the time for comfort reads
It all started on the day after the Brexit referendum. People who do not get the result they voted for…
‘I feel compelled to be disgraceful’: Miriam Margolyes interviewed
Miriam Margolyes chews the fat with Tanya Gold about mother love, anti-Zionism and too much shagging
How could any woman fail to be won over by my new cinema room?
As Christmas approaches, fighting has broken out in the Young household. No, I’m not talking about my three boys, aged…
David Hare’s notebook: The National Theatre belongs to taxpayers, not corporate sponsors
The nicest day of the year was spent at Charleston in May. The Sussex farmhouse shared by Duncan Grant and…
My fury at Fury, a film only a vampire could love
I have always believed that the mission of most movies made after the Fred & Ginger era has been to…
