Blog Posts by Subject: Film

Carrere & Hastings, architects of the Central Library on 42nd Street (now the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building) designed room 316 as a 19th century picture gallery. On May 22, 1986, the 75th anniversary of the opening of the building, the room was formally dedicated to Edna Barnes Salomon, the wife of Mr. Richard Salomon, Chairman of the Board of the Library from July 1977 to May 1981. In addition to the oil portaits of various Astors, members of the Lenox family, some of the Shelley & Wollstonecraft clan, some landscapes and scenes of New York, there two matching life size portraits of Charles Coburn and Ivah Wills (Mrs. Coburn) as  from As You Like It.

How do we love Christopher Walken? On his 70th birthday, let us count the ways. Star of film, TV, and NYPL's own iBook Point, somehow everyone has a favorite film that stars him, be it The Deer Hunter, True Romance, or Pulp Fiction. The consummate villain, he faced off Batman and James Bond with his signature dead stare that transforms at the drop of a hat into a Rockwellesque boyish grin. By the time his fancy footwork stupefied us in Spike Jonze's Fatboy Slim video, few knew Walken was already a 30-year Broadway veteran, sharing the stage with Liza Minnelli and Raul Julia. What? Read on, share movie quotes, or just look at the pictures!

In the month of April, many great DVD movies are coming to the Library. Reserve titles now using the Library's Catalog.

In the month of March, many great DVD movies are coming to the Library. Reserve titles now using the Library's Catalog.

New York Public Library is once again proud to partner with ReelAbilities, offering opportunities to see recent, high-quality films promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories and artistic expressions of people with differing abilities.

According to the Chinese Lunar Calendar, 2013 is the Year of the Snake. In the Chinese zodiac, the snake is equivalent to the Taurus in Western tradition. February 10th, 2013 to January 30th, 2014 will mark the Year of the Snake.

In the month of February, many great DVD movies are coming to the Library. Reserve titles now using the Library's Catalog.

Three Auteurs of World Cinema starts with six screenings of films by the highly-stylized Hong Kong director, Wong Kar-wai. In March, we move to the meditative works of Soviet/Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky. And finally, throughout April and May, we'll explore the fantastical world of Italian director Federico Fellini through eight films spanning his entire career.

Maybe you've got the Nordic noir bug from reading Stieg Larsson's Millennium series (we've all seen those ubiquitous neon paperbacks on the subway) or were enthralled earlier by Peter Høeg's Smilla's Sense of Snow or the Detective Wallander series of books. However you encounter them, Scandicrime writers such as Henning Mankell, Larsson, or Jo Nesbø are like a good bag of chips, it's hard not to have another. This is a selective guide to some notable authors and detective series from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and even some Nordic noir from Iceland, and what's better, a guide to pronouncing their names correctly over cocktails.

Angelic stranger, Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) grants freedom to hapless Texas slave Django (Jamie Foxx). Schultz, a kindly German dentist-turned-bounty hunter, provides Django with employment, trusting friendship and his first handgun. Django is reborn as a slave-turned-bounty hunter, becoming a vengeful black American superman on a dangerous and deadly mission to free his lovely German-educated wife, Broomhilda von Shaft (Kerry Washington), from a Mississippi cotton plantation.

In the month of January, many great DVD movies are coming to the Library. Reserve titles now using the Library's new Catalog.

I just quit smoking for the fifth time. For me, it's all or nothing. I could never be one of those people — dilettantes! — who are able to smoke socially and then go for indefinite periods of time without a cigarette. I suppose this has to do with physiology, personality, and the times in which I grew up.

The Hunger Games

Some of the best books that I have ever read were ultimately made into movies. However, as you might already know, the books are always better than the movie. Jaws by Peter Benchley was so much scarier when I read it than when I viewed it on the big screen. Carrie by Stephen King gave me nightmares, and even though the movie lived up to my expectations, the book was better.

In the month of December, many great DVD movies are coming to the Library. Reserve titles now using the Library's new Catalog.

While browsing the shelves to see if we had recent Korean Dramas, I chanced upon City Hunter. This drama is definitely one of my top 10 dramas because 1) It is an action drama 2) The dad is so evil and sexy and I love great villains but most importantly is reason number 3) Lee Min Ho is the star of the show.

Before the craze of Psy's "Gangnam Style", the Korean Wave had already overwhelmed the masses and continues to spread throughout the world today. The Wave does not only include famous, catchy Korean Pop songs but also great dramas and movies that rival any Spanish soap opera I've ever watched.

I'm sure you've heard of blockbuster movies, but have you read a blockbuster book? According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary online, a blockbuster is one that is notably expensive, effective, successful, large or extravagant. For example, the Harry Potter series of books and movies were blockbusters. Other blockbusters from the past include The Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer and The Lightning Thief and other Percy Jackson and the Olympians books by Rick Riordan.

It's the spookiest time of the year, when a young man's thoughts turn to scares and gore, children beg for scraps ... 'scuse me, I mean trick-or-treat, and people everywhere unleash their inner demons. In a good way, we hope! Here's a spotlight on cool apps for all ages to enhance your Halloween fun. There are iOS and Android apps to be found here, most of the them free and all of them good fun.

In the month of November, many great DVD movies are coming to the Library. Reserve titles now using the Library's new Catalog.