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New York Post
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
NYC in the summer is at hot as these savings—Criterion Collection is 50% off and we love these NYC movies
New York Post may be compensated and/or receive an affiliate commission if you click or buy through our links. Featured pricing is subject to change. The latest Criterion Collection sale is a cinephile's dream, especially for lovers of New York City on film. For a limited time, Amazon is price-matching the annual Barnes & Noble sale on Criterion Collection titles, slashing the prices on all available titles by 50%. The Criterion Collection, currently sitting at over 1,200 titles strong, is a film distribution company that focuses on restoring and distributing 'important classic and contemporary films' for the masses. Advertisement These repackaged Blu-ray and 4K UHD discs come with loads of extras in addition to the feature film (that's often restored or remastered), including commentaries, behind-the-scenes documentaries, supplementary television material, interviews, trailers, and essays. Basically, it's a film lover's dream. You might be thinking: people still buy physical movies? Well, yes! Some prefer a physical alternative to owning movies digitally, where there's always the chance that rights may be revoked and you'll lose that digital access. Additionally, older movies can be hard to find on streaming. These physical discs are tangible proof that, as long as you have a player to play it, you'll be able to watch the movie you own. It's never too late to begin collecting, and this curated list of Criterion's best NYC films is a great place to start. Amazon Set in the insular Little Italy neighborhood of Martin Scorsese's youth, 'Mean Streets' follows guilt-ridden small-time ringleader Charlie (Harvey Keitel) as he deals with the debts owed by his dangerously volatile best pal, Johnny Boy (Robert De Niro), and pressure from his headstrong girlfriend, Teresa (Amy Robinson). As Charlie and Johnny Boy's intertwined lives spiral out of control, Scorsese creates an electrifying vision of sin and redemption. Director: Martin Scorsese | Cast: Harvey Keitel, Robert De Niro, Amy Robinson Amazon Over the course of a single day on one block of Brooklyn's Bed-Stuy Do or Die neighborhood during the Summer of 1989, the easygoing interactions of a cast of unforgettable characters—Da Mayor, Mother Sister, Mister Señor Love Daddy, Tina, Buggin Out, Radio Raheem, Sal, Pino, Vito, and Mookie among them—give way to heated confrontations as tensions rise along racial fault lines, ultimately exploding into violence. Directed by: Spike Lee | Cast: Ossie Davis, Danny Aiello, Spike Lee, Bill Nunn, John Turturro, Rosie Perez Amazon A quintessential New York documentary, 'Paris Is Burning' offers an intimate portrait of rival fashion 'houses,' from fierce contests for trophies to house mothers offering sustenance in a world rampant with homophobia, transphobia, racism, AIDS, and poverty. Where does voguing come from, and what, exactly, is throwing shade? This landmark documentary provides a vibrant snapshot of the 1980s through the eyes of New York City's African American and Latinx Harlem drag-ball scene. Director: Jennie Livingston | Cast: Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, and Venus Xtravaganza Amazon This New York-set drama follows Joe Buck, a wide-eyed hustler from Texas hoping to score big with wealthy city women finding a companion in Enrico 'Ratso' Rizzo, an ailing swindler with a bum leg and a quixotic fantasy of escaping to Florida. 'Midnight Cowboy' is notable for being the first movie with an MPAA X rating to win Best Picture at the Academy awards. Director: John Schlesinger | Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight Amazon Another major New York movie genre is the rom-com; Cher's Oscar-winning turn in 'Moonstruck' is the central performance in a film that looks at a multigenerational Italian American family in Brooklyn, wrestling with the complexities of love and marriage at every stage of life. Director: Norman Jewison | Cast: Cher, Nicolas Cage, Danny Aiello, Olympia Dukakis Amazon The reigning Best Picture winner (which also counts Best Actress and Best Director among its trophies) is Brooklyn through-and-through. Shot on location all over the borough, 'Anora' is an audacious anti-Cinderella story that follows sex worker Ani, who thinks she found her ticket out of the life she's currently when she impulsively marries the wild-child son of a Russian oligarch. Director: Sean Baker | Cast: Mikey Madison, Yura Borisov, Mark Eydelshteyn Amazon Documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras, alongside artist Nan Goldin, made this documentary that charts Goldin's life, from her years in the NYC underground arts scene to her personal experiences with addiction and the AIDS epidemic — all while raising awareness about the Sackler family's integral role in the ongoing opioid crisis. Director: Laura Poitras | Cast: Nan Goldin, Patrick Radden Keefe Amazon Royal Tenenbaum and his wife Etheline had three children and then they separated. All three children are extraordinary, but virtually all memory of the brilliance of the young Tenenbaums was subsequently erased by two decades of betrayal, failure, and disaster. Most of this was generally considered to be their father's fault. 'The Royal Tenenbaums' is the story of the family's sudden, unexpected reunion one recent winter in New York City. Director: Wes Anderson | Cast: Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Ben Stiller, Gwyneth Paltrow, Luke Wilson Amazon Frances is a woman in her late twenties in contemporary New York trying to sort out her ambitions, her finances, and, above all, her intimate but shifting bond with her best friend, Sophie. The wry and sparkling city romance gets at both the frustrations and the joys of being young and unsure of where to go next. Director: Noah Baumbach | Cast: Greta Gerwig, Mickey Sumner Amazon It's 1961 in New York City and folk singer Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) is at a crossroads. Guitar in hand, he struggles to make a name for himself in the music world; so far, success remains elusive. Relying on the kindness of both friends and strangers, Llewyn embarks on an odyssey that takes him from the streets of Greenwich Village to a Chicago club, where he meets a music mogul who could give him the big break that he desperately needs. Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen | Cast: Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake, Adam Driver Amazon John Shaft is a streetwise New York City private eye who is as tough with criminals as he is tender with his lovers. After Shaft is recruited to rescue the kidnapped daughter of a Harlem mob boss (Moses Gunn) from Italian gangsters, he finds himself in the middle of a rapidly escalating uptown vs. downtown turf war. Shft Director: Gordon Parks | Cast: Richard Roundtree, Moses Gunn Amazon Another classic 'love letter to NYC' rom-com is Joan Micklin Silver's 'Crossing Delancey,' which follows happily independent bookstore manager Izzy isn't looking for love, but she's forced to reevaluate her desires when she catches the eye of two very different men: a self-centered novelist and the mild-mannered Lower East Side pickle seller with whom her old-fashioned bubbie sets her up. Director: Joan Micklin Silver | Cast: Amy Irving, Jeroen Krabbé, Peter Riegert, Reizl Bozyk Amazon Revisit New York's 1960s underground culture with this documentary on the Velvet Underground, a band that redefined music with its at once raw and exalted blend of experimentation and art-damaged rock and roll. Todd Haynes vividly evokes the band's world: the creative origins of the twin visionaries Lou Reed and John Cale, Andy Warhol's fabled Factory, and the explosive tension between pop and the avant-garde that propelled the group and ultimately consumed it. Never-before-seen performances, interviews, and rare recordings come together in an ecstatic swirl of sound and image that is to the traditional music documentary what the Velvets were to rock: utterly revolutionary. Director: Todd Haynes Amazon 'The Age of Innocence' is set in a much older, Gilded Age-era New York City and tells the story of Newland Archer, whose engagement to an innocent socialite binds him to the codes and rituals of his upbringing. When her cousin arrives in town on a wave of scandal after separating from her husband, she ignites passions in Newland he never knew existed. Director: Martin Scorsese | Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, Winona Ryder Amazon It wouldn't be a NYC collection without Broadway. Bob Fosse co-wrote and directed this musical based on his own life. Roy Scheider is Joe Gideon (the Fosse self-insert), a demanding musical director trying to balance his work on a Broadway production with his hectic personal life and a consuming drug habit. Dazzling dance numbers include appearances by Ben Vereen, Jessica Lange, and Ann Reinking. Director: Bob Fosse | Cast: Roy Scheider, Ann Reinking, Jessica Lange Amazon Built around an extraordinary performance from Denzel Washington, 'Malcolm X' draws on the iconic civil rights leader's autobiography to trace his journey of empowerment, from a childhood riven by white-supremacist violence to a life of petty crime to his conversion to Islam and rebirth as a fearless fighter for Black liberation, whose courage and eloquence inspired oppressed communities the world over. Director: Spike Lee | Cast: Denzel Washington, Angela Bassett, Albert Hall, Al Freeman Jr., Delroy Lindo For over 200 years, the New York Post has been America's go-to source for bold news, engaging stories, in-depth reporting, and now, insightful shopping guidance. We're not just thorough reporters – we sift through mountains of information, test and compare products, and consult experts on any topics we aren't already schooled specialists in to deliver useful, realistic product recommendations based on our extensive and hands-on analysis. Here at The Post, we're known for being brutally honest – we clearly label partnership content, and whether we receive anything from affiliate links, so you always know where we stand. We routinely update content to reflect current research and expert advice, provide context (and wit) and ensure our links work. Please note that deals can expire, and all prices are subject to change.
UPI
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- UPI
'John Wick' spinoff 'Ballerina' comes to VOD Tuesday
1 of 5 | Keanu Reeves (L) and Ana de Armas, seen at the "Ballerina" premiere June 3 in Los Angeles, star in the "John Wick" spinoff. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo June 30 (UPI) -- Lionsgate announced Monday that From the World of John Wick: Ballerina will be available on premium video-on-demand Tuesday. Additional streaming and DVD, Blu-ray and 4K UHD dates have yet to be announced. Ballerina stars Ana de Armas as Eve Macarro, a student at the Ruska Roma ballet and assassin school. She meets John Wick (Keanu Reeves) when he visits the school during John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum and fights him later in the film. When Eve visits the Continental hotel, she also sees Winston (Ian McShane) and Charon (Lance Reddick) from the John Wick films. Angelica Huston reprises her role as the Ruska Roma Director from John Wick 3. The film opened June 6 in theaters. UPI praised the film's inventive action sequences in its review. The film's cast, including de Armas, McShane, Norman Reedus and Catalina Sandina Moreno also discussed adapting to John Wick style action and the Continental mythology. Director Len Wiseman also emphasized Eve's choice to become an assassin as a contrast to John's attempts to leave the world behind. The home video edition includes a bonus feature showing how Eve wields a pair of ice skates like nunchucks. Ana de Armas, Keanu Reeves attend 'Ballerina' premiere Cast member Ana de Armas attends the premiere of "Ballerina" at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles on June 3, 2025. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo
New York Post
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Inside the ‘Jaws' theme song creation 50 years ago: ‘Everyone's scared of those two notes'
They were the two notes of terror heard around the world. They were the two notes of terror heard around the world. But director Steven Spielberg initially laughed off composer John Williams' 'Jaws' theme that would become the signature sound — and sign — of the great white shark's attack in the summer blockbuster that opened 50 years ago on June 20, 1975. 'I expected to hear something kind of weird and melodic, something tonal, but eerie; something of another world, almost like outer space under the water,' said Spielberg in a 2012 Blu-ray featurette on the making of 'Jaws.' 7 'When everyone came out and said 'Jaws' scared them out of the water, it was Johnny who scared them out of the water,' said director Steven Spielberg of John Williams' 'Jaws' theme. Bettmann Archive 7 John Williams won the first of his four Oscars for Best Original Score for 'Jaws' in 1976. Bettmann Archive 'And what he played me instead, with two fingers on the lower keys, was 'dun-dun, dun-dun, dun-dun.' And at first, I began to laugh. He had a great sense of humor, and I thought he was putting me on.' But Williams was scaring up the menacing motif that would sink its teeth into moviegoers — and terrify beachgoers — for generations to come in the film classic that would launch his and Spielberg's careers into historic heights. While Spielberg might have first thought it was a joke, Williams was dead serious about the ominous ostinato of notes E and F played by tuba player Tommy Johnson. 'He said, 'You can't be serious?'' Williams — who had previously worked with Spielberg on 1974's 'The Sugarland Express' — told Classic FM in 2022 about his chilling riff to 'represent our primordial fear.' 'I think in Spielberg's mind … you want something really complicated and layered and, you know, atonal horror music or whatever,' film music historian Tim Greiving — who wrote the upcoming biography 'John Williams: A Composer's Life' — exclusively told The Post. 7 'You can almost think of it as, like, it is the shark,' said film historian Tim Greiving of the 'Jaws' theme. Courtesy Everett Collection 'But John Williams has such a great story instinct that he knew that the simpler, the better, that kind of economy and just, like, pure drive was what this movie needed. So, yeah, in this way he knew better than Spielberg.' To Greiving, Williams struck just the right note with the 'Jaws' theme. 'It so perfectly represents the mindless, just predatory instinct of a shark,' he said. 'You can almost think of it as, like, it is the shark.' But, he added, there's also a 'sense of a heartbeat' that captures 'you in the water with your heart rate kind of accelerating as the shark gets closer to you.' 7 'He said, 'You can't be serious?' ' said John Williams (left) of Steven Spielberg's initial reaction to his 'Jaws' theme. Courtesy Everett Collection The 'deceptively simple' phrase was just the right hook to harpoon the masses. 'It's just a very effective storytelling device,' said Greiving. 'I think anything more complicated than that wouldn't have been nearly as effective.' The 'Jaws' theme became a cultural touchstone in and of itself. 'Because 'Jaws' was such a huge phenomenon, it … just permeated everything,' said Greiving. 'And you had this musical signature, this musical brand to that phenomenon. So it's just an easy way to sort of shorthand reference 'Jaws' as a whole phenomenon.' 'I think it's like the opening of Beethoven's Fifth or the strings of 'Psycho.' It's just something so instantly recognizable that those kinds of things just catch on … and, you know, they just never go away, right? That's the brilliance of it.' 7 The shark in 'Jaws' had its own theme, which struck fear across generations. Getty Images However, Greiving notes that the two-note 'Jaws' theme that that has struck fear across generations is just a small part of the score that won Williams the first of his four Oscars for Best Original Score. 'I talked to [Oscar-winning composer] Hans Zimmer for my book, and he just said, 'You know, everyone's scared of those two notes, but for composers, we're scared of everything after those two notes, because the whole thing is so impressive,' ' he said. 'And I think John Williams, as he often does, takes a simple idea, a simple motif, and just expands it and develops it into basically a symphony.' Williams went on to score more than 100 films, including other classic Spielberg collaborations such as 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind,' 'E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial,' 'Jurassic Park,' 'Schindler's List' and the 'Indiana Jones' franchise,' but he never imagined that the repeated pattern of 'Jaws' would never go away. 7 'He knew better than [Steven] Spielberg,' said Tim Greiving of John Williams (left) proposing the 'Jaws' theme. Getty Images 'At that time, I had no idea that it would have that kind of impact on people,' he told Classic FM. And Spielberg has credited the 'Jaws' theme as a major part of the movie's success. 'When everyone came out and said 'Jaws' scared them out of the water, it was Johnny who scared them out of the water,' Spielberg said in the Blu-ray featurette. 'His music was scarier than seeing the shark.' 7 Richard Dreyfuss (left) and Robert Shaw co-starred in the 1975 summer blockbuster 'Jaws.' Getty Images But for Greiving — whose Williams biography will be released on Sept. 2 — the 'Jaws' theme is even bigger than movies. 'I think the two-note theme in 'Jaws' is maybe the most famous musical unit in the history of music. I think you could argue that,' he said. 'I think more people around the world recognize these two notes played as the 'Jaws' theme more than almost any other piece of music.'
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Tony Todd reflects on mortality in exclusive ‘Final Destination Bloodlines' featurette
Final Destination Bloodlines, the sixth film in the death-defying franchise, brought the series back to life, earning strong reviews and more than a quarter-billion dollars at the global box office. As the film heads to home video—most likely setting off a Rube Goldberg machine that will wind up flinging a disc into your Blu-ray player—Gold Derby has an exclusive look at one of the special features being included on the release. More from GoldDerby 'Feel good about not conforming': Christina Ricci reflects on her iconic roles, from Wednesday Addams to Misty Quigley 'The show is a true fluke': '100 Foot Wave' executive producer on how they chase big waves across the globe How Anna Camp played twins with a twist on 'You' Longtime fans of Final Destination were treated to one of the final on-screen performances by horror icon Tony Todd, who reprised his role as Bludworth in Bloodlines, and some long-withheld details about who he is and why he knows so much about death. On-set, Todd spoke with a behind-the-scenes crew candidly about his own mortality and how he related to Bludworth in one final appearance. "We're acknowledging a passage of time, and I'm not immortal," Todd says in the clip. "I'm struggling with my lifelines just like everybody else. I have to make sense of this character, who he is, where he's coming from, what it is he really wants." The filmmakers strived to make the send-off one worthy of Todd and his character's legacy with the series. "Tony very much appreciated what we have done in Final Destination 6 to give his character a perspective and a grounding in the real world," producer Craig Perry says. Final Destination Bloodlines will be available digitally on June 17 and on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD on July 22. Best of GoldDerby Stephen King movies: 14 greatest films ranked worst to best 'The Life of Chuck' cast reveal their favorite Stephen King works, including Mark Hamill's love of the 'terrifying' 'Pet Sematary' From 'Hot Rod' to 'Eastbound' to 'Gemstones,' Danny McBride breaks down his most righteous roles: 'It's been an absolute blast' Click here to read the full article.
Hindustan Times
07-06-2025
- General
- Hindustan Times
Waste Wars: Read an exclusive excerpt from the book by Alexander Clapp
Your first cell phone, the VCR player you gave away after the advent of the DVD, the DVD player you donated to Goodwill after the arrival of Blu-ray, the Blu-ray player you never used, the college laptop you tossed away because it was ransacked by viruses—it all may very well have passed through Agbogbloshie, submitted to the stroke of a hammer and shucked of its valuables, the last chapter of a journey (What did happen to your childhood Game Boy?) You've probably never paused to contemplate in the first place. Photos of Agbogbloshie are invariably enlisted to demonstrate Ghana's grim fate as one of the world's greatest recipients of Western electronic waste. But the reality is more complicated and, in certain respects, darker. For Ghana was never meant to turn out like this. It was never supposed to become a dumping ground for foreigners' unwanted electronics. And contrary to many descriptions of Agbogbloshie, not a single country or company on Earth ships, or has ever shipped, broken phones or busted televisions to the place as a matter of policy. No, none of this arrives in Ghana as waste per se. What foreigners do send—and this is not merely legal but incentivized by global institutions such as the World Trade Organization and the International Monetary Fund—are old electronics they claim do work. When recycling firms or waste brokers in countries like Canada or Germany ship millions of broken cell phones or ceiling fans to Ghana, it's probable they may not think they are outsourcing pollution to West Africa. They may really believe they're bestowing the tools of enlightenment and progress upon a poor corner of the world's poorest continent. How did any of this start happening? How did Ghana—a country that scarcely possessed a functioning computer a generation ago—emerge as the recipient of thousands of tons of busted electronics and appliances every year? ...None of this was getting 'dumped' in Ghana. It had been shipped for the purpose of getting purchased by Ghanaians. Dozens of containers packed with thousands of electronic devices of one sort or another reach Tema every day. Some are sent by waste brokers in Western countries who specialize in collecting secondhand electronics from recycling centers or dumps; others are donated by hospitals, universities, NGOs; others are sent by expatriate Ghanaians who, during the famine and tribal conflicts of the 1990s, relocated to the great metropolises of the north—London, New York, Toronto—and now wander their streets in search of old appliances piled on sidewalks that they can ship to relatives who work the street bazaars of Accra back home. untested electronics, meaning cell phones and TVs that have been imported from Europe or the United States but are not necessarily guaranteed to work. A TV at twenty bucks instead of forty? A consignment of desktop computers at five hundred dollars instead of a thousand? Most Ghanaian vendors are willing to take the risk…. The point of Agbogbloshie is not just to be a destination for 'condemned' phones—not to be a 'dump' in the conventional sense—but to separate and extract as much of these inner materials as possible, as quickly and cheaply as possible. It is difficult work. Beyond the long-term health consequences of operating a great scrapyard in the midst of sixty thousand people with negligible access to healthcare, there are reminders all over Agbogbloshie of the dangers of shucking and hammering broken electronics for ten hours a day. The slum is full of hands missing fingers, feet shorn of toes, limbs pocked with burns, and the occasional one-eyed dismantler. (Excerpted with permission from Waste Wars: The Wild Afterlife of Your Trash by Alexander Clapp, published by Little Brown & Co; February 2025)
