To mark the 16th anniversary of the death of River Phoenix, Faber & Faber’s Walter Donohue runs an extract in which director John Boorman offers his personal recollections of the actor.

River Phoenix

River Phoenix

Since the advent of Heeb, a wave of new media has popped up for both reverent and irreverent Jewish hipsters.

Slide 1: Introduction

In A Serious Man, the Coen brothers return to their Jewish and Minnesotan roots. And while the two have lots of fun with the trappings of growing up Jewish, they do it with loving care. After all the credits come with a disclaimer “No Jews were harmed in the making of this motion picture.” In recent years, a wave of new media (both print and online) that looks to have fun with (while not actually hurting) Jewish identity has appeared. We take a gander.

The Saint Louis-based film blogger tells us about Fin de Cinema, his site which gives the last word on movies.

Joe Bowman

Joe Bowman

36 years after the re-release of Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye (following an unsuccessful first run six months earlier), Walter Donohue looks at the director's perspective on this revisionist detective noir.

Altman with actors

Director Robert Altman and actors Elliott Gould and Mark Rydell on the set of The Long Goodbye.

Brooklyn-based horror author (and haunted house occupant) Sarah Langan reveals the films that get under skin.

Sarah Langan

Sarah Langan

How do you cast a film like A Serious Man? Carefully, according to casting directors Ellen Chenoweth and Rachel Tanner.

Rachel Tenner

Rachel Tenner

Faber & Faber’s Walter Donohue offers director Andrei Tarkovsky’s perspective on his innovative classic Stalker, which got a belated release in New York City 27 years ago.

Tarkovsky

Tarkovsky with actor Alexander Kaidanovsky during the filming of Stalker

Five of the best horror writers pick their five favorite scary films.

Rick Reed

Rick Reed

On the 42nd anniversary of the Swedish release of Persona, Faber & Faber’s Walter Donohue runs an extract from Ingmar Bergman’s Images: My Life in Film in which the director discusses making the classic film.

Liv Ullman

Liv Ullman and Bibi Andersson in Persona

In the age of digital information, Mike Johnston discovers that low-fi pirate radio stations still have a place.

Angus (Rhys Darby) in Pirate Radio

Angus (Rhys Darby) in Pirate Radio