The money and power that flow through movies make the world of cinema a center of often-bitter conflict: some films come into the world seeming troubled and traumatized, and others bear the alluring mark of their turbulent origins. That’s one of the reasons why behind-the-scenes glimpses at Hollywood filmmaking are often so fascinating. It takes a certain kind of person to get by there, and, judging from even the briefest of outlines of its production, Sam Peckinpah’s 1972 film, “The Getaway,” (which I discuss in this clip) was indeed made by those kinds of people. What appears as a straightforwardly stylish and violent action film, starring Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw, turns out to be the result of much push-and-pull in board rooms, in editing rooms, and on location. The hallmark of Peckinpah’s fierce aesthetic is a hysterical restraint in the face of violence; it plays like a poignant response to a way of life—and of work.
Goings On
What we’re watching, listening to, and doing this week, online, in N.Y.C., and beyond. Paid subscribers also receive book picks.
The Current Cinema
The Form-Blurring Fury of “Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World”
Radu Jude’s TikTok-tinged movie can be breathtakingly funny, but the absurdity is rooted in a powerful sense of outrage.
By Justin Chang
The Current Cinema
Why Does the “Road House” Remake Pull Its Punches?
There’s lots of violence in Doug Liman’s update of the 1989 slugfest, but, despite the menacing presence of Jake Gyllenhaal, it’s more timid than its predecessor.
By Justin Chang
The Front Row
The Best Bio-Pics Ever Made
The genre presents very particular artistic challenges, but here are thirty-three films that transcend them.
By Richard Brody
The Current Cinema
“Love Lies Bleeding” and the Perils of Genre
Crackling performances from Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian can’t quite disguise a thinness of characterization in Rose Glass’s neo-noir.
By Richard Brody