Abel Ferrara

  • Abel Ferrara – Pasolini (2014)

    2011-2020Abel FerraraDramaItaly

    29f7c043f76a2bde437fd0d52a185152

    A kaleidoscopic look at the last day of Italian filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini in 1975.

    synopsis

    Abel Ferrara documents the final day in the life of Italian writer, director, and poet Pier Paolo Pasolini in this deeply reflective biopic starring Willem Dafoe. The year is 1975. The fiercely political Pasolini (Dafoe) is in the process of defending his latest film Salo, 120 Days of Sodom from the censors when he returns home to his mother’s house in Rome, and prepares to discuss his career in a candid interview. In the midst of all of this inspiration strikes, and Pasolini begins making preparations for his next film. Meanwhile, the director takes a handsome young hustler to a local beach for a late night tryst, never sensing the danger that dwells out there in the darkness until it’s already too late.Read More »

  • Abel Ferrara – Welcome to New York (2014)

    2011-2020Abel FerraraDramaUSA

    29f7c043f76a2bde437fd0d52a185152

    Synopsis:
    Welcome to New York is a 2014 French-American drama film co-written and directed by Abel Ferrara. Inspired by the Dominique Strauss-Kahn affair, the film was released on 17 May 2014 by VOD on the internet as the film failed to secure a place on the official selection at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, nor was it picked up for theatrical distribution in France and is facing self-censorship by the French media, according to Vincent Maraval, one of the producers.Read More »

  • Abel Ferrara – Mary (2005)

    2001-2010Abel FerraraCultDramaItaly

    29f7c043f76a2bde437fd0d52a185152

    synopsis

    Bad Lieutenant director Abel Ferrara takes the helm of this allegorical drama concerning an actress locked in the throes of a profound spiritual crisis, and the affect that it has on both the director of her latest film and a New York journalist. Marie Palesi (Juliette Binoche) is a major European screen star who has just finished shooting her latest film, a revisionist religious drama directed by maverick American film director Tony Childress (Matthew Modine). In the film, Palesi portrayed the character of Mary Magdalene not as a common prostitute, but a full-fledged disciple whose power struggle with Peter set the stage for centuries of controversy. But the role has had a greater impact on Palesi than anyone could have foreseen, and after the shoot wraps, she makes the decision to remain in the Middle East and make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. A year later, New York investigative journalist Ted Younger (Forest Whitaker) is producing a week-long network series examining the historical facts about Jesus Christ. After attending a screening for Childress’ film, Younger contacts the director about the possibility of interviewing both himself and Palesi for the project. Unfortunately for Younger, Palesi has disappeared and Younger has no idea how to track her down. But while married journalist Younger is currently having an affair with an actress (Marion Cotillard) who just happens to know Palesi’s number in Jerusalem, convincing the elusive starlet to appear on his special will pose a whole new set of challenges. by Jason BuchananRead More »

  • Abel Ferrara – 4:44 Last Day on Earth (2011)

    2011-2020Abel FerraraDramaSci-FiUSA

    29f7c043f76a2bde437fd0d52a185152

    4:44 is a look at how a painter and a successful actor spend their last day together before the world comes to an end.

    Ferrara began shooting the film in April 2011 with his longtime cinematographer Ken Kelsch. 4:44 is Willem Dafoe’s third collaboration with Ferrara after 1998’s New Rose Hotel and his last feature film, 2007’s Go Go Tales. During Montclair State University’s film forum event in February 2011, Ferrara revealed that Ethan Hawke was slated to star originally. The film was shot in one location, an apartment, set during the course of the last 24 hours before the biblical apocalypse.

    The film showed in competition at the 68th Venice International Film Festival in September 2011. It had a limited theatrical release on 25 March 2012.Read More »

  • Abel Ferrara – Chelsea on the Rocks (2008)

    2001-2010Abel FerraraArthouseDocumentaryUSA


    29f7c043f76a2bde437fd0d52a185152

    The Chelsea Hotel has long been consider the creative epicenter of New York City, a sort of unofficial gathering point for the most renowned artists and entertainers that the city has to offer. But while the Chelsea Hotel was once considered an impenetrable, untouchable monument to the creative spirit, an early 21st Century renovation led many to believe that the new management company had little appreciation for it’s unique history. Dennis Hopper, Milos Forman, R. Crumb, Ethan Hawke, Grace Jones, and a whole host of Chelsea Hotel regulars all chime in with their fondest memories about the New York landmark, and their thoughts about what may be in store for the iconic building in the future. —allmovie guideRead More »

  • Abel Ferrara – Body Snatchers (1993)

    USA1991-2000Abel FerraraHorrorSci-Fi

    Quote:
    For my money, Abel Ferrara’s remake of a remake — namely Philip Kaufman’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers, based on Don Siegel’s classically paranoid 1956 SF adaptation of Jack Finney’s effective novel The Body Snatchers — doesn’t match the Siegel original, though it’s a lot scarier and more memorable than Kaufman’s low-key, new-agey version. Kaufman shifted the action from a small California town to San Francisco, while Ferrara–shooting a script by Stuart Gordon, Dennis Paoli, and Nicholas St. John from a screen story by Raymond Cistheri and Larry Cohen — locates the action in an Army compound in Alabama. Read More »

  • Abel Ferrara – The Addiction (1995)

    1991-2000Abel FerraraDramaHorrorUSA


    29f7c043f76a2bde437fd0d52a185152

    plot:
    Director Abel Ferrara applies his eccentric vision to the vampire genre with this cerebral “Art”
    film about graduate philosophy student Kathleen Conklin (Lili Taylor), who is bitten by an
    aggressive female vampire (Annabella Sciorra) and soon spirals into a nightmarish world of
    blood addiction and existential angst. Driven by her merciless condition, she attacks several
    of her pretentious friends and classmates (even her professor) and mainlines their blood like
    heroin. Just as she becomes more bold in seeking prey on the streets of New York, she is
    waylaid by a potential victim — actually a sophisticated vampire himself named Peina
    (Christopher Walken), who chooses to control his own blood addiction through fasting and
    meditation. Seeming to regain her self-control, she eventually completes her graduate thesis
    (helped by a bit of vampire nepotism) and holds a party to celebrate, inviting the entire
    faculty as well as members of her new “family” to join in the festivities. Although the parallels
    to heroin addiction are in plain view, this is also a study in the essential evil of humankind — a
    theme evident in much of Ferrara’s work. — Cavett BinionRead More »

  • Abel Ferrara – Ms .45 (1981)

    1981-1990Abel FerraraCrimeCultUSA

    29f7c043f76a2bde437fd0d52a185152

    Description: A mute woman gets raped twice coming home from work and decides to take matters into her own hands. She dresses suggestively and roams the streets alone, reaking vengeance upon anyone who tries to take advantage of her. Eventually her secret life spills over into her regular life in the fashion industry.Read More »

  • Abel Ferrara – Go Go Tales (2007)

    2001-2010Abel FerraraComedyDramaItaly


    Description:
    A screwball comedy centered on a Manhattan go-go dancing club, where a financial struggle between the owner, his accountant and his silent partner brother threatens the business’s future.Read More »

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