Lee Alexander McQueen (1969–2010), whose design combined visionary aesthetics, emotional power, and extraordinary craft, was known for staging provocative shows that were as much performances as venues to display his couture creations. Charged with energy, informed by history and culture, and filled with fresh concepts, McQueen’s shows have become legends not only of fashion but also of art. Anne Deniau was the only photographer allowed backstage by McQueen for 13 years, beginning in September 1997 and ending with the final show in March 2010. She captured McQueen working with his close circle of collaborators―including designer Sarah Burton, milliner Philip Treacy, jewelry designer Shaun Leane, and model Kate Moss―to create his meticulously produced spectacles. Her book offers an inspiring homage, through the art of photography, to the work of a great artist. Praise for Love Looks Not With the Eyes: Thirteen Years With Lee Alexander McQueen: The pictures are evocative of the torture, the toughness and, most of all, the tenderness of Mr. McQueen.” ―New York Times “Deniau’s close connection to McQueen and her appreciation for his formidable talent is like many of ... [Read More]

Made during the early years of the movie musical, this exuberant revue was one of the most extravagant, eclectic, and technically ambitious Hollywood productions of its day. Starring the bandleader Paul Whiteman, then widely celebrated as the King of Jazz, the film drew from Broadway variety shows of the time to present a spectacular array of sketches, performances by such acts as the Rhythm Boys (featuring a young Bing Crosby), and orchestral numbers overseen by Whiteman himself (including a larger-than-life rendition of George Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in Blue') all lavishly staged by veteran theater director John Murray Anderson and beautifully shot in early Technicolor. Long available only in incomplete form, KING OF JAZZ appears here newly restored to its original glory, offering a fascinating snapshot of the way mainstream American popular culture viewed itself at the dawn of the 1930s.BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES- New 4K digital restoration by Universal Pictures, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack - New audio commentary featuring jazz and film critic Gary Giddins, music and cultural critic Gene Seymour, and musician and bandleader Vince Giordano- New introduction by Giddin... [Read More]

Gabriela Benackova, Peter Dvorsky, Richard Novak, and Miroslav Kopp star in the 1981 TV production of the Smetana opera with the Prague Philharmonic Chorus and Czech Philharmonic conducted by Zdenek Kosler.

Located within the deep tropical rainforest of Chiapas, Mexico, the Maya site of Bonampak is home to the most complete and magnificent mural program of the ancient Americas. In three rooms, a pageant of rulership opens up, scene by scene, like pages of an ancient Maya book. Painted c. AD 800, the murals of Bonampak reveal a complex and multifaceted view of the ancient Maya at the end of their splendor during the last days of the Classic era. Members of the royal court engage in rituals and perform human sacrifice, dance in extravagant costumes and strip the clothing from fallen captives, acknowledge foreign nobles, and receive abundant tribute. The murals are a powerful and sophisticated reflection on the spectacle of courtly life and the nature of artistic practice, a window onto a world that could not know its doomed future.This major new study of the paintings of Bonampak incorporates insights from decades of art historical, epigraphic, and technical investigation of the murals, framing questions about artistic conception, facture, narrative, performance, and politics. Lavishly illustrated, this book assembles thorough documentation of the Bonampak mural program, from historical... [Read More]

Juliette Binoche and Benoit Magimel star in Diane Kurys’ (Entre Nous) tempestuous love story between two of the 19th century’s most headstrong Romanticists, writer George Sand and poet Alfred de Musset. Iconoclastic, proto-feminist writer Sand has usually been depicted onscreen in the context of her decade-long romance with Chopin, but Kurys concentrates upon her earlier more intense two year liaison with de Musset, whose fictionalized version of their affair was entitled "Confessions of a Child of the Century". Their relationship – which takes place in the upper realms of French society in the early 1830s against a backdrop pf great artistic tumult (Hugo, Delacroix, Berlioz, Balzac, Merimee et al.) and social upheaval – became the celebrity coupling of their day. Lavish period production design including the grand costuming of Christian Lacroix (working in film for the first time) and the lush cinematography by Vilko Filac (best known for his work with Emir Kusturica) all contribute to this classic piece of "heritage cinema." Children of the Century was an official selection at the Cannes Film Festival.