The Wild One – Tribeca 2022

The Wild One explores the journey of Holocaust survivor Jack Garfein and how his trauma would impact him as a director and filmmaker. Orson Welles once said of Garfein that “If there had not been a Jack Garfein, Hollywood would have invented him!” The generation of Shoah survivors are dying out. Garfein passed away at the end of 2019. Born in Czechoslovakia in 1930, his family moved to Hungary because they thought it would be…

"The Wild One – Tribeca 2022"

The Last Picture Show: A Peter Bogdanovich Classic

Co-written with novelist Larry McMurtry, Peter Bogdanovich’s The Last Picture Show is a coming-of-age tribute to a bygone era of time. “Nobody wants to come to shows no more. Kid baseball in the summer, television all the time.” — Miss Mosey (Jessie Lee Fulton) to Duane Jackson (Jeff Bridges). Over fifty years later, these lines hit harder. Because of the pandemic, many theaters are fighting for their life. Movie palaces are especially fighting for their…

"The Last Picture Show: A Peter Bogdanovich Classic"

Picturing Peter Bogdanovich by Peter Tonguette

Peter Tonguette’s Picturing Peter Bogdanovich: My Conversations with the New Hollywood Director is a critical breakdown of the filmmaker’s career. Tonguette’s relationship with the critic-turned-filmmaker started with a phone call for an article in 2003.  The initial phone call has turned into a lengthy relationship including a meeting at an AFI Silver screening. The first half of the book plays as a biography with Tonguette breaking down the director’s filmography.  What follows in the second…

"Picturing Peter Bogdanovich by Peter Tonguette"

Ben Mankiewicz talks The Plot Thickens, TCM

Film critic Ben Mankiewicz spoke with Solzy at the Movies in late April about The Plot Thickens, TCM’s podcast documentary of filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich. How did you first get involved with the Peter Bogdanovich podcast documentary for TCM? Ben Mankiewicz: I had wanted to do something with Peter Bogdanovich for quite some time. He’s a huge hit at our festival. He and I have developed a really nice friendship. He’s just great. I described them…

"Ben Mankiewicz talks The Plot Thickens, TCM"

The Great Buster celebrates Buster Keaton

The Great Buster: A Celebration is a well-deserved cinematic tribute to Buster Keaton–one of the greatest silent comedy stars to have ever lived. Discussing the great silent comedy stars must include Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, and Harold Lloyd.  Interestingly, Keaton starred in College as a response to Lloyd’s The Freshman.  Where Lloyd starred as a freshman who played football, Keaton would play every other sport.  As for Chaplin, he directed Keaton in 1952’s Limelight.  This…

"The Great Buster celebrates Buster Keaton"

Chicago Film Festival 2018: The Great Buster

The Great Buster: A Celebration is a well-deserved cinematic tribute to Buster Keaton–one of the greatest silent comedy stars to have ever lived. Discussing the great silent comedy stars must include Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, and Harold Lloyd.  Interestingly, Keaton starred in College as a response to Lloyd’s The Freshman.  Where Lloyd starred as a freshman who played football, Keaton would play every other sport.  As for Chaplin, he directed Keaton in 1952’s Limelight.  This…

"Chicago Film Festival 2018: The Great Buster"