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About Nora Lee Mandel

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So far Nora Lee Mandel has created 319 blog entries.

Come Back, Africa (1959)

Produced & Directed by Lionel Rogosin
Written by Lionel Rogosin with Lewis Nkosi & William “Bloke” Modisane
Released by Milestone Films
In English, Afrikaans & Zulu with English subtitles
South Africa/USA. 86 min. Not rated
Restored in 2005 by the Cineteca di Bologna and the laboratory L’Imagine Ritrovata with the collaboration of Rogosin Heritage and the Anthology Film Archives
With Zacharia […]

By |January 29th, 2012|Film History, Top Picks|0 Comments

How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr Foster?

Directed by Norberto López Amado and Carlos Carcas
Produced by Elena Ochoa
Written by Deyan Sudjic
Released by First Run Features
UK/Spain. 78 min. Not rated
This flattering portrait of the renowned British modernist architect Norman Foster is an inspiring story of how a working-class guy from Manchester rose by sheer dint of talent to be named Lord Foster of […]

By |January 24th, 2012|Documentary|0 Comments

The Pruitt-Igoe Myth: An Urban History

Directed by Chad Freidrichs
Produced by Chad Freidrichs, Jaime Freidrichs, Paul Fehler & Brian Woodman
Written by Chad & Jaime Freidrichs
Released by First Run Features
USA. 83min. Not Rated
The Pruitt-Igoe Myth: An Urban History begins with a shocking image. Not the dramatic, notorious television footage of the 1972 implosion of an 11-story building in the St. Louis Pruitt-Igoe […]

By |January 20th, 2012|Documentary, DVD/Streaming/On Demand, Political, Top Picks|0 Comments

The 2012 New York Jewish Film Festival

The lives of creative Jews—actors, singers, dancers, and more—are the insightful highlights of the program’s 21st edition, presented by the Jewish Museum and the Film Society of Lincoln Center (January 11 – 26). The most unusual selection is Mary Lou, a moving four-episode TV musical miniseries that exuberantly uses the songs of 1970s Israeli pop […]

By |January 15th, 2012|Documentary, Festivals, Foreign|0 Comments

John Mellencamp: It’s About You

Directed by Kurt Markus & Ian Markus
Produced by Kurt Markus & Maria Markus
Written by Kurt Markus
Released by MPI Media Group
USA. 80 min. Not Rated
What becomes a rock ‘n’ roll legend most? Commissioning a film crew to follow him around on tour and recording an album. But John Mellencamp gave the photographer, and his friend, Kurt […]

By |January 4th, 2012|Documentary, Music, Pop Culture|0 Comments

Once Upon a Time in Anatolia

Directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Produced by Zeynep Ozbatur Atakan
Written by Ercan Kesal, Ebru Ceylan & Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Released by Cinema Guild
Turkey. 157 min. Not Rated
Turkish with English subtitles
With Muhammet Uzuner, Yilmaz Erdogan, Taner Birsel, Firat Tanis, Ahmet Mumtaz Taylan, Ercan Kesal, Burhan Yildiz & Gulnaz Toprak
Over a long night and into the next day, a […]

By |January 4th, 2012|Foreign, New York Film Festival|0 Comments

A Separation

Written, Produced & Directed by Asghar Farhadi
Released by Sony Pictures Classics
Iran. 123 min. Rated PG-13
Farsi with English subtitles
With Leila Hatami, Peyman Moadi, Sarina Farhadi, Ali-Asghar Shahbazi, Sareh Bayat, & Shahab Hosseini
A Separation opens with a marriage in crisis. Testifying testily, the wife explains to a judge that she wants to leave the country so their […]

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

Directed by David Fincher
Produced by Scott Rudin, Ole Sondberg, Soren Stærmose & Ceán Chaffin
Written by Steven Zaillian, based on the novel by Stieg Larsson
Released by Columbia Pictures/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures
USA/Sweden/UK/Germany. 158 min. Rated R
With: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgard, Steven Berkoff, Robin Wright, Yorick van Wageningen, Geraldine James, Joely Richardson, & Goran Visnjic
If you’re […]

By |December 19th, 2011|Crime, Top Picks|0 Comments

Pina

Written & Directed by Wim Wenders
Produced by Wenders & Gian-Piero Ringel
Released by Sundance Selects
Germany/France. 106 min. Rated PG
English & German, Russian, Italian, French, Slovenian, Korean, Spanish & Portuguese with English subtitles
Pina opens at the proscenium stage of the Wuppertal Theater in western Germany and then quickly plunges the audience into the imagination of choreographer Pina […]

By |December 19th, 2011|Arts, Documentary, New York Film Festival|1 Comment