4 Star Welcomes WORT 98.8FM Along With Manohla Dargis & Many Great Directors

Starting at 12 p.m. today, April 16th, WORT 98.9FM will be airing a live broadcast here at Four Star Video Heaven. They will be interviewing filmmakers and other guests from the Wisconsin Film Festival. Tune in or come in to the store to meet the interviewers and guests.

12-1 Jan Levine Thal will be interviewing:

Manohla Dargis, co-chief film critic, New York Times

Nicholas Langholff, producer, Feed The Fish

Eric and Brad Williams, director and subject, Unforgettable

Georgia Lyon, director, and Erika Koivenen, subject, Growing In Knowing

Rasa Miskinyte, director, and Flemming Grenz, editor, The Bug Trainer

1-2pm Mel & Floyd will be interviewing:

J.J. Kelley, co-director and producer, and Ben Gottfried, editor, Paddle To Seattle

Christopher Noice, director and producer, and Julie Matthews, associate producer, Eggshelland

William Zenobia and Jim Bett, Jr., producers, Into The Pit

Kate Lindboe, director and producer, Robin Van Ert, co-producer, and Peter McCain, actor, NONAMES

Wisconsin Film Fest Showcase!

Our current Rental Showcase highlights some of our favorite entries from the previous years of the Wisconsin Film Festival, truly one of the jewels of the city, which gloriously takes over the city's theaters from Wednesday April 14th till Sunday April 18th.

This is just a quick sampling of the WI Film Fest fun we have on offer and you can head over at the main Four Star site to see a complete list of over 500 films that have played previous fests that we have available for rental.

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12:08 East of Bucharest
Au Hasard
Aaltra
Better Living Through Chemistry
Black Sun
Collateral
Cinematographer Style
Day A Pig Fell Into A Well
The Edge of Heaven

El Topo
Exiled
Ferry Tales
Full Battle Rattle
Gleaners & I
Home Movie
In A Dream
Kill Your Idols
Kontroll
La Captive

Mad City Chickens
Memories of Murder
Metal: Headbangers Journey
Morvern Callar
Muskrat Lovely
My Winnipeg
Na Kamalei
Night and the City
Re-Animator
Retribution

Rivers & Tides
Robot Stories
Severance
Six-String Samurai
Spirit of the Beehive
Symbiopsychotaxiplasm
Taboo
Up the Yangtze
What Time is it There?
Young Frankenstein

A good release week from Criterion

There are two brand new movies coming out via the Criterion Collection, something they've moved into recently with their deal with IFC, and both are highly recommended. Steve McQueen's 'Hunger' was a devastating yet beautiful depiction of the no wash and inevitable hunger protests the IRA staged in response to the British Governments refusal to treat them as political prisoners rather than terrorists. McQueen's history with video art is apparent but I disagree that this is a bad thing, his attention to detail and eye made for a gorgeous and entirely distressing film. 'Revanche' was the first film Criterion stepped up to release theatrically and played at last years Wisconsin Film Fest and made for a gorgeous & brilliantly executed neo-noir following the act of calculating revenge and the possibility for forgiveness.

But if you only have time to rent one movie this week let it be Max Ophuls 'Lola Montes' out on DVD for the first time from Criterion. In my opinion Max Ophuls is the best director of all time and I don't take that sort of status lightly. His movies, such as 'Earrings of Madame De...' are absolute perfection and 'Lola Montes' is another example. It's unfortunate it turned out to be his last film after the studio ruined the film upon release in '55 and it only reached the directors originally intended cut in 2008.

'Typeface' to be an official selection of the 2010 WFF

The full program for the Wisconsin Film Festival will not be available until March but 'Typeface' has already been chosen to be screened. The documentary centers on the impact that the amazing Hamilton Wood Type Museum has in the economically struggling town of Two Rivers, WI. As the directors put it, this is not only a film that will interest artists & graphic design enthusiasts but anyone interested in preservation & perseverance. It seemed as though Kartemquin was struggling to get this doc screened with no mention of a dvd release yet but with their up premiere in Chicago on the 29th and their inclusion into the WFF I think the release is in good hands.