TheArchive: Reviewing the Rare, Retro, and Restored

This summer, science fiction is looking up again. With Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day (starring Emily Blunt) arriving in theaters, audiences are once again being invited to ask one of the genre’s oldest questions: what if we are not alone? It is a question Spielberg has returned to throughout his career, from the wide-eyed wonder of Close Encounters of the Third Kind to the suburban magic of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and the darker futuristic paranoia of Minority Report . His best sci-fi stories are about awe, fear, communication, and the human tendency to believe that there is something bigger happening in the cosmos.  That is what makes “disclosure” such a perfect sci-fi subject. The idea of a hidden truth finally being revealed taps into our collective fascination with government secrets, extraterrestrial encounters, alternate timelines, and futures we may not be ready to face. Sci-fi gives us a safe, spectacular way to imagine: first contact, time travel, dystopian syst...

(A.M.P.A.S./Disney/Hulu) With the Oscars upon us this weekend , we want to highlight films that feature the two nominees who star in films from our Multicom library.  Both Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones are nominated for their roles in The Brutalist, a film about a visionary architect who comes to America to rebuild his life, his career, and his marriage. On his own in a strange new country, he settles in Pennsylvania, where a wealthy and prominent industrialist recognizes his talent. Felicity Jones is up for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, and Adrien Brody is up for Best Actor in a Leading Role.  Before The Brutalist, Adrien Brody starred in the 1997 film The Last Time I Committed Suicide . This film is about Neal Cassady living the beat life during the 1940s, working at The Tire Yard, and philandering around town. However, he envisions a happy life with kids and a white picket fence. When his girlfriend, Joan, tries to kill herself, he gets scared and runs away. Ho...