Misplaced modifier // Writing about movies // Catskill, NY’s Community Theater // Solicit: zwlewiswrites at gmail
Hudson, NY
Joined April 2009
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I spoke with E. Elias Merhige about Begotten for @InRO: inreviewonline.com/2026/10/0…
Though both directors were progressive Jews, the original writer Paul Morand engaged in what we might charitably call some classic “modernist no-no’s”
Loved La Mort du Cygne (1937), directed by the extremely prolific but now forgotten Jean Benoît-Lévy (the first Director of Filmmaking for UNESCO) and Marie Epstein (sister of Jean). Like Degas come to life. Sadly, the only available rip is a TCM recording from the 90s.
Alex’s confession here 1) is completely anodyne and shared widely among culture writers in every industry and 2) highlights the tension of a film industry whose products live or die based on successful astroturfed hype cycles that are anathema to any curious person.
new column, on becoming completely uninterested in the moviegoing zeitgeist splicetoday.com/moving-pictu…
Lencho’s writing/logs has long been one of my cheat codes for finding great, interesting underwatched films. What a terrible loss.
Getting word that Lencho of the Apes (legendary @letterboxd user) has died. When I was 18 and just starting to write on Lboxd, he gave me such immense encouragement for my criticism. It's been a dream of mine to meet him one day. Devastated.
letterboxd.com/lencho_o_t_ap…
While we’re on the topic, at least the IMDb top 250 has a little bit of personality. Shawshank Redemption no.1 is genuinely insane. Dark Knight etc a good historical representation of online fandom culture creeping in. AFI top 100 is just oatmeal.
Yet another one of those passed-around .avi files of yore that I expected to just always look that way suddenly accessible on blu-ray. Worth a purchase for the Jasper Sharp video essay alone.
FIRE FESTIVAL 火まつり out Dec 7
Bluray debut of this masterpiece from Mitsuo Yanagimachi (God Speed You! Black Emperor)
・Alexander Jacoby selected audio commentary
・Jasper Sharp Video Essay
LE (1000 units) w/art by Sean Wolcott + writing from Tony Rayns
shop.thirdwindowfilms.com/pr…
Z. W. Lewis retweeted
Some absolutely incredible stories in @zwlws's fantastic interview with E. Elias Merhige about "Begotten" and it's new 4k restoration. I have no history with this cult object, but I couldn't be more excited to see it @IFCCenter soon. inreviewonline.com/2026/10/0…
Z. W. Lewis retweeted
I wrote a booklet essay for this wonderful Euro Gothic picture from Pupi Avati which, despite its title, might be one of the most Catholic movies ever made. Order the limited edition to read me on Carlo Ginzburg, Catholic magic, and Avati’s fascinating career.
From Pupi Avati (co-writer Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom and director of The House with Laughing Windows) comes ARCANE SORCERER, a magnificently crafted spiritual horror film drenched in atmosphere and permeated with an acute sense of mounting dread. Long championed by legendary filmmaker @RealGDT, and hailed by director @edgarwright as “the Barry Lyndon of horror films.” This visually rich film is accompanied by a classically lush score from famed composer Pino Donaggio.
Vinegar Syndrome is delighted to conjure up ARCANE SORCERER for its long-overdue UHD debut, immaculately reanimated in 4K from its original camera negative and loaded with a treasure trove of brand new bonus features.
🧙♂️Pre-order link in comments🧙♂️
Bronze Magician (dir. Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1963): almost forty years after A Page of Madness, Kinugasa still delivers the goods.
I wrote a booklet essay for this wonderful Euro Gothic picture from Pupi Avati which, despite its title, might be one of the most Catholic movies ever made. Order the limited edition to read me on Carlo Ginzburg, Catholic magic, and Avati’s fascinating career.
From Pupi Avati (co-writer Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom and director of The House with Laughing Windows) comes ARCANE SORCERER, a magnificently crafted spiritual horror film drenched in atmosphere and permeated with an acute sense of mounting dread. Long championed by legendary filmmaker @RealGDT, and hailed by director @edgarwright as “the Barry Lyndon of horror films.” This visually rich film is accompanied by a classically lush score from famed composer Pino Donaggio.
Vinegar Syndrome is delighted to conjure up ARCANE SORCERER for its long-overdue UHD debut, immaculately reanimated in 4K from its original camera negative and loaded with a treasure trove of brand new bonus features.
🧙♂️Pre-order link in comments🧙♂️
Can’t overstate the amount of psychic damage Marjoe did to the evangelical community. He’s also great in Milton Katselas’s When You Comin’ Back, Red Ryder?
Marjoe Gortner, whose childhood as an evangelical preacher was the subject of the Oscar-winning documentary “Marjoe” and who went on to have a career as an actor, died Friday. He was 82.
variety.com/2026/film/news/m…
Ferryman Maria (dir. Frank Wisbar, 1936): incredible that Wisbar would remake this beautiful Dreyer-ish fable into B-horror classic Strangler of the Swamp. That’s how every Hollywood remake of an “austere” European film should work. An American Seventh Seal slasher, why not.
Some honorable mentions:
Closed Circuit (Montaldo, 1978)
Blood Wedding (Saura, 1981)
The Desert of the Tartars (Zurlini, 1976)
The Diabolical Dr. Z (Franco, 1966)
Top first time views of Sept:
1. A Man's Head (Duvivier, 1933)
2. The Drift (Delsol, 1964)
3. The Right Stuff (Kaufman, 1983)
4. Fedra, the Devil's Daughter (Oti, 1956)
Z. W. Lewis retweeted
In Angela Schanelec’s MY WIFE CRIES, writes @zwlws, the bizarre and mundane walk hand in hand. The film has its U.S. premiere today at #NYFF64. tinyurl.com/bdfpbdux
