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Press Play

 "The best video essay source on the web." (Roger Ebert) This web site is built on a mix of original video essays and critical, personal writing about film, TV, and their connection to broader cultural concerns. Co-founded by Matt Zoller Seitz, TV critic for New York Magazine, and Ken Cancelosi, it is overseen by Editor-in-Chief Max Winter.

Video Essays

  • Attention Red Wedding Crashers: Get a Grip, Sit Back, a...
  • BIG PRESS PLAY NEWS!
  • RAISED IN FEAR: Who Can Kill a Child?
  • RAISED IN FEAR: NIGHT OF THE HUNTER and the Horrors of ...
  • CANNES 2013: Images, Part III

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Press Play

GREY MATTERS: Cabin in the Woods, Horror in the Dumps

Blogs
If we’re lucky, "The Cabin in the Woods" will shut down the debased American horror movie machine for a good long while.
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  • By Ian Grey
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  • April 20, 2012 12:21 PM
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  • 8 Comments
More: Ian Grey, Joss Whedon, The Cabin in The Woods, Grey Matters, Drew Goddard, GREY MATTERS (Ian Grey)

VIDEO ESSAY: The Art of Film and TV title design from PBS' OFF BOOK

Video
Editor's Note: The opening credits to a movie or TV show are more than just a title and names. They’re an opportunity to set the tone of the story to come. They can provide necessary background and setting for the drama to follow. Creators of title sequences often create powerful visual experiences that pull the viewer into a new visual world. In this episode of PBS "Off Book", meet Peter Frankfurt and Karin Fong, the creators of the iconic "Mad Men" sequence; Ben Conrad, who was behind the hilarious "Zombieland" opening and "rules" sequences; and Jim Helton, who developed the stirring end credits from "Blue Valentine." Please take a moment to view the video linked above. If you would like to view other episodes of "Off Book", go here. Thanks! -- Kevin B. Lee
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  • April 20, 2012 12:09 PM
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  • 1 Comment
More: video essay

VIDEO ESSAY: THE AVENGERS: Marvel's Redemption?

Video
Amazingly, the Marvel movie brand has been able to survive with an enthusiastic audience—even in the midst of artistic failure.
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  • By Nelson Carvajal
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  • April 20, 2012 9:00 AM
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  • 7 Comments
More: NELSON CARVAJAL, The Avengers, Marvel Comics, Video, video essay

Trainwreck Rising, or Jeff, Who Is One with the Universe

Blogs
A problem — if not THE problem — with stoner comedies is that they tend to lack ambition.
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  • By Chris Stangl
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  • April 19, 2012 9:03 AM
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  • 3 Comments
More: Chris Stangl, Jeff, Who Lives at Home, Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass, Signs, M. Night Shyamalan, The Big Lebowski, Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

The Androgyny of Artists: An Interview with Mary Harron

Features
Is woman the future of man?
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  • By Simon Abrams
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  • April 19, 2012 9:00 AM
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  • 0 Comments
More: Simon Abrams, Mary Harron, The Moth Diaries

VIDEO - Motion Studies #25: A.I.: A Visual Study

Video
From now through April, the Oberhausen International Short Film Festival will present "Film Studies in Motion", a Web Series curated by Volker Pantenburg and Kevin B. Lee. This series, available on the festival's website and Facebook page, presents weekly selections of analytical video essays on the web, in preparation for Pantenberg and Lee's presentation  "Whatever happened to Bildungsauftrag? – Teaching cinema on TV and the Web", scheduled for April 28 at the festival.
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  • By Volker Pantenburg and Kevin B. Lee
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  • April 19, 2012 7:12 AM
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  • 0 Comments
More: Motion Studies, Video, video essay, MOTION STUDIES: ESSENTIAL VIDEO ESSAYS

A Top Ten Dilemma: Previewing the Sight and Sound Greatest Films Poll, Part II

Features
Will Vertigo climb it's way to #1? It depends on the participating critics and what agendas they may have.
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  • By Kevin B. Lee, David Jenkins, Vadim Rizov, Bill Georgaris
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  • April 19, 2012 7:10 AM
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  • 3 Comments
More: List, SIGHT AND SOUND CRITICS' PICKS

VIDEO: Take the "COLOR REEL" film quiz with Evan Seitz

Video
Editor's Note: We at Press Play had never seen animator Evan Seitz's remarkable work up until today. Our first encounter with his kaleidoscopic visions came when our publisher Matt Zoller Seitz (no relation) sent out an e-mail blast to everyone stating unequivocally that "we should post this immediately." In the most elegant way possible Evan Seitz blends known cinema soundtracks — some of the most famous sounds in all of history —with colorful, animated likenesses from those same films, all of them interpreted through the prism of his imagination. Make no mistake about it. This is a quiz worth engaging and admiring. If you would like to pour over Mr. Seitz's other work, go here.  -- Ken Cancelosi
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  • By Evan Seitz
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  • April 18, 2012 4:28 PM
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  • 1 Comment
More: video essay, Color Reel, Evan Seitz

Not Simply the Best: Previewing the Sight and Sound Greatest Films Poll, Part I

Features
The Sight and Sound Film Poll is still an important guide to the greatest movies, but it could use an overhaul.
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  • By Kevin B. Lee, David Jenkins, Vadim Rizov, Bill Georgaris
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  • April 18, 2012 1:25 PM
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  • 5 Comments
More: List, SIGHT AND SOUND CRITICS' PICKS

10/40/70: KAIRO (PULSE)

Blogs
This experimental film column began its life at The Rumpus, and we are very excited to see it continue here. The column freezes the frames of a film at the 10, 40, and 70 minute marks, using these points as the foundations for an essay.
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  • By Nicholas Rombes
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  • April 18, 2012 9:00 AM
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  • 0 Comments
More: Nicholas Rombes, 10/40/70

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