Notable & Quotable: George Lucas and Soviet Cinema

What the Seven “Star Wars” Films Reveal About George Lucas

If Lucas had directed nothing but “Attack of the Clones” and “Revenge of the Sith,” he’d still have a place in my personal pantheon.

Akira Kurosawa’s List of His 100 Favorite Movies

In movies like Seven Samurai and High and Low, director Akira Kurosawa took the cinematic language of Hollywood and improved on it, creating a vigorous, muscular method of visual storytelling that became a stylistic playbook for the likes of Martin Scorsese, George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola.

» Jedi Knight (Plus, Notes on an Expanded Universe) The Digital Antiquarian

The years from 1991 to 1998 were special ones in which to be a Star Wars fan. For during these years, more so than during any other time in the franchise’s existence, Star Wars truly belonged to its fans.

What Culture Can You Trust?

Star Wars came out when I was 17, and made a big impression on me; I loved it.

"I just find AI to be creatively soulless": Casey Hudson on the controversial tech and Star Wars: Fate Of The Old Republic

"I’m just really unimpressed with it."

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) - FILM FREAK CENTRAL

Star Wars: Episode IX -The Rise of Skywalker */**** starring Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, Billy Dee Williams written by J.J. Abrams & Chris Terrio directed by J.J. Abrams by Walter Chaw J.J. Abrams’s Star Wars IX: The Rise of Skywalker (hereafter The Rise of Skywalker) is a breakneck, National Treasure-style quest flick so intent on the prize that it takes its eyes off the goal. It’s slick and frictionless, offering nothing to hold on to and holding on to nothing in return. In it, our heroes rattle off facile one-liners and play around with childish surface emotions as…

Fanhackers – Your guide to research on fans.

Matt Hills is a fan studies and media scholar of really wide breadth, expertise, and versatility, author of the classic fan studies text Fan Cultures (2002) as well as a number of subsequent monographs: How To Do Things With Cultural Theory (2005),The Pleasures of Horror (2005), Triumph of a time lord (2010), Blade Runner (2011) Doctor Who: The Unfolding Event (2015)  – he’s also one of the editors of Transatlantic Television Drama (2019),  the Doctor Who reader Adventures Across Space and Time (2023), and Theatre Fandom (2025) as well as a prolific writer of essays and book chapters on a broad swath of fandoms, practices, and cult classics: Star Wars, Veronica Mars, Torchwood, Sherlock, Buffy, Lord of the Rings, and more.

The 10 Best Documentaries About Ronald Reagan

From his iconic Hollywood career to his transformation into a beloved politician, the life of Ronald Reagan is one of the most fascinating lives…

‘Andor’ Creator Tony Gilroy Gives the Interview He Couldn’t During Its Release

While promoting his cautionary tale about fascism, Disney asked Gilroy to refrain from using the word. Nine months after it aired its finale, the 'Star Wars' series feels scarily prescient.

The Influence of Science Fiction on Science

I wager that if scientists were honest in citing the role science fiction has in their scientific work, their published papers would be rife with footnotes referencing science fiction novels as well as journal articles.

Black Panther’s Right Thing

1. TRASH In the pantheon of great American films, I put Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing right at the very top of the list. I’ve talked about why in detail before. It is a towering docume…

The Myth of Allied Technological Inferiority

World War II, The Free Press, and the Problematic Use of History in Contemporary Media

The Best Books of 2025

The New Yorker’s editors and critics choose this year’s essential reads in fiction, poetry, and nonfiction.

Twilight of the Spielberg Image

Steven Spielberg's career wrestles with the power and meaning of image-making, and his sci-fi "Disclosure Day" makes this its very subject.

Rise of the Empire expands Star Wars: Rebellion in all the right ways

Review: A new hope for the 3-hour board game.