John Feeley

Lost 19th century film by Méliès discovered at the Library | Timeless Library conservators recently made a startling discovery in a batch of decaying film reels -- a long-lost 1897 film by early cinema icon George Méliès. The French magician-turned-filmmaker's

In September, a box of old film reels was donated to the Library's National Audio-Visual Conservation Center. One of them was a nearly 130-year-old, long-lost film by iconic French filmmaker George Méliès. It had not been seen by anyone in likely more than a century. 🧵
blogs.loc.gov/loc/2026/02/...

The first film adaptation of Wuthering Heights was released in 1920. Today it is believed to be a lost film

Obama Presidency Oral History The Obama Presidency as told by 450+ officials, activists, organizers, and extraordinary people from all walks of life.

So the Obama administration oral history project went live today. An extraordinary resource for historians and teachers, and a great credit to the team of folks who compiled them all, including Evan McCormick, @pastpunditry.bsky.social and many others.

Frederick Wiseman - rare case where a 96-year-old filmmaker’s death feels tragic because they had so much more left to do. Uninterrupted streak of curiosity, empathy, wisdom, and quiet anger, ended only by the reality of living in a human body.

i think jesse jackson was one of the most important american political figures of the post-war era and i think that his 1984 and 1988 campaigns for the democratic nomination still have a great deal to teach about forging a path to a more egalitarian world. RIP.

Jesse Jackson, Civil Rights Leader Who Sought the Presidency, Dies at 84

Breaking News: The Rev. Jesse Jackson, whose fiery speeches and populist vision made him a charismatic champion of civil rights, died at 84.

Duval, in full priest garb, swinging in an SF park next to a child.

my favorite Robert Duvall role is where he appears as a priest on a swing for 2 seconds for no apparent reason in Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

YouTube video by Darwin Pictures 🚩 ROBERT DUVALL - NETWORK (1976) Dir. Sidney Lumet

Duvall was really good in Network as one of the corporate hatchet men, not as flashy as some of the attention-getting supporting performances in that movie

youtu.be/SYgXDRdkJRc

The impact of Frederick Wiseman on nonfiction filmmaking was seismic beyond measure and beyond compare. Like how do you even begin to consider his influence on documentary technique or his decades of insight into how institutions (and artistic spaces) operate? What a treasure. R.I.P.

Frederick Wiseman, 96, Penetrating Documentarian of Institutions, Dies He exposed abuses in films like “Titicut Follies,” a once-banned portrait of a mental hospital, but ranged widely in subject matter, from a Queens neighborhood to a French restaurant.

Frederick Wiseman, a director whose rigorously objective explorations of social and cultural institutions constitute one of the more revered bodies of work in American documentary filmmaking, died on Monday. He was 96. nyti.ms/4qGpq55

1968: Esquire asks every member of Congress:
1. What idea, work, or thinker most influenced your political philosophy?
2. What music do you prefer?
3. Who is your favorite painter?
4. Who is your favorite poet/novelist?
5. Name one of the movies you most enjoyed
6. Theatre, ballet, opera, or sports?

Buster Keaton in Three Ages (1923)

The Real Story Behind the Midnight Immigration Raid on a Chicago Apartment Building The Trump administration has claimed the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua had taken over the building. But new documents make no mention of the gang and reveal federal agents had information about “ille...

our government used a Blackhawk helicopter in a major American city, detained children and zip-tied U.S. citizens all to target... squatters

and the alleged Tren de Aragua presence? "It was a brutal lie against the American public."
www.propublica.org/article/chic...

Maciste in Hell (1925) was the first movie Federico Fellini could remember watching in a cinema

Review: The Testament of Ann Lee - Chicago Reader Mona Fastvold’s idiosyncratic musical The Testament of Ann Lee is among the strangest American films in recent memory.

"Ann’s story is one of a dreamer... Viewers are singed by the heat of her conviction" -- @chicagoreader.com

You only have until Wednesday February 4th to see our 70mm Presentation of THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE!

Get Tickets Now: musicboxtheatre.com/films-and-ev...

chicagoreader.com/film-tv/movi...

The cards ICE left behind after arresting people in Eagle County are "similar to 'death cards' left on corpses by U.S. forces during the Vietnam War."

Nothing like braving the cold Chicago weather to go see Apocalypse Now: Final Cut.

In response to a string of anti-union films, the American Federation of Labor produced Labor's Reward (1925). In this scene a non-union bookbinder collapses after being overworked

Opinion | In Minneapolis, I Glimpsed a Civil War

fantastic piece from my colleague @polgreen.bsky.social that gets at something i have been thinking about. what, exactly, is the administration's strategic goal in minnesota? what does "victory" look like for trump and miller?

Imperial Prerogative: How the Panama Invasion and the “Barr Doctrine” Set the Stage for the Maduro “Snatch” Operation Washington, D.C., January 16, 2026 - The Justice Department official who wrote the legal opinion determining that President Donald Trump had the constitutional authority to “unilaterally order” the “e...

Amazing work by @ajimenezbacardi.bsky.social for @nsarchive.bsky.social on the snatch operation against Panama's Noriega and its implications for the Maduro operation. nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-boo...

I feel that if it came out today people would be pretty mad at Hi, Mom!

How the Bombing of Hiroshima Was Covered Up A new documentary details the complicity of the fourth estate with the U.S. government.

A new documentary offers a provocative history that brings to life the dangers that arise when government secrecy and control overwhelm press freedom.

Aldrich Ames, C.I.A. Turncoat Who Helped the Soviets, Dies at 84

My NYT obit on Aldrich Ames, CIA turncoat for the Russians. I interviewed him in the county lockup after his arrest in 1994, then by telephone for eight hours. Deluded, deeply alcoholic, he thought he could lift up the hood of history and tinker with the engine.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/06/o...

The Narco-Terrorist Elite - The American Prospect Why is Marco Rubio so hell-bent on making Iran-Contra again?

We've got 1 more Moe Tkacik banger in us before the end of the year.
It's about Marco Rubio, his scheme to appoint drug cartel bosses & their cronies atop the governments of every Latin American country in the name of fighting drug cartels, & his high school summer job working for a drug trafficker.

Year-end tally of Trump admin combat actions in 2025:

—Yemen—1,000+ strikes*
—Somalia—140+ strikes, 1 ground raid**
—Syria—78+ strikes, 3 ground raids***
—Iran—3 B-2 strikes
—Iraq—1 strike
—Nigeria—1 set of TLAM strikes
—Caribbean—11 strikes
—Eastern Pacific—20 strikes
—Venezuela—1 known CIA strike

Welcome to 2026, the future time of METROPOLIS, released in 1927.

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ was released 100 years ago today, on Dec. 30, 1925. It would go on to be one of the highest-grossing movies of the silent era

Utterly chilling reporting from the Prospect and NY times on trumps war in the Caribbean
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/23/w...

Mohammad Bakri, renowned Palestinian actor and filmmaker, dies at 72 Over the years, Bakri made several films that spanned the spectrum of Palestinian experiences.

Mohammad Bakri, a Palestinian director and actor who sought to share the complexities of Palestinian identity and culture through a variety of works in both Arabic and Hebrew, has died, his family announced. He was 72. https://to.pbs.org/4atdKyf