"Many of its most noteworthy films are already scheduled for commercial release soon-which is cause for celebration, insofar as they'll be seen more widely and more affordably and will even make their way to streaming platforms far from where art-houses bloom. But, as a result, the festival screenings do take on the tone of an early-access preview rather than a chance to be seized."
"Stroheim's bilious vision, set amid the pomp and decadence of a fictitious Middle European kingdom, tracks cruel convergences of sex and power among the royal and the downtrodden alike. The movie's star, Gloria Swanson, plays an orphaned nun-novitiate who, during a convent outing, catches the eye of a suavely flirtatious prince (Walter Byron) who happens to be the kept man and groom-to-be of the kingdom's madly jealous queen (Seena Owen). The outcome turns violent and leads to exile and degradation in the kingdom's African colony."
Many noteworthy films at the New York Film Festival are already scheduled for imminent commercial release, so festival screenings often feel like early-access previews rather than exclusive discoveries. Lincoln Center reliably becomes a hive of cinematic energy that fosters a communal, eager audience. The festival's Revivals program showcases notable restorations, including Erich von Stroheim's 1929 Queen Kelly. Stroheim's bilious vision tracks cruel convergences of sex and power amid a fictitious Middle European kingdom. Gloria Swanson plays an orphaned nun-novitiate whose entanglement with a flirtatious prince provokes violence, exile, and degradation in the kingdom's African colony. Producer Joseph Kennedy halted production, ending Stroheim's directing career, and the surviving version, augmented with additional footage, remains a spectacular, ornamental, and harrowing masterwork.
Read at The New Yorker
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