Movies

The Zone of Interest envisions the everyday lives of Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss and his family, rarely venturing beyond their villa’s borders to acknowledge the atrocities unfolding outside their door.

The Real History Behind 'The Zone of Interest' and Rudolf Höss

Jonathan Glazer's new film uses the Auschwitz commandant and his family as a vehicle for examining humans' capacity for evil

Works entering the public domain this year include Steamboat Willie, J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan, A. A. Milne's The House at Pooh Corner and Virginia Woolf's Orlando.

Mickey Mouse and Many Other Beloved Creations, Including Peter Pan and 'Mack the Knife,' Are Now in the Public Domain

Almost a century after the cartoon mouse made his first appearance, he finally belongs to everyone—sort of

In celebration of the upcoming new film The Color Purple, the Smithsonian Gardens, in partnership with the National Museum of African American History and Culture, hosted a webinar to unearth the nature-related themes in the story. (Above: Alice Walker by Anthony Barboza, 1989)

Unearth the Roots of Alice Walker’s ‘The Color Purple’

Gardeners discuss the oft-overlooked symbolism of nature that underlies the Pulitzer-prize winning novel

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The Books We Loved

Smithsonian editors choose their favorite (mostly) nonfiction of (mostly) 2023

Paddington, the storybook bear who keeps a marmalade sandwich in his hat, is getting his own musical in 2025.

Paddington Will Take Center Stage in Musical Adaptation

The beloved bear dressed in a blue duffle coat and red hat is set to sing and dance with the Brown family in 2025

Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister in Home Alone (1990)

'Home Alone,' 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' and More Join the National Film Registry

Twenty-five films were chosen based on their "cultural, historic or aesthetic" importance

Schindler's List—a 195-minute, almost entirely black-and-white film—earned more than $300 million at the box office.

How 'Schindler's List' Transformed Americans' Understanding of the Holocaust

The 1993 film also inspired its director, Steven Spielberg, to establish a foundation that preserves survivors' stories

A still from Hayao Miyazaki’s new film, The Boy and the Heron

Is 'The Boy and the Heron' Really Hayao Miyazaki’s Last Film?

Following many failed attempts to retire, the legendary animator has released a new semi-autobiographical feature

Left, a 1932 self-portrait by Lee Miller. Right, a 1943 portrait of Miller by American photojournalist David Scherman.

How Lee Miller, a Magazine Model and Muse, Became a Daring World War II Photographer

The bold journalist, who made a splash on both sides of the lens, is the subject of a new biopic starring Kate Winslet

Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein in Maestro, a new film that arrives on Netflix on December 20

The Real History Behind Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre's Marriage in 'Maestro'

The Bradley Cooper-led film is a dramatization of the storied composer and conductor's complex love life

Vanessa Kirby, who plays Joséphine in Ridley Scott's Napoleon, says the empress “was just this massive contradiction.” ­

The Real History Behind Empress Joséphine in Ridley Scott's 'Napoleon'

A new Hollywood epic traces Napoleon Bonaparte's rise and fall through his checkered relationship with his first wife

Colman Domingo as Bayard Rustin in Rustin, a new film directed by George C. Wolfe

The Real History Behind Netflix's 'Rustin' Movie

A new film finally spotlights Bayard Rustin, the gay civil rights activist who organized the 1963 March on Washington

The record-breaking Nightmare Before Christmas mosaic at Sunnyfields Farm is made from several types of pumpkins and squash in various colors.

'Nightmare Before Christmas' Pumpkin Mosaic Sets World Record

The Jack Skellington-inspired display is made from more than 10,000 gourds across 2,081 square feet

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How the Osage Changed Martin Scorsese’s Mind

“Killers of the Flower Moon” sets a new standard in its nuanced portrait of Osage life. Decades of prior films about Native Americans didn't even try

The new film places the relationship between Mollie Burkhart (played by Lily Gladstone) and her husband Ernest (Leonardo DiCaprio) at the center of the story.

The Real History Behind 'Killers of the Flower Moon'

Martin Scorsese's new film revisits the murders of wealthy Osages in Oklahoma in the 1920s

Signage at Netflix's campus in Hollywood, California

Netflix Plans to Open Brick-and-Mortar Stores in 2025

Visitors will dine at themed restaurants and participate in immersive experiences

A sampling of Native representation in the films (clockwise from top left) Killers of the Flower Moon (2023), War Party (1988), The Last of the Mohicans (1992), The Revenant (2015), Soldier Blue (1970), Little Big Man (1970) and Dances With Wolves (1990)

From Wild West Shows to 'Killers of the Flower Moon,' Revisit the History of Native Americans on the Silver Screen

How American Indians in Hollywood have gone from stereotypes to starring roles

Hattie McDaniel is shown with her Best Supporting Actress award, which she received for her performance in 1939's Gone With the Wind.

The Academy Will Replace Hattie McDaniel's Missing Oscar

McDaniel became the first Black actor to win an Oscar in 1940, but the award went missing several decades later

Joan Baez at the Alabama State Capitol in 1965, from Joan Baez I Am a Noise, a Magnolia Pictures release.

Folk Icon Joan Baez Sings a Song of Herself

After decades in the limelight, the American musician who spent a career exposing the world’s problems explores her own past

The exterior of Shrek's house, which has has been reimagined in the Scottish Highlands

You Can Stay in a Re-Creation of Shrek's Swamp in Scotland

The treehouse sits on a historic estate that's been used in "The Crown," "Outlander" and more

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