Film

Richard Dreyfuss on Being Bernie Madoff

The versatile actor opens up about playing the banker in a new television miniseries and his close encounters with sharks and space aliens

January 2016

How Nantucket Came to Be the Whaling Capital of the World

Ron Howard’s new film “In the Heart of the Sea” captures the greed and blood lust of the Massachusetts island

December 2015

Cool Finds

Inside the Collective That Turns VHS to Digital Video for Free

A team of media lovers wants to preserve your memories for history’s sake

November 17, 2015

American Ingenuity Awards

Why Bill Hader and Fred Armisen Are Parodying Documentaries in Their Latest, Ingenious Project

The “SNL” veterans behind the sly new series “Documentary Now” add a layer of authenticity to the art of sending up nonfiction films

November 12, 2015

Cool Finds

Happy Birthday Hedy Lamarr, Hollywood Star Turned Scientist

The beauty had brains—after all, she invented the tech behind Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS

November 9, 2015

Watch Rarely Seen Footage of Life in Nazi Austria, Thanks to a New Video Archive

The Ephemeral Films Project offers the public a chance to see what Jews experienced during the Anschluss

November 9, 2015

Austria

The Man With the Golden Passport: Travel the World of the New James Bond Movie

Follow the trail of Agent 007 in his latest film

November 3, 2015

Disney’s “Fantasia” Was Initially a Critical and Box-Office Failure

More than seventy-five years after its debut, a look back at the animated masterpiece

November 2015

The Art and Design Behind Pixar’s Animation

A new exhibition at the Cooper Hewitt in New York City draws on the rich backstory of what it takes to give computer-animated life to pen and ink sketches

October 19, 2015

Cool Finds

There’s a Fake Egyptian City Buried in California

The incredible, nearly forgotten story behind one of Hollywood’s most expensive movie sets

October 15, 2015

Gary Powers Kept a Secret Diary With Him After He Was Captured by the Soviets

The American fighter pilot who’s the focus of Bridge of Spies faced great challenges home and abroad

October 15, 2015

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Venice

Donald Sutherland on Fellini, Near-Death and the Haunting Allure of Venice

October 14, 2015

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Venice

What to Read, Watch and Download Before Your Trip to Venice

Know before you go

October 14, 2015

Cool Finds

Orson Welles Wrote a ‘Citizen Kane’ Sequel

The greatest movie never made?

October 13, 2015

After Giving Us a New Spin on Oz, Gregory Maguire Takes on Wonderland

Alice is 150 years old, and the world is still wondering about her

October 2015

Age of Humans

Third-Graders in the Maldives Discover the Beauty Beneath Their Seas

Many tourists have experienced the Maldives’ beauty. Most Maldivians haven’t, because they don’t know how to swim

September 21, 2015

A “Frozen” Summer Adventure Awaits You in Norway

If the cold really does bother you, anyway, then visit the fjords in warmer months

August 28, 2015

Cool Finds

This Animation Is Made of Embroidery

It took a year and a half to create a short film using “embroidermation”

August 12, 2015

What Gives Bugs Bunny His Lasting Power?

From the moment of his first “What’s Up, Doc?” in 1940, the trickster hare has topped the list of great cartoon characters

July 27, 2015

Someone Stole the Skull of ‘Nosferatu’ Director F.W. Murnau

Thieves left behind traces of wax, suggesting occult practices might be at play here

July 20, 2015