Movies

Trending Today

Wonder Woman’s UN Ambassadorship Is Already Coming to an End

The super hero’s tenure as an advocate for empowering women and girls ends after less than two months

December 15, 2016

Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers Were Originally Silver

Bright red is how we remember them, but Dorothy’s famous shoes had another look at the start

December 5, 2016

Ask Smithsonian 2017

Does the Linguistic Theory at the Center of the Film ‘Arrival’ Have Any Merit?

We asked a Smithsonian linguist and an anthropologist to debate the matter

December 2, 2016

How the Story of ‘Moana’ and Maui Holds Up Against Cultural Truths

A Smithsonian scholar and student of Pacific Island sea voyaging both loves and hates the new Disney film

December 2, 2016

History of Now

How Accurate Is the Movie “Allied”?

The best spies won’t leave behind an evidence trail, but then how will audiences know what’s true and what’s fiction?

November 23, 2016

New Research

American TV Watchers Spend Over a Year of Their Life Channel Surfing

As options of shows and ways to watch them increase, so does the time it takes to find something to watch

November 8, 2016

Cool Finds

Explore the Flickering, Forgotten Past of African-Americans in Silent Film

An estimated 80 percent of silent movies with all-black casts are thought to be lost, but a new project is making sure the people who made them aren’t

November 8, 2016

The Exorcist’s Rule Book

A serious manifestation of evil is never a pretty thing, but Catholic priests face down demons with precision

October 31, 2016

Killers Don’t Always Look the Part

The tragic true story of an innocent man suspected of murder is a classic motif of the Hollywood thriller and is used as a subplot in Scream

October 28, 2016

Understanding the Gospel of Nat Turner

The leader of the deadly slave revolt had a deep Christian faith that propelled his rebellious actions

October 7, 2016

Cool Finds

The First Armed Art Heist in History Is Being Made Into a Movie

But Ocean’s 11, this isn’t

August 3, 2016

Director Guillermo del Toro Shares the Monsters in His Closet With the Public

The filmmaker talks about artifacts from his collection that are featured in the LACMA’s new exhibition, At Home with Monsters

August 1, 2016

Trending Today

Why VHS and Five Other Formats May Live Forever

The final VCRs will ship later this month, but if recent history is any indicator, it doesn’t mean the VHS format will vanish for good

July 26, 2016

History of Now

The History of Women Presidents in Film

Why the science-fiction genre was the first to imagine a female commander-in-chief

July 25, 2016

New Research

Mice Watching “Touch of Evil” Teach Scientists About the Mind’s Eye

By tracking mice neurons, scientists hope to understand consciousness

July 15, 2016

Trending Today

Captain America Is Getting a Real-Life Statue, But Some Say It’s in the Wrong Place

Did Steve Rogers grow up in Brooklyn or the Lower East Side?

July 6, 2016

Steven Spielberg on Why He Made The BFG

The director talks about the new adaptation, the cast and having John Williams compose the score of the film

June 27, 2016

The Fantastic Mr. Dahl

The British author’s world—antic, subversive, wildly inventive and monstrously humane—returns to the screen in Steven Spielberg’s The BFG

July 2016

Switzerland

The Hills Are Alive With the Sound of Bollywood

Learn the history of Mumbai’s iconic “cut-to” Switzerland shot

June 17, 2016

Cool Finds

The Library of Congress Needs Your Help to Identify These Silent Movies

For the fifth year, the “Mostly Lost” film festival calls on its audience to help identify obscure details in movie-making history

June 10, 2016