Sight and Sound: the Summer 2022 issue

Since its inception in 1932, Sight and Sound has produced hundreds of issues, tens of thousands of pages, millions of words; it has championed the best of cinema for nine decades. As current editor-in-chief Mike Williams says: “Much has changed in the pages of S&S over the past 90 years… but its commitment to the culture of film and the moving image, in the UK and internationally, remains steadfast.” In this special issue, an anniversary feature looks back through the archives at some of S&S’s most special moments, including contributions from filmmaking legends.

Also in this issue: we report from Cannes film festival, with a state-of-the-fest report, Mark Jenkin’s Cannes diary and 50 brand new films reviewed; Pedro Almodóvar spends a quiet day in Madrid reflecting on loneliness; we dig into the cinematic history of Ukraine, from the birth of modern cinema to new offerings at Cannes; Eskil Vogt talks The Innocents and children in horror; and Edgar Wright interviews Daniels, the directorial duo responsible for breakout indie hit Everything Everywhere All at Once.

Editor-in-chief Mike Williams introduces a selection of Sight and Sound’s most iconic covers from its 90-year history, from educational beginnings in 1932 to S&S’s modern era.

Plus, nine articles written for S&S by renowned filmmakers including Mai Zetterling, Lotte Reineger, Andrea Arnold, Lizzie Borden, Jean Renoir and:

In 1937, two years before his move to Hollywood, Hitch explained how he developed his ideas, how he set about the task of manipulating his audience and why he was so drawn to thrillers.

Nearly all Kubrick’s features had their origins in a book or short story. For our Winter 1960‑61 issue, he wrote about what a screen adaptation can and should preserve of its literary source.

A couple of years after his searing debut, the Reservoir Dogs director wrote about his passion for Ride in the Whirlwind, one of a pair of little-known and even less appreciated westerns by Monte Hellman.

On the eve of a BFI retrospective, and following her in-depth cover feature, Swinton wrote a beautiful, dreamlike poem about films and love for Sight and Sound

The 75th edition of Cannes featured glitzy cameos from Tom Cruise and Elvis but the sparkle was missing from a Competition with a divisive winner. By Isabel Stevens.

First-look reviews of all of Cannes’ biggest titles. By Thomas Flew and Isabel Stevens.

The Bait director documents his panic-inducing trip to the festival to screen his eerie folk horror Enys Men.

George Miller, Baz Luhrmann and Tilda Swinton reflect on their most striking Cannes memories.

Alone in Madrid during Holy Week, the great Spanish director reflects on loneliness, New York night life in the early 1990s and his memories of Andy Warhol. By Pedro Almodóvar.

Boasting a formidable cinematic heritage that stretches back to the early days of film, the country has recently seen a renewed flowering of auteur cinema. By Jonathan Romney.

As The Natural History of Destruction hits Cannes, the Ukrainian director discusses the dark truths of history with Jonathan Romney.

Eskil Vogt’s The Innocents, a haunting tale of a group of children in the Norwegian countryside who find they have special powers, plays on our fears about kids’ capacity for evil. Here he discusses his journey into the mysterious, locked-off world of childhood. By Kelli Weston.

Eskil Vogt on his favourite horror films about children.

The director of Last Night in Soho and long-time Daniels admirer Edgar Wright sits down with the filmmakers to talk maximalist cinema, the creative benefits of impostor syndrome and ADHD – and their exhilarating Everything Everywhere All at Once.

In our Spring 1977 issue, we joined an animated Steven Spielberg during the production of his fourth feature, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, to discuss casting François Truffaut, the primal elements of his box-office smash Jaws and his filmmaking ethos.

Yorgos Lanthimos’s new short, silent film, commissioned by the Greek National Opera, is a haunting goat story. By Jonathan Romney.

Recommendations from the Sight and Sound team.

Director Ken Loach and writer Paul Laverty are reuniting once again for The Old Oak, on which principal photography commenced last month. By Thomas Flew.

Cinema Rediscovered returns to cinemas in Bristol and around the UK for a packed four-day festival. By Thomas Flew.

The director of Le quattro volte on shooting his new film Il buco 700 metres underground. By Isabel Stevens.

The Finnish director takes us on a whistlestop tour of his favourite train films and the inspirations behind his own bittersweet railroad movie, Compartment No. 6. Interview by Katie McCabe.

Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Trier, whose melodic black comedy The Worst Person in the World is out now, reminisces about his days as a young cinephile and being inspired by Fritz the Cat. Interview by Katie McCabe.

Nearly a century ago, the beauty of Ukraine was captured by the man with a movie camera. By Pamela Hutchinson.

Visconti and Roeg’s tourist-gaze classics epitomise Venice as the city of death and mystery. By Phuong Le.

Film history is a long book so when choosing the Greatest Films, don’t ignore the early chapters. By Farran Smith Nehme.

The most chilling thing about horror is getting asked what it’s like to be a woman within the genre. By Prano Bailey-Bond

As Sight and Sound turns 90 our raison d’être is clear. By Mike Williams.

It took an Argentinian director and stars to make the most of the passions buried in a very English detective story. By Robert Hanks.

The classic 1970s playboy pairing of faux-toff Roger Moore and Brooklyn boy made good Tony Curtis has dated better than you might think. By Robert Hanks.

Alain Resnais’ comedy about an aggrieved American cartoonist on the loose in France is a reminder that comic-books and film art can be allies, not enemies. By Peter Tonguette.

A utopian celebration of feminist film cultures from the 1970s to the 1990s seeks to smash the notion of the artistic ‘masterpiece’. By Erika Balsom and Hila Peleg.

The swift, brutal death of the duelling samurai at the end of Kurosawa Akira’s 1962 drama represents a startling shift in mood in one of the director’s most light-hearted films. By Philip Kemp.

• The Afterlight reviewed by Jonathan Romney.
• Men reviewed by Kim Newman.
• Everything Everywhere All at Once reviewed by Ben Walters.
• Earwig reviewed by Anton Bitel.
• The Good Boss reviewed by Maria Delgado.
• Brian and Charles reviewed by Leigh Singer.
• All My Friends Hate Me reviewed by Philip Kemp.
• Tigers reviewed by Tim Hayes.
• Eric Ravilious: Drawn to War reviewed by Philip Concannon.
• Pleasure reviewed by Jessica Kiang.
• Hit the Road reviewed by Leigh Singer.
• Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness reviewed by Kim Newman.
• Futura reviewed by Giovanni Marchini Camia.
• Nitram reviewed by Carmen Gray.
• Everything Went Fine reviewed by Elena Lazic.
• Moon, 66 Questions reviewed by Catherine Wheatley.
• Good Luck to you, Leo Grande reviewed by Pamela Hutchinson.
• Il buco reviewed by Ben Nicholson.
• Fire of Love reviewed by Violet Lucca.
• Dashcam reviewed by Anton Bitel.
• Swan Song reviewed by Alex Davidson.

• The Essex Serpent reviewed by Kate Stables.
• Pistol reviewed by Graham Fuller.
• We Own This City reviewed by Guy Lodge.
• Tokyo Vice reviewed by Jason Anderson.
• My Name is Leon reviewed by Nicole Flattery.
• Conversations with Friends reviewed by Ruairí McCann.

• Lake Mungo reviewed by Trevor Johnston.
• Sodom and Gomorrah reviewed by David Thompson.
• The Men reviewed by Hannah McGill.
• The Osterman Weekend reviewed by Brad Stevens.
• Luminous Procuress reviewed by Sophia Satchell Baeza.
• The Funeral reviewed by Trevor Johnston.
• Outside the Law reviewed by Philip Kemp.
• Revolver reviewed by Kate Stables.
• Film starring WC Fields reviewed by Michael Atkinson.
• The Pemini Organisation reviewed by Trevor Johnston.

• The Red Years of Cahiers du Cinéma (1968-1973) reviewed by Helen Hughes.
• Mad Eyed Misfits: Writings on Indie Animation reviewed by Alex Dudok de Wit.
• Filmmakers Thinking reviewed by Jason Anderson.