According to “V” creator, director Kenny Johnson, after years of development, the reptilian-alien feature "V The Movie", inspired by the novel, "It Can't Happen Here" by Sinclair Lewis, is back on track with a new set of production partners:
"We are delighted to bring the timeless – and timely – story of resistance against tyranny into the 21st Century", said Johnson, "'V' will be the first of a cinematic trilogy which will tell the full epic tale in the manner I always envisioned".
"V", a two-part miniseries first aired in 1983, starring Marc Singer ("L.A.P.D.: To Protect and to Serve"), introducing the 'Visitors', who slowly gain domination over Earth:
"...a race of aliens arrive on Earth in a fleet of 50 huge, saucer-shaped motherships, hovering over major cities across the world. They reveal themselves on the roof of the 'United Nations' building in New York City, appearing human but requiring...
"We are delighted to bring the timeless – and timely – story of resistance against tyranny into the 21st Century", said Johnson, "'V' will be the first of a cinematic trilogy which will tell the full epic tale in the manner I always envisioned".
"V", a two-part miniseries first aired in 1983, starring Marc Singer ("L.A.P.D.: To Protect and to Serve"), introducing the 'Visitors', who slowly gain domination over Earth:
"...a race of aliens arrive on Earth in a fleet of 50 huge, saucer-shaped motherships, hovering over major cities across the world. They reveal themselves on the roof of the 'United Nations' building in New York City, appearing human but requiring...
- 1/24/2024
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
Writer/director Guillermo del Toro discusses a few of his favorite movies with Josh and Joe.
Show Notes:
Movies Referenced In This Episode
Nightmare Alley (2021)
Nightmare Alley (1947) – Stuart Gordon’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Drive My Car (2021)
Wicked Woman (1953) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022)
Modern Times (1936)
City Lights (1931)
The Great Dictator (1940)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Dennis Cozzalio’s review, Dennis Cozzalio’s Muriel Awards capsule review
Vertigo (1958) – Dan Ireland’s trailer commentary, Brian Trenchard-Smith’s review
The Man Who Would Be King (1975) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary
Lawrence Of Arabia (1962)
The Young And The Damned (1950)
Gone With The Wind (1939)
The Golem (1920) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Sunrise: A Song Of Two Humans (1927)
Alucarda (1977)
Greed (1924) – Dennis Cozzalio’s Muriel Awards capsule review
Taxi Driver (1976) – Rod Lurie’s trailer commentary
District 9 (2009) – John Sayles...
Show Notes:
Movies Referenced In This Episode
Nightmare Alley (2021)
Nightmare Alley (1947) – Stuart Gordon’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Drive My Car (2021)
Wicked Woman (1953) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022)
Modern Times (1936)
City Lights (1931)
The Great Dictator (1940)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Dennis Cozzalio’s review, Dennis Cozzalio’s Muriel Awards capsule review
Vertigo (1958) – Dan Ireland’s trailer commentary, Brian Trenchard-Smith’s review
The Man Who Would Be King (1975) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary
Lawrence Of Arabia (1962)
The Young And The Damned (1950)
Gone With The Wind (1939)
The Golem (1920) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Sunrise: A Song Of Two Humans (1927)
Alucarda (1977)
Greed (1924) – Dennis Cozzalio’s Muriel Awards capsule review
Taxi Driver (1976) – Rod Lurie’s trailer commentary
District 9 (2009) – John Sayles...
- 1/25/2022
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
Exclusive: A comedy drama co-written by Gavin and Stacey star Mat Horne and a thriller based on Jack London’s manuscript of The Assassination Bureau Ltd and are two of the latest TV projects being set up by British producer Fired Up Films.
The company is doubling down on the scripted side of its business, having recently scored a two-hour order for producing Laurence Fishburne-narrated doc The Hunt for Hitler’s U-Boat for History on the factual side.
Horne, best known for his on-screen performance in the James Corden and Ruth Jones-penned BBC comedy, is writing Loose with actor-turned-screenwriter Christopher Adlington.
The series is a multi-cultural comedy about a man on the run, which Horne says is inspired by the pair’s love of 1980s caper movies such as Midnight Run. It tells the story of Howie Doohan, a Wall Street trader and father of a disabled child,...
The company is doubling down on the scripted side of its business, having recently scored a two-hour order for producing Laurence Fishburne-narrated doc The Hunt for Hitler’s U-Boat for History on the factual side.
Horne, best known for his on-screen performance in the James Corden and Ruth Jones-penned BBC comedy, is writing Loose with actor-turned-screenwriter Christopher Adlington.
The series is a multi-cultural comedy about a man on the run, which Horne says is inspired by the pair’s love of 1980s caper movies such as Midnight Run. It tells the story of Howie Doohan, a Wall Street trader and father of a disabled child,...
- 1/12/2021
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Elegant movie star Grace Kelly was not just a stunning beauty but a gifted performer, so some might be surprised to learn that her film career lasted just five years. During those years, the regal blonde won an Oscar and worked with Alfred Hitchcock three times, in “Dial M for Murder,” “To Catch a Thief” and “Rear Window” — perhaps her signature role.
Hollywood’s big question when she married Prince Albert Rainier of Monaco in 1956 was whether she would continue to act. Fans and the media all wanted to know what would happen, but it seemed unlikely — after all, Rita Hayworth had found being a princess incompatible with being a movie star and her marriage to Prince Aly Khan lasted just a few years.
Americans are most familiar with the monarchs of Britain, thanks to generations of media coverage. But for several decades, Yankees faithfully followed another royal family, the Grimaldis of Monaco,...
Hollywood’s big question when she married Prince Albert Rainier of Monaco in 1956 was whether she would continue to act. Fans and the media all wanted to know what would happen, but it seemed unlikely — after all, Rita Hayworth had found being a princess incompatible with being a movie star and her marriage to Prince Aly Khan lasted just a few years.
Americans are most familiar with the monarchs of Britain, thanks to generations of media coverage. But for several decades, Yankees faithfully followed another royal family, the Grimaldis of Monaco,...
- 11/12/2020
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
American poet and former U.S. Poet Laureate Louise Gluck was awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize for Literature Thursday, the world’s highest literary honor, “for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal,” said the Nobel Committee.
She is the first American woman to win the prize since Toni Morrison in 1993 and one of only 16 women since the awards, established in the will of Alfred Nobel, began in 1901.
Nobel Committee chair Anders Olsson praised Gluck’s striving for clarity. “Glück seeks the universal, and in this she takes inspiration from myths and classical motifs, present in most of her works.”
The Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded by The Swedish Academy in Stockholm.
Mats Malm, Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy, said in a video presentation Thursday, that he had informed Gluck of the award earlier in the day. “It came as surprise. A welcome one.
She is the first American woman to win the prize since Toni Morrison in 1993 and one of only 16 women since the awards, established in the will of Alfred Nobel, began in 1901.
Nobel Committee chair Anders Olsson praised Gluck’s striving for clarity. “Glück seeks the universal, and in this she takes inspiration from myths and classical motifs, present in most of her works.”
The Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded by The Swedish Academy in Stockholm.
Mats Malm, Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy, said in a video presentation Thursday, that he had informed Gluck of the award earlier in the day. “It came as surprise. A welcome one.
- 10/8/2020
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
A never ending mission to save the world featuring Ron Perlman, Peter Ramsey, James Adomian, Will Menaker, and Blaire Bercy from the Hollywood Food Coalition.
Please support the Hollywood Food Coalition. Text “Give” to 323.402.5704 or visit https://hofoco.org/donate!
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Karado: The Kung Fu Flash a.k.a. Karado: The Kung Fu Cat a.k.a. The Super Kung Fu Kid (1974)
Sullivan’s Travels (1941)
The Best Years Of Our Lives (1946)
Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939)
Nobody’s Fool (1994)
The Hustler (1961)
Elmer Gantry (1960)
Mean Dog Blues (1978)
Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (2018)
Mona Lisa (1986)
The Crying Game (1992)
The Hairdresser’s Husband (1990)
Ridicule (1996)
Man on the Train (2002)
The Girl on the Bridge (1999)
Pale Flower (1964)
Out of the Past (1947)
The Lunchbox (2013)
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999)
The Last Boy Scout (1991)
Raw Deal (1986)
Commando (1985)
The Masque of the Red Death (1964)
The Last Man On Earth (1964)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers...
Please support the Hollywood Food Coalition. Text “Give” to 323.402.5704 or visit https://hofoco.org/donate!
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Karado: The Kung Fu Flash a.k.a. Karado: The Kung Fu Cat a.k.a. The Super Kung Fu Kid (1974)
Sullivan’s Travels (1941)
The Best Years Of Our Lives (1946)
Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939)
Nobody’s Fool (1994)
The Hustler (1961)
Elmer Gantry (1960)
Mean Dog Blues (1978)
Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (2018)
Mona Lisa (1986)
The Crying Game (1992)
The Hairdresser’s Husband (1990)
Ridicule (1996)
Man on the Train (2002)
The Girl on the Bridge (1999)
Pale Flower (1964)
Out of the Past (1947)
The Lunchbox (2013)
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999)
The Last Boy Scout (1991)
Raw Deal (1986)
Commando (1985)
The Masque of the Red Death (1964)
The Last Man On Earth (1964)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers...
- 4/24/2020
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
Walter Huston and May Astor in Dodsworth is currently available on Blu-ray From Warner Archive. Ordering information can be found Here
” Love has got to stop some place short of suicide. “
Based on the best-selling novel by Sinclair Lewis, this “handsome, intelligent film” (Los Angeles Times) garnered seven Academy Award ® nominations, winning one*, and is “one of the authentic masterpieces of the 1930s” (Filmex Guide). Sam Dodsworth (Walter Huston) is a small-town rags-to-riches millionaire who finds that his money cannot bring him happiness. His unsatisfied wife, Fran (Ruth Chatterton), seeking glamour and sophistication, persuades him to take her on a grand tour of Europe, where she promptly deserts him for a romantic but penniless baron. Brokenhearted, Sam meets Edith (Mary Astor), an understanding widow who arouses passions he never thought he had and sets him on a collision course with his wife, unleashing a torrent of desire, betrayal and shocking revelations.
” Love has got to stop some place short of suicide. “
Based on the best-selling novel by Sinclair Lewis, this “handsome, intelligent film” (Los Angeles Times) garnered seven Academy Award ® nominations, winning one*, and is “one of the authentic masterpieces of the 1930s” (Filmex Guide). Sam Dodsworth (Walter Huston) is a small-town rags-to-riches millionaire who finds that his money cannot bring him happiness. His unsatisfied wife, Fran (Ruth Chatterton), seeking glamour and sophistication, persuades him to take her on a grand tour of Europe, where she promptly deserts him for a romantic but penniless baron. Brokenhearted, Sam meets Edith (Mary Astor), an understanding widow who arouses passions he never thought he had and sets him on a collision course with his wife, unleashing a torrent of desire, betrayal and shocking revelations.
- 3/30/2020
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
It’s ‘Marriage Story’ circa 1936. Talk about older shows that still pack a dramatic wallop… William Wyler’s most celebrated ’30s film is this Sinclair Lewis adaptation. The Production Code frowned on disrespecting the institution of marriage, but Wyler & writer Sidney Howard keep the divorce theme intact — their well-off couple learn more about each other and simply grow apart. Industrialist Walter Huston gets pushed a little too far. His social-climbing wife Ruth Chatterton doesn’t appreciate what she’s got, while luscious Mary Astor is the Depression equivalent of a Malibu Earth Mother.
Dodsworth
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1936 / B&w / 1:37 flat Academy / 101 min. / Street Date March 24, 2020 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Walter Huston, Ruth Chatterton, Paul Lukas, Mary Astor, David Niven, Gregory Gaye, Maria Ouspenskaya.
Cinematography: Rudolph Maté
Film Editor: Daniel Mandell
Original Music: Alfred Newman
Written by Sidney Howard from his play of the novel by Sinclair Lewis...
Dodsworth
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1936 / B&w / 1:37 flat Academy / 101 min. / Street Date March 24, 2020 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Walter Huston, Ruth Chatterton, Paul Lukas, Mary Astor, David Niven, Gregory Gaye, Maria Ouspenskaya.
Cinematography: Rudolph Maté
Film Editor: Daniel Mandell
Original Music: Alfred Newman
Written by Sidney Howard from his play of the novel by Sinclair Lewis...
- 3/17/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The year’s best-curated selection of cinema begins this Friday at Film at Lincoln Center: the New York Film Festival. Now in its 57th edition, the event will kick off with one of its most high-profile world premieres in years, Martin Scorsese’s 3.5-hour crime epic The Irishman. What will follow is 17 days of the finest world cinema has to offer.
Since you are surely aware of their more high-profile selections–including Bong Joon-ho’s Palme d’Or winner Parasite, Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story, and a certain jokester–in our preview we’ve sought out to highlight some films that are either flying a bit under the radar or go beyond their Main Slate selections. Check out 12 films to see, along with all reviews thus far, and return for our coverage. See the full schedule and more here.
Atlantics (Mati Diop)
Somewhere along the stretch of Senegalese coastline where...
Since you are surely aware of their more high-profile selections–including Bong Joon-ho’s Palme d’Or winner Parasite, Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story, and a certain jokester–in our preview we’ve sought out to highlight some films that are either flying a bit under the radar or go beyond their Main Slate selections. Check out 12 films to see, along with all reviews thus far, and return for our coverage. See the full schedule and more here.
Atlantics (Mati Diop)
Somewhere along the stretch of Senegalese coastline where...
- 9/24/2019
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Above: Italian 4-foglio for Dodsworth; illustrated by Anselmo Ballester.William Wyler’s 1936 masterpiece of mid-life crises and European travel, Dodsworth, will play in all its glory at Alice Tully Hall in a brand new restoration at this year’s New York Film Festival. To be introduced by playwright and director Kenneth Lonergan and Wyler’s daughters Catherine and Melanie, it will be a tony affair, as befitting this classiest of productions. Based on Nobel Prize-winning author Sinclair Lewis’ 1929 novel—which had already been adapted very successfully for the stage by Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Sidney Howard—about a wealthy midwestern industrialist, Sam Dodsworth (Walter Huston), who retires and takes his restless wife (Ruth Chatterton) on a grand tour of Europe, produced by Samuel Goldwyn, and shot by Rudolph Maté, who had previously shot Dreyer’s Vampyr and The Passion of Joan of Arc, Dodsworth was a prestige production par excellence. And...
- 9/20/2019
- MUBI
With flying saucers and 'UFOs' back in the mainstream news, Desilu Studios, the home of "Star Trek" and "The Untouchables" continues developing the reptilian-alien feature "V The Movie", as the first in a big-budget 3D SFX trilogy, written and directed by "V" TV series creator Kenneth Johnson, inspired by the novel, "It Can't Happen Here" by Sinclair Lewis:
"We are delighted to team up with Desilu to bring the timeless – and timely – story of resistance against tyranny into the 21st Century", said Johnson, "'V' will be the first of a cinematic trilogy which will tell the full epic tale in the manner I always envisioned".
"V", a two-part miniseries first aired in 1983, starring Marc Singer ("L.A.P.D.: To Protect and to Serve"), introducing the 'Visitors', who slowly gain domination over Earth:
"...a race of aliens arrive on Earth in a fleet of 50 huge,...
"We are delighted to team up with Desilu to bring the timeless – and timely – story of resistance against tyranny into the 21st Century", said Johnson, "'V' will be the first of a cinematic trilogy which will tell the full epic tale in the manner I always envisioned".
"V", a two-part miniseries first aired in 1983, starring Marc Singer ("L.A.P.D.: To Protect and to Serve"), introducing the 'Visitors', who slowly gain domination over Earth:
"...a race of aliens arrive on Earth in a fleet of 50 huge,...
- 6/2/2019
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
Desilu Studios continues to develop the reptilian-alien feature "V: The Visitors" as the first in a 3D SFX trilogy, written and directed by "V" TV series creator Kenneth Johnson, based on the novel, "It Can't Happen Here" by Sinclair Lewis:
"We are delighted to team up with Desilu to bring the timeless – and timely – story of resistance against tyranny into the 21st Century", said Johnson, "'V' will be the first of a cinematic trilogy which will tell the full epic tale in the manner I always envisioned".
"V", a two-part miniseries first aired in 1983, starring Marc Singer ("L.A.P.D.: To Protect and to Serve"), introducing the 'Visitors', who slowly gain domination over Earth:
"...a race of aliens arrive on Earth in a fleet of 50 huge, saucer-shaped motherships, which hover over major cities across the world. They reveal themselves on the roof of...
"We are delighted to team up with Desilu to bring the timeless – and timely – story of resistance against tyranny into the 21st Century", said Johnson, "'V' will be the first of a cinematic trilogy which will tell the full epic tale in the manner I always envisioned".
"V", a two-part miniseries first aired in 1983, starring Marc Singer ("L.A.P.D.: To Protect and to Serve"), introducing the 'Visitors', who slowly gain domination over Earth:
"...a race of aliens arrive on Earth in a fleet of 50 huge, saucer-shaped motherships, which hover over major cities across the world. They reveal themselves on the roof of...
- 3/28/2019
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
While the presence of “Minding the Gap” and “Hale County This Morning, This Evening” in the Oscar documentary feature category suggest a welcome evolution in the way the Academy thinks about nonfiction filmmaking, the documentary short ballot hasn’t changed much from years past. Once again, just causes, rather than great cinema, dominate the list of nominees, which serve as a kind of armchair activism for voters, who tend to back the issue that matters most to them. Here, the choices range from empowering women in developing nations to easing terminal patients with end-of-life choices.
The first film screened in ShortsTV’s two-hour-plus theatrical program, Ed Perkins’ “Black Sheep,” actually suggests it may be otherwise, interweaving a compelling direct-to-camera interview with Cornelius Walker with equally powerful reenactment footage of his adolescence in Essex, where the young Nigerian immigrant learned to hate the color of his own skin. The story itself...
The first film screened in ShortsTV’s two-hour-plus theatrical program, Ed Perkins’ “Black Sheep,” actually suggests it may be otherwise, interweaving a compelling direct-to-camera interview with Cornelius Walker with equally powerful reenactment footage of his adolescence in Essex, where the young Nigerian immigrant learned to hate the color of his own skin. The story itself...
- 2/24/2019
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Ethan Hawke is this awards’ season critical darling earning several best actor nods from critic’s groups including the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn. and New York Film Critics Circle for his powerful performance as a troubled clergyman haunted with his past and the future in Paul Schrader’s “First Reformed.”
Hawke, who also won the Gotham Awards honor for best actor, is also nominated for a Critics Choice and a Film Independent Spirit Award but was snubbed in the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations.
But Hawke, who has received four previously Oscar nominations including for supporting actor for 2014’s “Boyhood,” shouldn’t give up the faith about a fifth nomination. Over the years, the academy has embraced actors and actresses who played members of the clergy with six wins and upwards of two dozen nominations.
Predict the Oscar nominations now; change them until January 22
Both Spencer Tracy...
Hawke, who also won the Gotham Awards honor for best actor, is also nominated for a Critics Choice and a Film Independent Spirit Award but was snubbed in the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations.
But Hawke, who has received four previously Oscar nominations including for supporting actor for 2014’s “Boyhood,” shouldn’t give up the faith about a fifth nomination. Over the years, the academy has embraced actors and actresses who played members of the clergy with six wins and upwards of two dozen nominations.
Predict the Oscar nominations now; change them until January 22
Both Spencer Tracy...
- 1/2/2019
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Desilu Studios, the home of "Star Trek" and "The Untouchables" will produce the reptilian-alien feature "V The Movie", as the first in a big-budget 3D SFX trilogy, written and directed by "V" TV series creator Kenneth Johnson, inspired by the novel, "It Can't Happen Here" by Sinclair Lewis:
"We are delighted to team up with Desilu to bring the timeless – and timely – story of resistance against tyranny into the 21st Century", said Johnson, "'V' will be the first of a cinematic trilogy which will tell the full epic tale in the manner I always envisioned".
"V", a two-part miniseries first aired in 1983, starring Marc Singer ("L.A.P.D.: To Protect and to Serve"), introducing the 'Visitors', who slowly gain domination over Earth:
"...a race of aliens arrive on Earth in a fleet of 50 huge, saucer-shaped motherships, which hover over major cities across the world.
"We are delighted to team up with Desilu to bring the timeless – and timely – story of resistance against tyranny into the 21st Century", said Johnson, "'V' will be the first of a cinematic trilogy which will tell the full epic tale in the manner I always envisioned".
"V", a two-part miniseries first aired in 1983, starring Marc Singer ("L.A.P.D.: To Protect and to Serve"), introducing the 'Visitors', who slowly gain domination over Earth:
"...a race of aliens arrive on Earth in a fleet of 50 huge, saucer-shaped motherships, which hover over major cities across the world.
- 11/26/2018
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
Mubi's retrospective Outlaw Auteur: Joseph Losey is showing November 14 – December 26, 2018 in the United States.The ServantWisconsin-born Joseph Losey began his career in New York theater in 1933, where he quickly established himself, working alongside playwrights Sinclair Lewis and Bertolt Brecht as well as directing Charles Laughton. Turning to the silver screen in 1947, he directed his first feature, The Boy with Green Hair and worked consistently in Hollywood over the next several years, directing such films as a remake of M. Then The Red Scare hit and left Joseph Losey blacklisted. Blacklisted meant no work, and no work meant no money, so he left America, eventually settling in London. Interviewed a year prior to his passing, he spoke of the blacklisting: “Without it I would have three Cadillacs, two swimming pools and millions of dollars, and I’d be dead. It was terrifying. It was disgusting, but you can get trapped by money and complacency.
- 11/15/2018
- MUBI
Kevin Brownlow and Andrew Mollo were teenagers when filming began on this superlative wartime thriller. Taking over eight years to complete, it imagines life in an England occupied by Nazi Germany and run by home-grown English collaborators. The film’s realism outdoes any big-studio picture — the period detail and military hardware are uncannily authentic. It also pushes the limit of the documentary form by using the ugly testimony of real English fascists in a fictional context. Mr. Brownlow opens up his behind-the-scenes film archive for this dual-format release.
It Happened Here
Region A+B Blu-ray + Pal DVD
Bfi (UK)
1964 / B&W / 1:33 flat full frame / 100 min. / Street Date July 23, 2018 / available through Amazon UK / £14.99
Starring: Pauline Murray, Sebastian Shaw, Bart Allison, Reginald Marsh, Frank Bennett, Derek Milburn, Nicolette Bernard, Nicholas Moore, Rex Collett, Michael Passmore, Peter Dyneley.
Cinematography: Kevin Brownlow, Peter Suschitzky
Film Editor: Kevin Brownlow
Costumes and Military Consultant: Andrew Mollo
Written,...
It Happened Here
Region A+B Blu-ray + Pal DVD
Bfi (UK)
1964 / B&W / 1:33 flat full frame / 100 min. / Street Date July 23, 2018 / available through Amazon UK / £14.99
Starring: Pauline Murray, Sebastian Shaw, Bart Allison, Reginald Marsh, Frank Bennett, Derek Milburn, Nicolette Bernard, Nicholas Moore, Rex Collett, Michael Passmore, Peter Dyneley.
Cinematography: Kevin Brownlow, Peter Suschitzky
Film Editor: Kevin Brownlow
Costumes and Military Consultant: Andrew Mollo
Written,...
- 8/7/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Illustration by Adam JureskoIn veteran filmmaker Paul Schrader’s latest film, First Reformed, Ethan Hawke stars as Reverend Toller, a anguished priest from a small-town parish. He struggles to tend to a dwindling congregation, torn apart by political radicalism and overwhelming despair. The film’s stylistic approach is one of a static camera and minimalist look, borrowing from the vernacular of Robert Bresson, Schrader’s long-time cinema hero. As Toller finds himself increasingly drawn into extremes of both emotion and ideology, his journey presents a series of philosophical and religious questions to the moviegoer—the likes of which are rarely seen in contemporary American indie. On the eve of First Reformed’s Sundance London premiere in June, we took a phone call from Paul Schrader to discuss the film, Christianity in America, working with Ethan Hawke, and creating rules only to break them.Notebook: You’ve long been interested in...
- 7/13/2018
- MUBI
This week on The Dead Files, Amy Allan and Steve Dischiavi head to Minnesota and a Sauk Centre hotel with more than history lurking in its rooms. The small city of Sauk Centre lies in Stearns County, Minnesota, and has few things to make it notable other than a famous son and The Palmer House hotel, which is said to be haunted. Nobel Prize winner author Sinclair Lewis grew up in the city and his 1920 novel Main Street was set in the town. The satirical tale initially won the Pulitzer Prize for literature but the award was overturned by the trustees board,...read more...
- 2/24/2018
- by James Wray
- Monsters and Critics
Desilu Studios, the home of "Star Trek" and "The Untouchables" has confirmed it will produce the science fiction reptilian-alien feature "V The Movie", as the first in a big-budget 3D SFX trilogy, written and directed by "V" creator Kenneth Johnson, inspired by author Sinclair Lewis' anti-fascist novel "It Can't Happen Here":
"We are delighted to team up with Desilu to bring the timeless – and timely – story of resistance against tyranny into the 21st Century", said Johnson, "'V' will be the first of a cinematic trilogy which will tell the full epic tale in the manner I always envisioned".
"V", a two-part miniseries first aired in 1983, starring Marc Singer ("L.A.P.D.: To Protect and to Serve"), introducing the 'Visitors', who slowly gain domination over Earth:
"...a race of aliens arrive on Earth in a fleet of 50 huge, saucer-shaped motherships, which hover over major cities across the world.
"We are delighted to team up with Desilu to bring the timeless – and timely – story of resistance against tyranny into the 21st Century", said Johnson, "'V' will be the first of a cinematic trilogy which will tell the full epic tale in the manner I always envisioned".
"V", a two-part miniseries first aired in 1983, starring Marc Singer ("L.A.P.D.: To Protect and to Serve"), introducing the 'Visitors', who slowly gain domination over Earth:
"...a race of aliens arrive on Earth in a fleet of 50 huge, saucer-shaped motherships, which hover over major cities across the world.
- 2/10/2018
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
Each month, the fine folks at FilmStruck and the Criterion Collection spend countless hours crafting their channels to highlight the many different types of films that they have in their streaming library. This December will feature an exciting assortment of films, as noted below.
To sign up for a free two-week trial here.
Friday, December 1
It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World*: Criterion Collection Edition #692
Stanley Kramer followed his harrowing Oscar winner Judgment at Nuremberg with the most grandly harebrained movie ever made, a pileup of slapstick and borscht-belt-y one-liners about a group of strangers fighting tooth and nail over buried treasure. Performed by a nonpareil cast, including Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Ethel Merman, Mickey Rooney, Spencer Tracy, Jonathan Winters, and a boatload of other playing-to-the-rafters comedy legends, Kramer’s wildly uncharacteristic film is an exhilarating epic of tomfoolery. Supplemental Features: an audio commentary featuring It’s a Mad,...
To sign up for a free two-week trial here.
Friday, December 1
It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World*: Criterion Collection Edition #692
Stanley Kramer followed his harrowing Oscar winner Judgment at Nuremberg with the most grandly harebrained movie ever made, a pileup of slapstick and borscht-belt-y one-liners about a group of strangers fighting tooth and nail over buried treasure. Performed by a nonpareil cast, including Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Ethel Merman, Mickey Rooney, Spencer Tracy, Jonathan Winters, and a boatload of other playing-to-the-rafters comedy legends, Kramer’s wildly uncharacteristic film is an exhilarating epic of tomfoolery. Supplemental Features: an audio commentary featuring It’s a Mad,...
- 11/30/2017
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
Sir John Hurt died a few days ago. One of Great Britain’s finest actors, his rise started with his turn as Robert Rich, a courtier and lawyer in Henry VIII’s court, in Fred Zimmerman’s A Man for All Seasons. The movie, based upon Robert Bolt’s play about the fall of, British Lord Chancellor Thomas More, could be considered a science fiction story as it deals with a perfectly harmonious island society that was nowhere to be found in More’s 16th century – or in the 21st, for that matter.
Sir John, in his long and brilliant career, was no stranger to our brand of cultural pop geekdom. Besides his outstanding turn as the War Doctor on the 50th anniversary special Doctor Who: The Time of the Doctor – he recreated the War Doctor on four sets of audio plays for Big Finish; three are already out,...
Sir John, in his long and brilliant career, was no stranger to our brand of cultural pop geekdom. Besides his outstanding turn as the War Doctor on the 50th anniversary special Doctor Who: The Time of the Doctor – he recreated the War Doctor on four sets of audio plays for Big Finish; three are already out,...
- 1/30/2017
- by Mindy Newell
- Comicmix.com
This movie, about populist demagoguery in America, is pretty upsetting in itself, but what's worse is that the dystopian fascist conspiracy it depicts—a scheme to kick random sections of the black populace off relief in New Orleans—is so small-scale. And we find, examining American film history, that Sinclair Lewis's novel It Can't Happen Here has never been filmed, and that filmmakers have tended to take his title as a statement of truth. A Face in the Crowd reassuringly tells us that Americans always get wise to would-be dictators before it's too late. We have very few movies that take the idea of a tyrant getting elected and run with it. There's Gabriel Over the White House, but that's an MGM film so naturally it views the idea of a despotic zealot in the Oval Office as a good thing. The Dead Zone offers a glimpse of such a future,...
- 11/29/2016
- MUBI
Unrest in Europe. Economic uncertainty in the U.S., especially for the middle class, which feels left behind. A dictator seizes power in an important European country, adding more unrest. A charismatic demagogue promising to return America to greatness by assuming dictatorial powers wins the presidency. No this doesn’t describe the world of 2016, where Britain has voted out of Europe, Russia’s Vladimir Putin has destabilized the continent with his aggressive foreign policy and Donald Trump is the Republican nominee for president. Instead, it is the plot of Sinclair Lewis’ 1935 satirical novel It Can’t Happen Here, which came out
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- 10/31/2016
- by Andy Lewis
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This is one of those times when I’ve got nothing. Maybe it’s because I spent the last week sick as a dog, as the saying goes. I wonder what the origin of that axiom is – why not “sick as a cat?” Or a horse, or an elephant? Anyway, I’m still feeling kind of tired and worn out, and I’ve had a headache all day, and I’ve sat down to write the column and gotten up and walked away about a million times, or I’ve started and deleted about a hundred paragraphs.
I keep dwelling on Donald Trump’s campaign. It reads like a political satire, doesn’t it? Or worse, a political dystopian warning, something on the order of It Can’t Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis, or The Plot Against America by Philip Roth. I know just what the book jacket copy would...
I keep dwelling on Donald Trump’s campaign. It reads like a political satire, doesn’t it? Or worse, a political dystopian warning, something on the order of It Can’t Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis, or The Plot Against America by Philip Roth. I know just what the book jacket copy would...
- 3/14/2016
- by Mindy Newell
- Comicmix.com
Lee Gambin’s “Secretly Scary” column continues to look at non-horror films that are secretly horror films! “And he rammed the fear of God into me so fast, I never heard my old man’s footsteps”– Lulu Baines (Shirley Jones) Based on Sinclair Lewis’s acclaimed novel about rampant rabid hypocrisy in religion and the despicable corruption of…
The post Secretly Scary: 1960’s Elmer Gantry appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.
The post Secretly Scary: 1960’s Elmer Gantry appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.
- 12/8/2015
- by Chris Alexander
- shocktillyoudrop.com
Clara Oswald (Jenny Coleman): “We’re not a team.” Missy (Michelle Gomez): “Of course we are! Every miner needs a canary.” • The Witch’s Familiar, Doctor]. Who, Episode 2, Season 9 • Written by Steven Moffat • Directed by Hettie Macdonald
It was the Missy and Clara show on Saturday night on BBCAmerica.
Yep, the second episode of Season 9 of Doctor Who – The Witch’s Familiar – was a classic “buddy” movie writ large within the parameters of the Whovian universe, a twist on Thelma and Louise with Michelle Gomez and Jenna Oswald brilliantly playing off of each other like a well-oiled comic team of old (Abbot and Costello, Martin and Lewis, George and Gracie) – with a dollop of sociopathic menace and Dalekian evil plans thrown in for good measure.
And how disturbing was it when Clara was inside the Dalek? Talk about a callback! I was waiting for her to say, “Run,...
It was the Missy and Clara show on Saturday night on BBCAmerica.
Yep, the second episode of Season 9 of Doctor Who – The Witch’s Familiar – was a classic “buddy” movie writ large within the parameters of the Whovian universe, a twist on Thelma and Louise with Michelle Gomez and Jenna Oswald brilliantly playing off of each other like a well-oiled comic team of old (Abbot and Costello, Martin and Lewis, George and Gracie) – with a dollop of sociopathic menace and Dalekian evil plans thrown in for good measure.
And how disturbing was it when Clara was inside the Dalek? Talk about a callback! I was waiting for her to say, “Run,...
- 9/28/2015
- by Mindy Newell
- Comicmix.com
Elmer Gantry is a musical version of Sinclair Lewis' best-selling novel, directed by Signature's Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer Broadway's Follies, Million Dollar Quartet. Schaeffer collaborated on the last production of Elmer Gantry at Marriott's Lincolnshire Theatre in Chicago with authors John Bishop book, Mel Marvin music and Bob Satuloff lyrics in 1998 the show has not been produced since then. Signature Theatre's presentation will be the 5th production in the show's history. Running in the Max Theatre now through November 9, Signature's production includes several brand new songs by Mel Marvin and Bob Satuloff and a reimagined script that John Bishop worked on until his death in 2006. BroadwayWorld brings you highlights from the production below...
- 10/24/2014
- by BroadwayWorld TV
- BroadwayWorld.com
Elmer Gantry is a musical version of Sinclair Lewis' best-selling novel, directed by Signature's Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer Broadway's Follies, Million Dollar Quartet. Schaeffer collaborated on the last production of Elmer Gantry at Marriott's Lincolnshire Theatre in Chicago with authors John Bishop book, Mel Marvin music and Bob Satuloff lyrics in 1998 the show has not been produced since then. Signature Theatre's presentation will be the 5th production in the show's history. Running in the Max Theatre now through November 9, Signature's production will include several brand new songs by Mel Marvin and Bob Satuloff and a reimagined script that John Bishop worked on until his death in 2006. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below...
- 10/15/2014
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Signature Theatre presents Elmer Gantry, a musical version of Sinclair Lewis' best-selling novel, directed by Signature's Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer Broadway's Follies, Million Dollar Quartet. Schaeffer collaborated on the last production of Elmer Gantry at Marriott's Lincolnshire Theatre in Chicago with authors John Bishop book, Mel Marvin music and Bob Satuloff lyrics in 1998 the show has not been produced since then. This will be the 5th production in the show's history. Running in the Max Theatre today, October 7 - November 9, Signature's production will include several brand new songs by Mel Marvin and Bob Satuloff and a reimagined script that John Bishop worked on until his death in 2006.
- 10/7/2014
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Signature Theatre presents Elmer Gantry, a musical version of Sinclair Lewis' best-selling novel, directed by Signature's Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer Broadway's Follies, Million Dollar Quartet. Schaeffer collaborated on the last production of Elmer Gantry at Marriott's Lincolnshire Theatre in Chicago with authors John Bishop book, Mel Marvin music and Bob Satuloff lyrics in 1998 the show has not been produced since then. This will be the 5th production in the show's history. Running in the Max Theatre October 7 - November 9, Signature's production will include several brand new songs by Mel Marvin and Bob Satuloff and a reimagined script that John Bishop worked on until his death in 2006. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the cast in rehearsal below...
- 9/23/2014
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Signature Theatre has announced the cast of Elmer Gantry, a musical version of Sinclair Lewis' best-selling novel, directed by Signature's Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer Broadway's Follies, Million Dollar Quartet. Schaeffer collaborated on the last production of Elmer Gantry at Marriott's Lincolnshire Theatre in Chicago with authors John Bishop book, Mel Marvin music and Bob Satuloff lyrics in 1998 the show has not been produced since then. This will be the 5th production in the show's history. Running in the Max Theatre October 7 - November 9, Signature's production will include several brand new songs by Mel Marvin and Bob Satuloff and a reimagined script that John Bishop worked on until his death in 2006.
- 9/11/2014
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
A slew of classic Disney movies are hitting for the first time on Blu-Ray, including one double-pack release, and you’re going to want to make sure to pick these up. You haven’t paid attention to some of these titles for a while, and it’s about time you got the chance to catch them on Blu-Ray. The best part is that there’s a great mix of releases hitting. Bedknobs and Broomsticks is all but lost in the cultural consciousness, and it deserves a return. The Academy Award-winning movie from the year I was born is filled with a lot of fun and adventure, and like most Disney films, holds up well for a whole new generation.
The rest of the group covers a great spectrum, including two animated “big” titles, and a 10th Anniversary release. There’s a lot to expose your family to here, so check out all the info below,...
The rest of the group covers a great spectrum, including two animated “big” titles, and a 10th Anniversary release. There’s a lot to expose your family to here, so check out all the info below,...
- 8/6/2014
- by Marc Eastman
- AreYouScreening.com
As we are full-on in the Lent season, our definitive list will focus on films about religion or some aspect of it. The #1 qualification to be on this list is to deliberately focus on religion, a religious figure, or have the presence of a religion/faith as an integral plot point. For example, most of Luis Bunuel’s films can be viewed as attacks on the church, but they aren’t literally about Christianity; therefore, they won’t be included. So, on this list, we’ll look at as many different faiths as possible (though, there are obviously a lot more movies about Christianity than any other religion). We’ll even dabble into cults and sects that don’t really exist. Final rule: no documentaries. We’re keeping this fictional.
courtesy of salon.com
50. Sound of My Voice (2011)
Directed by Zal Batmanglij
Sound of My Voice stars Brit Marling (also co-writer) as Maggie,...
courtesy of salon.com
50. Sound of My Voice (2011)
Directed by Zal Batmanglij
Sound of My Voice stars Brit Marling (also co-writer) as Maggie,...
- 3/24/2014
- by Joshua Gaul
- SoundOnSight
Yes, this past Thursday I hit the big 6-0. Yeah, yeah, I know a woman isn’t supposed to reveal her age, but just who the hell would I be fooling? Not my family. Nor any of my friends. Not even those who read my comics back in the 80s and 90s and care to do a little homework and math – Iirc, the New Talent Showcase issues included bios by all the tyros whose work appeared in that book. Mine lists my birthday. And as long as I talking about that bio, for the record I was not particularly inspired by Star Wars or – with absolutely no disrespect intended, and I’m not saying I don’t love their work – to George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Gerry Conway, or Doug Moench. This is how I remember it happened.
Joey Cavalieri (who wrote the bios) asking me who my favorite writers were.
Joey Cavalieri (who wrote the bios) asking me who my favorite writers were.
- 10/28/2013
- by Mindy Newell
- Comicmix.com
Film's golden era was tarnished by appeasement
Nazi Germany loved movies, and their leader was, as in so much else, fanatical about them. In his private cinema at the Reich Chancellery Hitler watched a movie every night, then gave his invited guests the benefit of his opinion on it. He loved Laurel and Hardy, for instance, noting how their comedy Block-Heads contained "a lot of very nice ideas and clever jokes". Yet he regarded movies as something more than entertainment; he saw in their power to seduce and bewitch a vital instrument of persuasion. His propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels, saw it, too. After watching It Happened One Night, he wrote in his diary: "A funny, lively American film from which we can learn a lot. The Americans are so natural. Far superior to us."
If this eye-opening study of Hollywood and the Nazi elite is to be believed, that superiority was purely a technical one.
Nazi Germany loved movies, and their leader was, as in so much else, fanatical about them. In his private cinema at the Reich Chancellery Hitler watched a movie every night, then gave his invited guests the benefit of his opinion on it. He loved Laurel and Hardy, for instance, noting how their comedy Block-Heads contained "a lot of very nice ideas and clever jokes". Yet he regarded movies as something more than entertainment; he saw in their power to seduce and bewitch a vital instrument of persuasion. His propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels, saw it, too. After watching It Happened One Night, he wrote in his diary: "A funny, lively American film from which we can learn a lot. The Americans are so natural. Far superior to us."
If this eye-opening study of Hollywood and the Nazi elite is to be believed, that superiority was purely a technical one.
- 10/16/2013
- by Anthony Quinn
- The Guardian - Film News
Shirley Jones: From book to film A few weeks ago, Shirley Jones, 79, made headlines following the publication of her book of memoirs, concisely titled Shirley Jones: A Memoir. But why the headlines? Does Shirley Jones twerk like Miley Cyrus? Nope. (And that may explain why the release of Jones’ book wasn’t selected as CNN.com’s Top Story of the Day.) So, were The Media and The People interested in Jones’ Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for Elmer Gantry, or maybe they were curious about her work in several major 1950s musicals and 1960s comedies? Are you crazy? Who gives a damn about that? The Answer: Let’s just say that the furor had something to do with sweet and innocent all-American bare breasts and three-ways. Keep that in mind next time you watch Oklahoma! (Photo: Shirley Jones ca. 1955.) (On TCM: “Shirley Jones Movies: Innocent Virgins and Sex Workers Galore.
- 8/28/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Patti Page movies: Elmer Gantry, Dondi, Boys’ Night Out Patti Page, whose rendition of “Tennessee Waltz” reportedly sold 10 million copies in 1951, died at Seacrest Village Retirement Communities in Encinitas, Calif., on New Year’s Day. Page was 85. (Photo: Patti Page.) Though best known as a recording artist, Patti Page made a handful of movie appearances in the early ’60s. In 1960, the 33-year-old Page was seen in a supporting role as an Evangelist in Richard Brooks’ movie adaptation of (part of) Sinclair Lewis’ [...]...
- 1/2/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
What my followers on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ saw today: • Sinclair Lewis was wrong. Fascism has come to America on the back of a Mouse. Or: How you are spied on at Disney World. This Is How We Know The Shocking Facts About Spy Campaign 'TrapWire' Are True • “I had to work through my rejection of this world, which I still feel. But I had a job.” Well, no: She could have refused the role if she had moral objections to it. She didn't have to "work through" it. Sheesh. Marion Cotillard's Rust and Bone faces animal rights boycott • Every one of these is a book lover's dream... 10 Kick-Ass Secret Passage Bookshelves This is my favorite. It reminds me of the library in the Tardis in my mind: • Looks like The Asylum has finally stepped on some copyright toes... The Hobbit producers sue 'mockbuster' film company (hat-tip for today...
- 11/9/2012
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
The Master confirms Paul Thomas Anderson as the only American film-maker of his generation who could be mistaken for a junior member of Hollywood's golden age
Hollywood's prestige season is upon us and, despite a parade of heavy hitters, including Steven Spielberg's Lincoln and the Wachowski-Tykwer adaptation of David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas, no potential Oscar winner is more ambitious – or more likely to provoke discussion regarding its meaning and intent – than Paul Thomas Anderson's sixth feature, The Master.
Anderson's subtly disorienting, deeply engrossing study of the symbiotic relationship between charismatic cult leader Lancaster Dodd, magnificently played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, and his disturbed follower Freddie Quell, indelibly embodied by Joaquin Phoenix, is a panoramic chamber drama. Punctuated by persistent close-ups, it's an extended two-shot epic in its sweep.
The first production to avail itself of the great clarity afforded by 65mm in the 16 years since Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet,...
Hollywood's prestige season is upon us and, despite a parade of heavy hitters, including Steven Spielberg's Lincoln and the Wachowski-Tykwer adaptation of David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas, no potential Oscar winner is more ambitious – or more likely to provoke discussion regarding its meaning and intent – than Paul Thomas Anderson's sixth feature, The Master.
Anderson's subtly disorienting, deeply engrossing study of the symbiotic relationship between charismatic cult leader Lancaster Dodd, magnificently played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, and his disturbed follower Freddie Quell, indelibly embodied by Joaquin Phoenix, is a panoramic chamber drama. Punctuated by persistent close-ups, it's an extended two-shot epic in its sweep.
The first production to avail itself of the great clarity afforded by 65mm in the 16 years since Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet,...
- 11/3/2012
- by J Hoberman
- The Guardian - Film News
The following is an introduction to a new edition of Anthony Burgess's "A Clockwork Orange" [W.W. Norton, $24.95] written by Andrew Biswell. The piece sheds light on the enduring legacy of the novel, and the various dystopian works that influenced Burgess's writing. Biswell also discusses Burgess's (often clever) responses to the novel's adaptation, and ideas for adaptations that never came to fruition:
In 1994, less than a year after Anthony Burgess had died at the age of seventy-six, BBC Scotland commissioned the novelist William Boyd to write a radio play in celebration of his life and work. This was broadcast during the Edinburgh Festival on 21 August 1994, along with a concert performance of Burgess’s music and a recording of his Glasgow Overture. The programme was called "An Airful of Burgess," with the actor John Sessions playing the parts of both Burgess and his fictional alter ego, the poet F. X. Enderby. On the same day,...
In 1994, less than a year after Anthony Burgess had died at the age of seventy-six, BBC Scotland commissioned the novelist William Boyd to write a radio play in celebration of his life and work. This was broadcast during the Edinburgh Festival on 21 August 1994, along with a concert performance of Burgess’s music and a recording of his Glasgow Overture. The programme was called "An Airful of Burgess," with the actor John Sessions playing the parts of both Burgess and his fictional alter ego, the poet F. X. Enderby. On the same day,...
- 9/25/2012
- by Madeleine Crum
- Huffington Post
The 2012 TCM Classic Film Festival has unveiled another spectacular lineup of special guests and events for this year’s four-day gathering in Hollywood. Among the newly announced participants for this year’s festival are five-time Emmy® winner Dick Van Dyke, Oscar® winner Shirley Jones, two-time Golden Globe® winner Angie Dickinson, six-time Golden Globe nominee Robert Wagner, seven-time Oscar nominee Norman Jewison, longtime producer A.C. Lyles and three-time Oscar-winning editor Thelma Schoonmaker. In addition, the festival will feature a special three-film tribute to director/choreographer Stanley Donen, who will be on-hand for the celebration.
As part of its overall Style and the Movies theme, the festival has added several films featuring the work of pioneering costume designer Travis Banton. Oscar-nominated costume designer Deborah Nadoolman Landis will introduce the six-movie slate, with actress and former Essentials co-host Rose McGowan joining her for one of the screenings.
Other festival additions include a screening...
As part of its overall Style and the Movies theme, the festival has added several films featuring the work of pioneering costume designer Travis Banton. Oscar-nominated costume designer Deborah Nadoolman Landis will introduce the six-movie slate, with actress and former Essentials co-host Rose McGowan joining her for one of the screenings.
Other festival additions include a screening...
- 3/9/2012
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
V: The Original Series, a close encounter with ham and cheese
(197 minutes, 2 parts)
Directed by Kenneth Johnson
Written by Kenneth Johnson
1983, Us, NBC
From the get go, V does itself a slight disservice. In a move that would drive even the barely conscious to leap up and yell “thief!” this two-part miniseries rolls its opening credits to a rip-off of Bernard Hermann’s inimitable theme for North by Northwest. The mischievous, whirling melodies and propulsive brass of that great score are unmistakable and no amount of tinkering and fudging and key manipulation can excise the Hermann from the music. So, as a series of largely unfamiliar faces (at least presumably unfamiliar, back in 1983) is introduced in a manner bordering on hammy, one is left with the uneasy feeling that they are in the hands of either a witless parodist or a guileless plagiarist. In light of this, some relief can...
(197 minutes, 2 parts)
Directed by Kenneth Johnson
Written by Kenneth Johnson
1983, Us, NBC
From the get go, V does itself a slight disservice. In a move that would drive even the barely conscious to leap up and yell “thief!” this two-part miniseries rolls its opening credits to a rip-off of Bernard Hermann’s inimitable theme for North by Northwest. The mischievous, whirling melodies and propulsive brass of that great score are unmistakable and no amount of tinkering and fudging and key manipulation can excise the Hermann from the music. So, as a series of largely unfamiliar faces (at least presumably unfamiliar, back in 1983) is introduced in a manner bordering on hammy, one is left with the uneasy feeling that they are in the hands of either a witless parodist or a guileless plagiarist. In light of this, some relief can...
- 2/18/2012
- by Tope
- SoundOnSight
Every writer hopes to see his book reviewed in The New York Times. The grand slam is to be reviewed twice, both daily and Sunday. On last Thursday, Janet Maslin reviewed "Life Itself" and it was the best review I could possibly hope for. On Sunday, Maureen Dowd reviewed it in the NYTimes Book Review. Another positive review--indeed, for Dowd, positively generous. ("A captivating, movable feast.") But near the top it contained a zinger. "Ebert is a first-rate second-rate memoirist," she wrote. I cringed, and then I smiled. If there was ever an example of snark that I fully deserved, it was this one. First of all, it is fair enough. If Nabokov's Speak, Memory is an example of the first-rate memoir, then the bar has been set pretty high.
But Dowd, who knows how to line up her ducks in a row, had established a context. "On his first day of classes,...
But Dowd, who knows how to line up her ducks in a row, had established a context. "On his first day of classes,...
- 10/6/2011
- by Roger Ebert
- blogs.suntimes.com/ebert
Martita Hunt, Jean Simmons in David Lean's Great Expectations Jean Simmons is Turner Classic Movies' Star of the Month of June. Though never a major box-office draw, Simmons either starred or was featured in a number of the most important movies of the '40s, '50s, and '60s. Among those are Laurence Olivier's Best Picture Oscar winner Hamlet (1948), Henry Koster's CinemaScope blockbuster The Robe (1953), Stanley Kubrick's historical drama Spartacus (1960), and Richard Brooks' film adaptation of Sinclair Lewis' Elmer Gantry (1960). On Tuesday, June 7, TCM will be showing five of Simmons' early British films: David Lean's film version of Charles Dickens' Great [...]...
- 6/7/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Everett A scene from “The Last Mountain”
Sitting in the bowels of the Crosby Street Hotel, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. sips on iced tea with three sugars. He’s in New York to promote “The Last Mountain” a documentary about mountaintop removal and its harmful effects to the environment. The author of “Crimes Against Nature,” Kennedy has lent his voice not only to the documentary, but to the still-present issue.
Speakeasy sat down with Kennedy Jr to discuss mountaintop removal.
Sitting in the bowels of the Crosby Street Hotel, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. sips on iced tea with three sugars. He’s in New York to promote “The Last Mountain” a documentary about mountaintop removal and its harmful effects to the environment. The author of “Crimes Against Nature,” Kennedy has lent his voice not only to the documentary, but to the still-present issue.
Speakeasy sat down with Kennedy Jr to discuss mountaintop removal.
- 6/5/2011
- by Alexandra Cheney
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
Elmer Gantry is an all-American boy. He’s interested in money, sex, and religion. This barn-burner of a drama was directed by Richard Brooks and stars Burt Lancaster in a role that won him his only Oscar. It’s the story of a con man who realizes that shouting loudly about the Lord is the best con he can possibly pull (and it might just get him into the habit of Sister Sharon (played by Jean Simmons)). In perhaps the only time in film history until Fight Club, the author of the novel, Sinclair Lewis, actually told Brooks to take the criticisms of the book and use them to make the movie better. Maybe that’s why they denounced the author by name in one of Gantry’s signature sermons. Plus, the mother from The Partridge Family plays a woman of ill repute. How can you beat that? Let the film marketers of the past sell you...
- 4/28/2011
- by Cole Abaius
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
"Death disports with writers more cruelly than with the rest of humankind," Cynthia Ozick wrote in a recent issue of The New Republic.
"The grave can hardly make more mute those who were voiceless when alive--dust to dust, muteness to muteness. But the silence that dogs the established writer's noisy obituary, with its boisterous shock and busy regret, is more profound than any other.
"Oblivion comes more cuttingly to the writer whose presence has been felt, argued over, championed, disparaged--the writer who is seen to be what Lionel Trilling calls a Figure. Lionel Trilling?
"Consider: who at this hour (apart from some professorial specialist currying his "field") is reading Mary McCarthy, James T. Farrell, John Berryman, Allan Bloom, Irving Howe, Alfred Kazin, Edmund Wilson, Anne Sexton, Alice Adams, Robert Lowell, Grace Paley, Owen Barfield, Stanley Elkin, Robert Penn Warren, Norman Mailer, Leslie Fiedler, R.P. Blackmur, Paul Goodman, Susan Sontag,...
"The grave can hardly make more mute those who were voiceless when alive--dust to dust, muteness to muteness. But the silence that dogs the established writer's noisy obituary, with its boisterous shock and busy regret, is more profound than any other.
"Oblivion comes more cuttingly to the writer whose presence has been felt, argued over, championed, disparaged--the writer who is seen to be what Lionel Trilling calls a Figure. Lionel Trilling?
"Consider: who at this hour (apart from some professorial specialist currying his "field") is reading Mary McCarthy, James T. Farrell, John Berryman, Allan Bloom, Irving Howe, Alfred Kazin, Edmund Wilson, Anne Sexton, Alice Adams, Robert Lowell, Grace Paley, Owen Barfield, Stanley Elkin, Robert Penn Warren, Norman Mailer, Leslie Fiedler, R.P. Blackmur, Paul Goodman, Susan Sontag,...
- 4/24/2011
- by Roger Ebert
- blogs.suntimes.com/ebert
Vulture reports that There Will Be Blood and Boogie Nights writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson wants to adapt famously reclusive novelist Thomas Pynchon‘s 2009 hippie-private-eye novel Inherent Vice.
Inherent Vice follows pothead private detective Larry “Doc” Sportello as he wades through the druggy haze of 1969 Los Angeles. You can download the entertaining first chapter here. In Anderson’s hands, Inherent Vice might wind up feeling like a spiritual sequel (well, prequel) to 1973′s The Long Goodbye, Robert Altman‘s revisionist take on Philip Marlowe, recasting Raymond Chandler’s 1950′s gumshoe as a shambling, mumbling slacker with no friends.
They also indicate that Anderson’s agency, Creative Artists, is interested in Robert Downey Jr. as Doc Sportello, but nothing is official. He is a busy man in Hollywood and booked til November 2011.
It’s not too far-fetched to half-expect something a bit lighter in tone from PTA, since his follow-up to the L.
Inherent Vice follows pothead private detective Larry “Doc” Sportello as he wades through the druggy haze of 1969 Los Angeles. You can download the entertaining first chapter here. In Anderson’s hands, Inherent Vice might wind up feeling like a spiritual sequel (well, prequel) to 1973′s The Long Goodbye, Robert Altman‘s revisionist take on Philip Marlowe, recasting Raymond Chandler’s 1950′s gumshoe as a shambling, mumbling slacker with no friends.
They also indicate that Anderson’s agency, Creative Artists, is interested in Robert Downey Jr. as Doc Sportello, but nothing is official. He is a busy man in Hollywood and booked til November 2011.
It’s not too far-fetched to half-expect something a bit lighter in tone from PTA, since his follow-up to the L.
- 12/2/2010
- by Anthony Vieira
- The Film Stage
Anastasia is titled after the story of Anna Anderson, who was pulled out of a canal in Berlin after she attempted suicide. She later claimed to be the only survivor of the Russian Royal family, the Grand Duchess of Russia, whose family was murdered by the Bolsheviks.
Whether you take the story as an analogy for the fairy tale nature of Maggie’s (Kelly Macdonald) desires to rise to the role of Princess in King Nucky’s (Steve Buscemi) court, or a more complex statement on the conflict of the working class with America’s self-made aristocracy, it framed an episode in which there were so many brilliant technical and visual achievements that it’s become easy to understand why Boardwalk Empire is one of the greatest artistic endeavors on television.
Take Chalky’s (Michael K. Williams) interrogation speech for example. It’s the kind of moment that defines a series.
Whether you take the story as an analogy for the fairy tale nature of Maggie’s (Kelly Macdonald) desires to rise to the role of Princess in King Nucky’s (Steve Buscemi) court, or a more complex statement on the conflict of the working class with America’s self-made aristocracy, it framed an episode in which there were so many brilliant technical and visual achievements that it’s become easy to understand why Boardwalk Empire is one of the greatest artistic endeavors on television.
Take Chalky’s (Michael K. Williams) interrogation speech for example. It’s the kind of moment that defines a series.
- 10/11/2010
- by Michael Mahoney
- TVovermind.com
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