Perhaps Renee Zellweger will have better luck than Judy Garland did at the Academy Awards. Zellweger, who won supporting actress for 2003’s “Cold Mountain,” is the favorite to take home the Oscar next February for her haunting portrayal of the legendary star/singer in the acclaimed “Judy.”
Exactly 65 years ago, Garland was the front-runner to receive her first Academy Award for her powerhouse performance in “A Star is Born,” George Cukor‘s lavish musical version of the 1937 William Wellman classic tale of a matinee idol on the descent who marries an ingenue on the rise.
When the star-studded premiere at the Pantages Theatre aired live on TV on Sept. 29, 1954, star after star told host Jack Carson, who also appears in the film, that Garland was a shoo-in for Oscar gold. Dean Martin told the crowd Garland would probably take home every accolade and Lucille Ball echoed his sentiments.
Reviewers loved...
Exactly 65 years ago, Garland was the front-runner to receive her first Academy Award for her powerhouse performance in “A Star is Born,” George Cukor‘s lavish musical version of the 1937 William Wellman classic tale of a matinee idol on the descent who marries an ingenue on the rise.
When the star-studded premiere at the Pantages Theatre aired live on TV on Sept. 29, 1954, star after star told host Jack Carson, who also appears in the film, that Garland was a shoo-in for Oscar gold. Dean Martin told the crowd Garland would probably take home every accolade and Lucille Ball echoed his sentiments.
Reviewers loved...
- 11/22/2019
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
“Big Top Hilarity”
By Raymond Benson
Finally! Chaplin fans can rejoice that The Criterion Collection has at last released the long-awaited missing entry in their run of excellent Blu-ray and DVD editions of the filmmaker’s feature films. For a while it appeared that The Circus, one of the auteur’s best and certainly, arguably, his funniest picture, was forgotten, as it’s been a few years since Criterion’s last Chaplin release. Now… here it is.
The Circus was made just as Hollywood was beginning the transition from silents to talkies. There were still plenty of silent pictures being produced in 1928, and the move to sound wouldn’t be seriously completed until 1930. Ironically, Chaplin chose to make an additional silent comedy in 1931, City Lights, and a semi-silent movie, Modern Times, in 1936!
Charlie is The Tramp, of course. Broke and penniless, he wanders near a traveling circus and, while eluding...
By Raymond Benson
Finally! Chaplin fans can rejoice that The Criterion Collection has at last released the long-awaited missing entry in their run of excellent Blu-ray and DVD editions of the filmmaker’s feature films. For a while it appeared that The Circus, one of the auteur’s best and certainly, arguably, his funniest picture, was forgotten, as it’s been a few years since Criterion’s last Chaplin release. Now… here it is.
The Circus was made just as Hollywood was beginning the transition from silents to talkies. There were still plenty of silent pictures being produced in 1928, and the move to sound wouldn’t be seriously completed until 1930. Ironically, Chaplin chose to make an additional silent comedy in 1931, City Lights, and a semi-silent movie, Modern Times, in 1936!
Charlie is The Tramp, of course. Broke and penniless, he wanders near a traveling circus and, while eluding...
- 10/9/2019
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Yes, you could spend your holiday in the company of family and friends. But wouldn’t you rather curl up with a new book centered on cinema? There are new options aplenty, but let’s start with the latest from one of the most insightful, compelling voices we have: the great Karina Longworth.
Seduction: Sex, Lies, and Stardom in Howard Hughes’s Hollywood by Karina Longworth (Custom House)
Is there more to say about Howard Hughes after decades of biographies and films? Indeed, and the latest from Longworth, the host of the essential podcast You Must Remember This, is evidence. The focus in Seduction is not only Hughes himself, but the many women in the mega-tycoon’s orbit. These include household names like Katharine Hepburn but also figures like silent star Billie Dove and Mighty Joe Young star Terry Moore. Longworth brings these women to vivid life, and captures the absurdity of Hughes’s universe.
Seduction: Sex, Lies, and Stardom in Howard Hughes’s Hollywood by Karina Longworth (Custom House)
Is there more to say about Howard Hughes after decades of biographies and films? Indeed, and the latest from Longworth, the host of the essential podcast You Must Remember This, is evidence. The focus in Seduction is not only Hughes himself, but the many women in the mega-tycoon’s orbit. These include household names like Katharine Hepburn but also figures like silent star Billie Dove and Mighty Joe Young star Terry Moore. Longworth brings these women to vivid life, and captures the absurdity of Hughes’s universe.
- 12/10/2018
- by Christopher Schobert
- The Film Stage
A 20th anniversary screening of “The Shawshank Redemption”; restorations of Mary Pickford’s “Little Annie Rooney” and Charlie Chaplin’s “The Bank”; a screening series and panel discussion complementing the landmark Hollywood Costume exhibition; and six diverse films from director Edgar G. Ulmer are all part of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ November programs. Ticket holders for Hollywood Costume will receive free same-day admission to Hollywood Costume-related public programs.
“The Shawshank Redemption”
With special guests Frank Darabont, Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins
The Academy will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the 1994 Best Picture nominee “The Shawshank Redemption” onNovember 18 at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. The evening will feature an onstage discussion with writer-director Frank Darabont, who received an Oscar nomination for his adapted screenplay, Best Actor nominee Morgan Freeman, and star Tim Robbins.
Click here for more information
Defining Character: The Art...
“The Shawshank Redemption”
With special guests Frank Darabont, Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins
The Academy will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the 1994 Best Picture nominee “The Shawshank Redemption” onNovember 18 at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. The evening will feature an onstage discussion with writer-director Frank Darabont, who received an Oscar nomination for his adapted screenplay, Best Actor nominee Morgan Freeman, and star Tim Robbins.
Click here for more information
Defining Character: The Art...
- 10/21/2014
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
For the fifth consecutive year, thousands of movie lovers (and Geeks) from around the globe will descend upon Hollywood for the TCM Classic Film Festival beginning this Thursday, April 10 and running through Sunday, April 13.
Coinciding with TCM’s 20th anniversary as a leading authority in classic film, attendees will be treated to an extensive lineup of great movies, appearances by legendary stars and filmmakers, fascinating presentations and panel discussions, special events and more.
TCM recently announced the tribute to Mickey Rooney, who passed away last weekend, will be Sunday, April 13 at 9am with a screening of National Velvet at the Tcl Chinese Multiplex 4. Eddie Muller will speak with Margaret O’Brien and read a poem written by Mickey Rooney, titled “Flesh and Bones” to close the tribute.
Fans of Rooney can watch a full day of his films this Sunday on TCM beginning at 6Am with Broadway To Hollywood. The...
Coinciding with TCM’s 20th anniversary as a leading authority in classic film, attendees will be treated to an extensive lineup of great movies, appearances by legendary stars and filmmakers, fascinating presentations and panel discussions, special events and more.
TCM recently announced the tribute to Mickey Rooney, who passed away last weekend, will be Sunday, April 13 at 9am with a screening of National Velvet at the Tcl Chinese Multiplex 4. Eddie Muller will speak with Margaret O’Brien and read a poem written by Mickey Rooney, titled “Flesh and Bones” to close the tribute.
Fans of Rooney can watch a full day of his films this Sunday on TCM beginning at 6Am with Broadway To Hollywood. The...
- 4/10/2014
- by Melissa Thompson
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Chicago – Charlie Chaplin’s “City Lights” used to be more widely considered to be one of the best films ever made. In early editions of the Sight & Sound poll (the every-decade poll of film historians and critics), it appeared in the top ten regularly. Its esteem seems to have slipped a bit over the decades as some now prefer other Chaplin to “Lights” (me, I adore “Great Dictator” and “Gold Rush,” both available in Criterion Blu-ray editions as well) but the new Criterion edition reminds one why so many people consider this one of the best. It’s still a glorious gem.
Rating: 5.0/5.0
I think one of the reasons that “City Lights” maintained such esteemfor so long is the fact that it’s Undeniably one of the most influential films ever made. When one thinks of Chaplin, the mind first goes to his tramp character, who was arguably never more...
Rating: 5.0/5.0
I think one of the reasons that “City Lights” maintained such esteemfor so long is the fact that it’s Undeniably one of the most influential films ever made. When one thinks of Chaplin, the mind first goes to his tramp character, who was arguably never more...
- 11/20/2013
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Charlie Chaplin's films have stood the test of time not necessarily because they are funny, at least not in today's terms of what classifies a film as a "comedy", but because the best of them are amusing, clever, witty, smart, emotional and, most of all, simple. But don't let their simplicity deceive you. The level of simplicity a film such as Chaplin's 1931 feature City Lights is not easily achieved. In fact, making something look simple may in fact be the hardest thing to accomplish in cinema. Without sci-fi plotlines, outside forces or even additional characters having an effect on the plot, City Lights is the story of Chaplin's iconic Tramp and the love he finds for a blind woman selling flowers on a street corner. As much as comedy has changed in 80+ years, a story such as this could hardly be told in today's cinemas and garner any kind of attention.
- 11/18/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
“City Lights”
“Frances Ha”
(The Criterion Collection, November 2013)
Something Old, Something New
By Raymond Benson
Among the wondrous Blu-ray products released this month by The Criterion Collection, that Cadillac of labels, are a masterpiece from 1931 and an absolute gem from 2013—Charles Chaplin’s City Lights, and Noah Baumbach’s Frances Ha. Both packages come with Blu-ray and DVD discs, which apparently will be the norm for Criterion releases from now on.
First up—City Lights, arguably Chaplin’s best and most enduring feature film. Made at a time when sound had already taken over Hollywood, Chaplin insisted on shooting another silent picture. Everyone thought he was mad. The moguls believed that even after only four years of sound movies, audiences would not care to step backwards into the silent era ever again. Chaplin proved them wrong. City Lights, even without spoken dialogue (but with a gorgeous Chaplin score and sound effects) is sophisticated and intelligent,...
“Frances Ha”
(The Criterion Collection, November 2013)
Something Old, Something New
By Raymond Benson
Among the wondrous Blu-ray products released this month by The Criterion Collection, that Cadillac of labels, are a masterpiece from 1931 and an absolute gem from 2013—Charles Chaplin’s City Lights, and Noah Baumbach’s Frances Ha. Both packages come with Blu-ray and DVD discs, which apparently will be the norm for Criterion releases from now on.
First up—City Lights, arguably Chaplin’s best and most enduring feature film. Made at a time when sound had already taken over Hollywood, Chaplin insisted on shooting another silent picture. Everyone thought he was mad. The moguls believed that even after only four years of sound movies, audiences would not care to step backwards into the silent era ever again. Chaplin proved them wrong. City Lights, even without spoken dialogue (but with a gorgeous Chaplin score and sound effects) is sophisticated and intelligent,...
- 11/18/2013
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
City Lights
Written by Charles Chaplin
Directed by Charles Chaplin
USA, 1931
As they have with The Gold Rush, Modern Times, The Great Dictator, and Monsieur Verdoux, The Criterion Collection has released another stunning Blu-ray/DVD transfer of a Charlie Chaplin classic, rife with a surplus of features. City Lights (1931), which Criterion itself calls, “the most cherished film by Charlie Chaplin … his ultimate Little Tramp chronicle,” is certainly a film easy to love and admire; it’s The Tramp at his most endearingly hapless, his best of intentions always hilariously undermined, and it’s perhaps the most emotionally affecting Chaplin film.
The Kid has the unforgettable Jackie Coogan desperately reaching out for his newfound father figure, and throughout, the young boy and Chaplin tug at the heartstrings. But City Lights, especially with its transcendent final scene, trumps the more manipulatively straightforward sentiment in the earlier feature. Much has been made of this supremely effective conclusion,...
Written by Charles Chaplin
Directed by Charles Chaplin
USA, 1931
As they have with The Gold Rush, Modern Times, The Great Dictator, and Monsieur Verdoux, The Criterion Collection has released another stunning Blu-ray/DVD transfer of a Charlie Chaplin classic, rife with a surplus of features. City Lights (1931), which Criterion itself calls, “the most cherished film by Charlie Chaplin … his ultimate Little Tramp chronicle,” is certainly a film easy to love and admire; it’s The Tramp at his most endearingly hapless, his best of intentions always hilariously undermined, and it’s perhaps the most emotionally affecting Chaplin film.
The Kid has the unforgettable Jackie Coogan desperately reaching out for his newfound father figure, and throughout, the young boy and Chaplin tug at the heartstrings. But City Lights, especially with its transcendent final scene, trumps the more manipulatively straightforward sentiment in the earlier feature. Much has been made of this supremely effective conclusion,...
- 11/15/2013
- by Jeremy Carr
- SoundOnSight
Do you remember the last time you cried at a movie? I mean, had to stop the film for a few minutes just to recover kind of crying? I had that experience watching King Vidor’s World War I epic The Big Parade, now available on a beautiful Blu-Ray from Warner Brothers.
The Big Parade is one of those epic films that silent Hollywood was well known for: sweeping vistas, massive casts, melodramatic tales of love, war, and redemption. Some of these epics fall flat now, with our contemporary need for sound, kinetic camerawork, rousing speeches and booming scores. While the score is still there – and it is booming, to say the least – The Big Parade is an intimate story surrounded by an epic event, making it one of the most affecting wartime dramas ever made.
The film follows the fortunes of spoiled rich guy Jim Apperson (John Gilbert) and...
The Big Parade is one of those epic films that silent Hollywood was well known for: sweeping vistas, massive casts, melodramatic tales of love, war, and redemption. Some of these epics fall flat now, with our contemporary need for sound, kinetic camerawork, rousing speeches and booming scores. While the score is still there – and it is booming, to say the least – The Big Parade is an intimate story surrounded by an epic event, making it one of the most affecting wartime dramas ever made.
The film follows the fortunes of spoiled rich guy Jim Apperson (John Gilbert) and...
- 10/1/2013
- by Lauren Humphries-Brooks
- We Got This Covered
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Nov. 12, 2013
Price: Blu-ray/DVD Combo $39.95
Studio: Criterion
The 1931 silent comedy-drama City Lights, one of the most cherished films by Charlie Chaplin (Modern Times), is also his ultimate Little Tramp chronicle.
Writer-director-star Chaplin achieved new levels of grace, in both physical comedy and dramatic poignancy, with this silent tale of a lovable vagrant falling for a young blind woman who sells flowers on the street (Virginia Cherrill) and mistakes him for a millionaire.
Though this Depression-era smash was made after the advent of sound, Chaplin remained steadfast in his love for the expressive beauty of the pre-talkie form. The result was the epitome of his art and the crowning achievement of silent comedy.
Criterion’s Blu-ray/DVD Combo of the classic movie includes the following features:
• New, restored 4K digital film transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• New audio commentary by Charlie Chaplin biographer Jeffrey Vance
• Chaplin Today: “City Lights,...
Price: Blu-ray/DVD Combo $39.95
Studio: Criterion
The 1931 silent comedy-drama City Lights, one of the most cherished films by Charlie Chaplin (Modern Times), is also his ultimate Little Tramp chronicle.
Writer-director-star Chaplin achieved new levels of grace, in both physical comedy and dramatic poignancy, with this silent tale of a lovable vagrant falling for a young blind woman who sells flowers on the street (Virginia Cherrill) and mistakes him for a millionaire.
Though this Depression-era smash was made after the advent of sound, Chaplin remained steadfast in his love for the expressive beauty of the pre-talkie form. The result was the epitome of his art and the crowning achievement of silent comedy.
Criterion’s Blu-ray/DVD Combo of the classic movie includes the following features:
• New, restored 4K digital film transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• New audio commentary by Charlie Chaplin biographer Jeffrey Vance
• Chaplin Today: “City Lights,...
- 8/27/2013
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
The Criterion Collection has announced its slew of releases for the month of November and, in typical Criterion fashion, the films could not be more eclectic and diverse. Alongside the bevy of titles is another interesting development in the video-distribution company, as November will mark the beginning of all Criterion released being dual-format editions, encompassing both regular DVD and Blu-Ray capabilities. On to the films themselves. November 12 will see the release of Noah Baumbach's "Frances Ha" and Charlie Chaplin's "City Lights." The extras on the former film will include new conversations between Baumbach and Peter Bogdanovich as well as between Sarah Polley and Greta Gerwig, along with a booklet including an essay by playwright Annie Baker. The extras for Chaplin's historic 1931 masterwork will include a new and restored transfer, an audio commentary by Charlie Chaplin biographer Jeffrey Vance, a documentary on the film's production, archival footage from the set,...
- 8/16/2013
- by Clint Holloway
- Indiewire
Criterion has announced its upcoming November 2013 titles and they include some highly coveted films, one of 2013's better films, an impressive box set and their new dual-format DVD/Blu-ray releases. To begin, it was a little bit of a shock to see they have abandoned releasing both DVD and Blu-ray versions of their film and instead will now release DVD/Blu-ray, dual-format editions. Note here it says dual format "editions", not "discs", which leads me to believe most releases will include both a DVD and Blu-ray disc. Consider in today's announcement the 27-disc box set of the Zatoichi films. This consists of nine Blu-ray discs and 18 DVD discs. On top of that Criterion confirms features will be available for on both DVD and Blu-ray formats. As far as this months titles are concerned, I'll begin with the upgraded Blu-ray release of Yasujiro Ozu's Tokyo Story, which was the December 2012 selection...
- 8/15/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
People tend to forget that Charlie Chaplin was more than The Tramp, his iconic mute character of physical peculiarity. Seven years after his baffoonic incarnation of Hitler in The Great Dictator, Chaplin bought the rights to a murderously bleak black comedy from Orson Welles and went to work on his most controversial work, Monsieur Verdoux. As a cunning killer of well-to-do middle aged housewives, Henri Verdoux showcased Chaplin’s crisp, flamboyant diction by playing against type. Never before had he played a deceitfully murderous man, slyly articulate and devilishly selfish in his conquest for corpses.
Subtitled ‘A Comedy of Murders’, Chaplin’s outspoken dark horse begins at the end, on Henri Verdoux’s grave stone with him speaking frankly about his late life career as a bluebeard. After 35 years behind the counter as a banker, he lost his job to the depression and found himself in need of a new...
Subtitled ‘A Comedy of Murders’, Chaplin’s outspoken dark horse begins at the end, on Henri Verdoux’s grave stone with him speaking frankly about his late life career as a bluebeard. After 35 years behind the counter as a banker, he lost his job to the depression and found himself in need of a new...
- 4/2/2013
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Chicago – Audiences cry for many reasons other than sadness. They cry tears of joy, of amusement, of recognition…and of awe. When an artist manages to pull off a groundbreaking technical achievement never before brought to the big screen (or the stage, for that matter), it can elicit a response of overwhelming astonishment. Of course, in the age of digital overkill, such reactions are as rare as original scripts.
Watching Cohen Media Group’s unmissable Blu-ray release of Raoul Walsh’s 1924 masterpiece, “The Thief of Bagdad,” was an experience akin to witnessing the Broadway production of Julie Taymor’s “The Lion King” (which I was lucky enough to catch on a high school trip). The ingenious props and fluid choreography that allowed towering animals to suddenly materialize onstage during the opening “Circle of Life” number caused me to bawl out of sheer exhilaration, and the final, incredible moments of Walsh...
Watching Cohen Media Group’s unmissable Blu-ray release of Raoul Walsh’s 1924 masterpiece, “The Thief of Bagdad,” was an experience akin to witnessing the Broadway production of Julie Taymor’s “The Lion King” (which I was lucky enough to catch on a high school trip). The ingenious props and fluid choreography that allowed towering animals to suddenly materialize onstage during the opening “Circle of Life” number caused me to bawl out of sheer exhilaration, and the final, incredible moments of Walsh...
- 3/1/2013
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Feb. 19, 2013
Price: DVD $19.98, Blu-ray $24.98
Studio: Cohen Media/Entertainment One
Fantasy takes flight in 1924's The Thief of Bagdad.
Raoul Walsh’s 1924 film The Thief of Bagdad, a dazzling Arabian Nights adventure fantasy starring Douglas Fairbanks and set in the city of Bagdad, remains one of the most imaginative of all silent movies.
The classic film’s fantastical family-friendly story finds Fairbanks portraying the titular recalcitrant thief Ahmed who vies with a duplicitous Mongol ruler (Sôjin) for the hand of a beautiful princess (Julanne Johnston).
Filled with Fairbanks’ acrobatic and energetic stuntwork, elaborate and lush settings, and backgrounds and massive sets by William Cameron Menzies (who would later design Gone with the Wind), The Thief of Bagdad was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. Further, the American Film Institute’s 2008 poll of the creative community ranked the movie among the...
Price: DVD $19.98, Blu-ray $24.98
Studio: Cohen Media/Entertainment One
Fantasy takes flight in 1924's The Thief of Bagdad.
Raoul Walsh’s 1924 film The Thief of Bagdad, a dazzling Arabian Nights adventure fantasy starring Douglas Fairbanks and set in the city of Bagdad, remains one of the most imaginative of all silent movies.
The classic film’s fantastical family-friendly story finds Fairbanks portraying the titular recalcitrant thief Ahmed who vies with a duplicitous Mongol ruler (Sôjin) for the hand of a beautiful princess (Julanne Johnston).
Filled with Fairbanks’ acrobatic and energetic stuntwork, elaborate and lush settings, and backgrounds and massive sets by William Cameron Menzies (who would later design Gone with the Wind), The Thief of Bagdad was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. Further, the American Film Institute’s 2008 poll of the creative community ranked the movie among the...
- 2/4/2013
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Chicago – There are certain filmmakers who just seem to make perfect fits for The Criterion Collection. Wes Anderson’s films have been given stellar editions. David Fincher. Akira Kurosawa. And, of course, Charlie Chaplin. The Criterion editions of “Modern Times” and “The Great Dictator” are two of my personal faves and a third Chaplin classic entered the collection this month when the company inducted “The Gold Rush,” one of the most popular silent films of all time.
Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
There was a time where Charlie Chaplin was arguably the biggest celebrity in the entire world. And he was possibly at the peak of his fame when 1925’s “The Gold Rush” hit theaters and became one of the most beloved films of all time. Not only did it make millions worldwide but Chaplin himself considered the film to be his masterpiece. He loved it so much that he went back to it in 1942 and added narration,...
Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
There was a time where Charlie Chaplin was arguably the biggest celebrity in the entire world. And he was possibly at the peak of his fame when 1925’s “The Gold Rush” hit theaters and became one of the most beloved films of all time. Not only did it make millions worldwide but Chaplin himself considered the film to be his masterpiece. He loved it so much that he went back to it in 1942 and added narration,...
- 6/19/2012
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
The Gold Rush Directed by Charles Chaplin Written by Charles Chaplin Starring: Charles Chaplin, Mack Swain, Tom Murray, Georgia Hale Criterion's Chaplin collection continues to grow with the release of his 1925 classic comedy The Gold Rush. The disc contains both the original silent release and the definitive 1942 version of the film, both of which have been given a full HD restoration. As for the movie itself, The Gold Rush is a timeless comedic masterpiece with a lot of heart and some wonderful examples of early visual effects. The film opens with a magnificent shot of hundreds of people traversing the Chilkoot Pass, ascending the snow covered mountainside in an epic wide shot that brings to mind the open sequence of Werner Herzog's Aguirre: The Wrath of God. This is one of many visually arresting images throughout the film, much of which were accomplished using early in-camera visual effects that...
- 6/14/2012
- by Jay C.
- FilmJunk
By Allen Gardner
Harold And Maude (Criterion) Hal Ashby’s masterpiece of black humor centers on a wealthy young man (Bud Cort) who’s obsessed with death and the septuagenarian (Ruth Gordon) with whom he finds true love. As unabashedly romantic as it is quirky, with Cat Stevens supplying one of the great film scores of all-time. Fine support from Vivian Pickles, Cyril Cusack, Charles Tyner, and Ellen Geer. Fine screenplay by Colin Higgins. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Commentary by Hal Ashby biographer Nick Dawson, producer Charles Mulvehill; Illustrated audio excerpts from seminars by Ashby and Higgins; Interview with Cat Stevens. Widescreen. Dolby 2.0 stereo.
In Darkness (Sony) Agnieszka Holland’s Ww II epic tells the true story of a sewer worker and petty thief in Nazi-occupied Poland who single-handedly helped hide a group of Jews in the city’s labyrinthine sewer system for the duration of the war.
Harold And Maude (Criterion) Hal Ashby’s masterpiece of black humor centers on a wealthy young man (Bud Cort) who’s obsessed with death and the septuagenarian (Ruth Gordon) with whom he finds true love. As unabashedly romantic as it is quirky, with Cat Stevens supplying one of the great film scores of all-time. Fine support from Vivian Pickles, Cyril Cusack, Charles Tyner, and Ellen Geer. Fine screenplay by Colin Higgins. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Commentary by Hal Ashby biographer Nick Dawson, producer Charles Mulvehill; Illustrated audio excerpts from seminars by Ashby and Higgins; Interview with Cat Stevens. Widescreen. Dolby 2.0 stereo.
In Darkness (Sony) Agnieszka Holland’s Ww II epic tells the true story of a sewer worker and petty thief in Nazi-occupied Poland who single-handedly helped hide a group of Jews in the city’s labyrinthine sewer system for the duration of the war.
- 6/5/2012
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: June 12, 2012
Price: DVD $29.95, Blu-ray $39.95
Studio: Criterion
The classic 1925 film The Gold Rush—the first feature-length comedy by Charlie Chaplin (Modern Times)—forever cemented the iconic status of Chaplin and his Little Tramp character.
Charting a hapless prospector’s (Chaplin) search for fortune in the Klondike and his discovery of romance (with the beautiful Georgia Hale), The Gold Rush was shot partly on location in the Sierra Nevadas and featured such timeless gags as Chaplin’s dance of the dinner rolls and a meal of boiled shoe leather. And, damn, it’s all still hilarious.
This Criterion special edition features both Chaplin’s definitive 1942 version, for which the director added new music and narration, and a new restoration of the original silent 1925 film.
The Blu-ray and two-disc DVD contain the following features:
• New high-definition digital restoration of the 1942 sound version, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray...
Price: DVD $29.95, Blu-ray $39.95
Studio: Criterion
The classic 1925 film The Gold Rush—the first feature-length comedy by Charlie Chaplin (Modern Times)—forever cemented the iconic status of Chaplin and his Little Tramp character.
Charting a hapless prospector’s (Chaplin) search for fortune in the Klondike and his discovery of romance (with the beautiful Georgia Hale), The Gold Rush was shot partly on location in the Sierra Nevadas and featured such timeless gags as Chaplin’s dance of the dinner rolls and a meal of boiled shoe leather. And, damn, it’s all still hilarious.
This Criterion special edition features both Chaplin’s definitive 1942 version, for which the director added new music and narration, and a new restoration of the original silent 1925 film.
The Blu-ray and two-disc DVD contain the following features:
• New high-definition digital restoration of the 1942 sound version, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray...
- 3/30/2012
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Herbert Marshall, Bette Davis, The Little Foxes The historic Warner Hollywood Studio, now known as The Lot, is to be torn down, reports the Los Angeles Times. In its place, current owner Cim Group will erect "glass-and-steel structures." Los Angeles doesn't have enough of those, does it? The powers-that-be in the city of West Hollywood have apparently given the go-ahead to Cim. First to go will be the Pickford Building, erected in 1927, and then the Goldwyn Building, erected in 1932. When all's done, that'll be the end of one more Los Angeles landmark. [Update: According to one source, not every building on The Lot will be torn down. I'll be updating this article as I get more detailed information.] Located at the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Formosa Avenue, the Warner Hollywood Studio was initially known as the Hampton Studios, and later as the Pickford-Fairbanks Studio, the United Artists Studios, and the Samuel Goldwyn Studio. Warner Bros. acquired it in the 1980s, but sold the property at the turn of the century. Currently, HBO's True Blood is shot there.
- 3/27/2012
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Enid Bennett, Douglas Fairbanks, Robin Hood Long before Errol Flynn, Russell Crowe, and Kevin Costner — and their Men in Tights — there was Douglas Fairbanks and his Men in Tights. Robin Hood, aka Douglas Fairbanks in Robin Hood will be screening tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. The Robin Hood screening is part of the Academy's "Summer of Silents" series, which features winners of the Photoplay Medal of Honor for Best Picture of the year, as chosen by the magazine's readership. In the case of Robin Hood, the year was 1922. Financed by Douglas Fairbanks himself, Robin Hood was the actor-producer's biggest box-office hit. Though hardly on a par with the Errol Flynn version of the legend, this Allan Dwan-directed historical romp looks appropriately grandiose; as explained in Jeffrey Vance's Douglas Fairbanks, the film's sets were...
- 6/27/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Beverly Hills, CA .The Photoplay Magazine Medal of Honor winner .Humoresque. (1920) will kick off a summer-long screening series of silent films at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Monday, June 13, at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. A restored 35mm print from UCLA Film & Television Archive will be screened with live musical accompaniment composed by Michael Mortilla, and performed by Mortilla on piano and Nicole Garcia on violin.
Directed by Frank Borzage, .Humoresque. is the film version of Fannie Hurst.s short story about a young violinist who rises from New York.s Jewish slums to international fame with the help of his doting mother. The film was the first to receive the Photoplay Magazine Medal of Honor, the first significant annual film award, pre-dating the establishment of the Oscars®. The Medal of Honor was voted by the readers of Photoplay Magazine and...
Directed by Frank Borzage, .Humoresque. is the film version of Fannie Hurst.s short story about a young violinist who rises from New York.s Jewish slums to international fame with the help of his doting mother. The film was the first to receive the Photoplay Magazine Medal of Honor, the first significant annual film award, pre-dating the establishment of the Oscars®. The Medal of Honor was voted by the readers of Photoplay Magazine and...
- 6/7/2011
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Chicago – Every time I’ve seen “The Great Dictator,” I’m amazed that it even exists. It is not only one of the great Charlie Chaplin’s most consistently funny films but it is a satirical masterpiece that is So daring that it’s amazing it even got made. It is a piece of slapstick comedy about World War II and Adolf Hitler. Think about that for one minute. Now, it was made in 1940 (a year before our entry into the war), but it was still a risky move to make a piece this politically and socially conscious and try and sell it to an audience who had grown accustomed to watching Charlie Chaplin fall down.
Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
Now, of course, we can look back at Chaplin’s career now and realize that he was Always socially and politically conscious. “City Lights,” “Modern Times,” the very character of the Tramp...
Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
Now, of course, we can look back at Chaplin’s career now and realize that he was Always socially and politically conscious. “City Lights,” “Modern Times,” the very character of the Tramp...
- 5/30/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Beverly Hills, CA . The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will kick off its summer screening series, “Summer of Silents: Photoplay Award Winners of the Silent Era,” on Monday, June 13, with a big-screen presentation of “Humoresque” (1920) with live musical accompaniment. The eight-film series, which will run through August 8, will showcase silent films of the 1920s, all of which were Photoplay Magazine Medal of Honor award winners. All screenings will be held on Monday evenings at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. Pre-show festivities will begin at 7 p.m.
The Photoplay Magazine Medal of Honor was the first significant annual film award, pre-dating the establishment of the Oscars®. First awarded in 1920, it was voted by the readers of Photoplay Magazine and given to the producer of the year’s winning film.
The evenings also will feature live musical accompaniment as well as pre-show presentations of such...
The Photoplay Magazine Medal of Honor was the first significant annual film award, pre-dating the establishment of the Oscars®. First awarded in 1920, it was voted by the readers of Photoplay Magazine and given to the producer of the year’s winning film.
The evenings also will feature live musical accompaniment as well as pre-show presentations of such...
- 5/23/2011
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
1914, U, BFI
This important, instructive, hugely enjoyable four-disc set contains painstakingly restored and attractively scored prints of 34 of the 35 films Charlie Chaplin made at Mack Sennett's Keystone studio between January and December 1914. They introduced Chaplin to the cinema, turning him in the process from an admired music hall artist into an accomplished film-maker, who ended the year on the threshold of becoming the most famous man in the world and its highest-paid entertainer. In the course of this astonishing 12 months, he worked with silent stars Mabel Normand, Fatty Arbuckle and Chester Conklin, and we see a great artist evolve, appearing first as a silk-hatted pseudo-toff in his debut film, Making a Living, competing for work at a Los Angeles newspaper. In his second film, the seven-minute Kid Auto Races at Venice, he discovered his tramp persona complete with bowler and cane, delighting and puzzling the crowds at a children's...
This important, instructive, hugely enjoyable four-disc set contains painstakingly restored and attractively scored prints of 34 of the 35 films Charlie Chaplin made at Mack Sennett's Keystone studio between January and December 1914. They introduced Chaplin to the cinema, turning him in the process from an admired music hall artist into an accomplished film-maker, who ended the year on the threshold of becoming the most famous man in the world and its highest-paid entertainer. In the course of this astonishing 12 months, he worked with silent stars Mabel Normand, Fatty Arbuckle and Chester Conklin, and we see a great artist evolve, appearing first as a silk-hatted pseudo-toff in his debut film, Making a Living, competing for work at a Los Angeles newspaper. In his second film, the seven-minute Kid Auto Races at Venice, he discovered his tramp persona complete with bowler and cane, delighting and puzzling the crowds at a children's...
- 1/30/2011
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Modern Times Written and Directed by: Charlie Chaplin Starring: Charlie Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Henry Bergman I'm sort of at a loss for what I could possibly add to the 74 year conversation on Modern Times that has preceded the release of this Criterion Collection blu ray. It's certainly a classic and has been studied and written about by people way sharper than myself. As expected with most Criterion releases, this edition of the film comes packed with a fair number of supplemental materials, so perhaps I can focus on how this release might have enhanced my enjoyment and perception of Charlie Chaplin's hilarious and timeless comedy. The interesting thing about Modern Times is it requires very little internal calibration in order to be fully enjoyed. What I mean is I find that most comedies of the first half of the 20th century require a slight adjustment for tone, style, and...
- 11/26/2010
- by Jay C.
- FilmJunk
Chicago – There’s a scene early in “Modern Times” in which Charlie Chaplin’s timeless Little Tramp character has been so mentally and physically damaged by the routine he’s been forced to do over and over again on an assembly line that he can’t stop moving his arms in the same repetitive motion. As he tries to turn everything that looks like it can be turned with a wrench, the routine perfectly captures the genius of Chaplin in its duality. Not only is it a commentary on how men are being destroyed by the machine of industry but it’s damn funny at the same time.
DVD Rating: 5.0/5.0
Very few people in the history of film have been able to use comedy in the way Chaplin could. Not only was he one of the best physical comedians of all time but he was also incredibly subversive, challenging the...
DVD Rating: 5.0/5.0
Very few people in the history of film have been able to use comedy in the way Chaplin could. Not only was he one of the best physical comedians of all time but he was also incredibly subversive, challenging the...
- 11/19/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
There is a trend these days amongst some film goers, in which they actively avoid trailers, as well as any kind of plot spoilers regarding upcoming films. I won’t go so far as to say that this is a recent trend, but it has certainly appeared on my radar a lot over the past few years. People want to keep that magic of the surprise, when it comes to upcoming media. At the same time, there is an abundance of information about everything media related thanks to the internet.
One aspect of the Criterion Collection that we all have come to accept, and learn to love in a holiday package opening sense, is their secrecy regarding upcoming releases. We have joked about how they are almost at Apple-like levels of secrecy, and when something gets out, Criterion fans jump on it.
I think we all want to know what...
One aspect of the Criterion Collection that we all have come to accept, and learn to love in a holiday package opening sense, is their secrecy regarding upcoming releases. We have joked about how they are almost at Apple-like levels of secrecy, and when something gets out, Criterion fans jump on it.
I think we all want to know what...
- 8/16/2010
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
Introducing the opening night film of the 14th edition of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, Jeffrey Vance—author of Douglas Fairbanks (University of California Press, 2008)—offered: “Judging by this enormous turnout tonight, I’m inclined to think that talking films are just a passing fad.”
One of the great pleasures of Douglas Fairbanks’ career, Vance specified, were the action-adventure films of the 1920s; one of his finest being The Gaucho. “It’s also one of the most unusual of his features,” Vance qualified. “It’s dark in tone and it leaps frequently from comedy to tragedy to self-parody. Like the other great Fairbanks films, it has spectacular opportunities for him to showcase his wonderful athletic prowess and it also contains superb production values.” Characterizing The Gaucho as “a near masterwork”, Vance claimed it’s a pity that the film is rarely revived because—of all of Fairbanks’ films—it...
One of the great pleasures of Douglas Fairbanks’ career, Vance specified, were the action-adventure films of the 1920s; one of his finest being The Gaucho. “It’s also one of the most unusual of his features,” Vance qualified. “It’s dark in tone and it leaps frequently from comedy to tragedy to self-parody. Like the other great Fairbanks films, it has spectacular opportunities for him to showcase his wonderful athletic prowess and it also contains superb production values.” Characterizing The Gaucho as “a near masterwork”, Vance claimed it’s a pity that the film is rarely revived because—of all of Fairbanks’ films—it...
- 7/13/2009
- by Michael Guillen
- Screen Anarchy
12.00 Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 The Forbidden Hollywood Collection: Volume 3 contains six movies, two documentaries and irresponsible levels of racism in an awesome purple box. Let's dig in.
Movies:
Other Men's Women is a very loose story of a lover's triangle, often venturing out into weird, pointless side-stories. In the first ten minutes of this James Cagney / Mary Astor vehicle, a diner waitress is threatened with a ketchup bottle, another is hit on with rampant disregard for common decency and then stood up after being promised wedding vows. When she storms off, her would-be hubby stands on the train tracks calling out to her and swearing her worth like she was a common baseball card, and not a fine young working girl serving eggs Benedict and white toast to train conductors. Contained herein is a veritable cinematic troth of delightfully sexist characters and dialogues. In one early sequence,...
Movies:
Other Men's Women is a very loose story of a lover's triangle, often venturing out into weird, pointless side-stories. In the first ten minutes of this James Cagney / Mary Astor vehicle, a diner waitress is threatened with a ketchup bottle, another is hit on with rampant disregard for common decency and then stood up after being promised wedding vows. When she storms off, her would-be hubby stands on the train tracks calling out to her and swearing her worth like she was a common baseball card, and not a fine young working girl serving eggs Benedict and white toast to train conductors. Contained herein is a veritable cinematic troth of delightfully sexist characters and dialogues. In one early sequence,...
- 3/29/2009
- by Saul Berenbaum
- JustPressPlay.net
Forbidden Hollywood Collection: Volume 3
Six movies. Two documentaries. Irresponsible levels of racism. In an awesome purple box. Let’s dig in.
Movies:
Other Men’s Women is a very loose story of a lover’s triangle, often venturing out into weird, pointless side-stories. In the first ten minutes of this James Cagney / Mary Astor vehicle, a diner waitress is threatened with a ketchup bottle, another is hit on with rampant disregard for common decency and then stood up after being promised wedding vows. When she storms off, her would-be hubby stands on the train tracks calling out to her and swearing her worth like she was a common baseball card, and not a fine young working girl serving eggs Benedict and white toast to train conductors. Contained herein is a veritable cinematic troth of delightfully sexist characters and dialogues. In one early sequence, a pretty young thing is cutting her...
Six movies. Two documentaries. Irresponsible levels of racism. In an awesome purple box. Let’s dig in.
Movies:
Other Men’s Women is a very loose story of a lover’s triangle, often venturing out into weird, pointless side-stories. In the first ten minutes of this James Cagney / Mary Astor vehicle, a diner waitress is threatened with a ketchup bottle, another is hit on with rampant disregard for common decency and then stood up after being promised wedding vows. When she storms off, her would-be hubby stands on the train tracks calling out to her and swearing her worth like she was a common baseball card, and not a fine young working girl serving eggs Benedict and white toast to train conductors. Contained herein is a veritable cinematic troth of delightfully sexist characters and dialogues. In one early sequence, a pretty young thing is cutting her...
- 3/29/2009
- by Saul Berenbaum
- JustPressPlay.net
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