Other than making records, what do Green Day, the Notorious B.I.G., classic crooners Perry Como and Johnny Mathis, Latin music giant Héctor Lavoe, and the late Bill Withers have in common? Not much, until today: Works by all those musicians, and over a dozen more, were announced as the latest additions to the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry.
Signed off on by then-president Bill Clinton in 2000, the Registry has aimed to collect recordings —musical performances, speeches, and other audio — deemed “culturally, historically or aesthetically important.” The first...
Signed off on by then-president Bill Clinton in 2000, the Registry has aimed to collect recordings —musical performances, speeches, and other audio — deemed “culturally, historically or aesthetically important.” The first...
- 4/16/2024
- by David Browne
- Rollingstone.com
“The Handmaid’s Tale” showrunner Bruce Miller knows the show triggered “thousands of discussions” in its inaugural run — and as production continues on Season 2, Miller said he and his team have been paying attention to those conversations.
One major issue for the Emmy-winning Hulu series — nominated Monday for three Golden Globes — was that how to approach racial issues. While Margaret Atwood’s original novel took place in an all-white world (due to the ethnic purging orchestrated by the nightmare nation of Gilead), Miller and Atwood ended up making the decision to incorporate a diverse cast and focus on the treatment of women within this society.
“There was discussion and praise and criticism for how we integrated or dealt with race in Gilead,” he said. “It brought up a lot of questions that just didn’t come up in the stories in Season 1, that we were able to put it in...
One major issue for the Emmy-winning Hulu series — nominated Monday for three Golden Globes — was that how to approach racial issues. While Margaret Atwood’s original novel took place in an all-white world (due to the ethnic purging orchestrated by the nightmare nation of Gilead), Miller and Atwood ended up making the decision to incorporate a diverse cast and focus on the treatment of women within this society.
“There was discussion and praise and criticism for how we integrated or dealt with race in Gilead,” he said. “It brought up a lot of questions that just didn’t come up in the stories in Season 1, that we were able to put it in...
- 12/13/2017
- by Liz Shannon Miller
- Indiewire
Criterion lavishes a major upgrade to its older box set celebrating the first major rock concert event, the ‘California Dreamin’ idyll that some say marked the beginning of the Summer of Love. Get ready to hear and see some history-making performances from Big Brother and the Holding Company, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, and The Who. Plus two more features and a bundle of ‘extra’ music sets . . . including Tiny Tim.
The Complete Monterey Pop Festival
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 167
1968 / Color / 1:33 flat / 79 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date December 12, 2017 / 69.95
Cinematography: James Desmond, Barry Feinstein, Richard Leacock, Albert Maysles, Roger Murphy, D.A. Pennebaker
Film Editor: Nina Schulman
Original Music: The Animals, The Association, Big Brother and the Holding Company, The Byrds, Canned Heat, Country Joe and the Fish, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Al Kooper, Hugh Masekela, Jefferson Airplane, The Mamas and the Papas, Laura Nyro, Otis Redding, The Quicksilver Messenger Service,...
The Complete Monterey Pop Festival
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 167
1968 / Color / 1:33 flat / 79 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date December 12, 2017 / 69.95
Cinematography: James Desmond, Barry Feinstein, Richard Leacock, Albert Maysles, Roger Murphy, D.A. Pennebaker
Film Editor: Nina Schulman
Original Music: The Animals, The Association, Big Brother and the Holding Company, The Byrds, Canned Heat, Country Joe and the Fish, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Al Kooper, Hugh Masekela, Jefferson Airplane, The Mamas and the Papas, Laura Nyro, Otis Redding, The Quicksilver Messenger Service,...
- 12/9/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
In this “season of giving,” the Jerry Garcia Foundation is once again honored to announce that it will be producing its third annual “Imagine There’s No Hunger” holiday benefit concert in support of WhyHunger and Yoko Ono Lennon's mission to alleviate hunger and poverty worldwide.
The “Imagine There’s No Hunger” program draws inspiration from the iconic song Imagine written by Yoko Ono and John Lennon and based on the writing in Yoko’s book, Grapefruit.
The “Imagine There’s No Hunger” concert audience will be invited to participate in sing-along presentations of Lennon’s Imagine, Give Peace a Chance, and the Grateful Dead's Ripple. This year’s production will be presented at 7 Pm (doors open at 6:30) on December 16th at the picturesque Viansa Sonoma Winery located in the San Francisco area. Door proceeds benefit WhyHunger.
Hot Tuna is headlining the benefit concert featuring Grammy Award-winning...
The “Imagine There’s No Hunger” program draws inspiration from the iconic song Imagine written by Yoko Ono and John Lennon and based on the writing in Yoko’s book, Grapefruit.
The “Imagine There’s No Hunger” concert audience will be invited to participate in sing-along presentations of Lennon’s Imagine, Give Peace a Chance, and the Grateful Dead's Ripple. This year’s production will be presented at 7 Pm (doors open at 6:30) on December 16th at the picturesque Viansa Sonoma Winery located in the San Francisco area. Door proceeds benefit WhyHunger.
Hot Tuna is headlining the benefit concert featuring Grammy Award-winning...
- 12/6/2017
- Look to the Stars
Never Say Goodbye – The Kshe Documentary screens Saturday, November 11th at 2:00pm at The .Zack (3224 Locust St.) as part of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival. This is a Free event.
In director Ron Stevens’ Never Say Goodbye, you’ll see the history of Kshe’s heyday, from its beginning in 1968 throughout the 1970’s and up to 1979. Hear never-before-heard stories from your favorite DJs: John Ulett, Mark Klose, Ron Stevens, Radio Rich, Joe “Mama” Mason, Gary Kolander, and many more. With appearances from Rodger Hodgson (formerly w/Supertramp), Poco, Mama’s Pride, Ozark Mountain Daredevils, and so much of the music you grew up with.
Ron Stevens’ took the time to answer some questions about Never Say Goodbye for We Are Movie Geeks in advance of the screening at this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival:
Interview conducted by Tom Stockman
Tom Stockman: What inspired...
In director Ron Stevens’ Never Say Goodbye, you’ll see the history of Kshe’s heyday, from its beginning in 1968 throughout the 1970’s and up to 1979. Hear never-before-heard stories from your favorite DJs: John Ulett, Mark Klose, Ron Stevens, Radio Rich, Joe “Mama” Mason, Gary Kolander, and many more. With appearances from Rodger Hodgson (formerly w/Supertramp), Poco, Mama’s Pride, Ozark Mountain Daredevils, and so much of the music you grew up with.
Ron Stevens’ took the time to answer some questions about Never Say Goodbye for We Are Movie Geeks in advance of the screening at this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival:
Interview conducted by Tom Stockman
Tom Stockman: What inspired...
- 11/9/2017
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Join a Gathering of the Rock Gods for the Never Say Goodbye Red Carpet Premiere & DVD Release November 1st at The Moolah Theatre (3821 Lindell Blvd.) DJ Celebrities Red Carpet Limo Arrival begins at 6:15. At 7:00 pm Film Begins. After the film there will be a Q & A with Kshe Jocks & Musicians and a VIP Cocktail Event with a Meet and Greet. Ticket information can be found Here
A Facebook invite for this event can be found Here
In director Ron Stevens’ Never Say Goodbye, you’ll see the history of Kshe’s heyday, from its beginning in 1968 throughout the 1970’s and up to 1979. Hear never-before-heard stories from your favorite DJs: John Ulett, Mark Klose, Ron Stevens, Radio Rich, Joe “Mama” Mason, Gary Kolander, and many more. With appearances from Rodger Hodgson (formerly w/Supertramp), Poco, Mama’s Pride, Ozark Mountain Daredevils, and so much of the music you grew up with.
A Facebook invite for this event can be found Here
In director Ron Stevens’ Never Say Goodbye, you’ll see the history of Kshe’s heyday, from its beginning in 1968 throughout the 1970’s and up to 1979. Hear never-before-heard stories from your favorite DJs: John Ulett, Mark Klose, Ron Stevens, Radio Rich, Joe “Mama” Mason, Gary Kolander, and many more. With appearances from Rodger Hodgson (formerly w/Supertramp), Poco, Mama’s Pride, Ozark Mountain Daredevils, and so much of the music you grew up with.
- 10/25/2017
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Fifty years ago, in a psychedelic haze of tie-dye and patchouli oil, an estimated 100,000 hippies, flower children and countless other free spirits descended upon San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood during the Summer of Love.
And Michael Randall, along with his wife, Carol, was smack dab in the middle of it all, giving away LSD — which had become illegal in the state months earlier — to anyone who wanted it, convinced that the drug would usher in a “spiritual awakening” on the planet.
“I remember this one beautiful, magnificent day,” Michael, 74, tells People. “Jefferson Airplane was doing a free concert in Golden...
And Michael Randall, along with his wife, Carol, was smack dab in the middle of it all, giving away LSD — which had become illegal in the state months earlier — to anyone who wanted it, convinced that the drug would usher in a “spiritual awakening” on the planet.
“I remember this one beautiful, magnificent day,” Michael, 74, tells People. “Jefferson Airplane was doing a free concert in Golden...
- 9/4/2017
- by Johnny Dodd
- PEOPLE.com
Fans of “Stranger Things” have to wait until October 27 for new episodes of the hit series, but on Tuesday, Netflix released a short teaser trailer for season two. The brief clip opens with a title card that says “1984 Only Gets Stranger.”
Read More‘Stranger Things’ Season 2 Photos: The Boys Are Back in Town, but Where’s Eleven?
Created by Matt and Ross Duffer, aka the Duffer Brothers, “Stranger Things” stars Winona Ryder as the mother of a boy who disappears in Hawkins, Indiana. The eight-episode first season paid homage to Stephen King, Guillermo del Toro and Steven Spielberg by combining supernatural elements with creepy, frightening storytelling. Here’s an official synopsis for the second season:
It’s 1984 and the citizens of Hawkins, Indiana are still reeling from the horrors of the demagorgon and the secrets of Hawkins Lab. Will Byers has been rescued from the Upside Down but a bigger,...
Read More‘Stranger Things’ Season 2 Photos: The Boys Are Back in Town, but Where’s Eleven?
Created by Matt and Ross Duffer, aka the Duffer Brothers, “Stranger Things” stars Winona Ryder as the mother of a boy who disappears in Hawkins, Indiana. The eight-episode first season paid homage to Stephen King, Guillermo del Toro and Steven Spielberg by combining supernatural elements with creepy, frightening storytelling. Here’s an official synopsis for the second season:
It’s 1984 and the citizens of Hawkins, Indiana are still reeling from the horrors of the demagorgon and the secrets of Hawkins Lab. Will Byers has been rescued from the Upside Down but a bigger,...
- 7/11/2017
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
These fugitives on the run aren’t innocent young lovers. Still wanted for anti-war violence from years before, an ex-radical couple struggles to remain free just as their children become old enough to think for themselves. Screenwriter Naomi Foner and director Sidney Lumet’s fascinating movie is a sympathetic look at an untenable lifestyle.
Running on Empty
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1988 / Color / 1:85 enhanced widescreen / 116 min. / Street Date June 27, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Christine Lahti, River Phoenix, Judd Hirsch, Jonas Abry, Martha Plimpton, Ed Crowley, L.M. Kit Carson, Steven Hill, Augusta Dabney, David Margulies, Lynne Thigpen, Bobo Lewis, Daniel Dassin.
Cinematography: Gerry Fisher
Film Editor: Andrew Mondshein
Original Music: Tony Mottola
Written by Naomi Foner
Produced by Griffin Dunne, Amy Robinson
Directed by Sidney Lumet
1988 suddenly seems much farther in the past than it did just a few months ago. The small town high school in Running on Empty has a dedicated, classically trained music teacher on the payroll. He earns enough to afford a rather nice house. The public school system is not being undermined, with all the wealthy students going to new kinds of exclusive, alternative schools siphoning off public money. We all have our own ideas about what ‘making America great again’ means, I suppose.
It doesn’t happen any more, but we used to read about ex- radicals from the Vietnam War days surfacing to turn themselves in. Not that many were directly involved in violent acts, but some had lived for decades under assumed identities, while their wanted photos were posted down at the Post Office. Some of them tried to raise families.
“We are all outlaws in the eyes of America.
Everything they say we are, we are.
. . . And we are very proud of ourselves.”
— The Jefferson Airplane
Naomi Foner’s Running on Empty is basically a ‘what comes next?’ chapter in the lives of former political public enemies like The Weather Underground. An unusual family is on the lam. The parents are militant radicals from the Nixon years, who went underground when one of their bombs maimed a janitor. Now they are nearing their forties, and must move from town to town whenever they think the Feds have picked up their trail. The couple chose their life and has accepted the consequences, but where does that leave their growing children, who are likewise forced to live like gypsies under assumed names?
I should think that this good movie would have a tough time in today’s market. If the online mob harps on Wonder Woman for promoting non-traditional values, what would they make of a movie ‘glorifying terrorism?’ Half of America still wants to see Jane Fonda strung up by her thumbs, and death threats for ‘enemies’ singled out on the web are now routine. Our channels of information are so jammed with stories elbowing each other for attention, I don’t think anybody could rouse the general public to even consider the problems of this kind of fugitive. Who has time for scurrilous pleas for sympathy for ‘undeserving’ people, when the public responds better to patriotic pieces about veterans . . . or cute animals?
Always watching for signs of F.B.I. surveillance, young Danny Pope (River Phoenix) alerts the rest of his family through pre-arranged signals. Annie and Arthur Pope (Christine Lahti & Judd Hirsch) abandon their jobs, their belongings and even their dog and flee to a new state with Danny and their other son Harry (Jonas Abry). With new identities they start new lives. Arthur and Annie find off-the-books employment as a cook and a medical receptionist and the boys are enrolled in school with ‘previous transcripts on the way.’ We see the unusual preparations that must be made, with secret arrangements so that any family member can alert the others if they’re found out; we also see that the family is supported to some degree by a network of post-radical (or still radical?) sympathizers, such as a doctor (David Marguiles) who tends to political fugitives. But the Popes are cut off from their own families. Annie’s disapproving father (Steven Hill) can only see her in an extraordinary circumstance arranged by a third party. Potential trouble comes when former comrade Gus Winant (L.M. Kit Carson) drops by. He’d like to sleep with his old flame Annie, and is carrying guns in the assumption that Arthur will agree to rob a bank with him. But a more troubling problem is closer to home. Young Danny has inherited his mother’s musical talent, and his teacher Mr. Phillips (Ed Crowley) is encouraging him to apply to Julliard in New York. Danny is also stuck on Phillips’ teenage daughter Lorna (Martha Plimpton), a girl to whom he might be ready to commit. As far as Arthur is concerned, Danny can’t do any of those things because his first duty is to help his family in the undercover life. Annie doesn’t know what to do. If she leaves her son behind, she may never see him again.
Practically speaking, Running on Empty will only play well to a certain segment of the public. Are you the kind that sympathizes with draft deserters that fled to Canada, or the kind that wants to hand them long terms in prison? The Popes aren’t victims of injustice, at least not directly; they knew what they were doing when they went militant, and the injuries they caused can’t simply be dismissed as youthful idealism. They are also hopelessly associated with fanatics they inspired, like the Sla. And there’s no statute of limitations on armed insurrection. I think almost all of the radical fugitives that went underground are now accounted for. Some served prison time and others got off because courtroom prosecutions would reveal or publicize the government’s own illegal doings. Running on Empty dramatizes what might have been reality for just a few of these ‘outlaws in the eyes of America.’ Some radicals reportedly found it easy to live undetected while still on various Most Wanted lists. Others found ways to turn themselves in, square themselves with the authorities and re-commence academic lives interrupted years before to oppose the government. *
Running on Empty is a fascinating show, with a cast that clearly had to work hard to make their characters believable. Christine Lahti puts up with her bossy, security-minded husband. He himself gets drunk one night and starts shouting his real name loud enough to wake the neighbors. Judd Hirsch and director Lumet know that these can’t be ordinary people. He doesn’t try to make them Ozzie and Harriet types, somehow (sniff!) trapped by their youthful mistakes. No, they’re still promoting various Union and social justice causes here and there, although Arthur must back away whenever he becomes visible enough to appear in a news photo. Every year they celebrate a birthday to Sam, the man struck by their bomb. It’s not a joke, but a ritual so they won’t forget their crime.
At the center of the movie is the cult actor River Phoenix, who graduated briefly to good roles after his appearance as an adolescent space voyager in the fantasy film Explorers. Phoenix is excellent as Danny, a kid raised to never let down his guard. The show begins with Danny detecting a plainclothes tail and executing what must be ‘escape plan 9.’ The family is out of town in a matter of minutes. Danny’s a sensitive, smart guy. If he plays by the rules, he must keep himself a complete mystery to his new girlfriend Lorna. The boy is committed to his family, but feels the pull to go off on his own, where a decent future awaits. In a way, it’s not a situation wholly unique to these former radicals. This must happen all the time when someone breaks away from a strongly structured family, or a religious cult.
The movie’s tension level doubles when Danny takes the forbidden step of telling Lorna everything. How many of us living normal lives (well, reasonably normal lives) could trust our sweethearts with such a volatile secret: “I and my whole family are fugitives from justice. Anybody helping us is a potential accomplice. Just by letting you know, I’m putting you in legal jeopardy. Will you turn me in, or become a criminal with me?”
At this age Martha Plimpton might remind one of a teenage Lauren Bacall. A survivor of Goonies, she is featured in what I think is the best Cannon film, Shy People. Plimpton and Phoenix have several worthy melodramatic romantic scenes to play, and they’re excellent together.
With the ace director Sidney Lumet in charge the strange relationships seem credible, even when the flaky, reckless Gus Winant breezes through. The former radical patriot is now nothing but an outlaw bum. In a nice choice, Gus is played by L.M. Kit Carson, the original fake counterculture hero in the classic experimental faux-documentary David Holzman’s Diary. With dangerous idiots like Gus on the loose, the Popes can’t even consider themselves part of a noble creed. Some of their old colleagues are indeed armed and dangerous.
I don’t think the Popes would stand a chance of evading the cops in today’s security state. One can no longer simply find the name of a dead infant and apply for a new birth certificate and passport. The Popes aren’t hiding in a shack in the woods, but are out and about in the public, working and rubbing elbows with schools and doctors. I guess that back in the 1980s Arthur could become a cook and Annie a receptionist without references, but it’s less likely now, when one can’t buy bubble gum without leaving a data trail. Traffic and security surveillance cameras are now everywhere. Billions of smart-phone photos are taken at public gatherings, and routinely posted on the web. A high-level security agency could be (is?) scanning the web with face recognition software.
Sidney Lumet wrote that his movies Running on Empty and Daniel had the same theme: “Who pays for the passion and commitment of the parents?” This is an even-handed and insightful drama. Lumet made a wide range of great entertainments, and some of the best- ever ‘New York Jewish Liberal Movies.’ He’s also one of the few directors who could take on fundamentally controversial material like this, and continue to maintain a busy career.
The Warner Archive Collection Blu-ray of Running on Empty is a good encoding of what was already a very good Wac Mod disc from just two years ago. The improved picture and sound reveals the expected quality of a top Sidney Lumet product. The small town we see is very attractive, a political landscape completely different from the corporate/banking rapacious wasteland of last year’s Hell or High Water. ‘Radicals unselfishly trying to stop a war in 1971’ is still anathema, while Mr. and Mrs. U.S.A. now considers it justifiable for ‘radicals to selfishly try to rescue their ruined finances.’
Madonna is on the soundtrack for a scene in Daniel’s music class. The final James Taylor song Fire and Rain works extremely well in context: “. . . and I always thought that I’d see you again.”
On a scale of Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor,
Running on Empty Blu-ray rates:
Movie: Excellent
Video: Excellent
Sound: Excellent
Supplements: none
Deaf and Hearing Impaired Friendly? Yes; Subtitles: English (feature only)
Packaging: Keep case
Reviewed: June 21, 2017
(5451empt)
* I remember a major case from 2001. A radical who had evaded capture for thirty years finalized arrangements to turn herself in, after a delicate negotiation aimed at running her quietly through the legal system to let her get on with her life. She was reportedly not personally responsible for any violent acts, and under her assumed identity had worked for decades in a socially productive job. I followed her story for a couple of days in the newspaper . . . and then 9/11 happened. In the storm of security-minded post-attack chaos that followed, her story thread just vanished from the media-scape. I don’t have a clue what happened to her next. The timing couldn’t possibly have been worse for a former Enemy of the State.
Visit DVD Savant’s Main Column Page
Glenn Erickson answers most reader mail: dvdsavant@mindspring.com
Text © Copyright 2017 Glenn Erickson...
Running on Empty
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1988 / Color / 1:85 enhanced widescreen / 116 min. / Street Date June 27, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Christine Lahti, River Phoenix, Judd Hirsch, Jonas Abry, Martha Plimpton, Ed Crowley, L.M. Kit Carson, Steven Hill, Augusta Dabney, David Margulies, Lynne Thigpen, Bobo Lewis, Daniel Dassin.
Cinematography: Gerry Fisher
Film Editor: Andrew Mondshein
Original Music: Tony Mottola
Written by Naomi Foner
Produced by Griffin Dunne, Amy Robinson
Directed by Sidney Lumet
1988 suddenly seems much farther in the past than it did just a few months ago. The small town high school in Running on Empty has a dedicated, classically trained music teacher on the payroll. He earns enough to afford a rather nice house. The public school system is not being undermined, with all the wealthy students going to new kinds of exclusive, alternative schools siphoning off public money. We all have our own ideas about what ‘making America great again’ means, I suppose.
It doesn’t happen any more, but we used to read about ex- radicals from the Vietnam War days surfacing to turn themselves in. Not that many were directly involved in violent acts, but some had lived for decades under assumed identities, while their wanted photos were posted down at the Post Office. Some of them tried to raise families.
“We are all outlaws in the eyes of America.
Everything they say we are, we are.
. . . And we are very proud of ourselves.”
— The Jefferson Airplane
Naomi Foner’s Running on Empty is basically a ‘what comes next?’ chapter in the lives of former political public enemies like The Weather Underground. An unusual family is on the lam. The parents are militant radicals from the Nixon years, who went underground when one of their bombs maimed a janitor. Now they are nearing their forties, and must move from town to town whenever they think the Feds have picked up their trail. The couple chose their life and has accepted the consequences, but where does that leave their growing children, who are likewise forced to live like gypsies under assumed names?
I should think that this good movie would have a tough time in today’s market. If the online mob harps on Wonder Woman for promoting non-traditional values, what would they make of a movie ‘glorifying terrorism?’ Half of America still wants to see Jane Fonda strung up by her thumbs, and death threats for ‘enemies’ singled out on the web are now routine. Our channels of information are so jammed with stories elbowing each other for attention, I don’t think anybody could rouse the general public to even consider the problems of this kind of fugitive. Who has time for scurrilous pleas for sympathy for ‘undeserving’ people, when the public responds better to patriotic pieces about veterans . . . or cute animals?
Always watching for signs of F.B.I. surveillance, young Danny Pope (River Phoenix) alerts the rest of his family through pre-arranged signals. Annie and Arthur Pope (Christine Lahti & Judd Hirsch) abandon their jobs, their belongings and even their dog and flee to a new state with Danny and their other son Harry (Jonas Abry). With new identities they start new lives. Arthur and Annie find off-the-books employment as a cook and a medical receptionist and the boys are enrolled in school with ‘previous transcripts on the way.’ We see the unusual preparations that must be made, with secret arrangements so that any family member can alert the others if they’re found out; we also see that the family is supported to some degree by a network of post-radical (or still radical?) sympathizers, such as a doctor (David Marguiles) who tends to political fugitives. But the Popes are cut off from their own families. Annie’s disapproving father (Steven Hill) can only see her in an extraordinary circumstance arranged by a third party. Potential trouble comes when former comrade Gus Winant (L.M. Kit Carson) drops by. He’d like to sleep with his old flame Annie, and is carrying guns in the assumption that Arthur will agree to rob a bank with him. But a more troubling problem is closer to home. Young Danny has inherited his mother’s musical talent, and his teacher Mr. Phillips (Ed Crowley) is encouraging him to apply to Julliard in New York. Danny is also stuck on Phillips’ teenage daughter Lorna (Martha Plimpton), a girl to whom he might be ready to commit. As far as Arthur is concerned, Danny can’t do any of those things because his first duty is to help his family in the undercover life. Annie doesn’t know what to do. If she leaves her son behind, she may never see him again.
Practically speaking, Running on Empty will only play well to a certain segment of the public. Are you the kind that sympathizes with draft deserters that fled to Canada, or the kind that wants to hand them long terms in prison? The Popes aren’t victims of injustice, at least not directly; they knew what they were doing when they went militant, and the injuries they caused can’t simply be dismissed as youthful idealism. They are also hopelessly associated with fanatics they inspired, like the Sla. And there’s no statute of limitations on armed insurrection. I think almost all of the radical fugitives that went underground are now accounted for. Some served prison time and others got off because courtroom prosecutions would reveal or publicize the government’s own illegal doings. Running on Empty dramatizes what might have been reality for just a few of these ‘outlaws in the eyes of America.’ Some radicals reportedly found it easy to live undetected while still on various Most Wanted lists. Others found ways to turn themselves in, square themselves with the authorities and re-commence academic lives interrupted years before to oppose the government. *
Running on Empty is a fascinating show, with a cast that clearly had to work hard to make their characters believable. Christine Lahti puts up with her bossy, security-minded husband. He himself gets drunk one night and starts shouting his real name loud enough to wake the neighbors. Judd Hirsch and director Lumet know that these can’t be ordinary people. He doesn’t try to make them Ozzie and Harriet types, somehow (sniff!) trapped by their youthful mistakes. No, they’re still promoting various Union and social justice causes here and there, although Arthur must back away whenever he becomes visible enough to appear in a news photo. Every year they celebrate a birthday to Sam, the man struck by their bomb. It’s not a joke, but a ritual so they won’t forget their crime.
At the center of the movie is the cult actor River Phoenix, who graduated briefly to good roles after his appearance as an adolescent space voyager in the fantasy film Explorers. Phoenix is excellent as Danny, a kid raised to never let down his guard. The show begins with Danny detecting a plainclothes tail and executing what must be ‘escape plan 9.’ The family is out of town in a matter of minutes. Danny’s a sensitive, smart guy. If he plays by the rules, he must keep himself a complete mystery to his new girlfriend Lorna. The boy is committed to his family, but feels the pull to go off on his own, where a decent future awaits. In a way, it’s not a situation wholly unique to these former radicals. This must happen all the time when someone breaks away from a strongly structured family, or a religious cult.
The movie’s tension level doubles when Danny takes the forbidden step of telling Lorna everything. How many of us living normal lives (well, reasonably normal lives) could trust our sweethearts with such a volatile secret: “I and my whole family are fugitives from justice. Anybody helping us is a potential accomplice. Just by letting you know, I’m putting you in legal jeopardy. Will you turn me in, or become a criminal with me?”
At this age Martha Plimpton might remind one of a teenage Lauren Bacall. A survivor of Goonies, she is featured in what I think is the best Cannon film, Shy People. Plimpton and Phoenix have several worthy melodramatic romantic scenes to play, and they’re excellent together.
With the ace director Sidney Lumet in charge the strange relationships seem credible, even when the flaky, reckless Gus Winant breezes through. The former radical patriot is now nothing but an outlaw bum. In a nice choice, Gus is played by L.M. Kit Carson, the original fake counterculture hero in the classic experimental faux-documentary David Holzman’s Diary. With dangerous idiots like Gus on the loose, the Popes can’t even consider themselves part of a noble creed. Some of their old colleagues are indeed armed and dangerous.
I don’t think the Popes would stand a chance of evading the cops in today’s security state. One can no longer simply find the name of a dead infant and apply for a new birth certificate and passport. The Popes aren’t hiding in a shack in the woods, but are out and about in the public, working and rubbing elbows with schools and doctors. I guess that back in the 1980s Arthur could become a cook and Annie a receptionist without references, but it’s less likely now, when one can’t buy bubble gum without leaving a data trail. Traffic and security surveillance cameras are now everywhere. Billions of smart-phone photos are taken at public gatherings, and routinely posted on the web. A high-level security agency could be (is?) scanning the web with face recognition software.
Sidney Lumet wrote that his movies Running on Empty and Daniel had the same theme: “Who pays for the passion and commitment of the parents?” This is an even-handed and insightful drama. Lumet made a wide range of great entertainments, and some of the best- ever ‘New York Jewish Liberal Movies.’ He’s also one of the few directors who could take on fundamentally controversial material like this, and continue to maintain a busy career.
The Warner Archive Collection Blu-ray of Running on Empty is a good encoding of what was already a very good Wac Mod disc from just two years ago. The improved picture and sound reveals the expected quality of a top Sidney Lumet product. The small town we see is very attractive, a political landscape completely different from the corporate/banking rapacious wasteland of last year’s Hell or High Water. ‘Radicals unselfishly trying to stop a war in 1971’ is still anathema, while Mr. and Mrs. U.S.A. now considers it justifiable for ‘radicals to selfishly try to rescue their ruined finances.’
Madonna is on the soundtrack for a scene in Daniel’s music class. The final James Taylor song Fire and Rain works extremely well in context: “. . . and I always thought that I’d see you again.”
On a scale of Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor,
Running on Empty Blu-ray rates:
Movie: Excellent
Video: Excellent
Sound: Excellent
Supplements: none
Deaf and Hearing Impaired Friendly? Yes; Subtitles: English (feature only)
Packaging: Keep case
Reviewed: June 21, 2017
(5451empt)
* I remember a major case from 2001. A radical who had evaded capture for thirty years finalized arrangements to turn herself in, after a delicate negotiation aimed at running her quietly through the legal system to let her get on with her life. She was reportedly not personally responsible for any violent acts, and under her assumed identity had worked for decades in a socially productive job. I followed her story for a couple of days in the newspaper . . . and then 9/11 happened. In the storm of security-minded post-attack chaos that followed, her story thread just vanished from the media-scape. I don’t have a clue what happened to her next. The timing couldn’t possibly have been worse for a former Enemy of the State.
Visit DVD Savant’s Main Column Page
Glenn Erickson answers most reader mail: dvdsavant@mindspring.com
Text © Copyright 2017 Glenn Erickson...
- 6/23/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
For months now, Fargo has entertained us with bus crashes, air conditioner murders, Hollywood sleazeballs, bridge tournaments, fake sex tapes and interdepartmental police squabbles. All the while, creator Noah Hawley has dropped us into a place where bad dudes manipulate the culture via hacking, trolling and outright lies – nothing like the world you see outside your front door, in other words. But after all its spectacular violence, unapologetic wackiness and barbed satire, this season ultimately ends quietly and elliptically, just the way it began – with a scene where a government...
- 6/22/2017
- Rollingstone.com
Every week, IndieWire asks a select handful of film and TV critics two questions and publishes the results on Monday. (The answer to the second, “What is the best film in theaters right now?”, can be found at the end of this post.)
This week’s question: Apropos of absolutely nothing (and definitely not in response to a certain world leader taking disastrous steps towards dooming the environment of the only inhabitable planet we have), what is the best film about the end of the world?
Erin Whitney (@Cinemabite), ScreenCrush
It’s a hard tie between “Melancholia” and “Take Shelter.” One is a devastating meditation on depression, isolation and death, and the other is a dramatic masterpiece that evokes the dread and anxiety of a looming end. They’re very different films (and coincidentally opened within months of each other), but both end on final shots that left me breathless.
This week’s question: Apropos of absolutely nothing (and definitely not in response to a certain world leader taking disastrous steps towards dooming the environment of the only inhabitable planet we have), what is the best film about the end of the world?
Erin Whitney (@Cinemabite), ScreenCrush
It’s a hard tie between “Melancholia” and “Take Shelter.” One is a devastating meditation on depression, isolation and death, and the other is a dramatic masterpiece that evokes the dread and anxiety of a looming end. They’re very different films (and coincidentally opened within months of each other), but both end on final shots that left me breathless.
- 6/5/2017
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
“The Magicians” went into battle on Wednesday night and pulled out the ultimate weapon: a Broadway musical song.
In the episode, Fillory’s High King Eliot (Hale Appleman) is about to enter into mortal combat with the King of Lauria, who has never been defeated. Eliot’s right-hand magician and partner in every crime imaginable Margo (Summer Bishil) gives him a pep talk and reminisces about how well he did in a production of “Les Miserables.” Inspired by that success, she used magic to force him and others to perform the number “One Day More” from the musical in order to get him pumped up for his duel.
Read More: ‘The Magicians’ Bosses on How Trump Ruined Their ‘Fillory Clinton’ Joke and Inspired Season 2’s Destructive Entity
“I just had this idea that going into a life and death battle, there is a great tradition in feudal societies of soldiers...
In the episode, Fillory’s High King Eliot (Hale Appleman) is about to enter into mortal combat with the King of Lauria, who has never been defeated. Eliot’s right-hand magician and partner in every crime imaginable Margo (Summer Bishil) gives him a pep talk and reminisces about how well he did in a production of “Les Miserables.” Inspired by that success, she used magic to force him and others to perform the number “One Day More” from the musical in order to get him pumped up for his duel.
Read More: ‘The Magicians’ Bosses on How Trump Ruined Their ‘Fillory Clinton’ Joke and Inspired Season 2’s Destructive Entity
“I just had this idea that going into a life and death battle, there is a great tradition in feudal societies of soldiers...
- 3/23/2017
- by Hanh Nguyen
- Indiewire
Last night, at the end of a busy week at work when I was just in the mood to hang out at home and unwind a little, I decided that it was a good time for me to wrap up my viewing of Criterion ’68 by ingesting an assortment of short films that had accumulated, like the last crumbs of cereal at the bottom of the bag, in my chronological checklist of films that I’ve been blogging about over the years. It was a suitable occasion for me to fully immerse myself into what turned out to be a festival of random weirdness. My wife, recovering from a bout with illness, was feeling a bit better but wanted to find a productive use of her time with the resurgence of energy, so she kept herself busy by working on a new quilting project. That left me free to indulge without...
- 2/25/2017
- by David Blakeslee
- CriterionCast
Time limit: 0 Quiz-summary
0 of 9 questions completed
Questions:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Information
Get the feeling someone is looking over your shoulder? This quiz won’t help! This week we’re investigating the subtle (and not-so-subtle) art of spying in the movies.
You have already completed the quiz before. Hence you can not start it again.
Quiz is loading...
You must sign in or sign up to start the quiz.
You have to finish following quiz, to start this quiz:
Results
0 of 9 questions answered correctly
Your time:
Time has elapsed
You have reached 0 of 0 points, (0)
Average score Your score Categories Not categorized 0% Your result has been entered into leaderboard Loading Name: E-Mail: Captcha: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Answered Review Question 1 of 9 1. Question
The plot of Hitchcock’s North by Northwest was suggested by this spy film.
The Man Who Never Was I Was Monty’s Double Odd Man Out Correct
Clifton Webb starred in Ronald Neame’s 1956 film...
0 of 9 questions completed
Questions:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Information
Get the feeling someone is looking over your shoulder? This quiz won’t help! This week we’re investigating the subtle (and not-so-subtle) art of spying in the movies.
You have already completed the quiz before. Hence you can not start it again.
Quiz is loading...
You must sign in or sign up to start the quiz.
You have to finish following quiz, to start this quiz:
Results
0 of 9 questions answered correctly
Your time:
Time has elapsed
You have reached 0 of 0 points, (0)
Average score Your score Categories Not categorized 0% Your result has been entered into leaderboard Loading Name: E-Mail: Captcha: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Answered Review Question 1 of 9 1. Question
The plot of Hitchcock’s North by Northwest was suggested by this spy film.
The Man Who Never Was I Was Monty’s Double Odd Man Out Correct
Clifton Webb starred in Ronald Neame’s 1956 film...
- 1/16/2017
- by TFH
- Trailers from Hell
Wonder/Through the Looking-Glass Houses Choreography by Arrie Fae Bronson-Davidson Presented by Kinetic Architecture Dance Theatre at Dixon Place, NYC December 2-17, 2016
Lewis Carroll's novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There are mainstays of popular culture, having been reinvented in just about every medium imaginable. With Wonder/Through the Looking-Glass Houses, Arrie Fae Bronson-Davidson and KineticArchitecture Dance Theatre add a new, all-female vision of Alice to that lineage. This reimagining is as much the White Rabbit's story as Alice's, and when we meet the Rabbit (Arrie Fae Bronson-Davidson)--who is, of course, running late -- during an opening dance scored by David Bowie's "Time," she is something of a vixen with glittering ruby lipstick and nary a waistcoat nor a pocket watch in sight. In a bit of departure from the original novels, this Rabbit pauses occasionally for selfies with the audience,...
Lewis Carroll's novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There are mainstays of popular culture, having been reinvented in just about every medium imaginable. With Wonder/Through the Looking-Glass Houses, Arrie Fae Bronson-Davidson and KineticArchitecture Dance Theatre add a new, all-female vision of Alice to that lineage. This reimagining is as much the White Rabbit's story as Alice's, and when we meet the Rabbit (Arrie Fae Bronson-Davidson)--who is, of course, running late -- during an opening dance scored by David Bowie's "Time," she is something of a vixen with glittering ruby lipstick and nary a waistcoat nor a pocket watch in sight. In a bit of departure from the original novels, this Rabbit pauses occasionally for selfies with the audience,...
- 12/13/2016
- by Leah Richards
- www.culturecatch.com
When the Stooges split up in 1974, they had every reason to think they'd be completely forgotten by history. Their debut LP peaked at Number 106 in 1969 – and that was their best seller. They spent their final shows dodging beer bottles hurtled by angry bikers that had little interest in seeing a wild, shirtless singer named Iggy Pop screaming out songs like "Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell" and "Open Up and Bleed." Soon after splitting, guitarist Ron Asheton and his brother, drummer Scott Asheton, moved back in with their parents.
- 10/17/2016
- Rollingstone.com
The child stars of Netflix’s “Stranger Things” can sing and dance like pros.
Read More: Jimmy Kimmel Interview: The Emmy Host on Pickle-gate, ‘Stranger Things’ and His Future at ABC
Before the 2016 Primetime Emmys began on Sunday, young actors Caleb McLaughlin, Millie Bobby Brown and Gaten Matarazzo took to the stage to step in for Bruno Mars, performing Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk,” THR reports. Judging by how many attendees were on their feet for the performance, it’s safe to say the kids were a hit.
All three actors have previously showcased their musical talents. Brown uploaded a video of herself singing John Lennon’s “Imagine,” McLaughlin began his career by playing Simba in the Broadway version of “The Lion King,” and Matarazzo has performed on Brodway in both “Priscilla Queen of the Desert” and “Les Misérables.”
“Stranger Things” stars Winona Ryder as the mother of a boy...
Read More: Jimmy Kimmel Interview: The Emmy Host on Pickle-gate, ‘Stranger Things’ and His Future at ABC
Before the 2016 Primetime Emmys began on Sunday, young actors Caleb McLaughlin, Millie Bobby Brown and Gaten Matarazzo took to the stage to step in for Bruno Mars, performing Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk,” THR reports. Judging by how many attendees were on their feet for the performance, it’s safe to say the kids were a hit.
All three actors have previously showcased their musical talents. Brown uploaded a video of herself singing John Lennon’s “Imagine,” McLaughlin began his career by playing Simba in the Broadway version of “The Lion King,” and Matarazzo has performed on Brodway in both “Priscilla Queen of the Desert” and “Les Misérables.”
“Stranger Things” stars Winona Ryder as the mother of a boy...
- 9/19/2016
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
Stranger Things, Netflix's mega-popular sci-fi/horror series, thrives on Eighties pop-culture nostalgia. The mixtapes shared between the series' characters Jonathan Byers and younger brother Will are an emotional anchor of the show's first season. Now a real mixtape, inspired by the series, has been released, NME reports.
DJ Yoda released an eclectic mixtape, which weaves period-friendly alt-rock (the Smiths' "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out"), progressive electronica (Tangerine Dream's "Beach Scene") and New Wave (Modern English's "I Melt With You") with other classic tracks and samples of Stranger Things dialogue.
DJ Yoda released an eclectic mixtape, which weaves period-friendly alt-rock (the Smiths' "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out"), progressive electronica (Tangerine Dream's "Beach Scene") and New Wave (Modern English's "I Melt With You") with other classic tracks and samples of Stranger Things dialogue.
- 8/1/2016
- Rollingstone.com
If you’re like most fans of “Stranger Things,” then you’re probably as enamored with the Netflix show’s soundtrack as you are with the show itself; you’ll also be happy to hear that said Ost is getting an official release soon. The news come from the show’s Facebook page, which threw in a Hawkins Av Club reference for the diehards.
Read More: ‘Stranger Things’: Season 2 Plans & How David Lynch Could Control the Ending
Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein, both of whom perform in the Austin-based S U R V I V E, are responsible for the synth-heavy compositions that have drawn comparisons to John Carpenter’s music for his own films. (Just listen to the iconic “Halloween” theme for comparison.)
Read More: ‘Stranger Things’: Listen to a Spotify Playlist of the Show’s Biggest Hits, from ‘White Rabbit’ to ‘Heroes’
“Stranger Things” also makes heavy use of incidental music,...
Read More: ‘Stranger Things’: Season 2 Plans & How David Lynch Could Control the Ending
Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein, both of whom perform in the Austin-based S U R V I V E, are responsible for the synth-heavy compositions that have drawn comparisons to John Carpenter’s music for his own films. (Just listen to the iconic “Halloween” theme for comparison.)
Read More: ‘Stranger Things’: Listen to a Spotify Playlist of the Show’s Biggest Hits, from ‘White Rabbit’ to ‘Heroes’
“Stranger Things” also makes heavy use of incidental music,...
- 7/28/2016
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
Stephen King and Guillermo del Toro wasted no time giving two thumbs up to Netflix’s newest original series “Stranger Things” on Sunday. The masters of horror both took to Twitter to voice their emphatic approval of the horror-thriller series, as did basically everyone who binge-watched the show and has a Twitter account.
Read More: ‘Stranger Things’ is Still Waiting for Something New, To Make It Feel Alive
“Stranger Things is pure fun. A+. Don’t miss it,” tweeted King. Del Toro wrote that “Stranger Things may be a lot of things: King, Spielberg, 80’s, myself…but what it is, above all, is good!!”
Starring Winona Ryder as the mother of a boy who disappears in Indiana in the 1980s, the eight-hour series pays homage to King, del Toro and Steven Spielberg by combining supernatural elements with creepy, frightening storytelling. “Thanks @netflix … Gonna have to bill you for some new pants,...
Read More: ‘Stranger Things’ is Still Waiting for Something New, To Make It Feel Alive
“Stranger Things is pure fun. A+. Don’t miss it,” tweeted King. Del Toro wrote that “Stranger Things may be a lot of things: King, Spielberg, 80’s, myself…but what it is, above all, is good!!”
Starring Winona Ryder as the mother of a boy who disappears in Indiana in the 1980s, the eight-hour series pays homage to King, del Toro and Steven Spielberg by combining supernatural elements with creepy, frightening storytelling. “Thanks @netflix … Gonna have to bill you for some new pants,...
- 7/18/2016
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
“Stranger Things” has provided a welcome dose of Steven Spielberg–inflected binge watching for many this weekend, with Netflix’s newest original series gaining favorable reviews for its creepy atmosphere and affectionate ’80s vibe. Courtesy of the show’s Twitter, viewers can now take in one of its most period-appropriate elements: its soundtrack.
Read More: Review: ‘Stranger Things’ is Still Waiting for Something New, To Make It Feel Alive
Familiar hits abound on the Spotify playlist, from Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” to Corey Hart’s “Sunglasses at Night.” Here’s the full tracklist:
The Clash: “Should I Stay or Should I Go” Jefferson Airplane: “She Has Funny Cars” Jefferson Airplane: “White Rabbit” Reagan Youth: “Go Nowhere” Toto: “Africa” The Seeds: “Can’t Seem to Make You Mine” Trooper: “Raise a Little Hell” David Bowie: “Heroes” The Bangles: “Hazy Shade of Winter” The Dawn Trophy Orlando:...
Read More: Review: ‘Stranger Things’ is Still Waiting for Something New, To Make It Feel Alive
Familiar hits abound on the Spotify playlist, from Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” to Corey Hart’s “Sunglasses at Night.” Here’s the full tracklist:
The Clash: “Should I Stay or Should I Go” Jefferson Airplane: “She Has Funny Cars” Jefferson Airplane: “White Rabbit” Reagan Youth: “Go Nowhere” Toto: “Africa” The Seeds: “Can’t Seem to Make You Mine” Trooper: “Raise a Little Hell” David Bowie: “Heroes” The Bangles: “Hazy Shade of Winter” The Dawn Trophy Orlando:...
- 7/17/2016
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
Pink goes down a psychedelic rabbit hole on "Just Like Fire," recorded for upcoming Disney film Alice Through the Looking Glass. In the video directed by David Meyers, the singer walks through a mirror, plays human chess and drinks tea in mid-air, showing off her extreme acrobatic skills.
"Just Like Fire" was produced by Pink's longtime hit-makers Max Martin and Shellback, who cowrote her 2008 hit "So What". The duo juxtapose Pink's galvanic vocals with a polished acoustic guitar. Pink also covered Jefferson Airplane's psych-rock classic "White Rabbit" for Looking Glass,...
"Just Like Fire" was produced by Pink's longtime hit-makers Max Martin and Shellback, who cowrote her 2008 hit "So What". The duo juxtapose Pink's galvanic vocals with a polished acoustic guitar. Pink also covered Jefferson Airplane's psych-rock classic "White Rabbit" for Looking Glass,...
- 5/9/2016
- Rollingstone.com
Let me just say that I was not a fan of Tim Burton's rehash of Alice in Wonderland in 2010. It felt like more of the same gothic circus junk that Burton has pushed before, but without any of the originality that made some of his earlier work great. However, the new trailer for the sequel, Alice Through the Looking Glass, has my full attention. Maybe it's Jefferson Airplane's track "White Rabbit" that's making everything work better than it should, but this is a very well-cut trailer. Maybe director James Bobin is what this sequel needed to make Wonderland, and hopefully Johnny Depp's Mad Hatter, interesting again. Watch! Here's the new trailer for Alice Through the Looking Glass from Disney: You can still see the first teaser trailer for Alice Through the Looking Glass here, plus the Super Bowl spot. Directed by James Bobin (The Muppets) with a screenplay by Linda Woolverton (Maleficent,...
- 3/30/2016
- by Ethan Anderton
- firstshowing.net
Highlighting Pink’s version of Jefferson Airplane’s psychedelic chestnut “White Rabbit” — and ending with a look at Humpty Dumpty and his sad fate — Disney’s new trailer for Alice Through the Looking Glass lends some ultramodern sheen to the classics. The new clip for the 3D movie (opening May 27) was included in a Facebook Live chat with star Johnny Depp and director James Bobin (the Muppets films). And for the record: Depp tells us that his favorite book is James…...
- 3/30/2016
- Deadline
"Alice Through The Looking Glass" is a lot of things. It's a sequel to Tim Burton's billion dollar 2010 hit "Alice In Wonderland," another opportunity for Johnny Depp to play dress up, and a showcase for P!nk's cover of Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit." Now you can get a new taste of all three in the latest trailer for the movie. Read More: Interview: Tim Burton Talks Making 'Big Eyes,' Going Digital, The "Disturbing" Process Of 'Alice In Wonderland' & More Anne Hathaway, Mia Wasikowska, Rhys Ifans, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Stephen Fry and Sacha Baron Cohen are part of the 3D fun in the trailer, which finds Alice once again going on a grand adventure that will see her cross paths with the denizens of Wonderland. Here's the official synopsis: Alice Kingsleigh (Wasikowska) has spent the past few years following in her father’s...
- 3/29/2016
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Just as video games are becoming more complex and involved, so are the commercials for video games. It seems that like the games themselves, a lot of production goes into the commercials. Selecting a song to play while showing off the game’s visuals is crucial, because the song should convey a general tone or feeling intended to be associated with the game, or, at the least, an aspect of the game. Take a look at six examples of great uses of songs in video game commercials. Lost Odyssey – White Rabbit, Jefferson Airplane White Rabbit has been used in many
Six Great Uses of Songs in Video Game Commercials...
Six Great Uses of Songs in Video Game Commercials...
- 3/1/2016
- by Madison
- TVovermind.com
A biopic of legendary impresario and rock promoter Bill Graham is set to roll for 20th Century Fox, after the studio acquired his autobiography, Bill Graham: My Life Inside Rock And Out, for adaptation. Shawn Levy will direct and produce the film, while David Graham, Alex Graham, and autobiography co-writer Robert Greenfield will co-produce.
Bill Graham died in 1991, aged 60, when his helicopter crashed in California, on his way back from a Huey Lewis And The News concert. His tragic end came at the culmination of a fascinating life which saw him escape the Holocaust and settle in the U.S, where he earned a degree in business. He began his career as an impresario and promoter in San Francisco by managing the San Francisco Mime Troupe. Eventually, he expanded his portfolio, and was instrumental in the success of artists such as Janis Joplin, Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane.
Shawn Levy...
Bill Graham died in 1991, aged 60, when his helicopter crashed in California, on his way back from a Huey Lewis And The News concert. His tragic end came at the culmination of a fascinating life which saw him escape the Holocaust and settle in the U.S, where he earned a degree in business. He began his career as an impresario and promoter in San Francisco by managing the San Francisco Mime Troupe. Eventually, he expanded his portfolio, and was instrumental in the success of artists such as Janis Joplin, Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane.
Shawn Levy...
- 2/18/2016
- by Sarah Myles
- We Got This Covered
20th Century Fox and filmmaker Shawn Levy are set to team on a biopic of legendary music promoter Bill Graham.
Having fled the holocaust as a child, he came to the U.S. where he pioneered the promotion of rock concerts into major events. His venues the Fillmore and Winterland brought the San Francisco music scene to prominence, and in the process helped define an era of rock in the 1960s with break out acts including the Grateful Dead, Santana, Janis Joplin and Jefferson Airplane.
He died in a helicopter accident in 1991 at the age of 60. Based on Graham's autobiography "My Life Inside Rock and Out" which he co-wrote with Robert Greenfield, Levy will produce the project.
Source: Deadline...
Having fled the holocaust as a child, he came to the U.S. where he pioneered the promotion of rock concerts into major events. His venues the Fillmore and Winterland brought the San Francisco music scene to prominence, and in the process helped define an era of rock in the 1960s with break out acts including the Grateful Dead, Santana, Janis Joplin and Jefferson Airplane.
He died in a helicopter accident in 1991 at the age of 60. Based on Graham's autobiography "My Life Inside Rock and Out" which he co-wrote with Robert Greenfield, Levy will produce the project.
Source: Deadline...
- 2/18/2016
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Disney's Alice In Wonderland took a classic story and put a more modern, trippy spin on it, turning into more of a product of our times. The same could be said for that film's companion soundtrack, and it looks like Alice Through The Looking Glass will be doing the same . starting with Pink's new rendition of the Jefferson Airplane classic "White Rabbit." We have a look at the recording of that song, as well as some new footage from the film, below. This new look at Alice Through The Looking Glass was provided courtesy of Disney's own You Tube channel, and while a lot of the footage was shown in the first trailer, there was still some new surprises waiting in this look. Namely, we got to see Helena Bonham Carter's Red Queen make her infamous demand for Alice's head yet again; as well as a proper look at...
- 2/17/2016
- cinemablend.com
Disney has released a new TV spot and poster for producer Tim Burton's Alice Through The Looking Glass. James Bobin replaced Burton in the director's chair, but the movie still has that crazy Burton style. The latest trailer premiered during the Grammy Awards last night, and it features a lot of new footage from the film along with a song by Pink. She will be contributing two songs to the film’s soundtrack. One is a cover of the Jefferson Airplane acid rock classic “White Rabbit,” and she will also create an original song that will be revealed at a later date. I've included a featurette about Pink's music in the film below the latest trailer.
The movie stars Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Anne Hathaway, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Rhys Ifans. Here's the synopsis:
Alice Kingsleigh (Wasikowska) has spent the past few years following...
The movie stars Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Anne Hathaway, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Rhys Ifans. Here's the synopsis:
Alice Kingsleigh (Wasikowska) has spent the past few years following...
- 2/16/2016
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
A new, extended trailer for "Alice Through the Looking Glass," the sequel to the 2010 blockbuster, aired last night during the Grammys, and it was as delightfully trippy as you might expect.
Beyond the fabulous costumes and the gonzo CGI scenery, the trailer featured a fabulous cover of Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" by Pink. She has also written an original song for the film, which you can learn more about here.
In the movie, Alice (Mia Wasikowska) returns to Underland and travels back in time to save the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp). Also reprising their roles from the original are Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen, Anne Hathaway as the White Queen, and the late Alan Rickman voicing the Caterpillar. Joining in on the fun this time is Sacha Baron Cohen as Time.
"Alice Through the Looking Glass" opens in theaters May 27.
Want more stuff like this? Like us on Facebook.
Beyond the fabulous costumes and the gonzo CGI scenery, the trailer featured a fabulous cover of Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" by Pink. She has also written an original song for the film, which you can learn more about here.
In the movie, Alice (Mia Wasikowska) returns to Underland and travels back in time to save the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp). Also reprising their roles from the original are Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen, Anne Hathaway as the White Queen, and the late Alan Rickman voicing the Caterpillar. Joining in on the fun this time is Sacha Baron Cohen as Time.
"Alice Through the Looking Glass" opens in theaters May 27.
Want more stuff like this? Like us on Facebook.
- 2/16/2016
- by Kelly Woo
- Moviefone
Disney has all hands on deck to promote its upcoming fantasy adventure Alice Through the Looking Glass, and today’s new snippet is the third trailer in as many weeks, after a TV spot and a Super Bowl teaser.
Featuring a more upbeat, punchy version of Jefferson Airplane’s White Rabbit by Pink, there’s not much new footage included in the sizzle reel, which tees up Alice’s (Mia Wasikowska) adventure as a daring journey through time to save an old friend, Johnny Depp’s returning Mad Hatter.
Taking the reins from Tim Burton for the quasi-prequel is director James Bobin. For Alice Through the Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll’s indelible characters and the world of Underland will be put through the wringer by Sacha Baron Cohen’s mercurial character, Time.
Rounding out the cast are Helena Bonhan Carter and Anne Hathaway as the Red Queen and White Queen,...
Featuring a more upbeat, punchy version of Jefferson Airplane’s White Rabbit by Pink, there’s not much new footage included in the sizzle reel, which tees up Alice’s (Mia Wasikowska) adventure as a daring journey through time to save an old friend, Johnny Depp’s returning Mad Hatter.
Taking the reins from Tim Burton for the quasi-prequel is director James Bobin. For Alice Through the Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll’s indelible characters and the world of Underland will be put through the wringer by Sacha Baron Cohen’s mercurial character, Time.
Rounding out the cast are Helena Bonhan Carter and Anne Hathaway as the Red Queen and White Queen,...
- 2/16/2016
- by Michael Briers
- We Got This Covered
Following its premiere during the Grammy awards last night, Disney have released the new trailer for "Alice Through the Looking Glass" - the follow-up to 2010's live-action "Alice in Wonderland".
Set to musician Pink delivering a new cover of Jefferson Airplane's iconic "White Rabbit" song, it's actually the best bit of marketing either this film or its predecessor has produced thus far. There's also a featurette about Pink doing the cover song for the film which opens May 27th.
Set to musician Pink delivering a new cover of Jefferson Airplane's iconic "White Rabbit" song, it's actually the best bit of marketing either this film or its predecessor has produced thus far. There's also a featurette about Pink doing the cover song for the film which opens May 27th.
- 2/16/2016
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Celine Dion's husband René Angélil, rock icon David Bowie and Glenn Frey, founding member of rock group The Eagles, were among those honored in the 2016 Grammys In Memoriam tribute. Other music artists who passed away over the past year and were honored included rockers Scott Weiland and influential Motörhead frontman Ian Fraser Kilmister, aka Lemmy, blues legend B.B. King, "Stand By Me" singer Ben E. King, soul singer Natalie Cole, "It's My Party" singer Lesley Gore, Earth, Wind and Fire member Maurice White, Jefferson Airplane members Paul Kantner and Signe Anderson and Yes founding member Chris...
- 2/16/2016
- E! Online
Disney’s “Alice Through the Looking Glass” had a very important date on Monday, as the latest trailer for the upcoming magical movie premiered during the Grammys on CBS. Before Johnny Depp appeared on stage with his supergroup the Hollywood Vampires, the colorful actor was seen in costume and garish make up reprising his role as the Mad Hatter. Reuniting Lewis Carroll’s beloved characters from the classic novels and the 2010 film, “Alice in Wonderland,” the latest spectacular features Grammy winner Pink‘s cover of the iconic Jefferson Airplane song “White Rabbit.” Also Read: Johnny Depp Plays Donald Trump in...
- 2/16/2016
- by Debbie Emery
- The Wrap
‘Alice Through The Looking Glass’ Featurette: Pink To Cover ‘White Rabbit’ And Compose Original Song
Curiouser and curiouser indeed. Disney released two new TV spots for Alice Through The Looking Glass tonight during the 2016 Grammys. The first is a featurette revealing that pop singer Pink will be contributing two songs to the film’s soundtrack: a cover of the Jefferson Airplane acid rock classic “White Rabbit” and an original song to be revealed at a later date. In the video, seen above, Pink talks about the song, about the film itself, and her own original song coming…...
- 2/16/2016
- Deadline
Another death has occurred in the Jefferson Airplane family. Signe Anderson, the original female singer for the group, died January 28 — the same day that founding member Paul Kantner died, Rolling Stone reports. Anderson was 74. Also Read: Hollywood's Notable Deaths of 2016 (Photos) “One sweet Lady has passed on. I imagine that she and Paul woke up in heaven and said ‘Hey what are you doing here? Let’s start a band’ and no sooner then said Spencer was there joining in!” Jefferson Airplane founder Marty Balin wrote on Facebook, referring to the group’s drummer Spencer Dryden, who died in 2005. “Heartfelt.
- 2/1/2016
- by Tim Kenneally
- The Wrap
Signe Anderson, original female vocalist of Jefferson Airplane, died on January 28 at the age of 74, the same day the band’s co-founder Paul Katner died of septic shock. She appeared on the band's debut album Jefferson Airplane Takes Off, singing lead on "Chauffeur Blues" and providing prominent vocals on their version of "Let's Get Together.” Having given birth to her first child in 1966, she realized life in a band would be unfeasible and left. She performed her final gig on October 15, 1966; she was replaced by Grace Slick the next night. In the wake of the news, her former band members have posted condolences and tributes online.
- 1/31/2016
- by Greg Cwik
- Vulture
Paul Kantner, founding member of psychedelic rock pioneers Jefferson Airplane who died Thursday at age 74, received a touching tribute from his former bandmate Marty Balin. In a Facebook post published late Thursday, Balin said that he and Kantner “opened new worlds.” “So many memories rushing through my mind now. So many moments that he and I opened new worlds,” Balin wrote in the post, which is accompanied by a vintage photo of Kantner and Balin. Also Read: Paul Kantner, Jefferson Airplane Founding Member, Dies at 74 “He was the first guy I picked for the band and he was the first guy.
- 1/29/2016
- by Tim Kenneally
- The Wrap
Guitarist and founding member of Jefferson Airplane Paul Kantner has died at the age of 74, according to multiple reports. Kantner's publicist confirmed the news to the San Francisco Chronicle that said he died Thursday of multiple organ failure. He is survived by the remaining founding members of the band Jack Casady, Grace Slick, Marty Balin and Jorma Kaukonen. Kantner was also a founding member of the band's spin-off project Jefferson Starship. Forming the band in 1965 with Balin, the pair had met in the Drinking Ground, a folk bar in San Francisco. The band - known for their hits "White Rabbit...
- 1/29/2016
- by George Stark, @GeorgeStark_
- PEOPLE.com
Paul Kantner, co-founder of Jefferson Airplane and pioneer of the psychedelic rock scene in mid-1960s San Francisco, died earlier today of multiple organ failure. His publicist confirmed the news to the San Francisco Chronicle. Kantner had suffered a heart attack earlier this week and had dealt with a series of health problems throughout the past year. He was 74.Kantner founded Jefferson Airplane in 1965 at a bar in San Francisco with Marty Balin. The group featured vocals and guitar from Balin and Kantner, lead vocals from Grace Slick, a blues-rock sound from guitarist Jorma Kaukonen and bass player Jack Casady, and drums from Spencer Dryden. It was one of the first of its kind to achieve mainstream success with singles such as “Somebody to Love” and “White Rabbit.” Five of the band’s first seven albums went gold, including Surrealistic Pillow (1967) and Crown of Creation (1968). Jefferson Airplane also performed at Woodstock and Altamont,...
- 1/29/2016
- by Jackson McHenry
- Vulture
Jefferson Airplane guitarist and founding member Paul Kantner has died. He was 74. Kantner died Thursday of multiple organ failure. He had suffered a heart attack earlier in the week. Kantner's publicist confirmed the news with the San Francisco Chronicle. From 1965-1972, Jefferson Airplane was a pioneer in the Bay Area counterculture psychedelic rock scene, first defining what became known as the "San Francisco sound." The band's second album, 1967's Surrealistic Pillow, hit No. 3 on the Billboard 200 with the help of singles "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit." The band performed at the 1960s' three
read more...
read more...
- 1/29/2016
- by Colin Stutz, Billboard
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Paul Kantner, one of the founding members of Jefferson Airplane, died on Thursday of multiple organ failure. The guitarist and vocalist had suffered a heart attack earlier this week. His death was confirmed by his longtime publicist and friend, Cynthia Bowman, who said he died of multiple organ failure and septic shock, according to Sf Gate. Also Read: David Bowie, Legendary Singer and Style Icon, Dead at 69 Kantner suffered from numerous health problems over the years and had an earlier heart attack in March 2015. In October 1980, he was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles in serious condition from...
- 1/29/2016
- by Debbie Emery
- The Wrap
A limited-run Grateful Dead bio-series is in the works at Amazon, with Bob Weir slated to executive produce and oversee all aspects of the show's music, Deadline reports.
The as-yet-untitled series is based on Steve Parish's 2003 memoir, Home Before Daylight: My Life On the Road with the Grateful Dead. In the book, Parish — who will serve as an executive producer on the show — chronicles his time as a member of the Grateful Dead's extended family, starting with his work as a roadie and later as Jerry Garcia's manager and confidant.
The as-yet-untitled series is based on Steve Parish's 2003 memoir, Home Before Daylight: My Life On the Road with the Grateful Dead. In the book, Parish — who will serve as an executive producer on the show — chronicles his time as a member of the Grateful Dead's extended family, starting with his work as a roadie and later as Jerry Garcia's manager and confidant.
- 12/15/2015
- Rollingstone.com
After completing her solo arena show at the Bb&T Center in Sunrise, Florida, Saturday night, Amy Schumer (People's current cover star) stopped by the Mod Wine Lounge in Fort Lauderdale to unwind.
The comedian – who just received her first-ever best actress Golden Globe nomination – was joined by a group of friends at the bar after her stand-up performance.
"All she wanted to do was have a glass of wine with her entourage," a customer at the lounge tells People.
The 34-year-old then, unexpectedly, began to sing a version of Jefferson Airplane's 1967 hit "White Rabbit," according to the patron.
The comedian – who just received her first-ever best actress Golden Globe nomination – was joined by a group of friends at the bar after her stand-up performance.
"All she wanted to do was have a glass of wine with her entourage," a customer at the lounge tells People.
The 34-year-old then, unexpectedly, began to sing a version of Jefferson Airplane's 1967 hit "White Rabbit," according to the patron.
- 12/13/2015
- by Linda Marx and Lindsay Kimble
- People.com - TV Watch
In loving memory of Richard Corliss, who early on championed low and high art in Asian cinema In Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, the sheltered titular character exposes her pre-adolescent consciousness. Willing to navigate uncharted waters, she follows a dapper rabbit, even allowing herself to fall into the hole he’s entered. Jefferson Airplane sticks with this plot point in the ‘60s acid-anthem “White Rabbit,” adding au courant psychedelics to scramble the child’s perception: Tell ‘em a hookah-smoking caterpillar/Has given you the call. In book and song, Alice is in her element: She basks in unexpected encounters with extraordinary characters and […]...
- 12/2/2015
- by Howard Feinstein
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
In loving memory of Richard Corliss, who early on championed low and high art in Asian cinema In Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, the sheltered titular character exposes her pre-adolescent consciousness. Willing to navigate uncharted waters, she follows a dapper rabbit, even allowing herself to fall into the hole he’s entered. Jefferson Airplane sticks with this plot point in the ‘60s acid-anthem “White Rabbit,” adding au courant psychedelics to scramble the child’s perception: Tell ‘em a hookah-smoking caterpillar/Has given you the call. In book and song, Alice is in her element: She basks in unexpected encounters with extraordinary characters and […]...
- 12/2/2015
- by Howard Feinstein
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
With all the eclectic influences being fused together by those on the forefront of electronic music nowadays, it often feels like everything’s been done – but every now and again an artist arrives at a synthesis too strange to have been thought of already. Sander Van Doorn and Pep & Rash’s “White Rabbit” digs way, way deep for a blend of future house with ’60s acid rock, and while it seems like something of a stretch, I have to give them credit for trying.
“White Rabbit” opens with washed-out electric guitar and echoey vocals that evoke the feelings of a Jefferson Airplane song before transitioning into a heavily modulated future house bass line that could only have been Pep & Rash’s doing. Since it’s difficult to imagine Sander Van Doorn laying down all the instrumental tracks at the beginning, his contributions to the track are a unclear – and besides that,...
“White Rabbit” opens with washed-out electric guitar and echoey vocals that evoke the feelings of a Jefferson Airplane song before transitioning into a heavily modulated future house bass line that could only have been Pep & Rash’s doing. Since it’s difficult to imagine Sander Van Doorn laying down all the instrumental tracks at the beginning, his contributions to the track are a unclear – and besides that,...
- 11/16/2015
- by John Cameron
- We Got This Covered
<a href="http://dustywright.bandcamp.com/track/high-flyin-bird" _cke_saved_href="http://dustywright.bandcamp.com/track/high-flyin-bird">High Flyin' Bird by Dusty Wright</a>
Stoked to share the new single "High Flyin' Bird" featuring Queen Esther on co-vocals, Matt Goeke on plucked cello, and Jerry Krenach on drums. Produced by Dusty Wright and mixed by Mr. David Lee. Recorded at Strauss Park Studios, NYC. Cover art by the very talented French painter Claire Petit. This long-forgotten '60s folk classic has been covered by Judy Henske, Neil Young, Richie Havens, and Jefferson Airplane. Please click here to buy it today!
Stoked to share the new single "High Flyin' Bird" featuring Queen Esther on co-vocals, Matt Goeke on plucked cello, and Jerry Krenach on drums. Produced by Dusty Wright and mixed by Mr. David Lee. Recorded at Strauss Park Studios, NYC. Cover art by the very talented French painter Claire Petit. This long-forgotten '60s folk classic has been covered by Judy Henske, Neil Young, Richie Havens, and Jefferson Airplane. Please click here to buy it today!
- 10/19/2015
- by webmaster
- www.culturecatch.com
Pawn Sacrifice
Written by Steven Knight
Directed by Edward Zwick
USA, 2014
Locke, the most recent film directed by Steven Knight, is a masterpiece of focus. With the help of his clutter-free screenplay and a stunning performance from Tom Hardy, Knight makes watching someone drive a car for ninety minutes as thrilling as the most opulent Hollywood set pieces. Although the camera’s perspective doesn’t change much throughout the film, and Hardy is the only person onscreen, the thrilling tale of a man whose life spirals out of control is never anything less than riveting. By necessity, the film is focused in a way few others are, and the concentration makes for a one-of-a-kind cinematic experience.
It’s a shame, then, that Knight can’t bring the same focus to his latest screenplay, Pawn Sacrifice (directed by Edward Zwick), a by-the-numbers biopic of American chess prodigy Bobby Fischer (Tobey Maguire...
Written by Steven Knight
Directed by Edward Zwick
USA, 2014
Locke, the most recent film directed by Steven Knight, is a masterpiece of focus. With the help of his clutter-free screenplay and a stunning performance from Tom Hardy, Knight makes watching someone drive a car for ninety minutes as thrilling as the most opulent Hollywood set pieces. Although the camera’s perspective doesn’t change much throughout the film, and Hardy is the only person onscreen, the thrilling tale of a man whose life spirals out of control is never anything less than riveting. By necessity, the film is focused in a way few others are, and the concentration makes for a one-of-a-kind cinematic experience.
It’s a shame, then, that Knight can’t bring the same focus to his latest screenplay, Pawn Sacrifice (directed by Edward Zwick), a by-the-numbers biopic of American chess prodigy Bobby Fischer (Tobey Maguire...
- 9/16/2015
- by Max Bledstein
- SoundOnSight
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.