When people think of open-air ice skating in New York City, well, they probably conjure up the festive Christmas-y confines of 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Unless they're old. Baby Boomer old. For members of the generation that protested the Vietnam War before turning into conservative zombies who treat Fox News as an informational IV drip, there is first and foremost the image of the late Ryan O'Neal's Oliver Barrett IV gazing forlornly at the Wollman Skating Rink in Central Park as Francis Lai's brilliantly overwrought main theme jerks tears from our ducts with a vicious intensity worthy of Pinhead.
Most Boomers won't get that reference. And for those born as early as the Reagan era who are generally incurious about movies, you probably haven't watched Arthur Hiller's "Love Story." It is a film of its time, but, oh, what a film it was, at least commercially. Based on Erich Segal...
Most Boomers won't get that reference. And for those born as early as the Reagan era who are generally incurious about movies, you probably haven't watched Arthur Hiller's "Love Story." It is a film of its time, but, oh, what a film it was, at least commercially. Based on Erich Segal...
- 12/9/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Ryan O’Neal is dead at the age of 82 after years of health struggles. His son Patrick announced the news on Instagram.
O’Neal was one of the true heartthrobs of the New Hollywood era, making many who saw him in “Love Story,” “What’s Up Doc?,” “Barry Lyndon,” and “The Driver” swoon. He also was much more than a pretty face, showing a capacity to let the great directors of the era mold him into something so much more powerful than his looks. And his life was defined in some ways, also, by heartbreak and misfortune: the loss of his great love Farrah Fawcett in 2009, the years-long legal troubles of his son Redmond, the rupture of his relationship with son Griffin, and fraught connection to his daughter Tatum. He was a prickly icon, someone whose public statements and demeanor defied people to like him. But the films he leaves behind...
O’Neal was one of the true heartthrobs of the New Hollywood era, making many who saw him in “Love Story,” “What’s Up Doc?,” “Barry Lyndon,” and “The Driver” swoon. He also was much more than a pretty face, showing a capacity to let the great directors of the era mold him into something so much more powerful than his looks. And his life was defined in some ways, also, by heartbreak and misfortune: the loss of his great love Farrah Fawcett in 2009, the years-long legal troubles of his son Redmond, the rupture of his relationship with son Griffin, and fraught connection to his daughter Tatum. He was a prickly icon, someone whose public statements and demeanor defied people to like him. But the films he leaves behind...
- 12/8/2023
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
It’s immediately obvious to anyone who hears her work: Alex Isley has spent her entire life surrounded by music. The singer-songwriter mixes in all kinds of influences—jazz, classical, R&b, electronica, etc.—on her latest record, Marigold. And the results will appeal to you whether you like Solange, Sade, or Sarah Vaughan. Take it from Rolling Stone Radio co-host Charlie Cooper.
“Such a vibe,” Cooper said as Isley shared her track, “Such A Thing,” on the latest show. “I feel like I could wake up to this every morning.
“Such a vibe,” Cooper said as Isley shared her track, “Such A Thing,” on the latest show. “I feel like I could wake up to this every morning.
- 10/10/2022
- by Nathan Mattise
- Rollingstone.com
“L’Immensità” is director Emanuele Crialese’s first feature film in 11 years, and only his fifth in a quarter-century: The gifted Italian, best known to international audiences for his splendid, richly felt Ellis Island immigrant saga “Golden Door,” has never been one for unconsidered or impersonal projects. At first glance, then, one might wonder what drew him out of hibernation for a film that, with its trim runtime and small-scale domestic narrative, belies a title that translates as “immensity.” This 1970s-set story of a 12-year-old navigating his gender identity while his mother battles mental health demons is too palpably pained and heartfelt to be called slight, but it’s sensitive and peculiar in ways that feel fragile — occasionally splintered and swamped by an elaborate setpiece, or the outsize star magnetism of arguably its secondary lead, one Penélope Cruz.
What gives the film ballast, in fact, falls under the category of outside knowledge: that for Crialese,...
What gives the film ballast, in fact, falls under the category of outside knowledge: that for Crialese,...
- 9/4/2022
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
“What can you say about a 25-year-old girl who died? That she was beautiful and brilliant? That she loved Mozart and Bach, the Beatles, and me?”- Oliver Barrett IV, “Love Story.”
It’s hard to explain to non-boomers just what a phenomenon the 1970 four-hankie weepie “Love Story” was. It was huge. And yes dear reader, at 15 I was caught up in the tsunami of “Love Story.” I devoured Erich Segal’s novel. And I remember a friend I was visiting spent the entire time reading her favorite passages from the book.
When I saw the movie at the Cooper Theatre in Denver, the day after it was released, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house as this sentimental romance between the poor, feisty, salty-mouthed Radcliffe student Jennifer Cavelleri (Ali McGraw) and handsome rich hockey star college student Oliver Barrett IV (Ryan O’Neal) unspooled. Of course, like any...
It’s hard to explain to non-boomers just what a phenomenon the 1970 four-hankie weepie “Love Story” was. It was huge. And yes dear reader, at 15 I was caught up in the tsunami of “Love Story.” I devoured Erich Segal’s novel. And I remember a friend I was visiting spent the entire time reading her favorite passages from the book.
When I saw the movie at the Cooper Theatre in Denver, the day after it was released, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house as this sentimental romance between the poor, feisty, salty-mouthed Radcliffe student Jennifer Cavelleri (Ali McGraw) and handsome rich hockey star college student Oliver Barrett IV (Ryan O’Neal) unspooled. Of course, like any...
- 2/20/2021
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
In 1970, Ali MacGraw, then a relatively unknown model-turned-actress fresh off her debut role in “Goodbye, Columbus,” sat on the front steps of a Cambridge, Mass., duplex in deep winter, sobbing and shivering and blubbering the line, “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.”
It was the non-apology heard ’round the world.
While MacGraw, around 30 years old at the time, didn’t exactly agree with its sentiment, or even her delivery — “I had no acting training, I had no idea what I was doing,” she says now — the tearjerker drama containing said catchphrase, Arthur Hiller’s “Love Story,” became a global-wide phenomenon.
The film earned seven Oscar nominations (netting a win for Francis Lai’s musical score), rescued Paramount’s finances and propelled its writer, Erich Segal, to international literary fame.
Perhaps most significantly, “Love Story” rocketed its two young leads, MacGraw and Ryan O’Neal, as “conceited Radcliffe bitch...
It was the non-apology heard ’round the world.
While MacGraw, around 30 years old at the time, didn’t exactly agree with its sentiment, or even her delivery — “I had no acting training, I had no idea what I was doing,” she says now — the tearjerker drama containing said catchphrase, Arthur Hiller’s “Love Story,” became a global-wide phenomenon.
The film earned seven Oscar nominations (netting a win for Francis Lai’s musical score), rescued Paramount’s finances and propelled its writer, Erich Segal, to international literary fame.
Perhaps most significantly, “Love Story” rocketed its two young leads, MacGraw and Ryan O’Neal, as “conceited Radcliffe bitch...
- 2/11/2021
- by Malina Saval
- Variety Film + TV
Director René Clément brings an entertainingly eccentric David Goodis crime story to the screen in high style. A big score is being prepped by an odd gang, played by a terrific lineup of talent: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Robert Ryan, Aldo Ray, Lea Massari and the elusive Tisa Farrow. Only partly an action thriller, this one is weird but good — lovers of hardboiled crime stories can’t go wrong. Studiocanal has restored the original version, a full forty minutes longer than what was briefly shown here.
And Hope to Die
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1972 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 141 min. / Street Date February 25, 2020 / La course du lièvre à travers les champs / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Robert Ryan, Aldo Ray, Lea Massari, Tisa Farrow, Jean Gaven, André Lawrence, Nadine Nabokov, Jean Coutu, Daniel Breton, Emmanuelle Béart.
Cinematography: Edmond Richard
Film Editor: Roger Dwyre
Original Music: Francis Lai
Written by Sébastien Japrisot from...
And Hope to Die
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1972 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 141 min. / Street Date February 25, 2020 / La course du lièvre à travers les champs / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Robert Ryan, Aldo Ray, Lea Massari, Tisa Farrow, Jean Gaven, André Lawrence, Nadine Nabokov, Jean Coutu, Daniel Breton, Emmanuelle Béart.
Cinematography: Edmond Richard
Film Editor: Roger Dwyre
Original Music: Francis Lai
Written by Sébastien Japrisot from...
- 1/12/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Something unusual happened at the Cannes premiere of “The Best Years of a Life,” Claude Lelouch’s syrupy second sequel to his trend-setting 1966 global smash “A Man and a Woman.” Not the endless, roaring standing ovation that happened when the lights came up: That’s expected, even required, of the tuxed-up crowd at Grand Théâtre Lumière, for films far better and worse than this light fondant fancy. No, it came just after, as the applause eventually faded out and the vast audience harmonized in collective gibberish sing-song: Chaba-daba-da-daba-daba-da, da-da-da chaba-daba-da… — over and over, until beachside revelers some distance away could probably hear this mass karaoke spin on Francis Lai’s original 1966 love theme drifting on the breeze.
It was a sweet, decidedly uncool moment that emphasized what Lelouch’s sweet, decidedly uncool film really is: not so much a freestanding feature as an unadulterated nostalgia trip, its modest effect dependent...
It was a sweet, decidedly uncool moment that emphasized what Lelouch’s sweet, decidedly uncool film really is: not so much a freestanding feature as an unadulterated nostalgia trip, its modest effect dependent...
- 5/31/2019
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
This diverse mix of composer Michel Legrand’s work for film is by no means comprehensive, Legrand’s phenomenal career spanned over sixty years. He scored over 200 films as well as theatre and musicals, won Oscars, Golden Globes, and Grammys (to name a few), and worked with a myriad of famed popular musicians. He made jazz records with Miles Davis and collaborated with the directors of the French New Wave. Later in life (and by no means slowing down), Legrand focused his time on classical music, creating concertos, sonatas, and ballet. He died this February at the age of 86 just a few months after the release of Orson Welles’s The Other Side of the Wind, whose score he composed. When reminiscing on Legrand’s work I was taken back to two performances that have always resonated with me; I mused on how in both performances it is the score...
- 4/9/2019
- MUBI
For Sunday’s Oscars 2019 ceremony, producers had a difficult decision of which film industry people would make the cut and who would be left out of the “In Memoriam.” For the segment, Gustavo Dudamel and the L.A. Philharmonic performed music by Oscar winner John Williams.
Over 100 Academy members or film industry veterans died in the past 12 months. Visit our own Gold Derby memoriam galleries for the year of 2018 and the newly-started gallery for 2019.
SEEDirector Stanley Donen, dead at 94, was light on his feet and a movie musical heavyweight
Stanley Donen would have certainly been included, but he died on the weekend after the segment had been finalized (look for him on the 2020 show). Here is list of some of the people included in the Memoriam tribute for the ceremony (Academy members are indicated with ** by their names):
Susan Anspach (actor)
Bernardo Bertolucci (director)
Yvonne Blake (costume designer)**
Paul Bloch...
Over 100 Academy members or film industry veterans died in the past 12 months. Visit our own Gold Derby memoriam galleries for the year of 2018 and the newly-started gallery for 2019.
SEEDirector Stanley Donen, dead at 94, was light on his feet and a movie musical heavyweight
Stanley Donen would have certainly been included, but he died on the weekend after the segment had been finalized (look for him on the 2020 show). Here is list of some of the people included in the Memoriam tribute for the ceremony (Academy members are indicated with ** by their names):
Susan Anspach (actor)
Bernardo Bertolucci (director)
Yvonne Blake (costume designer)**
Paul Bloch...
- 2/25/2019
- by Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Lady Gaga’s “Shallow” won best original song at Sunday’s Academy Awards telecast, in a culmination of what may have been the least suspenseful race of this year’s Oscars. Gaga had performed the tune from “A Star Is Born” as a duet with Bradley Cooper a short time earlier, in a riveting performance that earned a standing ovation.
The award for “Shallow” went to Gaga and co-writers Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt and Anthony Rossomando.
“Bradley: there’s not a single person on the planet that could have sung this song with me but you,” said a tearful Gaga. “Thank you for believing in us. … And if you are at home and you’re sitting on your couch, and you are watching this right now, all I have to say is that this is hard work. I’ve worked hard for a long time, and … it’s not about winning.
The award for “Shallow” went to Gaga and co-writers Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt and Anthony Rossomando.
“Bradley: there’s not a single person on the planet that could have sung this song with me but you,” said a tearful Gaga. “Thank you for believing in us. … And if you are at home and you’re sitting on your couch, and you are watching this right now, all I have to say is that this is hard work. I’ve worked hard for a long time, and … it’s not about winning.
- 2/25/2019
- by Chris Willman and Jon Burlingame
- Variety Film + TV
While Academy Awards producers have strived for a much shorter ceremony this year, the annual “In Memoriam” segment will definitely remain. In fact this moment on Sunday’s 2019 event should be extra classy since Gustavo Dudamel and the L.A. Philharmonic will be performing as part of the tribute.
Over 100 Academy members or film industry veterans died in the past 12 months. But which ones will be featured in the short segment? There are generally outcries each year from family members upset about people being left out. Visit our own Gold Derby memoriam galleries for the year of 2018 and the newly-started gallery for 2019.
Virtually certain to be part of the montage are Oscar-winning directors Bernardo Bertolucci and Milos Forman, Oscar-nominated actors Carol Channing, Albert Finney and Burt Reynolds, director and actress Penny Marshall, executive producer and entertainment icon Stan Lee and many more.
SEEDana Carvey, Mike Myers, Queen Latifah, Barbra Streisand...
Over 100 Academy members or film industry veterans died in the past 12 months. But which ones will be featured in the short segment? There are generally outcries each year from family members upset about people being left out. Visit our own Gold Derby memoriam galleries for the year of 2018 and the newly-started gallery for 2019.
Virtually certain to be part of the montage are Oscar-winning directors Bernardo Bertolucci and Milos Forman, Oscar-nominated actors Carol Channing, Albert Finney and Burt Reynolds, director and actress Penny Marshall, executive producer and entertainment icon Stan Lee and many more.
SEEDana Carvey, Mike Myers, Queen Latifah, Barbra Streisand...
- 2/22/2019
- by Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Are “Green Room” and “Bohemian Rhapsody” Best Picture Oscar favorites because they won the Golden Globes’ top prizes? Maybe.
Or maybe not.
Though the Globes have been considered a leading bellwether for the Academy Awards, the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have agreed to disagree numerous times in major categories over the past 75 years.
In fact, the very first Golden Globes ceremony selected the religious drama “The Song of Bernadette” as the best film of 1943, while the Oscar for best picture went to the beloved “Casablanca.”
Even last year, Guillermo del Toro’s romantic fantasy “The Shape of Water” won four Oscars including best film and director. But the Globes chose “Lady Bird” for best picture musical or comedy and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” won best drama. Del Toro did win the Globe for director.
Checking out Golden Globes best drama winners for the past decade,...
Or maybe not.
Though the Globes have been considered a leading bellwether for the Academy Awards, the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have agreed to disagree numerous times in major categories over the past 75 years.
In fact, the very first Golden Globes ceremony selected the religious drama “The Song of Bernadette” as the best film of 1943, while the Oscar for best picture went to the beloved “Casablanca.”
Even last year, Guillermo del Toro’s romantic fantasy “The Shape of Water” won four Oscars including best film and director. But the Globes chose “Lady Bird” for best picture musical or comedy and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” won best drama. Del Toro did win the Globe for director.
Checking out Golden Globes best drama winners for the past decade,...
- 1/11/2019
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Composer whose score for the film Love Story perfectly evoked a tale of grand passion cut short and won him an Oscar
The French composer Francis Lai, who has died aged 86, enjoyed a diverse career during which he composed the scores for more than 100 films, as well as working in radio and television and writing around 600 songs for many leading singers.
It was his score for the film Love Story (1970) that gave him his greatest success. Lai’s poignant piano melody mixed with windswept strings perfectly evoked the film’s tale of a grand passion tragically cut short, and it brought Lai an Oscar for best music, original score, in 1971 – the only one of the film’s seven nominations to win. He also carried off a Golden Globe for best original score. The soundtrack album made it to No 2 in the Us chart, while the theme tune, retitled (Where Do I Begin?...
The French composer Francis Lai, who has died aged 86, enjoyed a diverse career during which he composed the scores for more than 100 films, as well as working in radio and television and writing around 600 songs for many leading singers.
It was his score for the film Love Story (1970) that gave him his greatest success. Lai’s poignant piano melody mixed with windswept strings perfectly evoked the film’s tale of a grand passion tragically cut short, and it brought Lai an Oscar for best music, original score, in 1971 – the only one of the film’s seven nominations to win. He also carried off a Golden Globe for best original score. The soundtrack album made it to No 2 in the Us chart, while the theme tune, retitled (Where Do I Begin?...
- 11/9/2018
- by Adam Sweeting
- The Guardian - Film News
French composer Francis Lai, who won an Oscar for “Love Story” and penned the beguiling theme for “A Man and a Woman,” has died at the age of 86, the mayor of Nice announced on Wednesday. No cause of death was reported.
Lai’s plaintive piano melody for “Love Story,” the 1970 tearjerker that made stars of Ryan O’Neal and Ali MacGraw, was his biggest hit, earning him an Oscar and a Golden Globe. His soundtrack recording was all over radio in early 1971, reaching no. 37 as a single and no. 2 as a soundtrack album. When lyrics were added to the melody, Andy Williams sang “Where Do I Begin” to no. 7 on the charts that same year.
The score almost didn’t happen. Lai initially turned down the assignment, he told the Los Angeles Times in 2001. But French actor Alain Delon, who had seen a cut of the film, called Lai and...
Lai’s plaintive piano melody for “Love Story,” the 1970 tearjerker that made stars of Ryan O’Neal and Ali MacGraw, was his biggest hit, earning him an Oscar and a Golden Globe. His soundtrack recording was all over radio in early 1971, reaching no. 37 as a single and no. 2 as a soundtrack album. When lyrics were added to the melody, Andy Williams sang “Where Do I Begin” to no. 7 on the charts that same year.
The score almost didn’t happen. Lai initially turned down the assignment, he told the Los Angeles Times in 2001. But French actor Alain Delon, who had seen a cut of the film, called Lai and...
- 11/8/2018
- by Jon Burlingame
- Variety Film + TV
This article marks Part 1 of the Gold Derby series reflecting on films that contended for the Big Five Oscars – Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Screenplay (Original or Adapted). With “A Star Is Born” this year on the cusp of joining this exclusive group of Oscar favorites, join us as we look back at the 43 extraordinary pictures that earned Academy Awards nominations in each of the Big Five categories beginning with the eight that were shut out of these top races.
At the 31st Academy Awards ceremony, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” (1958) was well-positioned for Oscar glory. Critically acclaimed and commercially successful, the film adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ play was up in six categories, including the Big Five, plus Best Cinematography.
Instead of emerging victorious, however, the film found itself steamrolled over. It would lose Best Picture and Best Director (Richard Brooks) to the musical “Gigi” and its filmmaker,...
At the 31st Academy Awards ceremony, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” (1958) was well-positioned for Oscar glory. Critically acclaimed and commercially successful, the film adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ play was up in six categories, including the Big Five, plus Best Cinematography.
Instead of emerging victorious, however, the film found itself steamrolled over. It would lose Best Picture and Best Director (Richard Brooks) to the musical “Gigi” and its filmmaker,...
- 10/4/2018
- by Andrew Carden
- Gold Derby
Occasionally I drop a teacup to shatter on the floor on purpose. I'm not satisfied when it doesn't gather itself up again. Some day, perhaps, the cup will come together. I just finished writing my review and recap of the first episode of this third season of "Hannibal", which I'll be posting immediately after it airs this Thursday, June 4 at 10 Pm Est, but until then I came across a piece at Wired discussing "Hannibal" composer Brian Reitzell. I think most of us that watch this show love Hannibal's use of the teacup metaphor. I don't know how most interpret it, but I best see it as Hannibal believing himself to be something of a god and/or an agent of chaos. In these terms he views those that come into his circle as a teacup, a collective whole of which he has shattered and won't be satisfied until they...
- 6/2/2015
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Musical theorist Michel Chion coined the term "synchresis" to define the forging of picture and sound, the way artistry on both sides of the line blurs into our favorite movie moments. Sound design can manifest and warp reality, but film scoring has its own synchresistic effect, albeit one that's rather bizarre. There's no reason music should ever be playing against a film aiming for truth. Yet over 100-plus years of filmmaking, a composer's touch — or restraint — has become an essential part of the medium's power. A musical cue stamps an iconic scene, a director's vision and a film's legacy. There are sense memories connected to the opening notes of an iconic theme. Nevertheless, it took the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences a few years to recognize film music's weight-pulling at the Oscars. Film's transition into a synced sound medium kept the business resisting the honor until the 7th...
- 11/28/2014
- by Matt Patches and Kristopher Tapley
- Hitfix
World Soundtrack Awards also honour Pharell Williams’ Happy from Despicable Me 2.
Alexandre Desplat has been named Best Film Composer at the 14th World Soundtrack Awards, held last night in Ghent. He also won best original film score of the year for Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel.
This year’s Best Original Song Written Directly for a Film is Happy from Despicable Me 2, written and performed by Pharrell Williams.
Discovery of the Year 2014 is Daniel Pemberton for Cuban Fury and The Counselor.
Michelino Bisceglia’s music for Marina won the Spotify Public Choice Award.
Cliff Martinez was this year’s guest of honour, and his work was performed on the night by the Brussels Philharmonic.
The Lifetime Achievement Award winner was Francis Lai.
World Soundtrack Awards 2014
Film Composer of the Year: Alexandre Desplat
Best Original Film Score of the Year: The Grand Budapest Hotel (by Alexandre Desplat)
Best Original Song Written Directly for a Film:...
Alexandre Desplat has been named Best Film Composer at the 14th World Soundtrack Awards, held last night in Ghent. He also won best original film score of the year for Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel.
This year’s Best Original Song Written Directly for a Film is Happy from Despicable Me 2, written and performed by Pharrell Williams.
Discovery of the Year 2014 is Daniel Pemberton for Cuban Fury and The Counselor.
Michelino Bisceglia’s music for Marina won the Spotify Public Choice Award.
Cliff Martinez was this year’s guest of honour, and his work was performed on the night by the Brussels Philharmonic.
The Lifetime Achievement Award winner was Francis Lai.
World Soundtrack Awards 2014
Film Composer of the Year: Alexandre Desplat
Best Original Film Score of the Year: The Grand Budapest Hotel (by Alexandre Desplat)
Best Original Song Written Directly for a Film:...
- 10/26/2014
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
The French composer will be honoured at the World Soundtrack Awards which take place October 25th as part of the Gent Film Festival.
French composer Francis Lai is to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 14th World Soundtrack Awards which take place during the 41st Gent Film Festival, which will this year focus on France.
Born in Nice in 1932, Lai’s composing credits include Claude Lelouch’s Oscar winning A man And A Woman (1966). Lai went on to collaborate with Lelouch on numerous films. In 1970 Lai scored his biggest international hit with the soundtrack to Love Story.
A selection of his work will be performed by the Brussels Philharmonic and conducted by Dirk Brossé at the World Soundtrack Awards, which take place on October 25 in the Belgium city of Gent.
Confirmed central guests and performers at the World Soundtrack Awards are American composer Cliff Martinez (Drive, Only God Forgives, Contagion and [link...
French composer Francis Lai is to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 14th World Soundtrack Awards which take place during the 41st Gent Film Festival, which will this year focus on France.
Born in Nice in 1932, Lai’s composing credits include Claude Lelouch’s Oscar winning A man And A Woman (1966). Lai went on to collaborate with Lelouch on numerous films. In 1970 Lai scored his biggest international hit with the soundtrack to Love Story.
A selection of his work will be performed by the Brussels Philharmonic and conducted by Dirk Brossé at the World Soundtrack Awards, which take place on October 25 in the Belgium city of Gent.
Confirmed central guests and performers at the World Soundtrack Awards are American composer Cliff Martinez (Drive, Only God Forgives, Contagion and [link...
- 7/18/2014
- by sarah.cooper@screendaily.com (Sarah Cooper)
- ScreenDaily
A Man and a Woman (Un homme et une femme)
Written by Pierre Uytterhoeven
Directed by Claude Lelouch
France, 1966
In a driving scene roughly thirty minutes into A Man and a Woman, the host on a station playing from the car radio says, “I can tell you right away that the weather forecast is rainy. There’ll be rain all over France.” He’s certainly not wrong, as Claude Lelouch’s Cannes prize-winner might be the drizzliest film ever made, with light rain, or at least overcast skies, pervading as backdrop for most of its exterior scenes; even those without have either snow or the dimming light of dusk to encourage its characters to bundle up. It’s a film where the warmth of an emerging romance happens amid perpetual chill – Baby, It’s Cold Outside was apparently not a working title.
A widowed man (Jean-Louis Trintignant) and a widowed...
Written by Pierre Uytterhoeven
Directed by Claude Lelouch
France, 1966
In a driving scene roughly thirty minutes into A Man and a Woman, the host on a station playing from the car radio says, “I can tell you right away that the weather forecast is rainy. There’ll be rain all over France.” He’s certainly not wrong, as Claude Lelouch’s Cannes prize-winner might be the drizzliest film ever made, with light rain, or at least overcast skies, pervading as backdrop for most of its exterior scenes; even those without have either snow or the dimming light of dusk to encourage its characters to bundle up. It’s a film where the warmth of an emerging romance happens amid perpetual chill – Baby, It’s Cold Outside was apparently not a working title.
A widowed man (Jean-Louis Trintignant) and a widowed...
- 5/31/2014
- by Josh Slater-Williams
- SoundOnSight
Michael Caine's early films defined the look of an era, but with scores by John Barry, Quincy Jones and Sonny Rollins they also defined its soundrack
There is a kind of music in Michael Caine's voice: deceptively flat, barely inflected, emitting just the tiniest glints of detached insolence and laconic menace as it maps the area between the pre-war docklands community of Rotherhithe, his birthplace, and Elephant and Castle, where his family was rehoused in a prefab built on bomb-damaged land not far from the location of Shakespeare's theatres. Few people alive know more about the actor's craft than Caine, none is more gifted in the art of underplaying, and that voice is integral to his virtuosity.
But there is music of a more conventional kind in the films that made him famous – when the former Maurice Micklewhite rather unexpectedly became the model of a new kind of English leading man,...
There is a kind of music in Michael Caine's voice: deceptively flat, barely inflected, emitting just the tiniest glints of detached insolence and laconic menace as it maps the area between the pre-war docklands community of Rotherhithe, his birthplace, and Elephant and Castle, where his family was rehoused in a prefab built on bomb-damaged land not far from the location of Shakespeare's theatres. Few people alive know more about the actor's craft than Caine, none is more gifted in the art of underplaying, and that voice is integral to his virtuosity.
But there is music of a more conventional kind in the films that made him famous – when the former Maurice Micklewhite rather unexpectedly became the model of a new kind of English leading man,...
- 1/31/2014
- by Richard Williams
- The Guardian - Film News
Oscar Sunday is three months from today, March 2, 2014 and this year, it’s anyone’s game. The Academy has a history of playing up all the glamour and suspense, and this year should be no different.
As of today, Gold Derby‘s Top 5 Best Picture predictions for the 86th Academy Awards are: 12 Years A Slave, Gravity, Saving Mr. Banks, Captain Phillips and American Hustle.
Hit Fix’s Top 5 are: Gravity, 12 Years A Slave, Saving Mr. Banks, Captain Phillips and Inside Llewyn Davis.
In what’s classic TV, take a look at the opening of the 43rd Academy Awards in 1971, featuring an introduction by Academy President Daniel Taradash.
The big A-listers of the day all appeared at the Oscars – Goldie Hawn, Jeanne Moreau, Melvyn Douglas, Ryan O’Neal, Leigh Taylor-Young, George Segal, Jennifer Jones, Lee Grant, Maximilian Schell, Ginger Rogers, Jack Nicholson, Ali McGraw, Robert Evans, Quincy Jones, Sally Kellerman, Jim Brown,...
As of today, Gold Derby‘s Top 5 Best Picture predictions for the 86th Academy Awards are: 12 Years A Slave, Gravity, Saving Mr. Banks, Captain Phillips and American Hustle.
Hit Fix’s Top 5 are: Gravity, 12 Years A Slave, Saving Mr. Banks, Captain Phillips and Inside Llewyn Davis.
In what’s classic TV, take a look at the opening of the 43rd Academy Awards in 1971, featuring an introduction by Academy President Daniel Taradash.
The big A-listers of the day all appeared at the Oscars – Goldie Hawn, Jeanne Moreau, Melvyn Douglas, Ryan O’Neal, Leigh Taylor-Young, George Segal, Jennifer Jones, Lee Grant, Maximilian Schell, Ginger Rogers, Jack Nicholson, Ali McGraw, Robert Evans, Quincy Jones, Sally Kellerman, Jim Brown,...
- 12/3/2013
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
La course du lièvre à travers les champs (The Race of the Hare Across the Fields a.k.a. ...and Hope to Die, 1972) is an interesting late entry in the career of French crime specialist René Clément, a kind of smorgasbord of his favorite stuff: hardboiled crime, knotty sexual triangles, a hero on the run, convoluted crime schemes, with a harkening back to childhood sins that suggests his classic Jeux interdits (Forbidden Games, 1952). This might suggest desperation to recapture past glories, but the film is also stuffed with experimentation and up-to-the-minute influences (a train station confrontation early on suggests Leone) which confirm the filmmaker as alert to new possibilities.
But the film could just as easily be approached through the sensibility of its writer, Sébastien Japrisot, a key figure in French cinema and crime cinema, or even through that of the author of the source novel, David Goodis.
But the film could just as easily be approached through the sensibility of its writer, Sébastien Japrisot, a key figure in French cinema and crime cinema, or even through that of the author of the source novel, David Goodis.
- 2/21/2013
- by David Cairns
- MUBI
A Man and a Woman: Anouk Aimée to attend New York City screening of Claude Lelouch classic co-starring Jean-Louis Trintignant AMaaW, Lelouch's romantic drama starring Aimée (by then a two-decade veteran in films) and Jean-Louis Trintignant (who had been around since the early '50s), will be presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in partnership with To Save and Project: The 10th MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation. The 1966 Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or winner and Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award winner will be screened on Monday, October 15, at 7 p.m. at the Academy Theater at Lighthouse International at 111 East 59th Street in New York City. (Please scroll down for more information.) Aimée, who was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for her performance as a widow in love with race-car driver Trintignant, is scheduled to attend the screening. A new print of the film,...
- 10/4/2012
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) has unveiled additional programming and events for the 2012 edition of the TCM Classic Film Festival, including a celebration of the 100th anniversary of Paramount Pictures. Robert Evans, longtime producer and former head of production for Paramount, is set to take part in the tribute, which will focus on the studio’s 1970s renaissance. In addition, the TCM Classic Film Festival is slated to include a look at The Noir Style, a tribute to legendary costume designer Travis Banton, a look at art deco in the movies, a collection of early cinematic rarities and much more.
TCM.s own Robert Osborne will once again serve as official host for the four-day, star-studded event, which will take pace Thursday, April 12 . Sunday, April 15, 2012, in Hollywood. Passes are on sale now through the official festival website: http://www.tcm.com/festival.
The Paramount Renaissance
The TCM Classic Film Festival will...
TCM.s own Robert Osborne will once again serve as official host for the four-day, star-studded event, which will take pace Thursday, April 12 . Sunday, April 15, 2012, in Hollywood. Passes are on sale now through the official festival website: http://www.tcm.com/festival.
The Paramount Renaissance
The TCM Classic Film Festival will...
- 12/19/2011
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Feb. 7, 2012
Price: Blu-ray $19.99
Studio: Paramount Home Entertainment
A pre-Valentine’s Day release, classic 1970 romance film Love Story finally has its day in high-definition Blu-ray.
The movie that pretty much made Ryan O’Neal (Barry Lyndon) and Ali MacGraw (TV’s Dynasty) stars overnight, Love Story is a kind of modern Romeo & Juliet. Instead of coming from fueding families, the young couple must overcome societal barriers for their love. He’s a Harvard Law student and she’s studying music, and when they get married, they get resistance from his weathly family, especially his father (John Marley, The Godfather).
The PG-rated film won an Academy Award for Francis Lai’s famous music score.
Love Story also was nominated for Best Actor (O’Neal and Marley), Best Actress (MacGraw), Best Director (Arthur Hiller, See No Evil, Hear No Evil), Best Original Screenplay (Erich Segal, author of the book...
Price: Blu-ray $19.99
Studio: Paramount Home Entertainment
A pre-Valentine’s Day release, classic 1970 romance film Love Story finally has its day in high-definition Blu-ray.
The movie that pretty much made Ryan O’Neal (Barry Lyndon) and Ali MacGraw (TV’s Dynasty) stars overnight, Love Story is a kind of modern Romeo & Juliet. Instead of coming from fueding families, the young couple must overcome societal barriers for their love. He’s a Harvard Law student and she’s studying music, and when they get married, they get resistance from his weathly family, especially his father (John Marley, The Godfather).
The PG-rated film won an Academy Award for Francis Lai’s famous music score.
Love Story also was nominated for Best Actor (O’Neal and Marley), Best Actress (MacGraw), Best Director (Arthur Hiller, See No Evil, Hear No Evil), Best Original Screenplay (Erich Segal, author of the book...
- 12/6/2011
- by Sam
- Disc Dish
Compilation albums are usually aimed at collectors or fans of particular genres, be it musical styles, or in some cases, film genres. You can find all sorts of CDs containing various selections from soundtracks of films of any genre: romance, horror, or Sci-Fi / fantasy. BuySoundtrax Records gives us Sci-Fi’s Finest Volume 1, a collection of songs from some of the best – and some of the more obscure – Sci-Fi titles ever to grace the big or small screen. At times, the selections are winners, and others fall short of their intended mark.
The album has a somewhat promising beginning with the song “Science Fiction Double Feature” – the opening number from The Rocky Horror Picture Show – sung by Victoria DeMare, “Hollywood’s Hottest Scream Queen”. It is above all else a salute to all of the great old sci-fi pictures we grew up with. We then get the main theme from Battle: Los Angeles,...
The album has a somewhat promising beginning with the song “Science Fiction Double Feature” – the opening number from The Rocky Horror Picture Show – sung by Victoria DeMare, “Hollywood’s Hottest Scream Queen”. It is above all else a salute to all of the great old sci-fi pictures we grew up with. We then get the main theme from Battle: Los Angeles,...
- 10/14/2011
- Shadowlocked
The Nicolas Philibert Collection
Last Monday (27th June), a box set was released that contains four brilliant cinematic works. No, it wasn’t the much anticipated Pirates of the Caribbean ‘Quadrilogy’, rushed to DVD before the movie has had time to fail at the cinema. It was in fact a collection of films by French documentary maker Nicolas Philibert. And what wonderful films they are!
I can’t admit to knowing anything about Monsieur Philibert before watching these films but I can certainly say that I now want to see more. I set about choosing which of the four to watch first and somewhat predictably settled on the feature I was most familiar with (i.e. the most recent one that has had at least some press coverage); Nénette.
Nénette (2010)
At 70 minutes, Nénette is the shortest in the collection, but that isn’t to say it is lacking in any area other than length.
Last Monday (27th June), a box set was released that contains four brilliant cinematic works. No, it wasn’t the much anticipated Pirates of the Caribbean ‘Quadrilogy’, rushed to DVD before the movie has had time to fail at the cinema. It was in fact a collection of films by French documentary maker Nicolas Philibert. And what wonderful films they are!
I can’t admit to knowing anything about Monsieur Philibert before watching these films but I can certainly say that I now want to see more. I set about choosing which of the four to watch first and somewhat predictably settled on the feature I was most familiar with (i.e. the most recent one that has had at least some press coverage); Nénette.
Nénette (2010)
At 70 minutes, Nénette is the shortest in the collection, but that isn’t to say it is lacking in any area other than length.
- 7/9/2011
- Shadowlocked
If you haven’t heard of Hawk, you shouldn’t feel bad. Googling it doesn’t bring much up about the project, or its director, Mj McMahon. It is a 38-minute fantasy epic loosely based on Welsh folklore and tells the tale of a boy named Rowen, who is taken away from the civilized world, where his lessons in the wild begin. Yet when he shatters the balance of nature, Rowan discovers another world beneath our own. In that shadowy land of old gods and wild hunts, the divide between man and beast becomes uncertain and the fairy tales of childhood spring to life. With only the guidance of a hunting hawk, Rowan must make amends for his crime, and choose between what is real, and what is not.
The task of scoring this film fell to Stuart Hancock, an award-winning composer who has worked in film, television, commercials, theatre and written concert music.
The task of scoring this film fell to Stuart Hancock, an award-winning composer who has worked in film, television, commercials, theatre and written concert music.
- 4/7/2011
- Shadowlocked
Following the release of the Samurai Collection last year, the BFI are now releasing a new DVD box set of films by legendary Japanese auteur Akira Kurosawa. Featuring six of his early films – all of which pre-date his 1948 Drunken Angel – the box-set offers a range of genre and content, providing a fascinating insight into Kurosawa’s development as a director and the influence of wartime propaganda on Japanese cinema.
Sanshiro Sugata (1943)
The first film of the set, Sanshiro Sugata is set in 1882 and follows the eponymous Sugata (Susumu Fujita) as he joins sensei Shogoro Yano (Denjiro Okochi) to learn Judo; a controversial decision, as the new martial art was seen to be supplanting the older art of Jujutsu. During the course of his training, Sugata must learn to control his ambition and temper, as well as to respect others, if he is to master judo and defeat the jujutsu followers...
Sanshiro Sugata (1943)
The first film of the set, Sanshiro Sugata is set in 1882 and follows the eponymous Sugata (Susumu Fujita) as he joins sensei Shogoro Yano (Denjiro Okochi) to learn Judo; a controversial decision, as the new martial art was seen to be supplanting the older art of Jujutsu. During the course of his training, Sugata must learn to control his ambition and temper, as well as to respect others, if he is to master judo and defeat the jujutsu followers...
- 3/27/2011
- Shadowlocked
I’m a little embarrassed to admit that, while I do watch more foreign films than most of my peers, I have little knowledge of French cinema. There are the occasional French films that pop up on IFC or Sundance Channel, but usually the descriptions don’t inspire me to delve into them. And without this quick reference to French film in mind, I really had no clue about who Francis Lai was. So when this CD was dropped in my lap, I thought, 'Really?' I popped it into my player, and wound up finding that I enjoyed what I heard.
Francis Lai is an accordionist and composer, born on April 26, 1932 in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France. He started out playing in jazz clubs in Marseilles, and eventually moved to Paris, honing his skills as a composer and arranger, and even worked with Edith Piaf. He has since scored over 100 films,...
Francis Lai is an accordionist and composer, born on April 26, 1932 in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France. He started out playing in jazz clubs in Marseilles, and eventually moved to Paris, honing his skills as a composer and arranger, and even worked with Edith Piaf. He has since scored over 100 films,...
- 2/3/2011
- Shadowlocked
What would Naomi and Ivy's "Girl Fight" have been without some great music to roll around in the sand in have been? Yeah, pretty boring. Okay, I guess it still could have worked. Nothing can ruin a good old fashioned cat fight.
Either way, if you're anything like us, you love getting exposed to the diverse music 90210 offers each week, so we'll do our best to help you guys out.
We've gone ahead and put together the most complete list of songs played during the hour, including lyrics and links to the iTunes store. Just click on your favorite songs below to complete your music collection:
The Go-Gos - "Head Over Heels" Sarah Solovay - "Hearts Collide" Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin - "Je t'aime moi non plus" Lykke Li - "Let It Fall" The Men - "Love Lost" Kurt Vile - "My Sympathy" Woolfy - "Odyssey" Mark Lanegan - "Strange...
Either way, if you're anything like us, you love getting exposed to the diverse music 90210 offers each week, so we'll do our best to help you guys out.
We've gone ahead and put together the most complete list of songs played during the hour, including lyrics and links to the iTunes store. Just click on your favorite songs below to complete your music collection:
The Go-Gos - "Head Over Heels" Sarah Solovay - "Hearts Collide" Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin - "Je t'aime moi non plus" Lykke Li - "Let It Fall" The Men - "Love Lost" Kurt Vile - "My Sympathy" Woolfy - "Odyssey" Mark Lanegan - "Strange...
- 3/17/2010
- by eric@iscribelimited.com (The Barnacle)
- TVfanatic
Welcome to the first special thematic week of the blog. It's quite hard to organize one of these things properly, but I'll try to do one at least every month. To get the jist of what I have in mind, a thematic week focuses on one particular composer or theme for 1/4 of a month. While selecting the titles for the "seven scores" specials, I'll try to feature both well-known and obscure titles from the subject of the special week.
This weeks' featured guest is composer Michael J. Lewis, who was born in Wales in 1939 and scored almost three dozen films from 1969 onwards. During the upcoming week, you'll be able to read Michael's thoughts about seven of his scores from his career. Most people might know Michael's music through his The Passage score without even realizing it. The track entitled "Apassionata" from that score is now known as the music played...
This weeks' featured guest is composer Michael J. Lewis, who was born in Wales in 1939 and scored almost three dozen films from 1969 onwards. During the upcoming week, you'll be able to read Michael's thoughts about seven of his scores from his career. Most people might know Michael's music through his The Passage score without even realizing it. The track entitled "Apassionata" from that score is now known as the music played...
- 1/27/2009
- Daily Film Music Blog
The fourth film in the series that began with his Oscar-winning "A Man and a Woman", Claude Lelouch's "Men, Women: User's Manual" is the veteran filmmaker's most satisfying installment since the 1966 prototype.
Presented as part of "City of Lights, City of Angels: A Week of New French Films," Lelouch's 35th feature is a richly constructed, end-of-the-millennium primer on love and life.
Both gently humorous and poetic, the picture made some waves in France due to the director's casting of controversial mogul Bernard Tapie in one of the lead roles. The charismatic Tapie proves to be quite a natural in the part of womanizing successful businessman Benoit Blanc, who fatefully crosses paths with Fabio Lini (Fabrice Luchini), a neurotic actor-turned-cop in a doctor's office waiting room where both men are experiencing stomach pains.
As it turns out, the doctor's colleague (Alessandra Martines) was one of Blanc's spurned girlfriends, and she orchestrates very unorthodox therapy as a way of vengeance. Once the two men's test results are back from the lab, she decides to put a theory of Professor Lerner's (Pierre Arditi) involving the healing abilities of the reassured mind into practice. She informs the positively testing Lini that he has tested negatively for cancer, while informing the negatively testing Blanc that he requires immediate treatment if he is to have any chance of conquering the disease.
Of course, her actions prove to have far-reaching effects on not just the two patients involved but on all the characters that make up the filmmaker's intricate, intriguing universe.
While Lelouch has essentially made a "Man/Woman" picture around the middle of each of the past four decades, the closing out of the 20th century appears to have invigorated him. This lyrical rumination on the powers of love, work and health is filled with clever touches and great visuals, not to mention hope for the next millennium.
His entire cast, also including Lelouch regular Anouk Aimee as a gold-digging "widow" who hangs out at cemeteries, shines uniformly brightly. Francis Lai, meanwhile -- who also took home an Oscar for his original "A Man and a Woman" themes -- delivers a fittingly reflexive score featuring some truly existential vocals from male soprano Patrick Husson, who sort of looks like an angelic Dudley Moore.
MEN, WOMEN: USER'S MANUAL
Films 13/TF1 Films
with the participation of Canal Plus
Director:Claude Lelouch
Screenwriters:Claude Lelouch, Rene Bonnell
Producer:Claude Lelouch
Director of photography:Philippe Pavans
Music:Francis Lai
Color/stereo
Cast:
Fabio Lini:Fabrice Luchini
Benoit Blanc:Bernard Tapie
Doctor:Alessandra Martines
Widow:Anouk Aimee
Professor Lerner:Pierre Arditi
Running time -- 100 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Presented as part of "City of Lights, City of Angels: A Week of New French Films," Lelouch's 35th feature is a richly constructed, end-of-the-millennium primer on love and life.
Both gently humorous and poetic, the picture made some waves in France due to the director's casting of controversial mogul Bernard Tapie in one of the lead roles. The charismatic Tapie proves to be quite a natural in the part of womanizing successful businessman Benoit Blanc, who fatefully crosses paths with Fabio Lini (Fabrice Luchini), a neurotic actor-turned-cop in a doctor's office waiting room where both men are experiencing stomach pains.
As it turns out, the doctor's colleague (Alessandra Martines) was one of Blanc's spurned girlfriends, and she orchestrates very unorthodox therapy as a way of vengeance. Once the two men's test results are back from the lab, she decides to put a theory of Professor Lerner's (Pierre Arditi) involving the healing abilities of the reassured mind into practice. She informs the positively testing Lini that he has tested negatively for cancer, while informing the negatively testing Blanc that he requires immediate treatment if he is to have any chance of conquering the disease.
Of course, her actions prove to have far-reaching effects on not just the two patients involved but on all the characters that make up the filmmaker's intricate, intriguing universe.
While Lelouch has essentially made a "Man/Woman" picture around the middle of each of the past four decades, the closing out of the 20th century appears to have invigorated him. This lyrical rumination on the powers of love, work and health is filled with clever touches and great visuals, not to mention hope for the next millennium.
His entire cast, also including Lelouch regular Anouk Aimee as a gold-digging "widow" who hangs out at cemeteries, shines uniformly brightly. Francis Lai, meanwhile -- who also took home an Oscar for his original "A Man and a Woman" themes -- delivers a fittingly reflexive score featuring some truly existential vocals from male soprano Patrick Husson, who sort of looks like an angelic Dudley Moore.
MEN, WOMEN: USER'S MANUAL
Films 13/TF1 Films
with the participation of Canal Plus
Director:Claude Lelouch
Screenwriters:Claude Lelouch, Rene Bonnell
Producer:Claude Lelouch
Director of photography:Philippe Pavans
Music:Francis Lai
Color/stereo
Cast:
Fabio Lini:Fabrice Luchini
Benoit Blanc:Bernard Tapie
Doctor:Alessandra Martines
Widow:Anouk Aimee
Professor Lerner:Pierre Arditi
Running time -- 100 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 4/14/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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