Great Expectations
Blu-ray
ITV
1946 / 1.33: 1 / 118 Min.
Starring John Mills, Anthony Wager, Jean Simmons
Written by David Lean, Ronald Neame, Anthony Havelock-Allan
Directed by David Lean
David Lean and Noël Coward made four films together in the space of just three years—it was one of the most consequential collaborations in British cinema with Lean, a former editor, finding his footing as director alongside the accomplished Coward, one of England’s preeminent “show-biz hyphenates.” By 1946 Lean was ready to part ways and meet success on his own terms—thanks to his wife Kay Walsh, he already had a project in mind.
In 1939 Walsh shared a studio dressing room with Martita Hunt who was part of a fledging theater group called the Actor’s Company. Hunt convinced Walsh to bring her husband to the opening night of the troupe’s first production, an adaptation of Great Expectations at the Rudolf Steiner House,...
Blu-ray
ITV
1946 / 1.33: 1 / 118 Min.
Starring John Mills, Anthony Wager, Jean Simmons
Written by David Lean, Ronald Neame, Anthony Havelock-Allan
Directed by David Lean
David Lean and Noël Coward made four films together in the space of just three years—it was one of the most consequential collaborations in British cinema with Lean, a former editor, finding his footing as director alongside the accomplished Coward, one of England’s preeminent “show-biz hyphenates.” By 1946 Lean was ready to part ways and meet success on his own terms—thanks to his wife Kay Walsh, he already had a project in mind.
In 1939 Walsh shared a studio dressing room with Martita Hunt who was part of a fledging theater group called the Actor’s Company. Hunt convinced Walsh to bring her husband to the opening night of the troupe’s first production, an adaptation of Great Expectations at the Rudolf Steiner House,...
- 11/26/2022
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Look into the series Criterion Channel have programmed for August and this lineup is revealed as (in scientific terms) quite something. “Hollywood Chinese” proves an especially deep bench, spanning “cinema’s first hundred years to explore the ways in which the Chinese people have been imagined in American feature films” and bringing with it the likes of Cronenberg’s M. Butterfly, Cimino’s Year of the Dragon, Griffith’s Broken Blossoms, and Ang Lee’s The Wedding Banquet—among 20-or-so others. A three-film Marguerite Duras series brings one of the greatest films ever (India Song) and two lesser-screened experiments; films featuring Yaphet Kotto include Blue Collar, Across 110th Street, and Midnight Run; and lest we ignore a Myrna Loy retro that goes no later than 1949.
Criterion editions include The Asphalt Jungle, Husbands, Rouge, and Sweet Smell of Success; streaming premieres for Loznitsa’s Donbass, Béla Tarr’s watershed Damnation, and...
Criterion editions include The Asphalt Jungle, Husbands, Rouge, and Sweet Smell of Success; streaming premieres for Loznitsa’s Donbass, Béla Tarr’s watershed Damnation, and...
- 7/25/2022
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
During a three-hour discussion on a recent episode of “The Empire Film Podcast,” Edgar Wright and Quentin Tarantino revealed the existence of their makeshift quarantine movie club over the last 9 months. As Wright explained, “It’s nice. We’ve kept in touch in a sort of way that cinephiles do. It’s been one of the very few blessings of this [pandemic], the chance to disappear down a rabbit hole with the hours indoors that we have.” Tarantino added, “Edgar is more social than I am. It’s a big deal that I’ve been talking to him these past 9 months.”
A bulk of the film club was curated by none other than Martin Scorsese, who sent Wright a recommendation list of nearly 50 British films that Scorsese considers personal favorites. In the five months Wright spent in lockdown before resuming production on “Last Night in Soho” — and before he received the...
A bulk of the film club was curated by none other than Martin Scorsese, who sent Wright a recommendation list of nearly 50 British films that Scorsese considers personal favorites. In the five months Wright spent in lockdown before resuming production on “Last Night in Soho” — and before he received the...
- 2/8/2021
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
She was an amazing woman. At the beginning, I worked with her on Light in the Piazza in Italy, which was extraordinary. There's a British director named Guy Green and a young actress named Yvette Mimieux, and we started working together and in came this force field of Olivia de Havilland. She had done so much, had been such a great star, and I was always joking with her and she was flirting with me. It was an amazing thing because this is a woman who you have the greatest respect for, she had great style and she was a ...
- 7/30/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
She was an amazing woman. At the beginning, I worked with her on Light in the Piazza in Italy, which was extraordinary. There's a British director named Guy Green and a young actress named Yvette Mimieux, and we started working together and in came this force field of Olivia de Havilland. She had done so much, had been such a great star, and I was always joking with her and she was flirting with me. It was an amazing thing because this is a woman who you have the greatest respect for, she had great style and she was a ...
- 7/30/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Olivia de Havilland, one of the last remaining actresses of Hollywood’s Golden Age and the last surviving star of Gone With the Wind, died July 26 of natural causes at her residence in Paris, where she lived for more than six decades, according to Variety. De Havilland was 104.
De Havilland turned 104 on July 1. She was the older sister of Joan Fontaine, who died in 2013 at 96. The two Academy Award-winning actresses were estranged for most of their lives. Olivia Mary de Havilland was born in Tokyo on July 1, 1916. Her parents, Walter de Havilland, an English professor, and actress Lilian Fontaine, were British. De Havilland and her sister grew up in Saratoga, California, with their mother. Her father married the family’s housekeeper and remained in Tokyo. Havilland’s first performance was in a school production of Alice in Wonderland.
She made her stage debut in Max Reinhardt’s production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
De Havilland turned 104 on July 1. She was the older sister of Joan Fontaine, who died in 2013 at 96. The two Academy Award-winning actresses were estranged for most of their lives. Olivia Mary de Havilland was born in Tokyo on July 1, 1916. Her parents, Walter de Havilland, an English professor, and actress Lilian Fontaine, were British. De Havilland and her sister grew up in Saratoga, California, with their mother. Her father married the family’s housekeeper and remained in Tokyo. Havilland’s first performance was in a school production of Alice in Wonderland.
She made her stage debut in Max Reinhardt’s production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
- 7/27/2020
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
Sidney Poitier’s films of the 1950s and ’60s almost always put a statement about race in the forefront, and even when the message was obvious, his work as ambassador across the race divide made a big difference. This sweet tale of a possible romance across social barriers came at a time when interracial pairing was still illegal in some states. Poitier is his sweet self, but the film was stolen by young Elizabeth Hartman, a major talent with a tragic life story.
A Patch of Blue
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1965 / B&W / 2:35 widescreen / 105 min. / Street Date June, 2019 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Sidney Poitier, Shelley Winters, Elizabeth Hartman, Wallace Ford, Ivan Dixon, Elisabeth Fraser, John Qualen.
Cinematography: Robert Burks
Film Editor: Rita Roland
Original Music: Jerry Goldsmith
From the novel Be Ready With Bells and Drums by Elizabeth Kata
Produced by Pandro S. Berman
Written and Directed by...
A Patch of Blue
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1965 / B&W / 2:35 widescreen / 105 min. / Street Date June, 2019 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Sidney Poitier, Shelley Winters, Elizabeth Hartman, Wallace Ford, Ivan Dixon, Elisabeth Fraser, John Qualen.
Cinematography: Robert Burks
Film Editor: Rita Roland
Original Music: Jerry Goldsmith
From the novel Be Ready With Bells and Drums by Elizabeth Kata
Produced by Pandro S. Berman
Written and Directed by...
- 6/8/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Nicholas Ray’s final film was an honorable attempt to combine complex political and social issues while straining to satisfy mainstream audiences’ appetite for traditional epics. That strain got to Ray – he collapsed midway and was replaced by Andrew Marton and Guy Green. The 1963 film was a disappointment at the box office with contemporary screenings few and far between – leaving Jack Hildyard’s spectacular Technirama photography to the dust bin of history.
The post 55 Days at Peking appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
The post 55 Days at Peking appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
- 4/29/2019
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
With nearly two years of worthy Blu ray releases under their belt, ranging from traditional favorites like To Sir With Love to rare essentials like Jack Clayton’s The Pumpkin Eater, it can be said that UK’s Indicator has finally shed their rookie status. Their newest effort is Hammer Volume Two: Criminal Intent, a well-programmed package of that studio’s little seen crime films featuring two minor classics and a couple of honorable misfires, all in glorious black and white.
The Snorkel
1958 – 74 Minutes
Written by Peter Myers and Jimmy Sangster
Produced by Michael Carreras
Directed by Guy Green
Featuring the sloppiest killer this side of the Coen Brothers and the least curious investigator since Chief Wiggum, 1961’s The Snorkel, with its urbane villain and Riviera scenery, is positively Hitchcockian in its intent but definitely not in its execution.
Shadow of a Doubt dogs this story of a young teen...
The Snorkel
1958 – 74 Minutes
Written by Peter Myers and Jimmy Sangster
Produced by Michael Carreras
Directed by Guy Green
Featuring the sloppiest killer this side of the Coen Brothers and the least curious investigator since Chief Wiggum, 1961’s The Snorkel, with its urbane villain and Riviera scenery, is positively Hitchcockian in its intent but definitely not in its execution.
Shadow of a Doubt dogs this story of a young teen...
- 3/6/2018
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
This past weekend, the American Society of Cinematographers awarded Greig Fraser for his contribution to Lion as last year’s greatest accomplishment in the field. Of course, his achievement was just a small sampling of the fantastic work from directors of photography, but it did give us a stronger hint at what may be the winner on Oscar night. Ahead of the ceremony, we have a new video compilation that honors all the past winners in the category at the Academy Awards
Created by Burger Fiction, it spans the stunning silent landmark Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans all the way up to the end of Emmanuel Lubezki‘s three-peat win for The Revenant. Aside from the advancements in color and aspect ration, it’s a thrill to see some of cinema’s most iconic shots side-by-side. However, the best way to experience the evolution of the craft is by...
Created by Burger Fiction, it spans the stunning silent landmark Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans all the way up to the end of Emmanuel Lubezki‘s three-peat win for The Revenant. Aside from the advancements in color and aspect ration, it’s a thrill to see some of cinema’s most iconic shots side-by-side. However, the best way to experience the evolution of the craft is by...
- 2/6/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
How could England have won the war without him? Horatio Smith sneaks about in Nazi Germany, liberating concentration camp inmates right under the noses of the Gestapo. Leslie Howard directed and stars in this wartime escapist spy thriller, as a witty professor too passive to be suspected as the mystery spy.
‘Pimpernel’ Smith
Blu-ray
Olive Films
1941 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 121 min. / Street Date November 15, 2016 / available through the Olive Films website / 29.98
Starring Leslie Howard, Francis L. Sullivan, Mary Morris, Allan Jeayes, Peter Gawthorne, Hugh McDermott, David Tomlinson, Raymond Huntley, Sebastian Cabot, Irene Handl, Ronald Howard, Michael Rennie.
Cinematography Mutz Greenbaum
Camera Operators Guy Green, Jack Hildyard
Film Editor Douglas Myers
Original Music John Greenwood
Written by Anatole de Grunwald, Roland Pertwee, A.G. Macdonell, Wolfgang Wilhelm based on a character by Baroness Emmuska Orczy
Produced by Leslie Howard, Harold Huth
Directed by Leslie Howard
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
I like movies...
‘Pimpernel’ Smith
Blu-ray
Olive Films
1941 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 121 min. / Street Date November 15, 2016 / available through the Olive Films website / 29.98
Starring Leslie Howard, Francis L. Sullivan, Mary Morris, Allan Jeayes, Peter Gawthorne, Hugh McDermott, David Tomlinson, Raymond Huntley, Sebastian Cabot, Irene Handl, Ronald Howard, Michael Rennie.
Cinematography Mutz Greenbaum
Camera Operators Guy Green, Jack Hildyard
Film Editor Douglas Myers
Original Music John Greenwood
Written by Anatole de Grunwald, Roland Pertwee, A.G. Macdonell, Wolfgang Wilhelm based on a character by Baroness Emmuska Orczy
Produced by Leslie Howard, Harold Huth
Directed by Leslie Howard
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
I like movies...
- 12/30/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger officially become ‘The Archers’ for this sterling morale-propaganda picture lauding the help of the valiant Dutch resistance. It’s a joyful show of spirit, terrific casting (with a couple of surprises) and first-class English filmmaking.
One of Our Aircraft is Missing
Blu-ray
Olive Films
1942 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy /103 82 min. / Street Date November 15, 2016 / available through the Olive Films website / 29.98
Starring Godfrey Tearle, Eric Portman, Hugh Williams, Bernard Miles, Hugh Burden, Emrys Jones, Pamela Brown, Joyce Redman, Googie Withers, Hay Petrie, Arnold Marlé, Robert Helpmann, Peter Ustinov, Roland Culver, Robert Beatty, Michael Powell.
Cinematography Ronald Neame
Film Editor David Lean
Camera Crew Robert Krasker, Guy Green
Written by Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Produced by The Archers
Directed by Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
There are still a few more key Powell-Pressburger ‘Archer’ films waiting for a quality disc release, Contraband and Gone to Earth for just two.
One of Our Aircraft is Missing
Blu-ray
Olive Films
1942 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy /103 82 min. / Street Date November 15, 2016 / available through the Olive Films website / 29.98
Starring Godfrey Tearle, Eric Portman, Hugh Williams, Bernard Miles, Hugh Burden, Emrys Jones, Pamela Brown, Joyce Redman, Googie Withers, Hay Petrie, Arnold Marlé, Robert Helpmann, Peter Ustinov, Roland Culver, Robert Beatty, Michael Powell.
Cinematography Ronald Neame
Film Editor David Lean
Camera Crew Robert Krasker, Guy Green
Written by Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Produced by The Archers
Directed by Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
There are still a few more key Powell-Pressburger ‘Archer’ films waiting for a quality disc release, Contraband and Gone to Earth for just two.
- 11/21/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Above: Danish poster for Maid for Murder a.k.a. She’ll Have to Go (Robert Asher, UK, 1962).Next week is a red letter week for New York cinephiles because Anna Karina is coming to town. Nouvelle vague icon, muse of Jean-Luc Godard, and one of the most alluring presences in cinema, Anna Karina, now aged 75 and still gorgeous, is gracing us with her presence at three of New York’s temples of cinema: at Bam on Tuesday, May 3, where she will talk to Melissa Anderson following a screening of A Woman is a Woman; at MoMI on Wednesday, May 4, where she will have a conversation with Molly Haskell following a screening of Pierrot le fou; and at Film Forum on Friday, May 6, where she will kick off a week long run of Band of Outsiders and the accompanying series Anna & Jean-Luc. It would be easy to fill this post...
- 5/1/2016
- MUBI
The sequel to the epic Julie Andrews road show picture wasn't a hit, but it tells a good story of its own. Charlton Heston is okay but the central character is a Chinese immigrant played by Tina Chen. Against all odds, the peasant matriarch survives plagues and leprosy to found a family dynasty for the new Hawaii. The Hawaiians Blu-ray Twilight Time Limited Edition 1970 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 134 min. / Ship Date February 9, 2016 / available through Twilight Time Movies / 29.95 Starring Charlton Heston, Tina Chen, Geraldine Chaplin, Mako, John Phillip Law, Alec McCowen, Miko Mayama, Virginia Ann Lee, Chris Robinson, Naomi Stevens, Keye Luke, Khigh Dhiegh, Mary Munday, Harry Townes, Lyle Bettger, James Hong, James Gregory, Harry Holcombe, Victor Sen Yung Cinematography Lucien Ballard, Philip Lathrop Film Editor Byron Brandt, Ralph Winters Original Music Henry Mancini Written by James R. Webb from the novel by James A. Michener Produced by Walter Mirisch Directed by...
- 3/1/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Olivia de Havilland on Turner Classic Movies: Your chance to watch 'The Adventures of Robin Hood' for the 384th time Olivia de Havilland is Turner Classic Movies' “Summer Under the Stars” star today, Aug. 2, '15. The two-time Best Actress Oscar winner (To Each His Own, 1946; The Heiress, 1949) whose steely determination helped to change the way studios handled their contract players turned 99 last July 1. Unfortunately, TCM isn't showing any de Havilland movie rarities, e.g., Universal's cool thriller The Dark Mirror (1946), the Paramount comedy The Well-Groomed Bride (1947), or Terence Young's British-made That Lady (1955), with de Havilland as eye-patch-wearing Spanish princess Ana de Mendoza. On the other hand, you'll be able to catch for the 384th time a demure Olivia de Havilland being romanced by a dashing Errol Flynn in The Adventures of Robin Hood, as TCM shows this 1938 period adventure classic just about every month. But who's complaining? One the...
- 8/3/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Lord Richard Attenborough was an Oscar winner. In fact he had two Oscars for both producing and directing 1982’s elegant epic biopic, Gandhi. But considering the breadth of his career not only in those capacities, but particularly as an actor, it is astounding to me that the Gandhi wins represented his only nominations in a six-decade career that memorably started with the British World War II classic In Which We Serve in 1942. As an actor, Attenborough deserved far better than he got from the Academy.
It’s almost criminal, for instance, that he was overlooked in 1964 for his creepy performance in Seance on a Wet Afternoon as Billy, the weak, complicit husband who gets involved in a kidnapping so his wife, played by the great Kim Stanley, could become famous as a psychic.
Stanley got a richly deserved Best Actress nomination that year but Attenborough, who also produced the film,...
It’s almost criminal, for instance, that he was overlooked in 1964 for his creepy performance in Seance on a Wet Afternoon as Billy, the weak, complicit husband who gets involved in a kidnapping so his wife, played by the great Kim Stanley, could become famous as a psychic.
Stanley got a richly deserved Best Actress nomination that year but Attenborough, who also produced the film,...
- 8/24/2014
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline
Mickey Rooney was earliest surviving Best Actor Oscar nominee (photo: Mickey Rooney and Spencer Tracy in ‘Boys Town’) (See previous post: “Mickey Rooney Dead at 93: MGM’s Andy Hardy Series’ Hero and Judy Garland Frequent Co-Star Had Longest Film Career Ever?”) Mickey Rooney was the earliest surviving Best Actor Academy Award nominee — Babes in Arms, 1939; The Human Comedy, 1943 — and the last surviving male acting Oscar nominee of the 1930s. Rooney lost the Best Actor Oscar to two considerably more “prestigious” — albeit less popular — stars: Robert Donat for Sam Wood’s Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939) and Paul Lukas for Herman Shumlin’s Watch on the Rhine (1943). Following Mickey Rooney’s death, there are only two acting Academy Award nominees from the ’30s still alive: two-time Best Actress winner Luise Rainer, 104 (for Robert Z. Leonard’s The Great Ziegfeld, 1936, and Sidney Franklin’s The Good Earth, 1937), and Best Supporting Actress nominee Olivia de Havilland,...
- 4/9/2014
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Oscar-winning British cinematographer who worked on a wide range of film classics
The Oscar-winning British cinematographer Oswald Morris, who has died aged 98, will be remembered for many classics, including Moulin Rouge, Fiddler on the Roof, Moby Dick and Lolita. He worked with some of the great directors, John Huston, Sidney Lumet, Carol Reed, Stanley Kubrick and Franco Zeffirelli. Many of Morris's films are landmarks in the history of colour cinematography. For Moulin Rouge (1952) he used filters to create a style reminiscent of paintings by Toulouse-Lautrec. For Fiddler on the Roof (1971), which won him an Oscar, he filmed with a silk stocking over the lens to give a sepia effect.
Morris also shot popular favourites such as The Guns of Navarone (1961), Oliver! (1968), The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965) and The Man Who Would Be King (1975), and photographed acting luminaries: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Gregory Peck and Humphrey Bogart.
The Oscar-winning British cinematographer Oswald Morris, who has died aged 98, will be remembered for many classics, including Moulin Rouge, Fiddler on the Roof, Moby Dick and Lolita. He worked with some of the great directors, John Huston, Sidney Lumet, Carol Reed, Stanley Kubrick and Franco Zeffirelli. Many of Morris's films are landmarks in the history of colour cinematography. For Moulin Rouge (1952) he used filters to create a style reminiscent of paintings by Toulouse-Lautrec. For Fiddler on the Roof (1971), which won him an Oscar, he filmed with a silk stocking over the lens to give a sepia effect.
Morris also shot popular favourites such as The Guns of Navarone (1961), Oliver! (1968), The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965) and The Man Who Would Be King (1975), and photographed acting luminaries: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Gregory Peck and Humphrey Bogart.
- 3/20/2014
- by Brian Baxter
- The Guardian - Film News
Stage and screen actor best known for his roles in Only Fools and Horses, The Vicar of Dibley and Harry Potter
The talented and idiosyncratic character actor Roger Lloyd Pack, who has died of pancreatic cancer aged 69, achieved national recognition, and huge popularity, as Colin "Trigger" Ball, the lugubrious Peckham road sweeper in John Sullivan's brilliantly acted comedy series Only Fools and Horses. He appeared alongside David Jason's Del Boy and Nicholas Lyndhurst's "plonker" Rodney from 1981 for 10 years, with many a seasonal "special" for another decade.
This success cemented a career in which, up to that point, he had played important roles at the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre and the Almeida theatre in north London – he was a notably anguished Rosmer in Ibsen's Rosmersholm at the National in 1987, opposite Suzanne Bertish – without recognition any wider than usually appreciative reviews.
His enhanced status led to another...
The talented and idiosyncratic character actor Roger Lloyd Pack, who has died of pancreatic cancer aged 69, achieved national recognition, and huge popularity, as Colin "Trigger" Ball, the lugubrious Peckham road sweeper in John Sullivan's brilliantly acted comedy series Only Fools and Horses. He appeared alongside David Jason's Del Boy and Nicholas Lyndhurst's "plonker" Rodney from 1981 for 10 years, with many a seasonal "special" for another decade.
This success cemented a career in which, up to that point, he had played important roles at the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre and the Almeida theatre in north London – he was a notably anguished Rosmer in Ibsen's Rosmersholm at the National in 1987, opposite Suzanne Bertish – without recognition any wider than usually appreciative reviews.
His enhanced status led to another...
- 1/17/2014
- by Michael Coveney
- The Guardian - Film News
Charlton Heston movies: ‘A Man for All Seasons’ remake, ‘The Greatest Story Ever Told’ (photo: Charlton Heston as Ben-Hur) (See previous post: “Charlton Heston: Moses Minus Staff Plus Chariot Equals Ben-Hur.”) I’ve yet to watch Irving Rapper’s melo Bad for Each Other (1954), co-starring the sultry Lizabeth Scott — always a good enough reason to check out any movie, regardless of plot or leading man. A major curiosity is the 1988 made-for-tv version of A Man for All Seasons, with Charlton Heston in the Oscar-winning Paul Scofield role (Sir Thomas More) and on Fred Zinnemann’s director’s chair. Vanessa Redgrave, who plays Thomas More’s wife in the TV movie (Wendy Hiller in the original) had a cameo as Anne Boleyn in the 1966 film. According to the IMDb, Robert Bolt, who wrote the Oscar-winning 1966 movie (and the original play), is credited for the 1988 version’s screenplay as well. Also of note,...
- 8/5/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Charlton Heston: Moses has his ‘Summer Under the Stars’ day Charlton Heston is Turner Classic Movies’ "Summer Under the Stars" star on Monday, August 5, 2013. TCM will be presenting one Heston movie premiere: Guy Green’s Hawaiian-set family drama Diamond Head (1963), in which Heston plays a pineapple grower, U.S. Senate candidate, and total control freak at odds with his strong-willed younger sister, the lovely Yvette Mimieux. Also in the Diamond Head cast: France Nuyen, Best Supporting Actor Academy Award winner George Chakiris (West Side Story), The Time Tunnel‘s James Darren, and veteran Aline MacMahon (Gold Diggers of 1933, Five Star Final) in one of her last movie roles. And last but not least, silent film star Billie Dove reportedly has a bit role in the film. (Photo: Charlton Heston ca. 1955.) (Charlton Heston movies: TCM schedule.) Now, with the exception of Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil, in which Charlton Heston...
- 8/5/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Chicago – Evoking the civil rights melodramas of the ’60s, such as Guy Green’s wrenching “A Patch of Blue,” with a dash of Robert Benton’s 1979 masterpiece, “Kramer vs. Kramer,” Travis Fine’s “Any Day Now” shamelessly aims to tug at the heartstrings. And tug at them he does with considerable success, thanks in large part to the riveting, career-best performance delivered by Alan Cumming. It’s the sort of work that could’ve easily been honored with an Oscar nod, had Fox Searchlight or Harvey Weinstein picked it up.
Set in California circa 1979, the film centers on a gay couple struggling to care for a young boy who is in desperate need of a family. Though the couple desires to be considered as his parents, they find themselves in the same predicament as the distraught father figure in Patrick Wang’s 2011 masterpiece, “In the Family.” Yet whereas Wang’s...
Set in California circa 1979, the film centers on a gay couple struggling to care for a young boy who is in desperate need of a family. Though the couple desires to be considered as his parents, they find themselves in the same predicament as the distraught father figure in Patrick Wang’s 2011 masterpiece, “In the Family.” Yet whereas Wang’s...
- 5/8/2013
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Imposing stage and screen actor whose work ranged from Shakespeare to The Bill
The character actor Bernard Horsfall, who has died aged 82, appeared in television, films and on the stage for more than half a century. Tall, imposing and authoritative, he appeared in many of the major television series from Z Cars and Dr Finlay's Casebook to Casualty and The Bill, and in Doctor Who took no fewer than four roles.
In 1968 he played Lemuel Gulliver in The Mind Robber, where he was encountered by Patrick Troughton, the second Doctor, in the Land of Fiction. The following year he returned as a Time Lord in The War Games. In 1973, with Jon Pertwee now donning the time-traveller's cape, he played the Thai chieftain, Taron, in the six-part Planet of the Daleks. And finally, he was another Time Lord, Chancellor Goth, in the 1976 story The Deadly Assassin, famously battling with Tom Baker...
The character actor Bernard Horsfall, who has died aged 82, appeared in television, films and on the stage for more than half a century. Tall, imposing and authoritative, he appeared in many of the major television series from Z Cars and Dr Finlay's Casebook to Casualty and The Bill, and in Doctor Who took no fewer than four roles.
In 1968 he played Lemuel Gulliver in The Mind Robber, where he was encountered by Patrick Troughton, the second Doctor, in the Land of Fiction. The following year he returned as a Time Lord in The War Games. In 1973, with Jon Pertwee now donning the time-traveller's cape, he played the Thai chieftain, Taron, in the six-part Planet of the Daleks. And finally, he was another Time Lord, Chancellor Goth, in the 1976 story The Deadly Assassin, famously battling with Tom Baker...
- 1/31/2013
- by Michael Coveney
- The Guardian - Film News
Chicago – Travis Fine’s “Any Day Now” is an old-fashioned social problem film painted in the broadest of strokes. Fairly early on, the audience is faced with two choices: either resist the film’s assuredly tear-jerking formula or submit to it. Though some critics will always opt for the first choice, regardless of a film’s merits, I’m willing to praise a formula as long as it’s well-executed.
Rating: 4.0/5.0
At its best, Fine’s film appropriately evokes civil rights melodramas of the ’60s, such as Guy Green’s wrenching “A Patch of Blue,” with a dash of Robert Benton’s 1979 masterpiece, “Kramer vs. Kramer.” Fueling the fractured heart of “Any Day Now” is the love that two would-be parents feel for a young boy in desperate need of a family. The fact that the two “parents” are a gay couple unable to marry in America circa 1979 places a...
Rating: 4.0/5.0
At its best, Fine’s film appropriately evokes civil rights melodramas of the ’60s, such as Guy Green’s wrenching “A Patch of Blue,” with a dash of Robert Benton’s 1979 masterpiece, “Kramer vs. Kramer.” Fueling the fractured heart of “Any Day Now” is the love that two would-be parents feel for a young boy in desperate need of a family. The fact that the two “parents” are a gay couple unable to marry in America circa 1979 places a...
- 1/3/2013
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Netflix has revolutionized the home movie experience for fans of film with its instant streaming technology. Netflix Nuggets is my way of spreading the word about independent, classic and foreign films made available by Netflix for instant streaming.
This Week’s New Instant Releases…
Promised Lands (1974)
Streaming Available: 04/19/2011
Cast: Documentary
Director: Susan Sontag
Synopsis: Set in Israel during the final days of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, this powerful documentary — initially barred by Israel authorities — from writer-director Susan Sontag examines divergent perceptions of the enduring Arab-Israeli clash. Weighing in on matters related to socialism, anti-Semitism, nation sovereignty and American materialism are The Last Jew writer Yoram Kaniuk and military physicist Yuval Ne’eman.
Vision: From the Life of Hildegard von Bingen (2009)
Streaming Available: 04/19/2011
Cast: Barbara Sukowa, Heino Ferch, Hannah Herzsprung, Gerald Alexander Held, Lena Stolze, Sunnyi Melles
Synopsis: Directed by longtime star of independent German cinema Margarethe von Trotta, this reverent...
This Week’s New Instant Releases…
Promised Lands (1974)
Streaming Available: 04/19/2011
Cast: Documentary
Director: Susan Sontag
Synopsis: Set in Israel during the final days of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, this powerful documentary — initially barred by Israel authorities — from writer-director Susan Sontag examines divergent perceptions of the enduring Arab-Israeli clash. Weighing in on matters related to socialism, anti-Semitism, nation sovereignty and American materialism are The Last Jew writer Yoram Kaniuk and military physicist Yuval Ne’eman.
Vision: From the Life of Hildegard von Bingen (2009)
Streaming Available: 04/19/2011
Cast: Barbara Sukowa, Heino Ferch, Hannah Herzsprung, Gerald Alexander Held, Lena Stolze, Sunnyi Melles
Synopsis: Directed by longtime star of independent German cinema Margarethe von Trotta, this reverent...
- 4/20/2011
- by Travis Keune
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Cinematographer known for his work on the Carry On films
Despite, or because of, the ancient, dirty jokes, schoolboy humour, double entendres, and a string of hammy actors tele- graphing each jest with pursed lips, rolling eyes or a snigger, the Carry On films have an army of devotees. Among the most regular actors were Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Sid James, Joan Sims and Kenneth Connor, and behind the camera, on almost all of the 30 Carry On movies, was the cinematographer Alan Hume, who has died aged 85.
Hume started as camera operator on the very first, Carry On Sergeant (1958), soon becoming director of photography (Dp) on Carry On Regardless (1961), and continuing as Dp until Carry On Columbus (1992) ended the franchise. Though few would make any artistic claims for the films, they were competently shot, rapidly, on a shoestring. Because of the rapport Hume built up over a long period with...
Despite, or because of, the ancient, dirty jokes, schoolboy humour, double entendres, and a string of hammy actors tele- graphing each jest with pursed lips, rolling eyes or a snigger, the Carry On films have an army of devotees. Among the most regular actors were Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Sid James, Joan Sims and Kenneth Connor, and behind the camera, on almost all of the 30 Carry On movies, was the cinematographer Alan Hume, who has died aged 85.
Hume started as camera operator on the very first, Carry On Sergeant (1958), soon becoming director of photography (Dp) on Carry On Regardless (1961), and continuing as Dp until Carry On Columbus (1992) ended the franchise. Though few would make any artistic claims for the films, they were competently shot, rapidly, on a shoestring. Because of the rapport Hume built up over a long period with...
- 8/17/2010
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
Liv Ullmann, Ingrid Bergman, Autumn Sonata Ingrid Bergman‘s best on-screen performance, as Liv Ullmann‘s painfully self-centered mother in Ingmar Bergman‘s Autumn Sonata, can be appreciated on Friday, August 6 — Ingrid Bergman Day — on Turner Classic Movies. TCM’s "Summer Under the Stars" film series continues with twelve Bergman movies, including more "esoteric" entries such as the aforementioned Autumn Sonata — actually one of director Bergman’s most accessible efforts — and Roberto Rossellini‘s psychological drama Europa ’51. The other scheduled Bergman vehicles, with the possible exceptions of Rossellini’s Stromboli and Guy Green‘s A Walk in the Spring Rain, have been shown a number of times on TCM. Among those are Intermezzo, which introduced the Swedish actress to American audiences in 1939; Casablanca, which won the 1943 Best Picture Oscar and turned Bergman into a superstar; and George Cukor‘s 1944 psychological thriller Gaslight, which earned Bergman the first of her two...
- 8/6/2010
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Martita Hunt, Jean Simmons in Great Expectations (Universal) Jean Simmons, who died on Jan. 22 at age 80, will have next Friday evening dedicated to her on Turner Classic Movies. Beginning at 5pm Pt, TCM will show three Jean Simmons movies: David Lean’s Great Expectations (1946), and Richard Brooks‘ Elmer Gantry (1960) and The Happy Ending (1969). Many consider the Academy Award-nominated Great Expectations the greatest film adaptation of a Charles Dickens‘ novel. Needless to say, I disagree. (I much prefer the mostly forgotten and generally dismissed Nicholas Nickleby, directed by Alberto Cavalcanti in 1947.) Yet, even this naysayer must agree that Lean’s Great Expectations has much to offer, including Guy Green’s superb black-and-white cinematography and Finlay Currie’s flawless portrayal of [...]...
- 1/28/2010
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Felllow Hammer film fans out there get ready to let out a shriek of joy. On April 6th Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is dropping six little seen classics from Hammer Films onto DVD as part of the The Icons of Suspense Collection, and 'Bidites they are asking for your help to pick out the box artwork...
From the Press Release "On April 6th Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (Sphe) opens the doors to the Hammer vault with the release of six films making their DVD debuts in The Icons of Suspense Collection Presents Hammer Films. Hammer Films made their name with monsters and vampires, but this third compilation from Sphe proves they could frighten the public without them. Topping the set is the uncut version of the futuristic classic These Are The Damned (aka The Damned, 1963), directed by the legendary Joseph Loseygr. Peter Cushing and Andre Morell match wits in Cash...
From the Press Release "On April 6th Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (Sphe) opens the doors to the Hammer vault with the release of six films making their DVD debuts in The Icons of Suspense Collection Presents Hammer Films. Hammer Films made their name with monsters and vampires, but this third compilation from Sphe proves they could frighten the public without them. Topping the set is the uncut version of the futuristic classic These Are The Damned (aka The Damned, 1963), directed by the legendary Joseph Loseygr. Peter Cushing and Andre Morell match wits in Cash...
- 1/22/2010
- by admin
- Horrorbid
On April 6th Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is dropping six little seen classics from Hammer Films onto DVD as part of the The Icons of Suspense Collection, and you can help dress this digital body for its own funeral!
From the Press Release
"On April 6th Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (Sphe) opens the doors to the Hammer vault with the release of six films making their DVD debuts in The Icons of Suspense Collection Presents Hammer Films. Hammer Films made their name with monsters and vampires, but this third compilation from Sphe proves they could frighten the public without them. Topping the set is the uncut version of the futuristic classic These Are The Damned (aka The Damned, 1963), directed by the legendary Joseph Loseygr. Peter Cushing and Andre Morell match wits in Cash on Demand (1961). Oscar®-winning cinematographer Guy Green directed The Snorkel (1958), about a young girl who can’t...
From the Press Release
"On April 6th Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (Sphe) opens the doors to the Hammer vault with the release of six films making their DVD debuts in The Icons of Suspense Collection Presents Hammer Films. Hammer Films made their name with monsters and vampires, but this third compilation from Sphe proves they could frighten the public without them. Topping the set is the uncut version of the futuristic classic These Are The Damned (aka The Damned, 1963), directed by the legendary Joseph Loseygr. Peter Cushing and Andre Morell match wits in Cash on Demand (1961). Oscar®-winning cinematographer Guy Green directed The Snorkel (1958), about a young girl who can’t...
- 1/22/2010
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
On April 6th, Sony Pictures will release The Icons of Suspense Collection Presents Hammer Films as a 3 DVD set featuring 6 classic Hammer Films not yet available on DVD (some have not been available on any home video format for quite some time) including These Are The Damned, Cash on Demand, The Snorkel, Stop Me Before I Kill!, Maniac and the must own title, Never Take Candy from a Stranger. Hit the jump for more, including info on how you can vote on box art. Topping the set is the uncut version of the futuristic classic These Are The Damned (aka The Damned, 1963), directed by the legendary Joseph Loseygr. Peter Cushing and Andre Morell match wits in Cash on Demand (1961). Oscar®-winning cinematographer Guy Green directed...
- 1/22/2010
- FEARnet
On April 6th, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment opens the doors to the Hammer vault with the release of six films making their DVD debuts in The Icons of Suspense Collection Presents Hammer Films . Which movies can you look forward to in the set? An uncut version of the futuristic classic These Are The Damned (aka The Damned , 1963), directed by the legendary Joseph Loseygr. Peter Cushing and Andre Morell match wits in Cash on Demand (1961). Oscar-winning cinematographer Guy Green directed The Snorkel (1958), about a young girl who can.t convince anyone her stepfather is a murderer. The renowned Val Guest directed the startling psychodrama Stop Me Before I Kill! (aka The Full Treatment , 1960). Kerwin Matthews finds himself in the middle of a strange mother/daughter...
- 1/21/2010
- shocktillyoudrop.com
Some might initially be disappointed by the lineup of the Sidney Poitier Collection. Most of Poitier's landmark films were released by United Artists or Columbia Pictures (In the Heat of the Night, A Raisin in the Sun, Lilies in the Field, The Defiant Ones, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, To Sir, With Love, etc.). And since this is a Warner Bros. package, one could feel inclined to pass it up and hope for a different set to be released in the future. But while two of the films included in this collection lack greatness, the other two belong in the library of any avid film lover, whether you like Poitier or not (but who doesn't?). And since all of these films were difficult (if not impossible) to find on DVD before now, it's worth the purchase. Reviews of the four films follow:
Something Of Value
A dramatization of the real...
Something Of Value
A dramatization of the real...
- 2/3/2009
- by Matt Medlock
- JustPressPlay.net
Some might initially be disappointed by the lineup of the Sidney Poitier Collection. Most of Poitier's landmark films were released by United Artists or Columbia Pictures (In the Heat of the Night, A Raisin in the Sun, Lilies in the Field, The Defiant Ones, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, To Sir, With Love, etc.). And since this is a Warner Bros. package, one could feel inclined to pass it up and hope for a different set to be released in the future. But while two of the films included in this collection lack greatness, the other two belong in the library of any avid film lover, whether you like Poitier or not (but who doesn't?). And since all of these films were difficult (if not impossible) to find on DVD before now, it's worth the purchase. Reviews of the four films follow:
Something Of Value
A dramatization of the real...
Something Of Value
A dramatization of the real...
- 2/3/2009
- by Matt Medlock
- JustPressPlay.net
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.