Stars: Karlheinz Bohm, Maxine Audley, Anna Massey, Moira Shearer, Brenda Bruce, Esmond Knight, Martin Miller, Michael Goodliffe, Jack Watson, Shirley Anne Field | Written by Leo Marks | Directed by Michael Powell
Released 64 years ago (!!!), a Martin Scorsese favourite, Peeping Tom, is getting a special edition 4K release this year after being restored by The Film Foundation and BFI National Archive in association with StudioCanal.
This was a first-time watch for me, and my immediate reaction, almost from the opening scene is that for a film that was made so long ago, it has aged extremely well and I imagine it might have seemed quite shocking at the time.
That does seem to be the case as “on its initial release in 1960, Peeping Tom received a savage reception from critics who were dismayed by its controversial subject matter and the sympathy it seems to engender for its murderous protagonist.” It then remained...
Released 64 years ago (!!!), a Martin Scorsese favourite, Peeping Tom, is getting a special edition 4K release this year after being restored by The Film Foundation and BFI National Archive in association with StudioCanal.
This was a first-time watch for me, and my immediate reaction, almost from the opening scene is that for a film that was made so long ago, it has aged extremely well and I imagine it might have seemed quite shocking at the time.
That does seem to be the case as “on its initial release in 1960, Peeping Tom received a savage reception from critics who were dismayed by its controversial subject matter and the sympathy it seems to engender for its murderous protagonist.” It then remained...
- 1/29/2024
- by Alain Elliott
- Nerdly
Looking to the future in Running Against The Wind Photo: Yenefasu Felemia
The story of two boys whose destinies diverge as each pursues his passion, Running Against The Wind was Ethiopia’s entry for Best Film not in the English Language at the 2020 Oscars. It’s now out on on Blu-ray in the UK and enjoying a cinematic release in the US. It stems from an idea which German director Jan Philipp Weyl had over a decade ago as a high schooler, when he was invited to Ethiopia by the actor and philanthropist Karlheinz Böhm. When we connected to discuss the film, he explained how it happened.
“I collected more than €23,000, starting from eighth grade, in order to build a school in Ethiopia. Back then, you know, it was a different time. There was no social media yet. It was me and my friend, we we kept on going selling...
The story of two boys whose destinies diverge as each pursues his passion, Running Against The Wind was Ethiopia’s entry for Best Film not in the English Language at the 2020 Oscars. It’s now out on on Blu-ray in the UK and enjoying a cinematic release in the US. It stems from an idea which German director Jan Philipp Weyl had over a decade ago as a high schooler, when he was invited to Ethiopia by the actor and philanthropist Karlheinz Böhm. When we connected to discuss the film, he explained how it happened.
“I collected more than €23,000, starting from eighth grade, in order to build a school in Ethiopia. Back then, you know, it was a different time. There was no social media yet. It was me and my friend, we we kept on going selling...
- 7/20/2021
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
by Jason Adams
The adage goes that curiosity kills the cat, but in Michael Powell's 1960 shocker Peeping Tom it's only half true -- curiosity kills one while saving the other. Mark, the deranged killer camera-man at the film's heart (played with shy finesse by Karlheinz Böhm), finds Helen (Anna Massey) by perching on her windowsill and peering in at her birthday party -- she's his downstairs neighbor and full of life as irrepressible as her vast array of bright monochromatic dresses. They seem an odd match from the start but Helen can't seem to get Mark off her mind -- there's something curious about that upstairs man, and she's going to find out if it... well you know.
Is Helen film's very first Final Girl? ...
The adage goes that curiosity kills the cat, but in Michael Powell's 1960 shocker Peeping Tom it's only half true -- curiosity kills one while saving the other. Mark, the deranged killer camera-man at the film's heart (played with shy finesse by Karlheinz Böhm), finds Helen (Anna Massey) by perching on her windowsill and peering in at her birthday party -- she's his downstairs neighbor and full of life as irrepressible as her vast array of bright monochromatic dresses. They seem an odd match from the start but Helen can't seem to get Mark off her mind -- there's something curious about that upstairs man, and she's going to find out if it... well you know.
Is Helen film's very first Final Girl? ...
- 8/11/2020
- by JA
- FilmExperience
Frauke Finsterwalder to begin shooting period drama in autumn 2020.
The Match Factory is to handle international sales on Frauke Finsterwalder’s Sisi – Kaiserin Elisabeth (working title), which promises to cast new light on the 19th century Empress of Austria.
Although it will tell the story of Elisabeth, who was nicknamed Sisi and would go on to become Queen of Hungary, the film will be told from the perspective of her lady-in-waiting, Irma.
Produced by Munich-based Walker+Worm Film, it will shoot on location in Germany, Switzerland, Ireland and Morocco from autumn 2020.
Finsterwalder has co-written the screenplay with her husband, the bestselling author Christian Kracht.
The Match Factory is to handle international sales on Frauke Finsterwalder’s Sisi – Kaiserin Elisabeth (working title), which promises to cast new light on the 19th century Empress of Austria.
Although it will tell the story of Elisabeth, who was nicknamed Sisi and would go on to become Queen of Hungary, the film will be told from the perspective of her lady-in-waiting, Irma.
Produced by Munich-based Walker+Worm Film, it will shoot on location in Germany, Switzerland, Ireland and Morocco from autumn 2020.
Finsterwalder has co-written the screenplay with her husband, the bestselling author Christian Kracht.
- 11/5/2019
- by 158¦Martin Blaney¦40¦
- ScreenDaily
Think, “I Was a Teenage Empress.” A trio of movies tell an optimized version of the life of a 19th century Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary. It’s fuzzy history designed to prop up German morale, but the film is graced with the incredible presence of a teenaged Romy Schneider, whose beauty and personality became a sensation in the European film world.
The Sissi Collection:
Sissi
Sissi The Young Empress
Sissi The Fateful Years of an Empress
The Story of Vickie
Blu-ray
Film Movement
1955, 1956, 1957 / Color / 1:78 widescreen & 1:33 flat full frame / 102, 107, 109 min. / Street Date November 14, 2017 / 74.95
Starring: Romy Schneider, Karlheinz Böhm, Magda Schneider, Uta Franz, Vilma Degischer, Josef Meinrad, Gustav Knuth.
Cinematography: Bruno Mondi
Film Editor: Alfred Srp
Original Music: Anton Profes
Produced by Karl Erlich, Ernst Marischka
Written and Directed by Ernst Marischka
I’m fascinated by National Epics, movies that individual countries might take as a film...
The Sissi Collection:
Sissi
Sissi The Young Empress
Sissi The Fateful Years of an Empress
The Story of Vickie
Blu-ray
Film Movement
1955, 1956, 1957 / Color / 1:78 widescreen & 1:33 flat full frame / 102, 107, 109 min. / Street Date November 14, 2017 / 74.95
Starring: Romy Schneider, Karlheinz Böhm, Magda Schneider, Uta Franz, Vilma Degischer, Josef Meinrad, Gustav Knuth.
Cinematography: Bruno Mondi
Film Editor: Alfred Srp
Original Music: Anton Profes
Produced by Karl Erlich, Ernst Marischka
Written and Directed by Ernst Marischka
I’m fascinated by National Epics, movies that individual countries might take as a film...
- 11/14/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Mubi is showing Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's The Small Back Room (1949), The Tales of Hoffmann (1951) and Michael Powell's Peeping Tom (1960) in November and December, 2017 in the United States in the series Powell & Pressburger: Together and Apart.The story goes that when they were casting their first flat-out masterpiece together, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943), Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger sent a letter to an actress outlining a manifesto of their production company, called "the Archers." At the time, the Archers was freshly incorporated, with Powell and Pressburger sharing all credit for writing, directing, and producing, and their manifesto had five points. Point one was to ensure that they provided their financial backers with "a profit, not a loss," which may raise eyebrows among those who are used to manifestos burning with anti-capitalist fire—but then, in a system like commercial cinema, profitability buys freedom.
- 11/8/2017
- MUBI
On August 20, 2017, Jerry Lewis took a pratfall off this mortal coil, presumably knocking an unwitting dowager on her keister and sending a surprised cop into an open manhole on his way out. The durable enfant terrible was all of 91 years when he finally left the building though he had been making spirited public appearances as recently as January of this year.
For the inquisitive Jerry fan, Shawn Levy’s 1997 King of Comedy: The Life and Art of Jerry Lewis, remains the first and last stop for the straight scoop on America’s premiere nudnik. Levy, who endured the full fury of the comedian’s legendary wrath to get his story, is as admiring of his subject’s accomplishments as he was repelled by his whiplash mood swings. The hard knock apprenticeship in the Catskills, the Freudian-fueled soap opera of his partnership with Dean Martin, the boastful sex-capades, they’re all there and then some.
For the inquisitive Jerry fan, Shawn Levy’s 1997 King of Comedy: The Life and Art of Jerry Lewis, remains the first and last stop for the straight scoop on America’s premiere nudnik. Levy, who endured the full fury of the comedian’s legendary wrath to get his story, is as admiring of his subject’s accomplishments as he was repelled by his whiplash mood swings. The hard knock apprenticeship in the Catskills, the Freudian-fueled soap opera of his partnership with Dean Martin, the boastful sex-capades, they’re all there and then some.
- 8/26/2017
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
When it comes to discussing ’60s British horror, most conversations usually begin and end with Hammer’s gothics and their sleazy derivatives. Mind you, it’s not hard to see why—the studio practically revived the genre in the UK during the late ’50s, and competitors would have to be fools to not want to ride their coattails, creating their own bloody (and occasionally brilliant) gothics chock-full of sex and violence. But the ’60s also saw the rise of a different, darker sub-genre—the modern psychological thriller, birthed from Alfred Hitchcock’s visual vocabulary and directors focused less on the supernatural and more on the depths of human cruelty and depravity. These thrillers are violent, sexual, and no stranger to controversy, and on today’s entry of the Crypt of Curiosities, we’ll be looking at three of the best and most noteworthy films.
The first big British thriller of...
The first big British thriller of...
- 7/7/2017
- by Perry Ruhland
- DailyDead
Early in Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s 1975 film Fox and His Friends, the naive protagonist Franz Biberkopf (played by Fassbinder himself) shows he’s not quite as naive or, at least, not quite as innocent as we may be led to believe through the remainder of the film. Biberkopf, who goes by the nickname Fox, plays the lottery as if it’s some religious ritual, filled with hope and faith that his fortunes will change quickly when change sees it’s fit to come his way. Fretful because he doesn’t have the money to purchase his ticket, Fox carries out a swindle so naturally that he’s surely done it before. Or perhaps Fassbinder is saying this is natural because this is just how humans behave. In either case, Fox enters a flower shop, flirts lightly with the gay florist in order to gain trust and instill desire, and then...
- 1/18/2017
- by Trevor Berrett
- CriterionCast
Gather your fright-loving family members, fill your cup to the brim with egg nog, and find a comfy spot around the TV (or computer) screen, because enough horror movies to fill Santa's sleigh are coming to the streaming service Shudder this December, including Rob Zombie's 31, Bob Clark's Black Christmas, and many more.
Press Release: This December, there’s oh so much under Shudder’s tree. But before you get unwrapping, let’s shake the boxes a bit… We have something special for everyone, inside.
Love clowns? Coming exclusively to Shudder is Rob Zombie’s latest, 31, a vicious and characteristically Zombie film. Which is to say it’s dirty, mean and, from the get, right up in your face.
Looking to stay in? We’ve got a very special Shudder exclusive in Shrew's Nest. Directed by Juanfer Andrés & Esteban Roel (and produced by Alex de la Iglesia), this elegant,...
Press Release: This December, there’s oh so much under Shudder’s tree. But before you get unwrapping, let’s shake the boxes a bit… We have something special for everyone, inside.
Love clowns? Coming exclusively to Shudder is Rob Zombie’s latest, 31, a vicious and characteristically Zombie film. Which is to say it’s dirty, mean and, from the get, right up in your face.
Looking to stay in? We’ve got a very special Shudder exclusive in Shrew's Nest. Directed by Juanfer Andrés & Esteban Roel (and produced by Alex de la Iglesia), this elegant,...
- 12/2/2016
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Dolores Hart, Pamela Tiffin and Lois Nettleton are flight attendants aiming to snag three attractive, wealthy husbands right out of the air -- Karl Boehm, Hugh O'Brien and Karl Malden. There's more social comment in this 'coffee, tea or me' romantic comedy than can be found in a graduate thesis about the sexual habits of liberated stewardesses. And Hey, Frankie Avalon warbles the classy title tune! Come Fly with Me DVD-r The Warner Archive Collection 1963 / Color / 2:35 enhanced widescreen / 109 min. / Street Date June 30, 2015 / available through the WBshop / 18.49 Starring Dolores Hart, Hugh O'Brian, Karlheinz Bohm, Pamela Tiffin, Lois Nettleton, Karl Malden, Dawn Addams, Richard Wattis, Andrew Cruickshank, James Dobson, Lois Maxwell, John Crawford, Robert Easton, Maurice Marsac, George Coulouris, Ferdy Mayne. Cinematography Oswald Morris Film Editor Frank Clarke Original Music Lyn Murray Written by William Roberts from a book by Bernard Glemser Produced by Anatole De Grunwald Directed by Henry Levin
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
What?...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
What?...
- 11/17/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Special Mention: Werckmeister Harmonies
Directed by Bela Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky
Written by László Krasznahorkai and Bela Tarr
2000, Hungary / Italy / Germany
Genre: Emotional Horror
Bela Tarr is a filmmaker whose work is a highly acquired taste, but as a metaphysical horror story, Werckmeister Harmonies is an utter masterpiece that should appeal to most cinephiles. The film title refers to the 17th-century German organist-composer Andreas Werckmeister, esteemed for his influential structure and harmony of music. Harmonies is strung together like a magnificent symphony working on the viewer’s emotions over long stretches of time even when the viewer is unaware of what’s going on. Attempting to make sense of Tarr’s movies in strict narrative terms is not the best way to go about watching his films; but regardless if you come away understanding Harmonies or not, you won’t soon forget the film. Harmonies is a technical triumph, shot...
Directed by Bela Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky
Written by László Krasznahorkai and Bela Tarr
2000, Hungary / Italy / Germany
Genre: Emotional Horror
Bela Tarr is a filmmaker whose work is a highly acquired taste, but as a metaphysical horror story, Werckmeister Harmonies is an utter masterpiece that should appeal to most cinephiles. The film title refers to the 17th-century German organist-composer Andreas Werckmeister, esteemed for his influential structure and harmony of music. Harmonies is strung together like a magnificent symphony working on the viewer’s emotions over long stretches of time even when the viewer is unaware of what’s going on. Attempting to make sense of Tarr’s movies in strict narrative terms is not the best way to go about watching his films; but regardless if you come away understanding Harmonies or not, you won’t soon forget the film. Harmonies is a technical triumph, shot...
- 10/30/2015
- by Ricky Fernandes
- SoundOnSight
Horror films are built on our voyeuristic impulses. Our desire to witness or experience the obscene, the taboo, and the grotesque draws us into films about crazed killers or unseen forces. We don’t just want to be shocked, we want to be vulnerable. The stalking scene is a staple of the genre because it involves us in the filmmaking process by providing us a point of view: usually third person from a victim or first person from a killer. Unlike a chase scene, where both parties are aware of the game, the stalking often involves an oblivious participant. These are the slowest and most methodical scenes. There’s no rush to where we’re going because there is no destination to get to. Once the participant becomes aware, there’s only four options: run, hide, fight, or die.
****
The Birds (1963) – Bird’s eye view
Although not as shocking as Psycho,...
****
The Birds (1963) – Bird’s eye view
Although not as shocking as Psycho,...
- 10/18/2015
- by Staff
- SoundOnSight
There's one ironclad rule for mad scientist movies: if you show a monstrous caged ape-creature in the first act, that ape-creature must absolutely break loose and wreak havoc before the end of Act III. Just ask George Zucco or John Carradine, they'll tell you. It makes no difference if the film is being made on Gower Gulch, or at Germany's prestigious UfA Studios. Alraune Region 2 Pal (Germany) DVD Arthaus 1952 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 87 min. / Unnatural, Mandragore, Vengeance / Street Date July 6, 2007 / Available at Amazon.de / Eur 16,90 Starring Hildegard Knef, Erich von Stroheim, Karlheinz Böhm, Harry Meyen, Rolf Henniger, Harry Halm, Hans Cossy, Gardy Brombacher, Trude Hesterberg, Julia Koschka, Denise Vernac. Cinematography Friedl Behn-Grund Film Editor Doris Zeitman Costume Designer Herbert Pioberger Original Music Werner R. Heymann Written by Kurt Heuser from the novel by Hanns Heinz Ewers Produced by Günther Stapenhorst Directed by Arthur Maria Rabenault
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson...
- 9/8/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Updating 1960s television shows and films has often proved a fraught endeavour. Pop culture of that era is so familiar, and so often invoked, that any film-maker revisiting it risks seeming crass and unoriginal. Is there anything left to be said about Swinging London or Michael Caine in Alfie, The Italian Job and The Ipcress File? After Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999), what mileage is there in spoofing Sixties spy movies, most of which were made with tongue firmly in cheek anyway? Whether it is James Fox in a wig in Performance, David Hemmings with his zoom lens in Blow-Up (1966), or even Carl Boehm as the duffel-coated serial killer in Peeping Tom (1960), characters and images from many Sixties British movies are so familiar that they are beyond parody.
- 8/9/2015
- The Independent - Film
Top 100 horror movies of all time: Chicago Film Critics' choices (photo: Sigourney Weaver and Alien creature show us that life is less horrific if you don't hold grudges) See previous post: A look at the Chicago Film Critics Association's Scariest Movies Ever Made. Below is the list of the Chicago Film Critics's Top 100 Horror Movies of All Time, including their directors and key cast members. Note: this list was first published in October 2006. (See also: Fay Wray, Lee Patrick, and Mary Philbin among the "Top Ten Scream Queens.") 1. Psycho (1960) Alfred Hitchcock; with Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin, Martin Balsam. 2. The Exorcist (1973) William Friedkin; with Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Jason Miller, Max von Sydow (and the voice of Mercedes McCambridge). 3. Halloween (1978) John Carpenter; with Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence, Tony Moran. 4. Alien (1979) Ridley Scott; with Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt. 5. Night of the Living Dead (1968) George A. Romero; with Marilyn Eastman,...
- 10/31/2014
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Frauke Finsterwalder's Finsterworld co-written with Christian Kracht celebrates words of lore as well as colloquial rhythms and structures of non-communication.
In part 2 of my conversation with director Frauke Finsterwalder and co-sreenwriter Christian Kracht on Finsterworld, we go beyond Slavoj Žižek's The Pervert's Guide To Ideology, Klaus Theweleit's Male Fantasies, Berlin architecture, Joseph Beuys, Kubrick's The Shining, Adorno, the beauty of Margit Carstensen and the legacy of "Gesichtswurst".
Anne-Katrin Titze: Let's talk about Margit Carstensen. Did you take her work with Rainer Werner Fassbinder into account when casting her?
Frauke Finsterwalder and Christian Kracht on the legacy of Gesichtswurst: "Also, the image of that sandwich, that's a mutual obsession." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Frauke Finsterwalder: I was thinking of Fassbinder's TV movie Martha (1974). That's the one where she gets abused by Karlheinz Böhm. It wasn't released until much later. They have this abusive relationship and finally she escapes from him and crashes her car.
In part 2 of my conversation with director Frauke Finsterwalder and co-sreenwriter Christian Kracht on Finsterworld, we go beyond Slavoj Žižek's The Pervert's Guide To Ideology, Klaus Theweleit's Male Fantasies, Berlin architecture, Joseph Beuys, Kubrick's The Shining, Adorno, the beauty of Margit Carstensen and the legacy of "Gesichtswurst".
Anne-Katrin Titze: Let's talk about Margit Carstensen. Did you take her work with Rainer Werner Fassbinder into account when casting her?
Frauke Finsterwalder and Christian Kracht on the legacy of Gesichtswurst: "Also, the image of that sandwich, that's a mutual obsession." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Frauke Finsterwalder: I was thinking of Fassbinder's TV movie Martha (1974). That's the one where she gets abused by Karlheinz Böhm. It wasn't released until much later. They have this abusive relationship and finally she escapes from him and crashes her car.
- 6/25/2014
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
A classicist using Romantic harmonies, Johannes Brahms (1833-97) was hailed at age 20 by Robert Schumann in a famous article entitled "New Paths." Yet by the time Brahms wrote his mature works, his music was thought of as a conservative compared to the daring harmonies and revolutionary dramatic theories of Richard Wagner. But in the next century, Arnold Schoenberg's 1947 essay titled "Brahms the Progressive" praised Brahms's bold modulations (as daring as Wagner's most tonally ambiguous chords), asymmetrical forms, and mastery of imaginative variation and development of thematic material.
The son of a bassist in the Hamburg Philharmonic Society, Brahms was an excellent pianist who was supporting himself by his mid-teens. His first two published works were his Piano Sonatas Nos. 1 and 2, and throughout his career he penned much fine music for that instrument, not only solo (including the later Piano Sonata No. 3) and duo but also his landmark Piano Concertos Nos.
The son of a bassist in the Hamburg Philharmonic Society, Brahms was an excellent pianist who was supporting himself by his mid-teens. His first two published works were his Piano Sonatas Nos. 1 and 2, and throughout his career he penned much fine music for that instrument, not only solo (including the later Piano Sonata No. 3) and duo but also his landmark Piano Concertos Nos.
- 5/8/2014
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
When you’re on a role you’re on a role! Once again here is a list of ten actors who achieved cult movie villainy on the strength of one movie. Some of the actors faded into obscurity while others continued their careers without scaling the heights of their defining cinematic performance. Perhaps I should do a one for heroes! Nah! Villains are much more fun!
[Spoilers follow]
Rudolph Klein-Rogge (Metropolis – 1927)
Although dated, Fritz Lang’s utopian masterpiece still has the unique power to fascinate. Not only did the film make a star of Brigitte Helm, it introduced the father of all mad scientists, C A Rotwang, played with eye rolling relish by Lang’s favourite actor Rudolph Klein-Rogge. The Austrian born star specialised in villainous roles so he was a natural for playing the nutty inventor who creates the legendary female robot used to impersonate Helm’s freedom fighter. With his exaggerated mannerisms and facial expressions,...
[Spoilers follow]
Rudolph Klein-Rogge (Metropolis – 1927)
Although dated, Fritz Lang’s utopian masterpiece still has the unique power to fascinate. Not only did the film make a star of Brigitte Helm, it introduced the father of all mad scientists, C A Rotwang, played with eye rolling relish by Lang’s favourite actor Rudolph Klein-Rogge. The Austrian born star specialised in villainous roles so he was a natural for playing the nutty inventor who creates the legendary female robot used to impersonate Helm’s freedom fighter. With his exaggerated mannerisms and facial expressions,...
- 12/22/2013
- Shadowlocked
November on Horror Channel sees network premieres for a memorable collection of strange cult oddities and forgotten British horror classics, kicking off with the network premiere of Nicolas Roeg’s The Man Who Fell to Earth, starring David Bowie. Joining Bowie in the realm of the weird and wonderful is Roy Boulting’s psychological ground-breaker Twisted Nerve, Michael Powell’s controversial (and classic) Peeping Tom, Robert Fuest’s Hitchcockian And Soon the Darkness and Jimmy Sangster’s Hammer classic Fear in the Night.
Also, there are UK TV premieres for Emmerdale actor Dominic Brunt’s directorial feature film debut Before Dawn, Lulu Jarmen’s disturbing Bad Meat (review) and Padraig Reynold’s festival favourite Rites of Spring (review).
The line up in full:
Fri 1 Nov @ 22:55 – The Man Who Fell To Earth (1976)
Based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Walter Tevis, this cult classic stars David Bowies (in...
Also, there are UK TV premieres for Emmerdale actor Dominic Brunt’s directorial feature film debut Before Dawn, Lulu Jarmen’s disturbing Bad Meat (review) and Padraig Reynold’s festival favourite Rites of Spring (review).
The line up in full:
Fri 1 Nov @ 22:55 – The Man Who Fell To Earth (1976)
Based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Walter Tevis, this cult classic stars David Bowies (in...
- 10/18/2013
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
Every year, we here at Sound On Sight celebrate the month of October with 31 Days of Horror; and every year, I update the list of my favourite horror films ever made. Last year, I released a list that included 150 picks. This year, I’ll be upgrading the list, making minor alterations, changing the rankings, adding new entries, and possibly removing a few titles. I’ve also decided to publish each post backwards this time around for one reason: that is, the new additions appear lower on my list, whereas my top 50 haven’t changed much, except for maybe in ranking. Enjoy!
Special Mention:
Outer Space
Written and directed by Peter Tscherkassky
Austria, 2000
Outer Space has gained a reputation over the years as being a key experimental film alongside the works of such legends as Stan Brakhage and Michael Snow. Horror buffs will recognise the actress in the short as Oscar nominee Barbara Hershey.
Special Mention:
Outer Space
Written and directed by Peter Tscherkassky
Austria, 2000
Outer Space has gained a reputation over the years as being a key experimental film alongside the works of such legends as Stan Brakhage and Michael Snow. Horror buffs will recognise the actress in the short as Oscar nominee Barbara Hershey.
- 10/13/2013
- by Ricky da Conceição
- SoundOnSight
Odd List Ryan Lambie 4 Oct 2013 - 06:41
They're funny, they're sad, they're weird. Here are 50 famous last words from characters in the movies...
Please Note: There are potential spoilers ahead. Check the name of the film, and if you haven't seen it, don't read the entry!
As someone famous probably once said, “We’ve all gotta go sometime,” and if we’re going to die, we might as well do so with a witticism or a memorable line rather than a scream and a cry for mother. Which is the subject of this lengthy but far from definitive list: the memorable things movie characters have uttered shortly (not necessarily immediately) before they’re about to meet their maker.
Some of these last words are long, tear-jerking monologues. Others amount to little more than a word or two. But all of them, in our estimation, are worthy of mention, and one...
They're funny, they're sad, they're weird. Here are 50 famous last words from characters in the movies...
Please Note: There are potential spoilers ahead. Check the name of the film, and if you haven't seen it, don't read the entry!
As someone famous probably once said, “We’ve all gotta go sometime,” and if we’re going to die, we might as well do so with a witticism or a memorable line rather than a scream and a cry for mother. Which is the subject of this lengthy but far from definitive list: the memorable things movie characters have uttered shortly (not necessarily immediately) before they’re about to meet their maker.
Some of these last words are long, tear-jerking monologues. Others amount to little more than a word or two. But all of them, in our estimation, are worthy of mention, and one...
- 10/2/2013
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
Paul Henreid: From Eleanor Parker to ‘The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse’ (photo: Paul Henreid and Eleanor Parker in ‘Between Two Worlds’) Paul Henreid returns this evening, as Turner Classic Movies’ Star of the Month of July 2013. In Of Human Bondage (1946), he stars in the old Leslie Howard role: a clubfooted medical student who falls for a ruthless waitress (Eleanor Parker, in the old Bette Davis role). Next on TCM, Henreid and Eleanor Parker are reunited in Between Two Worlds (1944), in which passengers aboard an ocean liner wonder where they are and where the hell (or heaven or purgatory) they’re going. Hollywood Canteen (1944) is a near-plotless, all-star showcase for Warner Bros.’ talent, a World War II morale-boosting follow-up to that studio’s Thank Your Lucky Stars, released the previous year. Last of the Buccaneers (1950) and Pirates of Tripoli (1955) are B pirate movies. The former is an uninspired affair,...
- 7/24/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Throughout the month of October, Editor-in-Chief and resident Horror expert Ricky D, will be posting a list of his favorite Horror films of all time. The list will be posted in six parts. Click here to see every entry.
As with all lists, this is personal and nobody will agree with every choice – and if you do, that would be incredibly disturbing. It was almost impossible for me to rank them in order, but I tried and eventually gave up.
****
Special Mention:
Shock Corridor
Directed by Samuel Fuller
Written by Samuel Fuller
1963, USA
Shock Corridor stars Peter Breck as Johnny Barrett, an ambitious reporter who wants to expose the killer at the local insane asylum. In order to solve the case, he must pretend to be insane so they have him committed. Once in the asylum, Barrett sets to work, interrogating the other patients and keeping a close eye on the staff.
As with all lists, this is personal and nobody will agree with every choice – and if you do, that would be incredibly disturbing. It was almost impossible for me to rank them in order, but I tried and eventually gave up.
****
Special Mention:
Shock Corridor
Directed by Samuel Fuller
Written by Samuel Fuller
1963, USA
Shock Corridor stars Peter Breck as Johnny Barrett, an ambitious reporter who wants to expose the killer at the local insane asylum. In order to solve the case, he must pretend to be insane so they have him committed. Once in the asylum, Barrett sets to work, interrogating the other patients and keeping a close eye on the staff.
- 10/28/2012
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
After doing the rounds on VoD for a few weeks, where many of you will have seen it, Sarah Polley's "Take This Waltz" starts to roll out in theaters from tomorrow, and we can't recommend it enough; it's a messy, sometimes frustrating film, but a deeply felt, beautifully made and wonderfully acted one, and we named it last week as one of the best of the year so far. It is not, however, recommended as a date movie, fitting into a long cinematic tradition of painful examinations of broken, decaying, collapsing or dead relationships.
After all, it's one of the more universal human experiences; unless you get very lucky, everyone who falls in love will at some point have the wrenching experience of falling out of it, or being fallen out of love with. And when done best in film, it can be bruising and borderline torturous for a filmmaker and an audience,...
After all, it's one of the more universal human experiences; unless you get very lucky, everyone who falls in love will at some point have the wrenching experience of falling out of it, or being fallen out of love with. And when done best in film, it can be bruising and borderline torturous for a filmmaker and an audience,...
- 6/28/2012
- by The Playlist Staff
- The Playlist
Franck Khalfoun has reunited with his P2 writers Alexandre Aja and Grégory Levasseur to bring us this remake of William Lustig’s 80s slasher Maniac (which had a great and gory poster) and this new trailer is effective, brutal and casts former Hobbit Elijah Wood is a whole new light.
It may be the fact that Michael Powell’s brilliant Peeping Tom is seared into my brain but I can’t help seeing a little of Carl Boehm’s performance in Elijah Wood here, albeit in trailer friend short stabs of action, but it will be Wood who carries this, and the man needs to engage before he can engorge. That’s a very tenuous piece of wordplay but the truth of it remains.
Fans of condensed plot summaries will chew up this synopsis,
Just when the streets seemed safe, a serial killer with a fetish for scalps is back and on the hunt.
It may be the fact that Michael Powell’s brilliant Peeping Tom is seared into my brain but I can’t help seeing a little of Carl Boehm’s performance in Elijah Wood here, albeit in trailer friend short stabs of action, but it will be Wood who carries this, and the man needs to engage before he can engorge. That’s a very tenuous piece of wordplay but the truth of it remains.
Fans of condensed plot summaries will chew up this synopsis,
Just when the streets seemed safe, a serial killer with a fetish for scalps is back and on the hunt.
- 5/25/2012
- by Jon Lyus
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
On December 10, 1791, after Mozart had died five days earlier at age 35, there was a memorial service in Vienna, and for the first time some of his Requiem was performed. It was not noted then what parts were played, but H.C. Robbins Landon, who has studied the Requiem completion in some depth and made his own edition, makes the obvious nomination: the movements that Mozart had largely completed, the Introit (Requiem aeternam), which was fully finished, and the Kyrie, for which Mozart had written all the vocal parts and the basso continuo, and which thus needed only the orchestration, which was accomplished at least well enough for that first performance by Franz Jakob Freystädtler (a student of Mozart's) doubling the choral parts with instrumentation, while another student of Mozart's, Franz Xaver Sűssmayr, composed original parts for trumpets and timpani.
Jan Swafford recently wrote, "Like most composers of the Enlightenment,...
Jan Swafford recently wrote, "Like most composers of the Enlightenment,...
- 12/10/2011
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
Ryan Lambie Jul 28, 2016
What do Bambi, The Dark Knight and Seven all have in common? Some powerful moments of off-screen violence...
Nb: The following contains spoilers for Seven (1995) and The Witch (2015)
The seminal moment in the history of cinema came at the turn of the 20th century, when the medium began to move away from the storytelling language of the theatre. Filmmakers like Edwin S Porter began to realise that the camera could do so much more than simply record what was in front of it; such techniques as close-ups and edits to different angles or locations could be used to create drama.
It’s these filmmaking techniques that the masters of cinema use to create suspense and feelings of dread. And while there’s nothing wrong with jabs of violence of gore in movies, it remains the case that anticipation or suggestion of a violent act is more effective than seeing the moment itself.
What do Bambi, The Dark Knight and Seven all have in common? Some powerful moments of off-screen violence...
Nb: The following contains spoilers for Seven (1995) and The Witch (2015)
The seminal moment in the history of cinema came at the turn of the 20th century, when the medium began to move away from the storytelling language of the theatre. Filmmakers like Edwin S Porter began to realise that the camera could do so much more than simply record what was in front of it; such techniques as close-ups and edits to different angles or locations could be used to create drama.
It’s these filmmaking techniques that the masters of cinema use to create suspense and feelings of dread. And while there’s nothing wrong with jabs of violence of gore in movies, it remains the case that anticipation or suggestion of a violent act is more effective than seeing the moment itself.
- 11/17/2011
- Den of Geek
What do Bambi, The Dark Knight and Seven all have in common? Spectacular moments of off-screen violence, obviously. Here’s a list of a few other favourites…
Exploding heads are great, obviously. And there are some action and horror films that simply wouldn’t be the same without copious bloodletting, broken limbs and flying eyeballs. So while we’ve nothing against cinematic excess, it’s also the case that truly horrific violence can be implied rather than explicitly shown.
To this end, here’s a list of a few particularly noteworthy moments of implied nastiness in cinema. Needless to say, there are dozens upon dozens that we’ve failed to remember, so feel free to chip in with your own favourite moments of off-screen menace in the comments section.
M (1931)
“Just you wait, the nasty man in black will come,” is the first line uttered in Fritz Lang’s unforgettably disturbing 1931 thriller,...
Exploding heads are great, obviously. And there are some action and horror films that simply wouldn’t be the same without copious bloodletting, broken limbs and flying eyeballs. So while we’ve nothing against cinematic excess, it’s also the case that truly horrific violence can be implied rather than explicitly shown.
To this end, here’s a list of a few particularly noteworthy moments of implied nastiness in cinema. Needless to say, there are dozens upon dozens that we’ve failed to remember, so feel free to chip in with your own favourite moments of off-screen menace in the comments section.
M (1931)
“Just you wait, the nasty man in black will come,” is the first line uttered in Fritz Lang’s unforgettably disturbing 1931 thriller,...
- 11/17/2011
- Den of Geek
31 – Rosemary’s Baby
Directed by Roman Polanski
USA, 1968
Roman Polanski’s brilliant horror-thriller was nominated for two Oscars, winning Best Supporting Actress for Ruth Gordon. The director’s first American film, adapted from Ira Levin’s horror bestseller, is a spellbinding and twisted tale of Satanism and pregnancy. Supremely mounted, the film benefits from it’s strong atmosphere, apartment setting, eerie childlike score and polished production values by cinematographer William Fraker. The cast is brilliant, with Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes as the young couple playing opposite Ruth Gordon and Sidney Blackmer, the elderly neighbors. There is ominous tension in the film from first frame to last – the climax makes for one of the greatest endings of all time. Rarely has a film displayed such an uncompromising portrait of betrayal as this one. Career or marriage – which would you choose?
30 – Eraserhead
Directed by David Lynch
USA, 1977
Filmed intermittently over the course of a five-year period,...
Directed by Roman Polanski
USA, 1968
Roman Polanski’s brilliant horror-thriller was nominated for two Oscars, winning Best Supporting Actress for Ruth Gordon. The director’s first American film, adapted from Ira Levin’s horror bestseller, is a spellbinding and twisted tale of Satanism and pregnancy. Supremely mounted, the film benefits from it’s strong atmosphere, apartment setting, eerie childlike score and polished production values by cinematographer William Fraker. The cast is brilliant, with Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes as the young couple playing opposite Ruth Gordon and Sidney Blackmer, the elderly neighbors. There is ominous tension in the film from first frame to last – the climax makes for one of the greatest endings of all time. Rarely has a film displayed such an uncompromising portrait of betrayal as this one. Career or marriage – which would you choose?
30 – Eraserhead
Directed by David Lynch
USA, 1977
Filmed intermittently over the course of a five-year period,...
- 10/29/2011
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
25 – Halloween
Directed by John Carpenter
1978 – Us
A historical milestone that single-handedly shaped and altered the future of the entire genre. This seminal horror flick actually gets better with age; it’s downright transcendent and holds up with determination as an effective thriller that will always stand head and shoulders above the hundreds of imitators to come. Halloween had one hell of an influence on the entire film industry. You have to admire how Carpenter avoids explicit onscreen violence, and achieves a considerable power almost entirely through visual means, using its widescreen frame, expert hand-held camerawork, and terrifying foreground and background imagery.
24 – Black Christmas
Directed by Bob Clark
1974 – Canada
We never did find out who Billy was. Maybe it’s for the best, since they never made any sequels to Bob Clark’s seminal slasher film, a film which predates Carpenter’s Halloween by four years. Whereas Texas Chainsaw Massacre, released the same year,...
Directed by John Carpenter
1978 – Us
A historical milestone that single-handedly shaped and altered the future of the entire genre. This seminal horror flick actually gets better with age; it’s downright transcendent and holds up with determination as an effective thriller that will always stand head and shoulders above the hundreds of imitators to come. Halloween had one hell of an influence on the entire film industry. You have to admire how Carpenter avoids explicit onscreen violence, and achieves a considerable power almost entirely through visual means, using its widescreen frame, expert hand-held camerawork, and terrifying foreground and background imagery.
24 – Black Christmas
Directed by Bob Clark
1974 – Canada
We never did find out who Billy was. Maybe it’s for the best, since they never made any sequels to Bob Clark’s seminal slasher film, a film which predates Carpenter’s Halloween by four years. Whereas Texas Chainsaw Massacre, released the same year,...
- 10/28/2011
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
By my reckoning three masterpieces of the genre were released in 1960. All three involve a character with obsessions that eventually destroy him, but only after a string of other deaths. All three got, at best, mixed reviews on their release, as edgy horror movies almost always get. And the three stand up as proof of what the genre can be in the hands of the right artists.
The centrepiece of this triptych, of course, is Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 Psycho, which marks a turning point. Norman Bates goes in the list with Frankenstein’s monster and Nosferatu, but this time the monster had a perfectly normal, even likeable, face and voice, and an innocent charm. Many horror and crime movies since have been about characters with multiple personalities, but I struggle to think of any such movies made prior to this. Suddenly the danger had shifted from an external monster into...
The centrepiece of this triptych, of course, is Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 Psycho, which marks a turning point. Norman Bates goes in the list with Frankenstein’s monster and Nosferatu, but this time the monster had a perfectly normal, even likeable, face and voice, and an innocent charm. Many horror and crime movies since have been about characters with multiple personalities, but I struggle to think of any such movies made prior to this. Suddenly the danger had shifted from an external monster into...
- 10/24/2011
- by Adam Whyte
- Obsessed with Film
When we deal with the French New Wave, it is difficult to bear in mind that it was a movement that went far beyond a handful of directors. Being driven by cinephilia, it was a response to the possibilities of cinema and this comes home to us again and again even when we see the work of ‘minor’ artists like Jacques Deray who went on to make more commercially viable films like Borsalino (1970), a star vehicle for Alain Delon and Jean-Paul Belmondo. Deray remained an excellent craftsman in his latter films but his second feature Rififi in Tokyo (1963), virtually unseen today, is even radical for the way in which it deals with the genre of the heist film to produce a philosophical reflection worthy of Jean-Luc Godard at the height of his powers.
Rififi in Tokyo belongs to the category of films beginning with Jules Dassin’s Rififi (1955), a film about a robbery gone wrong.
Rififi in Tokyo belongs to the category of films beginning with Jules Dassin’s Rififi (1955), a film about a robbery gone wrong.
- 8/18/2011
- by MK Raghvendra
- DearCinema.com
Ok, so we’ve had another – albeit much lower key – royal wedding this weekend, as the Queens granddaughter Zara Phillips wed her Rugby captain boyfriend Mike Tindall…so I’m feeling all patriotic again and want to let you know what I believe are the 10 Greatest British films of all time!
Us Brits produce a diverse range of films these days, covering anything from psychological horror to mushy romantic comedies via gripping wartime thrillers and tense emotional dramas. And by George, we do it blooming well at times! So in honour of celebrating all that is spiffing about this glorious nation of ours, here’s what I consider to be the 10 greatest British films of all time…
10. The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)
Combining hilarious madcap comedy with thrills and suspense aplenty, this Ealing film is exactly what comedy is about. One of the films that helped give the studio a name for itself,...
Us Brits produce a diverse range of films these days, covering anything from psychological horror to mushy romantic comedies via gripping wartime thrillers and tense emotional dramas. And by George, we do it blooming well at times! So in honour of celebrating all that is spiffing about this glorious nation of ours, here’s what I consider to be the 10 greatest British films of all time…
10. The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)
Combining hilarious madcap comedy with thrills and suspense aplenty, this Ealing film is exactly what comedy is about. One of the films that helped give the studio a name for itself,...
- 8/4/2011
- by Stuart Cummins
- Obsessed with Film
Award-winning actor with a fastidious intelligence and a hint of inner steel
Anna Massey, who has died of cancer aged 73, made her name on the stage as a teenager in French-window froth. She then graduated, with effortless and extraordinary ease, to the classics and to the work of Samuel Beckett, Harold Pinter and David Hare. In later years, she became best known for her award-winning work in television and film. What constantly impressed was her fastidious intelligence and capacity for stillness: always the mark of a first-rate actor.
Born in Thakeham, West Sussex, she was bred into show business although, in personal terms, that proved something of a mixed blessing. Her father was Raymond Massey, a Canadian actor who achieved success in Hollywood; her mother was Adrianne Allen who had appeared in the original production of Noël Coward's Private Lives. Anna's godfather was the film director John Ford.
Since...
Anna Massey, who has died of cancer aged 73, made her name on the stage as a teenager in French-window froth. She then graduated, with effortless and extraordinary ease, to the classics and to the work of Samuel Beckett, Harold Pinter and David Hare. In later years, she became best known for her award-winning work in television and film. What constantly impressed was her fastidious intelligence and capacity for stillness: always the mark of a first-rate actor.
Born in Thakeham, West Sussex, she was bred into show business although, in personal terms, that proved something of a mixed blessing. Her father was Raymond Massey, a Canadian actor who achieved success in Hollywood; her mother was Adrianne Allen who had appeared in the original production of Noël Coward's Private Lives. Anna's godfather was the film director John Ford.
Since...
- 7/6/2011
- by Michael Billington, Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
The actor Anna Massey has died aged 73. We look back at her career in clips, from Peeping Tom to The Machinist
Anna Massey, who has died aged 73, had two distinct stages to her career: first as the innocent victim in the films of two master directors trying their hand at horror, and then as a wily, wide-eyed staple of period TV drama. Yet the two seemed absolutely apiece: Massey was such a singular actor, with a constant, unafraid gaze and keen intelligence, that looking back it's hard not to be struck by her curious agelessness.
Her screen debut in 1960 was as the heroine of Michael Powell's once-loathed, now-lauded Peeping Tom. She doesn't get much airtime in this trailer, but her almost bolshie naivete is startling: a clang of reality beside Carl Boehm's killer.
Twelve years later she accepted Alfred Hitchcock's invitation to all but reprise her role in "necktie murders" chiller Frenzy.
Anna Massey, who has died aged 73, had two distinct stages to her career: first as the innocent victim in the films of two master directors trying their hand at horror, and then as a wily, wide-eyed staple of period TV drama. Yet the two seemed absolutely apiece: Massey was such a singular actor, with a constant, unafraid gaze and keen intelligence, that looking back it's hard not to be struck by her curious agelessness.
Her screen debut in 1960 was as the heroine of Michael Powell's once-loathed, now-lauded Peeping Tom. She doesn't get much airtime in this trailer, but her almost bolshie naivete is startling: a clang of reality beside Carl Boehm's killer.
Twelve years later she accepted Alfred Hitchcock's invitation to all but reprise her role in "necktie murders" chiller Frenzy.
- 7/5/2011
- by Catherine Shoard
- The Guardian - Film News
Anna Massey, a Tony nominee who played supporting roles in more than 40 movies, died of cancer on Sunday, July 3, in London. Massey was 73. The daughter of Academy Award nominee Raymond Massey (Abe Lincoln in Illinois) and sister of another Oscar nominee, Daniel Massey (Star!), Anna Massey began her acting career in the late '50s. She was nominated for a Tony for her performance in The Reluctant Debutante (1958), which was made into a movie that same year. Directed by Vincente Minnelli, the movie version starred Sandra Dee as an Americanized version of the role Massey had originated in the West End and on Broadway. Massey's first film appearance also took place in 1958, in John Ford's crime drama Gideon's Day, starring Jack Hawkins. Other notable film roles, invariably supporting bigger names, include those in Michael Powell's controversial Peeping Tom (photo, 1960), with Karl Böhm as a fetishistic serial killer; Otto Preminger...
- 7/4/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Condemned upon its initial release in 1960, Michael Powell’s psychological thriller, Peeping Tom, has since been hailed as a classic. To tie in with its Blu-ray release, Ryan takes a look back…
The history of director Michael Powell's Peeping Tom is almost as disquieting as the film itself, and represents one of the most unfortunate falls from grace in cinema history. Partnered with screenwriter and producer Emeric Pressburger, Powell was one of the most respected directors of the 40s and 50s, internationally recognised for such films as The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp, Black Narcissus and The Red Shoes.
Then, in 1960, Powell embarked on a solo project, a psychological thriller called Peeping Tom. Written by former WWII cryptographer Leo Marks, the film's depiction of a creepy man-child serial killer was demolished by critics, effectively ending Powell's career as a filmmaker.
Only granted an X rating by the BBFC after several cuts were made,...
The history of director Michael Powell's Peeping Tom is almost as disquieting as the film itself, and represents one of the most unfortunate falls from grace in cinema history. Partnered with screenwriter and producer Emeric Pressburger, Powell was one of the most respected directors of the 40s and 50s, internationally recognised for such films as The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp, Black Narcissus and The Red Shoes.
Then, in 1960, Powell embarked on a solo project, a psychological thriller called Peeping Tom. Written by former WWII cryptographer Leo Marks, the film's depiction of a creepy man-child serial killer was demolished by critics, effectively ending Powell's career as a filmmaker.
Only granted an X rating by the BBFC after several cuts were made,...
- 11/30/2010
- Den of Geek
The Oscar-winning director of The Departed, Raging Bull and Goodfellas, talks about his new 3D film Hugo Cabret, his movie-mad childhood in New York – and how directing HBO's acclaimed drama Boardwalk Empire opened his mind to the epic freedoms of TV
"I've always liked 3D," declares Martin Scorsese breezily, his brown eyes twinkling from behind the trademark black-rimmed glasses which seem larger (and more impressively varifocal) in real life. "I mean, we're sitting here in 3D. We are in 3D. We see in 3D. So why not?" He smiles at me like it's the most obvious thing on earth, his face alive with boyish enthusiasm (even though he turned 68 last week), his well-groomed silver-grey hair lending an air of statesmanlike authority. I smile back, my heart full of anxiety about the "future of cinema" in the post-Avatar stereoscopic 21st century, wondering whether my hero would look quite so imposing wearing...
"I've always liked 3D," declares Martin Scorsese breezily, his brown eyes twinkling from behind the trademark black-rimmed glasses which seem larger (and more impressively varifocal) in real life. "I mean, we're sitting here in 3D. We are in 3D. We see in 3D. So why not?" He smiles at me like it's the most obvious thing on earth, his face alive with boyish enthusiasm (even though he turned 68 last week), his well-groomed silver-grey hair lending an air of statesmanlike authority. I smile back, my heart full of anxiety about the "future of cinema" in the post-Avatar stereoscopic 21st century, wondering whether my hero would look quite so imposing wearing...
- 11/22/2010
- by Mark Kermode
- The Guardian - Film News
Powell, one of our greatest film-makers, turned from mystic romanticism to unabashed Grand Guignol with this dazzling film. Scripted by second world war spymaster Leo Marks, it stars Karlheinz Böhm (son of the baton-wielding maestro) as a cinematographer, pornographer and serial killer, who records the dying agonies of his female victims. Now a classic that explores some perverse aspects of moviemaking and the film industry (Powell himself plays the anti-hero's sadistic father), back in 1960 it was reviled by critics who did not wish to see or acknowledge that they and other members of the audience were voyeurs. While not impeccable (some performances are dodgy), it's a perceptive, blackly comic masterwork, and the first murder takes place in the same part of Soho where Powell began his directorial career 30 years earlier. While photographing at the scene of his previous night's crime, the killer pretends to be working for the Observer.
Michael PowellHorrorPhilip French
guardian.
Michael PowellHorrorPhilip French
guardian.
- 11/21/2010
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (12A)
(Apitchatpong Weerasethakul, 2010, Thai/UK/Fra/Spa/Ger/Neth) Thanapat Saisaymar, Jenjira Pongpas, Sakda Kaewbuadee. 113 mins
Not for nothing was this dubbed "Uncle bong hit" when it took the top prize at Cannes this year. With its non-linear plot and fantastical elements – ghosts, ape-men, talking catfish, etc – woven into a story of a dying farmer in modern-day Thailand, it sounds like a far-out 1960s head-trip. But in reality (if that's the right word), it's a calm, sensual, captivating daydream of a movie that wears its weirdness without affectation. It makes the world feel like a rich and mysterious place. More of a natural high, then.
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part I (12A)
(David Yates, 2010, UK/Us) Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint. 146 mins
Given the choice between giving their audience a treat and milking them as much as possible,...
(Apitchatpong Weerasethakul, 2010, Thai/UK/Fra/Spa/Ger/Neth) Thanapat Saisaymar, Jenjira Pongpas, Sakda Kaewbuadee. 113 mins
Not for nothing was this dubbed "Uncle bong hit" when it took the top prize at Cannes this year. With its non-linear plot and fantastical elements – ghosts, ape-men, talking catfish, etc – woven into a story of a dying farmer in modern-day Thailand, it sounds like a far-out 1960s head-trip. But in reality (if that's the right word), it's a calm, sensual, captivating daydream of a movie that wears its weirdness without affectation. It makes the world feel like a rich and mysterious place. More of a natural high, then.
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part I (12A)
(David Yates, 2010, UK/Us) Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint. 146 mins
Given the choice between giving their audience a treat and milking them as much as possible,...
- 11/20/2010
- by The guide
- The Guardian - Film News
It has been fifty years since Michael Powell is said to have ruined his career with this mucky, perverse tale of a murdering focus puller/photographer obsessed with capturing a victim’s moment of death on camera. Critics at the time thought it a filthy work and not fit for purpose. How utterly wrong they were.
Howls of derision and outrage have faded with time and now we can look at Peeping Tom with fresh eyes unencumbered by history and memory. From its incredible opening shot of Soho at dusk and the first line of dialogue – “it’ll cost you two quid” – uttered by a prostitute about to meet her demise, Powell takes the viewer on a disturbing trip laced with some exquisite pitch black comedy.
It was a film released a good six months before Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho but by sheer coincidence these movies on different continents gave...
Howls of derision and outrage have faded with time and now we can look at Peeping Tom with fresh eyes unencumbered by history and memory. From its incredible opening shot of Soho at dusk and the first line of dialogue – “it’ll cost you two quid” – uttered by a prostitute about to meet her demise, Powell takes the viewer on a disturbing trip laced with some exquisite pitch black comedy.
It was a film released a good six months before Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho but by sheer coincidence these movies on different continents gave...
- 11/19/2010
- by Martyn Conterio
- FilmShaft.com
It took a single film to turn Michael Powell from one of Britain's greatest directors to a pariah in the movie business. Xan Brooks asks what it takes to kill a film-making career
The tale of Peeping Tom is the tale of a man who made a film that ate him up, like Frankenstein with his monster, or an X‑rated riff on The Sorcerer's Apprentice. Before its release, Michael Powell was an ageing lion of the British film establishment, the revered director of The Red Shoes, Colonel Blimp and A Matter of Life and Death. Afterwards he was a pariah, an exile. All it took was one movie to kill his career stone dead.
Fifty years on, Powell's achievement looks all the more remarkable. Failure, of course, is a given in the film industry. Jobbing directors make a flop film and never work again; it happens all the time.
The tale of Peeping Tom is the tale of a man who made a film that ate him up, like Frankenstein with his monster, or an X‑rated riff on The Sorcerer's Apprentice. Before its release, Michael Powell was an ageing lion of the British film establishment, the revered director of The Red Shoes, Colonel Blimp and A Matter of Life and Death. Afterwards he was a pariah, an exile. All it took was one movie to kill his career stone dead.
Fifty years on, Powell's achievement looks all the more remarkable. Failure, of course, is a given in the film industry. Jobbing directors make a flop film and never work again; it happens all the time.
- 11/18/2010
- by Xan Brooks
- The Guardian - Film News
Rerelease of the shocking and disturbing film that virtually ended Michael Powell's career
The grisly release history of Michael Powell's Peeping Tom would be enough on its own to guarantee its cult status. In 1960, hostile reviewers and panicky distributors famously sank this film and Peeping Tom became hardly more than a rumour, a forbidden text. Successive audiences have been fascinated and appalled that it features the director himself and his then nine-year-old son Columba, in cameo, playing the killer's father filming his child's very real-looking reaction to sadistic "fear" experiments. Arguably, all this has caused the sensational Peeping Tom to be overvalued in relation to the rest of Powell's films – and yes, maybe it does sag a little, after its lethally macabre and brilliant opening scenes. But if anything deserves the "dark masterpiece" tag, this does: a brilliant satirical insight into the neurotic, pornographic element in the act of filming,...
The grisly release history of Michael Powell's Peeping Tom would be enough on its own to guarantee its cult status. In 1960, hostile reviewers and panicky distributors famously sank this film and Peeping Tom became hardly more than a rumour, a forbidden text. Successive audiences have been fascinated and appalled that it features the director himself and his then nine-year-old son Columba, in cameo, playing the killer's father filming his child's very real-looking reaction to sadistic "fear" experiments. Arguably, all this has caused the sensational Peeping Tom to be overvalued in relation to the rest of Powell's films – and yes, maybe it does sag a little, after its lethally macabre and brilliant opening scenes. But if anything deserves the "dark masterpiece" tag, this does: a brilliant satirical insight into the neurotic, pornographic element in the act of filming,...
- 11/18/2010
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
The story of how Peeping Tom (1960) all but ended director Michael Powell's career is a sad one. But there was a silver lining, in the form of a silver haired Martin Scorsese who was instrumental in the reappraisal the film started to receive in the late 70s. Looking at it now, certainly for those of us born post 1960, it's hard to imagine the fuss it caused being labelled amongst other things as "the sickest and filthiest film I can remember seeing" by the short-sighted British press. If it was made a decade later, one wonders how the reception may have changed with Bonnie and Clyde breaking cover and Straw Dogs just around the corner...
Mark Lewis is an awkward young man who spends his days working as a focus-puller for a film crew, with dreams of becoming a director himself. In his spare time he also photographs glamour models for a seedy Soho newsagent,...
Mark Lewis is an awkward young man who spends his days working as a focus-puller for a film crew, with dreams of becoming a director himself. In his spare time he also photographs glamour models for a seedy Soho newsagent,...
- 11/17/2010
- Screen Anarchy
Michael Powell’s 1960 classic, Peeping Tom, is released in cinemas from 19th November and makes its Blu-ray debut on 22nd November. To celebrate the release of this absolute masterpiece of British cinemas, we’ve teamed up with Optimum Releasing to give away three copies of the film on Blu-ray!
Peeping Tom was much derided on its original release – by the tabloid press, at least – and it has taken over forty plus years for its reputation to be restored, thanks to the likes of film critic and historian Ian Christie, Martin Scorsese and Thelma Schoonmaker-Powell. Now restored and released for the first time on Blu-ray – and packed with extras – this is an absolute must for fans of Powell and British cinema.
Synopsis:
From Michael Powell, the brilliant and acclaimed director of A Matter of Life and Death and Black Narcissus comes a controversial masterpiece now recognised as one of the supreme achievements of British horror cinema.
Peeping Tom was much derided on its original release – by the tabloid press, at least – and it has taken over forty plus years for its reputation to be restored, thanks to the likes of film critic and historian Ian Christie, Martin Scorsese and Thelma Schoonmaker-Powell. Now restored and released for the first time on Blu-ray – and packed with extras – this is an absolute must for fans of Powell and British cinema.
Synopsis:
From Michael Powell, the brilliant and acclaimed director of A Matter of Life and Death and Black Narcissus comes a controversial masterpiece now recognised as one of the supreme achievements of British horror cinema.
- 11/8/2010
- by Martyn Conterio
- FilmShaft.com
Michael Powell, 1960
Fifty years ago, Michael Powell was the darling of British cinema, thanks to the movies he directed with Emeric Pressburger, including A Matter of Life and Death, and The Red Shoes. And then he made Peeping Tom.
The film has since been reappraised, but in 1960 – the same year Hitchcock released Psycho – it was greeted with distaste strong enough to derail Powell's career. The Observer's CA Lejeune wrote: "It's a long time since a film disgusted me as much as Peeping Tom."
It tells the story of Mark (Carl Boehm), an unassuming focus-puller at a film studio who spends his free time working on what he calls his "documentary". Chillingly, it entails filming women with a camera that has a spike concealed in the leg of the tripod, and a mirror in which the victims are forced to watch their own contorted faces as they are stabbed to death.
Fifty years ago, Michael Powell was the darling of British cinema, thanks to the movies he directed with Emeric Pressburger, including A Matter of Life and Death, and The Red Shoes. And then he made Peeping Tom.
The film has since been reappraised, but in 1960 – the same year Hitchcock released Psycho – it was greeted with distaste strong enough to derail Powell's career. The Observer's CA Lejeune wrote: "It's a long time since a film disgusted me as much as Peeping Tom."
It tells the story of Mark (Carl Boehm), an unassuming focus-puller at a film studio who spends his free time working on what he calls his "documentary". Chillingly, it entails filming women with a camera that has a spike concealed in the leg of the tripod, and a mirror in which the victims are forced to watch their own contorted faces as they are stabbed to death.
- 10/22/2010
- by Killian Fox
- The Guardian - Film News
French film theorist André Bazin thought that cinema was unique from any other art form thanks to its ability to represent reality. In his seminal essay "The Ontology of the Photographic Image," Bazin wrote that "Photography and cinema...are discoveries that satisfy, once and for all and in its very essence, our obsession with realism." To clarify, Bazin did not believe that the cinema is reality. Rather, cinema provides a representation of reality that satisfies certain psychological desires of the viewer and the artist. As he begins the essay, "If the plastic arts were put under psychoanalysis, the practice of embalming the dead might turn out to be a fundamental factor in their creation. The process might reveal that at the origin of painting and sculpture there lies a mummy complex."
Years later, when film was put under psychoanalysis thanks to the work of theorists like Laura Mulvey, Bazin's hypothesis took an uncomfortable turn.
Years later, when film was put under psychoanalysis thanks to the work of theorists like Laura Mulvey, Bazin's hypothesis took an uncomfortable turn.
- 8/6/2010
- by Drew Morton
They’re creepy, unhinged, and you definitely wouldn’t want to meet them down a dark alley. It’s our list of the ten most unsettling movie villains ever…
Cinema is filled with memorable villains. Whether it's the sardonic cheer of Gert Fröbe's Auric Goldfinger, or the sneering oiliness of Die Hard's Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman), the movies are full of superb, loveably evil performances. The hero may get the girl and save the world in most instances, but it's the villain who gets most of the quotable lines.
Every now and again, however, a movie antagonist comes along to genuinely still the blood, a villain played with a depth and commitment that is genuinely disturbing.
It's like the alignment of the planets. Occasionally, a great director, an exemplary script and a gifted actor will join together on the same project, creating the kind of unsettling performances that...
Cinema is filled with memorable villains. Whether it's the sardonic cheer of Gert Fröbe's Auric Goldfinger, or the sneering oiliness of Die Hard's Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman), the movies are full of superb, loveably evil performances. The hero may get the girl and save the world in most instances, but it's the villain who gets most of the quotable lines.
Every now and again, however, a movie antagonist comes along to genuinely still the blood, a villain played with a depth and commitment that is genuinely disturbing.
It's like the alignment of the planets. Occasionally, a great director, an exemplary script and a gifted actor will join together on the same project, creating the kind of unsettling performances that...
- 7/29/2010
- Den of Geek
It is 50 years now since the beatific-faced Carl Boehm played a duffel-coat wearing serial killer, trying to catch the moment of his female victims' death on camera, in Michael Powell's Peeping Tom (1960.) The critics were utterly dismissive of what is now considered one of the most influential films in British cinema history. Tabloids and broadsheets were equally coruscating. Powell's masterpiece was "the sickest, filthiest film I remember seeing," according to The Spectator, "loathsome", at least to Alexander Walker of the London Evening Standard, "perverted nonsense" in the eyes of the Daily Worker; worthy only of being shovelled up and flushed "swiftly down the nearest sewer" in the words of Tribune. The Observer's critic professed herself "sickened" before making an indignant and early exit from the press screening.
- 6/17/2010
- The Independent - Film
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