Hello, everyone! We have a brand new assortment of horror and sci-fi headed home this week, and there are plenty of offerings that should undoubtedly make for great additions to your Halloween season viewing plans. Universal is showing some love to a trio of classics, as it is set to release John Carpenter’s The Thing as well as Rear Window and Vertigo from Alfred Hitchcock all on 4K Ultra HD today. Kino Lorber has put together new Blu-ray presentations for both The Tomb of Ligeia and Theatre of Blood, and if you’re looking to catch up with some newer horror, both Great White and Slaxx arrive today courtesy of Rlje Films.
Other Blu-ray and DVD releases for September 7th include Lawnmower Man 2: Jobe’s War, Hellbox, Witches of Blackwood, Skinwalker, and War of the God Monsters.
Great White
A blissful tourist trip turns into a nightmare for five...
Other Blu-ray and DVD releases for September 7th include Lawnmower Man 2: Jobe’s War, Hellbox, Witches of Blackwood, Skinwalker, and War of the God Monsters.
Great White
A blissful tourist trip turns into a nightmare for five...
- 9/7/2021
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
By Raymond Benson Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none
Director Norman Jewison was on a roll in the late 1960s. After a handful of well-received small romantic comedies, he directed The Cincinnati Kid (1965) featuring Steve McQueen as a Depression-era poker player, followed by the Oscar Best Picture-nominated The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming (1966), and then the brilliant In the Heat of the Night (1967), which did win the Best Picture Oscar and landed Jewison a Director nomination.
His next project became a heist picture/romance, the story of which was pitched to him by Alan R. Trustman, a lawyer with no screenwriting experience. Jewison was intrigued, so, according to the excellent interview with the director that appears as a supplement on Kino Lorber’s new Blu-ray edition of The Thomas Crown Affair, he gave Trustman a crash course in how to write a movie script. When it was completed,...
Director Norman Jewison was on a roll in the late 1960s. After a handful of well-received small romantic comedies, he directed The Cincinnati Kid (1965) featuring Steve McQueen as a Depression-era poker player, followed by the Oscar Best Picture-nominated The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming (1966), and then the brilliant In the Heat of the Night (1967), which did win the Best Picture Oscar and landed Jewison a Director nomination.
His next project became a heist picture/romance, the story of which was pitched to him by Alan R. Trustman, a lawyer with no screenwriting experience. Jewison was intrigued, so, according to the excellent interview with the director that appears as a supplement on Kino Lorber’s new Blu-ray edition of The Thomas Crown Affair, he gave Trustman a crash course in how to write a movie script. When it was completed,...
- 5/22/2020
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Cinema Retro Movie Classics Special Edition #8: The Wild Bunch
112 Pages/perfect bound spine. £10.95 / $15.95.
Issn 1751-4606
Now Shipping Worldwide!
This year's Movie Classics Special Edition celebrates the 50th anniversary of Sam Peckinpah's masterpiece The Wild Bunch (1969). This is an in-depth 124-page special, with a foreword by Sir Christopher Frayling and contributions by Peckinpah experts Mike Siegel, Jeff Slater and Nick Redman, features dozens of many never-seen-before photographs both in front and behind the camera. Interviews with Ernest Borgnine, L.Q. Jones, Lilia Castillo, Gordon T. Dawson, Chalo Gonzalez and Bo Hopkins give an amazing in-sight as to how this film was made, and we feature articles on the deleted scenes (with photos), the locations - then and now, the music and a complete look at how the film was made. Another amazing special on a timeless classic that only Cinema Retro knows how to deliver.
Note: This issue is not part of the subscription plan.
112 Pages/perfect bound spine. £10.95 / $15.95.
Issn 1751-4606
Now Shipping Worldwide!
This year's Movie Classics Special Edition celebrates the 50th anniversary of Sam Peckinpah's masterpiece The Wild Bunch (1969). This is an in-depth 124-page special, with a foreword by Sir Christopher Frayling and contributions by Peckinpah experts Mike Siegel, Jeff Slater and Nick Redman, features dozens of many never-seen-before photographs both in front and behind the camera. Interviews with Ernest Borgnine, L.Q. Jones, Lilia Castillo, Gordon T. Dawson, Chalo Gonzalez and Bo Hopkins give an amazing in-sight as to how this film was made, and we feature articles on the deleted scenes (with photos), the locations - then and now, the music and a complete look at how the film was made. Another amazing special on a timeless classic that only Cinema Retro knows how to deliver.
Note: This issue is not part of the subscription plan.
- 11/5/2019
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Earlier this summer, Scream Factory answered the devilish prayers of horror fans by announcing The Omen Blu-ray collection deluxe edition that includes all five Omen films, and now they've revealed the full list of special features for the box set ahead of its release this October.
Featuring five discs and every Omen movie in the satanic franchise—The Omen, Damien: Omen II, Omen III: The Final Conflict, Omen IV: The Awakening, and the 2006 remake—The Omen Blu-ray collection deluxe edition is slated for an October 15th release, and we have the official press release with full release details:
Press Release: Get ready to jump start your ultimate horror binge just in time for Halloween! On October 15, 2019, Scream Factory™ is proud to present The Omen Collection Deluxe Edition, featuring all four original films as well as the 2006 remake that kept movie audiences glued to the screen with white-knuckled terror. Packed with hours of chilling special features,...
Featuring five discs and every Omen movie in the satanic franchise—The Omen, Damien: Omen II, Omen III: The Final Conflict, Omen IV: The Awakening, and the 2006 remake—The Omen Blu-ray collection deluxe edition is slated for an October 15th release, and we have the official press release with full release details:
Press Release: Get ready to jump start your ultimate horror binge just in time for Halloween! On October 15, 2019, Scream Factory™ is proud to present The Omen Collection Deluxe Edition, featuring all four original films as well as the 2006 remake that kept movie audiences glued to the screen with white-knuckled terror. Packed with hours of chilling special features,...
- 9/6/2019
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Cinema Retro mourns the passing of our friend and colleague Nick Redman, film historian and Oscar-nominated documentary maker as well as recognized scholar of the works of Sam Peckinpah. Nick passed away after a long illness we all had hoped he would prevail over. The film industry has lost a major champion of classic cinema. Nick and Brian Jamieson were the founders of Twilight Time, the boutique video label that puts out first rate limited editions of retro movie classics. Nick and Paul Seydor were nominated for documentary Oscars for their 1996 film "The Wild Bunch: An Album in Montage". Our heartfelt condolences go out to Nick's wife Julie Kirgo.
The world is a sadder place today.
The world is a sadder place today.
- 1/20/2019
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Nick Redman, Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker, award-winning soundtrack producer and co-founder of the Twilight Time video label, died Thursday afternoon, Jan. 17, at a Santa Monica Hospital, after a two-year battle with cancer. He was 63.
He was nominated for an Academy Award as producer of the 1996 documentary “The Wild Bunch: An Album in Montage,” a look back at Sam Peckinpah’s controversial film. He also produced and directed the 1998 “A Turning of the Earth: John Ford, John Wayne and The Searchers,” about the making of the Western classic, a prizewinner at multiple film festivals.
In 2007 he produced and directed the feature documentary “Becoming John Ford,” which debuted at the Venice International Film Festival and detailed the long and complex relationship between the famous director and 20th Century-Fox studio chief Darryl F. Zanuck.
He made numerous other short films including profiles of actress Stella Stevens and film composers Basil Poledouris and Jerry Fielding.
He was nominated for an Academy Award as producer of the 1996 documentary “The Wild Bunch: An Album in Montage,” a look back at Sam Peckinpah’s controversial film. He also produced and directed the 1998 “A Turning of the Earth: John Ford, John Wayne and The Searchers,” about the making of the Western classic, a prizewinner at multiple film festivals.
In 2007 he produced and directed the feature documentary “Becoming John Ford,” which debuted at the Venice International Film Festival and detailed the long and complex relationship between the famous director and 20th Century-Fox studio chief Darryl F. Zanuck.
He made numerous other short films including profiles of actress Stella Stevens and film composers Basil Poledouris and Jerry Fielding.
- 1/18/2019
- by Jon Burlingame
- Variety Film + TV
By Darren Allison
Normal 0 false false false En-gb X-none X-none
For anyone with a remote interest in soundtrack music, they will probably have some knowledge of how difficult it is to secure the rights to Stanley Kubrick’s film music. Permission has been basically refused and the whole issue is generally tied up in a bundle of tightly wrapped red tape.
Whilst there is still a great demand for these scores, the slow and unsuccessful process has left the fan base both frustrated and in limbo. It’s not that there hasn’t been a gallant effort; fans/producers such as the respected and much admired Nick Redman have taken up the challenge, but alas to no avail. As a result, the Kubrick soundtrack sagas remain something of an impregnable and stubborn wall to penetrate.
I can’t therefore condemn entirely the efforts of some labels and their attempts to...
Normal 0 false false false En-gb X-none X-none
For anyone with a remote interest in soundtrack music, they will probably have some knowledge of how difficult it is to secure the rights to Stanley Kubrick’s film music. Permission has been basically refused and the whole issue is generally tied up in a bundle of tightly wrapped red tape.
Whilst there is still a great demand for these scores, the slow and unsuccessful process has left the fan base both frustrated and in limbo. It’s not that there hasn’t been a gallant effort; fans/producers such as the respected and much admired Nick Redman have taken up the challenge, but alas to no avail. As a result, the Kubrick soundtrack sagas remain something of an impregnable and stubborn wall to penetrate.
I can’t therefore condemn entirely the efforts of some labels and their attempts to...
- 10/1/2018
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice
Blu ray
Twilight Time
1969 / 1:85 / 105 Min. / Street Date January 29, 2018
Starring Natalie Wood, Robert Culp, Elliot Gould, Dyan Cannon
Cinematography by Charles Lang
Written by Paul Mazursky, Larry Tucker
Music by Quincy Jones
Edited by Stuart H. Pappé
Produced by M.J. Frankovich, Larry Tucker
Directed by Paul Mazursky
John Updike and Philip Roth, those faithful chroniclers of American infidelity, had a kindred spirit in director Paul Mazursky. Employing a double-edged sword tempered with Updike’s Protestant angst and Roth’s hair-shirt humor, Mazursky served up 1969’s Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, a shrewd and ultimately compassionate satire about lovelorn narcissists.
As it stumbled toward that decade’s finish line, 1969 found much of the counterculture in pursuit of a new Age of Aquarius (Fonda and Hopper were famously “searching for America” in that same year’s Easy Rider). Self help centers servicing those troubled souls began to spring up...
Blu ray
Twilight Time
1969 / 1:85 / 105 Min. / Street Date January 29, 2018
Starring Natalie Wood, Robert Culp, Elliot Gould, Dyan Cannon
Cinematography by Charles Lang
Written by Paul Mazursky, Larry Tucker
Music by Quincy Jones
Edited by Stuart H. Pappé
Produced by M.J. Frankovich, Larry Tucker
Directed by Paul Mazursky
John Updike and Philip Roth, those faithful chroniclers of American infidelity, had a kindred spirit in director Paul Mazursky. Employing a double-edged sword tempered with Updike’s Protestant angst and Roth’s hair-shirt humor, Mazursky served up 1969’s Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, a shrewd and ultimately compassionate satire about lovelorn narcissists.
As it stumbled toward that decade’s finish line, 1969 found much of the counterculture in pursuit of a new Age of Aquarius (Fonda and Hopper were famously “searching for America” in that same year’s Easy Rider). Self help centers servicing those troubled souls began to spring up...
- 2/27/2018
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
One of the best Hollywood historical epics takes Technicolor to Mexico for a Production Code version of La conquista: the Inquisition is still bad, but the Church is exonerated. Likewise with the invasion — Cesar Romero embodies a marvelous Hernán Cortés, substantially less murderous than the one we now know from accurate history books. Tyrone Power is the heartthrob hero and newcomer Jean Peters the lowborn girl who loves him. The magnificent scenery is matched by the music score of Alfred Newman.
Captain from Castile
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1947 / Color / 137 Academy / 141 min. / Street Date October 17, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95
Starring: Tyrone Power, Jean Peters, Cesar Romero, Lee J. Cobb, John Sutton, Antonio Moreno, Thomas Gomez, Alan Mowbray, Barbara Lawrence, George Zucco, Roy Roberts, Marc Lawrence, Reed Hadley, Robert Karnes, Estela Inda, Chris-Pin Martin, Jay Silverheels, Gilberto González.
Cinematography: Arthur Arling, Charles G. Clarke, Joseph Lashelle
Film Editor: Barbara McLean...
Captain from Castile
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1947 / Color / 137 Academy / 141 min. / Street Date October 17, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95
Starring: Tyrone Power, Jean Peters, Cesar Romero, Lee J. Cobb, John Sutton, Antonio Moreno, Thomas Gomez, Alan Mowbray, Barbara Lawrence, George Zucco, Roy Roberts, Marc Lawrence, Reed Hadley, Robert Karnes, Estela Inda, Chris-Pin Martin, Jay Silverheels, Gilberto González.
Cinematography: Arthur Arling, Charles G. Clarke, Joseph Lashelle
Film Editor: Barbara McLean...
- 10/28/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Sam Peckinpah was a fine director of actors when the material was right, and his first collaboration with Steve McQueen is an shaded character study about a rodeo family dealing with changing times. Joe Don Baker and Ben Johnson shine, but the movie belongs to Ida Lupino and Robert Preston.
Junior Bonner
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1972 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 100 min. / Special Edition / Street Date October 31, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Steve McQueen, Robert Preston, Ida Lupino, Joe Don Baker, Ben Johnson, Mary Murphy, Dub Taylor, Don ‘Red’ Barry, Bill McKinney.
Cinematography: Lucien Ballard
Film Editors: Frank Santillo, Robert L. Wolfe
Second Unit Director: Frank Kowalski
Bud Hurlbud: Special Effects
Original Music: Jerry Fielding
Written by Jeb Rosebrook
Produced by Joe Wizan
Directed by Sam Peckinpah
I suppose there were plenty of successful rodeo-themed westerns back in the day, perhaps the kind interrupted by a cowboy song every ten minutes or so.
Junior Bonner
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1972 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 100 min. / Special Edition / Street Date October 31, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Steve McQueen, Robert Preston, Ida Lupino, Joe Don Baker, Ben Johnson, Mary Murphy, Dub Taylor, Don ‘Red’ Barry, Bill McKinney.
Cinematography: Lucien Ballard
Film Editors: Frank Santillo, Robert L. Wolfe
Second Unit Director: Frank Kowalski
Bud Hurlbud: Special Effects
Original Music: Jerry Fielding
Written by Jeb Rosebrook
Produced by Joe Wizan
Directed by Sam Peckinpah
I suppose there were plenty of successful rodeo-themed westerns back in the day, perhaps the kind interrupted by a cowboy song every ten minutes or so.
- 10/17/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
By Darren Allison
When it comes to good adventure stories, Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959) will arguably feature among the very best. It is one of those films that continue to delight audiences both old and new. In terms of elements it seems to tick all the boxes. At its heart, there is a fine, good natured yet entirely gripping story. A wondrous subterranean vista provides the viewer with monsters, vast underground oceans, villains and plenty of cliff-hanger moments of suspense.
It was perhaps a well-timed stroke of luck that some of the stories penned by Jules Verne were entering a period of public domain status. Two of Verne's adapted novels were to feature James Mason. Disney's adventure 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) starred Kirk Douglas as a 19th-century whaler and Mason as Nemo, captain of the story’s legendary submarine, the Nautilus. Five years later, Journey to the Center of the Earth...
When it comes to good adventure stories, Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959) will arguably feature among the very best. It is one of those films that continue to delight audiences both old and new. In terms of elements it seems to tick all the boxes. At its heart, there is a fine, good natured yet entirely gripping story. A wondrous subterranean vista provides the viewer with monsters, vast underground oceans, villains and plenty of cliff-hanger moments of suspense.
It was perhaps a well-timed stroke of luck that some of the stories penned by Jules Verne were entering a period of public domain status. Two of Verne's adapted novels were to feature James Mason. Disney's adventure 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) starred Kirk Douglas as a 19th-century whaler and Mason as Nemo, captain of the story’s legendary submarine, the Nautilus. Five years later, Journey to the Center of the Earth...
- 10/11/2017
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
A big welcome to UK disc purveyors Indicator, or Powerhouse, or how does Powerhouse Indicator sound? Savant’s first review from the new label is a favorite from the Columbia library. The extras are the lure: they company has snagged long-form, in-depth interviews with James Fox and director Arthur Penn. Everybody’s written about The Chase but here Penn tells his side of the story.
The Chase (1966)
Blu-ray + DVD
Powerhouse: Indicator
1966 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 134 min. / Street Date September 25, 2017 / Available from Amazon UK / £14.99
Starring: Marlon Brando, Jane Fonda, Robert Redford, E.G. Marshall,
Angie Dickinson, Janice Rule, Miriam Hopkins, Martha Hyer, Richard Bradford,
Robert Duvall, James Fox, Diana Hyland, Henry Hull, Jocelyn Brando, Clifton James, Steve Ihnat
Cinematography: Joseph Lashelle
Production Designer: Richard Day
Art Direction: Robert Luthardt
Film Editor: Gene Milford
Original Music: John Barry
Written by Lillian Hellman from the novel by Horton Foote
Produced by Sam Spiegel
Directed by Arthur Penn
Yes,...
The Chase (1966)
Blu-ray + DVD
Powerhouse: Indicator
1966 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 134 min. / Street Date September 25, 2017 / Available from Amazon UK / £14.99
Starring: Marlon Brando, Jane Fonda, Robert Redford, E.G. Marshall,
Angie Dickinson, Janice Rule, Miriam Hopkins, Martha Hyer, Richard Bradford,
Robert Duvall, James Fox, Diana Hyland, Henry Hull, Jocelyn Brando, Clifton James, Steve Ihnat
Cinematography: Joseph Lashelle
Production Designer: Richard Day
Art Direction: Robert Luthardt
Film Editor: Gene Milford
Original Music: John Barry
Written by Lillian Hellman from the novel by Horton Foote
Produced by Sam Spiegel
Directed by Arthur Penn
Yes,...
- 9/26/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
It’s finally here in all its glory, the Howard Hawks movie nobody loves. The epitome of clueless ’60s filmmaking by an auteur who left his thinking cap back with Bogie and Bacall, this show is a PC quagmire lacking the usual compensation of exploitative thrills. But hey, it has a hypnotic appeal all its own: we’ll not abandon any movie where Teri Garr dances.
Red Line 7000
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1965 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 110 min. / Street Date September 19, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: James Caan, Laura Devon, Gail Hire, Charlene Holt, John Robert Crawford, Marianna Hill, James (Skip) Ward, Norman Alden, George Takei, Diane Strom, Anthony Rogers, Robert Donner, Teri Garr.
Cinematography: Milton Krasner
Film Editors: Bill Brame, Stuart Gilmore
Original Music: Nelson Riddle
Written by George Kirgo story by Howard Hawks
Produced and Directed by Howard Hawks
Critics have been raking Howard Hawks’ stock car racing epic...
Red Line 7000
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1965 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 110 min. / Street Date September 19, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: James Caan, Laura Devon, Gail Hire, Charlene Holt, John Robert Crawford, Marianna Hill, James (Skip) Ward, Norman Alden, George Takei, Diane Strom, Anthony Rogers, Robert Donner, Teri Garr.
Cinematography: Milton Krasner
Film Editors: Bill Brame, Stuart Gilmore
Original Music: Nelson Riddle
Written by George Kirgo story by Howard Hawks
Produced and Directed by Howard Hawks
Critics have been raking Howard Hawks’ stock car racing epic...
- 8/29/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Easily the most mellow of the films of Sam Peckinpah, this relatively gentle western fable sees Jason Robards discovering water where it ain’t, and establishing his private little way station paradise, complete with lover Stella Stevens and eccentric preacher David Warner. Some of the slapstick is sticky but the sexist bawdy humor is too cute to offend . . . and Peckinpah-phobes will be surprised to learn that the movie is in part a musical.
The Ballad of Cable Hogue
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1970 / 1:85 widescreen / 121 min. / Street Date June 6, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring Jason Robards Jr., Stella Stevens, David Warner, Strother Martin, L.Q. Jones, R.G. Armstrong, Peter Whitney, Gene Evans, William Mims, Kathleen Freeman, Susan O’Connell, Vaughn Taylor, Max Evans, James Anderson.
Cinematography: Lucien Ballard
Art Direction: Leroy Coleman
Film Editor: Frank Santillo, Lou Lombardo
Original Music: Jerry Goldsmith
Written by John Crawford and Edmund Penney
Produced by Sam Peckinpah...
The Ballad of Cable Hogue
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1970 / 1:85 widescreen / 121 min. / Street Date June 6, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring Jason Robards Jr., Stella Stevens, David Warner, Strother Martin, L.Q. Jones, R.G. Armstrong, Peter Whitney, Gene Evans, William Mims, Kathleen Freeman, Susan O’Connell, Vaughn Taylor, Max Evans, James Anderson.
Cinematography: Lucien Ballard
Art Direction: Leroy Coleman
Film Editor: Frank Santillo, Lou Lombardo
Original Music: Jerry Goldsmith
Written by John Crawford and Edmund Penney
Produced by Sam Peckinpah...
- 5/29/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Before he became the flag bearer for cinema violence, Sam Peckinpah made his reputation with this unique western, a marvelous rumination on ethics, morality and personal responsibility. MGM all but threw it away in the summer of 1962 but it immediately became a critical favorite.
Ride the High Country
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1962 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 92 min. / Street Date April 4, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring Randolph Scott, Joel McCrea, Mariette Hartley, Ron Starr, Edgar Buchanan, R.G. Armstrong, Jenie Jackson, James Drury, L.Q. Jones, John Anderson, John Davis Chandler, Warren Oates.
Cinematography Lucien Ballard
Art Direction Leroy Coleman, George W. Davis
Film Editor Frank Santillo
Original Music George Bassman
Written by N.B. Stone Jr.
Produced by Richard E. Lyons
Directed by Sam Peckinpah
MGM’s western Ride the High Country put Sam Peckinpah on the map with critics and the foreign cinema literati — although it didn’t do big box office when new,...
Ride the High Country
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1962 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 92 min. / Street Date April 4, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring Randolph Scott, Joel McCrea, Mariette Hartley, Ron Starr, Edgar Buchanan, R.G. Armstrong, Jenie Jackson, James Drury, L.Q. Jones, John Anderson, John Davis Chandler, Warren Oates.
Cinematography Lucien Ballard
Art Direction Leroy Coleman, George W. Davis
Film Editor Frank Santillo
Original Music George Bassman
Written by N.B. Stone Jr.
Produced by Richard E. Lyons
Directed by Sam Peckinpah
MGM’s western Ride the High Country put Sam Peckinpah on the map with critics and the foreign cinema literati — although it didn’t do big box office when new,...
- 4/4/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
By Darren Allison
Attending a film festival in the mid-seventies, Sam Peckinpah was once questioned about how the studios regularly bastardised his vision, his intension and more specifically, if he would ever be able to make a ''pure Peckinpah'' picture. He replied, '’I did 'Alfredo Garcia' and I did it exactly the way I wanted to. Good or bad, like it or not, that was my film.''
The overall narrative for Alfredo Garcia is neither complicated nor convoluted. Warren Oates plays Bennie, a simple pianist residing in a squalid barroom in Mexico. He is approached by two no-nonsense Americans (Robert Webber and Gig Young) who are attempting to track down Alfredo Garcia. The womanising Garcia is the man responsible for the pregnancy of Theresa (Janine Maldonado) the teenage daughter of a powerful Mexican boss El Jefe (Emilio Fernández). In a display of power, El Jefe offers...
Attending a film festival in the mid-seventies, Sam Peckinpah was once questioned about how the studios regularly bastardised his vision, his intension and more specifically, if he would ever be able to make a ''pure Peckinpah'' picture. He replied, '’I did 'Alfredo Garcia' and I did it exactly the way I wanted to. Good or bad, like it or not, that was my film.''
The overall narrative for Alfredo Garcia is neither complicated nor convoluted. Warren Oates plays Bennie, a simple pianist residing in a squalid barroom in Mexico. He is approached by two no-nonsense Americans (Robert Webber and Gig Young) who are attempting to track down Alfredo Garcia. The womanising Garcia is the man responsible for the pregnancy of Theresa (Janine Maldonado) the teenage daughter of a powerful Mexican boss El Jefe (Emilio Fernández). In a display of power, El Jefe offers...
- 3/8/2017
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
This is the ultimate in screen sadism circa 1947, and it’s all in the debut film performance of Richard Widmark as a too-nasty-for-words hood who likes to shoot people in the stomach. Actually, Victor Mature is not bad in a grim story of a stool pigeon that tries to square himself with the law, and finds himself a target for mob murder.
Kiss of Death
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1947 / B&W / 1:37 flat full frame / 98 min. / Street Date February 7, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95
Starring: Victor Mature, Brian Donlevy, Coleen Gray, Richard Widmark, Taylor Holmes, Karl Malden, Mildred Dunnock
Cinematography: Norbert Brodine
Art Direction: Leland Fuller, Lyle Wheeler
Film Editor: J. Watson Webb Jr.
Original Music: David Buttolph
Written by Ben Hecht, Charles Lederer, Eleazar Lipsky
Produced by Fred Kohlmar
Directed by Henry Hathaway
The older they get, the better they look. Henry Hathaway’s Kiss of Death is...
Kiss of Death
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1947 / B&W / 1:37 flat full frame / 98 min. / Street Date February 7, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95
Starring: Victor Mature, Brian Donlevy, Coleen Gray, Richard Widmark, Taylor Holmes, Karl Malden, Mildred Dunnock
Cinematography: Norbert Brodine
Art Direction: Leland Fuller, Lyle Wheeler
Film Editor: J. Watson Webb Jr.
Original Music: David Buttolph
Written by Ben Hecht, Charles Lederer, Eleazar Lipsky
Produced by Fred Kohlmar
Directed by Henry Hathaway
The older they get, the better they look. Henry Hathaway’s Kiss of Death is...
- 2/28/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Ace director Donald Siegel uses superior direction to transform a so-so who-dunnit into a thrilling big screen spectacle, using the Grand Canyon as a backdrop for A multiple murder set in an Arizona mining town in decline. The cameraman focusing on the scenery and the hair-raising stuntwork — everything we see is real — is the great Burnett Guffey.
Edge of Eternity
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1959 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 80 min. / Street Date February 15, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95
Starring: Cornel Wilde, Victoria Shaw, Mickey Shaughnessy, Edgar Buchanan, Rian Garrick, Jack Elam, Dabbs Greer.
Cinematography: Burnett Guffey
Original Music: Daniele Amfitheatrof
Written by Knut Swenson, Richard Collins
Produced by Kendrick Sweet
Directed by Donald Siegel
A look at Donald Siegel’s filmography shows that between his standout ‘fifties titles — Riot in Cell Block 11, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Crime in the Streets, The Lineup, he suffered through his share of unrewarding cheapies,...
Edge of Eternity
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1959 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 80 min. / Street Date February 15, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95
Starring: Cornel Wilde, Victoria Shaw, Mickey Shaughnessy, Edgar Buchanan, Rian Garrick, Jack Elam, Dabbs Greer.
Cinematography: Burnett Guffey
Original Music: Daniele Amfitheatrof
Written by Knut Swenson, Richard Collins
Produced by Kendrick Sweet
Directed by Donald Siegel
A look at Donald Siegel’s filmography shows that between his standout ‘fifties titles — Riot in Cell Block 11, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Crime in the Streets, The Lineup, he suffered through his share of unrewarding cheapies,...
- 2/25/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
“Don’T Mess With Huac”
By Raymond Benson
Perhaps the first film we saw that convinced us that Woody Allen could actually act—i.e., not be his nebbish, nervous comic persona from his early directorial efforts—was Martin Ritt’s 1976 comedy/drama, The Front, which appeared a year before Allen’s Annie Hall.
The Front was perhaps the first Hollywood film to tackle the subject of “the blacklist” that occurred in the movie industry in the late 1940s and throughout most of the 50s. This abominable practice was due to the investigation of “Communist infiltration” in Tinsel Town by Huac—the House Un-American Activities Committee. It was truly a dark time in U.S. history, one in which friends were pressured to “name names” or face the prospect of unemployment or worse, such as jail time. Note that the Hollywood studio heads were responsible for the actual blacklisting. The...
By Raymond Benson
Perhaps the first film we saw that convinced us that Woody Allen could actually act—i.e., not be his nebbish, nervous comic persona from his early directorial efforts—was Martin Ritt’s 1976 comedy/drama, The Front, which appeared a year before Allen’s Annie Hall.
The Front was perhaps the first Hollywood film to tackle the subject of “the blacklist” that occurred in the movie industry in the late 1940s and throughout most of the 50s. This abominable practice was due to the investigation of “Communist infiltration” in Tinsel Town by Huac—the House Un-American Activities Committee. It was truly a dark time in U.S. history, one in which friends were pressured to “name names” or face the prospect of unemployment or worse, such as jail time. Note that the Hollywood studio heads were responsible for the actual blacklisting. The...
- 1/25/2017
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Stanley & Iris
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1990 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 104 min. / Street Date January 17, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95
Starring: Jane Fonda, Robert De Niro, Swoosie Kurtz, Martha Plimpton, Harley Cross, Jamey Sheridan, Feodor Chaliapin.
Cinematography: Donald McAlpine
Original Music: John Williams
Written by: Irving Ravetch, Harriet Frank, Jr. based on a novel Union Street by Pat Barker
Produced by: Arlene Sellers, Alex Winitsky
Directed by Martin Ritt
There ought to be a place on a screen for every kind of film story. True, old movies fronted a mostly false consensus picture of the world, claiming that there was a ‘normal’ baseline for our lives. The reality of most social issues was ignored in favor of pleasant fairy tales where all conflicts could be solved on a personal level. After all, movies were considered entertainment first, and carriers of vital social truths maybe about 97th. But then and now, there...
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1990 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 104 min. / Street Date January 17, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95
Starring: Jane Fonda, Robert De Niro, Swoosie Kurtz, Martha Plimpton, Harley Cross, Jamey Sheridan, Feodor Chaliapin.
Cinematography: Donald McAlpine
Original Music: John Williams
Written by: Irving Ravetch, Harriet Frank, Jr. based on a novel Union Street by Pat Barker
Produced by: Arlene Sellers, Alex Winitsky
Directed by Martin Ritt
There ought to be a place on a screen for every kind of film story. True, old movies fronted a mostly false consensus picture of the world, claiming that there was a ‘normal’ baseline for our lives. The reality of most social issues was ignored in favor of pleasant fairy tales where all conflicts could be solved on a personal level. After all, movies were considered entertainment first, and carriers of vital social truths maybe about 97th. But then and now, there...
- 1/21/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Two for the Road
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1967 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 111 min. / Street Date January 10, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95
Starring: Audrey Hepburn, Albert Finney, Eleanor Bron, William Daniels, Claude Dauphin, Nadia Gray
Cinematography: Christopher Challis
Art Direction: Marc Frederic, Willy Holt
Film Editor: Madeleine Gug
Original Music: Henry Mancini
Written by Frederic Raphael
Produced and Directed by Stanley Donen
Some so-called sophisticated ‘sixties romantic dramas have dated pretty badly, as it’s not easy to create a movie acceptable to a fickle audience, that doesn’t end up with attitudes, politics or even costumes that don’t look ‘wrong’ just a few years later. I’ve found that enjoying Audrey Hepburn’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s takes a conscious act of selective blindness. The music, the style, the images were swooningly vital to an audience perhaps ten years older than this reviewer. Hepburn’s ravishing Holly Golightly misses...
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1967 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 111 min. / Street Date January 10, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95
Starring: Audrey Hepburn, Albert Finney, Eleanor Bron, William Daniels, Claude Dauphin, Nadia Gray
Cinematography: Christopher Challis
Art Direction: Marc Frederic, Willy Holt
Film Editor: Madeleine Gug
Original Music: Henry Mancini
Written by Frederic Raphael
Produced and Directed by Stanley Donen
Some so-called sophisticated ‘sixties romantic dramas have dated pretty badly, as it’s not easy to create a movie acceptable to a fickle audience, that doesn’t end up with attitudes, politics or even costumes that don’t look ‘wrong’ just a few years later. I’ve found that enjoying Audrey Hepburn’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s takes a conscious act of selective blindness. The music, the style, the images were swooningly vital to an audience perhaps ten years older than this reviewer. Hepburn’s ravishing Holly Golightly misses...
- 1/17/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
By John M. Whalen
Back in the 1950s, before he became a legend, filmmaker Sam Peckinpah (“The Wild Bunch,” “Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia,” and “The Killer Elite”) wrote scripts for TV westerns, including “Gunsmoke,” “The Rifleman,” and “Tombstone Territory.” His reputation grew and in 1957 he wrote his first screenplay entitled “The Glory Guys” which was based on Hoffman Birney’s novel, “The Dice of God.” The book was a fictional account of Custer and the Battle of the Little Big Horn, with all names changed. The script went unproduced for almost eight years, and in the meantime Sam had moved on, directing features including “The Deadly Companions” (1960), “Ride the High Country” (1962) and “Major Dundee” (1965).
You would think that with that growing resume, Peckinpah would have been able to direct anything he wanted to, but such was far from the case. “Bloody Sam,” as he was called, affectionately by his fans,...
Back in the 1950s, before he became a legend, filmmaker Sam Peckinpah (“The Wild Bunch,” “Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia,” and “The Killer Elite”) wrote scripts for TV westerns, including “Gunsmoke,” “The Rifleman,” and “Tombstone Territory.” His reputation grew and in 1957 he wrote his first screenplay entitled “The Glory Guys” which was based on Hoffman Birney’s novel, “The Dice of God.” The book was a fictional account of Custer and the Battle of the Little Big Horn, with all names changed. The script went unproduced for almost eight years, and in the meantime Sam had moved on, directing features including “The Deadly Companions” (1960), “Ride the High Country” (1962) and “Major Dundee” (1965).
You would think that with that growing resume, Peckinpah would have been able to direct anything he wanted to, but such was far from the case. “Bloody Sam,” as he was called, affectionately by his fans,...
- 12/30/2016
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Psycho launched a thousand twisted sickos and pathological relationships in films, but none can best Noel Black’s fascinating, funny romance between a newly-released arsonist and a fetching high schooler, hungry for freedom and lacking a moral compass. The pairing of Anthony Perkins and Tuesday Weld is inspired.
Pretty Poison
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1968 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 89 min. / Street Date November 15, 2016 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95
Starring Anthony Perkins, Tuesday Weld, Beverly Garland, John Randolph, Dick O’Neill, Clarice Blackburn, Joseph Bova, Ken Kercheval.
Cinematography David L. Quaid
Original Music Johnny Mandel
Written by Lorenzo Semple, Jr. from the novel She Let Him Continue by Stephen Geller
Produced by Marshall Backlar, Noel Black, Lawrence Turman
Directed by Noel Black
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Although the dates don’t match up, I’m absolutely certain that I saw Noel Black’s theatrical short Skaterdater when it was screened as a warm-up for,...
Pretty Poison
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1968 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 89 min. / Street Date November 15, 2016 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95
Starring Anthony Perkins, Tuesday Weld, Beverly Garland, John Randolph, Dick O’Neill, Clarice Blackburn, Joseph Bova, Ken Kercheval.
Cinematography David L. Quaid
Original Music Johnny Mandel
Written by Lorenzo Semple, Jr. from the novel She Let Him Continue by Stephen Geller
Produced by Marshall Backlar, Noel Black, Lawrence Turman
Directed by Noel Black
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Although the dates don’t match up, I’m absolutely certain that I saw Noel Black’s theatrical short Skaterdater when it was screened as a warm-up for,...
- 12/6/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Happy Cyber Monday, everyone, and welcome back for Day 3 of Daily Dead’s fourth annual Holiday Gift Guide! Once again, our goal is to help you navigate your way through the horrors of the 2016 shopping season with our tips on unique gift ideas, and we’ll hopefully help you save a few bucks over the next few weeks, too.
This year’s Holiday Gift Guide is being sponsored by several amazing companies including Mondo, Anchor Bay Entertainment, DC Entertainment, and Magnolia Home Entertainment, who have all donated an assortment of goodies to help you guys get into the spirit of the season. Daily Dead also recently teamed up with Texas-based artist Dustin Pace of Duddy in Motion to create an amazing Stranger Things print that all of our giveaway winners will receive with our amazing prize packs that feature a collection of items including movies, graphic novels, and much more.
This year’s Holiday Gift Guide is being sponsored by several amazing companies including Mondo, Anchor Bay Entertainment, DC Entertainment, and Magnolia Home Entertainment, who have all donated an assortment of goodies to help you guys get into the spirit of the season. Daily Dead also recently teamed up with Texas-based artist Dustin Pace of Duddy in Motion to create an amazing Stranger Things print that all of our giveaway winners will receive with our amazing prize packs that feature a collection of items including movies, graphic novels, and much more.
- 11/28/2016
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
I have a back file of reader notes asking for a Blu-ray for John Huston’s Moby Dick, and more pointedly, wondering what will be done with its strange color scheme. I wasn’t expecting miracles, but this new Twilight Time disc should make the purists happy – it has approximated the film’s original, heavily muted color scheme.
Moby Dick
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1956 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 116 min. / Street Date November 15, 2016 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95
Starring Gregory Peck, Richard Basehart, Leo Genn, James Robertson Justice,
Harry Andrews, Orson Welles, Bernard Miles, Mervyn Johns, Noel Purcell, Frederick Ledebur
Cinematography Oswald Morris
Art Direction Ralph W. Brinton
Film Editor Russell Lloyd
Original Music Philip Sainton
Writing credits Ray Bradbury and John Huston
Produced and Directed by John Huston
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Talk about a picture with a renewed reputation… in its day John Huston’s Moby Dick was not considered a success,...
Moby Dick
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1956 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 116 min. / Street Date November 15, 2016 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95
Starring Gregory Peck, Richard Basehart, Leo Genn, James Robertson Justice,
Harry Andrews, Orson Welles, Bernard Miles, Mervyn Johns, Noel Purcell, Frederick Ledebur
Cinematography Oswald Morris
Art Direction Ralph W. Brinton
Film Editor Russell Lloyd
Original Music Philip Sainton
Writing credits Ray Bradbury and John Huston
Produced and Directed by John Huston
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Talk about a picture with a renewed reputation… in its day John Huston’s Moby Dick was not considered a success,...
- 11/26/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Horton Foote, Lillian Hellman and Arthur Penn's All-Star vision of an Ugly America found few friends in 1965; now its overstated scenes of social injustice and violence are daily events. Marlon Brando leads a terrific cast -- Robert Redford, Jane Fonda, Angie Dickinson, Robert Duvall! -- to endure the worst Saturday ever to hit one cursed Texas township. The Chase (1966) Blu-ray Twilight Time 1966 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 134 min. / Street Date October 11, 2016 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95 Starring Marlon Brando, Jane Fonda, Robert Redford, E.G. Marshall, Angie Dickinson, Janice Rule, Miriam Hopkins, Martha Hyer, Richard Bradford, Robert Duvall, James Fox, Diana Hyland, Henry Hull, Jocelyn Brando, Clifton James, Steve Ihnat Cinematography Joseph Lashelle Production Designer Richard Day Art Direction Robert Luthardt Film Editor Gene Milford Original Music John Barry Written by Lillian Hellman from the novel by Horton Foote Produced by Sam Spiegel Directed by Arthur Penn
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson...
- 10/29/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The chase is on: a mix of icy ruthlessness and warm romanticism enliven Ken Follett's novel of pre-invasion esponage intrigue. Kate Nelligan heats up the screen with Donald Sutherland, the 'seventies most unlikely sex star. Plus a lush and wondrous music score by Miklos Rozsa. Eye of the Needle Blu-ray Twilight Time 1981 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 112 min. / Street Date September 13, 2016 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store29.95 Starring Donald Sutherland, Kate Nelligan, Christopher Cazenove, Ian Bannen, Philip Martin Brown, Bill Nighy, Stephen MacKenna, Sam Kydd. Cinematography Alan Hume Original Music Miklos Rozsa Written by Stanley Mann based on the novel by Ken Follett Produced by Stephen Friedman Directed by Richard Marquand
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
We're all familiar with this kind of thriller -- over shots of fresh-faced troops moving off to war, a portentous scrolling text tells us about the desperate situation of London -- and the Free World -- as Hitler's Luftwaffe threatens.
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
We're all familiar with this kind of thriller -- over shots of fresh-faced troops moving off to war, a portentous scrolling text tells us about the desperate situation of London -- and the Free World -- as Hitler's Luftwaffe threatens.
- 10/25/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
By John LeMay
Fat City, released in 1972, was something of a “rebound” film for beloved director John Huston, whose previous two films had been flops. Based upon the 1969 novel by Leonard Gardner (who also wrote the screenplay), Fat City follows Stacy Keach as Billy Tully, a small time boxer who never made it big who is living in squalor. When Billy makes a rare return visit to the gym, he meets Ernie (Jeff Bridges, hot off of a Best Supporting Actor nomination for The Last Picture Show). Billy sees some potential in the teenager’s boxing ability and suggests he go see his old manager, Ruben (Nicholas Colasanto—the future “Coach” on Cheers). Ernie does as told, and soon finds himself under Ruben’s optimistic wing, while Billy’s life further deteriorates when he begins an affair with an alcoholic wreck named Oma (Susan Tyrell, who would herself secure a...
Fat City, released in 1972, was something of a “rebound” film for beloved director John Huston, whose previous two films had been flops. Based upon the 1969 novel by Leonard Gardner (who also wrote the screenplay), Fat City follows Stacy Keach as Billy Tully, a small time boxer who never made it big who is living in squalor. When Billy makes a rare return visit to the gym, he meets Ernie (Jeff Bridges, hot off of a Best Supporting Actor nomination for The Last Picture Show). Billy sees some potential in the teenager’s boxing ability and suggests he go see his old manager, Ruben (Nicholas Colasanto—the future “Coach” on Cheers). Ernie does as told, and soon finds himself under Ruben’s optimistic wing, while Billy’s life further deteriorates when he begins an affair with an alcoholic wreck named Oma (Susan Tyrell, who would herself secure a...
- 10/20/2016
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
An Encore Edition. Peckinpah's macabre South of the border shoot 'em up is back for a second limited edition, with a new commentary. It's still a picture sure to separate the Peckinpah lovers from the auteur tourists - it's grisly, grim and resolutely exploitative, but also has about it a streak of grimy honesty. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia Blu-ray Twilight Time Encore Edition 1974 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 112 min. / Street Date September, 2016 / available through Screen Archives Entertainment / 29.95 Starring Warren Oates, Isela Vega, Robert Webber, Gig Young, Helmut Dantine, Emilio Fernández, Kris Kristofferson, Chano Urueta, Jorge Russek, Enrique Lucero, Janine Maldonado, Richard Bright, Sharon Peckinpah, Garner Simmons. Cinematography Álex Phillips Jr. Art Direction Agustín Ituarte Film Editors Garth Craven, Dennis E. Dolan, Sergio Ortega, Robbe Roberts Original Music Jerry Fielding Written by Sam Peckinpah, Gordon T. Dawson, Frank Kowalski Produced by Martin Baum, Helmut Dantine, Gordon T. Dawson Directed by...
- 10/4/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
We change things up by focusing on a boutique label, Twilight Time, that has found success through a unique business model. Mark and Aaron happen to be big fans, and feel that we have directly contributed towards some of their profits. We talk about the company, their business model, why they have succeeded, and we address some common critiques. We also review a few discs each, and finally count down our favorite Twilight Time titles.
About Nick Redman:
London-born Nick Redman, one of Hollywood’s leading producers of movie music, is also an award-winning documentary filmmaker. An Academy Award nominee as producer of the 1996 Warner Brothers documentary, The Wild Bunch: An Album in Montage, he went on to write, produce, and direct A Turning of the Earth: John Ford, John Wayne and The Searchers (1998), which became a prize-winner at multiple film festivals.
As a consultant to the Fox Music...
About Nick Redman:
London-born Nick Redman, one of Hollywood’s leading producers of movie music, is also an award-winning documentary filmmaker. An Academy Award nominee as producer of the 1996 Warner Brothers documentary, The Wild Bunch: An Album in Montage, he went on to write, produce, and direct A Turning of the Earth: John Ford, John Wayne and The Searchers (1998), which became a prize-winner at multiple film festivals.
As a consultant to the Fox Music...
- 9/13/2016
- by Aaron West
- CriterionCast
Do you like my choice of leading image? 'We're the Glory Guys! Eee-Yow!' What is surely the most generic cavalry western of all time is actually from a screenplay by Sam Peckinpah. Twilight Time's extras have a lot to say about that, and so does Savant. The Glory Guys Blu-ray Twilight Time 1965 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 113 min. / Street Date September 6, 2016 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95 Starring Tom Tryon, Harve Presnell, Senta Berger, James Caan, Andrew Duggan, Slim Pickens, Peter Breck, Jeanne Cooper, Michael Anderson Jr., Adam Williams, Wayne Rogers, Michael Forest, Paul Birch, Stephen Chase, Claudio Brook. Cinematography James Wong Howe Cinematography Ernst R. (Tom) Rolf, Melvin Shapiro Original Music Riz Ortolani Written by Sam Peckinpah from the novel by Hoffman Birney Produced by Arthur Gardner, Arnold Laven, Jules V. Levy Directed by Arnold Laven
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
The Glory Guys is as generic and standard-issue...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
The Glory Guys is as generic and standard-issue...
- 9/5/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
What's this? John Ford's last silent western is as exciting and entertaining as his later classics. A trio of horse thieves turn noble when given the responsibility of a young woman lost on the prairie; Ford gives the show comedy, drama and spectacle. 3 Bad Men Blu-ray Kl Studio Classics 1926 / B&W / 1:33 Silent Ap. / 92 min. / Street Date August 23, 2016 / 29.95 Starring George O'Brien, Olive Borden, Lou Tellegen, Tom Santschi, J. Farrell MacDonald, Frank Campeau, Priscilla Bonner, Otis Harlan, Phyllis Haver, Georgie Harris, Alec Francis, Jay Hunt . Cinematography George Schneiderman Original Music Dana Kaproff (2007) Written by John Stone, Ralph Spence, Malcolm Stuart Boylan from a novel by Herman Whittaker Produced and Directed by John Ford
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
What a great discovery! Last year Kino brought us a good-looking disc of John Ford's Hurricane and now they take the bold step of issuing one of the director's oldest intact features,...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
What a great discovery! Last year Kino brought us a good-looking disc of John Ford's Hurricane and now they take the bold step of issuing one of the director's oldest intact features,...
- 7/17/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Bernard Herrmann music + weird landscapes = Nirvana. This big-star western tale has an unbreakable story but terrible dialogue and weak characters... yet for fans of adventure filmmaking it's a legend, thanks to a thunderous Bernard Herrmann music score that transforms dozens of uncanny, real Mexican locations into something other-worldly. Garden of Evil Blu-ray Twilight Time Limited Edition 1954 / Color / 2:55 widescreen / 100 min. / Ship Date May 10, 2016 / available through Twilight Time Movies / 29.95 Starring Gary Cooper, Susan Hayward, Richard Widmark, Hugh Marlowe, Cameron Mitchell, Rita Moreno, Víctor Manuel Mendoza. Cinematography Milton R. Krasner, Jorge Stahl Jr. Art Direction Edward Fitzgerald, Lyle Wheeler Film Editor James B. Clark Original Music Bernard Herrmann Special Effects Ray Kellogg Written by Frank Fenton, Fred Freiberger, William Tunberg Produced by Charles Brackett Directed by Henry Hathaway
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
"The Garden of Evil. If the world was made of gold, I guess men would die for a handful of dirt.
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
"The Garden of Evil. If the world was made of gold, I guess men would die for a handful of dirt.
- 5/14/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
This is a "go to" festival for international filmmakers with Jewish films who want to have their films premiere in Hollywood. The 11th L.A. Jewish Film Festival May 18th through May 25.
Opening night on May 18 will be a grand, red carpet, star-studded gala at the Steve Tisch Cinema Center at the Saban Theatre, Beverly Hills. Lajff will recognize the Laemmle Theater family with a special honor for their ongoing commitment to film and filmmakers. This family, headed by legendary Universal studio owner, Carl Laemmle and continuously run by subsequent three generations of Laemmles, is truly a force of nature. The Laemmle Theaters is a 75+ year old family run business which has established a sense of community through film in every neighborhood of Los Angeles they touch. The Laemmle family also supports many local organizations.
Watch this wonderful history of the Laemmle theaters in which Gregory Laemmle, the President of Laemmle Theaters, gives the Beverly Hills Historical Society a summary of the Laemmle family movie theater's history and his programming of the Fine Arts and Music Hall theaters in Beverly Hills.
Opening night film is the North American premiere of “False Flag” /”Kfulim”, a gripping espionage thriller TV series (now known as “filmed entertainment”) which premiered at the Berlinale’s inaugural Special Series section and won the Grand Prize at Series Mania. It comes from the makers of “Homeland” as it first appeared in Israel in 2015 before being remade for U.S. audiences.
Created by Amit Cohen and Maria Feldman, Amit will be present after the screening for a Q&A with actor Angel Bonanni.
Variety, October 2015 called it a “Thrill Ride. Keshet’s hot strike may continue with False Flag”
C21 Hot Picks for Mipcom 2015 said, “’False Flag’ has a touch of ‘Homeland’ about it and could be the next big Israeli drama”.
Directed by Oded Ruskin, it stars Ishai Golan, Ania Bukstein, Angel Bonanni, Roy Assaf and Orna Salinger who play five Israeli citizens who find themselves plunged into a gripping international espionage affair overnight. These ordinary people, going about their daily business, wake up one morning to discover that they are implicated in a ruthless kidnapping operation following the disappearance of the Iranian Defense Minister while on a secret visit to Moscow. News bulletins repeatedly flash their names and passport photos on screen, linking them to video footage from the kidnapping.
French pay TV channel Canal Plus acquired exclusive rights to “False Flag” for France from Keshet International. Will it be remade for U.S.??? We shall see.
In addition to the opening night ceremony, this year will be the first year for a new award. Lajff will establish the Marvin Paige Hollywood Legacy Award. Marvin Paige who died in 2014 was a classic Hollywood casting director, the go-to Hollywood star wrangler of anybody and everybody needing to get a hold of a celebrity. He worked with Lajff for its entire 11 years and his work continues with his former protégé.
Read Leonard Maltin on Marvin Paige
The Marvin Paige Hollywood Legacy Award will be presented on closing night, Wednesday, May 25th, at the iconic Beverly Hills theater, The Fine Arts, to legendary actress Marsha Hunt, formerly blacklisted and still known as a free speech and humanitarian activist today at age 98!).
Closing night film Wednesday, May 25th is the classic, 72 year old movie ”None Shall Escape” starring Marsha Hunt and directed by André De Toth, starring Marsha Hunt, Alexander Knox, Henry Travers, and written by Alfred Neumann and Joseph Than (Alfred Neumann and Joseph Than were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Story.)
"None Shall Escape" is a 1944 war film. Even though the film was made during World War II, the setting is a post-war Nuremberg-style war crimes trial. Production began August 31, 1943 and finished October 26, more than eighteen months before the war in Europe ended. About the career of a Nazi officer as shown as flashbacks from his trial as a war criminal, the film will be discussed by film historian, Professor Jan Christopher Horak with Marsha Hunt in person.
There will also be a very special screening of Israel’s beloved, 1966 film musical, “Sheni Kuni Lemel”/ “The Flying Matchmaker” featuring an appearance from L.A. local celebrity and star of the film, Mike Burstyn who starred in the film when he was just 19 years old. This is the first screening of the newly restored print from Israel - the first to be shown in the U.S. Lajff will honor this classic Israeli star with an award on the first night of the screening for “Sheni Kuni Lemel”. (Learn more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flying_Matchmaker)
Another film definitely to be seen is the first film made by Oscar-winning director of “Son of Saul”, László Nemes. The 2008,14 minute short, “ With a Little Patience” will be playing before “Fever at Dawn” on May 23. Director László Nemes fixes the camera on the evocatively stoic face of a young female office clerk, capturing her every nuance as she methodically goes about her daily routine, which leads to a solemn revelation just outside the window, where a man is waiting. The film premiered at the Venice International Film Festival
and was the winner at the 14th Drama International Short Film Festival.
Monday, May 23, 7:30 pm Laemmle’s Music Hall, Beverly Hills program introduction by Consul General of Hungary, Laszlo Kalman
Another top film here is “The People Vs. Fritz Bauer”. If you saw the German submission for the Academy Award this year, “Labyrinth of Lies” you will know the story, but will find this film much,much more authentic and engrossing. It is the real story of the boss of the young man “Labyrinth” who is the true life hero.
Audience Award Winner at the Locarno International Film Festival, World Premiere Toronto International Film Festival 2015. Cohen Media has U.S. rights.
Its L.A. premiere will be Tuesday, May 24, 7:30 pm Laemmle’s Music Hall. Drama, Germany, 2015, 105 minutes, Director: Lars Kraume, in German with English subtitles
Top German actors Burghart Klaussner (“The White Ribbon”) and Ronald Zehrfeld (“Barbara”, “Phoenix”) star in this riveting historical thriller, which chronicles the staggering efforts of German district attorney Fritz Bauer to bring Nazi war criminal Adolph Eichmann to justice.
Few figures encapsulate the conflicted character of postwar Germany better than Fritz Bauer, the Attorney General who was instrumental in bringing the elusive Adolf Eichmann to trial in Israel. This film is both a portrait of this complex man and a riveting historical thriller that chronicles the Herculean efforts and tremendous risks undertaken en route to apprehending the chief engineer of the Nazis' Final Solution.
In the late 1950s, Germany flourishes under the economic miracle, and grows increasingly apathetic about confronting the horrors of its recent past. Nevertheless, Fritz Bauer (Burghart Klaussner) relentlessly devotes his energies to bringing the Third Reich to justice. One day Bauer receives a letter from Argentina, with information about Adolf Eichmann. He is excited by the promising lead, but obstructed at every turn by authorities with Nazi ties, many of them former higher-ups under Hitler, now in top government positions. Bauer journeys to Jerusalem to seek alliance with Mossad, the Israeli secret service. This is an act of treason — yet committing treason is the only way Bauer can serve his country.
Fritz Bauer was the Attorney General portrayed in “Labyrinth of Lies.” This is the story that led up to the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials.
Introduction: Deputy Consul General Stefan Biedermann of the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany. Sponsored by the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany
“A La Vie” / “To Life”
Drama, France, 2014, 104 minutes
Director: Jean-Jacques Zilbermann
Starring: Julie Depardieu, Johanna ter Steege, Suzanne Clément
Audience Award Winner at Warsaw Jewish Ff 2015
Breaking Glass has U.S. rights.
Veteran French writer/director Jean-Jacques Zilbermann (“He’s My Girl” - Lajff 2011) sets his engaging new drama in postwar Paris where Hélène (Julie Depardieu), a young Auschwitz survivor rebuilds her life while searching for her friends from the camp, Lily and Rose (Johanna ter Steege, Suzanne Clément). When the women are finally reunited, they share a watershed vacation in 1962 in a seaside resort, enjoying the intimacies of life, love and faith. This emotionally complex film about the sustaining power of women’s friendship was inspired by the director’s mother and her annual vacation with the friends she made in the camps. Don’t miss this masterful film starring a trio of award-winning actresses.
“Children Of Giant”
Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqBYPp8IfQw
La Premiere
Documentary, United States 2015, 85 minutes
Director: Hector Galan
Thursday, May 19 at the Laemmle's Town Center, Encino at 7:30 pm
Marilyn Moss, George Stevens biographer, M.G. Lord, Elizabeth Taylor biographer Plus Earl Holliman (actor from the film) and Jim Silke join the panel discussion, moderated by Nick Redman.
Sixty years after the Hollywood blockbuster that dared tackle the issue of prejudice against Mexican-Americans, “Children Of Giant” explores the cultural and social legacy of the landmark 1956 drama. Starring a legendary trio—Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson and James Dean—Giant is the epic story of a powerful West Texas ranching dynasty, and the Anglo-Latino tensions their characters encounter. Edna Ferber, the daughter of a Hungarian-born Jewish storekeeper, whose own encounters with discrimination informed her work, bases the film on the novel. Similarly stirred to address human rights issues after his WWII military service, Oscar-winning director George Stevens embraced the book’s controversial themes of feminism, class division and racism in the post-war American Southwest. The lavish production had an enormous impact on the dusty little town of Marfa, Texas, and the Mexican-Americans who saw it as a first exposure to their second-class status.
Rare behind-the-scenes footage and clips from the movie complement interviews with surviving cast and crew, film historians, as well as residents whose lives mirrored the social issues explored onscreen.
“Golan: A Farewell To Mr. Cinema”
Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evRsJy8GxrU&spfreload=10
La Premiere
Documentary, UK/Israel, 74 minutes
Directed by Christopher Sykes
Sunday, May 22, 7:00 pm, Laemmle’s Music Hall, Beverly Hills
Speakers for Golan: Farewell to Mr. Cinema. Sam Firstenberg and Sybil Danning.
This film is the final chapter in the extraordinary life and career of Menahem Golan, Israeli movie director, producer, mogul and 'madman'. Golan and his cousin Yoram Globus, pursued the American Dream and turned the Hollywood power structure upside down, producing over 300 films and becoming the most powerful independent film company in the world; Cannon Films. Golan produced movies featuring such stars as Sylvester Stallone, Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Charles Bronson.
In his eighties and living in Jaffa, Golan looks back to his great days in Hollywood, forward to a new blockbuster, and dreams of the Oscar he has always wanted...
“In Search Of Israeli Cuisine”
La Premiere
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOd6cyFvBr8
Documentary, United States 2015, 97 minutes
Thursday, May 19, 7:30 pm Laemmle’s Music Hall, Beverly Hill
Q&A with Amelia Saltsman, cookbook author and personality and Rob Eshman, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief of the Jewish Journal.
Sunday, May 22, 4:30 pm, Laemmle’s Town Center, Encino
Q&A with Elana Horwich, owner of Meal with a Spiel
Director: Roger Sherman
Starring: Michael Solomonov
Michael Solomonov, the James Beard award-winning celebrity chef-restaurateur travels across Israel to savor a food revolution rooted in centuries-old tradition. Developed in only the last 30 years and using both ancient farming techniques and high-tech innovations, Israel’s food scene is among the most dynamic in the world. From Tel Aviv’s most exclusive eateries to street bazaars, Israeli-American Solomonov interviews chefs, home cooks, farmers, vintners, and cheese makers drawn from the more than 100 cultures that make up Israel today — Jewish, Arab, Muslim, Christian, and Druze. This journey to his homeland reaffirms that Israeli cuisine is a beautiful and delectable reflection of the country’s unique diversity.
In a gastronomical expedition, celebrity chef-restaurateur Michael Solomonov zigzags Israel to savor a food revolution rooted in centuries-old tradition.
Israel’s food scene is among the most dynamic in the world, extending beyond falafel and hummus to include tasty ethnic and regional specialties. Having won the James Beard award for embracing these authentic flavors, Israeli-American Solomonov returns to his homeland to discover his culinary heritage anew. From Tel Aviv’s most exclusive eateries, to street bazaars, to simmering pots in family kitchens, “In Search Of Israeli Cuisine” excites the taste buds with multi-cultural recipes passed on and elevated. But even food is not immune to sectarian conflict, as Palestinian cooks chafe when their savory secrets are adapted by Jewish chefs. Equally eye-opening is the story behind the ingredients that Israel produces using both ancient farming techniques and high-tech innovations. Combining a procession of mouthwatering dishes and interviews with chefs, home cooks and farmers of all backgrounds, Oscar-nominated documentarian Roger Sherman presents a diverse portrait of the Israeli people told through the very personal language of food.
Rob Eshman, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the Jewish Journal, Blog “Foodaism” to lead discussion. Additional guests Tbd. Sponsored by the Jewish Journal and the Consulate General of Israel
Food sponsored by Mickey Fine Pharmacy & Grill and Yrf Darca
For the full array of programming go to: http://lajfilmfest.org/...
Opening night on May 18 will be a grand, red carpet, star-studded gala at the Steve Tisch Cinema Center at the Saban Theatre, Beverly Hills. Lajff will recognize the Laemmle Theater family with a special honor for their ongoing commitment to film and filmmakers. This family, headed by legendary Universal studio owner, Carl Laemmle and continuously run by subsequent three generations of Laemmles, is truly a force of nature. The Laemmle Theaters is a 75+ year old family run business which has established a sense of community through film in every neighborhood of Los Angeles they touch. The Laemmle family also supports many local organizations.
Watch this wonderful history of the Laemmle theaters in which Gregory Laemmle, the President of Laemmle Theaters, gives the Beverly Hills Historical Society a summary of the Laemmle family movie theater's history and his programming of the Fine Arts and Music Hall theaters in Beverly Hills.
Opening night film is the North American premiere of “False Flag” /”Kfulim”, a gripping espionage thriller TV series (now known as “filmed entertainment”) which premiered at the Berlinale’s inaugural Special Series section and won the Grand Prize at Series Mania. It comes from the makers of “Homeland” as it first appeared in Israel in 2015 before being remade for U.S. audiences.
Created by Amit Cohen and Maria Feldman, Amit will be present after the screening for a Q&A with actor Angel Bonanni.
Variety, October 2015 called it a “Thrill Ride. Keshet’s hot strike may continue with False Flag”
C21 Hot Picks for Mipcom 2015 said, “’False Flag’ has a touch of ‘Homeland’ about it and could be the next big Israeli drama”.
Directed by Oded Ruskin, it stars Ishai Golan, Ania Bukstein, Angel Bonanni, Roy Assaf and Orna Salinger who play five Israeli citizens who find themselves plunged into a gripping international espionage affair overnight. These ordinary people, going about their daily business, wake up one morning to discover that they are implicated in a ruthless kidnapping operation following the disappearance of the Iranian Defense Minister while on a secret visit to Moscow. News bulletins repeatedly flash their names and passport photos on screen, linking them to video footage from the kidnapping.
French pay TV channel Canal Plus acquired exclusive rights to “False Flag” for France from Keshet International. Will it be remade for U.S.??? We shall see.
In addition to the opening night ceremony, this year will be the first year for a new award. Lajff will establish the Marvin Paige Hollywood Legacy Award. Marvin Paige who died in 2014 was a classic Hollywood casting director, the go-to Hollywood star wrangler of anybody and everybody needing to get a hold of a celebrity. He worked with Lajff for its entire 11 years and his work continues with his former protégé.
Read Leonard Maltin on Marvin Paige
The Marvin Paige Hollywood Legacy Award will be presented on closing night, Wednesday, May 25th, at the iconic Beverly Hills theater, The Fine Arts, to legendary actress Marsha Hunt, formerly blacklisted and still known as a free speech and humanitarian activist today at age 98!).
Closing night film Wednesday, May 25th is the classic, 72 year old movie ”None Shall Escape” starring Marsha Hunt and directed by André De Toth, starring Marsha Hunt, Alexander Knox, Henry Travers, and written by Alfred Neumann and Joseph Than (Alfred Neumann and Joseph Than were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Story.)
"None Shall Escape" is a 1944 war film. Even though the film was made during World War II, the setting is a post-war Nuremberg-style war crimes trial. Production began August 31, 1943 and finished October 26, more than eighteen months before the war in Europe ended. About the career of a Nazi officer as shown as flashbacks from his trial as a war criminal, the film will be discussed by film historian, Professor Jan Christopher Horak with Marsha Hunt in person.
There will also be a very special screening of Israel’s beloved, 1966 film musical, “Sheni Kuni Lemel”/ “The Flying Matchmaker” featuring an appearance from L.A. local celebrity and star of the film, Mike Burstyn who starred in the film when he was just 19 years old. This is the first screening of the newly restored print from Israel - the first to be shown in the U.S. Lajff will honor this classic Israeli star with an award on the first night of the screening for “Sheni Kuni Lemel”. (Learn more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flying_Matchmaker)
Another film definitely to be seen is the first film made by Oscar-winning director of “Son of Saul”, László Nemes. The 2008,14 minute short, “ With a Little Patience” will be playing before “Fever at Dawn” on May 23. Director László Nemes fixes the camera on the evocatively stoic face of a young female office clerk, capturing her every nuance as she methodically goes about her daily routine, which leads to a solemn revelation just outside the window, where a man is waiting. The film premiered at the Venice International Film Festival
and was the winner at the 14th Drama International Short Film Festival.
Monday, May 23, 7:30 pm Laemmle’s Music Hall, Beverly Hills program introduction by Consul General of Hungary, Laszlo Kalman
Another top film here is “The People Vs. Fritz Bauer”. If you saw the German submission for the Academy Award this year, “Labyrinth of Lies” you will know the story, but will find this film much,much more authentic and engrossing. It is the real story of the boss of the young man “Labyrinth” who is the true life hero.
Audience Award Winner at the Locarno International Film Festival, World Premiere Toronto International Film Festival 2015. Cohen Media has U.S. rights.
Its L.A. premiere will be Tuesday, May 24, 7:30 pm Laemmle’s Music Hall. Drama, Germany, 2015, 105 minutes, Director: Lars Kraume, in German with English subtitles
Top German actors Burghart Klaussner (“The White Ribbon”) and Ronald Zehrfeld (“Barbara”, “Phoenix”) star in this riveting historical thriller, which chronicles the staggering efforts of German district attorney Fritz Bauer to bring Nazi war criminal Adolph Eichmann to justice.
Few figures encapsulate the conflicted character of postwar Germany better than Fritz Bauer, the Attorney General who was instrumental in bringing the elusive Adolf Eichmann to trial in Israel. This film is both a portrait of this complex man and a riveting historical thriller that chronicles the Herculean efforts and tremendous risks undertaken en route to apprehending the chief engineer of the Nazis' Final Solution.
In the late 1950s, Germany flourishes under the economic miracle, and grows increasingly apathetic about confronting the horrors of its recent past. Nevertheless, Fritz Bauer (Burghart Klaussner) relentlessly devotes his energies to bringing the Third Reich to justice. One day Bauer receives a letter from Argentina, with information about Adolf Eichmann. He is excited by the promising lead, but obstructed at every turn by authorities with Nazi ties, many of them former higher-ups under Hitler, now in top government positions. Bauer journeys to Jerusalem to seek alliance with Mossad, the Israeli secret service. This is an act of treason — yet committing treason is the only way Bauer can serve his country.
Fritz Bauer was the Attorney General portrayed in “Labyrinth of Lies.” This is the story that led up to the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials.
Introduction: Deputy Consul General Stefan Biedermann of the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany. Sponsored by the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany
“A La Vie” / “To Life”
Drama, France, 2014, 104 minutes
Director: Jean-Jacques Zilbermann
Starring: Julie Depardieu, Johanna ter Steege, Suzanne Clément
Audience Award Winner at Warsaw Jewish Ff 2015
Breaking Glass has U.S. rights.
Veteran French writer/director Jean-Jacques Zilbermann (“He’s My Girl” - Lajff 2011) sets his engaging new drama in postwar Paris where Hélène (Julie Depardieu), a young Auschwitz survivor rebuilds her life while searching for her friends from the camp, Lily and Rose (Johanna ter Steege, Suzanne Clément). When the women are finally reunited, they share a watershed vacation in 1962 in a seaside resort, enjoying the intimacies of life, love and faith. This emotionally complex film about the sustaining power of women’s friendship was inspired by the director’s mother and her annual vacation with the friends she made in the camps. Don’t miss this masterful film starring a trio of award-winning actresses.
“Children Of Giant”
Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqBYPp8IfQw
La Premiere
Documentary, United States 2015, 85 minutes
Director: Hector Galan
Thursday, May 19 at the Laemmle's Town Center, Encino at 7:30 pm
Marilyn Moss, George Stevens biographer, M.G. Lord, Elizabeth Taylor biographer Plus Earl Holliman (actor from the film) and Jim Silke join the panel discussion, moderated by Nick Redman.
Sixty years after the Hollywood blockbuster that dared tackle the issue of prejudice against Mexican-Americans, “Children Of Giant” explores the cultural and social legacy of the landmark 1956 drama. Starring a legendary trio—Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson and James Dean—Giant is the epic story of a powerful West Texas ranching dynasty, and the Anglo-Latino tensions their characters encounter. Edna Ferber, the daughter of a Hungarian-born Jewish storekeeper, whose own encounters with discrimination informed her work, bases the film on the novel. Similarly stirred to address human rights issues after his WWII military service, Oscar-winning director George Stevens embraced the book’s controversial themes of feminism, class division and racism in the post-war American Southwest. The lavish production had an enormous impact on the dusty little town of Marfa, Texas, and the Mexican-Americans who saw it as a first exposure to their second-class status.
Rare behind-the-scenes footage and clips from the movie complement interviews with surviving cast and crew, film historians, as well as residents whose lives mirrored the social issues explored onscreen.
“Golan: A Farewell To Mr. Cinema”
Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evRsJy8GxrU&spfreload=10
La Premiere
Documentary, UK/Israel, 74 minutes
Directed by Christopher Sykes
Sunday, May 22, 7:00 pm, Laemmle’s Music Hall, Beverly Hills
Speakers for Golan: Farewell to Mr. Cinema. Sam Firstenberg and Sybil Danning.
This film is the final chapter in the extraordinary life and career of Menahem Golan, Israeli movie director, producer, mogul and 'madman'. Golan and his cousin Yoram Globus, pursued the American Dream and turned the Hollywood power structure upside down, producing over 300 films and becoming the most powerful independent film company in the world; Cannon Films. Golan produced movies featuring such stars as Sylvester Stallone, Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Charles Bronson.
In his eighties and living in Jaffa, Golan looks back to his great days in Hollywood, forward to a new blockbuster, and dreams of the Oscar he has always wanted...
“In Search Of Israeli Cuisine”
La Premiere
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOd6cyFvBr8
Documentary, United States 2015, 97 minutes
Thursday, May 19, 7:30 pm Laemmle’s Music Hall, Beverly Hill
Q&A with Amelia Saltsman, cookbook author and personality and Rob Eshman, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief of the Jewish Journal.
Sunday, May 22, 4:30 pm, Laemmle’s Town Center, Encino
Q&A with Elana Horwich, owner of Meal with a Spiel
Director: Roger Sherman
Starring: Michael Solomonov
Michael Solomonov, the James Beard award-winning celebrity chef-restaurateur travels across Israel to savor a food revolution rooted in centuries-old tradition. Developed in only the last 30 years and using both ancient farming techniques and high-tech innovations, Israel’s food scene is among the most dynamic in the world. From Tel Aviv’s most exclusive eateries to street bazaars, Israeli-American Solomonov interviews chefs, home cooks, farmers, vintners, and cheese makers drawn from the more than 100 cultures that make up Israel today — Jewish, Arab, Muslim, Christian, and Druze. This journey to his homeland reaffirms that Israeli cuisine is a beautiful and delectable reflection of the country’s unique diversity.
In a gastronomical expedition, celebrity chef-restaurateur Michael Solomonov zigzags Israel to savor a food revolution rooted in centuries-old tradition.
Israel’s food scene is among the most dynamic in the world, extending beyond falafel and hummus to include tasty ethnic and regional specialties. Having won the James Beard award for embracing these authentic flavors, Israeli-American Solomonov returns to his homeland to discover his culinary heritage anew. From Tel Aviv’s most exclusive eateries, to street bazaars, to simmering pots in family kitchens, “In Search Of Israeli Cuisine” excites the taste buds with multi-cultural recipes passed on and elevated. But even food is not immune to sectarian conflict, as Palestinian cooks chafe when their savory secrets are adapted by Jewish chefs. Equally eye-opening is the story behind the ingredients that Israel produces using both ancient farming techniques and high-tech innovations. Combining a procession of mouthwatering dishes and interviews with chefs, home cooks and farmers of all backgrounds, Oscar-nominated documentarian Roger Sherman presents a diverse portrait of the Israeli people told through the very personal language of food.
Rob Eshman, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the Jewish Journal, Blog “Foodaism” to lead discussion. Additional guests Tbd. Sponsored by the Jewish Journal and the Consulate General of Israel
Food sponsored by Mickey Fine Pharmacy & Grill and Yrf Darca
For the full array of programming go to: http://lajfilmfest.org/...
- 5/5/2016
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
One of the best-remembered dramas of the '70s gives us controversial actresses, a lavish production and a story by the even more controversial Lillian Hellman. Director Fred Zinnemann makes it into a suspenseful, deeply affecting experience. Julia Blu-ray Twilight Time Limited Edition 1977 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 118 min. / Ship Date April 12, 2016 / available through Twilight Time Movies / 29.95 Starring Jane Fonda, Vanessa Redgrave, Jason Robards, Maximilian Schell, Hal Holbrook, Meryl Streep, Rosemary Murphy, Dora Doll, Elisabeth Mortensen, John Glover, Lisa Pelikan, Susan Jones, Cathleen Nesbitt, Maurice Denham. Cinematography Douglas Slocombe Film Editor Walter Murch Original Music Georges Delerue Written by Alvin Sargent based on the story by Lillian Hellman Produced by Richard Roth Directed by Fred Zinnemann
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Fred Zinnemann was a cinema activist from way back, a filmmaker of uncompromising convictions. His most frequent theme is anti-fascism, although he began with a very Soviet-styled pro-union film in Mexico, Redes.
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Fred Zinnemann was a cinema activist from way back, a filmmaker of uncompromising convictions. His most frequent theme is anti-fascism, although he began with a very Soviet-styled pro-union film in Mexico, Redes.
- 4/30/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
It's a genuine forgotten gem: American student Jean Seberg's five-year adventure in Paris is mostly a period of romantic frustration. Irwin Shaw and Robert Parrish's look at the problems of an independent woman is remarkably insightful; the chronically miscast and underused Ms. Seberg is luminous. In the French Style Blu-ray Twilight Time Limited Edition 1963 / B&W / 1:66 widescreen / 105 min. / Ship Date April 12, 2016 / available through Twilight Time Movies / 29.95 Starring Jean Seberg, Stanley Baker, Phillippe Forquet, Addison Powell, Jack Hedley, Maurice Teynac, Claudine Auger, James Leo Herlihy, Ann Lewis, Barbara Sommers. Cinematography Michel Kelber Original Music Joseph Kosma Written by Irwin Shaw from his short stories Produced by Irwin Shaw, Robert Parrish Directed by Robert Parrish
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Talk about elusive movies: on must keep an eye on the TCM logs to catch many of the films of director Robert Parrish. I had to wait for the advent of...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Talk about elusive movies: on must keep an eye on the TCM logs to catch many of the films of director Robert Parrish. I had to wait for the advent of...
- 4/23/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
"Sorry, I just slashed my wrists." "Well, tape 'em!" This is the aftermath of the '60s protest movement. Ivan Passer's riveting murder mystery of flakes and losers in sun-drenched, guilty Santa Barbara expresses the rage of radicals faced with the growing class divide, and the arrogance of the wealthy. Cutter's Way Blu-ray Twilight Time Limited Edition 1981 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 109 min. / Ship Date , 2016 / available through Twilight Time Movies / 29.95 Starring Jeff Bridges, John Heard, Lisa Eichhorn, Ann Dusenberry, Stephen Elliott, Arthur Rosenberg, Nina Van Pallandt. Cinematography Jordan Cronenweth Production Designer Josan F. Russo Film Editor Caroline Biggerstaff Original Music Jack Nitzsche Writing credits Jeffrey Alan Fiskin, from the novel Cutter and Bone by Newton Thornburg. Produced by Paul R. Gurian Directed by Ivan Passer
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Sort of the bad-news post-graduate version of American Graffiti, Ivan Passer's Cutter's Way is a movie with a mindset and background that I partly lived through,...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Sort of the bad-news post-graduate version of American Graffiti, Ivan Passer's Cutter's Way is a movie with a mindset and background that I partly lived through,...
- 4/19/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
An Encore Edition brings back Fritz Lang's searing police corruption tale, with the great performances of Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame and Lee Marvinaided by several pots of fresh, hot coffee. As is usual, Fritz Lang leads the way in modernizing a genre -- this one is a keeper. The Big Heat Blu-ray Encore Edition Twilight Time Limited Edition 1953 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 89 min. / Ship Date February 9, 2016 / available through Twilight Time Movies / 29.95 Starring Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Jocelyn Brando, Alexander Scourby, Lee Marvin, Jeanette Nolan, Willis Bouchey, Robert Burton, Adam Williams, Howard Wendell, Dorothy Green, Carolyn Jones, Dan Seymour, Edith Evanson, John Crawford, John Doucette. Cinematography Charles Lang Film Editor Charles Nelson Original Music Henry Vars Written by Sydney Boehm from the book by William P. McGivern Produced by Robert Arthur Directed by Fritz Lang
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Four years after Twilight Time's initial release, this Encore Edition...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Four years after Twilight Time's initial release, this Encore Edition...
- 3/8/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Delmer Daves' easygoing cattle drive western can't make an action hero out of Jack Lemmon, but with fine work from co-star Glenn Ford it presents a thoughtful anti-myth: no glorious rescues or noble gunfights, and the demure maiden doesn't wait for the handsome cowboy hero. With Brian Donlevy (excellent) and Anna Kashf. Cowboy Blu-ray Twilight Time Limited Edition 1958 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 92 min. / Ship Date February 9, 2016 / available through Twilight Time Movies / 29.95 Starring Glenn Ford, Jack Lemmon, Anna Kashfi, Brian Donlevy, Strother Martin, Dick York, Victor Manuel Mendoza, Richard Jaeckel, King Donovan Cinematography Charles Lawton Jr. Production Designer Cary Odell Film Editor Al Clark, William A. Lyon Original Music George Duning Written by Edmund H. North and, originally uncredited Dalton Trumbo from a book by Frank Harris Produced by Julian Blaustein Directed by Delmer Daves
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Not Delmer Daves' best Western, but a rather good movie, Cowboy...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Not Delmer Daves' best Western, but a rather good movie, Cowboy...
- 2/27/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
By Doug Oswald
Two men find peace and friendship as they uncover a mystery in the Yorkshire countryside. “A Month in the Country” is one of those elegant movies about a bygone era in post Victorian England that has become enormously popular in movies such as those produced by Merchant-Ivory and in TV series like the recent “Downton Abbey.” The exploration of class distinctions and gender roles has been a staple in English drama in movies and TV for decades and the audience appears to always be hungry for more. The likes of Austen, Bronte and Dickens and stores of England through WWII have provided fertile ground for countless tales that continue to fascinate and entertain.
“A Month in the Country” features early career performances by Colin Firth and Kenneth Branagh. Both actors went on to enormous success and in the case of Branagh, as a successful director, too. Firth...
Two men find peace and friendship as they uncover a mystery in the Yorkshire countryside. “A Month in the Country” is one of those elegant movies about a bygone era in post Victorian England that has become enormously popular in movies such as those produced by Merchant-Ivory and in TV series like the recent “Downton Abbey.” The exploration of class distinctions and gender roles has been a staple in English drama in movies and TV for decades and the audience appears to always be hungry for more. The likes of Austen, Bronte and Dickens and stores of England through WWII have provided fertile ground for countless tales that continue to fascinate and entertain.
“A Month in the Country” features early career performances by Colin Firth and Kenneth Branagh. Both actors went on to enormous success and in the case of Branagh, as a successful director, too. Firth...
- 2/25/2016
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Director Gordon Douglas is one of many prolific filmmakers who seemed to fall short of auteur recognition despite considerable iconic items lodged within a vast filmography. Starting out in Hollywood as a child actor, he was directing shorts throughout the 1930s and began developing a resume of B-grade features, the most notable from this period being the 1954 sci-fi classic Them!, one of several genre items capitalizing on nuclear warfare fears. The 1960s found Douglas evolving freely with the times, churning out some racy Carroll Baker numbers (including in a biopic of Jean Harlow), the James Bond knock-off In Like Flint (1967), and a trio of Frank Sinatra vehicles. In between directing Sinatra in a pair of movies where the crooner plays Miami Pi Tony Rome, Douglas concocted something much more provocative, a seedy, lurid neo-noir titled The Detective (1968). One of several oft-referenced titles detailed in Vito Russo’s The Celluloid Closet,...
- 1/19/2016
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Do you love movies about cute animals? The original pet-lion-in-Africa romp is actually a well balanced nature film about the separation between wild animals and those raised by humans. Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers winningly play the Adamsons, game wardens that dedicate themselves to the well-being of Elsa, the lioness they raise from infancy. Born Free Blu-ray Twilight Time Limited Edition 1966 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 96 min. / Ship Date December 8, 2015 / available through Twilight Time Movies / 29.95 Starring Virginia McKenna, Bill Travers, Geoffrey Keen, Peter Lukoye, Omar Chambati Cinematography Kenneth Talbot Film Editor Don Decon Original Music John Barry Written by Lester Cole from the novel by Joy Adamson Produced by Sam Jaffe, Paul B. Radin Directed by James Hill
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Savant normally becomes sullen and anti-social around overly committed animal lovers, I suppose because I think the world gets a little out of balance when people seriously consider their domestic...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Savant normally becomes sullen and anti-social around overly committed animal lovers, I suppose because I think the world gets a little out of balance when people seriously consider their domestic...
- 1/1/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Frank Sinatra shines in a story of police corruption that tries to say it like it is -- or like it was in 1968, just before the ratings system came in. The well-intentioned, suspenseful story is burdened by odd censor choices, Sinatra's conservative self-image, and rudely retrograde attitudes toward gays. In a sparkling new transfer with Jerry Goldsmith's jazzy score isolated on its own track. The Detective Blu-ray Twilight Time Limited Edition 1968 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 114 min. / Ship Date December 8, 2015 / available through Twilight Time Movies / 29.95 Starring Frank Sinatra, Lee Remick, Ralph Meeker, Jacqueline Bisset, William Windom, Al Freeman Jr., Tony Musante, Lloyd Bochner, Robert Duvall, Horace McMahon Cinematography Joseph F. Biroc Art Direction William J. Creber, Jack Martin Smith Film Editor Robert L. Simpson Original Music Jerry Goldsmith Written by Abby Mann from a novel by Roderick Thorpe Produced by Aaron Rosenberg Directed by Gordon Douglas
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson...
- 12/30/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Director Edward Dmytryk, one of the infamous Hollywood Ten blacklisted by McCarthy and his goons in 1947 Hollywood, debuted the most famous title in his filmography seven years later with war drama The Caine Mutiny. That very same year, in fact, only about a month later, he would premiere another title, a robust 1880s set Western starring Spencer Tracy, a title which would also win Oscar glory. Overshadowed by the popularity of Caine, however, the film seems to have disappeared from contemporary discussions of Dmytryk’s work (never able to divorce himself from his eventual testimony in front of Huac), a shame considering it’s a gripping, framed familial saga of intergenerational misunderstandings, racial hang-ups, and eventually even a court-room drama.
Young Joe Devereaux (Robert Wagner) is released from serving a three year prison sentence and immediately returns to his abandoned familial homestead to wreak vengeance on those who wronged him.
Young Joe Devereaux (Robert Wagner) is released from serving a three year prison sentence and immediately returns to his abandoned familial homestead to wreak vengeance on those who wronged him.
- 12/22/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Forget film art for a minute. Bob Rafelson and Ronald Bass's smart and sexy murder thriller throws Debra Winger and Theresa Russell into a slick neo-noir tale with fancy glamour trimmings, and comes up a bright, intelligent entertainment. A government agent tracks a serial killer that none of her superiors believes in -- who ever heard of a female Bluebeard character, who marries 'em and burys 'em? Black Widow Blu-ray Twilight Time Limited Edition 1987 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 102 min. / Ship Date October 13, 2015 / available through Twilight Time Movies / 29.95 Starring Debra Winger, Theresa Russell, Sami Frey, Dennis Hopper, Nicol Williamson, Terry O'Quinn, D.W. Moffett. Cinematography Conrad L. Hall Production Designer Gene Callahan Film Editor John Bloom Original Music Michael Small Written by Ronald Bass Produced by Harold Schneider Directed by Bob Rafelson
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
You know how sometimes one's significant other will insist on seeing a movie you don't want to see,...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
You know how sometimes one's significant other will insist on seeing a movie you don't want to see,...
- 11/21/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Edward Dmytryk's big-scale cattle empire saga sees paterfamilias Spencer Tracy drive away his sons and bull his way into a modern civil dispute that can't be resolved with force. Robert Wagner is the loyal son and Richard Widmark the resentful son impatient for Dad to cash in his chips. Fox's early CinemaScope and stereophonic sound western is a transposition of a film noir mystery thriller. Broken Lance Blu-ray Twilight Time Limited Edition 1954 / Color / 2:55 widescreen / 96 min. / Ship Date November 10, 2015 / available through Twilight Time Movies / 29.95 Starring Spencer Tracy, Robert Wagner, Jean Peters, Richard Widmark, Katy Jurado, Hugh O'Brian, Eduard Franz, Earl Holliman, E.G. Marshall, Carl Benton Reid, Philip Ober. Cinematography Joseph MacDonald Film Editor Dorothy Spencer Original Music Leigh Harline Written by Richard Murphy, Philip Yordan Produced by Sol C. Siegel Directed by Edward Dmytryk Reviewed by Glenn EricksonSome of the early 'big' westerns that aspire to epic status are...
- 11/14/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
John Guillermin, a prolific British filmmaker who specialized in action and adventure pics including The Towering Inferno and the 1976 version of King Kong that launched Jessica Lange’s career, has died at his Los Angeles home. He was 89. His friend Nick Redman posted the news on Facebook. Guillermin’s long career started after a stint in the Royal Air Force during World War II. He started out as a documentarian in France and ended up making a movie nearly every year…...
- 10/1/2015
- Deadline
The Towering Inferno director John Guillermin has died at the age of 89.
The filmmaker's close friend Nick Redman confirmed Guillermin's passing this week in Los Angeles, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Guillermin's long and varied career included working on action epics like Tarzan Goes to India, blaxploitation drama thriller Shaft in Africa and the '80s cult classic Sheena: Queen of the Jungle.
Among his more famous Hollywood projects was the disaster epic The Towering Inferno, the highest-grossing movie of 1974.
Guillermin was also at the helm of 1976's King Kong remake starring Jessica Lange, a financial success that earned middling reviews.
In more recent decades, Guillermin focused on low-budget films and television work.
He is survived by two children from his marriage to Kenyan actress Maureen Connell.
The filmmaker's close friend Nick Redman confirmed Guillermin's passing this week in Los Angeles, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Guillermin's long and varied career included working on action epics like Tarzan Goes to India, blaxploitation drama thriller Shaft in Africa and the '80s cult classic Sheena: Queen of the Jungle.
Among his more famous Hollywood projects was the disaster epic The Towering Inferno, the highest-grossing movie of 1974.
Guillermin was also at the helm of 1976's King Kong remake starring Jessica Lange, a financial success that earned middling reviews.
In more recent decades, Guillermin focused on low-budget films and television work.
He is survived by two children from his marriage to Kenyan actress Maureen Connell.
- 10/1/2015
- Digital Spy
John Huston sets the bar for director-driven quality filmmaking of the early 1970s. Stacy Keach is a punchy boxing bum who teams up with the ambitious newcomer Jeff Bridges; the glowing discovery is the amazing Susan Tyrell, film history's most convincingly caustic floozy-alcoholic, bar none. Her voice can peel paint, but we love her dearly. Fat City Blu-ray Twilight Time Limited Edition 1972 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 100 min. / Street Date September 8, 2015 / available through the Twilight Time Movies / 20.95 Starring Stacy Keach, Jeff Bridges, Susan Tyrrell, Candy Clark, Nicholas Colasanto, Art Aragon, Curtis Cokes, Sixto Rodriguez Cinematography Conrad L. Hall Production Designer Richard Sylbert Film Editor Walter Thompson Original Music Kris Kristofferson, Marvin Hamlisch (supervisor) Written by Leonard Gardner from his novel <Produced by John Huston, Ray Stark Directed by John Huston
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
This rewarding show is a fine opportunity to catch up on two great talents, John Huston and Stacy Keach.
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
This rewarding show is a fine opportunity to catch up on two great talents, John Huston and Stacy Keach.
- 9/22/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Twilight Time brings Sam Fuller’s exotic 1955 color noir House of Bamboo to Blu-ray, a resplendently colorful film and the first major Us production to film in post-war Japan. While Fuller re-tooled Harry Kleiner’s script for the 1948 film The Street with No Name to meet his own offbeat needs, the film experienced a rather cool reception, garnering praise for Joseph MacDonald’s cinematography (and has since been hailed by sources as some of the best uses of widescreen photography in the history of cinema) but little else. Following on the heels of successful black and white titles like Hell and High Water (1954) and the acclaimed film noir Pickup on South Street (1953), it’s a harder title to classify, featuring Fuller’s usual signature of off-balance touches in a production that now seems ahead of its time (especially compared to something like 1964’s black and white provocation The Naked Kiss...
- 9/1/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
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.