Severin Films is celebrating the late Peter Cushing with an unprecedented box set highlighting the most unexpected gems from the filmography of the legendary horror actor.
Cushing Curiosities, releasing August 29, presents 6-discs of rarely seen feature films and television broadcasts restored and scanned from original vault sources, plus a curated plethora of Special Features that celebrate Cushing’s unique career like never before.
From Hammer Films to Star Wars, he remains one of genre films’ best-loved actors. Now celebrate six of the most unexpected, rarely seen and decidedly curious performances from the legendary career of Peter Cushing: Cushing delivers a rare villain turn in the 1960 aviation thriller Cone Of Silence. That same year, Cushing brought gentle dignity to The Boulting Brothers’ cold-war drama Suspect. In 1962’s The Man Who Finally Died, Cushing co-stars opposite Stanley Baker as a former Nazi hiding a grave post-war secret.
Cushing returns to his...
Cushing Curiosities, releasing August 29, presents 6-discs of rarely seen feature films and television broadcasts restored and scanned from original vault sources, plus a curated plethora of Special Features that celebrate Cushing’s unique career like never before.
From Hammer Films to Star Wars, he remains one of genre films’ best-loved actors. Now celebrate six of the most unexpected, rarely seen and decidedly curious performances from the legendary career of Peter Cushing: Cushing delivers a rare villain turn in the 1960 aviation thriller Cone Of Silence. That same year, Cushing brought gentle dignity to The Boulting Brothers’ cold-war drama Suspect. In 1962’s The Man Who Finally Died, Cushing co-stars opposite Stanley Baker as a former Nazi hiding a grave post-war secret.
Cushing returns to his...
- 8/16/2023
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
All those British crime films once deemed undesirable for the National Image are beginning to get the attention they deserve. This story of a single day in a working class section of London has plenty of criminal activity but blends it in with the everyday crimes of desperation and boredom. The Sandigate girls are flirting with trouble but Googie Withers’ Rose Sandigate has gone much further: she’s hiding an escaped fugitive who was once her lover in the vain hope of recapturing her lost youth. Director Robert Hamer examines a dozen distinctive characters on the edge of respectability, in one of the most original ‘Brit noirs’ we’ve seen to date.
It Always Rains on Sunday
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1947 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 92 min. / Street Date November 5, 2019 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Googie Withers, John McCallum, Jack Warner, Edward Chapman, Susan Shaw, Patricia Plunkett, Nigel Stock, David Lines, Sydney Tafler,...
It Always Rains on Sunday
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1947 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 92 min. / Street Date November 5, 2019 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Googie Withers, John McCallum, Jack Warner, Edward Chapman, Susan Shaw, Patricia Plunkett, Nigel Stock, David Lines, Sydney Tafler,...
- 12/10/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Haven’t yet seen all the best old-school vintage naval combat epics? This color & ‘scope thriller has a terrific cast of Brit stars and up-n-comers, can boast excellent visuals and is historically accurate. Alec Guinness captains a ship during the Napoleonic Wars, and finds his duty complicated by a psychopathic top officer (Dirk Bogarde) who usurps authority and sees the crew as fresh meat for his sadistic ideas about discipline. All the tech and art credits are top-tier, plus we get nice supporting perfs from the likes of Anthony Quayle, Nigel Stock, Maurice Denham, Victor Maddern, Tom Bell, and Murray Melvin.
Damn the Defiant!
Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] 136
1962 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 101 min. / Street Date June 29, 2022 / H.M.S. Defiant / Available from Viavision / Australian 34.95 / and Amazon US / 34.95
Starring: Alec Guinness, Dirk Bogarde, Maurice Denham, Nigel Stock, Richard Carpenter, Peter Gill, David Robinson, Robin Stewart, Ray Brooks, Peter Greenspan, Anthony Quayle, Tom Bell,...
Damn the Defiant!
Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] 136
1962 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 101 min. / Street Date June 29, 2022 / H.M.S. Defiant / Available from Viavision / Australian 34.95 / and Amazon US / 34.95
Starring: Alec Guinness, Dirk Bogarde, Maurice Denham, Nigel Stock, Richard Carpenter, Peter Gill, David Robinson, Robin Stewart, Ray Brooks, Peter Greenspan, Anthony Quayle, Tom Bell,...
- 7/26/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
A courageous episode in the life of frogman Lionel "Buster" Crabb is brought to the screen in The Silent Enemy, which dramatises, with a bit of poetic licence, a real-life raid. The film begins as bomb disposal expert Crabb (Laurence Harvey) is sent to Gibraltar to aid efforts to thwart Italian frogmen who are blowing up ships in the dock. Quickly deciding to join the tiny team of British frogmen despite having no experience at all, we can quicly see that he Seaman Knowles (Michael Craig) and Seaman Fraser (Nigel Stock) are plucky, under-manned and ill-equipped, in short, all the classic ingredients for this sort of war film.
It's not long before the trio, along with a few others, find themselves being trained up by Chief Petty Officer Thorpe (Sid James playing it dead straight), while plotting a secret foray to neutral Spain in a bid to find out how those.
It's not long before the trio, along with a few others, find themselves being trained up by Chief Petty Officer Thorpe (Sid James playing it dead straight), while plotting a secret foray to neutral Spain in a bid to find out how those.
- 4/24/2022
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
I must have at least 7 home video releases of John Sturges’ classic, starting from VHS, but they’ve come up with a good reason to return: a 4K transfer with color and contrast grading that to me better represents the movie. The thrilling, not-too-violent escapades of Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough, James Garner, David McCallum, James Coburn, Charles Bronson & James Donald are no longer timed so that everything looks like a washed-out high noon: both the 4th of July and much of the mad-dash escape scramble are meant to take place near the crack of dawn. In this case ‘Much darker’ is much richer; faces don’t get blown out. And I do see more detail in the enhanced image. So here we go again, happily.
The Great Escape 4K
4K Ultra HD
Kl Studio Classics
1963 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 172 min. / Street Date January 11, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 39.95
Starring: Steve McQueen, James Garner,...
The Great Escape 4K
4K Ultra HD
Kl Studio Classics
1963 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 172 min. / Street Date January 11, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 39.95
Starring: Steve McQueen, James Garner,...
- 12/27/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Often for children of a similar vintage, the Saturday matinee was where our movie memories began and then flourished; we were shown sword-fighting skeletons, one-eyed ogres and metallic barn fowl, pretty girls in peril and giants with a grudge. Fantasy adventure was a familiar label to us afternoon filmgoers, and the more absurd the flick, the better. The Lost Continent (1968) didn’t cross my path as a kid, but it certainly would have fit right in with our weird fiction viewing habits at the time. Watching it as a significantly aged and occasionally cynical movie lover, one can see that love of pulp on display, with one important difference: this was made by Hammer Films.
Pulp? Without question. But filtered through Hammer’s latter day approach of looser morals and giddy blood spraying, The Lost Continent seems to be made for adults who missed the experience the first time around,...
Pulp? Without question. But filtered through Hammer’s latter day approach of looser morals and giddy blood spraying, The Lost Continent seems to be made for adults who missed the experience the first time around,...
- 10/31/2020
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
Graham Greene’s tense crime tale is as important as his classic The Third Man but nowhere near as well known. Down Brighton way the race-track boys have sharp ways of solving disputes and terrorizing the common folk — think ‘straight razor.’ Richard Attenborough’s breakthrough film is also a showcase for Hermoine Baddelely and a marvelous newcomer that every horror fan loves even if they don’t know her name, Carol Marsh. Kino’s disc has a Tim Lucas commentary; this review balances thoughts about mercy and damnation, with an extra insight about a piece of ‘stick candy’ unfamiliar to us Yanks.
Brighton Rock
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1948 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 92 min. / Street Date May 5, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Richard Attenborough, Carol Marsh, Hermione Baddeley, William Hartnell, Harcourt Williams, Wylie Watson, Nigel Stock, Virginia Winter, Reginald Purdell, George Carney, Charles Goldner, Alan Wheatley.
Cinematography: Harry Waxman
Camera operator:...
Brighton Rock
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1948 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 92 min. / Street Date May 5, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Richard Attenborough, Carol Marsh, Hermione Baddeley, William Hartnell, Harcourt Williams, Wylie Watson, Nigel Stock, Virginia Winter, Reginald Purdell, George Carney, Charles Goldner, Alan Wheatley.
Cinematography: Harry Waxman
Camera operator:...
- 5/9/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Images from this picture were burned into our Boomer childhood brains … we actually sat still for almost three hours to watch it. John Sturges’ epic show is like a fine-tuned watch — its unbreakable story is populated by ideal characters that become instant heroes, just for acting like normal men that want free of confinement. It’s really about freedom — after two hours in the Pow compound, the fugitives set loose in the wide, green beauty of Germany might as well be escaping into a wonderland of light and space. In its own way this show made our parents’ wartime experience come alive — it’s The picture to interest kids in events of the past.
The Great Escape
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 1027
1963 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 172 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date May 12, 2020 / 39.95
Starring: Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, James Donald, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence, James Coburn, Hannes Messemer,...
The Great Escape
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 1027
1963 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 172 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date May 12, 2020 / 39.95
Starring: Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, James Donald, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence, James Coburn, Hannes Messemer,...
- 5/2/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Powell & Pressburger’s big-scale historical epic is perhaps the best show ever about an old-school naval encounter between battleships. The first half depicts the showdown between England and Germany in the South Atlantic, and the second half a tense diplomatic game in the neutral country of Uruguay. Peter Finch, Bernard Lee and Anthony Quayle shine as sea captains.
Panzerschiff Graf Spee (The Battle of the River Plate)
Region B Blu-ray
ITV Studios Home Entertainment (Germany)
1956 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 119, 106 117 min./ Pursuit of the Graf Spee / Street Date 2010 / Available from Amazon UK £16.90
Starring: Peter Finch, Bernard Lee, Anthony Quayle, John Gregson, Ian Hunter, Jack Gwillim, Lionel Murton, Anthony Bushell, Peter Illing, Michael Goodliffe, Patrick Macnee, Christopher Lee.
Cinematography: Christopher Challis
Production Design: Arthur Lawson
Film Editor: Reginald Mills
Original Music: Brian Easdale
Written, Produced & Directed by Michael Powell & Emeric Pressberger
The best way so far to see the impressive The Battle of the River Plate...
Panzerschiff Graf Spee (The Battle of the River Plate)
Region B Blu-ray
ITV Studios Home Entertainment (Germany)
1956 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 119, 106 117 min./ Pursuit of the Graf Spee / Street Date 2010 / Available from Amazon UK £16.90
Starring: Peter Finch, Bernard Lee, Anthony Quayle, John Gregson, Ian Hunter, Jack Gwillim, Lionel Murton, Anthony Bushell, Peter Illing, Michael Goodliffe, Patrick Macnee, Christopher Lee.
Cinematography: Christopher Challis
Production Design: Arthur Lawson
Film Editor: Reginald Mills
Original Music: Brian Easdale
Written, Produced & Directed by Michael Powell & Emeric Pressberger
The best way so far to see the impressive The Battle of the River Plate...
- 7/22/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
"Now I have only one desire left - to see you King." Rialto Pictures has revealed a captivating trailer for the brand new 4K restoration re-release of the classic historical drama The Lion in Winter, which won three Academy Awards back in 1969. Katharine Hepburn (who won Best Actress for this) stars as Eleanor of Aquitaine, along with Peter O'Toole (who was also nominated but didn't win) as King Henry II - they play husband and wife. The ensemble cast also includes a young Anthony Hopkins, a young Timothy Dalton, John Castle, Nigel Terry, Jane Merrow and Nigel Stock. This is perfectly timed for a holiday season re-release, as the film takes place during a Christmas Court in the 12th Century. This trailer also features some of John Barry's Oscar-winning score. If you're never seen the film, no better time than now to catch it. Here's the new trailer for...
- 11/23/2016
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
By Lee Pfeiffer
The good news is that Timeless Video is releasing multiple films in one DVD package. The bad news is that one of these releases, although featuring two highly-watchable leading men, presents two stinkers. Love and Bullets is a 1979 Charles Bronson starrer that Roger Ebert appropriately described at the time as "an assemblyline potboiler". The film initially showed promise. Originally titled Love and Bullets, Charlie, the movie had John Huston as its director. However, Huston left after "creative differences" about the concept of the story and its execution on screen. The absurdity of losing a director as esteemed as Huston might have been understandable if the resulting flick wasn't such a mess. However, one suspects that, whatever the conceptual vision Huston had for the movie may have been, it must have been superior to what ultimately emerged. Stuart Rosenberg, the competent director of Cool Hand Luke took over...
The good news is that Timeless Video is releasing multiple films in one DVD package. The bad news is that one of these releases, although featuring two highly-watchable leading men, presents two stinkers. Love and Bullets is a 1979 Charles Bronson starrer that Roger Ebert appropriately described at the time as "an assemblyline potboiler". The film initially showed promise. Originally titled Love and Bullets, Charlie, the movie had John Huston as its director. However, Huston left after "creative differences" about the concept of the story and its execution on screen. The absurdity of losing a director as esteemed as Huston might have been understandable if the resulting flick wasn't such a mess. However, one suspects that, whatever the conceptual vision Huston had for the movie may have been, it must have been superior to what ultimately emerged. Stuart Rosenberg, the competent director of Cool Hand Luke took over...
- 9/22/2015
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Might the BBC’s Sherlock adapt The Adventure Of The Blue Carbuncle for its 2015 festive special?
Feature
Whether by accident or design, Martin Freeman let the world in on the secret of Sherlock’s 2015 one-off episode weeks ago. Though the C-word was absent from the BBC’s official announcement, Freeman’s rogue comments identified the episode as “a Christmas special”, which is motivation enough for us to fire up the wild speculation engines.
As Arthur Conan Doyle readers will tell you, one Sherlock Holmes story in particular is ripe for adaptation as a Christmas special. With its playful plot, lack of murder or violence, and frothy story of a hapless jewel theft, The Adventure Of The Blue Carbuncle essentially is a nineteenth century Christmas special. It’s a quirky 27-page mystery with a happy ending that finds the Great Detective in a jocund, sportive mood. It features a goose, a...
Feature
Whether by accident or design, Martin Freeman let the world in on the secret of Sherlock’s 2015 one-off episode weeks ago. Though the C-word was absent from the BBC’s official announcement, Freeman’s rogue comments identified the episode as “a Christmas special”, which is motivation enough for us to fire up the wild speculation engines.
As Arthur Conan Doyle readers will tell you, one Sherlock Holmes story in particular is ripe for adaptation as a Christmas special. With its playful plot, lack of murder or violence, and frothy story of a hapless jewel theft, The Adventure Of The Blue Carbuncle essentially is a nineteenth century Christmas special. It’s a quirky 27-page mystery with a happy ending that finds the Great Detective in a jocund, sportive mood. It features a goose, a...
- 7/7/2014
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
Feature Louisa Mellor 20 Jan 2014 - 07:00
An in-depth look at how His Last Vow, Sherlock’s series 3 finale, adapts the Doyle story of Charles Augustus Milverton…
Warning: contains major spoilers for Sherlock series three.
Having ticked off Moriarty, the Woman and the hell-hound in series two, Sherlock’s third run was in need of a villain. Enter Charles Augustus Magnussen, a Scandi take on Arthur Conan Doyle’s detestable master blackmailer played to grotesque perfection by The Killing’s Lars Mikkelsen.
Though perhaps the most despicable, Mikkelsen wasn’t the first on-screen version of the Doyle character. Barry Jones gave an arch, cruelly playful turn as the blackmailer in the 1965 BBC adaptation with Douglas Wilmer and Nigel Stock as Holmes and Watson. Robert Hardy, recognisable to many as Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge in the Harry Potter series, was an odious, amused Milverton in the 1992 television film with Jeremy Brett...
An in-depth look at how His Last Vow, Sherlock’s series 3 finale, adapts the Doyle story of Charles Augustus Milverton…
Warning: contains major spoilers for Sherlock series three.
Having ticked off Moriarty, the Woman and the hell-hound in series two, Sherlock’s third run was in need of a villain. Enter Charles Augustus Magnussen, a Scandi take on Arthur Conan Doyle’s detestable master blackmailer played to grotesque perfection by The Killing’s Lars Mikkelsen.
Though perhaps the most despicable, Mikkelsen wasn’t the first on-screen version of the Doyle character. Barry Jones gave an arch, cruelly playful turn as the blackmailer in the 1965 BBC adaptation with Douglas Wilmer and Nigel Stock as Holmes and Watson. Robert Hardy, recognisable to many as Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge in the Harry Potter series, was an odious, amused Milverton in the 1992 television film with Jeremy Brett...
- 1/19/2014
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
Paul Henreid in ‘Casablanca’: Freedom Fighter on screen, Blacklisted ‘Subversive’ off screen Turner Classic Movies’ Star of the Month of July 2013, Paul Henreid, bids you farewell this evening. TCM left the most popular, if not exactly the best, for last: Casablanca, Michael Curtiz’s 1943 Best Picture Oscar-winning drama, is showing at 7 p.m. Pt tonight. (Photo: Paul Henreid sings "La Marseillaise" in Casablanca.) One of the best-remembered movies of the studio era, Casablanca — not set in a Spanish or Mexican White House — features Paul Henreid as Czechoslovakian underground leader Victor Laszlo, Ingrid Bergman’s husband but not her True Love. That’s Humphrey Bogart, owner of a cafe in the titular Moroccan city. Henreid’s anti-Nazi hero is generally considered one of least interesting elements in Casablanca, but Alt Film Guide contributor Dan Schneider thinks otherwise. In any case, Victor Laszlo feels like a character made to order for Paul Henreid,...
- 7/31/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
The Great Escape Contest Giveaway Sweepstakes. This The Great Escape Blu-ray contest, giveaway, sweepstakes illustrates The Great Escape‘s release on Blu-ray on May 7, 2013. John Sturges‘ The Great Escape stars Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, James Donald, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence, James Coburn, David McCallum, Gordon Jackson, John Leyton, Nigel Stock, [...]
Continue reading: Contest: The Great Escape (1963) Blu-ray: McQueen Absconds with POWs...
Continue reading: Contest: The Great Escape (1963) Blu-ray: McQueen Absconds with POWs...
- 5/8/2013
- by Rollo Tomasi
- Film-Book
A director's CV needs to prove a lot to a prospective employer. An eye for imaginative camera shots. A bulging contacts book with lots of good actors and crewmembers who can help make the project a resounding success. And then there's the all-important talent for judging budgetary requirements.
It's a talent that's especially important in a show like Doctor Who, especially in the days before the budget got bigger. Back in the day, the budget never seemed to amount to much, given the various DVD commentary anecdotes, during which directors spend aeons discussing every scrap of budget on their allocated story – anecdotes that are only really of any value to accountants and insomniacs.
But any director worth his or her salt needs to have a good grasp of finance, especially if they're called upon to write a story for Doctor Who. Peter Grimwade – he of the rather creepy, intense stare – was one such example,...
It's a talent that's especially important in a show like Doctor Who, especially in the days before the budget got bigger. Back in the day, the budget never seemed to amount to much, given the various DVD commentary anecdotes, during which directors spend aeons discussing every scrap of budget on their allocated story – anecdotes that are only really of any value to accountants and insomniacs.
But any director worth his or her salt needs to have a good grasp of finance, especially if they're called upon to write a story for Doctor Who. Peter Grimwade – he of the rather creepy, intense stare – was one such example,...
- 12/31/2010
- Shadowlocked
Let’s go back to when Britain had its own cinema and see who some of our homegrown stars were then. If we dissolve back to 1960, we find a plethora of movie stars - enough to guarantee full houses in all the West End, and regional theatres, in the country. Here are just some of them: Margaret Rutherford, Joyce Grenfell, John Mills, Leslie Phillips, Joan Sims, Virginia McKenna, Denholm Elliott, Fenella Fielding, Alec Guinness, Leo McKern, Diana Dors, Terry Thomas, Richard Burton, Dirk Bogarde, Peter Sellers, Laurence Olivier, Joan Greenwood, Hermione Baddeley, Moira Lister, Oliver Reed, Dennis Price, Michael Hordern, Robert Shaw, Michael Redgrave, Robert Morley, Laurence Harvey, Paul Scofield, Richard Harris, Tom Courtenay, Leslie-Anne Down, George Formby, Peter Ustinov, Peter Finch, Harry Andrews, Maxine Audley, Nigel Stock, Eric Porter, Noel Coward, Dinsdale Landen, Bernard Cribbins, Patrick Wymark, Shirley-Anne Field, and Moira Redmond…...
- 12/23/2010
- by Jonathan Gems
- Pure Movies
Sherlock Holmes purists who were not enamored with Robert Downey Jr.'s recent take on the Great Detective may want to thank A&E for cashing in on Hollywood's Christmas blockbuster. In The Sherlock Holmes Collection on DVD the American cable and satellite network has resurrected a bygone Holmes in the form of Peter Cushing. The great British actor, who played Van Helsing in Hammer's horror films in the 1970s and Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars Episode IV, played Holmes in a 1960s BBC television series. Not much of that show survives but what does is a welcome addition to the detective's DVD canon.
Want to know more? The BBC aired the Cushing series in 1968 under the title Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. The show was a continuation of sorts of another series of adaptations the network had aired three years earlier. That starred Douglas Wilmer as...
Want to know more? The BBC aired the Cushing series in 1968 under the title Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. The show was a continuation of sorts of another series of adaptations the network had aired three years earlier. That starred Douglas Wilmer as...
- 2/14/2010
- CinemaSpy
When I think of Sherlock Holmes and his dear Watson (just how dear is still its own mystery), I have a very clear image in my head (despite never having read any of the books or stories, and never having watched anything based on the two until now — such is their presence in popular culture): a tall, lanky, maybe even a bit gaunt figure with a pipe and calculating eyes, accompanied by a short, slightly squat, slightly bumbling man. (Picture an amalgamation of James, Sirius, and Lupin from the Harry Potter series, being trailed by Wormtail.)
The 1960s BBC imagining of the adventures of Holmes and Watson gets it pretty dead on. Peter Cushing as Holmes is perhaps a bit pristine, stuffy even, at times, but for the most part, fits the bill of what most people imagine as Holmes.
Out of the 29 episodes of the series, only six are available today.
The 1960s BBC imagining of the adventures of Holmes and Watson gets it pretty dead on. Peter Cushing as Holmes is perhaps a bit pristine, stuffy even, at times, but for the most part, fits the bill of what most people imagine as Holmes.
Out of the 29 episodes of the series, only six are available today.
- 1/3/2010
- by Jess Goodwin
- JustPressPlay.net
DVD Playhouse—December 2009
By
Allen Gardner
Public Enemies (Universal) Johnny Depp portrays legendary Depression-era bank robber John Dillinger in co- writer/director Michael Mann’s take on America’s first “Public Enemy Number One.” Like many big studio releases today, Public Enemies has it all: A-list talent before and behind the camera, but lacks a heart or soul that allows its audience to connect with it. Film plays out like a “true crime” TV show with re-enactments of famous events cast with top actors and shot by the best technicians in the business, with little, if any, character or story development to hold it together in between. A real disappointment from one of our finest filmmakers and finest actors. The lone standout: the great character actor Stephen Lang as a hard-eyed lawman who’s seen a lot, but manages to retain a tiny piece of his heart. For a better take on the same subject,...
By
Allen Gardner
Public Enemies (Universal) Johnny Depp portrays legendary Depression-era bank robber John Dillinger in co- writer/director Michael Mann’s take on America’s first “Public Enemy Number One.” Like many big studio releases today, Public Enemies has it all: A-list talent before and behind the camera, but lacks a heart or soul that allows its audience to connect with it. Film plays out like a “true crime” TV show with re-enactments of famous events cast with top actors and shot by the best technicians in the business, with little, if any, character or story development to hold it together in between. A real disappointment from one of our finest filmmakers and finest actors. The lone standout: the great character actor Stephen Lang as a hard-eyed lawman who’s seen a lot, but manages to retain a tiny piece of his heart. For a better take on the same subject,...
- 12/19/2009
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Its beginning to smell a lot like Christmas but its not too late to get some great DVD’s for the movie lovers on your list. To help you decide just what to get, here’s a list of some of the new movie and TV shows coming to DVD and Blu-ray this week that we’re looking forward to seeing. Also, there’s some classic, and not-so-classic, movies hitting Blu-ray for the first time.
Of all the new releases, we’re particularly interested in the Blu-ray versions of movies and TV shows such as The Hangover, The Goods, Star Trek: the Original Series and the Blu-ray debut of Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds (shown above with Brad Pitt and Eli Roth).
Check them out:
Movies
Cake Boss ~ Buddy Valastro, Joey Faugno, Mary Sciarrone (DVD)
G-Force (Single Disc Widescreen) ~ Nicolas Cage, Jon Favreau (DVD and Blu-ray)
The Goods: Live Hard,...
Of all the new releases, we’re particularly interested in the Blu-ray versions of movies and TV shows such as The Hangover, The Goods, Star Trek: the Original Series and the Blu-ray debut of Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds (shown above with Brad Pitt and Eli Roth).
Check them out:
Movies
Cake Boss ~ Buddy Valastro, Joey Faugno, Mary Sciarrone (DVD)
G-Force (Single Disc Widescreen) ~ Nicolas Cage, Jon Favreau (DVD and Blu-ray)
The Goods: Live Hard,...
- 12/15/2009
- by Joe Gillis
- The Flickcast
There are always way too many DVDs coming in than I possibly ever review, but since ’tis the season to be giving, I thought it was worth pointing out some of them to you, in case you’re stuck for gift ideas for the people on your list. (Or even to give as gifts to yourself. My own Christmas shopping does tend to drift into “one for you, one for me” if I don’t consciously tamp down that impluse.) Most of the BBC 1960s Sherlock Holmes has been lost (the BBC weirdly didn’t hold on to a lot of the TV stuff it broadcast early on). But here, in a collection new to DVD, we have five Conan Doyle mysteries starring Peter Cushing as the great detective, and Nigel Stock as Watson. On three discs and almost five hours of runtime, Holmes solves the cases of “The Hound of the Baskervilles,...
- 12/15/2009
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
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