Judy has found a finger using her sniffing skills in Bob’s backyard. But Peggy and Denny have to get it analyzed and find out whether it belongs to Donatella Scarborough. If it does, they are in for the reward. If not, they will have to investigate further. They have Bob for that, at least for the time being. But is Bob fit to help them in the investigation? Episode 6 of High Desert shows how Peggy makes use of her skills to save Bruce’s company and Bob simultaneously.
Spoilers Ahead
DNA With Love
Arman and his linebacker daughter, Heather, are back at Bob’s place to take their money back. But this time, he gives them two names: James Kachel, the buyer, and Peggy, Kachel’s associate. So maybe they need to speak to Peggy. Meanwhile, Peggy shows Bruce the finger that is supposedly Donatella Scarborough’s. The finger...
Spoilers Ahead
DNA With Love
Arman and his linebacker daughter, Heather, are back at Bob’s place to take their money back. But this time, he gives them two names: James Kachel, the buyer, and Peggy, Kachel’s associate. So maybe they need to speak to Peggy. Meanwhile, Peggy shows Bruce the finger that is supposedly Donatella Scarborough’s. The finger...
- 6/8/2023
- by Shubhabrata Dutta
- Film Fugitives
Warner Bros. Discovery has had a rough go of it recently. The newly-formed mega corporation’s decision to callously prune HBO Max’s servers of hours of content has led to mountains of bad PR and billions of dollars in market cap losses. Suffice it to say, a jam-packed list of new HBO Max releases for September 2022 would provide some welcome relief for the “House of the House of the Dragon.”
Unfortunately, HBO Max’s new releases this month are uncommonly light. It’s impossible to say whether this is the result of more Wbd meddling or simply some bad scheduling luck but either way it’s not going to make any executives’ seats less warm. There are only a handful of notable originals this month, led by season 2 of the Spanish language comedy Los Espookys on Sept. 16. That is joined by a pair of documentaries, Escape from Kabul on Sept.
Unfortunately, HBO Max’s new releases this month are uncommonly light. It’s impossible to say whether this is the result of more Wbd meddling or simply some bad scheduling luck but either way it’s not going to make any executives’ seats less warm. There are only a handful of notable originals this month, led by season 2 of the Spanish language comedy Los Espookys on Sept. 16. That is joined by a pair of documentaries, Escape from Kabul on Sept.
- 9/1/2022
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
Writer/director Guillermo del Toro discusses a few of his favorite movies with Josh and Joe.
Show Notes:
Movies Referenced In This Episode
Nightmare Alley (2021)
Nightmare Alley (1947) – Stuart Gordon’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Drive My Car (2021)
Wicked Woman (1953) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022)
Modern Times (1936)
City Lights (1931)
The Great Dictator (1940)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Dennis Cozzalio’s review, Dennis Cozzalio’s Muriel Awards capsule review
Vertigo (1958) – Dan Ireland’s trailer commentary, Brian Trenchard-Smith’s review
The Man Who Would Be King (1975) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary
Lawrence Of Arabia (1962)
The Young And The Damned (1950)
Gone With The Wind (1939)
The Golem (1920) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Sunrise: A Song Of Two Humans (1927)
Alucarda (1977)
Greed (1924) – Dennis Cozzalio’s Muriel Awards capsule review
Taxi Driver (1976) – Rod Lurie’s trailer commentary
District 9 (2009) – John Sayles...
Show Notes:
Movies Referenced In This Episode
Nightmare Alley (2021)
Nightmare Alley (1947) – Stuart Gordon’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Drive My Car (2021)
Wicked Woman (1953) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022)
Modern Times (1936)
City Lights (1931)
The Great Dictator (1940)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Dennis Cozzalio’s review, Dennis Cozzalio’s Muriel Awards capsule review
Vertigo (1958) – Dan Ireland’s trailer commentary, Brian Trenchard-Smith’s review
The Man Who Would Be King (1975) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary
Lawrence Of Arabia (1962)
The Young And The Damned (1950)
Gone With The Wind (1939)
The Golem (1920) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Sunrise: A Song Of Two Humans (1927)
Alucarda (1977)
Greed (1924) – Dennis Cozzalio’s Muriel Awards capsule review
Taxi Driver (1976) – Rod Lurie’s trailer commentary
District 9 (2009) – John Sayles...
- 1/25/2022
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
Through a collection of nine essays written by academics, the book tries to explore, analyze and highlight Korean melodrama, arguably the most dominant genre in the country’s cinema.
In the first essay, Kathleen McHugh analyzes the concept of nationalist cinema, makes a comparison with the American melodrama and examines the position of women in both countries’ movies, while highlighting a connection with Mexican cinema. The medium for these comments is “Madame Freedom”, which McHugh analyzes quite thoroughly, making a number of very interesting observations, particularly focusing on the mambo-dancing scene. The comments are quite interesting as much as the connections made, with McHugh using her lack of deep knowledge about Korean cinema as a source of unique observations. At the same time, however, this ignorance (as per the writer’s words) has made her focus a bit too much on other countries’ movies, while the comment...
In the first essay, Kathleen McHugh analyzes the concept of nationalist cinema, makes a comparison with the American melodrama and examines the position of women in both countries’ movies, while highlighting a connection with Mexican cinema. The medium for these comments is “Madame Freedom”, which McHugh analyzes quite thoroughly, making a number of very interesting observations, particularly focusing on the mambo-dancing scene. The comments are quite interesting as much as the connections made, with McHugh using her lack of deep knowledge about Korean cinema as a source of unique observations. At the same time, however, this ignorance (as per the writer’s words) has made her focus a bit too much on other countries’ movies, while the comment...
- 4/14/2020
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
At the Jan. 3 AFI Awards, Mel Brooks interrupted his speech about the American Film Institute’s women directors program to praise Taika Waititi for Searchlight’s “Jojo Rabbit.” However, he joked, the filmmaker “did not ask my permission to use Hitler!”
It got a big laugh (as Brooks usually does) for the reference to his 1968 movie “The Producers” and the 2001 musical. Brooks may be synonymous with comedic Nazis, but he hardly invented the concept.
On Aug. 14, 1940, Variety hailed the Hitler-Mussolini satire “The Great Dictator” as “probably the motion picture industry’s greatest one-man show,” because Charlie Chaplin, wrote, directed, starred and totally financed the $2.2 million film himself. The reviewer wrote, “The preaching is strong, notably in the six-minute speech at the finish, but also in the comedy.”
Two years later, Ernst Lubitsch directed (from Edwin Justus Meyer’s script) “To Be or Not to Be,” a 1942 film about Hitler’s 1939 invasion of Poland.
It got a big laugh (as Brooks usually does) for the reference to his 1968 movie “The Producers” and the 2001 musical. Brooks may be synonymous with comedic Nazis, but he hardly invented the concept.
On Aug. 14, 1940, Variety hailed the Hitler-Mussolini satire “The Great Dictator” as “probably the motion picture industry’s greatest one-man show,” because Charlie Chaplin, wrote, directed, starred and totally financed the $2.2 million film himself. The reviewer wrote, “The preaching is strong, notably in the six-minute speech at the finish, but also in the comedy.”
Two years later, Ernst Lubitsch directed (from Edwin Justus Meyer’s script) “To Be or Not to Be,” a 1942 film about Hitler’s 1939 invasion of Poland.
- 1/29/2020
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
Vivien Leigh would’ve celebrated her 105th birthday on November 5, 2018. The two-time Oscar inner made only a handful of films before her untimely death in 1967 at the age of 53. Yet several of those titles remain classics. In honor of her birthday, let’s take a look back at 10 of her greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Born in British India, Leigh appeared in a number of roles on both the stage and screen in England, including a production of “Hamlet” opposite her husband, Laurence Olivier.
She came to international attention after landing the coveted role of Scarlet O’Hara in David O. Selznick’s massive adaptation of Margaret Mitchell‘s bestseller “Gone with the Wind” (1939). Leigh was far from the first choice to embody the headstrong Southern belle who pines after a married man (Leslie Howard) while wedding another (Clark Gable) against the backdrop of the Civil War. Yet the...
Born in British India, Leigh appeared in a number of roles on both the stage and screen in England, including a production of “Hamlet” opposite her husband, Laurence Olivier.
She came to international attention after landing the coveted role of Scarlet O’Hara in David O. Selznick’s massive adaptation of Margaret Mitchell‘s bestseller “Gone with the Wind” (1939). Leigh was far from the first choice to embody the headstrong Southern belle who pines after a married man (Leslie Howard) while wedding another (Clark Gable) against the backdrop of the Civil War. Yet the...
- 11/5/2018
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
What does a working girl have to do to get ahead, when all she has in her favor is an incredible face, a lavish wardrobe, and a pair of legs to make any executive wolf howl? Loretta Young juggles two egotistical swains, while Joan Blondell shines as an enticing all-pro homewrecker.
Big Business Girl
DVD-r
The Warner Archive Collection
1931 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 74 min. / Street Date September 14, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Loretta Young, Frank Albertson, Ricardo Cortez, Joan Blondell, Frank Darien, Dorothy Christy, Oscar Apfel, Judith Barrett, Mickey Bennett, George ‘Gabby’ Hayes, Virginia Sale.
Cinematography: Sol Polito
Film Editor: Pete Fritch
Written by Robert Lord, story by Patricia Reilly & H.N. Swanson
Produced and Directed by William A. Seiter
Let’s hear it for the Warner Archive Collection’s voluminous vault of early ’30s Warners, MGM and Rko entertainments, which has given us a real education about this era of filmmaking.
Big Business Girl
DVD-r
The Warner Archive Collection
1931 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 74 min. / Street Date September 14, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Loretta Young, Frank Albertson, Ricardo Cortez, Joan Blondell, Frank Darien, Dorothy Christy, Oscar Apfel, Judith Barrett, Mickey Bennett, George ‘Gabby’ Hayes, Virginia Sale.
Cinematography: Sol Polito
Film Editor: Pete Fritch
Written by Robert Lord, story by Patricia Reilly & H.N. Swanson
Produced and Directed by William A. Seiter
Let’s hear it for the Warner Archive Collection’s voluminous vault of early ’30s Warners, MGM and Rko entertainments, which has given us a real education about this era of filmmaking.
- 10/7/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Updated: Following a couple of Julie London Westerns*, Turner Classic Movies will return to its July 2017 Star of the Month presentations. On July 27, Ronald Colman can be seen in five films from his later years: A Double Life, Random Harvest (1942), The Talk of the Town (1942), The Late George Apley (1947), and The Story of Mankind (1957). The first three titles are among the most important in Colman's long film career. George Cukor's A Double Life earned him his one and only Best Actor Oscar; Mervyn LeRoy's Random Harvest earned him his second Best Actor Oscar nomination; George Stevens' The Talk of the Town was shortlisted for seven Oscars, including Best Picture. All three feature Ronald Colman at his very best. The early 21st century motto of international trendsetters, from Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro and Turkey's Recep Erdogan to Russia's Vladimir Putin and the United States' Donald Trump, seems to be, The world is reality TV and reality TV...
- 7/28/2017
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Considering everything that's been happening on the planet in the last several months, you'd have thought we're already in November or December – of 2117. But no. It's only June. 2017. And in some parts of the world, that's the month of brides, fathers, graduates, gays, and climate change denial. Beginning this evening, Thursday, June 1, Turner Classic Movies will be focusing on one of these June groups: Lgbt people, specifically those in the American film industry. Following the presentation of about 10 movies featuring Frank Morgan, who would have turned 127 years old today, TCM will set its cinematic sights on the likes of William Haines, James Whale, George Cukor, Mitchell Leisen, Dorothy Arzner, Patsy Kelly, and Ramon Novarro. In addition to, whether or not intentionally, Claudette Colbert, Colin Clive, Katharine Hepburn, Douglass Montgomery (a.k.a. Kent Douglass), Marjorie Main, and Billie Burke, among others. But this is ridiculous! Why should TCM present a...
- 6/2/2017
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
It’s been twenty years since Ewan McGregor’s Mark Renton strolled across Waterloo Bridge, £16,000 stolen from his best friends slung over his shoulder, explaining that he was going to “choose life.” Now, he’s back and it’s time to see if he lived up to his words in the awkwardly named T2 Trainspotting.
Danny Boyle’s 1996 Trainspotting was one of those rare films that perfectly encapsulated its time and place. It arrived just as John Major’s Conservative government was gasping its last fart and Tony Blair was promising us that “things could only get better,” as Britpop exploded into a frantic burst of coke-fuelled creativity and people started excitedly blathering on about ‘cool Britannia.’
Renton returns to a very different Scotland, one reverberating from its failed bid for independence from the UK, paranoid about the impact of Brexit and gradually crumbling under economic austerity. The country isn...
Danny Boyle’s 1996 Trainspotting was one of those rare films that perfectly encapsulated its time and place. It arrived just as John Major’s Conservative government was gasping its last fart and Tony Blair was promising us that “things could only get better,” as Britpop exploded into a frantic burst of coke-fuelled creativity and people started excitedly blathering on about ‘cool Britannia.’
Renton returns to a very different Scotland, one reverberating from its failed bid for independence from the UK, paranoid about the impact of Brexit and gradually crumbling under economic austerity. The country isn...
- 1/27/2017
- by David James
- We Got This Covered
Screen reports from the live event movie, which was filmed last night (Jan 20) in the UK capital.
For his first film behind the camera, writer-director-star Woody Harrelson has taken a number of recent cinematic and broadcast innovations, most notably one-shot movies (Victoria and Russian Ark), real-time storytelling and live broadcasts, and rolled them into one extravagant event.
Lost In London was beamed live in 500 screens across America but just a single cinema in London on account of its 2am shoot. The film contained 24 locations, including a restaurant, a nightclub, a police cell and Waterloo Bridge (whose sudden closure almost derailed the show), and more than 30 actors.
The preamble to the London screening was filled with clips of well-known celebrities (including Daniel Radcliffe, Justin Timberlake and Jennifer Lawrence) teasing Harrelson for taking on what they jokingly referred to as a great folly. Harrelson’s script maintains this light-hearted tone as it recounts details of the worst night of his...
For his first film behind the camera, writer-director-star Woody Harrelson has taken a number of recent cinematic and broadcast innovations, most notably one-shot movies (Victoria and Russian Ark), real-time storytelling and live broadcasts, and rolled them into one extravagant event.
Lost In London was beamed live in 500 screens across America but just a single cinema in London on account of its 2am shoot. The film contained 24 locations, including a restaurant, a nightclub, a police cell and Waterloo Bridge (whose sudden closure almost derailed the show), and more than 30 actors.
The preamble to the London screening was filled with clips of well-known celebrities (including Daniel Radcliffe, Justin Timberlake and Jennifer Lawrence) teasing Harrelson for taking on what they jokingly referred to as a great folly. Harrelson’s script maintains this light-hearted tone as it recounts details of the worst night of his...
- 1/20/2017
- ScreenDaily
The royals are on a mission to raise awareness of mental health care. Kate Middleton and Prince William met with Jonny Benjamin, a man who almost attempted suicide in 2004 before being stopped by a Good Samaritan, in 2008. Benjamin was diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder when he was 20 years old and felt his life had hit "rock bottom." He was planning to jump off the Waterloo Bridge before Neil Laybourn stopped him. Benjamin launched the now-famous #FindMike campaign in 2014 to find the man who ultimately saved his life. The search went viral and ended with a meet-and-greet between Benjamin and Laybourn. Then mere acquaintances, the two have become good friends. As part of the royals' plan...
- 3/10/2016
- E! Online
Constance Cummings in 'Night After Night.' Constance Cummings: Working with Frank Capra and Mae West (See previous post: “Constance Cummings: Actress Went from Harold Lloyd to Eugene O'Neill.”) Back at Columbia, Harry Cohn didn't do a very good job at making Constance Cummings feel important. By the end of 1932, Columbia and its sweet ingenue found themselves in court, fighting bitterly over stipulations in her contract. According to the actress and lawyer's daughter, Columbia had failed to notify her that they were picking up her option. Therefore, she was a free agent, able to offer her services wherever she pleased. Harry Cohn felt otherwise, claiming that his contract player had waived such a notice. The battle would spill over into 1933. On the positive side, in addition to Movie Crazy 1932 provided Cummings with three other notable Hollywood movies: Washington Merry-Go-Round, American Madness, and Night After Night. 'Washington Merry-Go-Round...
- 11/5/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Blu-ray
From director Bharat Nalluri, comes the long awaited film debut of Spooks: The Greater Good which arrives to download on 14th September and on Blu-rayTM and DVD on 28th September 2015, courtesy of Entertainment One. The film sees Kit Harington in his most action-packed role to date as agent Will Holloway, in the gripping espionage thriller based on the award winning TV series, Spooks.
When charismatic terrorist Adem Qasim (Elyes Gabel) escapes from MI5 custody during a high profile handover, legendary operative Harry Pearce (Peter Firth), Head of Counter-Terrorism, is blamed. With MI5 on its knees former agent Will Holloway (Harington) is brought back from Moscow to discover the truth about Harry’s resulting disappearance and in doing so, uncovers a shocking revelation; Harry is still alive, has gone rogue and desperately needs Will’s help.
To coincide with the release of the film on Blu-ray and to celebrate the prize giveaway,...
From director Bharat Nalluri, comes the long awaited film debut of Spooks: The Greater Good which arrives to download on 14th September and on Blu-rayTM and DVD on 28th September 2015, courtesy of Entertainment One. The film sees Kit Harington in his most action-packed role to date as agent Will Holloway, in the gripping espionage thriller based on the award winning TV series, Spooks.
When charismatic terrorist Adem Qasim (Elyes Gabel) escapes from MI5 custody during a high profile handover, legendary operative Harry Pearce (Peter Firth), Head of Counter-Terrorism, is blamed. With MI5 on its knees former agent Will Holloway (Harington) is brought back from Moscow to discover the truth about Harry’s resulting disappearance and in doing so, uncovers a shocking revelation; Harry is still alive, has gone rogue and desperately needs Will’s help.
To coincide with the release of the film on Blu-ray and to celebrate the prize giveaway,...
- 9/28/2015
- by Dan Powell
- Obsessed with Film
Vivien Leigh ca. late 1940s. Vivien Leigh movies: now controversial 'Gone with the Wind,' little-seen '21 Days Together' on TCM Vivien Leigh is Turner Classic Movies' star today, Aug. 18, '15, as TCM's “Summer Under the Stars” series continues. Mostly a stage actress, Leigh was seen in only 19 films – in about 15 of which as a leading lady or star – in a movie career spanning three decades. Good for the relatively few who saw her on stage; bad for all those who have access to only a few performances of one of the most remarkable acting talents of the 20th century. This evening, TCM is showing three Vivien Leigh movies: Gone with the Wind (1939), 21 Days Together (1940), and A Streetcar Named Desire (1951). Leigh won Best Actress Academy Awards for the first and the third title. The little-remembered film in-between is a TCM premiere. 'Gone with the Wind' Seemingly all...
- 8/19/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Thousands of unseen films digitised and made available online including world’s earliest home movies; new film commissioned from Penny Woolcock.
The BFI (British Film Institute) has today launched Britain on Film, an archive-based initiative through which thousands of unseen films have been digitised and will be made available for free to the public on the BFI Player platform.
By 2017, the BFI aims to have digitised 10,000 film and TV titles from 1895 to the present day, backed by National Lottery funding and the support of the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.
These include the world’s earliest home movies from 1902, The Passmore Family Collection - 10 films of the family on holiday in Bognor Regis and The Isle of Wight and at home in London.
Britain On Film also includes travelogues, tourism films, public information docs, newsreels, a few feature films and a host of other material
What unites all the footage - taken from the BFI National Archive and more...
The BFI (British Film Institute) has today launched Britain on Film, an archive-based initiative through which thousands of unseen films have been digitised and will be made available for free to the public on the BFI Player platform.
By 2017, the BFI aims to have digitised 10,000 film and TV titles from 1895 to the present day, backed by National Lottery funding and the support of the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.
These include the world’s earliest home movies from 1902, The Passmore Family Collection - 10 films of the family on holiday in Bognor Regis and The Isle of Wight and at home in London.
Britain On Film also includes travelogues, tourism films, public information docs, newsreels, a few feature films and a host of other material
What unites all the footage - taken from the BFI National Archive and more...
- 7/7/2015
- by geoffrey@macnab.demon.co.uk (Geoffrey Macnab)
- ScreenDaily
Producer Robert Evans, circa 1970s, in the documentary The Kid Stays in the Picture.
Robert Evans: The Kid Is Alright
By
Alex Simon
I interviewed legendary Hollywood producer Robert Evans in 2002 for Venice Magazine, in conjunction with the release of the documentary "The Kid Stays in the Picture," adapted from his iconic autobiography and audiobook. Our chat took place at Woodland, Evans' storied estate in Beverly Hills, in his equally famous screening room, which mysteriously burned down a couple years later. Evans was still physically frail, having recently survived a series of strokes, but his mind, his wit and his charm were sharp as ever, with near total recall for people, places and stories. Many, many stories. Here are a few of them.
It’s a widely-held belief that the years 1967-76 represent the “golden age” of American cinema. Just look at a few of these titles: Rosemary’s Baby,...
Robert Evans: The Kid Is Alright
By
Alex Simon
I interviewed legendary Hollywood producer Robert Evans in 2002 for Venice Magazine, in conjunction with the release of the documentary "The Kid Stays in the Picture," adapted from his iconic autobiography and audiobook. Our chat took place at Woodland, Evans' storied estate in Beverly Hills, in his equally famous screening room, which mysteriously burned down a couple years later. Evans was still physically frail, having recently survived a series of strokes, but his mind, his wit and his charm were sharp as ever, with near total recall for people, places and stories. Many, many stories. Here are a few of them.
It’s a widely-held belief that the years 1967-76 represent the “golden age” of American cinema. Just look at a few of these titles: Rosemary’s Baby,...
- 7/5/2015
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
'Father of the Bride': Steve Martin and Kimberly Williams. Top Five Father's Day Movies? From giant Gregory Peck to tyrant John Gielgud What would be the Top Five Father's Day movies ever made? Well, there have been countless films about fathers and/or featuring fathers of various sizes, shapes, and inclinations. In terms of quality, these range from the amusing – e.g., the 1950 version of Cheaper by the Dozen; the Oscar-nominated The Grandfather – to the nauseating – e.g., the 1950 version of Father of the Bride; its atrocious sequel, Father's Little Dividend. Although I'm unable to come up with the absolute Top Five Father's Day Movies – or rather, just plain Father Movies – ever made, below are the first five (actually six, including a remake) "quality" patriarch-centered films that come to mind. Now, the fathers portrayed in these films aren't all heroic, loving, and/or saintly paternal figures. Several are...
- 6/22/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Benedict Cumberbatch is everywhere. He's got no fewer than three films coming out between now and the end of the year, with Oscar-tipped biopic The Imitation Game in cinemas now, and The Penguins of Madagascar and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies imminent.
After months of speculation surrounding the casting of Marvel's next superhero Doctor Strange, fresh reports have emerged linking Cumberbatch to the coveted role, although nothing has yet been confirmed. There's also the small matter of his recent engagement, which was announced in a characteristically classy manner earlier this month.
It would be easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of Cumberexposure. But fear not – Digital Spy's handy A-z guide is here to fill in the gaps in your knowledge.
A is for Alan Turing
In what's being widely heralded as the performance that will earn him his first Oscar nomination come January, Cumberbatch...
After months of speculation surrounding the casting of Marvel's next superhero Doctor Strange, fresh reports have emerged linking Cumberbatch to the coveted role, although nothing has yet been confirmed. There's also the small matter of his recent engagement, which was announced in a characteristically classy manner earlier this month.
It would be easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of Cumberexposure. But fear not – Digital Spy's handy A-z guide is here to fill in the gaps in your knowledge.
A is for Alan Turing
In what's being widely heralded as the performance that will earn him his first Oscar nomination come January, Cumberbatch...
- 11/15/2014
- Digital Spy
Benedict Cumberbatch is everywhere. He's got no fewer than three films coming out between now and the end of the year, with Oscar-tipped biopic The Imitation Game in cinemas now, and The Penguins of Madagascar and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies imminent.
After months of speculation surrounding the casting of Marvel's next superhero Doctor Strange, fresh reports have emerged linking Cumberbatch to the coveted role, although nothing has yet been confirmed. There's also the small matter of his recent engagement, which was announced in a characteristically classy manner earlier this month.
It would be easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of Cumberexposure. But fear not – Digital Spy's handy A-z guide is here to fill in the gaps in your knowledge.
A is for Alan Turing
In what's being widely heralded as the performance that will earn him his first Oscar nomination come January, Cumberbatch...
After months of speculation surrounding the casting of Marvel's next superhero Doctor Strange, fresh reports have emerged linking Cumberbatch to the coveted role, although nothing has yet been confirmed. There's also the small matter of his recent engagement, which was announced in a characteristically classy manner earlier this month.
It would be easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of Cumberexposure. But fear not – Digital Spy's handy A-z guide is here to fill in the gaps in your knowledge.
A is for Alan Turing
In what's being widely heralded as the performance that will earn him his first Oscar nomination come January, Cumberbatch...
- 11/15/2014
- Digital Spy
Tod Browning’s “Freaks”
Before R-ratings, anti-heroes and gratuitous violence and nudity in mainstream Hollywood movies, there was the Hays Code. As a form of self-policing the industry, virtually every movie released up until 1968 needed that stamp of approval if it wanted distribution. And while it helped produce all of Old Hollywood’s true classics for several decades, it often included ridiculous rulings like not being able to show or flush a toilet on screen, not allowing married couples to be shown sleeping in the same bad or always making sure criminals, even protagonists of the movie, got punished in the end.
But before the Hays Code was nothing, and it was a gloriously weird, scandalous time for the movies. Certain Hollywood films in the early ’30s as “talkies” were rapidly taking hold have since been labeled “Pre-Code” films that never received Hollywood’s stamp of approval.
Every Friday in September,...
Before R-ratings, anti-heroes and gratuitous violence and nudity in mainstream Hollywood movies, there was the Hays Code. As a form of self-policing the industry, virtually every movie released up until 1968 needed that stamp of approval if it wanted distribution. And while it helped produce all of Old Hollywood’s true classics for several decades, it often included ridiculous rulings like not being able to show or flush a toilet on screen, not allowing married couples to be shown sleeping in the same bad or always making sure criminals, even protagonists of the movie, got punished in the end.
But before the Hays Code was nothing, and it was a gloriously weird, scandalous time for the movies. Certain Hollywood films in the early ’30s as “talkies” were rapidly taking hold have since been labeled “Pre-Code” films that never received Hollywood’s stamp of approval.
Every Friday in September,...
- 9/4/2014
- by Brian Welk
- SoundOnSight
Taking some time out of her evening to support her man, Suki Waterhouse exited the Chiltern Firehouse and headed for the set of Bradley Cooper's new movie last night (July 31).
The English model looked lovely as she strolled to Waterloo Bridge above the River Thames where her “Hangover” hunk was busy shooting scenes for an “Untitled John Wells Project.”
Originally called “The Chef,” Harvey Weinstein was forced to switch the name due to a Jon Favreau film that’s slated to release around the same time.
Weinstein explained, “While our film deals with cooking it’s about different things… We tried to get Lee Daniels’ Chef Movie but Warner Brothers got there first, so now we’re calling it the Untitled John Wells project.”...
The English model looked lovely as she strolled to Waterloo Bridge above the River Thames where her “Hangover” hunk was busy shooting scenes for an “Untitled John Wells Project.”
Originally called “The Chef,” Harvey Weinstein was forced to switch the name due to a Jon Favreau film that’s slated to release around the same time.
Weinstein explained, “While our film deals with cooking it’s about different things… We tried to get Lee Daniels’ Chef Movie but Warner Brothers got there first, so now we’re calling it the Untitled John Wells project.”...
- 8/1/2014
- GossipCenter
She won Oscars for her Scarlett O'Hara and Blanche DuBois, yet Vivien Leigh – born 100 years ago this month – was always subject to Hollywood's impossible demands on its female stars
Every great Hollywood star is both an actor and the embodiment of a myth. Film transforms them, turning their selves, their presence, their talents, into an individual archetypal narrative, one seen both in their movies but also in the public knowledge of their private lives: wounded Monroe; malleable Audrey Hepburn; James Stewart, the irascible, increasingly neurotic all-American guy. Vivien Leigh is one of Britain's few genuine women "movie stars"; her myth is memorable and dark, her life a rise and fall story, centred on the consequences of what was then called her "manic depression" – around her vulnerability, her promiscuity, her ageing. Her films themselves similarly want to tell us stories about suffering and resilience, about surviving and about being punished for doing so.
Every great Hollywood star is both an actor and the embodiment of a myth. Film transforms them, turning their selves, their presence, their talents, into an individual archetypal narrative, one seen both in their movies but also in the public knowledge of their private lives: wounded Monroe; malleable Audrey Hepburn; James Stewart, the irascible, increasingly neurotic all-American guy. Vivien Leigh is one of Britain's few genuine women "movie stars"; her myth is memorable and dark, her life a rise and fall story, centred on the consequences of what was then called her "manic depression" – around her vulnerability, her promiscuity, her ageing. Her films themselves similarly want to tell us stories about suffering and resilience, about surviving and about being punished for doing so.
- 11/23/2013
- by Michael Newton
- The Guardian - Film News
Vivien Leigh: Legendary ‘Gone with the Wind’ and ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ star would have turned 100 today Vivien Leigh was perhaps the greatest film star that hardly ever was. What I mean is that following her starring role in the 1939 Civil War blockbuster Gone with the Wind, Leigh was featured in a mere eight* movies over the course of the next 25 years. The theater world’s gain — she was kept busy on the London stage — was the film world’s loss. But even if Leigh had starred in only two movies — Gone with the Wind and A Streetcar Named Desire — that would have been enough to make her a screen legend; one who would have turned 100 years old today, November 5, 2013. (Photo: Vivien Leigh ca. 1940.) Vivien Leigh (born Vivian Mary Hartley to British parents in Darjeeling, India) began her film career in the mid-’30s, playing bit roles in British...
- 11/6/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Getting into character for her latest project, Nicole Kidman shot scenes for “Paddington Bear” under the Waterloo Bridge in London last night (November 3).
Donning a blonde bob wig, the 46-year-old actress interrogated Matt Lucas as he hung upside-down over the water.
In the flick, Nicole portrays an evil taxidermist called Millicent and stars alongside Colin Firth.
Kidman recently chatted to Vanity Fair about the role and said, “My agent called and said: 'We’ve got this offer from London for you to be in a film about a Paddington Bear.’ And I said: ‘You mean the Paddington Bear?!’”
“I was read the stories when I was little and I grew up with Paddington. I know all about his adventures and what mischief he got up to,” she added.
Donning a blonde bob wig, the 46-year-old actress interrogated Matt Lucas as he hung upside-down over the water.
In the flick, Nicole portrays an evil taxidermist called Millicent and stars alongside Colin Firth.
Kidman recently chatted to Vanity Fair about the role and said, “My agent called and said: 'We’ve got this offer from London for you to be in a film about a Paddington Bear.’ And I said: ‘You mean the Paddington Bear?!’”
“I was read the stories when I was little and I grew up with Paddington. I know all about his adventures and what mischief he got up to,” she added.
- 11/4/2013
- GossipCenter
Tfe's Vivien Leigh Centennial Celebration continues with Abstew on Leigh's own favorite
Even if Vivien Leigh had only created Scarlett O'Hara and Blanche DuBois on film, her place as a Hollywood legend would be unquestionably well secured. Her portrayals of the those two Southern Belles are so iconic that the rest of her modest filmography tends to get overlooked (she made only 19 films in her caree, more than half of them British films before her star-making performance in Gone With the Wind). It certainly doesn't help that many of the films are not easy to find and some, like the 1955 film version of Terrance Rattigan's play The Deep Blue Sea (another film version of the play was released last year with Rachel Weisz which, incidentally, earned her many comparisons to Vivien Leigh), have never been made available for home viewing (although you can watch the entire film on youtube here.
Even if Vivien Leigh had only created Scarlett O'Hara and Blanche DuBois on film, her place as a Hollywood legend would be unquestionably well secured. Her portrayals of the those two Southern Belles are so iconic that the rest of her modest filmography tends to get overlooked (she made only 19 films in her caree, more than half of them British films before her star-making performance in Gone With the Wind). It certainly doesn't help that many of the films are not easy to find and some, like the 1955 film version of Terrance Rattigan's play The Deep Blue Sea (another film version of the play was released last year with Rachel Weisz which, incidentally, earned her many comparisons to Vivien Leigh), have never been made available for home viewing (although you can watch the entire film on youtube here.
- 11/4/2013
- by abstew
- FilmExperience
The actress recalls the magical experience of waiting in the wings – and listening to Denis Quilley's vocal warm-up
In one of her earliest acting roles, Sophie Okonedo played Cressida in Troilus and Cressida (1991) before going on to receive Academy Award and Bafta nominations for her subsequent film and TV work.
My first big break was at the National when Trevor Nunn cast me in Troilus and Cressida. I remember cycling over Waterloo Bridge on my way to rehearsals, seeing the National Theatre in front of me and just thinking: "Well, that's it, I've made it."
I had a fantastic experience there. I was part of a company of actors and I really grieved when I left because I felt very much a part of the whole building. There's something quite magical about lots of different shows going on at the same time… It was a real privilege to be...
In one of her earliest acting roles, Sophie Okonedo played Cressida in Troilus and Cressida (1991) before going on to receive Academy Award and Bafta nominations for her subsequent film and TV work.
My first big break was at the National when Trevor Nunn cast me in Troilus and Cressida. I remember cycling over Waterloo Bridge on my way to rehearsals, seeing the National Theatre in front of me and just thinking: "Well, that's it, I've made it."
I had a fantastic experience there. I was part of a company of actors and I really grieved when I left because I felt very much a part of the whole building. There's something quite magical about lots of different shows going on at the same time… It was a real privilege to be...
- 10/19/2013
- by Sophie Okonedo
- The Guardian - Film News
A writer and director for theatre and film, David Hare has twice been Oscar nominated for his adapted screenplays of The Hours and The Reader. He is an avid reader of Philip French's film criticism.
No film writer has ever enjoyed the influence of Pauline Kael at the New Yorker, and yet after a lifetime spent advancing the pleasures of fun over the pleasures of art, she famously repented. "When we championed trash culture, we had no idea it would become the only culture."
Coming so soon after the death of Roger Ebert, the retirement of Philip French inevitably feels like a changing of the guard. For years, the British Film Institute has been struggling to make sense of the fact that the historic cinema repertory, the kind of cinema that was available at the Academy in Oxford Street or at splendid pioneering film societies all over the country in the 1950s and 1960s,...
No film writer has ever enjoyed the influence of Pauline Kael at the New Yorker, and yet after a lifetime spent advancing the pleasures of fun over the pleasures of art, she famously repented. "When we championed trash culture, we had no idea it would become the only culture."
Coming so soon after the death of Roger Ebert, the retirement of Philip French inevitably feels like a changing of the guard. For years, the British Film Institute has been struggling to make sense of the fact that the historic cinema repertory, the kind of cinema that was available at the Academy in Oxford Street or at splendid pioneering film societies all over the country in the 1950s and 1960s,...
- 8/24/2013
- by David Hare
- The Guardian - Film News
It may be a case of art to ashes - and scientists are trying to get to the bottom of the mystery. A Romanian museum official said Wednesday that ash from the oven of a woman whose son is charged with stealing seven multimillion-dollar paintings - including a Matisse, a Picasso and a Monet - contains paint, canvas and nails. The finding is evidence that Olga Dogaru may have been telling the truth when she claimed to have burned the paintings, which were taken from a Dutch museum last year in a daring daylight heist. Ernest Oberlander-Tarnoveanu, director of Romania's National History Museum,...
- 7/19/2013
- by The Associated Press
- PEOPLE.com
Robert Taylor knows what's in a name.
The Australian actor -- who begins his second season playing a highly traditional American character when he returns as the title Wyoming sheriff in "Longmire" Monday, May 27, on A&E -- shares the name of a performer who was a popular member of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's stable of stars from the 1930s through the 1950s.
"There haven't been any complications from that at all," the "Longmire" Taylor tells Zap2it, "but when I was a kid, people used to mention it to me all the time. Not as many people have heard of him these days. You ask kids who are 20 who he is, and their eyes glaze over. They never heard of him ... but they probably couldn't tell you who the President of the United States is, either."
Films such as "Waterloo Bridge," "Ivanhoe" and "A Yank at Oxford" have kept the earlier Taylor,...
The Australian actor -- who begins his second season playing a highly traditional American character when he returns as the title Wyoming sheriff in "Longmire" Monday, May 27, on A&E -- shares the name of a performer who was a popular member of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's stable of stars from the 1930s through the 1950s.
"There haven't been any complications from that at all," the "Longmire" Taylor tells Zap2it, "but when I was a kid, people used to mention it to me all the time. Not as many people have heard of him these days. You ask kids who are 20 who he is, and their eyes glaze over. They never heard of him ... but they probably couldn't tell you who the President of the United States is, either."
Films such as "Waterloo Bridge," "Ivanhoe" and "A Yank at Oxford" have kept the earlier Taylor,...
- 5/9/2013
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Zap2It - From Inside the Box
I’m a little bit obsessed with the futuristic London skyline the trailers for Star Trek Into Darkness have been teasing us with: [image] (Click here for a larger version.) I think maybe it’s because 1) I love this city, 2) I’m here, and 3) I’m here just at the moment when London is developing a recognizable skyline, not just thanks to the Shard but because of a whole bunch of other really tall (for London) buildings that are going up now, with “the Cheese Grater” and “the Pinnacle” and “the Walkie-Talkie” joining “the Gherkin” in The City alone. Londonist, from which I grabbed the image, notes: The clip shows a city much-altered from our own day, with at least a dozen Shard-height towers. Some buildings have survived. St Paul’s nestles among the skyscrapers, its ‘protected views’ long overturned. In the distance, both Waterloo Bridge and the Golden Jubilee footbridges remain.
- 4/18/2013
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
Kerr in the 1958 box-office blockbuster musical South Pacific (seen above with love interest France Nuyen) and his (few) other post-Tea and Sympathy efforts [Please check out the previous article: "The Two Kerrs in the stage and film versions of Tea and Sympathy."] Director Curtis Bernhardt's Gaby (1956) was a generally disliked remake of Waterloo Bridge, with Kerr and leading lady Leslie Caron in the old Robert Taylor and Vivien Leigh roles (1940 movie version -- and even older Douglass Montgomery and Mae Clarke roles in the 1931 film version). Jeffrey Hayden's The Vintage (1957), starring Kerr and Mel Ferrer absurdly cast as Italian brothers, also failed to generate much box-office or critical interest. MGM leading lady Pier Angeli played Ferrer's love interest in the film, while the more mature and married French star Michèle Morgan (a plot element similar to that found in Tea and Sympathy) is Kerr's object of desire. (Pictured above: South Pacific cast members John Kerr and France Nuyen embracing.) Also in the mid-'50s, John Kerr...
- 2/9/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Distant memories used to be truly distant – fragmentary, blurred, unreliable. Now so many of them can be digitally refreshed online
Our original intention had been to see Hitchcock's second version of The Man Who Knew Too Much (with Doris Day singing Que Sera, Sera, 1956), but the timing proved impossible, and instead we booked seats for Charles Frend's Scott of the Antarctic (with John Mills as Scott, 1948). This was our Christmas treat at the BFI on London's South Bank, though we knew, of course, that the second film's ending wouldn't exactly send us trilling across Waterloo Bridge to our post-screening hamburgers in Covent Garden, which is another seasonal custom.
I had seen Scott of the Antarctic before, as a small boy at a cinema in a Lancashire cotton town in the closing years of the last king's reign; or rather, at one of those theatres that alternated films with variety acts,...
Our original intention had been to see Hitchcock's second version of The Man Who Knew Too Much (with Doris Day singing Que Sera, Sera, 1956), but the timing proved impossible, and instead we booked seats for Charles Frend's Scott of the Antarctic (with John Mills as Scott, 1948). This was our Christmas treat at the BFI on London's South Bank, though we knew, of course, that the second film's ending wouldn't exactly send us trilling across Waterloo Bridge to our post-screening hamburgers in Covent Garden, which is another seasonal custom.
I had seen Scott of the Antarctic before, as a small boy at a cinema in a Lancashire cotton town in the closing years of the last king's reign; or rather, at one of those theatres that alternated films with variety acts,...
- 12/29/2012
- by Ian Jack
- The Guardian - Film News
Lars Von Trier Would Weep: Scafaria’s Roadtrip Romance Facelifts Apocalypse
Old Hollywood studios had it good. Between two World Wars and countless other miseries (like stagnant marriages, repressed housewives, the ultra masculine matinee idols, lack of readily available information and less advanced modes of communication and transportation) sure made love something you sank your teeth into when you think you found it. Love conquers all, but only when there’s something to conquer, like the abusive spouse, Hitler, or cultural taboos, perhaps. Wartime romance was a boon of the genre, an unsinkable formula, until war became a divisive political agenda. Think Waterloo Bridge, either the 1931 or 1940 version—or how about any number of Douglas Sirk’s sudsily magnificent melodramas, centered on other elements keeping lovers apart? In today’s modern world, writer turned director Lorene Scafaria has tapped into the ultimate obstacle for two young lovers in love with her debut,...
Old Hollywood studios had it good. Between two World Wars and countless other miseries (like stagnant marriages, repressed housewives, the ultra masculine matinee idols, lack of readily available information and less advanced modes of communication and transportation) sure made love something you sank your teeth into when you think you found it. Love conquers all, but only when there’s something to conquer, like the abusive spouse, Hitler, or cultural taboos, perhaps. Wartime romance was a boon of the genre, an unsinkable formula, until war became a divisive political agenda. Think Waterloo Bridge, either the 1931 or 1940 version—or how about any number of Douglas Sirk’s sudsily magnificent melodramas, centered on other elements keeping lovers apart? In today’s modern world, writer turned director Lorene Scafaria has tapped into the ultimate obstacle for two young lovers in love with her debut,...
- 6/25/2012
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
The Guardian art critic journeys deep into the heart of darkness with Tuymans's Gauguin-themed painting, displayed in A Room for London, the boat perched on the Queen Elizabeth Hall
Gallery: cast adrift in A Room for London
When did I last get butt-naked with a painting in the line of duty, I ask myself. There's just the two of us here: me, and a work by Luc Tuymans called, propitiously enough, Allo!
I'm off to bed. We're in my cabin on a boat called the Roi des Belges ("King of the Belgians"). Tuymans is Belgian too. To be honest, this is the only cabin. It's after midnight and the crew – let's call them "room service" – aren't about. The tide's up. Where's my cocoa?
I'm sailing through the night on the Roi de Belges, the riverboat shuddering and creaking on the roof of the Queen Elizabeth Hall on London's South Bank.
Gallery: cast adrift in A Room for London
When did I last get butt-naked with a painting in the line of duty, I ask myself. There's just the two of us here: me, and a work by Luc Tuymans called, propitiously enough, Allo!
I'm off to bed. We're in my cabin on a boat called the Roi des Belges ("King of the Belgians"). Tuymans is Belgian too. To be honest, this is the only cabin. It's after midnight and the crew – let's call them "room service" – aren't about. The tide's up. Where's my cocoa?
I'm sailing through the night on the Roi de Belges, the riverboat shuddering and creaking on the roof of the Queen Elizabeth Hall on London's South Bank.
- 5/4/2012
- by Adrian Searle
- The Guardian - Film News
Bollywood royalties Yash Chopra, Shah Rukh Khan and Katrina Kaif are currently shooting a Yash Raj Film in London.
The film directed by celebrated filmmaker Yash Chopra is yet to be titled and started filming in London last week. The first day of shooting in the city began on Wednesday 22nd February with Khan and Kaif.
The filming in London continued on Thursday and started with an early call time in Shoreditch, which is in the East End of London. The actors shot for some scenes in Quaker Street, just off Brick Lane, famous for Bengali restaurants and shops.
In the meantime, a set was constructed on the Southbank outside the British Film Institute. The area, under Waterloo Bridge was cornered off and extra security was called in as the actors were mobbed by fans the night before.
However, the shoot which was supposed to start at 3 pm was delayed...
The film directed by celebrated filmmaker Yash Chopra is yet to be titled and started filming in London last week. The first day of shooting in the city began on Wednesday 22nd February with Khan and Kaif.
The filming in London continued on Thursday and started with an early call time in Shoreditch, which is in the East End of London. The actors shot for some scenes in Quaker Street, just off Brick Lane, famous for Bengali restaurants and shops.
In the meantime, a set was constructed on the Southbank outside the British Film Institute. The area, under Waterloo Bridge was cornered off and extra security was called in as the actors were mobbed by fans the night before.
However, the shoot which was supposed to start at 3 pm was delayed...
- 2/29/2012
- by Sunny Malik
- Bollyspice
“If I could do it all over again…”
How many times have you thought that, or dreamt it, or talked about it? I think everybody does. It’s in our natures, y’know?
“If I knew then what I know now…”
What would you do?
I wouldn’t be a nurse.
I’d go to film school. UCLA or Nyu. I’d aim to be a film editor.
I love movies. So, in keeping with Mike Gold and John Ostrander’s columns about the movies, I thought I would list some of my favorite movies and why I love them. In no particular order. Because every time I pick one as my “all-time fave,” I remember another and hastily move that one to the top spot.
Casablanca: Two men. The woman they both love. And Nazis. Who doesn’t love this move? Humphrey Bogart. Ingrid Bergman. Claude Raines. Sydney Greenstreet.
How many times have you thought that, or dreamt it, or talked about it? I think everybody does. It’s in our natures, y’know?
“If I knew then what I know now…”
What would you do?
I wouldn’t be a nurse.
I’d go to film school. UCLA or Nyu. I’d aim to be a film editor.
I love movies. So, in keeping with Mike Gold and John Ostrander’s columns about the movies, I thought I would list some of my favorite movies and why I love them. In no particular order. Because every time I pick one as my “all-time fave,” I remember another and hastily move that one to the top spot.
Casablanca: Two men. The woman they both love. And Nazis. Who doesn’t love this move? Humphrey Bogart. Ingrid Bergman. Claude Raines. Sydney Greenstreet.
- 1/23/2012
- by Mindy Newell
- Comicmix.com
As a teenager I'd scoff at the unreality of the Hollywood musical, but now their numbers seem utterly delightful
We are now nearing the end of a run of days that, by my reckoning, are always the most enjoyable London can offer. They start around 22 December, when taxis, tubes and restaurants are at last empty of Christmas drunks, and end on 3 or 4 January, when work resumes. Every year during this interval, an older and easier kind of London asserts itself; also, an emptier one. The people for whom the city is mainly a work station go home to Lancashire and France. Commuters, if they bother to come in, return soberly with last-minute parcels on the teatime trains. Tourists are fewer, and easily avoided once you leave the axis that stretches from Harrods to St Paul's. On the buses, you notice more people like yourself: middle-aged, or past it, and often...
We are now nearing the end of a run of days that, by my reckoning, are always the most enjoyable London can offer. They start around 22 December, when taxis, tubes and restaurants are at last empty of Christmas drunks, and end on 3 or 4 January, when work resumes. Every year during this interval, an older and easier kind of London asserts itself; also, an emptier one. The people for whom the city is mainly a work station go home to Lancashire and France. Commuters, if they bother to come in, return soberly with last-minute parcels on the teatime trains. Tourists are fewer, and easily avoided once you leave the axis that stretches from Harrods to St Paul's. On the buses, you notice more people like yourself: middle-aged, or past it, and often...
- 12/31/2011
- by Ian Jack
- The Guardian - Film News
From The King's Speech to the Great British Bake Off, this year's arts winners ignored the safety-first rules of surviving a downturn
The year began and now ends with an odd little movie, showing an unusual approach to dialogue, becoming an improbable smash. Released in January, The King's Speech, which struggled to be funded and then to be filmed, conjured a global box office triumph and four-Oscar haul from the story of a character who could barely speak. Going even further, The Artist, coming out at the end of this month, seems likely to repeat the feat with characters who never talk at all.
This cinematic neatness is more than coincidence. It's a shibboleth of recessions that consumers become cautious, drawn to proven brands, a theory producers use to excuse a slew of remakes and sequels. But a rare hopeful aspect of the economic emergency is that this has been...
The year began and now ends with an odd little movie, showing an unusual approach to dialogue, becoming an improbable smash. Released in January, The King's Speech, which struggled to be funded and then to be filmed, conjured a global box office triumph and four-Oscar haul from the story of a character who could barely speak. Going even further, The Artist, coming out at the end of this month, seems likely to repeat the feat with characters who never talk at all.
This cinematic neatness is more than coincidence. It's a shibboleth of recessions that consumers become cautious, drawn to proven brands, a theory producers use to excuse a slew of remakes and sequels. But a rare hopeful aspect of the economic emergency is that this has been...
- 12/24/2011
- by Mark Lawson
- The Guardian - Film News
The eighth cinema review in our series takes us to the far reaches of the BFI, where a tiny 38-seat cinema acts as a mecca for corduroy-clad cineastes
• Check out our Google map and flickr group
• Tell us where to go next
On location: The smallest of the four screens in the BFI Southbank, the British Film Institute's complex on London's South Bank. You'll find The Studio adjacent to the box office. It's underneath Waterloo bridge, but don't let that put you off.
Crowd scene: Serious cineastes. Expect film students and plenty of corduroy.
Back story: Newly built when the BFI Southbank took over space formerly used by the old Museum of the Moving Image. BFI Southbank opened in 2007.
Show business: The Studio is used for limited runs of archive material, re-released classics, documentaries and non-commercial new films you're unlikely to see anywhere else.
Parental guidance: Not exactly a kid-friendly programme,...
• Check out our Google map and flickr group
• Tell us where to go next
On location: The smallest of the four screens in the BFI Southbank, the British Film Institute's complex on London's South Bank. You'll find The Studio adjacent to the box office. It's underneath Waterloo bridge, but don't let that put you off.
Crowd scene: Serious cineastes. Expect film students and plenty of corduroy.
Back story: Newly built when the BFI Southbank took over space formerly used by the old Museum of the Moving Image. BFI Southbank opened in 2007.
Show business: The Studio is used for limited runs of archive material, re-released classics, documentaries and non-commercial new films you're unlikely to see anywhere else.
Parental guidance: Not exactly a kid-friendly programme,...
- 8/9/2011
- by Roger Browning
- The Guardian - Film News
We've heard lots about Natalie Portman's travails as a fictional prima ballerina in Darren Aronofsky's film, but she's just the latest in a long line of doomed cinematic dancers
Warning: contains spoilers
Yesterday's G2 interviews on Darren Aronofsky's ballet film Black Swan made me think about how feature films have incorporated ballet into their stories. Most people will think immediately of musicals, which have a readymade slot in their song-and-dance numbers, or of wish-fulfilment fantasies: Fame, Flashdance, Center Stage, Save the Last Dance and the like. From that standpoint, Black Swan looks like an exception. But look beyond these films and two other genres come to the fore: melodrama and horror.
Over decades and across continents, ballet dancers in feature films have consistently been associated with hysteria, madness, torture, the supernatural and death. Former New Yorker critic Arlene Croce dubbed this a "tradition of morbidity", and certain...
Warning: contains spoilers
Yesterday's G2 interviews on Darren Aronofsky's ballet film Black Swan made me think about how feature films have incorporated ballet into their stories. Most people will think immediately of musicals, which have a readymade slot in their song-and-dance numbers, or of wish-fulfilment fantasies: Fame, Flashdance, Center Stage, Save the Last Dance and the like. From that standpoint, Black Swan looks like an exception. But look beyond these films and two other genres come to the fore: melodrama and horror.
Over decades and across continents, ballet dancers in feature films have consistently been associated with hysteria, madness, torture, the supernatural and death. Former New Yorker critic Arlene Croce dubbed this a "tradition of morbidity", and certain...
- 1/7/2011
- by Sanjoy Roy
- The Guardian - Film News
Robert Taylor, Greta Garbo Camille Robert Taylor on TCM: Waterloo Bridge, Escape, When Ladies Meet 9:00pm [Drama] Waterloo Bridge (1940) A ballerina turns to prostitution when her fiance is reported killed in World War I. Cast: Vivien Leigh, Robert Taylor, Lucile Watson, Virginia Field Dir: Mervyn LeRoy Bw-109 mins. 11:00pm [Western] Billy The Kid (1941) A misunderstood youngster turns into one of the West’s most notorious outlaws. Cast: Robert Taylor, Brian Donlevy, Ian Hunter, Mary Howard Dir: David Miller C-94 mins. 12:45am [Comedy] When Ladies Meet (1941) A female novelist doesn’t realize her new friend is the wife whose husband she’s trying to steal. Cast: Joan Crawford, Robert Taylor, Greer Garson, Herbert Marshall Dir: Robert Z. Leonard Bw-105 mins, 2:45am [Adventure] Flight Command (1940) A cocky cadet tries to prove himself [...]...
- 4/7/2010
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Vivien Leigh, Robert Taylor Waterloo Bridge Robert Taylor is April’s Star of the Month on Turner Classic Movies. The Robert Taylor Tuesday evening has already begun: Camille (1937), in which he co-stars with Greta Garbo, is on right now. The little-seen (in the last several decades) Magnificent Obsession (1935), with Irene Dunne, was shown before that. (The John M. Stahl-directed melodrama is currently available on DVD via The Criterion Collection.) [Robert Taylor TCM schedule.] Robert Taylor has never been one of my favorite actors. However, he wasn’t nearly as ineffectual as some would have you believe. Taylor was quite good in Johnny Eager (1942) and was excellent in the title role in Ivanhoe (1952). Off-screen, he was married to Barbara Stanwyck [...]...
- 4/7/2010
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Britain's Queen Elizabeth is set to meet London Underground staff today (24.02.10). The queen will greet behind-the-scenes workers at Aldgate station maintenance employees, station personnel, train drivers and senior managers, as part of a trip around the city today (24.02.10). Aldgate, which was first opened in 1876, will be the focus of her visit as it saw seven passengers killed on a Circle Line train during the terrorist attack in 2005. The monarch will first start her day at Waterloo Bridge where she will meet Rnli crews at Tower pier station, before heading to the Gherkin skyscraper, a landmark in the heart of the financial district. After lunch at the Gerkin, which will be provided by young staff from the...
- 2/24/2010
- Monsters and Critics
No 83 Vivien Leigh 1913-67
She was an army officer's daughter, born Vivian Hartley in Darjeeling, one of several daughters of the Raj to become actresses (others were Googie Withers, Merle Oberon, Julie Christie), and educated at convents in England and on the continent. At the age of six she confided to her school friend Maureen O'Sullivan (later her co-star in the 1938 movie A Yank at Oxford) that she was going to be a great actress, and entered Rada aged 18. Her dramatic education, however, was interrupted by marriage and motherhood. She was green-eyed, dark-haired, 5ft 3in, one of the most beautiful women in the world, and it was not long before she made an impression in minor plays and films and attracted the attention of Laurence Olivier, with whom she appeared in the costume movie Fire Over England (1937). Vivien accompanied him to Hollywood the following year, embarking on a love affair,...
She was an army officer's daughter, born Vivian Hartley in Darjeeling, one of several daughters of the Raj to become actresses (others were Googie Withers, Merle Oberon, Julie Christie), and educated at convents in England and on the continent. At the age of six she confided to her school friend Maureen O'Sullivan (later her co-star in the 1938 movie A Yank at Oxford) that she was going to be a great actress, and entered Rada aged 18. Her dramatic education, however, was interrupted by marriage and motherhood. She was green-eyed, dark-haired, 5ft 3in, one of the most beautiful women in the world, and it was not long before she made an impression in minor plays and films and attracted the attention of Laurence Olivier, with whom she appeared in the costume movie Fire Over England (1937). Vivien accompanied him to Hollywood the following year, embarking on a love affair,...
- 2/14/2010
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Left it to the last minute again? Don't panic, our experts suggest loads of ways of saving the day, with ideas for Valentine's dates around the UK
1 Breakfast for two
London
Relationships, the gurus tell us, are all about power balance, so where better than a glorious restaurant in a former hydraulic power station? The breakfasts at The Wapping Project (Wapping Wall E1, 020-7680 2080) are among the best in London, including all the usual classics, plus some tempting pancake-based numbers. The peaceful Wapping peninsula is the perfect start to a charming riverside stroll.
For a more central, more French start to the day, head into Soho for the spectacular pastries of Maison Bertaux (28 Greek St, 020-7437 6007). It's an intimate, bohemian deli packed full of rickety seating, pink nets and accordions. I suspect that their croissants were the solution to those European butter mountains we used to hear about. After you're done,...
1 Breakfast for two
London
Relationships, the gurus tell us, are all about power balance, so where better than a glorious restaurant in a former hydraulic power station? The breakfasts at The Wapping Project (Wapping Wall E1, 020-7680 2080) are among the best in London, including all the usual classics, plus some tempting pancake-based numbers. The peaceful Wapping peninsula is the perfect start to a charming riverside stroll.
For a more central, more French start to the day, head into Soho for the spectacular pastries of Maison Bertaux (28 Greek St, 020-7437 6007). It's an intimate, bohemian deli packed full of rickety seating, pink nets and accordions. I suspect that their croissants were the solution to those European butter mountains we used to hear about. After you're done,...
- 2/13/2010
- by Andrew Dickson, Luke Bainbridge
- The Guardian - Film News
Playing a biographical figure poses a host of challenges—most pointedly accuracy, or at least capturing the person's essence. Sophie Okonedo doesn't dispute that, though she insists mimicry is not her style and in the end the script is her bible. In her latest film, the weird and disturbing "Skin," she plays the still-living Sandra Laing, a woman of mixed heritage. Set in apartheid-era South Africa, it recounts the tormented experiences of a black child born to two white Afrikaners who are unaware of their black ancestry and determined to raise their child as a Caucasian. Sandra has no idea she is black—or even of mixed race—until she is 10 years old and brutalized and ostracized at the white school she attends. The film follows Sandra's 30-year journey, including her love affair with an abusive black man, estrangement from her parents, and ultimate reconciliation with her mother.Okonedo met...
- 10/22/2009
- backstage.com
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