In
the history of cinema, it is a known fact that the producers and director of a
film all have their own opinions about what a finished film should be titled.
Movies generally use a working title which rarely ends up being used upon
release. Even the film’s own writer invariably believes that it is his/her
title that should be used with consideration given to no one else. One can only
wonder how Steven Spielberg’s E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) would
have fared at the box office had it been marketed under its original title, A
Boy’s Life. Ridley Scott’s initially panned and now revered science fiction
masterpiece Blade Runner (1982), its title taken from a 1979 novella by
William S. Burroughs, would have found difficulty being displayed on movie
marquees had it gone by the jaw-breaking title of the 1968 Philip K. Dick novel
upon which it was based, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
The
Satanists was one of the
original titles considered for the film that would eventually be called Let’s
Scare Jessica to Death, a beautifully understated piece of filmmaking shot
in October 1970 in Connecticut and released in New York on Friday, August 27, 1971
two months prior to a rollout in suburban theatres and drive-ins and its
eventual ABC-TV premiere on Friday, March 11, 1977 before becoming a staple of
late-night television airings. The 1970s are a by-gone era which followed the
end of the studio system of contracts and obligations and gave way to films
that defined originality of thought and style, permitting both novice and
seasoned filmmakers the freedom to make the kinds of films that they wanted to for
distribution through major studios. This maneuver was driven by two factors: the
desire to make money and film studios not knowing what would bring in the
crowds.
Inspired
by the 1898 novella The Turn of the Screw by Henry James (which itself
inspired the wonderful 1961 Jack Clayton adaptation The Innocents with
Deborah Kerr), Jessica thrives on moments where the audience is forced
to ask themselves if what is happening is really happening, or if it’s only
happening in Jessica’s mind. The film benefits from a slow and deliberate build-up
of mood and atmosphere. Orville Stoeber provides a wonderfully creepy score
which, like Stephen Lawrence’s brilliant music for Alfred Sole’s masterful Communion/Alice,
Sweet Alice/Holy Terror (1977) is unfortunately still not available on a
soundtrack album. Cinematographer Robert M. Baldwin bathes the film frame in
autumn foliage and employs the use of slow camera moves to enhance the film’s
overall mood. The film is far too slow for today’s audiences, but for those
with a mindset for 1970s horror, Jessica fits the bill.
Jessica is one of those titles I have been
wanting to see in a much-needed home video upgrade. A bare-bones DVD was
released by Paramount Home Video in 2006 and now the amazing people at Scream
Factory (an imprint of Shout! Factory) have released the film on Blu-ray with a
considerably improved transfer. There is a welcome feature-length audio
commentary with producer Bill Badalato and director John Hancock, who is arguably
best known for the Robert De Niro vehicle Bang the Drum Slowly (1973). They
offer many memories about the making of the film, one of which is Mr. Hancock’s
recollection of lifting the voiceover device of Eleanor Lance (Julie Harris) in
Robert Wise’s The Haunting (1963) to make the audience identity more
with Jessica. The other extras include:
Art
Saved My Life: Orville Stoeber on Let’s Scare Jessica to Death – this runs 16:25 and consists of an
interview with the film’s music composer who describes growing up all over the
world and how his family influenced his musical impressions.
Scare
Tactics: Reflections on a Seventies Horror Classic – runs 23:44 and is an interview with author
and critic Kim Newman who explains why Jessica is his favorite horror
film.
She
Walks These Hills: Let’s Scare Jessica to Death Locations Then and Now – this runs 6:48 and takes us to the
First Church Cemetery in East Haddam, CT; the “Selden III†Hadlyme Ferry in
Chester, CT; the Pattaconk Reservoir in Chester, CT; the Bishop House in Old
Saybrook, which is beautiful but completely dilapidated, even more so than when
I visited it in 2006. I really wish that someone would buy it and restore it; and
Main Street and Maple Street in Chester, CT (Devoe Paints was still there in
2006, but gone now and the building is for rent).
Theatrical
trailer – a very creepy promo for the film that runs three minutes
Television
spot – this runs 53 seconds and, like the theatrical trailer, gives away much
of the plot while trying to be creepy.
Radio
spot – this is derived from the mini record that was dispatched to radio
stations to play over the air and runs 60 seconds. Creepy!
Thankfully,
the film’s creepy original key art has been reinstated for the cover of the
Blu-ray, unlike the 2006 DVD cover.
Jessica is a film that is bathed in moments of
eeriness and supernatural detachment thanks in part to screenwriter Lee
Kalcheim whose former student, film director Bryan Norton, tipped his hat to
the film by making the movie’s title the byline for his nifty short film Penny
Dreadful (2005).
During my formative years – as I sat before a steady
procession of unforgettable movies, my passion for cinema intensifying with the
discovery of the diverse emotions that films proved capable of stirring within me
– there were several behind-the-camera names that would show up on opening
titles sequences which I started to recognise, people whose involvement in any
given picture became synonymous with a fine evening’s entertainment. One of
those names was Elliott Kastner. The producer behind dozens of films, from
big guns such as the fabulous wartime actioner Where Eagles Dare and Charles
Bronson western whodunnit Breakheart Pass, to less remembered gems the like of
beautifully melancholic heartbreaker Jeremy and psychological thriller Death
Valley, if Elliott Kastner's name was attached to it then, for me, that was a
cast-iron guarantee that I wasn't going to come away disappointed.
Which brings us to director Anthony Page's 1978 clerical
mystery Absolution starring Richard Burton, which Kastner co-produced
(alongside four-times collaborator Danny O'Donovan) and which somehow bypassed
me for years until I finally caught up with it recently courtesy of Kino
Lorber's new Blu-ray disc.
Benjie Stanfield (Dominic Guard) is the most promising
pupil at a Catholic public school. Feeling the pressure of permanently having
to act the model student he starts to develop a rebellious streak. Much to the
dismay of his austere housemaster, Father Goddard (Richard Burton), Stanfield
begins associating with ne’er-do-well traveller Blakey (Billy Connolly) who's
set up camp in the woodland adjacent to the school and whose bohemian lifestyle
strikes the young lad as idyllic. Furthermore, Stanfield starts to spin
outrageous fictions to Goddard which, bound by the seal of the confessional,
the incensed priest is powerless to punish him for. Then, following an argument
with Blakey, the distraught Stanfield confesses to Goddard that he lost his
temper and killed the man. Is he telling the truth, or is it just more
mischief? And when he confides that he'd like to do away with irritating fellow
pupil Arthur Dyson (David Bradley), can the poor, beleaguered Father Goddard
manage to stop him?
I don't think I've ever seen a disappointing Richard
Burton performance – even in those occasionally questionable projects (which,
with hindsight, he himself might have conceded were poor judgment calls) he was
always the dominating presence – and with Absolution arriving the same year as The
Medusa Touch and The Wild Geese we can certainly be thankful to 1978 for
its delicious crop of Burton victuals. His exemplary performance here as
Father Goddard, which came towards the end of a career cut tragically short by
his premature death in 1984, is spellbinding; the character's burgeoning air of
desperation and despair is relayed to perfection. Just as he should be, Dominic
Guard is irksomely smirky and objectionably arrogant as Stanfield, the
blue-eyed boy gone bad who's holding the whip hand and seemingly relishing
every moment of it. David Bradley (probably best known for his starring role in
Kes, credited here as Dai Bradley) garners audience empathy as
underdog Dyson, the gawky target of Stanfield's disdain. Billy Connolly
meanwhile is first-rate in his film debut, revealing a talent that stretched
far beyond the stand-up comedy for which, back in 1978, he was almost
exclusively renowned. The supporting cast includes a typically gruff Andrew
Keir as the school's headmaster, Brian Glover as a thuggish policeman and the
always engaging Hilary Mason, Oh, and unless I'm very much mistaken, Linda
Robson puts in a single shot cameo as a school dinner lady.
As tales of priests vexed by the sanctity of the confessional
go, Absolution would make for a very fine double-feature companion to gripping
Hitchcock drama I Confess. And where with films such as this the words
"don't watch the trailer before you've seen the film" are a fairly
mandatory warning, in Absolution's case it's imperative one take heed. I
mention this specifically because the original trailer is included among the
bonus features on Kino Lorber's Blu-ray release and it recklessly throws away a
key moment from the climax. If the disc’s menu screen sets off alarm bells with
its excessively grainy still image of Richard Burton, it shouldn't be cause for
concern; the 1.85:1 transfer of the feature is almost impeccable, faltering
only at the tail end of the closing credits with evidence of some minor print damage.
The aforementioned "avoid at all costs" trailer aside, the disc’s all
too sparse supplements comprise just a pair of thematically-associated trailers
(for Donald Sutherland vehicle The Rosary Murders, and True Confessions
starring the two Roberts, De Niro and Duvall).
The IMDB plot summary provided for the 1969 film "Before Winter Comes" refers to the movie as a comedy. One can only imagine the knee-slappers the writer must have enjoyed while watching "Schindler's List". Most assuredly, "Before Winter Comes" is not a comedy. It has a few fleeting moments of levity but it's primarily a serious examination of desperate people in desperate circumstances. The film opens in Austria, shortly after the surrender of Germany in WWII. David Niven plays British Major Burnside, who has just been assigned the thankless task of establishing a camp for displaced persons at a time when the continent is teeming with people who have either fled or who were forcibly taken far away from their homes. Burnside, assisted by his young adjutant, Lt. Pilkington (John Hurt) have to establish order in the rudimentary camp and find an orderly way to process people back to their nations of origin. He has a political problem straight away- half of the camp is run by Soviet troops under the command of Captain Kamenev (Ory Levi) and relations between the Brits and Russians are already strained, with the Cold War having broken out even before the conflict with Germany had ended. Kamenev is aware that few Russian refugees are eager to return to Stalin's murderous autocracy and he wants to ensure that Burnside doesn't intentionally allow Soviet citizens to immigrate to western democracies. Burnside must also deal with the confounding logistics of communicating with masses of people who speak different languages and dialects. A camp refugee, Janovic (Topol) speaks virtually every language and makes himself indispensable to Burnside and Pilkington. He's larger-than-life, humorous and acts as a Mr. Fix-It for problems large and small. In return for his services, Burnside makes it clear he will pull some strings to assure Janovic gets preferential treatment when it comes to his immigration destination.
The film takes a detour with a subplot involving Maria (Anna Karina), a beautiful young woman who owns an inn that has the unfortunate fate of sitting precisely between the British and Soviet sections. Burnside and Kamenev come up with a sensible solution: they divide the dining hall in half with a chain. It doesn't stop the Brits and Russians from taunting each other over vodka-fueled feuds but it does prevent violence from breaking out between soldiers from two nations who were recently allies against Hitler. Much of the running time is devoted to Maria's romantic flings with both Burnside and Janovic, neither of whom knows the other is her lover. Both men fall madly in love with her and allow themselves to dream of reuniting with her in the years ahead but Maria is more pragmatic. She likes both of them but sleeps with them mostly out of pragmatic reasons, primarily to ensure she is protected and receives favors, though satiation of sexual frustrations may also play a role in her motives. Ultimately, both Burnside and Janovic find out the other is involved with Maria, as they compete for her affections. The pace of the movie is leisurely, to say the least. Some might say it's pedantic but I never found it boring or uninteresting. The only real drama is introduced late in the movie when Janovic is discovered to be a deserter from the Russian army. The Soviets insist that Burnside hand Janovic over to them, which would result in a certain death sentence for him. Burnside is conflicted: he has been ordered to comply with the demand by his superior officer, General Bewley (Anthony Quayle having a good time playing a caricature of an old world British general), yet on a humanitarian basis, he can't send this good man to his death. Burnside's agonizing decision provides the only suspense in the film and leads to an ambiguous, but intriguing ending that some viewers may find unsatisfactory.
"Before Winter Comes" was directed by the underrated J. Lee Thompson, who is a bit out of his element here in relation to the genres he specialized in, namely thrillers and action films. The movie's most interesting aspect is the unusual concentration on the plight of the displaced populations in the aftermath of WWII in Europe, a problem that required a Herculean effort by the Allies to provide for these poor souls. The primary pleasure of the film is the performances of the three male leads. Niven is typically excellent as the career army officer trying to rebuild his reputation and Topol displays the kind of unique charisma that allows him to steal every scene in every movie he's in. They are both complimented by freckle-faced young John Hurt, who demonstrates the acting skills that would ultimately make him internationally acclaimed. The film also features a fine, innovative score by Ron Grainer. The Sony region-free DVD presents a decent transfer but unfortunately there are no extras.
"Before Winter Comes" can be recommended to Cinema Retro readers, who tend to enjoy discovering worthy films of the 1960s that have been largely forgotten.
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The 1963 comedy Sunday in New York comes to Blu-ray through
the Warner Archive. The movie is based on Norman Krasna's 1961 play
which was a modest hit on Broadway starring young Robert Redford. Krasna
also provides the screenplay for the film version, which was directed
by Peter Tewksbury. The film was somewhat of an eyebrow-raiser at the
time, with its relatively bold approach to modern sexuality among young
people. The movie's major asset is its engaging cast of lead characters:
Cliff Robertson, Jane Fonda, Rod Taylor and Robert Culp. Fonda plays a
frustrated 22 year-old virgin who is made to feel guilty about her
sexual urges. She is going out with millionaire society boy Culp but is
frustrated by his lack of romantic aggressiveness. Fonda makes an
unannounced visit to her brother, airline pilot Robertson, in order to
seek advice out the wisdom of a girl keeping her virginity until
marriage. Robertson piously counsels her that only 'good girls' get the
best husbands, but secretly hides his own life as a playboy. His
Manhattan bachelor pad needs a revolving door to handle his liaisons
with tempting airline stewardesses.
While exploring the
sights of New York City, Fonda meets cute with
handsome writer and man of the world Rod Taylor. A clumsy near-seduction
turns disastrous and sets up a convoluted set of comic circumstances in
which misunderstandings and confusions of identity thrust the
characters into emotional turmoil. The antics are quite dated today but
provide a fascinating insight into how female sexuality was repressed
during this era. It was permissible for men to lead Hugh Hefner-inspired
lifestyles, but even the hint of an urge on the part of a young woman
would leave her branded as a slut. Nevertheless, the four leads are in
top form and provide plenty of genuine laughs, even if some of the
comedic situations are as predictable as they are contrived. Fonda is
perfect as the somewhat liberated woman who is fighting society's
conventional attitudes. It's ironic that within a few short years, Sunday in New York would
look as a dated as an Oscar Wilde comedy of manners and Fonda would be
playing the intergalactic sex goddess Barbarella. Robertson and Taylor
prove once again that they could not only credibly play men of action,
but were also excellent performing light comedy. Culp, who would go on
to
stardom the following year in I Spy, should have emerged as a much bigger star on the silver screen.There are also some fine supporting turns by Jo Morrow and Jim Backus.
Although much of the film is somewhat claustrophobic due to its
origins as a play, Tewksbury opens up the action considerably by
shooting in some of New York's most legendary locations. It's a joy to
see the city during this era, from the ice skating rink at Rockefeller
Center to the famed rowboats in Central Park. There are also some
nostalgic ads visible on buses including one that promotes nickel rides
at New Jersey's legendary Palisades Amusement Park.There is an extended
sequence in which jazz great Peter Nero performs in a nightclub,
complete with a solo by Leslie Uggams. (Nero wrote the score for the
film, including the title theme which is sung by another hipster, Mel
Torme).
It's easy to dismiss Sunday in New York as a quaint look at
sexuality, but it also affords the viewer the opportunity to spend time
with the kind of leading actors who retro movie lovers revere.
The
region-free Warner Archive Blu-ray is up to the company's high
standards and is a considerable upgrade to the DVD release. The only
bonus feature is a trailer.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM THE CINEMA RETRO MOVIE STORE.
Cinema Retro has received the following press release:
On the occasion of 40th Anniversary of the movie icon’s
untimely death, Steve McQueen: In His Own Words, serves up the
most credible and thought-provoking insights of ‘The King of Cool,†spoken by
the man himself using more than 450 quotations from McQueen, all drawn from
more than five decades of media coverage, memorabilia and detailed research.
In Steve McQueen In His Own Words, we hear directly
from McQueen through the widest array of sources: interviews, published
articles, personal letters and audiotapes, creating the most intimate picture
yet available of McQueen as an actor, filmmaker, racer, pilot, husband and
family man in his own words and from his own perspective. The portrait that
emerges is not a saint, not a sinner, nor a martyr, but a complex,
contradictory man who became one of the greatest icons of cinema.
Accompanying the 450 quotes are more than 500 photographs,
personal documents and memorabilia, many of which are seen here for the first
time. They illustrate McQueen’s early life and movie career, as well as his
passion for automobiles, motorcycles and antique planes.
Steve McQueen, the global superstar and box office champion of the
1960s and 1970s, remains an enduring mythical figure of alpha-male coolness and
has left behind a body of work that only a few will attain in motion picture
history. His hell-bent-for-leather take on life and pitch-perfect performances
are legendary and he is arguably more popular in death than he was in life.
Surprisingly, the laconic actor who was known for his economy of
words in film, had plenty to say in real life. He spoke freely regarding topics
such as fame, cinema, money, sex, racing, popular culture, and had a
forward-thinking approach on the environment.
Steve
McQueen: In His Own Words is the perfect book for
everyone interested in this American original.
# # #
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR
Author
Marshall Terrill is a film, sports and music writer and the author of more than
25 books, including best-selling biographies of Steve McQueen, Elvis Presley,
Johnny Cash, Billy Graham and Pete Maravich.
Mill Creek Entertainment has released a Blu-ray double feature of "Dad" starring Jack Lemmon and "I'm Not Rappaport" starring Lemmon's long-time pal and frequent co-star Walter Matthau. Of the two, "Dad" is the vehicle that was aimed at mainstream audiences, while "Rappaport" seems to have been created for its intended audience, the big city art house cinema crowd. "Dad" stars Lemmon, playing older than his actual years, as Jake Tremont, a retired blue collar worker who resides with his wife, Bette (Olympia Dukakis). Like most older couples, the Tremonts have long adjusted to a routine lifestyle. In this case, Bette wears the pants in the household, to coin an old phrase. She loves and cares for Jake, but displays all the warmth of a Marine drill instructor, as she orders her meek husband about and makes virtually every decision. Jake is comfortable with this, as he is a low-key guy who long ago decided to allow Bette to establish a matriarchy in the household. When Bette is stricken by a heart attack and hospitalized, Jake is a like a fish out of water. His somewhat estranged son John (Ted Danson), a high-powered self-employed financier, has to reluctantly leave his workaholic lifestyle to look after Jake, with some limited assistance from his sister (Kathy Baker), who is busy raising her own family. In a predictable fashion, the high-strung John tries to connect with his father and bridge the chasm between them that has existed for decades. However, when Jake suffers his own medical problems, John takes a leave of absence, moves in permanently and gallantly assumes all of the household duties as well as medical care for his ailing father. The surprise arrival of his own estranged son Billy (Ethan Hawke), who adores his grandfather, gives the male family members the opportunity to patch up old feuds even while they deal with the deteriorating conditions of Jake and Bette.
There's a lot more to the tale than the above synopsis but we wouldn't
want to divulge spoilers. "Dad" was the feature film directorial debut
for Gary David Goldberg, who also wrote the screenplay (based upon
William Wharton's novel) and produced, as well. Goldberg was primarily
known for directing TV sitcoms and that experience comes close to
undermining the dramatic impact of "Dad", with some over-the-top cutesy
scenes that are straight out of a Hallmark Channel TV movie. However,
Lemmon's marvelous performance serves as an anchor for the main plot and
all of the supporting cast members (including Kevin Spacey) give
impressive performances. Most of all, the movie speaks truth to anyone
who has had to face the seemingly insurmountable challenge of caring for
an aging parent. "Dad" is at times mawkish but in the end, its
attributes outweigh its flaws.
David
Lynch is one America’s national treasures as an artist. He is mostly known as a
filmmaker, of course, but he is also a painter and sculptor, a musician, and an
author. At the time of writing, Lynch is 74 years old. His filmmaking output
has slowed down considerably and these days he concentrates mostly on the fine
arts. Nevertheless, he is arguably the heir apparent to Luis Buñuel
as the foremost surrealist of our time.
And
to think… Lynch owes it all to Mel Brooks.
Okay,
maybe that’s an exaggeration. Lynch’s talent likely would have broken through
the barriers of Hollywood for him to become David Lynch in perhaps other
ways, but there is no question that Mel Brooks gave Lynch his first big break
in cinema.
Lynch
had made one feature film, Eraserhead (1977), a low-budget, bizarre,
surreal horror-comedy about fatherhood that became a darling of the “Midnight
Movie†phenomenon of the late 70s and early 80s. Then, as the story goes,
producer Jonathan Sanger got the rights to a screenplay by Christopher De Vore
and Eric Bergren about the life of John (in real life his name was Joseph)
Merrick, the so-called “elephant man.†Merrick suffered unimaginable physical
deformity from birth, lived in poverty in Victorian London, worked in “freakâ€
sideshows, and tolerated horrible abuse and exploitation. Ultimately, he was
“rescued†by Dr. Frederick Treves, who was able to get him a permanent home
inside the London Hospital until Merrick’s untimely death at the age of 27.
That’s the story in a nutshell.
Sanger
approached his friend and colleague Brooks about the script. Brooks was in the
process of forming a production company, Brooksfilms, which would make other
pictures besides his own comedies. Brooks liked the script and decided that The
Elephant Man would be the first feature from Brooksfilms. But who would
they get to direct it?
Another
mutual friend, Stuart Cornfeld, suggested to Sanger that he see Lynch’s Eraserhead.
This led to Sanger and Lynch meeting, and Lynch becoming enthusiastic about the
project simply because he liked the title. Brooks screened Eraserhead,
after which he told Lynch, “You’re a madman! You’re in!â€
Thus,
David Lynch found himself at the helm of a Hollywood picture budgeted at $5
million to be shot in England, and featuring such classic thespians as Anthony
Hopkins, John Hurt, John Gielgud, Wendy Hiller, and Anne Bancroft (Brook’s
wife)! Not bad for a man in his early thirties whose favorite expression was
“Peachy keen!â€
The
Elephant Man is
a landmark, powerful movie that is easily one of the significant pictures of
the 1980s. Despite its grim subject matter, it was a commercial and critical
success, garnering eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture,
Best Director, Best Actor (Hurt), and Best Adapted Screenplay. It’s a
monumental achievement, and it went a long way to show the entertainment
industry that David Lynch knew what he was doing.
The
movie is simultaneously harrowing, horrific, surreal, and beautiful. Shot in
glorious black and white, the “Lynchian†touches are ever-present, especially
in the dreamlike prelude and ending. At the time of release, fans of Eraserhead
could immediately see that the same director was in charge; for everyone
else, he was obviously a new talent to be reckoned with. While the film might
not be one of Lynch’s personal pictures as writer/director (he did co-write the
script with De Vore and Bergren), his stylistic signatures are all over it.
Additionally, the acting is superb. John Hurt, in the title role, is brilliant
and heartbreaking. Anthony Hopkins otherwise carries the film as protagonist
Dr. Treves. Anne Bancroft, as the stage actress Madge Kendal, is also winning.
Mel
Brooks did not put his name anywhere in the credits for fear that audiences
would expect The Elephant Man to be a comedy. Nevertheless, Brooks
deserves a great deal of credit for getting the picture made.
The
Criterion Collection presents a magnificent new 4K digital restoration with an
uncompressed soundtrack. The supplements are plentiful. Lynch and co-author
Kristine McKenna read (on audio) an engrossing lengthy section from their Lynch
biography, Room to Dream. (Room to Dream, by the way, is an excellent
book… it is a potent treatise on art, creativity, and life.) There are
archival interviews from various decades with Lynch, Brooks, Sanger, director
of photography Freddie Francis, makeup artist Christopher Tucker, and stills photographer
Frank Connor. Another audio recording from 1981 of a Lynch interview at the AFI
is a treat, but even better is the video interview of Lynch from 2006 conducted
by filmmaker Mike Figgis. There’s also a 2005 documentary on the life of the
real Joseph Merrick, a 2001 documentary on the making of the film, and trailers
and radio spots. The booklet contains an excerpt from the book Lynch on
Lynch and a reprint of an 1886 letter to the London Times by Francis
C. C. Gomm (played by John Gielgud in the film) about Merrick.
The
Elephant Man sees
its first official Blu-ray release in the USA with this must-have edition from
Criterion. David Lynch fans will rejoice, to be sure, but The Elephant Man is
also an accessible, moving piece of art that any lover of cinema should see.
The
Warner Archive has released Robert Mulligan’s Inside Daisy Clover on Blu-ray
and this new edition is a winner.
15
year-old Daisy Clover is a Depression era resident of Angel Beach, CA where she
lives with her mother (Ruth Gordon) in a trailer on the boardwalk.She scratches out a living selling
autographed photos of Hollywood stars that she signs herself.Daisy dreams of becoming a singer and enters
a contest sponsored by mercurial studio owner Raymond Swan (Christopher
Plummer).
Daisy
auditions for Swan, wins a contract with the studio and is immediately put to
work in a Busby Berkley style musical.With the help of Swan’s wife, Melora (Katharine Bard), Daisy is primed
to become America’s newest movie sweetheart.This includes removing her from her mother’s care and allowing her
obnoxious sister (Betty Harford) to become her guardian.Daisy, a rebellious sort, initially resists
these edicts from producer Swan, but capitulates at the insistence of Melora
who tells her it is best for her career.
Along
the way Daisy meets and marries the handsome Wade Lewis (Robert Redford),
although the union quickly fades as her new husband is incapable of commitment
and has a sexual preference for young men.Daisy’s mother is placed into a sanitarium and soon dies which takes a
toll on the young starlet causing a breakdown.Swan becomes impatient when Daisy’s recovery delays the completion of
her second film.In a fit of rage he
slaps her saying: “You don’t cost me money, you make it!â€He further threatens her future in Hollywood
if she doesn’t return to work within the hour.Daisy must now decide if the prospects of being a successful actress are
worth the pain and indignities she must endure.
“Inside
Daisy Clover†was directed by Robert Mulligan, who began his career helming
live television dramas during the 1950s.Later on he became known for several successful collaborations with
producer Alan Pakula.Audiences today
will recognize his work on classic films such as “To Kill a Mockingbirdâ€, “The
Stalking Moon†and “Summer of ’42â€.He
especially excelled at American period dramas and in working with ensemble
casts.The screenplay for “Inside Daisy
Clover†was written by Gavin Lambert, which he based upon his own novel.
I
developed a junior high crush on Natalie Wood after watching the television
premiere of “West Side Story†in 1972 and have enjoyed all of her films since
then.Although she was 27 at the time,
she was quite believable as a streetwise teen in this film.Miss Wood’s energy, spirit and naivete as
Daisy allow the audience to forget the age gap between character and actor.
Ruth
Gordon is in fine form as Daisy’s comical and somewhat distant mother who means
well, but doesn’t always do right by her daughter.She got a big laugh from me when a cop
answering her call asks: “You waited seven years to report your husband
missing?†“Wellâ€, she replies, “I didn’t miss him until today.â€
Christopher
Plummer, in an about face from his other major role in 1965 as the Captain in “The
Sound of Musicâ€, is simply decadent as Raymond Swan.He will sleep with the underage Daisy and
then toss her aside when she no longer contributes to the studio’s bottom
line.To Swan, actors are simply a
commodity.
An
early performance by Robert Redford demonstrates his ability to play a total
cad as Wade Lewis, the young star who seduces and abandons Daisy.Roddy McDowall is all prim and proper as
Swan’s assistant Walter Baines, Katherine Bard is the put upon wife of studio
head Swan and watch for a young, almost unrecognizable Harold Gould as an Angel
Beach cop.
Gavin
Lambert’s novel and script are an indictment of the early Hollywood studio
system and the harsh treatment of the acting community.While a complete work of fiction, there are
some characters and events that may have been based upon real life.Raymond and Melora Swann are not too far
removed from 20th Century Fox chief Darryl F. Zanuck and his wife
Virginia.Although it occurred during
the 1950s, Zanuck sponsored an unknown actress from Poland whose stage name was
Bella Darvi.Ms. Darvi, her surname a
combination of Darryl and Virginia, was a beautiful woman with little acting
talent.While molding her into Fox’s
newest international star, Virginia learned of the affair between Darvi and
Zanuck and soon sent the actress packing.
Wade
Lewis was a closeted homosexual, a fact that Swan kept hidden from the public
for fear of destroying the young actor’s career.This was very similar to what Universal and
other studios did for Rock Hudson.Even
Swan’s disdain for performers as nothing more than product could be likened to
Alfred Hitchcock’s alleged comment about actors as cattle.
“Inside
Daisy Clover†measures up to the usual standard of excellence we have come to
expect from Warner Archive.This is a
solid transfer of the film that captures all of the color and excitement of
Charles Lang’s original Panavision cinematography.Natalie Wood’s clown make-up in an on-set
scene with Robert Redford is striking in its clarity.The mono sound is bold and balanced with the
music sounding especially clean.
Composer
Andre Previn and his wife Dore wrote a terrific number for Daisy’s character, “You’re
Gonna Hear from Meâ€, which is beautifully staged by Herbert Ross.It begins as a film clip a preview audience
is viewing on small screen that enlarges to fill our entire field of view.It incorporates animation and is very much in
the style of a 1930s selection with Ruby Keeler or even Shirley Temple.“You’re Gonna Hear from Mâ€e is much better
than a lot of actual stage musical selections.The Motion Picture Academy messed up, in my opinion, for not including
it in their list of nominated songs in 1965.
“Inside
Daisy Clover “is a fine melodrama for those who enjoy backstage politics and
backstabbing.It has great acting and
characters you will love, and some you will love to hate.It might make an interesting double feature
with 1966’s potboiler “The Oscarâ€.Although it is thin on extras, which include a trailer and the animated
short “War and Piecesâ€, it is a worthy addition to your home library.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM THE CINEMA RETRO MOVIE STORE
101
Films will release The Deep (1977) on Blu-ray on 14th September 2020. A
lavish, suspense-filled adventure, directed by Peter Yates (Bullitt) and
adapted from Jaws writer Peter Benchley’s best-selling novel, this UK Blu-ray debut
includes a new commentary, a new interview with the underwater art director
Terry Ackland-Snow.
Included in-pack is a Cinema Retro mini-magazine,
covering the making of the film.
Gail Berke (Jacqueline Bisset) and David Sanders (Nick
Nolte) are on a romantic holiday in Bermuda when they come upon the sunken
wreck of a WWII freighter. Near it, they find an ampule of morphine, one of
tens of thousands still aboard the wrecked ship. Their discovery leads them to
a Haitian drug dealer, Cloche (Louis Gossett), and an old treasure hunter,
Romer Treece (Robert Shaw). With Cloche in pursuit, Gail, David and Treece try
to recover the sunken treasure.
Special Features
Cinema Retro
mini-magazine: The Deep 'Film in Focus' Special
Commentary with
film critic Kevin Lyons (NEW)
Interview with
Underwater Art Director Terry Ackland-Snow (NEW)
The Making of
the Deep
Select Scenes
from the 3 hour Special Edition
NOTE: This is a UK Region B/ Region 2 Blu-ray and requires a PAL format player or a region-free player to view.
Of
all the filmmakers throughout the years in which we’ve had cinema, two have had
more books written about them than any other director. The first would be
Alfred Hitchcock. The second is Stanley Kubrick. The number of tomes that exist
for both is overwhelming. For Hitchcock, one can understand the depth of
material that can be mined, seeing that Hitchcock made over fifty films.
Kubrick, on the other hand, made only thirteen. One would think that no more
could be said about the genius Jewish kid from the Bronx who made good… but
that would be wrong.
Most
of the books about Kubrick deal exclusively with his work, because that’s
pretty much all we know about him. Stanley Kubrick was an intensely private
person, a family man who carved out a unique life for himself after moving to
the U.K. in the 1960s and making his movies there beginning with Lolita (1962).
He lived minutes away from the studios where his pictures were shot. Both pre-
and post-production was accomplished at his home. Craftsmen, writers, actors,
designers—they all came to him for meetings. Kubrick’s movies were
family affairs, in that members of his immediate family (his wife and three
daughters) all worked at one time or another on the movies, and he kept a
close-knit circle of employees who were considered “family.†There were no
scandals or personal controversies associated with Kubrick; hence, no
“tell-all†hatchet jobs are available. What “biographies†of his personal life
that do exist again end up focusing more on the films he made than what he did
from day to day.
David
Mikics, a Moores Distinguished Professor of English at the University of
Houston and columnist for Tablet magazine, has now presented the most
recent study of Kubrick’s work. How it differs from previous scholarly
publications is that it does include more recent discoveries from the
director’s archives that were unearthed since his death in 1999 and the
subsequent cataloging of his “stuff†by the University of Arts London and the
traveling exhibition that has enjoyed success around the world. For example,
there is more discussion about started-and-abandoned projects—at least more
titles than this reviewer has seen mentioned before in books (and this reviewer
considers himself quite knowledgeable in the subject). Among these titles are
H. Rider Haggard’s Viking epic Eric Brighteyes and a film about the game
of chess entitled Chess Story.
Mikics
does go through Kubrick’s filmography chronologically and offers insightful interpretations
of the works mixed with some production histories. Kubrick aficionados who have
read other books on the subject may not learn much new, but Mikics manages to
come up with some thoughtful analyses. Perhaps the most potent part of the new
book is Mikics’ chapter on Eyes Wide Shut, Kubrick’s last and arguably
most misunderstood final film. Very little has been written about this complex
and engrossing picture that still polarizes audiences (arguably, undeservedly!).
What Mikics fails to mention—like all other critics of Eyes Wide Shut—is
that the movie is an unfinished film. Think about it. Kubrick assembled the
completed cut of the film and viewed it for its stars, Tom Cruise and Nicole
Kidman, and a couple of Warner Brothers executives. Their responses were
extremely positive. Then… Kubrick suffered a massive heart attack and died only
a few days after the screening. At this point, the release date for the movie
was still four and a half months away! Anyone who has studied Kubrick and his
films knows that he edited his pictures up to the day of release and often
beyond it (he edited twenty minutes out of 2001 following the premiere,
and he edited a coda from The Shining after its opening weekend in North
America—and then deleted 25 minutes from it for the U.K. and European release a
couple of months later!). This reviewer has no doubt that Kubrick would have
continued to work on Eyes Wide Shut, tightening it, trimming it, and reducing its runtime by possibly as much as twenty to thirty minutes.
Still,
Mikics offers some interesting interpretations of this final work and how it is
indeed such a defining piece of celluloid in Kubrick’s life. He had wanted to
make the movie since the 1950s, but he was always being dissuaded (by his third
wife, Christiane, for instance) because he “wasn’t old enough yet.†At one
point, she is quoted as saying that Kubrick was “frightened of making the filmâ€
because it would hit close to his heart. Apparently, it did.
Stanley
Kubrick: American Filmmaker is recommended for cinema students and fans
of thisiconic filmmaker.
Cinema Retro has received the following press release:
Joining in the international celebration of Federico
Fellini's 100th birthday, Criterion is thrilled to announce Essential
Fellini, a fifteen-Blu-ray box set that brings together fourteen of the
director's most imaginative and uncompromising works for the first time.
Alongside new restorations of the theatrical features, the set also includes
short and full-length documentaries about Fellini's life and work,
archival interviews with his friends and collaborators, commentaries on six of
the films, video essays, the director's 1968 short Toby Dammit, and
much more.
The edition is accompanied by two lavishly illustrated
books with hundreds of pages of notes and essays on the films by writers
and filmmakers, as well as dozens of images of Fellini
memorabilia. Essential Fellini is a fitting tribute to the maestro of
Italian cinema!
FIFTEEN-BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION COLLECTOR'S SET FEATURES
New 4K restorations of 11 theatrical features, with
uncompressed monaural soundtracks for all films
New digital restorations of the short film Toby Dammit
(1968) and the television film Fellini: A Director's Notebook (1969), with
uncompressed monaural soundtracks
Feature documentaries Fellini: I'm a Born Liar (2002)
and Marcello Mastroianni: I Remember (1997), the latter presented in its
193-minute version
Four behind-the-scenes documentaries: Reporter's Diary:
"Zoom on Fellini" (1965), Ciao, Federico! (1969), The Secret Diary of
"Amarcord" (1974), and Fellini racconta: On the Set of "And the
Ship Sails On" (1983)
Fellini racconta: Passegiatte nella memoria, a 2000
documentary featuring interviews with a late-in-life Fellini
Giulietta Masina: The Power of a Smile, a 2004
documentary about Fellini's wife and frequent collaborator
Once Upon a Time: "La dolce vita," a French
television documentary about the film
Audio commentaries on six of the films
Program from 2003 on Fellini's 1980s television
advertising work
Archival audio interviews by film critic Gideon
Bachmann with Fellini, Mastroianni, and Fellini's friends and family
Video essays, trailers, and more
PLUS: Deluxe packaging, including two lavishly
illustrated books with hundreds of pages of content: notes on the films by
scholar David Forgacs, essays by filmmakers Michael Almereyda, Kogonada, and
Carol Morley; film critics Bilge Ebiri and Stephanie Zacharek; and novelist
Colm TóibÃn, and dozens of images spotlighting Don Young's renowned collection
of Fellini memorabilia
We pay tribute to the eternal cinematic love story Somewhere in Time starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. Cai Ross provides an exclusive interview with the film's director, Jeannot Szwarc.
Simon Lewis provides a 12-page "Film in Focus" article detailing the trials and tribulations of making David Lean's ill-fated Irish romance, Ryan's Daughter.
John P. Harty examines the merits of another high profile boxoffice misfire, Richard Brooks' Lord Jim starring Peter O'Toole.
Mark Mawston entices actor John Leyton to give a rare interview in which he discusses his successful career as a rock 'n roll heartthrob and, as an actor, filming The Great Escape.
Dave Worrall shines the spotlight on Helen Mirren's breakthrough film, Age of Consent.
Gareth Owen's "Pinewood Past" column
Brian Hannan looks at boxoffice performance of retro film releases
Darren Allison reviews the latest soundtrack releases
Thomas Hauerslev celebrates the recent restoration of MGM's Cinerama classic The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm
Lee Pfeiffer looks at the dark side of director Blake Edwards' films with Experiment in Terror starring Lee Remick, Glenn Ford and Stefanie Powers.
Plus regular columns by Raymond Benson, Gareth Owen, Darren Allison and Brian Hannan.
EVERY ISSUE CONTAINS:
64 FULL COLOR PAGES
RARE STILLS AND MOVIE POSTER ART
EXCLUSIVE FILMMAKER INTERVIEWS
STAFF REPORTS ON FILM EVENTS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE
Rock
Hudson and George Peppard are WWII commandos in “Tobruk,†available on Blu-ray
by Kino Lorber. Hudson is Major Donald Craig, a Canadian prisoner of war on board
a German transport ship anchored off an Italian controlled port in North Africa
sometime in late 1942. A group of frogmen surface near the ship and sneak on
board with silencers fixed to their guns in order to kidnap Craig. The frogmen
are led by Captain Bergman (George Peppard) who is part of a team of German
commandos. They take Craig to a German airfield and fly him to a desert landing
strip. They’re unexpectedly greeted by a group of British soldiers led by Colonel
Harker (Nigel Green). It turns out Bergman is the leader of German Jews who
fled Nazi Germany for obvious reasons and are now part of a British commando
unit operating in North Africa. Craig has an expertise in map making which they
need to navigate a mine field, gain access to the German occupied port at
Tobruk, Libya, and destroy it in time for a British sea invasion.
The
movie is based on an actual, although unsuccessful, attack on Tobruk in
September of 1942 which did include German-Jewish soldiers and fake British
POWs. Just like the actual events, the British commandos in the movie pretend
to be POWs in order to get to their ultimate destination undetected. During the
journey through the Sahara desert, the group encounters the German and Italian Army
as well as Arab horseman seeking money for captured British hostages, an aerial
strafing from a British fighter plane and a mine field crossing.
Directed
by Arthur Hiller, the movie appears to be an unusual choice for the director best
known for dramas and comedies such as “Love Story,†“The Hospital†and “Silver
Streak;†but he did previously direct “The Americanization of Emily†which
features a Normandy invasion sequence and his comedy “Silver Streak†is
interspersed with action sequences. Mingled between the action and
military battle scenes in this film, the British and German-Jewish commando
team deal with serious issues like bigotry and anti-Semitism with Hudson caught
between the two camps as the outsider as they make their way across the desert.
Hudson
is very good in “Tobruk†and broke away from being stereotyped as a leading man
of several very popular romantic comedies to star in thrillers and heroic military
parts in “Battle Hymm,†“A Gathering of Eagles,†“Ice Station Zebra,†“The
Undefeated†and “Hornet’s Nest.†In the 1970s he had continued success as a San
Francisco police commissioner in the popular television series “McMillan &
Wife†which ran from 1971 to 1977. He continued to work, mostly in television,
in such high profile productions as “The Martian Chronicles,†the Agatha
Christie thriller, “The Mirrror Crack’d†and made brief returns to series
television in “The Devlin Connection†and “Dynasty.†His final feature film was
“The Ambassador†released a year before his death in 1985 at age 59.
Peppard,
no stranger to tough guy roles, plays a German soldier for the second time following
his performance as aviator Bruno Stachel in the WWI classic “The Blue Max.†Interestingly,
he didn’t attempt an accent for “The Blue Max,†but did for “Tobruk.†Prior to
this he appeared in the WWII adventure “Operation Crossbow†which was preceded
by a string of high profile big budget movies like “How the West Was Won,â€
“Breakfast at Tiffany’s†and “The Carpetbaggers.†Like Hudson, Peppard found
success in a hit television series, “Banacek,†which ran from 1972-1974. He
also starred in the popular television series, “The A-Team,†which ran
from 1983-1987. Another series, “Doctor’s Hospital,†ran for one season from
1975-76. Peppard remained busy on television and film featuring in a couple the
cult classics, “Damnation Alley†and “Battle Beyond the Stars" until his death in 1994 at age 65.
Nigel
Green is a standout as Colonel Harker, the leader of the commando unit. One of
the great character actors of British cinema, Green is memorable in just about
everything he appeared in. “Jason and the Argonauts,†“Zulu,†“The Masque of
the Red Death,†“The Ipcress File,†“The Face of Fu Manchu,†“The Skull,â€
“Khartoum,†the underrated “Let’s Kill Uncle,†“Deadlier Than the Male,†“The
Wrecking Crew,†and “Countess Dracula†to name just a few of his memorable appearances
in movies. He also appeared in numerous television series throughout is career.
He played a similar character to Colonel Harker as the head of a commando unit in
another WWII movie set in North Africa, the underrated “Play Dirty.†His career
was cut short by an accidental overdose of sleeping pills in 1972 at age 47.
Guy
Stockwell rounds out the featured cast as the German-Jewish second in command, Lt.
Mohnfeld. The older brother of actor Dean Stockwell, Guy may be best remembered
for this movie and his role as Draco in “The War Lord†from 1965. Stockwell
remained busy acting in movies and television until retiring in 1990. “Tobruk†also
features a cast filled with many familiar British character actors including Jack
Watson, Percy Herbert, Norman Rossington and Irishman Liam Redmond. Leo Gordon
does double duty as the screenwriter and playing a rare good guy role as
Sergeant Krug.
“Tobrukâ€
is overshadowed by the popularity of “The Dirty Dozen†which was released a few
months later and both films are part of the “Men on an Impossible
Mission†genre. “Tobruk†doesn’t pack quite the same punch as movies like “The
Dirty Dozen†and “Where Eagles Dare,†but in hindsight, it is a very
entertaining WWII adventure with a satisfying plot, terrific performances and
plenty of action. The Arizona Desert stands in for most of North Africa with a
few scenes shot in Spain. Imperial Beach, California stands in for the final
battle scenes at the gun emplacement and the California Army National Guard
provided technical assistance. The movie features an abundance of graphic
deaths via flame thrower which may have served as an inspiration to Quentin
Tarantino for “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood.â€
Released
by Universal in March 1967, “Tobruk†has a run time of 110 minutes and looks
and sounds terrific, preserving the Techniscope widescreen image. This Kino
Lorber Blu-ray release is a worthy upgrade of the previously released Universal
Vault Series DVD. The Blu-ray includes an audio commentary by Steve Mitchell
and Steven Jay Rubin which is as entertaining as it is informative. The disc also
includes optional subtitles and the trailer for this and other Kino Lorber
titles. The movie is a welcome addition for fans of 60s WWII movies.
Luc
Roeg is the son of seminal director Nicolas Roeg. He appeared in his father’s
last narrative film as a cinematographer, and first as a solo director, the
much-lauded Walkabout, which received
a newly-restored release through Second Sight recently. Nic Roeg began his
career as a camera operator on such titles as Cubby Broccoli’s pre-Bond production
The Trials of Oscar Wilde and the
infamous Dr. Blood’s Coffin before
becoming cinematographer on films such as Dr. Crippen and Nothing but
the Best. He was one of the many hands behind the camera on the unofficial
1967 Bond entry Casino Royale. (Then
again, who wasn’t?) Roeg senior also worked with such luminaries as François Truffaut (on the Ray Bradbury adaptationFahrenheit 451), Richard Lester (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Petulia) and John Schlesinger (Far from the Madding Crowd). However, it
was his work on Rogers Corman’s The
Masque of the Red Death that really set the template for his otherworldly
visuals that would later be seen in such masterpieces as Performance (co-directed with Donald Cammell), Don’t Look Now and The Man
Who Fell to Earth. Walkabout was
held up while Performance was
completed (although that film was so unclassifiable that its distributor Warner Bros. let it sit on the shelf
for two years) so that by the time Walkabout
was filmed Roeg was seen as a veteran. It was also a family affair in the sense
that Roeg cast his son Lucien John in the key part of the White Boy, after the
delay had left Luc’s brother Nicolas too old for the part. This is where we
take it up with Luc.
MM:
Walkabout
is seen as one of, if not the, quintessential Australian New Wave films. Yet, when
it went to Cannes, it was as the UK rather than an Australian entry as they had
already chosen theirs. Do you
see it as a British or Australian film, or indeed a crossover of the two?
LR:
I’d have to say both. I know that’s sitting on the fence a bit but the reason I
say that is because Nic was very much a 100% British filmmaker. He lived a good
life here and never emigrated to Hollywood but he made a lot of his films on
location in foreign
countries. That may have made him less of a ‘British’ filmmaker but Walkabout wouldn’t have been Walkabout without Australia itself so,
although that sounds strange, to answer your question, it simply couldn’t be
anything else but British and Australian as it has the landscape,
culture and David [Gulpilil – the Aboriginal co-star of the film] that make it
what it is.
MM:
Yes, I agree and Australia is one of the key stars of the film, to be honest. I
lived in Australia for a short time and travelled to the territories where you
filmed it so it’s fascinating
for me to see this film again on this new transfer. The first time I saw this
film I was 12 years old and it was on a TV which my grandfather built a
magnified screen onto so the image doubled in size! It was magical then but
magical in a different way now as I’ve visited the landscape I fell in love with
on that ‘big’ screen.
LR:
That’s wonderful.
MM:
You probably had the greatest ever ‘take your kids to work day’ when your father
chose you to star in the film. I know the film was held up while your father
finished Performance which, although
it suited Jenny Agutter better in the fact that she was 16 rather than 14, it
meant your older brother Nico was a little too old to play the young boy’s part,
which went to you. Do you ever talk about how different things could have been,
even though I’m sure it was a lot of hard work?
LR:
I agree with you on the ‘bring your kids to work’ day (laughs). Regarding the
role, we don’t really talk about it. Walkabout
was very much a personal experience for all of us, for all the family. My
brother was there with us when we were making the film, as was my eldest
brother, so we were all together. I don’t think anyone felt like they were
missing out. If anything I kind of felt that I had to go to work while they had
a great time hanging out in the Australian
Outback and bunking off any tutorage
they were supposed to be having!
MM:
I can see that. Did the fact that the film was shot chronologically help at
such a young age, so it seemed more like a real journey? More of an adventure
than hard graft?
LR:
It did seem like an adventure at the time, although there was a work element to
it. It was scripted and there were lines to learn on top of the travelling and
moving around. It was all essential. You don’t have any expectations at that
age of how things should be or could be, they just happen. So to be in that
natural environment and to be surrounded by those that matter was important. It
was a small unit and a tiny cast as well obviously, just myself, David and
Jenny [Agutter] so the whole experience was very personal and shared between us,
so yes, I’d say adventure first and the hard work followed.
MM:
I’ve spoken to a lot of actors over the years and they said they found it very
difficult to be taken out of their home environment for months at a time to
make a movie but as you said, you were with your family which would have been a
very different experience than a lot of child actors would have had.
LR:
Yes and having Nic photograph it took another layer away from the camera and me,
and kept it very personal from that point of view. Jenny was a very young woman
and she had to leave home in order to make it, and although she too became part
of the family it would have been hard for her.
MM:
Yes. Over the years Jenny had some criticism
for her pragmatic approach to the role but that’s exactly how a ‘proper English
girl’ would act. Very matter of fact and stoic. I think she’s marvellous in the role, a very steady figure for
your character, and she was the right age, 16 rather than the 14 her character
was in the book. I did laugh when Jenny said she was very excited at the time
because originally Apple Films were set to produce it and she thought that she’d
get to meet The Beatles. Obviously that didn’t happen but did your father ever
say why?
LR:
I never really interrogatedNic about that when I was old enough to
understand that. I’m not sure of the specific reasons behind it and at the time
I just wasn’t aware of it, understandably.
MM:
One of the most memorable scenes was when David covers your back in wild boar’s
blood in order to soothe your sunburn. I understand this wasn’t scripted. Were
there many more situations like that, filmed on the spur of the moment?
LR:
Other than that moment I can’t really think of one. I know that everyone on the
set was very upset about the death of the wart hog which had been struck by one
of our vehicles as everyone, by that time, was very much in tune with the way
David thought and how he respected the wildlife. People got very upset and it
had coincided with this terrible sunburn I’d got but David showed, in his way,
that we could take some of the essence of the beast and use it for good. Bar
that I can’t really think of any scene that just came to pass. Other than that,
Nic had an eye. He could just capture things without making an effort to do so.
Almost a decade after Paul Newman won universal praise for the 1966 detective film "Harper" (UK title: "The Moving Target"), he returned as wiseguy private eye Lew Harper in the 1975 sequel "The Drowning Pool". Critics and audiences were relatively unimpressed this time around, but the film has many delights and showcases Newman at his most charismatic. The movie also has a helluva suspenseful and exciting final scene in the titular location. Enjoy the original trailer and click here to order the film from the Cinema Retro movie store.
An
all star cast features in the adaptation of Leon Uris’ “Battle Cry,†available
on Blu-ray via the Warner Archive Collection. The granddaddy of contemporary
WWII melodramas like “The Winds of War†and “Band of Brothers,†“Battle Cryâ€
was one of the first big dramatic war stories which followed multiple
characters through boot camp, romance, heartbreak, the battlefield, death and
homecoming. One of my favorite movies in this genre is Otto Preminger’s “In
Harms Way†from 1965 which teamed John Wayne and Kirk Douglas. “Battle Cry†was
first a best selling novel released in 1953 and quickly adapted to the big
screen. Some people criticize these types of military themed melodramas as
being light on action and heavy on romance, but there’s certainly a place for
both.
“Battle
Cry†begins with the narrator setting the stage. It’s January 1942 and several
young men and their families say their goodbye’s from East Coast to West Coast picking
up more guys along the way to San Diego where they will start their 10 weeks of
training at the Marine Corps Base in California. The narrator of the story is their
senior NCO, Master Sergeant Mac, played by James Whitmore in one of my favorite
of his many great performances. He portrayed a similar character a few years
earlier in the gritty story of the Battle of Bastogne, “Battleground.†He also served
in the Marine Corps during WWII and his portrayal in both films is convincing
and natural.
We
meet all the central characters on the train and we get the basic set up for their
stories. They’re a mixed lot, ranging from intellectuals and the street wise to
hot heads, country boys, a lumberjack and tough guys. We follow them from boot
camp to radio school and then off to the war in the Pacific with stops in New
Zealand and Hawaii in between landings on Guadalcanal, Tarawa and Saipan. In
between they find time for romance and infidelity.
Danny
Forrester (Tab Hunter) is engaged to his high school sweetheart, Kathy (Mona
Freeman). While in San Diego he meets USO volunteer Elaine Yarborough (Dorothy
Malone), the wife of a deployed naval officer who, as she says, has everything
she needs. They have a brief affair until Danny breaks it off.
Andy
Hookins (Aldo Ray) is the confirmed bachelor of the group who sees “dames†as
playthings. He reminds his pals their problem is falling for one dame. While in New Zealand, he meets
and falls for widow Pat Rogers (Nancy Olson). She’s not like the other women he
has met and apologizes to her for his behavior. He meets her family and later,
they get married. He even contemplates desertion to avoid the risk of leaving
her and dying in the war.
Marion
“Sister Mary†Hotchkiss (John Lupton) is a reader, a thinker and an aspiring
writer who rides the Coronado Ferry while on liberty during radio school. There
he meets Rae (Anne Francis), who enjoys their relationship talking on the boat. He
wants more, but she likes things as they are. Later, while at a local bar with
his classmates, she walks in with several other girls brought in by “Spanish
Joe†Gomez (Perry Lopez) to liven things up for his fellow Marines. Naturally,
Marion is devastated and leaves.
“Skiâ€
Wronski (William Campbell) also has a girl back home, Susan (Susan Morrow) who
sends him a “Dear John†letter. He’s never the same after that. The guys rescue
him and his nest egg which a bar girl tries to steal while he’s drunk. He never
does quite bounce back from his girl dumping him and marrying someone else.
Van
Heflin is Major Sam Huxley, the commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion 6th
Marine Regiment. He works his men hard in order to prepare them for fighting
the enemy. He has a wife back home we never meet, but we know he cares for his
men and sometimes crosses the line in identifying too closely with their
personal problems.
Raymond
Massey has a cameo as Major General Snipes, Huxley’s commanding officer during
their island hopping in the Pacific. L.Q. Jones provides comic relief as L.Q.
Jones. The actor changed his professional name from Justus E. McQueen to his
screen namesake in his film debut which was probably good as there may have
been room for only one McQueen in Hollywood. Perry Lopez is the afore mentioned
“Spanish Joe†Gomez, the con man of the outfit and Fess Parker is the good
natured, guitar playing country boy, Speedy.
The
Marines finally depart San Diego and in November 1942 they arrive in New
Zealand for more training and to prepare for their first island invasion. After
celebrating Christmas services, the Marines ship out to Guadalcanal and then
Tarawa. In both cases they are held in reserve and perform mop up duty. It
isn’t until June 14th, 1944, the Marines take a lead role as part of the first
wave in the invasion of Japanese held Saipan. In between they take leave back
in New Zealand and Hawaii. This final third of the movie depicts the men at
war. For those of us used to contemporary watching recent films which have more
realistic depictions of combat, “Battle Cry†may appear unrealistic and dated.
If you’re looking for a war movie filled with battlefield action, this may not
be the one for you. It’s nearly 90 minutes until the first bomb is dropped and
the battle action takes center stage.
Leon
Uris adapted the screenplay from his own novel. He based the story on his own
experiences as a radio operator in the Marine Corps and served in combat during
the battles depicted in the story and fictionalized those experiences to great
effect. Uris would go on to write many more best selling novels which is where
his greatest success remains. He did write first drafts for adaptations of “The
Angry Hills,†“Exodus,†“Topaz,†and “QB VII†as well as the original
screenplay for “The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.†I think it’s safe to say Uris
was not happy in Hollywood as a couple of his first draft screenplays went
unused.
“Battle
Cry†was directed by Raoul Walsh, whose career began in silent movies and
continued into the mid 1960s. Known for his crime dramas and military themed
movies, Walsh first introduced John Wayne in the 1930 release, “The Big Trail.â€
He helped create the tough guy personas associated with James Cagney, Humphrey
Bogart and Errol Flynn in movies like “They Drive By Night,†“High Sierra,†“They
Died with Their Boots On†and “White Heat.†He also directed the antithesis of
“Battle Cry,†the gritty and cynical military drama, “The Naked and the Deadâ€
which features no home front romance or melodrama of any kind.
“Battle
Cry†is indeed a statement on war and the human toll during war at home and on
the field of battle. If I were to pick a favorite performance, I’d have to say
it’s a tie between James Whitmore and Aldo Ray. Whitmore because he’s spot on
in his thoughtful portrayal as a career senior NCO who empathizes with his men
and successfully turns them into Marines without being a tyrant. Aldo Ray
because his portrayal is the most transformative going from essentially a cad
and a womanizer who falls for the right woman and considers deserting in order
to preserve the new man he has become.
Released
by Warner Bros. in February 1955, the movie clocks in at a hefty 148 minutes. Filmed
in CinemaScope, the “Battle Cry†benefits greatly from the widescreen aspect
ratio. The Warner Archive Collection Blu-ray looks better than it ever has on
home video and sounds just as good. There are no extras on the disc other than
the trailer and subtitles. Highly recommended for fans of high drama military
movies.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM THE CINEMA RETRO MOVIE STORE
Cinema Retro has received the following press release from Shout! Factory's Scream Factory unit:
Los Angeles, CA – Scream Factory™ has announced the release of
more classic horror films, with the August 25 drop of Volume 6 of the
incredibly popular Universal Horror Collection. The set contains 4 films
onBlu-rayâ„¢, and is packed with new bonus features and new 2K scans of
the films.
Universal Horror Collection Vol. 6 includes four tales of terror from the archives of
Universal Pictures, the true home of classic horror. Boris Karloff stars as a
doctor who risks his own life to save the captives of a mad count in The
Black Castle. Vengeance is sworn against six men who witness a ceremony
where beautiful women turn into serpents in Cult Of The Cobra. In The
Thing That Couldn’t Die, when a young psychic discovers a box that contains
the living head of an executed devil worshiper … heads will roll! A cat
witnesses the murder of her owner ... and this cat is hell-bent on revenge in The
Shadow Of The Cat.
UNIVERSAL HORROR COLLECTION VOL. 6 contains:
THE BLACK CASTLE
1080p High Definition (1.37:1)/DTS Master Audio
Mono/1952/B&W/Not Rated/+/- 82 Minutes
Special Features:
· NEW
2K scan from a fine grain film element
· NEW
Audio Commentary with author/film historian Tom Weaver
· NEW
Universal Horror Strikes Back! - a look at Universal Horror in the 40s
Any time we at Cinema Retro might feel self-congratulatory about staying in print for sixteen years, we're immediately humbled by the fact that Dick Klemensen has been publishing Little Shoppe of Horrors magazine since 1972. You read that right...1972, the same year it seemed like a good idea to re-elect Richard Nixon in the biggest landslide in American history and Marlon Brando regained his mojo as The Godfather. Since then, Dick's magazine has been the gold standard for coverage of everything and anything to do with the Hammer films horror classics. The vast majority of every issue is dedicated to Hammer and yet he never gets repetitive. Dick started to reach out to the Hammer stars, directors, producers and technicians in the early 1970s and thus acquired a priceless archive of their stories and memories during an era in which most critics didn't take the films seriously. Dick's latest issue features the wonderful Hammer version of the Sherlock Holmes classic "The Hound of the Baskerville" on the cover and the interior is chock full of informative and entertaining articles. Click here to visit Little Shoppe of Horrors site and prepare to go on a shopping spree. Remember, print media needs your support!
Here is official list of contents for the latest issue:
vThe Hyman Horrors.
Denis
Meikle examines producer Kenneth Hyman's Trio of Terror for Hammer Films -
The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Stranglers of Bombay and The Terror of the
tongs.
v'Behind the Scenes' on The Hound of the Baskervilles
Peter
Cushing, Christopher Lee, Terence Fisher and many of the people involved talk
about the making of the film.
v'Murder Their Religion!'
The
Making of The Stranglers of Bombay by Bruce G. Hallenbeck.
vMurder By Hatchet!'
The
Making of The Terror of the Tongs by Bruce G. Hallenbeck.
v'He Painted With Light! Jack Asher'
A
tribute to Hammer's great Director of Photography by Emmy Award winning
cinematographer - David J. Miller & Asher's daughters & Hammer film
co-workers.
v'Michael
Medwin: Hammer's First Star'
Interview
by Denis Meikle.
vDracula
2020 — The recent BBC/Netflix/Hartswood Film version of Bram Stoker's classic
Novel.
Interviews
with Mark Gatiss (Writer/Producer/actor - as Renfield), Steven Moffat
(Writer/Producer), Claes Bang (Count Dracula), Dolly Wells (Sister Agatha Van
Helsing/Zoe Helsing), Cathering Schell (the Grand Duchess Valeria of
Habsburg) and Dave Elsey (with his wife Loue responsible for all the FX
makeups and effects).
v'The
Hammer Diaries of Christopher Wicking - 1975 - Part 2'
Edited
by Mitchel Wicking.
vVampirella Live
Jonathan
Rigby on the recent reading of Christopher Wicking's Vampirella script.
All our regular features - Letters to LSoH - Ralph's
One-and-Only Traveling Reviews CVompany - Hammer News.
Kino Lorber’s new Blu-ray edition of Calvin Floyd’s
documentary In Search of Dracula is
the third hard copy to find its way into my collection.I no longer own a copy of that first edition,
a VHS tape of dubious origin and purchased at a convention.That was jettisoned when an authorized copy on
DVD was issued by Wellspring Media in 2003.Truth be told, I’m not sure a manufacture of a Blu-ray for this
particular film is necessarily merited.But it’s here now and will likely displace the DVD sitting on my home
video shelf.The circle of life, I
suppose.
This quirky and occasionally interesting documentary would
make its debut on the small screen, initially produced for exclusive broadcast
on Swedish television.But it was a
popular and professional enough effort to be later telecast in Great Britain on
the B.B.C.The film would make the
transition as a genuine cinematic property in 1975 when Samuel M. Sherman’s
Independent International Pictures Corporation bought the U.S. distribution
rights.The producer would pad the
program’s running time to feature-length with a sprinkling of non-essential bits
and pieces here and there.
The film was released theatrically in the U.S., playing
the New York City metropolitan area in May 1975.This NYC-area engagement lasted little more
than a week, mostly playing drive-ins and second-run cinemas throughout the city’s
outer boroughs, Long Island and the wilds of New Jersey.Sherman’s ballyhoo newspaper advertising was purposefully
misleading.It highlighted Christopher
Lee’s participation in the production and referenced “An Open Letter to the
Descendants of Count Dracula.â€Subsequent
ad copy coyly disguised that the film was actually an historical documentary
rather than a new Dracula feature.
In any event, the film was not strong enough to stand
alone as a potential draw, so it was paired with an appropriate co-feature,
albeit movies of previous-release and exhibiting some mileage and history.These co-features would include the like of
Hammer’s The Mummy (1959) with
Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing and Al Adamson’s bargain-basement cheapie Blood of Ghastly Horror (1967) with John
Carradine. (This second feature made some strategic sense as Sherman was
co-producer of the latter film). Sherman is listed here in the revised opening
credits of In Search of Dracula as “production
consultant.â€With all due respect to Mr.
Sherman, Floyd’s original documentary was inspired by consulting Raymond T.
McNally and Radu Florescu’s best-selling tome of the same title (New York
Graphic Society, 1972).The film, to the
best of its ability, attempts to touch on many of the same subjects more thoroughly
detailed in that book.
Unfortunately, it does so with only mixed success as director
Floyd’s somber narrative tends to meander.The film certainly starts promisingly enough, advising viewers that it
was photographed not only “on location†in Transylvania itself (we’re told “Transylvaniaâ€
translates to the “land beyond the forestâ€), but also in Austria, Germany,
Switzerland and Sweden.“All film
locations are authentic and historically accurate†a title credit promisingly
brags.Indeed, the travelogue snippets
of green fields, the Carpathian Mountains, broke-down castles, and small-village
folkways are amongst the film’s strongest assets.We’re also treated to somewhat tangential footage
documenting a colorful performance by the Romanian Folklore Dance Company and
the so-called “mysticism†of a Greek Orthodox Church ceremony.
The real masterstroke of producer/director/composer Floyd
was his ability to bring in a favorite cinematic Dracula, Christopher Lee, to
narrate and guide viewers through this fractured history lesson.The fact that he was able to convince Lee to do
so is surprising in itself. Lee had walked away, somewhat disgruntled, from the
Dracula character following his appearance in seven mostly beloved – and mostly
profitable - films for Hammer Studios… and an eighth, if less celebrated Dracula
movie, for Spanish director Jess Franco (1970).Lee proudly boasts here near the film’s end that his Horror of Dracula (1958) made “eight
times its production costs!†for Hammer.For the record, Lee hadn’t totally abandoned his cloaked on-screen
vampirism, having also appeared as an ersatz
Dracula in such mostly forgotten continental productions as Italy’s Tempi duri
per i vampiri (1959) and France’s Dracula Père et Fils (1976).Lee provides narration throughout but also appears
on screen - surprisingly “in character†- in several brief vignettes.He’s seen here, in silent footage, as both
the (Stoker-described) mustachioed Count Dracula as well as the character’s presumed
historical forebear Vlad Tepes (aka “Vlad the Impalerâ€), the one-time Prince of
Wallachia.
It’s unfair to expect an eighty-two minute film to adequately
convey the contents of a 300 page book, and director Floyd (along with writer Yvonne
Floyd) tries their best to condense and impart information in an educational and
entertaining manner.Unfortunately,
there’s just not enough running time to discuss any item to satisfaction. We are offered some teachable, if rushed
along, informational tidbits along the way.We learn that Bram Stoker, who would first publish his novel Dracula in 1897, never actually visited
Transylvania prior to writing.Despite
this, Lee ensures, the novelist was “remarkably accurate†in his descriptions
as he had studied period maps and guidebooks in careful preparation.There’s a discussion of the origin of vampire
legends which, we’re told, originated in Asia before migrating westward to
other far-flung places.Stories of
vampires eventually traveled to Eastern Europe where they seamlessly filtered into
and intertwined with local folklore beliefs.It was in Eastern Europe that tales of vampirism and “the undead†would appear
most common.
The film also treats us to tangential, thumbnail case
studies and psychological profiles of other infamous - and terribly real -
“vampires.â€These include CountessElizabeth
Báthory of Hungary (aka Countess Dracula) who, legend has it, bathed in the blood of
virgins in an attempt to stay youthful.Then there was the awful Peter Kürten,
the “Vampire of Düsseldorf,†a
sexual deviant and serial killer who reportedly cannibalized and drank the
blood of several of his victims.Another
addition to this unpleasant rogue’s gallery was John Haigh, the so-called
“Vampire of London.†The delightful Mister Haigh treated his victim’s to acid
baths and claimed to have drunk their blood as well.
It’s almost a relief when, somewhere around the
sixty-minute mark, Floyd – in a head-scratching manner - segues into an odd
sidebar regarding the origins of Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein.Its inclusion here
is almost totally out of place in this particular documentary but, in hindsight,
it did foreshadow Floyd’s next and more ambitious project.This would be the director’s attempt at a dramatic
telling of the authentic and original Shelley text “as written.†This feature
would subsequently be released to European cinemas in 1977 as the Terror of Frankenstein.
Though no classic, Floyd’s take on Frankenstein – unseen by many until the home video boom made the
film more available – is often lauded as the first faithful attempt to follow the
novels genuine and more complex storyline.This declaration wasn’t entirely true.In 1973, NBC-TV would broadcast their three and a half hour television
drama Frankenstein: The True Story in
two parts.So that television production
had gotten their first and, quite frankly, did a better job of it.In any event, Calvin Floyd’s Terror of Frankenstein is certainly
worth seeking out by film scholars, if only for its oddity.
Unfortunately, Floyd’s In Search of Dracula begins to fall apart near the end as we pass
through brief mentions of the nineteenth century literary legacies of such
“undead†figures as Le Fanu’s Carmilla
and Polidori’s Vampyre.As we enter the age of cinema, we’re treated
to an over-long, but time-chewing, excerpt of the public-domain silent classic Nosferatu.Since clips from Carl Theodor Dreyer’s Vampyr and Tod Browning’s Dracula (the latter featuring the iconic
1931 performance of Bela Lugosi), were under copyright protection, we’re
treated only to a few production stills and a lengthy, and not terribly relevant,
excerpt from Lugosi’s appearance in the non-protected 1925 silent drama The Midnight Girl.
In any event, I’m guessing that fans of Sir Christopher
Lee and students of the Dracula legend will be compelled to add this film to
their collections: as someone who has triple-dipped on this title I completely understand.Others less-obsessed might find the film an
outdated celluloid relic, best forgotten.While I’m certainly glad that the film has been made available once again
for those interested, I would be dishonest to deem it as an essential study.
This Kino Lorber Studio Classics Blu-ray of In Search of Dracula has been
transferred from a new 2K master, in a ratio of 1.37:1 and in 1920p x 1080p
with DTS monaural sound.The set also
features an audio commentary track supplied by film historians Lee Gambin and
John Harrison.The set includes a few
bonus trailers for other Christopher Lee films available from the Kino Lorber
library:The Crimson Cult, The Oblong Box, Scream and Scream Again, Arabian
Adventure, and House of Long Shadows.
The attitudes toward sex in the U.S. in the 1950s
were pent-up and frustrated, and they sat in a tinderbox. This is reflected in
the cinema of the time, often overtly in noir and crime dramas, or in melodramas
such as Rebel Without a Cause.
Here we have a 1955 melodrama/crime picture starring
the inimitable Joan Crawford, who, in her 50s herself, still looks smashing and
has no qualms against displaying in short-shorts the magnificent dancer legs
she was known for throughout her career. It’s quite possible that Crawford took
on this role to say to the world, “Hey, I’m still desirable, just watch me.â€
There is that brazen exhibitionist quality in her performance, and it suits the
steamy, somewhat sordid storyline of Female on the Beach.
Crawford is Lynn Markham, a widow who visits a beach
house somewhere (Florida? California?—it isn’t clear) that her deceased husband
had owned and was renting to a wealthy woman named Eloise Crandell (Judith
Evelyn). Lynn, who has never been to the house before, is considering selling
it, so she has arranged for Crandell to move out prior to Lynn’s arrival. Little
does Lynn know, but Crandell was involved in a hot love affair with beach bum
and boater Drummond Hall (Jeff Chandler), and things went terribly wrong. The
night before Lynn’s arrival, a drunken Crandell fell from her terrace and was
killed on the sandy rocks below the house. Was Hall responsible? We don’t know.
Realtor Amy Rawlinson (Jan Sterling) seems to be protecting Hall and has lied
about the house, Hall’s relationship with Crandell, and the goings-on around
the beach community. Oddly, Hall resides either on his boat, which is docked at
the Markham peer, or with the Sorensens (Cecil Kellaway and Natalie Schafer),
the elderly couple who live in the next house over and who apparently like to bilk
wealthy widows with rigged card games. Despite the numerous red flags that Lynn
receives, including a revealing diary left behind by Crandell and warnings from
police lieutenant Galley (Charles Drake), Lynn also begins a torrid love affair
with the handsome and hunky Hall… uh oh!
Joseph Pevney directs the tale from Robert Hill and
Richard Alan Simmons’ screenplay with earnest passion, punctuated by a
plaintive musical score (the composer is uncredited). The actors give it their
all, and Crawford and Chandler have the sufficient chemistry to pull it off.
The problem with Female on the Beach is the
believability of Lynn’s actions. It’s obvious that Hall is trouble from the
get-go. He even arrogantly puts the moves on her against her wishes (the #MeToo
movement would have had a field day with this picture if it had existed in the
1950s), and apparently “No†didn’t mean “No†in those days. After near-violent
resistance on Lynn’s part, she of course succumbs to Hall’s aggressive advances
and, well, enjoys it. Okay, if you say so. Additionally, once the “mystery†is
resolved regarding whether Crandell died by accident, suicide, or murder, there
is very little surprise attached.
Still, Female on the Beach is an entertaining
potboiler that shines a light on the social mores of the day. Kino Lorber’s
high definition restoration looks remarkably good in its sharp and clear widescreen
black and white, with optional English subtitles for the hearing impaired. The
film comes with two audio commentaries—one by the always interesting film
historian Kat Ellinger, and one by film historian David Del Valle and moderated
by filmmaker David DeCoteau. Supplements include an animated image gallery of
promotional material, plus the theatrical trailer for this and other Kino
Lorber releases.
So, get out your cocktails, turn out the lights, and
snuggle up for some high temperature action and romance with Joan Crawford and
Jeff Chandler; just be sure to take a few spoonfuls of suspension of disbelief.
The
Bing Crosby and Bob Hope “Road to…†series began in 1940 with Road to
Singapore (click here for review), a landmark musical-comedy
that teamed the dueling popular radio personalities for the silver screen.
Road
to Zanzibar continues
the successful formula begun in Singapore. Two playboys (Crosby and
Hope, whose character names change with each movie, although their “charactersâ€
are always the same) find themselves traveling to some exotic locale in order
to either escape a woman, gangsters, or pursue some con job, only to get mixed
up in a farcical plot with an equally exotic woman (always Lamour). There are a
few songs performed by both men or solo or with Lamour, comic hijinks
(especially from Hope), and even some action and adventure. A running gag
throughout the series was a bit that Crosby and Hope did—playing “Patty-Cake,
Patty-Cake,†reciting the verse and slapping their hands in front of
adversaries as a distraction—and then surprising the bad guys with sudden
punches, thereby starting a fight and the means to escape.
In
this popular sequel, Crosby is “Chuck†and Hope is “Hubert†aka “Fearless
Frazier.†They work in circus sideshows with Crosby conning the populace
regarding Fearless’ abilities as, first, a human cannonball, which results in a
mishap that sets the entire circus ablaze. They try again at other circuses
with different acts, until one day an eccentric diamond mine baron (Eric Blore)
sells Chuck the deed to one of his African properties. It turns out it’s a
fake, of course, so Hubert pawns the deed off to someone else, who insists—with
threatened violence—that the duo lead them to the mine. The boys escape and
hastily board a boat bound for Africa (it had to happen, right?). There, they
are hoodwinked by Julia (Una Merkel) to help her save her roommate Donna
(Lamour) from “slave traders,†when in fact it’s a con between Julia, Donna,
and the slave traders to split the proceeds, repeatedly, from unsuspecting
buyers. This leads to a safari across Africa with Chuck, Hubert, Donna, and
Julia on the way to fame and fortune, when, in reality, the purpose is to
reunite Donna with a man to whom she’s engaged. Of course, Chuck and Donna fall
in love, Hubert at one point believes it’s he that she’s fallen for, and
there is a threesome, and sometimes a little foursome, romantic entanglement.
The climactic sequence involves the boys being separated by the safari and
captured by hostile, Tarzan-style natives, who plan to first pit
Hubert/Fearless against a gorilla (an actor in a suit) to prove the boys are
gods; failing that, the boys will be eaten by the tribe.
Like
Road to Singapore before it, Road to Zanzibar is total nonsense
with some musical number decoration. As it was made in 1941, Hollywood was
still in the era when African-Americans were underused in productions. They
only got work playing maids, butlers, porters, and… African natives. Looking at
the film today, the final sequence produces some wince-inducing moments, but at
least Crosby and Hope don’t darken their skin to disguise themselves as they
did in Singapore.
There
are funny moments, to be sure, and Hope especially was then proving to
audiences that he was a superb talent. Arguably, the “Road†pictures would not
have been as successful without his presence.
Kino
Lorber’s new Blu-ray looks quite good and comes with English subtitles for the
hearing impaired. Two previously issued supplements accompany the film: a short
documentary on Hope and the Road pictures, with appearances by Phyllis Diller,
Randall G. Mielke (author of The Road to Success), and Richard Grudens
(author of The Spirit of Bob Hope)—this same extra is also included on
the Road to Singapore disk, and a 1944 featurette on Hope on “Command
Performance,†a short that went out to the troops to accompany movie
screenings. The theatrical trailer to this and other Kino Lorber titles round
out the package.
For
fans of Hope and Crosby and of a golden era of Hollywood that had a long way to
go before becoming “woke,†Road to Zanzibar has its cinema history
charm.
Cineploit continue to help feed the healthy
appetite for European cult film classics with their two latest Region-Free Blu-ray media
book releases, Mark Colpisce Ancora aka The .44 Specialist aka Mark Strikes
Again (Italy 1976) (CP 05) and Brothers
in Blood aka Savage Attack (Italy 1987) (CP 06).
Police Inspector Mark Terzi (Franco Gasparri)
works undercover as Mark Patti. He is assigned to apprehend a hardened group of
terrorists. Terzi has already narrowly escaped a murderous attack at a location
where he was meant to be in Vienna, which leads to suspicions. Soon after,
clues lead Terzi to begin thinking that his own superiors may also be involved
in the plot.
This was the final film in director Stelvio
Massis’s ‘Mark trilogy’ and is considered by many commentators to be the best. Massis
appears to have accumulated his collective skills, experiences and shooting techniques
from the previous two films and put them to very good use for the final entry.
Whist the plot and narrative are pretty straight forward, there is plenty of
action to enjoy. Crashes, car chases, an air escape and plenty of bullets
litter the screen, and given that this was probably something of a low-budgeted
affair, it all comes off as both exciting and hugely enjoyable. The film looks
good. too, making the most of its locations based mainly in and around Milan
and Vienna. As with a great deal other Poliziotteschi films, Mark Colpisce
Ancora also boasts an American actor in its cast. It’s usually no more than an
extended cameo, but worked well, especially in reaching out to the American
market. John Saxon appears here, Saxon had an uncanny knack of choosing and
turning up in so many cult films. It would have been great to have seen him
appear longer, but more often than not these Western world, star contracts
arguably stipulated a week or so scheduling, and in the process Saxon no doubt
collected a healthy fistful of Lira (and probably a return ticket to Europe for
his troubles). The film marks its worldwide 2K Blu-ray premiere, and looks
incredibly clean (the disc includes a restoration comparison) and free of any
major defects. Euro film favourite, composer Stelvio Cipriani also keeps the
suspense thumping along nicely with another memorable score.
As to be expected from Cineploit, their
package is again highly impressive. Their media book style (as with their
previous four releases) is beautifully produced with 28 pages of detailed
information. The company also offer the media book in a choice of three
different cover variations, (two Italian and one German) in numbered and
limited editions of 400/300/300. Cineploit’s continued use of partial UV spotting
also adds an edge to the covers overall presentation. Leading the bonus
material is Part 2 of Cineploit’s exclusively produced career interview with
composer Stelvio Cipriani. Cineploit teasingly split this excellent interview (part
1 was included on their debut release, La Polizia Ha Le Mani Legrate). There’s
another 41 minutes here, which, with part one, totals some 92 minutes and makes
it something of a defining overview on the composer. There’s also two further
exclusive featurettes with son and assistant Danilo Massi and cameraman Roberto
Girometti (20 and 16 minutes). Also included is an international picture
gallery lasting some 8 minutes. Cineploit fashionably round the whole package
off by including a reproduction double-sided poster with the Italian locandina
and Manifesto. Wonderful stuff!
Okay,
David Cronenberg has made some creepy-ass movies in his career, but there may
not be one as icky as the 1988 Dead Ringers.
Cronenberg’s
horror films seem to always deal with the human body in some grotesque fashion,
whether it be mutant babies being born outside of the womb (The Brood),
heads exploding (Scanners), or a man turning into an insect (The Fly)…
and Dead Ringers fits the bill. It is a movie guaranteed to give women
nightmares, for it’s about insane gynecologists. Identical twins, in fact.
Twin gynecologists with stirrups, strange probing devices, and killer looks.
Let that sink in for a moment.
Dead
Ringers is
somewhat based on a true story about real twin gynecologists, Stewart and Cyril
Marcus, who lived and practiced in New York City in the late 60s and early 70s.
They became addicted to drugs, went a little nuts, and died more or less
together in a posh Manhattan apartment. A 1977 best-selling thriller novel, Twins,
by Bari Wood and Jack Geasland, was loosely based on the Marcus boys, and
Cronenberg’s movie takes inspiration from that as well as the lives of the real
sickos (the screenplay is by Cronenberg and Norman Snider).
Jeremy
Irons delivers the performance of a lifetime as the twins, here named Beverly
and Elliot Mantle, and the trick photography employed by cinematographer Peter
Suschitzky and the visual effects team was state of the art at the time, creating
the illusion that Irons is acting with himself, or rather, another person that
is his mirror image. Irons not being nominated for the Best Actor Oscar is one
of the biggest robberies in Academy Award history, although he did win the
honor from both the New York and Chicago Film Critics. Perhaps Academy voters
found the film too disturbing.
It
is.
The
Mantle twins are successful gynecologists who operate a dual practice. Elliot
is the more confident ladykiller, so he often sleeps with his patients. Then
he, ahem, passes the women on to his brother, Beverly, who is rather shy and
less outgoing. Most of the time, they do this without letting the women know what’s
happening. Yes, the #MeToo movement would have had a field day with these guys.
Enter actress Claire Niveau (Genevieve Bujold), who becomes a patient but is
also addicted to various prescription drugs. Both twins have an affair with
her, and Beverly begins to share the drugs. This leads to delusions and
paranoia, and some of the nightmarish imagery that director Cronenberg presents
are enough to send audience members—female and male—to the lavatory. Of course,
things don’t go well for the Mantles, and it’s a downhill slide from there into
typical Cronenberg tragedy.
Dead
Ringers is
a brilliant discourse of addiction, chauvinism, and madness, and it is arguably
among Cronenberg’s best works. Irons’ performance is a wonder, and the nightmarish
effects and psychological attacks on the audience easily elevate the film to a
slot on “Greatest Horror Films of All Time.†It’s that good.
Shout
Factory’s Blu-ray release is a 2-disk set. The first disk presents the film in
the aspect ratio of 1.78:1. It looks sharp, crystal clear, and so hi-def that
one might think it’s 4K (it’s not). Oddly, Shout decided to give us another
version on the second disk, this time a 2K scan in the aspect ratio of 1.66:1,
which, when all is said and done, isn’t much different from the other version.
The marketing copy on the package claims this is Cronenberg’s preferred aspect
ratio, but there is some discussion among other DVD/Blu-ray reviewers online
that questions that statement. To these eyes, the second version looks slightly
better, perhaps more in line with the appearance of film.
The
first version comes with two audio commentaries: a previously released one with
actor Irons, and a new one with William Beard, author of The Artist as
Monster: The Cinema of David Cronenberg. The second version has no audio
commentaries.
Supplements
include new interviews with actor/artist Stephen Lack (who also starred in Scanners);
actress Heidi von Palleske, who plays one of the Mantle twins’ conquests; DOP
Suschitzky; and special effects artist Gordon Smith. There are also vintage
interviews and featurettes (of poorer video quality) from 1988, and the
theatrical trailer.
Dead
Ringers is
highly recommended for horror film fans, Cronenberg enthusiasts, and for
devotees of good acting—the picture is worth a viewing for Jeremy Irons alone.
Kino Lorber Studio Classics has
released “Mary, Queen of Scots†(1971) in a new Blu-ray edition.A Hal B. Wallis production starring Vanessa
Redgrave in the title role and Glenda Jackson as Queen Elizabeth I, the picture
opened on a limited basis in Los Angeles on December 22, 1971, in order to
qualify for the 1972 Academy Awards.General release in the U.S. followed on February 2, 1972.The filmmakers’ hopes were high, since a
previous Wallis production about the 16th Century British monarchy, “Anne of
the Thousand Days,†had been a critical and commercial success two years
earlier, with the same screenwriter (John Hale) and director (Charles
Jarrott).As if more cred were needed, a
weighty biography by Antonia Fraser, “Mary Queen of Scots†(no comma), had been
a best-seller in 1969.Since Mary was a
historical figure in the public domain, the filmmakers could capitalize on the
popularity of Lady Antonia’s book without having to pay for screen rights.Perhaps adding a comma in the movie’s title
was a further safeguard.Despite this
promising run-up, “Mary, Queen of Scots†didn’t quite meet expectations.Reviews were lukewarm, and the picture had
the unfortunate timing to open nationally while a number of highly publicized
hits released during the Christmas-New Year’s week were still selling tickets
in theaters.Apparently, younger
moviegoers preferred the ultra-violence of “A Clockwork Orange,†“Dirty Harry,â€
and “Straw Dogs†to Wallis’ historical pageantry, and the return of Sean
Connery as James Bond in “Diamonds Are Forever†to the teaming of Redgrave and
Jackson in prominent starring roles as Royals Behaving Badly.Older fans of big-budget epics had already
been served by Franklin J. Schaffner’s “Nicholas and Alexandra,†which had
gotten an early start in December.In
England, Jackson had already played Elizabeth in “Elizabeth R,†a six-part
series that garnered critical acclaim on the BBC in 1971.The series debuted Stateside on PBS‘
“Masterpiece Theater†on February 13, 1972.If you could see Jackson for free on TV, why pay $4 for a date night at
the cinema?
John Hale’s screenplay compresses
and simplifies Mary’s ill-fated life without violating historical accuracy too
seriously.Some political intricacies
necessarily remained, but they shouldn’t bother today’s viewers who enjoyed
sorting out all the make-believe queens and dukes with fey names in “Game of
Thrones.â€It opens in 1560, as a pretty
but foreboding tune, “Vivre
et Mourir†(“To Live and to Dieâ€), plays
over the credits.(Redgrave herself sang
the French lyrics in a fine, haunting alto.)Mary -- the queen of Scotland by birth, and moreover a potential
claimant to the English throne as the niece of Henry VIII -- enjoys wedded
bliss with her husband, King Francis II of France.Then Francis dies, and his mother exiles the
childless Mary to clear the throne for Francis’ brother.Mary returns to the land of her birth,
prepared to assume her duties there on the Scottish throne, but her decision
threatens two powerful rivals.Her
cousin Queen Elizabeth I, a Protestant, fears that Mary, a Catholic, will
become a rallying point next door for England’s rebellious Catholic
subjects.In Scotland, Mary’s brother
James Stuart (Patrick McGoohan in great, icy form) schemes with his fellow
Protestant nobles to neutralize Mary, relegating her to figurehead status as he
becomes the actual hand on the strings.Both of her enemies are dangerous, Elizabeth perhaps more so as the more
subtly devious of the two.
This
British gem was considered a lost film until a print was somehow discovered a
little over ten years ago and re-released in art houses and on home video. The
Queen of Spades, from 1949, was one of only nine pictures helmed by Thorold
Dickinson, a Norwegian director who worked mostly in the UK but also in Europe
and Africa. He was perhaps most known for directing the original British
version of Gaslight (1940), which George Cukor and MGM suppressed when
they remade it as a Hollywood movie in 1944 (with Ingrid Bergman). There are
some who believe Dickinson’s Gaslight is the better of the two.
Dickinson
has been re-appraised in recent years by the likes of filmmakers such as Martin
Scorsese and Wes Anderson, and by critics with a taste for genuine style and
substance in their movies. The Queen of Spades was nominated for a BAFTA
award for Best Picture in its year and is now deemed as one of the better
atmospheric dramas of the supernatural, fitting nicely beside such
psychological fare as The Haunting (1963).
Interestingly,
Dickinson was hired as a replacement director mere days before shooting was set
to commence. He replaced co-screenwriter Rodney Ackland (who wrote it with
Arthur Boys), because apparently there were disagreements between Ackland and
the star, Anton Walbrook, and the producer, Anatole de Grunwald (who was also a
colorful character in British cinema). Dickinson did a few days of preparation
and then showed up on the set on a Monday morning ready to work. The result is
quite impressive.
The
tale, based on an Alexander Pushkin short story, is set in St. Petersburg, Russia,
in the early 1800s. This alone provides the filmmakers with a broad canvas for
set design, art direction, and elaborate costumes, which are all gorgeous in
glorious black and white (and it’s arguable that the movie would not have
worked as well had it been in color).
Captain
Herman Suvorin (Walbrook, who had appeared in several Michael Powell and Emeric
Pressburger productions), is a haughty, ambitious man who desires the “secretâ€
to winning a fortune at a popular card game called “Faro.†He learns from a
creepy bookseller that the aging and wealthy Countess Ranevskaya (Dame Edith
Evans, in her first film role at the age of sixty!) had “sold her soul to the
devil†many years ago when she learned this secret. Herman sets out to get to
the countess and extract the knowledge from the old woman by any means
possible, the easiest being to seduce the countess’ innocent and beautiful
ward, Lizavetta (Yvonne Mitchell), and infiltrating the spooky palace through
her. Meanwhile, Lizavetta is being wooed by Herman’s friend, Andrei (Ronald
Howard), who is buddies with the countess’ grandson, Fyodor (a young Anthony
Dawson, whom cinema fans will recognize from Dial M for Murder and Dr.
No). Conflict arises between Herman and Andrei, but things really get
sinister and ghostly once the captain eventually confronts the countess.
Kino
Lorber’s new Blu-ray restoration shows off Otto Heller’s dreamy cinematography,
and the film comes with an audio commentary by film critic Nick Pinkerton, as
well as English subtitles for the hearing impaired. Supplements include a short
video introduction by Martin Scorsese; a rather dry video analysis by film
critic/author Philip Horne; a 1951 audio interview with Dickinson at the
British Federation of Film Societies; and a 1968 audio introduction to a
screening of the film by Dickinson in front of an audience. The theatrical
trailer for this and other Kino Lorber releases complete the package.
The
Queen of Spaces is
a fascinating and moody piece of work, certainly for fans of British cinema,
period drama, and things that go bump in the night.
Cinema Retro has received the following press release from Shout! Factory:
LOS
ANGELES, Calif. – In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the original and
groundbreaking 1980 film Friday the 13th, Scream Factoryâ„¢, the fan-driven
entertainment brand devoted to all things horror, has announced the Friday the
13th Collection (Deluxe Edition) on Tuesday, October 13th, 2020. The
16-disc set is the definitive Blu-rayâ„¢ collection of one of the most influential
horror franchises ever created and includes all 12 original films from
Paramount Pictures and New Line Cinema.
It
also includes NEW and existing extras, a NEW collectible rigid slipcover with
newly-commissioned art, a NEW 40-pg collectible essay booklet with archival
still photography, and NEW 4K film transfers for Parts 1-4, with Part 3 in its
original 3D presentation. Additionally, each film comes with a dedicated
Blu-rayâ„¢ case featuring original theatrical artwork. A list of bonus features
is below, with additional new extras to be announced at a later date.
The
12 films included in this must-own set are Friday the 13th (1980), Friday the
13th Part 2 (1981), Friday the 13th Part 3 (1982), Friday the 13th: The Final
Chapter (1984), Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning (1985), Friday the 13th
Part VI: Jason Lives (1986), Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988), Friday
the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989), Jason Goes To Hell: The Final
Friday (1993), Jason X (2001), Freddy vs. Jason (2003) and Friday the 13th
(Remake) (2009).
Customers
purchasing the Friday The 13th Collection (Deluxe Edition) on ScreamFactory.com
will receive an exclusive, limited edition 36" x 24" lithograph
featuring new artwork from artist Devon Whitehead, and an exclusive, limited edition 24†x 36†Friday
the 13th 40th Anniversary poster featuring new artwork from artist Joel
Robinson, while supplies last.
The
Friday the 13th Collection (Deluxe Edition) is limited to 13,000 pieces and is
available for pre-order now.
FRIDAY
THE 13TH (1980) (2-Discs)
NEW
4K scan of the original camera negative (theatrical cut and unrated cut)
Audio
Commentary by director Sean S. Cunningham, screenwriter Victor Miller and more
(unrated cut)
Fresh
Cuts: New Tales from Friday the 13th
The
Man Behind the Legacy: Sean S. Cunningham
A
Friday the 13th Reunion
Lost
Tales from Camp Blood - Part 1
Vintage
Fangoria Magazine Article (BD Rom – New to the Set)
TV
Spots (New to the Set)
U.S.
Radio Spots (New to the Set)
U.K.
Radio Spot (New to the Set)
U.
S. Theatrical Trailer
International
Theatrical Trailer (New to the Set)
FRIDAY
THE 13TH PART 2
NEW
4K scan of the original camera negative
Amy
Steel podcast interview
Inside
Crystal Lake Memories: The Book
Friday's
Legacy: Horror Conventions
Lost
Tales from Camp Blood - Part 2
Vintage
Fangoria Magazine Article (BD Rom – New to the Set)
Radio
Spots (New to the Set)
TV
Spots (New to the Set)
Theatrical
Trailer
FRIDAY
THE 13TH PART 3
NEW
4K scan from the original film elements
In
2D and a new 3D version
Audio
Commentary with actors Larry Zerner, Paul Kratka, Richard Brooker and Dana
Kimmell
Fresh
Cuts: 3D Terror
Legacy
of the Mask
Slasher
Films: Going for the Jugular
Lost
Tales from Camp Blood – Part 3
Vintage
Fangoria Magazine Article (BD Rom – New to the Set)
TV
Spots (New to the Set)
Radio
Spots (New to the Set)
Theatrical
Trailer
FRIDAY
THE 13TH: THE FINAL CHAPTER
NEW
4K scan from the original camera negative
Audio
Commentary by director Joe Zito, screenwriter Barney Cohen and editor Joel
Goodman
Audio
Commentary by fans/filmmakers Adam Green and Joe Lynch
Lost
Tales from Camp Blood – Part 4
Slashed
Scenes with audio commentary by director Joseph Zito
Jason's
Unlucky Day: 25 Years After Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
The
Lost Ending
The
Crystal Lake Massacres Revisited Part I
Jimmy's
Dead Dance Moves
Vintage
Fangoria Magazine Article (BD Rom – New to the Set)
TV
Spot (New to the Set)
Radio
Spots (New to the Set)
Theatrical
Trailer
FRIDAY
THE 13TH PART V: A NEW BEGINNING
NEW
Audio Commentary with Melanie Kinnaman, Deborah Voorhees and Tiffany Helm
Audio
Commentary by director/co-screenwriter Danny Steinmann, actors John Shepherd
and Shavar Ross
Audio
Commentary by fans/filmmakers Adam Green and Joe Lynch (New to the Set)
Lost
Tales of Camp Blood – Part 5
The
Crystal Lake Massacres Revisited Part II
New
Beginnings: The Making of Friday the 13th Part V
Vintage
Fangoria Magazine Article (BD Rom – New to the Set)
TV
Spots (New to the Set)
Theatrical
Trailer
FRIDAY
THE 13TH PART VI: JASON LIVES
NEW
Audio Commentary with Thom Mathews, Vinny Gustaferro, Kerry Noonan, Cynthia
Kania and CJ Graham
Audio
Commentary with writer/director Tom McLoughlin
Audio
Commentary With writer/director Tom McLoughlin, actor Vincent Guastaferro and
editor Bruce Green
Audio
Commentary by fans/filmmakers Adam Green and Joe Lynch (New to the Set)
Lost
Tales from Camp Blood - Part 6
The
Crystal Lake Massacres Revisited Part III
Jason
Lives: The Making of Friday the 13th: Part VI
Meeting
Mr. Voorhees
Slashed
Scenes
Vintage
Fangoria Magazine Article (BD Rom – New to the Set)
TV
Spots (New to the Set)
Theatrical
Trailer
FRIDAY
THE 13TH PART VII: THE NEW BLOOD
Audio
Commentary with director John Carl Buechler and actor Kane Hodder
Audio
Commentary with director John Carl Buechler and actors Lar Park Lincoln and
Kane Hodder
Jason's
Destroyer: The Making of Friday the 13th Part VII
Mind
Over Matter: The Truth About Telekinesis
Makeover
by Maddy: Need A Little Touch-Up Work, My A**
Slashed
Scenes with introduction
Vintage
Fangoria Magazine Article (BD Rom – New to Set)
Theatrical
Trailer
TV
Spot (New to Set)
FRIDAY
THE 13TH PART VIII: JASON TAKES MANHATTAN
Audio
Commentary with director Rob Hedden
Audio
Commentary with actors Scott Reeves, Jensen Daggett and Kane Hodder
New
York Has A New Problem: The Making of Friday the 13th Part VIII – Jason Takes
Manhattan
Slashed
Scenes
Gag
Reel
Theatrical
Trailer
TV
Spots (New to Set)
JASON
GOES TO HELL: THE FINAL FRIDAY (2-discs)
NEW
2K scan of the original film elements (Theatrical Version)
NEW
2K scan of the original film elements with HD inserts (Unrated Version)
NEW
interviews with Sean Cunningham, Noel Cunningham, Adam Marcus, Kane Hodder
NEW
Audio Commentary with Adam Marcus and author Peter Bracke
Audio
Commentary with director Adam Marcus and screenwriter Dean Lorey
Additional
TV footage with NEW optional Audio Commentary with director Adam Marcus and
author Peter Bracke
Electronic
Press Kit (New to the Set)
Theatrical
Trailer
TV
Spots (New to the Set)
JASON
X
NEW
audio commentary with Kane Hodder, writer Todd Farmer and Peter Bracke
NEW
interviews with Sean Cunningham, Noel Cunningham, Kane Hodder, Kristi Angus and
Todd Farmer
Audio
Commentary with director Jim Isaac, writer Todd Farmer and producer Noel Cunningham
The
Many Lives of Jason Voorhees – a documentary on the history of Jason
By
Any Means Necessary: The Making of Jason X - Making-of/production documentary
Electronic
Press Kit (New to the Set)
Theatrical
Trailer
TV
Spot (New to the Set)
FREDDY
VS. JASON
Audio
Commentary by director Ronny Yu, actors Robert Englund and Ken Kirzinger
21
Deleted/Alternate Scenes, Including the Original Opening and Ending with
optional commentary by director Ronny Yu and executive producer Douglas Curtis
Behind-the-Scenes
Coverage of the Film's Development - including Screenwriting, Set Design,
Makeup, Stunts and Principal Photography
Visual
Effects Exploration
My
Summer Vacation: A Visit to Camp Hackenslash
Pre-fight
press conference at Bally’s Casino in Las Vegas
Original
Theatrical Trailer
TV
Spots
Music
Video: Ill Nino "How Can I Live"
FRIDAY
THE 13th (2009)
Includes
the Theatrical Cut and the Special Extended Version
Hacking
Back/Slashing Forward - remembering the groundbreaking original movie
Terror
Trivia Track with Picture-In-Picture with comments from the cast and crew
The
Rebirth of Jason Voorhees – a look at the making of
Additional
Slashed Scenes
The
Best 7 Kills
BONUS
DISC 1:
NEW
interview with composer Harry Manfredini
NEW
location featurette on Parts 1 & 2
The
Friday the 13th Chronicles – an 8-part featurette
Secrets
Galore Behind the Gore – a 3-part featurette
Crystal
Lake Victims Tell All!
Tales
from the Cutting Room Floor
FRIDAY
THE 13th artifacts and Collectibles
Jason
Forever – Q & A with Ari Lehman, Warrington Gillette, C.J. Graham and Kane
Hodder
And
more to come…
BONUS
DISC 2:
Scream
Queens: Horror Heroines Exposed (2014) – including interviews with Adrienne
King and Melanie Kinnaman (78 minutes)
Slice
and Dice: The Slasher Film Forever (2013) – including interviews with Corey
Feldman and John Carl Buechler (75 minutes)Trailer Reel – all 12 trailers in a
row
Actor John Saxon, who specialized in playing celluloid tough guys, has died from pneumonia at age 83. Saxon grew up on the (then) mean streets of his native Brooklyn and became a model at age 17. He segued into feature films and television, winning acclaim for his performances. Saxon had the ability to use his charisma and good looks to portray both heroes and villains on screen, and did both convincingly. Major stardom never materialized for him but he had a long career as a popular supporting actor. Among his more notable films: "The Reluctant Debutante", "War Hunt", "The Electric Horseman", "The Unforgiven", "Joe Kidd", the original "Nightmare on Elm Street" and two sequels, "From Dusk Till Dawn", "Black Christmas", "Wrong is Right", "Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation" and "Battle Beyond the Stars". One of his most popular films was "Enter the Dragon", the final movie of Bruce Lee. Saxon also starred in numerous action film in Italian cinema. For his performance opposite Marlon Brando in the 1966 Western "The Appaloosa", he received a Golden Globe nomination. That year, he won a Golden Globe as "Most Promising Newcomer" even though he had been making films for almost a decade. He also had recurring roles in two popular TV series, "Dynasty" and "Falcon Crest". For more, click here.
The
Group,
the 1966 film directed by Sidney Lumet, is based on Mary McCarthy’s 1963
best-selling novel that broke ground by presenting the extraordinary notion
that young women graduating from college in the 1930s had liberating thoughts
in their heads regarding politics, independence, sex, marriage, career, and
motherhood (SARCASM). In all seriousness, the novel did push the envelope, given
the time it was published. It challenged the notion of the All-American Girl’s
only role in society was to get married, have children, and serve her husband.
The
film, which was adapted for the screen and produced by Sidney Buchman, is a
reasonably faithful rendition of the novel, and, seeing that it was released in
that nebulous in-between period between the demise of the Hollywood Production
Code and the institution of the Movie Rating System in America, it is frank and
revealing—but perhaps not enough.
What
is most fascinating about the picture today are the performances by the eight
leading ladies, most of whom were just arriving on the scene and would go on to
bigger and better things. For example, The Group is Candice Bergen’s
first screen appearance.
The
time is 1933 at a fictional women’s college in New England (in the novel it is
explicitly Vassar). Eight women who are close friends refer to themselves as
“the Groupâ€â€”there is Lakey (Bergen), the most beautiful and popular one; Dottie
(Joan Hackett), the seemingly sensible one who makes some rash choices; Priss
(Elizabeth Hartman), politically liberal but too submissive when contested;
Polly (Shirley Knight), perhaps the most independent of the bunch; Kay (Joanna
Pettet), the most materialistic and the most victimized; Pokey (Mary-Robin
Redd), who we don’t get to know as well as the others; Libby (Jessica Walter),
who is the most ambitious and competitive; and Helena (Kathleen Widdoes), who
is perhaps the smartest one. The story follows the eight women’s lives after
graduation over the rest of the decade to the beginning of World War II, mostly
in and around New York City, as they date, get jobs, fall in love (or not),
marry, and have children (some successfully, others not so).
Aside
from a couple of exceptions, the men in their lives are portrayed as selfish,
abusive, and cruel. They are played by the likes of Larry Hagman, Richard
Mulligan, Hal Holbrook, James Broderick, and James Congdon. We also slightly
get to know some of the girls’ parents (one father, played by Robert Emhardt, deemed
as having a mental illness, insists on moving in with his daughter) and other
friends.
While
there is some attempt to give each of the eight ladies their “story,†the movie
focuses mostly on Kay (Pettit), whose emotional range is expertly displayed
throughout as she works to support her caddy, cheating husband; and Polly
(Knight), who approaches her love affairs with an arm’s length attitude and is
too attached to her father. On the second tier of screen time are Libby
(Walter), Dottie (Hackett), and Priss (Hartman), all of whom deliver fine performances
along with Pettet and Knight. Bergen’s character disappears after the first ten
minutes, goes to Europe, and doesn’t return until the last act of the movie.
Sidney
Lumet’s direction is assured as he moves the complicated and many-faceted
storylines along—and yet the picture is too long (at 2-1/2 hours). A lot is
packed into it, though, and something like this might have worked better as a
three-part television mini-series. (In a way, it is Sex and the City for
eight women instead of three, and in quite a different decade from that HBO
show.)
Most
notable about the movie is its dealing with topics not normally discussed on
screen in 1966, the year it was released—birth control, mental illness,
adultery, free love, liberal politics (in the 1930s, Left was LEFT!),
and even lesbianism.
Kino
Lorber’s new Blu-ray restoration looks quite good and comes with English
subtitles for the hearing impaired. Unfortunately, there are no supplements
other than the theatrical trailers for this and other Kino Lorber releases.
The
Group is
an interesting time capsule of a specific time in cinema history that shines a
light on a particular era in American history that, in turn, examines a distinctive
social class of gender-exclusive characters.
Cinema Retro has received the following press release from Kino Classics:
Groundbreaking
Adaptation of the Jules Verne Classic Novel and "The
First Submarine Photoplay Ever Filmed"
Available
on Blu-ray and DVD July 28, 2020
Includes
audio commentary by film historian Anthony Slide and
musical score by Orlando Perez Rosso
"Fans
of the Silent Era will appreciate this impressive 4K restoration via the Kino
Blu-ray. I loved stepping back and time over 100-years to enjoy this adventure.
I hope you get the same pleasure." -- Gary Tooze, DVDBeaver
New
York, NY -- July 6, 2020 -- Kino Classics proudly announces the Blu-ray and DVD
release of the landmark 1916 silent version of Jules Verne's classic novel,
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, in a stunning new 4K restoration conducted by
Universal Pictures, with restoration from the 35mm nitrate print provided by
UCLA Film & Television Archive and restoration services provided by
NBCUniversal StudioPost.
Directed
by Stuart Paton and produced by Universal Pictures, 20,000 Leagues Under the
Sea was a groundbreaking production for its time, gaining much acclaim for its
pioneering use of the underwater photography process developed by Ernest and
George Williamson, making it one of the big-budget special effects epics of its
day and a screen classic that has endured over the last century since it was
first released.
20,000
Leagues Under the Sea will become available on Blu-ray and DVD July 28, with a
SRP of $29.95 for the Blu-ray and $19.95 for the DVD. This Kino Classics
edition includes a musical score by Orlando Perez Rosso, and features an
insightful audio commentary by noted silent film historian Anthony Slide.
Synopsis:
Stuart
Paton's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1916) is an epic retelling of Jules
Verne's classic novel, shot on location in the Bahaman Islands. Allen Holubar
stars as the domineering Captain Nemo, who rescues the passengers of an
American naval vessel after ramming them with his ironclad, steampunk
submarine, The Nautilus. Incorporating material from Verne's The Mysterious
Island, the film also follows the adventures of a group of Civil War soldiers
whose hot-air balloon crash-lands on an exotic island, where they encounter the
untamed "Child of Nature" (Jane Gail).
Calling
itself "The First Submarine Photoplay Ever Filmed," the film is
highlighted by stunning underwater photography (engineered by Ernest and George
Williamson), including an underwater funeral and a diver's battle with a giant
cephalopod. In honor of the film's extraordinary technical and artistic
achievement, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was added to the National Film
Registry by the Library of Congress.
20,000
Leagues Under the Sea (1916)
Blu-ray
and DVD Street Date: July 28, 2020
Director:
Stuart Paton
Starring:
Allen Holubar, Matt Moore, Edna Pendleton, Jane Gail, Howard Crampton
(In our new column, Author Insights, Cinema Retro periodically invites authors of film-related books to provide our readers with the background story relating to their latest publication.)
BY JIM NEMETH
It
Came From … The Stories and Novels Behind Classic Horror, Fantasy and Science
Fiction Films (Midnight Marquee Press) came about when I and my co-author, Bob
Madison, started discussing the many movie classics that find their origins in
genre fiction. Both of us grew up loving science fiction, fantasy and horror
films. Like many genre movie buffs, we frequently sought out the books and
stories that influenced our favorite movies, often surprised (if not amazed) at
the differences. Though born in different states and a few, scant years apart,
our boyhoods were remarkably similar. Spending our youth on such Saturday night
television fare as Creature Features
and Thriller Theater, we made
imaginative quests into worlds very different from our own. Where I gravitated
toward supernatural fiction, Bob dug deeply into literary science fiction. Both
of us became devoted readers of genre fiction and then, later on, the history
of it. The love for movies, though, never wavered.
Over the years, when
considering cinema reference books, particularly those covering films within
the horror, science fiction and fantasy genres adapted from other mediums, we
found scant attention paid to the literary sources. It’s frustrating to pore
through a reference book and find little more concerning the inspiration behind
such films than the credit one finds in the film: “Based on the novel XXXXX, by so-and-so.â€
And so, It
Came From… was born.
The book consists of 21 essays covering
everything from Willie Wonka and the
Chocolate Factory to Planet of the
Apes to, of course, Psycho. In
the essays we shine a deserved spotlight on the authors and screenwriters,
detail the many challenges found in adaptation, and outline why some films do
it better than others. For clarity’s sake, we break the films into three categories—horror,
fantasy, science fiction—and then simply list them chronologically. Each
chapter is the sole work of one of the authors, with the ringer being special
chapters devoted to Dracula and the Frankenstein Monster, where we both delve
into not just one, but several of the best, worst, and most popular of their
cinematic incarnations.
The initial dream for this
volume was a comprehensive history that traced and compared films adapted from
other material back to its origins. But such was not to be! The number of
science fiction, fantasy and horror films that are adaptations from other media
are so varied and repetitive that the challenge was confining ourselves to just
a handful of favorite films. And even here, we deliberately excluded—with a
handful of exceptions—high-profile obvious choices such as The Shining and 2001: A Space
Odyssey, in favor of films that are underserved in genre criticism. But, as
should be obvious to any fan of cinema—sequels happen. Perhaps one day in the
future we will tackle our remaining favorites.
Meanwhile, we hope readers
will sit back, dim the lights a bit and enjoy. And just ignore those pesky
moans coming from under your bed and the scratching sounds you hear from inside
the walls…
It may be hard to believe in our era of sweeping worldwide populist movements, but there was a time when movie-goers adored fairy tale-like comedies centered on the impossibly rich. The genre made it possible for an entire generation of British actors and actresses to shine and few had shone so brightly as Rex Harrison, who was seemingly born with a crystal wine goblet in his hand. Harrison and his wife at the time, acclaimed comedy star Kay Kendall, top-line director Vincente Minnelli's 1958 film adaption of playwright William Douglas Home's hit Broadway farce "The Reluctant Debutante", retaining Home's services to write the screenplay. The film is veddy, veddy British in tone and style to the extent that non-Brits may find some of the dialogue, delivered with machine gun rapidity, hard to decipher. Ironically, this most British of stories was shot in Paris due to Harrison's status at the time as a tax exile. Reviewing the film in the New York Times, A.H. Weiler described it as "thin and boneless but nonetheless giddy and diverting." That description remains apt, though the movie is dated in style and content.
Harrison and Kendall play Jim and Sheila Broadbent, better known as Lord and Lady Broadbent, who are nervously awaiting the arrival from America of 17 year-old Jane (Sandra Dee), Jim's daughter from a previous marriage, who is making her first trip to London to meet her new stepmother. Jane has been invited by Sheila to arrive in "The Season", a term used by the lifted pinky crowd to describe the time of year when young women are formally introduced to society through an elaborate Cinderella-like ball that each family must hold. Jane, whose American background and upbringing is at odds with such pretentious spectacles, is a reluctant participant but she gets on with Sheila so well that she goes through the motions of being enthused about fitting in with the snobs who are now surrounding her. Sheila wants to match her with David Fenner (an amusing Peter Myers), who holds a revered position as a member of the Queen's Horse Guards. The fact that he's an obnoxious lecher doesn't matter because he's well-connected. However, Jane rebuffs his crude advances and finds herself falling for another American, David Parkson (John Saxon), who is a humble drummer in an orchestra that performs at some of the balls. Sheila is appalled that she has eyes for a commoner but her father is more accepting, as he finds he likes the young man's unpretentious nature. In such fables, there's little doubt who Jane will end up with, but there are some amusing moments as the film gravitates towards the inevitable.
Director Minnelli has kept true to the production's origins as a play, eschewing any exteriors except for some brief second unit footage over the opening credits. This strategy tends to wear thin, however, as it becomes a bit monotonous watching the same characters saunter through the same rooms, opening bottles of wine and champagne, surreptitiously snooping on young lovers or bickering about love and marriage. The saving grace is the fine cast with Harrison and Kendall in top form, the former always cool and collected and the latter in a constant state of panic. (Tragically, Kendall would pass away the following year from cancer.) Angela Lansbury pops up briefly in an amusing role as a nosy, intrusive matchmaker. In films of this type, everyone seems older on screen than they were in real life, partly because of the styles and social customs of the era. Kay Kendall was only 32 at the time of filming and Sandra Dee, astonishingly, was going on 15 years-old. Although the movie was probably a bit edgy for a comedy in 1958 because of its watered-down references to premarital sex, it's rather disturbing to realize that a young woman's character was primarily defined by her ability to remain a virgin while young men were given free rein to "play the field".
The movie isn't quite a top notch comedy but it's consistently pleasurable enough to merit viewing, even if the protagonists engage in the kind of elitist behavior that inspired the peasants to storm the Bastille. The Warner Archive region-free Blu-ray looks terrific and does justice to the opulent production values that are presented during the grand ball scenes. The original trailer is also included.
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Cinema Retro has received the following press release from Kino Classics:
New
York, NY -- July 9, 2020 -- Kino Classics is proud to announce the Blu-ray and
DVD releases of two pioneering films in the history of Queer cinema: Reinhold
Schünzel's dazzling romantic musical Victor and Victoria (1933), and Leontine
Sagan's landmark of lesbian cinema Mädchen in Uniform (1931). Both films have
been restored by the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung.
Kino
Lorber released both of these important films (along with Carl Theodor Dreyer's
1924 silent classic Michael) as part of the "Pioneers of Queer
Cinema" virtual cinema program on Kino Marquee for Pride Month.
Victoria
and Victoria (1933) is now available on Blu-ray and DVD. The Blu-ray and DVD
feature audio commentary by film historian Gaylyn Studlar.
In
this dazzling musical romance, a young woman (Renate Müller), unable to find
work as a music hall singer, partners with a down-and-out thespian (Hermann Thimig)
to revamp her act. Pretending to be a man performing in drag, Victoria becomes
the toast of the international stage. But she soon finds that her playful
bending of genders enmeshes her personal and professional life in a tangle of
unexpected complications. Produced in the final days of the Weimar Republic,
Victor and Victoria received limited exposure in the United States, and is
today best known by Blake Edwards’s 1982 remake and the 1995 Broadway
production. Viewers will be delighted to discover that the original is every
bit as charming and outrageous, reminiscent of the sly sex comedies of Ernst
Lubitsch and Billy Wilder.
Directed
by Reinhold Schünzel
Starring:
Renate Müller, Hermann Thimig, Friedel Pisetta, Fritz Odemar, Aribert Wäscher,
Adolf Wohlbrück
Blu-ray
and DVD Street Date: Now Available
1933
| Germany | B&W | 99 Min. | Not Rated | 1920x1080p (1.20:1) | German with
English subtitles
Mädchen
in Uniform (1931) will be available on Blu-ray and DVD July 14, 2020, and
includes audio commentary by film historian Jenni Olson.
As
a new student at an all-girls boarding school, Manuela falls in love with the
compassionate teacher Fräulein von Bernburg, and her feelings are requited.
Experiencing her first love, lonely Manuela also discovers the complexities
that come with an illicit romance. This artfully composed landmark of lesbian
cinema – and an important anti-fascist film – was the first of just three films
directed by Leontine Sagan.
Sean Connery fans will be delighted that his 1957 film "Action of the Tiger" finally gets an official video release in America through the new Warner Archive Blu-ray. Although Connery only makes a few fleeting appearances in the movie, it did allow him to work with director Terence Young. The two men would be reunited in 1962 for the first James Bond film, "Dr. No". Young initially opposed the choice of Connery for the role Bond, feeling he was too inexperienced and unsophisticated. However, the two men worked well together and Connery would later credit Young for acting as a mentor and giving him personal instructions about how to properly dress and dine. There's no indication of Connery's future star power in "Action of the Tiger", largely due to his limited screen time, but the film itself is an above-average "B" movie starring Van Johnson, who made the movie under the auspices of his own production company. Johnson, who specialized in playing urbane romantic leads, was obviously trying to toughen up his screen image by taking on the role of Carson, an independent sea captain and adventurer who sails in European waters with his first mate Mike (Sean Connery). Carson is approached by a fetching blonde, Tracy Malvoise (Martine Carol), who offers him a great deal of money to induce him to take her on a dangerous mission: enter Communist Albania to rescue her brother, a political dissident who is being held captive. Initially reluctant, Carson finally agrees, as Carol assures him she has contacts in Albania who will help effect the escape. Mike drops them off on the coast and receives instructions to pick them up again when he sees Carson flash a signal from the shore in a couple of day's time. Things go awry quickly. When they meet Tracy's brother, they discover he has gone blind. Through various plot devices, Carson not only has to guide him back to the ship, but finds he is also taking a group of desperate refugee children. They are being pursued by a brutal security officer played by Anthony Dawson, who would also go on to appear in "Dr. No" as the Spectre agent Professor Dent. Along the way, they are saved by Trifon (Herbert Lom), the larger-than-life leader of a tribe of bandits. However, the price of his benevolence is that Tracy must stay on as his wife.
"Action of the Tiger" is a Cold War thriller based on the novel by James Wellard. The film is consistently entertaining and benefits from some exotic location scenery, mostly filmed in Spain. The film is nicely photographed in CinemaScope by Desmond Dickinson. Terence Young's direction is assured and he handles the action sequences especially well. If there is a weak link in the movie, ironically, it is Van Johnson as the leading man. He's adequate in the role, but he is essentially miscast in a part that would have suited the likes of Humphrey Bogart or Robert Mitchum very well. You can see Johnson straining to emulate the tough guys seen in similarly-themed films and he doesn't entirely pull it off, as I still kept imagining him more comfortable in a designer suit, sipping cocktails at the Waldorf. Martine Carol is quite good as the feisty, courageous catalyst of the adventure, though she is made up to look like a clone of Lana Turner and somehow manages to keep perfectly coiffed even while hiking across deserts and mountains. The scene-stealer is Herbert Lom as the tribal leader. He gives a delightful performance as a likable rogue. Sean Connery's appearances bookend the film and his only notable scene occurs when he tries to drunkenly assault Carol.
The region-free Warner Archive Blu-ray is up to the company's usual high standards, with an outstanding transfer. The release also includes the original trailer, which is amusingly in line with others of the era in that it boasts bombastic graphics and narration. Recommended.
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There are times I wish my failing memory could serve me
better, and here’s one example.I have a
vague memory of staying up one night – circa 1980, I guess - to catch Roger
Moore on one of those late night talk-shows.I was a huge James Bond fan and, as such, always desperate to mine any
news, no matter how trivial, on any upcoming oo7 adventure.This was, of course, in the pre-internet era
when insider information was relatively scarce outside of a morsel or two
shared in fanzine or with a subscription to Variety.(As an aside, today I often wish there was less information available when a film
is still in still production).In any
event, don’t recall if Moore shared any information that night on the next
scheduled Bond opus For Your Eyes Only
(1981). I do clearly recall him
discussing Andrew V. McLaglen’s ffolkes
(better known in the United Kingdom, where the film was originally released, as
North Sea Hijack).
In this new suspense-thriller Moore shared he would
co-star with actors James Mason and Anthony Perkins.That night Moore attempted a small joke,
first noting – factually - that the film was based on a Jack Davies novel
titled Esther, Ruth and Jennifer.He explained that Universal had – perhaps understandably
- balked on putting the film out under that title.This original title was, to be fair, a film publicist’s
nightmare.The former Saint reasoned
(and I’m paraphrasing here), “Could anyone imagine the promotional posters and newspaper
advertisements:“Roger Moore, James
Mason and Anthony Perkins in Esther, Ruth
and Jennifer?â€Well, Moore’s joke
got a laugh that night, anyway.Decades
later Moore would recall in his memoir that Universal actually balked as they
thought the original Davies title sounded “too biblical.â€Moore, never one to waste a punchline, would
recall in his memoir, “I’ve yet to come across a Jennifer in the Bible.â€
Whether you prefer the title ffolkes or North Sea Hijack,
the story was, as discussed, based on the Davies’ novel Esther, Ruth and Jennifer (W.H. Allen, 1979, UK).Davies was actually somewhat new to novel
writing, though his earlier novel involving terrorism, Paper Tiger (W.H. Allen, 1974, UK) was subsequently turned into a
film in 1975 film starring David Niven and Toshiro Mifune.Davies seems to have turned to the craft of
writing novels in the latter years of his life, though he had been steadily
employed as a writer during most of his 80 years.He had churned out dozens upon dozens of
screenplays from the mid-1930s through the very end of the 1960s and even a bit
beyond that.As a child I was already
familiar with two of the slapstick comedies he co-penned, though I certainly
wasn’t aware of his contributions at the time.But we of a certain age will certainly recall with fondness Those Magnificent Men in their Flying
Machines (1965) (for which Davies and co-writer Ken Annakin would receive Academy
Award nominations) and Those Daring Young
Men in their Jaunty Jalopies (1969).
Brought onto the project to direct the ffolkes project was Andrew V. McLaglen
who too boasted an impressive resume of directorial duties (having already steered
a dizzying amount of television westerns and contributing to such touchstone
dramas as Perry Mason).He had grown up immersed in the ways of Hollywood’s
film industry.His father, Victor
McLaglen, was a celebrated feature film actor, having long been a favorite casting
choice for the great John Ford.Indeed, McLaglen,
the elder, would go on to win the “Best Actor in a Leading Role†Oscar for Ford’s
1935 film The Informer.McLaglen, the son, would learn nearly every
aspect of the trade from an early age, starting out as an actor but finding
himself more comfortable on the other side of the camera - often working as a
director’s assistant or principal director. Though he had been especially
involved in television work in the 1950s through 1965, he decided to try his
hand at feature filmmaking.He did so
for a decade or more with mostly modest to mixed success.
He returned to television work in the mid-1970s until
1977 when he signed on to direct a number of internationally financed features which
would include the three films for which he is probably best remembered, at
least among devotees of action films:The Wild Geese (1978), ffolkes (1980) and The Sea Wolves (1980).This
trio of old-school filmmaking would, not coincidentally, feature a number of aging
Hollywood stars.These were the actors
who were no longer the hottest of commodities at the box office but were still
well-respected and loved by generations of filmgoers: Richard Burton, Richard
Harris, Stewart Granger, James Mason, Anthony Perkins, and Gregory Peck to name
a few.The connecting thread to all
three of these films was, of course, Roger Moore whose big-screen career had
re-blossomed since the 1972 announcement of his being cast as the new James
Bond.
Moore’s Rufus Excalibur ffolkes was the antithesis to the
womanizing character he was usually tasked to play.An ex-Navy man, the often pompous – and
bearded - ffolkes resided in a small castle just off the coast of Scotland,
(Ireland, in reality).It was there he would
exhaustively train a small hand-chosen band of elite commandos – dubbed “ffolkes
fusiliers†– in the art of counter-terrorism.The hard scotch whiskey-drinking ffolkes professed a distinct chauvinistic
distaste for woman (there’s an offhanded reference such animosity was the
result of a failed marriage).He only
expressed warmth, kindness and tenderness to his pet cats to whom he was doting
and devoted.He also puzzled several colleagues
– as it’s so out of character – when he would, on occasion, pull out a
needlework canvas that he allowed he’d been working on for some “seventeen
years.â€When questioned about his
unusual hobby, he coldly responded in his usual misanthropic manner, “It helps
me to think… providing people don’t talk to me.â€
His services are reluctantly activated when the British
government are informed that a band of terrorists, disguised as members of the
international press, have taken control of the Esther, a Norwegian supply ship charged with ferrying parts to two
deep-sea ports-of-call:the drilling rig
Ruth, and the production platform Jennifer, the latter platform of which
sits in the North Sea and produces 300,000 barrels of oil for the UK per
year.When the Esther reaches its destinations, the terrorists subsequently send
in a stealth scuba team to plant limpet mines on the bases of both Ruth and Jennifer.The group’s unhinged
leader, Lou Kramer, played with convincing, unpredictable mania by Anthony
Perkins, is demanding the government pay him – within twenty-four hours - a
ransom of 25 million GBP in five different currencies to not go through with the detonation.The terrorist has assessed that such destruction would bring the economy
to the brink of ruin, cause an environmental catastrophe, and in doing so take
the lives of some seven hundred men working on the platforms.
The Warner Archive has released MGM's 1954 costume drama "Beau Brummell" on Blu-ray. The film had previously been made in 1924 starring John Barrymore as the real life 18th century British dandy whose name would go on to become synonymous with charismatic ladies men. The origins of both film versions had been the 1890 play by Clyde Fitch, which proved to be a popular production for actor Richard Mansfield. MGM had announced the film would be made in 1939 starring Robert Donat, but the onset of WWII put the project on hiatus. Plans to revive the film for Donat a few years later also fell through. Meanwhile, Kirk Douglas announced he would play Brummell in a movie titled "Beau" but this never came to fruition, either. Perhaps MGM could have viewed these aborted plans to bring the character back to the big screen as cautionary warnings, but instead the studio spent a bundle on the lavish color production which was filmed entirely in England at a variety of historic locations.
Stewart Granger plays the titular character and provides a delightful performance as a man who is driven by a passion to live a life of luxury and to be the toast of the town, so to speak. Through his charm, sarcastic wit and willingness to take on authoritative figures, he becomes the 18th century version of a pop culture sensation. When we first meet him, he is a respected officer in the British army on his way to an illustrious career. However, he dares to insult the Prince of Wales (Peter Ustinov), a vain, weak and childlike man who retaliates by stripping Brummell of his commission. Now destitute, Brummell and his loyal manservant Mortimer (James Hayter) continue to lives of privilege, even as the debts mount and the creditors threaten. Brummell's social status improves when the Prince unexpectedly reaches out to him and forms a close friendship. From Brummell's standpoint, it is an opportunistic way of making the weak heir-to-the-throne become reliant on his advice and counsel. Through the prince, Brummell becomes enamored of Lady Patricia (Elizabeth Taylor), who is alternately repulsed by his arrogance but also smitten by his self-assured demeanor. Brummell is determined to become her lover, despite the fact that she is engaged to Lord Edwin Mercer (James Donald), who is part of his social circle. Much of the film follows the "will she or won't she?" scenario regarding which man will ultimately prevail: the larger-than-life cad Brummell or the bland but noble-minded Mercer. Ultimately, when the Prince's father, King George III (Robert Morley) is removed from the throne because of mental disabilities, the Prince becomes king. However, a snarky remark by Brummell offends the new sovereign and results in a fracture to their friendship. Excluded from the royal court, Brummell is once again destitute and moves to France where he is stricken by a severe illness. In his final days, he is visited unexpectedly by the king and the two men share a sentimental reconciliation, thus allowing Brummell to die in peace.
"Beau Brummell" was promoted as an epic film by MGM, but aside from some occasionally impressive locations, most of the action unfolds on studio sets. The film was criticized for adhering too stringently to its origins as a stage production. It has also been slighted for being dull, as there are literally no action scenes at all. However, the film does possess plenty of sparkling dialogue, as Brummell dispenses bon mots and double entendres with equal abandon. Yet, it wasn't enough to salvage the production from a dire fate. Even a Royal Command Performance for Queen Elizabeth backfired when Her Majesty told her intimates that she didn't like the movie and, in fact, wrote to Winston Churchill that she resented seeing her ancestors depicted in such a clownish manner. Audiences were disappointed, too. Stewart Granger had found recent success as a man of action on screen in swashbucklers like "Scaramouche" and "The Prisoner of Zenda". Although he cuts a dashing figure as Beau Brummell, his fans didn't want to see him in drawing rooms matching wits with other snobby characters. Elizabeth Taylor, though stunningly beautiful, is largely wasted in an underwritten role and it falls to Peter Ustinov to steal the scenes through his marvelous performance as the manchild ruler of England. The movie has a pedestrian pace and at times it appears it exists to simply showcase the exquisite costumes and production design. It was also mocked for the sentimental ending that allowed for a tearjerker scenario to play out for what much of the story really is- a love story between two men. In fact, Brummell did die in poverty in France but the king never visited him there to reconcile their relationship for the simple fact that he predeceased Brummell by a decade. Despite all these flaws, I found the film to be consistently entertaining.
Recently
there was hue and cry about the new streaming service HBO Max and their
decision to remove the 1939 Oscar-winning classic Gone with the Wind
from their lineup because of its no-question-about-it racial stereotypes. While
the intention might be admirable, there is also the danger of destroying a part
of cultural history that should be studied and learned from, rather than
rendering it invisible. Besides, viewers have a choice to watch a movie,
unlike, say, gazing at a statue on public display that is there for all to see
no matter what.
Another
Hollywood classic from the same era that certainly falls into identical
“problem†areas is William Wyler’s Jezebel, which earned Bette Davis her
second Oscar, awarded supporting actress Fay Bainter a trophy, and was
nominated for Best Picture of 1938. It, too, is set in the antebellum south
(New Orleans, to be exact) a few years prior to the Civil War.
What
makes Jezebel a shockingly potent film for today is that a) its
protagonist, Julie Marsden (Davis) is the type of white-privileged, spoiled,
and arrogant young woman who would be called a “Karen†on today’s social media
for causing a scene in public; b) the obvious racial inequalities, which are
inevitable when dealing with stories of the time; and c) the pandemic of yellow
fever—“Yellow Jackâ€â€”is a rampant plot point, and we see many characters wearing
masks!
Jezebel
was
rushed into production by Warner Brothers due to the huge success of the
publication of Gone with the Wind and the furor over MGM’s preparations
of adapting it into a film. Bette Davis was offered the lead role in Jezebel
after it was clear that she wasn’t going to be cast as Scarlett O’Hara in Wind.
Thus, Jezebel capitalized on the interest in Wind and was
released 21 months earlier!
The
story in a nutshell: Julie is staying at the plantation of her Aunt Belle
(Bainter) to escape the yellow fever epidemic that has hit where she lives. She
has her eyes set on banker Preston Dillard (Henry Fonda), but she has no qualms
with leading on the more rakish Buck Cantrell (George Brent). After Julie
causes a scandal by wearing a red dress at a ball in which all virginal,
unmarried women wear only white, Preston drops her and goes north on business.
Upon his return, Julie is surprised that he’s brought with him a “Yankee†wife,
Amy (Margaret Lindsay). Julie continues her bad behavior, egging on Buck to
insult both Preston and Amy, which leads to tragic consequences. Meanwhile, the
pandemic is getting worse and the disease is encroaching on New Orleans—drastic
measures are being taken to contain the outbreak, and it’s not pretty.
The
cast is quite good. Bette Davis is indeed spectacular in the role, and her
Oscar win is justified. For a picture released in 1938, her performance
contains unusual subtlety and nuances that were not typically a component of
screen acting of the era. Fonda is his reliable self, a man of principle and
honor, and he always does that well. Brent is suitably smarmy and yet likable.
The production is well made—director William Wyler at the time was becoming one
of Hollywood’s stalwart filmmakers; this early success assured his place on the
road to greater heights.
The
picture’s treatment of African-American characters is exactly what one would
expect from a Hollywood movie about the south as seen through the prism of
1938. Eddie Anderson (“Rochester†on The Jack Benny Show) makes an
appearance as one of servants working for the family. It’s not indicated that
all the black people on the plantation are slaves, but that’s what they are. In
stereotypical Hollywood fashion, they are all “happy slaves,†and in fact they
gather one night for a ritual sing-a-long to Julie. Yes, the scene is cringe-worthy
today, but one must critique movies within the context of when they were made.
Julie’s
behavior in the story may be abominable by the standards of the society
portrayed in the film, but isn’t she just asserting her independence and feminism?
Perhaps. Still, she does some nasty things to the men around her. This may
cause some audiences to have trouble buying her sudden turn toward redemption
at the film’s end.
Warner
Archive’s new Blu-ray edition looks marvelous. As a straight port-over in high
definition from the original DVD release, the feature comes with an audio
commentary by film historian Jeanine Basinger. Supplements include a featurette
on the making of the movie, a vintage musical short with Jimmy Dorsey and his
Orchestra, a vintage cartoon (“Daffy Duck in Hollywood,†one of the greatest!),
a promotional featurette with Davis on the Warners lot, and the theatrical
trailer.
If
you’re a Bette Davis fan, or an aficionado of classic William Wyler and/or
Hollywood fare, then Jezebel is for you. It does act as a time capsule
for a certain era in Tinsel Town, and for that alone it is a fascinating relic.
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The Warner Archive has released the 1965 film adaptation of Agatha Christie's oft-filmed Ten Little Indians. It's hard to imagine that the scenario of a disparate group of exotic strangers being summoned to a chateau by a mysterious host once seemed like a fresh concept. Certainly, the concept already had moss on it when this film was made. However, there is something timeless and intriguing about such a story line, primarily because it generally affords a star-studded cast to interact. There are no superstars in this European version of the story, but the movie is packed with wonderful actors. This time around, the individuals are invited to an opulent chalet atop a snow-covered mountain top, accessible only by cable car. (The location is never specified, but the exteriors were filmed in Austria and the interiors were shot in Ireland.) The victims-to-be include square-jawed American hero Hugh O'Brian, sexy Brit Shirley Eaton, fresh frommaking a sensation in Goldfinger, exotic Israeli actress Daliah Lavi, one-time teen idol Fabian, Swiss actor Mario Adorf, German actress Marianne Hoppe and a wonderful array of great British character actors: Wilfred Hyde-White, Leo Genn, Dennis Price and Stanley Holloway. Each of these people has a secret they are hiding and all are accused of being responsible for the death of an innocent person by their unseen "host" Mr. Owen (the voice of an uncredited Christopher Lee). The crisply-photographed B&W production evolves predictably under the competent, if unexciting direction of George Pollock, who had helmed the hit Miss Marple films starring Margaret Rutherford. The film is more serious in tone than those popular mysteries, but there is still a good deal of witty byplay as the diverse people try to find out what secrets their companions are shamefully hiding. The gimmick of murdering them off one by one revolves around the old Ten Little Indians children's rhyme. There are also some decorative figurines of Indian braves that adorn the dining hall and one of them vanishes each time a person is killed. In the time-worn tradition of such thrillers, as the group is reduced in size, they vow to all stay together in the same room. This logical solution to thwarting the murderer among them is dispensed with regularly, as the women saunter off into dark basements and up ominous staircases to investigate strange noises.
The film is curiously lacking in any genuine suspense, but it's glorious to revel in the sight of some legendary British actors trying to upstage and outwit each other in this deadly cat-and- mouse game. The story is consistently entertaining and the star power is more impressive today than it was back in the day. The climax of the film is surprising, if a bit of a stretch. It's all accompanied by a hip jazz score by Malcolm Lockyer that sometimes seems a too jaunty and upbeat for a tale revolving around serial murders. For sex appeal, O'Brian gets to walk around shirtless while Eaton has two (count 'em, two) opportunities to strip down to her bra and panties, reminding us why her early retirement from the film industry deprived young men of countless unrealized fantasies.
The Warner Archive region-free DVD is a crisp, clean transfer with only a few minor artifacts evident. There are some nice bonus features including a "Who-dunnit" gimmick that was obviously inserted into some prints of the film before the real murderer is revealed. The angle is worthy of an old William Castle horror flick as bombastic graphics and film clips are used to remind viewers of who was murdered and how they met their demise. The clip challenges them to take this 60 second slot to discuss with other audience members who they feel the culprit is. It's a hokey, but wonderful touch. There are also trailers for this movie and the Miss Marple films, as well. In all, an irresistible treat.
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Here’s
an interesting lesson in filmmaking. Students of the art might learn something
by watching the two different cuts of this motion picture to see what happens
when a movie is edited down—especially when the original was made by bona fide artists
as opposed to a slick Hollywood producer who, albeit successful, might not
know everything.
David
O. Selznick was a powerhouse producer and head of his own personal studio (he
had, after all, produced Gone with the Wind, Rebecca, Spellbound,
and many other Hollywood classics). “The Archers†were a unique British directing/writing/producing
team and production company that consisted of the brilliant Michael Powell and
Emeric Pressburger, who, for a solid decade, delivered some of the most
engaging and beautifully-rendered works of cinematic art in the 20th Century.
It is true that Powell and Pressburger were perhaps not as appreciated during
their time as they should have been, but their work has been re-evaluated and
newly appraised (by the likes of filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese, among
others). Nevertheless, today there is no debating that The Archers made a
handful of masterpieces between 1941 and 1951, including The Life and Death
of Colonel Blimp, A Matter of Life and Death, Black Narcissus,
and The Red Shoes.
In
1950, Powell and Pressburger teamed up with American producer Selznick to make Gone
to Earth, which was based on the 1917 novel by Mary Webb. The story takes
place in the country-lands between England and Wales in the late 1800s, thereby
automatically opening it up to scenic beauty and a cinematographer’s dream. Gone
to Earth stars Selznick’s then-wife, Jennifer Jones, as Hazel, a
free-spirited, unsophisticated and superstitious “nature girl†who has an
affinity with all animals (except, significantly, dogs) and especially a wild
young fox, “Foxy,†that she keeps as a pet.
Edward
Marston (Cyril Cusack) is a Baptist minister new to the nearby village, and he
immediately becomes smitten with Hazel. She reluctantly agrees to marry him,
even though she has already met and is intrigued by the arrogant, handsome, and
wealthy squire Jack Reddin (David Farrar), who lives in quite the palace-like
manor, complete with a feisty servant (Hugh Griffith). Oddly, it’s implied that
Edward does not consummate the marriage with Hazel. It isn’t long before she
runs off to engage in (again, it’s implied) carnal passion with Jack. As
expected, things don’t turn out well for Hazel.
The
plot of Gone to Earth might remind viewers of David Lean’s Ryan’s
Daughter, which was released twenty years later. What the earlier film has
going for it is Jones, who is splendid—despite being slightly miscast, in this
reviewer’s opinion—and the gorgeous Technicolor photography by Christopher
Challis. This is a “mood picture,†in that it’s really all about the setting,
the period, and the attitudes of the characters rather than the story.
Enter
Selznick. He did to Gone to Earth what he did to Vittorio De Sica’s Terminal
Station three years later. This Italian production, directed by the great
Neo-Realist filmmaker and produced by Selznick, also starred Jennifer Jones
(see the Cinema Retro review here). Selznick didn’t like
the original film, but he had the right to recut it for the American release,
which he did, turning the picture into Indiscretion of an American Wife
against De Sica’s wishes.
With
Gone to Earth, Selznick also infuriated the original filmmakers by deleting
nearly a half hour from the 110-minute running time, adding “Overture†and
“Exit Music†title cards and music, and even having shot a couple of new scenes
(directed by uncredited Rouben Mamoulian). Selznick released the new version as
The Wild Heart in the USA in 1952.
Neither
version did very well financially or critically in their respective releases at
the time, although Powell and Pressburger’s original Gone to Earth, like
all The Archers’ movies,has received considerable reassessment and
acclaim.
Kino
Lorber’s new Blu-ray edition presents both pictures in glorious,
colorful restorations, with The Wild Heart as its main feature, and Gone
to Earth as a supplemental attraction. The former exhibits the better
transfer, with clear, sharp imagery. The latter is almost as good, but it is
obvious that it came from different source material. There are English
subtitles for the hearing impaired. Each film sports an audio commentary—The
Wild Heart by film historian Troy Howarth and Gone to Earth by film
historian Samm Deighan. Other trailers featuring actress Jones round out the
package.
Gone
to Earth was
the second-to-last production by Powell and Pressburger working together. It’s
not in the top tier of their pictures, to be sure, but it’s still a worthwhile
and fascinating pastoral meditation on life in Britain in those days. The
Wild Heart serves as another example of Hollywood meddling, but an
interesting study piece for filmmakers and editors.
William
Holden commands a newly formed commando group in “The Devil’s Brigade,â€
available by Kino Lorber on Blu-ray. On the heels of the successful “The Dirty
Dozen†from the previous year, “The Devil’s Brigade†is based on the 1966 book
by Robert H. Adleman and Colonel George Walton. It chronicles the true events
of the 1st Special Service, a joint American and Canadian commando unit
assigned to the United States Fifth Army. Inspired by true events, the movie
follows the standard tropes of this type of action adventure men- at -war movie.
A rag-tag group of soldiers are brought together for a mission, they initially
mistrust each other, get into a fight, train together, get into another fight
this time working together against another group, graduate from their training
and then deploy on their mission to fight the enemy (usually Germans, Italians
or Japanese). I recall seeing this for the first time on American broadcast
television with commercials advertising “The American misfits and the proud
Canadians…†The commando group starts training at an American base where the
two groups learn to work as a single unit. The action switches to German
occupied Italy in the second half as they battle the Germans in close combat
action sequences.
The
movie features a “Hollywood Who’s Who†cast of leading men and character actors:
William Holden as Lt. Colonel Robert T. Frederick, the commander of the unit.
Cliff Robertson as the Canadian commander, Major Alan Crown. Vince Edwards as
the American commander, Major Cliff Bricker. The supporting cast gets even better with the
American misfits and proud Canadians portrayed by: Claude Akins as Private
Rocky Rockman, Richard Jaeckel as Private Omar Creco, Andrew Prine as Private
Theodore Ransom, Richard Dawson as Private Hugh MacDonald, Luke Askew as
Private Hubert Hixon, Tom Troup as Private Al Manella, Jeremy Slate as Sergeant
Pat O’Neill, Jack Watson as Corporal Peacock, Harry Carey Jr. as Captain Rose,
Michael Rennie as Lt. General Mark Clark, Carroll O’Connor as Major General
Maxwell Hunter, Dana Andrews as Brig. General Walter Naylor, Michael Rennie as
Lt. General Mark Clark, stunt man and future director Hal Needham as a sergeant.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Karl-Otto Alberty as the German officer interrogating
Claude Akins. Fans of retro classics will remember him as the German tank
commander in “Kelly’s Heroes†and the German officer who captures Richard
Attenborough in “The Great Escape†and orders, “Hands UP!â€
Holden
give a stoic, yet one-dimensional, performance as the commander. This is a year prior to his iconic performance as Pike in Sam Peckinpah’s classic “The
Wild Bunch†in 1969. While “The Devil’s Brigade†is not as highly regarded as
that movie, or even “The Dirty Dozen,†it stands on its own as a minor classic
in the genre. Richard Jaeckel steals every scene he appears in. Cliff Robertson
is terrific as the Canadian commander, just a year away from his Academy Award-winning
performance in “Charly.†Vince Edwards was transitioning back to the big screen following his run on television in “Ben Caseyâ€
which was a very popular series in the first half of the 1960s. However, the abundant cast makes it difficult
for anyone to really stand out as the face behind this movie, as Lee Marvin did
in “The Dirty Dozen.â€
Director Andrew V. McLaglen and William Holden on location in Utah. (Cinema Retro archives.)
Directed
by Andrew V. McLaglen, a veteran director of many popular movies, the film
looks and sounds terrific and clocks in at 130 minutes. Released in May 1968 by
United Artists, it was filmed in widescreen Panavision on location in Utah. The
Utah location doubles for the training base during the first half of the film and
some of the action when the brigade get to Italy in the second half. From the
appearance of the buildings, it appears to have been filmed on an active military
base in Utah. The buildings look live in and may have been left standing from
the WWII period, which was not uncommon. Much of the second half was filmed on
location in Italy in actual WWII battle locations, using much of the same
armaments used in countless other WWII-themed movies filmed in the 60s and 70s.
The production value in the location filming really elevates this movie. Look
through the windows in the interior scenes during the first half of the movie
and you’ll notice that McLaglen ensures there is stuff going on outside, making
the location come alive.
Unfortunately,
the movie was not a major hit during its initial release. Subsequent broadcast
television, cable TV and home video releases have elevated its status over the
years as a solid action adventure movie. The film is often compared to “The
Dirty Dozen†which came out the previous year. There are definite similarities
and this may have been part of the movie’s shortfall a the boxoffice. Also, the
Vietnam War was raging and military movies were falling out of favor. It’s hard
to know for certain, as movie audiences can be fickle. However, the “men on an
impossible mission†genre remains popular to this day.
The
Kino Lorber Blu-ray comes with an audio commentary by film historians Steve
Mitchell and Steven Jay Rubin. The commentary is an entertaining trivia and Mitchell and Rubin know their stuff when it comes
to military movies. Rubin is an expert on the various armaments used in the
film and has a knack for identifying Hollywood military weapon sound effects
and the differences between the studio libraries. The audio commentary is
compelling enough to justify watching the Blu-ray twice. The other extras are
the trailer for this and other Kino Lorber Blu-ray titles.
There’s
no question that the 1966 film adaptation of Edward Albee’s 1962 Tony-winning
play, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, is one of the most important and
influential motion pictures of the 1960s. It not only showcased four
superlative acting performances, a jaw-dropping impressive directorial debut
(by Mike Nichols), brilliant black and white cinematography and editing, but it
also changed the Hollywood movie industry.
By
the mid-60s, the archaic Production Code, which had been in force since July
1934, was in its death throes. When Otto Preminger began releasing titles in
the 1950s without the Production Code Seal of Approval (The Moon is Blue,
The Man with the Golden Arm, Anatomy of a Murder), he proved to
the powers-that-be that the Code was not infallible. Then along came such fare
as Psycho, Lolita, and The Pawnbroker in the early 60s, and
it was clear that the American public wanted to see more “adult†pictures.
The times-they-were-a-changing. By 1966, the Code was all but demolished, and
Jack Valenti was appointed the head of the MPAA. As Valenti states in one of
the documentary supplements on the Warner Archive Blu-ray release of Virginia
Woolf, he had already begun thinking about implementing the movie ratings
system (which would launch in late 1968) because he, too, felt that America
could handle subjects for mature audiences.
Albee’s
Broadway play was shocking for its language—curse words galore—and its frank
sexual implications. Its portrayal of a failed marriage perhaps mirrored many
such unions across middle-class USA, and this alone made the material
controversial. Jack Warner, in a canny move, must have seen the way of the future
and bought the film rights early on. It was another four years before the
picture was made, but he allowed it to be adapted faithfully, with most of the
dialogue intact, and with top-notch talent involved in every aspect of the
production.
The
great Ernest Lehman was hired to adapt the play, but he made it a condition of
his employment that he also be made producer. Warner agreed. Lehman wanted
Elizabeth Taylor to play Martha, and this casting choice raised eyebrows.
Taylor was 20 years too young and had so far not shown anything near the
dramatic chops required to play the demanding role. Taylor, in turn, insisted
that her husband at the time, Richard Burton, portray George. The two
supporting roles of Nick and Honey were filled out by George Segal and Sandy
Dennis (her second film appearance), and this quartet has proven to be one of
the most successful casting coups in cinema history.
George
and Martha are in their fifties—he an associate professor at a New England
college and she the daughter of the college president. Perhaps their marriage
was one of convenience and career-making years earlier, but now it is bitter,
cruel, and spiteful. One late night after a faculty party, they return home,
drunk, and Martha reveals she has invited another couple, Nick and Honey—he a young
and handsome professor at the college and she an introverted housewife—to stop
by for more drinks. Once the quartet is together, the games begin. These are
psychological battles of emotional will which begin between George and Martha,
but soon envelope Nick and Honey. Secrets emerge. Lives are shattered. The dark
underbelly of love and marriage is upended and revealed for all to see.
It
doesn’t sound like a good time at the movies, does it? Forget it! This is
riveting stuff. The acting alone is so astonishingly good that you will hang on
to every line of dialogue. Haskell Wexler’s Oscar-winning black and white cinematography
(the last year this category was utilized) brings the audience up close and
personal in such a way that the film version may very well be more effective
than the stage play. Virginia Woolf ended up being nominated for
thirteen Academy Awards and in every category for which it was eligible,
including Best Picture, Director, and Adapted Screenplay, and all four actors received
nods in their respective slots. Taylor and Dennis won in their categories
(Actress and Supporting Actress). The crime, however, is that Richard Burton
did not win. While Paul Scofield was brilliant in A Man for All Seasons,
Burton’s performance is generally considered by many critics to be the actor’s
career-best (all of the talking heads in the supplemental documentaries are of
this opinion, including Albee, critic Richard Schickel, and Wexler.)
The
Warner Archive Blu-ray is a port-over from the “Special Edition†2-disk
anniversary DVD that came out four years ago. The high definition remastering
looks gorgeous, and it comes with two audio commentaries: one with DP Wexler,
and the other with Nichols and filmmaker Steven Soderbergh. The extensive
supplements (not in high definition) include an hour long TV special from 1975
about Elizabeth Taylor’s career; a vintage interview with Nichols; Sandy
Dennis’ screen tests; two featurettes on the making of the film and its impact
on the industry; and the theatrical trailer.
Who’s
Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a powerful punch to the gut. It may be a rough ride,
but it’s a thoroughly engrossing one, and you’ll come out on the other side
enlightened. Highly recommended.
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When famed
producer and former gangster character actor Sheldon Leonard saw the failed television
sitcom pilot “Head of the Family,†which was based on Carl Reiner’s experience
as a writer and performer for Sid Caesar’s “Your Show of Shows†and “Caesar’s
Hourâ€, he immediately saw its brilliance and potential. He said to creator and star Carl Reiner, who
would become his producing partner, in his distinctive tough guy voice, “We’ll
get a better actor to play you.â€That
actor became the lead in the show whose name became the new title. “The Dick Van Dyke Showâ€, now a classic
sitcom, with Carl as writer, producer, show runner, and co-star, has become a
touchstone for everything that followed and is one of Carl’s many masterpieces.
He also launched the career of the
legendary Mary Tyler Moore.
Outside of “The
Dick Van Dyke Showâ€, there was no better actor to play Carl Reiner than Carl
Reiner.For decades, he was a performer,
comedian, writer, director, host, friend and mentor to many, including
myself.Everything he did was done with
excellence, hard work, and style.He
never phoned it in.Anytime you saw him,
he was smart, witty, warm, engaging and playing his A-plus game.
I got to meet Carl
through my work with Sid Caesar. He was always available, helpful and
insightful.At every one of the many
dinner parties held during the last two years of Sid Caesar’s life, Carl would
grab me by the arm and pull me over to a corner of the room, sit down with me
and say, “Catch me up on what’s going on in your life.â€He was eager to offer advice and insight as
both teacher and friend. He loved that I
taught about him in college classes.He
would have appreciated the emails I got just today from former students
commiserating with me over his passing, but more importantly, thanking me for
introducing them to Carl Reiner’s genius.
At one dinner
party, he walked in the front door with Mel Brooks, his lifelong best friend
and partner in comedy, holding a souvenir mug he had recently received from the
Broadway show “Old Jews Telling Jokes.â€After
dinner, he passed the mug around, with the proviso that anyone who held the mug
had to tell an old Jewish joke.From Mel
Brooks, to Dick Van Dyke, Monty Hall, Renee Taylor, Joe Bologna, Estelle
Harris, Richard Lewis, and Jeff Ross, everyone told a joke.It was a glorious and rare evening.
When Sid passed,
his daughter Karen asked me if I wanted any of his personal possessions as a
remembrance.I immediately chose the
mug.To me, it was a priceless symbol
of how to bring people together in a creative, joyful way. It has become one my prized possessions
because it represents Carl’s greatest gift and a character quality for everyone
to aspire to.
Over the years,
Carl would reach out to me if he needed a film clip, or had a quick comedy history
question.Voicemails would start with, “Eddy,
I don’t know if you remember me, but this is Carl Reiner.â€I would call him back and say, “Carl, I think
about you almost every day, and I just saw you two weeks ago.How could I not remember you?â€His grounding was a lesson on how to comport
yourself in life, with dignity and humility.
He was a
consummate professional who still got nervous before every show.That anxiety is what made him amazing almost
80 years later. I had the privilege of producing
and moderating The Sid Caesar Tribute at The Paley Center in 2014, with Carl,
Mel, and Billy Crystal (I can’t think of any other instance where Billy Crystal
would be third on a list).
When Carl arrived
to The Green Room, I walked over to him and helped him take off his
raincoat.I always admired and complimented
him on his consummate sartorial style.I said, “thank you for being here.â€
He replied
nervously, “We’ll see!â€
And we did
see.He went out onstage and killed, as
usual. As most performers shrank with age, he continued to grow and thrive.During the show I asked him, “What is it
about your process that allows you to read a whole stage and not just figure
out what you need to do, but how to make everybody play better?â€
“Well, you know,â€
he answered, “I found out late in life that what I really am is an emcee, a
master of ceremonies.I love nothing
more than to tell people, ‘Go look at this, go look at that and introduce
people to new people and things.Here's
Billy Crystal. He'll come out and get millions of laughs. But I introduced him.
I'm not kidding.And I'm a good emcee because of that, because
I really appreciate what's out there. That's the whole trick. What was the
question?â€
He was the rising
and indefatigable tide that lifted all creative boats.From Sid Caesar to Dick Van Dyke, to Steve
Martin, he made everyone he played with play better.And with Mel Brooks, his creative soul-mate, their
2000-Year-Old Man and related work became the Rosetta Stone for comedy.Their timing, combined with underlying
affection and trust made them incomparable and irresistible, both on stage and
off.
Eddy Friedfeld, Carl Reiner and Fran Zigman. (That's Mel Brooks on the phone). (Photo: Karen Caesar.)
There
is a scene from the brilliant Showtime series “Billions†where Axe and Wags are
waxing poetically about mortality. “Dying in your thirties or forties?â€
“Tragic.†“Fifties?†“Such a shame.†“Sixties?†“Too soon.†“Seventies?†“A
good run.†“Eighties?†“A life well lived.†“Nineties?†“Hell of a ride!â€
Carl,
at 98 you had a hell of a ride, but for my money you still left the party way
too early. You touched a lot of people and you leave behind not only a
legendary body of work, but also a lot of people who love you, respect you, and
continue to be inspired by and learn from you. So that, as we say in show
business, or any other business, is a good run. Rest well, my friend.
Cinema Retro Contributor Eddy Friedfeld
teaches comedy and film history at Yale and NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.
You can't judge a book by its cover
and you can't judge a movie by its poster. Case in point: "Blood on the
Moon", a 1948 western that was marketed with a poster depicting star
Robert Mitchum in a ten-gallon hat along with an image of Barbara Bel
Geddes wielding a rifle and a tag line that read "A Woman's Bullet
Kills as Quick as a Man's!" At first glance, one would be forgiven for
assuming the movie was yet another of the "Poverty Row" one-day wonders
that flooded theaters in the 1930s. Indeed, the image of Mitchum has him
somewhat resembling good ol' Hopalong Cassidy. However, looks can be
deceiving and "Blood on the Moon" is actually a superior western, thanks
in part to its director, Robert Wise, who had recently transcended from
being a highly-acclaimed film editor to the director's chair.
"Blood on the Moon" is an adaptation of a serialized story by Luke Short that ran in the Saturday Evening Post. Robert Mitchum
is cast as Jim Garry, a mysterious drifter who is invited to meet with
an old friend, Tate Riling (Robert Preston). Riling informs Tate that he
needs his abilities with a gun to aid him in a scheme. He has partnered
with a corrupt local federal agent, Jake Pindalest (Frank Faylen) who
oversees an Indian reservation to ensure they can get the impressive
cattle herd of rancher John Lufton (Tom Tully) at cut-rate prices. This
they contrive to accomplish by having Pindalest terminate the
long-standing contract by which Lufton sells his beef to the U.S. government, which in turn, uses the meat to feed the Native American population on the reservation. A side-swindle is that Riling wants to intimidate farmers to vacate land that they and Lufton occupy so that he can own the enormous acreage. Garry is not your typical white-hat cowboy hero, despite the fact that he favors wearing one. At first he accepts coming in as a partner on the scam and using his skills with a gun to drive off the farmers. However, when he witnesses the brutality Riling is using to further his goals, he changes his mind and ends up siding with Lufton. He's also come to the realization that Riling has been wooing one of Lufton's daughters, Carol (Phyllis Thaxter) as a way to wear down Lufton's resistance. Garry thinks this is particularly egregious. He also has a tense introduction to Lufton's other daughter, Amy (Barbara Bel Geddes), who is a sharp-shooting tom girl who tries to intimidate him by showing off her skills with a gun. As in all films in which the leading male and female characters start off with an acrimonious relationship, they ultimately fall in love. Garry's switching to the other side causes a rift with Riling and leads to a sensational knock-down, drag-out fight between that is a highlight of the film. (Mitchum and Preston choreographed the scene themselves and performed most of their own stunts.) Ultimately, the two old friends must square off in a final shootout that finds Garry, Amy and a local farmer, Kris (Walter Brennan), trapped in a cabin and surrounded by Lufton and his goons during an extended shoot-out that allows Amy to demonstrate her courage and skills with a rifle.
"Blood on the Moon" is a conventional western in some ways but what allows it to rise above the pack is the direction of Robert Wise, who gives the production a moody, film noir-like atmosphere, which is unusual for this genre. The film benefits from the creative B&W cinematography of Nicholas Musuraca, who makes nondescript shots of Garry riding in the moonlight look like frame-by-frame works of art. Mitchum is well cast as the protagonist, a complex man who is a bit of a scoundrel. Preston makes an excellent villain and Bel Geddes and Thaxter thrive in unusual roles for women in this era of filmmaking in that they are more than window dressing and are quite capable of humiliating the male characters. Walter Brennan also delivers a fine performance, cast in a role of a tragic farmer that is devoid of his usual amusing mannerisms.
The Warner Archive region-free Blu-ray presents an excellent transfer and the original trailer. Recommended.
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Ray
Bradbury’s excellent 1951 short story anthology, The Illustrated Man, is
one of the author’s most revered works. It contains eighteen tales loosely
framed by a narrator who meets a carnival sideshow freak covered in tattoos
that “tell storiesâ€â€”and each entry in the book illustrates one of the tattoos.
“Don’t
you call them tattoos!†Rod Steiger belligerently yells at the
protagonist of the 1969 film adaptation. “They are skin ill-us-tra-TIONS!†Steiger
emotes in his inimitable scenery-chewing way.
And
there is the crux of why The Illustrated Man, which was adapted by
co-producer Howard B. Kreitsek, doesn’t work too well. Steiger, who plays
“Carl,†the illustrated man, had a checkered career marked by many brilliant
performances… but also, perhaps, more eccentric and over-the-top ones. His good
screen appearances (On the Waterfront, Oklahoma!, The Pawnbroker,
Doctor Zhivago, In the Heat of the Night, among others) are truly
excellent, and Heat of the Night earned him an Oscar for Best Actor. But
then there is No Way to Treat a Lady, Waterloo, and Lolly-Madonna
XXX. Steiger’s performance in The Illustrated Man probably falls
into the latter category, although he has his moments.
The
time is the 1930s (judging from the automobile seen at the beginning). Willie
(Robert Drivas) is hitchhiking his way west and stops at a lake for a swim and
campout. Carl, the illustrated man, happens to be doing the same. The pair
meet, and Carl is unreasonably confrontational and unfriendly, and yet the two
men settle down to share coffee (actually, Carl takes it without asking). Then
Carl reveals his illustrated body to the shocked Willie and begins to tell his
story of how a witch from the future named Felicia (Claire Bloom, Steiger’s
wife at the time) entranced him and proceeded to tattoo his entire body (sorry,
illustrate his body). Three tales from Bradbury’s anthology are then
enacted. “The Veldt†is in the future, and it features both Steiger and Bloom
as a married couple with two children who play in a virtual reality “nurseryâ€
that reproduces realistic places… in this case an African veldt occupied by
hungry lions. “The Long Rain†features Steiger with three other astronauts on
Venus, where it’s constantly raining. They’re lost and attempting to find a
“sun dome†for shelter, but the men begin to go nuts. “The Last Night of the
World†again presents Steiger and Bloom as a married couple who learn that the
world will end overnight, so the population has decided to end the lives of
their children so that they won’t suffer. There are, of course, twists in all
three tales.
There
is much to admire about the film. Steiger’s “illustrationsâ€â€”the makeup and
design—are truly magnificent, and kudos should be awarded to the technicians
responsible. Jerry Goldsmith’s eerily beautiful score creates a melancholic
mood that is quite effective. Bloom is good, charismatic, believable, and
gorgeous. Where the movie falls short is in the inelegant writing, clumsy direction,
and in Steiger’s odd performance. Sometimes his line readings are just… strange.
Maybe that was intentional, but instead of coming off “other worldly,†it’s
more like campy bad acting.
This
viewer remembers seeing the film in 1969 as a young teen and being taken with
the storytelling and mood. It also seemed to be very “adult†(there are flashes
of nudity) and was rated “M†at the time (for Mature audiences), a designation
later replaced by PG. In those days, the “M†could often lie somewhere between
today’s PG and R in terms of sex and violence. Ah, the good old days.
Warner
Archive’s new Blu-ray (produced on demand when ordered) looks sharp and clear
in its widescreen glory. A short featurette on the creation of Steiger’s makeup
and illustrations, and the theatrical trailer, are included as supplements.
The
Illustrated Man may
not be a perfect Ray Bradbury adaptation, but any Bradbury on screen is better
than none.
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Way back in the 1970s while in college, I took a course dedicated to classic films. The teacher was Herbert J. Leder, an affable, if eccentric, professor who also had the distinction of having directed some films for major studios. They were all "B" movies, but they did get wide release. One of them was titled "The Frozen Dead", a 1967 Hammer horror wanna be with Dana Andrews as a mad Nazi doctor who plans to use cloning to revive the Third Reich in modern day England. As a joke, Herb showed the film one day in his "Classics of the Cinema" class. It was mildly diverting fare, no better or worse than much of what Hammer itself was releasing during this time period. A couple of years later, Fox released "The Boys From Brazil", a major adaptation of Ira Levin's bestselling thriller. The plot centered on a mad Nazi doctor who was using cloning to revive the Third Reich in modern society. I was rather shocked at the similarity of the story lines and discussed it with Herb Leder, who was dismissive of pursuing any possibility that Levin's novel might have been influenced by his "B" movie. Today, of course, the mindset would probably be different and a lawsuit, frivolous or not, would probably have been brought against all parties concerned with "The Boys From Brazil". The film version of Levin's novel was greeted with mixed reviews. I recall arguing the movie's merits (or lack thereof) with my mentor, Playboy film critic Bruce Williamson. I found the movie to be highly enjoyable and I was particularly impressed by Gregory Peck's refreshing change of pace, playing an outright villain, the infamous Dr. Josef Mengele. Williamson said he felt that Peck reminded him of a drunk at a party who puts a lampshade on his head in an attempt to bring attention to himself. Nevertheless, upon seeing the film again through the Blu-ray release from Shout! Factory, my admiration for the movie remains undiminished.
The film begins with a series of suspenseful sequences in which a determined young American, Barry Kohler, (Steve Guttenberg) in South America doggedly and surreptitiously tracks and photographs the activities of suspected former Nazis.He becomes increasingly audacious and manages to bug one of their meetings. He is shocked to learn that they have launched a plan to revive the Third Reich through the efforts of the world's most wanted man, the infamous Dr. Josef Mengele, who oversaw barbaric "medical experiments" at Auschwitz. Kohler makes contact with the legendary Nazi hunter Ezra Lieberman (Laurence Olivier), who runs a drastically underfunded operation with his sister (Lili Palmer) that attempts to bring war criminals to justice. Lieberman is sarcastic to the young man and dismisses his information- until he suspects that he has been murdered. Lieberman then launches his own investigation, traveling internationally to interview parties who might shed light on the conspiracy. He finds that the ex-Nazis have ordered the murder of 94 civil servants around the globe who are all in their mid-60s. As the investigation continues, he suspects that Mengele has cloned DNA from Adolf Hitler and that there are now teenage boys coming of age as sons of the men who have been marked for murder. Mengele needs to replicate the exact occurrences in the life of Hitler, including the death of his father when he was a teenager. By doing so, he hopes that at least one of the 94 boys will become a leader for the revived Reich.
The premise of the plot is an unlikely one to involve the talents of Gregory Peck, Laurence Olivier and James Mason, who plays another ex-Nazi who pulls the plug on Mengele's plans, thus forcing the arch villain to act independently to see his scheme through to fruition. Indeed, there are times the film seems like a dusted off vehicle for old time character actor George Zucco, who reveled in playing mad doctors. However, under the direction of Franklin J. Schaffner, the pace is brisk, the story involving and the performances are compelling. Add to all this a superb musical score by Jerry Goldsmith and it's hard to resist the movie, despite its abundance of guilty pleasures. The finale is a bizarre doozy in which Mengele and Lieberman (who is obviously supposed to be real life Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal) end up in a wrestling match in the presence of bloodthirsty hounds! Olivier overdoes the feeble old Jewish guy routine (a performance he would recreate practically verbatim as Neil Diamond's cantor father in "The Jazz Singer" a couple of years later). Nevertheless, he's fun to watch. An irony is that, although Gregory Peck gives the superior performance, it was Olivier who got a Best Actor nomination. Adding to the irony, Olivier had been nominated for Best Supporting Actor two years before for playing a thinly-veiled Mengele in "Marathon Man". There are plenty of fine supporting performances including Anne Meara in a rare dramatic role, Bond baddie Walter Gotell, John Dehner, Rosemary Harris, Uta Hagen, Denholm Elliott, Bruno Ganz and Linda Hayden. Young Jeremy Black is especially creepy as the teenage boy who doesn't realize he is carrying Hitler's DNA.
The Shout! Factory Blu-ray does justice to this opulent production that is dripping in atmosphere. An original trailer is also included.
The
1948 courtroom drama, I, Jane Doe, directed by John H. Auer and starring
the inimitable Ruth Hussey as a defense attorney who displays feminist
tendencies before that word was in the public vernacular, is a well-acted,
twisty-plotted, and entertaining B-movie flick from second-string studio
Republic Pictures—except for one thing… the trial and all the aspects
associated with it (legalities, procedures, and “how a criminal case worksâ€) is
absolute nonsense.
It’s
as if screenwriter Lawrence Kimble made up a courtroom drama based on what he’d
seen from other movies of that ilk without ever studying the law as it applies
to a trial. In no way would our heroine, Eve Meredith Curtis (Hussey), be able
to insist on a retrial of a convicted murderer (in this case, “Jane Doe,â€
played by Vera Ralston) on the basis that Ms. Doe had refused to reveal her
real name or present a defense for herself in the first trial. Secondly, the
second trial is presented with the defense leading off the process and calling
witnesses before the State does. What? All the prosecutor (Gene Langston) can
do throughout it is to object, only to have the objections mostly overruled by
an unbelievably sympathetic judge (James Bell).
“Jane
Doe†shot Stephen Curtis (Eve’s husband, played by John Carroll) one day in his
New York apartment. The evidence is clear. She did it. She is tried and
sentenced to the electric chair. However, it is then revealed that she is
pregnant with Curtis’ child. Jane delivers the baby while in prison, and the
execution is rescheduled. Before that can happen, though, Eve (who had retired
from law practice to become Mrs. Curtis years before) decides to talk to Jane
and find out the real story behind it all…and then re-enters her practice to
get a re-trial for Jane. As if it were that easy. Of course, as the second
trial progresses, we learn Stephen Curtis’ secrets, the truth behind Jane Doe and
her identity, and that Eve has secrets of her own.
Despite
the ridiculousness of the legalities in the story, I, Jane Doe does
manage to be an engaging near-90-minutes of cinema. Hussey carries the picture
with aplomb. Ralston is also effective as the accused, and Carroll is suitably
caddish for his role.
Kino
Lorber’s new high definition restoration looks quite good. Unfortunately, there
are no supplements other than trailers for other Kino Lorber releases.
I,
Jane Doe may
have courtroom hijinks in the plot, but it’s still an appealing melodrama,
thanks to Hussey and the basic story twists that keep us guessing.
Cinema Retro has received the following press release from Virgil Films concerning the outstanding documentary 40 YEARS OF ROCKY: THE BIRTH OF A
CLASSIC
From
Virgil Films & Entertainment comes Director Derek Wayne Johnson’s new
documentary film 40 Years of Rocky: The Birth of a Classic. The
film – narrated by ‘Rocky’ star and creator Sylvester Stallone, who shares
insights from his battle to get the story of a down-on-his-luck boxer greenlit
and onto the big screen – will premiere on digital HD June 9th.
In
1976, a low budget movie written by an unknown actor was released, inspiring audiences
around the world to go the distance. Rocky became the ultimate underdog film.
Over forty years later, Sylvester Stallone recounts the making of the beloved classic
through rare home movies provided by Director John G. Avildsen and Production Manager
Lloyd Kaufman.
Sylvester
Stallone pitched the idea of this film to director Derek Wayne Johnson and
producer Chris May after a private screening of their documentary ‘John G.
Avildsen: King of the Underdogs,’ in which Stallone is also featured. This new
documentary features behind-the-scenes footage that Oscar-winning director John
G. Avildsen shot as well as footage never-before-seen found in ‘Rocky’
Production Manager and Troma Entertainment President Lloyd Kaufman’s basement
nearly forty years after it was filmed.
(The film is now available for streaming. Click here to access streaming options.)
About Virgil Films –
Virgil
Films & Entertainment is an independent distribution company that was
founded in 2003 by Joe Amodei to acquire, market and distribute feature films
and episodic television programming into the digital, TV and DVD/Blu-ray market
on a worldwide basis. Over the years the company has enjoyed relationships with
Sundance Channel Home Entertainment, National Geographic Cinema Ventures, Pure
Flix Entertainment, Sight & Sound Theatres, Network Entertainment, PCH
Films, Warrior Poets and other high-profile entertainment companies. Releases
from Virgil Films include the Oscar-nominated documentary Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me and the critically acclaimed, timeless,
best-selling Forks Over Knives. They
have also released the award-winning documentary Miss
Representation; the critically acclaimed, timeless, best-selling Forks Over Knives; and the
Oscar-nominated documentary Restrepo,its
sequel Korengal, I Am Chris Farley and the recent We Are Columbine. Follow them on twitter: @virgilfilms www.VirgilFilms.com
If
you’ve never seen Waiting for Guffman, you owe it to yourself to grab
this wonderful motion picture (now available as a Warner Archive Blu-ray
release) or find it streaming somewhere, for it is such a laugh-a-minute
extravaganza that truly set in motion the so-called “mockumentaries†made by
Christopher Guest and his revolving stock company of comic actors.
It
all started, of course, with This is Spinal Tap (1984), in which Guest,
Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer (among others) presented a pseudo-documentary
about a wacky rock band. This picture was directed by Rob Reiner. It was so
well done that some people wondered why Reiner had chosen a band “no one had
heard of†to make a documentary about. The film skewered the rock world, band
politics and antics, and gave us highly quotable lines of dialogue and
memorable sequences, as well as actual songs ultimately released as a real
album.
A
decade later, Guest took the mockumentary concept and made it his own beginning
with Waiting for Guffman, which premiered at the Boston Film Festival in
1996 and was released to U.S. cinemas in early 1997. His stock company in this
case included Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Fred Willard, Parker Posey, Bob
Balaban, Michael Hitchcock, Larry Miller, and others. Even Michael McKean and
Harry Shearer show up in the credits—as co-composers with Guest of the original
songs performed in the picture (so, in effect, one could say that Spinal Tap
wrote the score for Waiting for Guffman).
Guffman
uses
the documentary approach to what it’s like to be in a small-town community
theatre. The 150th-anniversary celebration of Blaine, Missouri is approaching,
and Corky St. Clair (Guest) is in charge of putting on the live show that will
tell the story of the town’s history. Corky used to work in New York theatre
(so he says), so the townspeople consider him to be an “expert†(his previous
production of Barefoot in the Park was apparently a smash). Ron and
Sheila Albertson (Willard and O’Hara) are travel agents who believe they have
talent and have experience acting in the community productions, so they’re a
shoo-in to be cast. Town dentist Dr. Allan Pearl (Levy) has never acted but has
the bug, so he auditions. Libby Mae Brown (Posey) works at the Dairy Queen and
aspires to make it big. Corky brings in music teacher Lloyd Miller (Balaban) to
handle the musical direction. Unfortunately, Corky has no budget to speak of
and must make lemonade out of, well, a lot of bad lemons. The town council,
after first refusing Corky’s request for $100,000 (!) to do the show, they
encourage him to “make magic†the way he’s done before. Indeed, Corky’s magic
ultimately gets the show up and running.
The
humor comes in the improvised characterizations the brilliant cast brings to
the table. For example, Guest plays Corky as a closeted gay man with every
stereotypical mannerism in the book, even down to speaking of a wife that no
one ever sees. Anyone who has worked in community theatre (or high school or
college theatre, for that matter) must know someone exactly like Corky
St. Clair. The late Fred Willard is hilarious as the wannabe movie star, and
O’Hara is a perfect foil for him. Posey is very winning; the actress was just
beginning her career when the picture was made, and she almost steals the
movie. Balaban plays his part as a frustrated perfectionist who would rather be
the boss of the production instead of following Corky’s orders.
Guest
would go on to make other classic mockumentaries (Best in Show, A
Mighty Wind), but they don’t get much better than Waiting for Guffman,
the title of which refers to the famous Samuel Beckett play, Waiting for
Godot. In this case, Guffman is the New York critic who Corky promises will
come to see the show and possibly take the company to Broadway.
Warner
Archive’s Blu-ray (produced on demand) looks sharp and colorful, and it is a
high definition transfer of the previously released DVD from years ago. It
comes with an audio commentary by Guest and Levy that is as entertaining as the
film itself. For supplements, there are many deleted/additional scenes that are
just as fun, including two musical numbers from the “show†that were cut for the
theatrical release. These scenes also come with optional commentary by Guest
and Levy. The theatrical trailer rounds out the package.
Waiting
for Guffman stands
as one of the great comedies of the last 25 years, and it’s a testament to the
tremendous talent of many alumni of National Lampoon’s Radio Hour, Second
City, SCTV, Saturday Night Live, and other breeding grounds
of some of our most treasured funny people. Highly recommended.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM THE CINEMA RETRO MOVIE STORE
Cinema Retro has received the following press release from Paramount Home Entertainment:
A masterpiece of off-the-wall comedy, AIRPLANE! celebrates its 40th
anniversary in 2020 with a brand-new Blu-ray in the Paramount Presents line, as
well as a limited edition Blu-ray Steelbook. Originally released in July
of 1980, AIRPLANE! was a major hit and become a pop culture touchstone.
Voted “one of the 10 funniest movies ever made†by the American Film Institute,
the film continues to be widely referenced and quoted 40 years after its
theatrical debut.
The Paramount Presents Blu-ray and limited edition
Steelbook each includes the newly remastered film from a 4K transfer supervised
by writers/directors Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker, a new
Filmmaker Focus on the directors, a new Q&A with the directors recorded at
the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood in January 2020, and an isolated music score
by Elmer Bernstein. The discs also include previously released audio
commentary with the directors and producer Jon Davison.
Robert Hays stars as an ex-ï¬ghter pilot forced to take
over the controls of an airliner when the flight crew succumbs to food
poisoning. The all-star cast also includes Julie Hagerty, Robert Stack,
Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Leslie Nielsen, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The
outrageous comedy spoof skewers airplane disaster flicks, religious zealots,
television commercials…and everything else in its path.
The Mary Millington Movie Collection Limited Edition
Blu-Ray Box-Set (UK, Region 2 release).
An interview with
historian and documentary filmmaker Simon Sheridan
BY ADRIAN SMITH
In
June 2020 Screenbound are releasing a limited edition Blu-ray box set in the
U.K. dedicated to the films of one of Britain’s most celebrated and tragic erotic
film stars, Mary Millington. Historian Simon Sheridan has spent years
researching her life (his book Come Play with
Me: The Life and Films of Mary Millington was published in 1999) and has
overseen this new collection.
Cinema Retro: How did you begin this lifelong quest to tell Mary Millington’s
story? When did you first discover her?
Simon Sheridan: I’m not sure I can tell you this story! I was a curious
schoolboy. I happened upon some porn mags when I was a young boy. It wasn’t in
a bush, but someone I knew had these porn mags. I’m not going to reveal who!
She was in copies of Playbirds and Whitehouse throughout the
1980s so I saw this beautiful woman, but they were talking about her in the
past tense, and the articles next to these very explicit photographs said she
had died at the age of 33. These kind of things just stayed with me throughout
my life, that this woman who posed in the post explicit manner and was prepared
to pretty much do anything on camera had died so young. She has always
fascinated me, and the more I research and learn about her life, I just think,
“What a great human being she was.†She really fought for people’s rights to
enjoy pornography. People ask me what Mary was like: she was this 4’11"
ex-veterinary nurse from Surrey who took on the force of the Establishment at a
time when society was not mature enough to believe that people could be happy and work in the sex industry. What a
brave woman she was. She was a pioneer, there was nobody like her at the time.
When I went to university I wrote my dissertation on her, and then I wrote my
book, then I worked on her film releases, then made my movie, and now this box
set. So this was how I came upon Mary, so to speak.
CR:
Could you tell us more about what the boxed set features? Is it every film she
ever appeared in?
SS:It is all the films she made for publisher David
Sullivan. When Come Play with Me came out in April 1977 it was promoted
as Mary Millington’s first film, but of course it wasn’t her first. She had
made quite a few before she went on to become a big star through Come Play with
Me (1977). The other films
are The Playbirds (1978), Confessions from the David Galaxy Affair
(1979), Queen of the Blues (1979), Mary Millington’s True Blue Confessions
(1980) and Mary Millington’s World
Striptease Extravaganza (1981), along with my feature documentary Respectable: The Mary Millington Story
(2015).
CR:True Blue Confessions is such an
interesting and unusual film.
SS:I’ve known David Sullivan for over twenty years, and
when I first met him one of the films I really wanted to talk about was True
Blue Confessions. I was astonished when I first saw it. It’s so visceral.
It’s so brutal. In 1980 you didn’t really know what went on in celebrities’
lives. When Mary died it was in the newspapers, but all the stuff about drugs
and prostitution wasn’t really reported, but it’s all in True Blue
Confessions. It’s a very honest look at her life, quite unlike anything
else that had been made in this country, or anything to do with the porn world.
It probably shocked a lot of people, but it was a huge hit. It played for weeks
and weeks. People were fascinated to see what the truth was behind Mary,
although of course most of that film isn’t true! There’s a lot of elaboration,
but at the heart of it there is some truth to her story. It’s always fascinated
me. I’ve probably watched that one more than any of her other films. David will
argue until the end of time that that was not an exploitation film. It was not
there to make money. When Mary died it was completely sudden, the general
public had no idea this was going to happen. She was the sex superstar who was
going to go on and on. David was inundated with tens of thousands of letters. She
was like the pornographic Princess Diana. Fans were just bereft and couldn’t
believe it, so he brought out these tribute magazines which had her
autobiography in it. She wrote an autobiography in 1978 that is half true, half
faked, which was written with her probation officer, and those tribute
magazines sold by the shedload. I think David did about thirteen or fourteen
different ones. They kept being reprinted, so David felt compelled to also do
something for the cinema about her life. He always says he was trying to make
Mary more famous in death than when she was alive.
CR:
How has it been possible for these films to be restored? Where were the
original elements all these years?
SS:I had been nagging David for ages about where the
original film negatives and reels were, and he had a warehouse in Barking,
where he stored all the products for his U.K. sex shops. I went there with him
and it was filled with racks of magazines and boxes of sex toys. There in the
corner of this warehouse were these wooden pallets piled high with these huge
tin reels with scrappy labels. They were rusting on these pallets. It was very
exciting for me to see them. I said he should have them stored somewhere
better, instead of in the corner of a warehouse full of rubber sex toys. These were
worth preserving. He said, “Are they really, Simon?†Yes they are! A deal was
done with the BFI and they took them and stored them in their archive in
Berkhamsted, where they were frozen at a certain temperature. They’ve been there
for about ten years. They were used to make DVDs, and it’s now taken a long
time to make the Blu-rays. Initially, I was told British sex films would not
sell on Blu-ray, but then a couple of years ago Screenbound told me they wanted
to bring the Mary Millington films out on Blu-ray. I was beside myself with
joy! This was the dream project. We got them restored in London by Final Frame.
Come Play with Me and The Playbirds were not shot on the best
film stock. These were David’s first films, and they were using little scraps
of films, offcuts, to shoot these things. The later films were shot on much
better quality film. But I’ve seen them now and they do look really good.
Cinema Retro has received the following press release:
Universal Horror Collection Vol. 5 will scream to life on Blu-ray on June 16 from Scream Factory.
The
collection includes four tales of terror from the archives of Universal
Pictures, the true home of classic horror. A mobster's brain is transplanted
into an ape who carries out his revenge in The Monster And The Girl. A
mad scientist turns an ape into a beautiful, but deadly woman in Captive
Wild Woman. Jungle Woman, the sequel to Captive Wild Woman,
is an eerie thriller with all the danger of wild animals on the loose and a
sexy killer on the prowl! And in The Jungle Captive, a scientist has
experimented on re-animating animals ... but now he has decided to go one step
further and re-animate a human!
Universal
Horror Collection Vol. 5 Includes:
THE
MONSTER AND THE GIRL
Special
Features:
NEW 2K scan of a
fine grain film element
NEW Audio
Commentary with film historians Tom Weaver and Steve Kronenberg
CAPTIVE
WILD WOMAN
Special
Features:
NEW Audio Commentary
with film historian/author Tom Weaver
Theatrical
Trailer
Still Gallery
JUNGLE
WOMAN
Special
Features:
NEW 2K scan
of a fine grain film element
NEW Audio Commentary
with film historian Gregory William Mank
Still Gallery
THE
JUNGLE CAPTIVE
Special
Features:
NEW 2K scan of a
fine grain film element
NEW Audio Commentary
by film historian Scott Gallinghouse