The historical epic “Becket” is turning 60 this week. When it was released, “Becket” was considered Important. It was a huge and handsome production with sumptuous sets and costumes and a cast seemingly of thousands. And it featured two of the top and sexiest stars of the day – Peter O’Toole, fresh from his Oscar-nominated triumph in 1962’s “Lawrence of Arabia” and Richard Burton whose career had been overshadowed with his high-profile love affair with Elizabeth Taylor that began during the production of the infamous 1963 “Cleopatra.”
Set in the 12th century England, “Becket” revolves around the relationship between the hedonistic King Henry II (O’Toole), who never met a wench he didn’t bed, and Thomas Becket, his loyal friend and wingman for Henry’s sexual escapades. And because the Production Code was still in force, the film can only imply that Henry is in love with Becket. Henry makes Becket his...
Set in the 12th century England, “Becket” revolves around the relationship between the hedonistic King Henry II (O’Toole), who never met a wench he didn’t bed, and Thomas Becket, his loyal friend and wingman for Henry’s sexual escapades. And because the Production Code was still in force, the film can only imply that Henry is in love with Becket. Henry makes Becket his...
- 3/12/2024
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
(Welcome to Did They Get It Right?, a series where we look at Oscars categories from yesteryear and examine whether the Academy's winners stand the test of time.)
Few directors hold as large a place in the hearts of cinephiles as Stanley Kubrick. The mythology of the director as this reclusive, micromanaging perfectionist who would drive people insane by doing 100 takes of a scene has become the stuff of legend. Some people stand in awe of what he was able to accomplish throughout his career on such a grand scale, and some, naturally, want to take him down a peg because of his godlike status amongst a certain sector of film fans. I don't hold Kubrick up as god. He wouldn't be on my Mt. Rushmore of directors. But the man did direct some of the best films ever made. That's a little difficult to deny.
Because of this revered status,...
Few directors hold as large a place in the hearts of cinephiles as Stanley Kubrick. The mythology of the director as this reclusive, micromanaging perfectionist who would drive people insane by doing 100 takes of a scene has become the stuff of legend. Some people stand in awe of what he was able to accomplish throughout his career on such a grand scale, and some, naturally, want to take him down a peg because of his godlike status amongst a certain sector of film fans. I don't hold Kubrick up as god. He wouldn't be on my Mt. Rushmore of directors. But the man did direct some of the best films ever made. That's a little difficult to deny.
Because of this revered status,...
- 8/20/2023
- by Mike Shutt
- Slash Film
The composer has been nominated for two Oscars and received seven Emmys.
US composer Laurence Rosenthal will be honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the World Soundtrack Awards this year. The 23rd edition of the awards ceremony will take place at Film Fest Gent on October 21.
Rosenthal has composed scores for over 100 films and television shows throughout his six decades-spanning career.
Known for his creative partnership with actor-director Peter Glenville, Rosenthal wrote original scores for three of his films throughout the 1960s, including Hotel Paradiso, The Comedians and the 1964 film Becket, for which he was nominated for an Acadamy Award.
US composer Laurence Rosenthal will be honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the World Soundtrack Awards this year. The 23rd edition of the awards ceremony will take place at Film Fest Gent on October 21.
Rosenthal has composed scores for over 100 films and television shows throughout his six decades-spanning career.
Known for his creative partnership with actor-director Peter Glenville, Rosenthal wrote original scores for three of his films throughout the 1960s, including Hotel Paradiso, The Comedians and the 1964 film Becket, for which he was nominated for an Acadamy Award.
- 4/19/2023
- by Dani Clarke
- ScreenDaily
It is fair to assume Criterion could plunder the world of licensed film to build an ultimate noir playlist; credit, then, for focusing sharp and nabbing deep cuts. The Criterion Channel’s November / Noirvember program will be headlined by “Fox Noir,” an eight-title program with Otto Preminger deep cut Fallen Angel, three by Henry Hathaway, Siodmak, Dassin, Kazan, and Robert Wise, and while retrospectives of Veronica Lake and John Garfield will bring some canon into the fold, I’m mostly thinking about that potential for discovery.
Following “Free Jazz,” Bob Hoskins, and Joyce Chopra programs, the other big series is a 30-year survey of Sony Pictures Classics: Sally Potter, Satoshi Kon, Panahi, Errol Morris, Almodóvar, Haneke, Mike Leigh, just a murderer’s row. Streaming premieres include 499 and A Night of Knowing Nothing, two recent epitomes of I Wish I Had Seen That; Criterion Editions comprise Cure, Brazil, Sullivan’s Travels,...
Following “Free Jazz,” Bob Hoskins, and Joyce Chopra programs, the other big series is a 30-year survey of Sony Pictures Classics: Sally Potter, Satoshi Kon, Panahi, Errol Morris, Almodóvar, Haneke, Mike Leigh, just a murderer’s row. Streaming premieres include 499 and A Night of Knowing Nothing, two recent epitomes of I Wish I Had Seen That; Criterion Editions comprise Cure, Brazil, Sullivan’s Travels,...
- 10/26/2022
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
One of the most anticipated honors to be handed out Sunday at the 75th annual Tony Awards is Angela Lansbury’s Lifetime Achievement Award. The big question is: Why did it take so long?
Now 96, the beloved Lansbury has won five competitive Tony and was nominated for two more. She’s also one of the leading interpreters of the work of composers Stephen Sondheim and Jerry Herman. Her Broadway career is best described with the lyric from Herman’s 1966 musical “Mame: “You came, you saw, your conquered and absolutely nothing is the same…we think you’re just sensational!”
In fact, she’s been sensational since making her film debut at 18 in 1944’s “Gaslight,” received her first of three Oscar nominations — she earned an Honorary Oscar in 2013 — and starred for 12 seasons as mystery writer Jessica Fletcher on ‘Murder, She Wrote.” And she brought her musical talents to movie and TV...
Now 96, the beloved Lansbury has won five competitive Tony and was nominated for two more. She’s also one of the leading interpreters of the work of composers Stephen Sondheim and Jerry Herman. Her Broadway career is best described with the lyric from Herman’s 1966 musical “Mame: “You came, you saw, your conquered and absolutely nothing is the same…we think you’re just sensational!”
In fact, she’s been sensational since making her film debut at 18 in 1944’s “Gaslight,” received her first of three Oscar nominations — she earned an Honorary Oscar in 2013 — and starred for 12 seasons as mystery writer Jessica Fletcher on ‘Murder, She Wrote.” And she brought her musical talents to movie and TV...
- 6/10/2022
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
October’s here and it’s time to get spooked. After last year’s superb “’70s Horror” lineup, the Criterion Channel commemorates October with a couple series: “Universal Horror,” which does what it says on the tin (with special notice to the Spanish-language Dracula), and “Home Invasion,” which runs the gamut from Romero to Oshima with Polanski and Haneke in the mix. Lest we disregard the programming of Cindy Sherman’s one feature, Office Killer, and Jennifer’s Body, whose lifespan has gone from gimmick to forgotten to Criterion Channel. And if you want to stretch ideas of genre just a hair, their “True Crime” selection gets at darker shades of human nature.
It’s not all chills and thrills, mind. October also boasts a Kirk Douglas repertoire, movies by Doris Wishman and Wayne Wang, plus Manoel de Oliveira’s rarely screened Porto of My Childhood. And Edgar Wright gets the “Adventures in Moviegoing” treatment,...
It’s not all chills and thrills, mind. October also boasts a Kirk Douglas repertoire, movies by Doris Wishman and Wayne Wang, plus Manoel de Oliveira’s rarely screened Porto of My Childhood. And Edgar Wright gets the “Adventures in Moviegoing” treatment,...
- 9/24/2021
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
By Tim McGlynn
“I am I, Don Quioxte, the man of La Mancha!”
Shout! Factory has released the 1973 film version of Broadway’s hit musical Man of La Mancha. Directed by Arthur Hiller and starring Peter O’ Toole, Sophia Loren and James Coco, this was United Artists’ follow-up to their hugely successful film version of Fiddler on the Roof. It was also one of the last of the roadshow attractions to play across the country. In the Chicago area, where I grew up, this meant a reserved seat engagement at the famed McClurg Court Theater.
Based on author Dale Wasserman’s stage hit, Man of La Mancha, and featuring music by Mitch Leigh and lyrics by Joe Darion, itt starred the great Richard Kiley in the role of Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes. Well-received by audiences at the time, the show won the 1965 Tony Award for Best Musical.
Mitch Leigh...
“I am I, Don Quioxte, the man of La Mancha!”
Shout! Factory has released the 1973 film version of Broadway’s hit musical Man of La Mancha. Directed by Arthur Hiller and starring Peter O’ Toole, Sophia Loren and James Coco, this was United Artists’ follow-up to their hugely successful film version of Fiddler on the Roof. It was also one of the last of the roadshow attractions to play across the country. In the Chicago area, where I grew up, this meant a reserved seat engagement at the famed McClurg Court Theater.
Based on author Dale Wasserman’s stage hit, Man of La Mancha, and featuring music by Mitch Leigh and lyrics by Joe Darion, itt starred the great Richard Kiley in the role of Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes. Well-received by audiences at the time, the show won the 1965 Tony Award for Best Musical.
Mitch Leigh...
- 7/18/2021
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
In 1964, Variety reviewer Robert J. Landry was over the moon about the Paramount movie “Becket,” which Edward Anhalt scripted from Jean Anouilh’s play. Landry said the film was “invigorated by story substance, personality clash, bright dialogue and religious interest. Patrons and perhaps reviewers will tend to heap credit on the actors. They deserve it … but the film proves again that a great film is the harmoniously combined amalgam of many professional talents.” The result, he said, is “an intellectual as well as an emotional experience.”
He was talking about the Peter Glenville-directed movie, but those exact words also describe Netflix’s “The Two Popes.” The film scored three Oscar noms, for lead actor Jonathan Pryce, supporting for Anthony Hopkins and the script by Anthony McCarten (his fourth Oscar nomination in six years).
In conversation, McCarten cites “Becket” as one of the films that impressed him when he was young,...
He was talking about the Peter Glenville-directed movie, but those exact words also describe Netflix’s “The Two Popes.” The film scored three Oscar noms, for lead actor Jonathan Pryce, supporting for Anthony Hopkins and the script by Anthony McCarten (his fourth Oscar nomination in six years).
In conversation, McCarten cites “Becket” as one of the films that impressed him when he was young,...
- 2/3/2020
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
Alec Guinness transfers an acting challenge from the stage to the screen, in this account of a Cardinal forced to knuckle under to a Communist regime — instead of extracting a confession with torture, Jack Hawkins’ Inquisitor uses psychology to find his prisoner’s weakness. The picture is uneven but its key performances are choice, with a special assist from Wilfrid Lawson as a jailer.
The Prisoner
Blu-ray
Arrow Academy
1955 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 95 min. / Street Date March 12, 2019 / 39.95
Starring: Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Wilfrid Lawson, Kenneth Griffith, Jeanette Sterke, Ronald Lewis, Raymond Huntley, Percy Herbert.
Cinematography: Reginald Wyer
Film Editor: Frederick Wilson
Original Music: Benjamin Frankel
Written by Bridget Boland from her play
Produced by Vivian Cox
Directed by Peter Glenville
Is this an anti-Communist piece, or simply a story about human convictions and human weakness? Believe it or not, some interpreted it as anti-Catholic in 1955. European film festivals may have...
The Prisoner
Blu-ray
Arrow Academy
1955 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 95 min. / Street Date March 12, 2019 / 39.95
Starring: Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Wilfrid Lawson, Kenneth Griffith, Jeanette Sterke, Ronald Lewis, Raymond Huntley, Percy Herbert.
Cinematography: Reginald Wyer
Film Editor: Frederick Wilson
Original Music: Benjamin Frankel
Written by Bridget Boland from her play
Produced by Vivian Cox
Directed by Peter Glenville
Is this an anti-Communist piece, or simply a story about human convictions and human weakness? Believe it or not, some interpreted it as anti-Catholic in 1955. European film festivals may have...
- 4/20/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Great new for the many fans of Alec Guinness. The Prisoner (1955) will be available on Blu-ray From Arrow Academy March 12th!
Banned from the Cannes and Venice Films Festivals for being anti-Communist and excoriated elsewhere as pro-Soviet propaganda, Peter Glenville s The Prisoner stoked controversy at the time of its original release and remains a complex, challenging and multifaceted exploration of faith and power.
In an unnamed Eastern European capital, an iron-willed Cardinal is arrested by state police on charges of treason. Tasked with securing a confession from him by any means necessary is a former comrade-in-arms from the anti-Nazi resistance. Knowing the Cardinal will never fold under physical torture, the Interrogator instead sets out to destroy him mentally, breaking his spirit rather than his body.
Adapted by acclaimed playwright Bridget Boland (Gaslight) from her own stage-play and showcasing powerhouse performances by two actors at the height of their game,...
Banned from the Cannes and Venice Films Festivals for being anti-Communist and excoriated elsewhere as pro-Soviet propaganda, Peter Glenville s The Prisoner stoked controversy at the time of its original release and remains a complex, challenging and multifaceted exploration of faith and power.
In an unnamed Eastern European capital, an iron-willed Cardinal is arrested by state police on charges of treason. Tasked with securing a confession from him by any means necessary is a former comrade-in-arms from the anti-Nazi resistance. Knowing the Cardinal will never fold under physical torture, the Interrogator instead sets out to destroy him mentally, breaking his spirit rather than his body.
Adapted by acclaimed playwright Bridget Boland (Gaslight) from her own stage-play and showcasing powerhouse performances by two actors at the height of their game,...
- 2/28/2019
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
This article marks Part 9 of the Gold Derby series analyzing 84 years of Best Original Song at the Oscars. Join us as we look back at the timeless tunes recognized in this category, the results of each race and the overall rankings of the Academy Awards winners.
The 1964 Oscar nominees in Best Original Song were:
“Dear Heart” from “Dear Heart”
“Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte” from “Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte”
“Chim Chim Cher-ee” from “Mary Poppins”
“My Kind of Town” from “Robin and the 7 Hoods”
“Where Love Has Gone” from “Where Love Has Gone”
Won: “Chim Chim Cher-ee” from “Mary Poppins”
Should’ve won: “Dear Heart” from “Dear Heart”
1964 is one of the more aggravating years at the Oscars, that time “My Fair Lady” crushed the brilliant likes of “Becket” and “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” across the board. Rex Harrison defeated Richard Burton,...
The 1964 Oscar nominees in Best Original Song were:
“Dear Heart” from “Dear Heart”
“Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte” from “Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte”
“Chim Chim Cher-ee” from “Mary Poppins”
“My Kind of Town” from “Robin and the 7 Hoods”
“Where Love Has Gone” from “Where Love Has Gone”
Won: “Chim Chim Cher-ee” from “Mary Poppins”
Should’ve won: “Dear Heart” from “Dear Heart”
1964 is one of the more aggravating years at the Oscars, that time “My Fair Lady” crushed the brilliant likes of “Becket” and “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” across the board. Rex Harrison defeated Richard Burton,...
- 10/1/2018
- by Andrew Carden
- Gold Derby
English-born film editor Anne V. Coates, who won an Academy Award for cutting David Lean’s classic “Lawrence of Arabia,” has died. She was 92.
She earned that 1963 Oscar: In addition to its impressive balance of imposing desert landscapes and vivid human drama (culled from some 31 miles of footage), the nearly four-hour epic contains one of the most famous “match” cuts in movie history, from a shot of Peter O’Toole blowing out a match to a majestic desert sunrise.
Coates went on to receive four more Academy Award nominations, for editing Peter Glenville’s “Becket” (1964), David Lynch’s “The Elephant Man” (1980), Wolfgang Petersen’s “In the Line of Fire” (1993) and Steven Soderbergh’s “Out of Sight” (1988).
Her other credits include “Young Cassidy” (1965), “The Bofors Gun” (1968), “The Public Eye” (1972), “Murder on the Orient Express” (1974), “What About Bob?” (1991), “Chaplin” (1992), “Congo” (1995), “Striptease” (1996) and Soderbergh’s “Erin Brockovich” (2000).
Her more recent credits include “The Golden Compass...
She earned that 1963 Oscar: In addition to its impressive balance of imposing desert landscapes and vivid human drama (culled from some 31 miles of footage), the nearly four-hour epic contains one of the most famous “match” cuts in movie history, from a shot of Peter O’Toole blowing out a match to a majestic desert sunrise.
Coates went on to receive four more Academy Award nominations, for editing Peter Glenville’s “Becket” (1964), David Lynch’s “The Elephant Man” (1980), Wolfgang Petersen’s “In the Line of Fire” (1993) and Steven Soderbergh’s “Out of Sight” (1988).
Her other credits include “Young Cassidy” (1965), “The Bofors Gun” (1968), “The Public Eye” (1972), “Murder on the Orient Express” (1974), “What About Bob?” (1991), “Chaplin” (1992), “Congo” (1995), “Striptease” (1996) and Soderbergh’s “Erin Brockovich” (2000).
Her more recent credits include “The Golden Compass...
- 5/9/2018
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
Anne V. Coates, the five-time Academy Award-nominated film editor who won an Oscar for her work on the 1962 classic <em>Lawrence of Arabia</em> and most recently cut <em>Fifty Shades of Grey</em>, has died. She was 92.
Veteran script supervisor Angela Allen said that Coates died Tuesday at the Motion Picture Country Home and Hospital in Woodland Hills, and BAFTA <a href="https://twitter.com/BAFTA/status/994198174528102401" target="_blank">tweeted</a> news of her death.
The famed British-born editor also received Oscar nominations for Peter Glenville's <em>Becket</em> (1964), David Lynch's <em>The Elephant Man</em> (1980), Wolfgang Petersen's <em>In the Line of Fire</em> (1993) and Steven Soderbergh's <em>Out of Sight</em> (1988). She then was given ...
Veteran script supervisor Angela Allen said that Coates died Tuesday at the Motion Picture Country Home and Hospital in Woodland Hills, and BAFTA <a href="https://twitter.com/BAFTA/status/994198174528102401" target="_blank">tweeted</a> news of her death.
The famed British-born editor also received Oscar nominations for Peter Glenville's <em>Becket</em> (1964), David Lynch's <em>The Elephant Man</em> (1980), Wolfgang Petersen's <em>In the Line of Fire</em> (1993) and Steven Soderbergh's <em>Out of Sight</em> (1988). She then was given ...
Anne V. Coates, the five-time Academy Award-nominated film editor who won an Oscar for her work on the 1962 classic Lawrence of Arabia and most recently cut Fifty Shades of Grey, has died. She was 92.
Veteran script supervisor Angela Allen said that Coates died Tuesday at the Motion Picture Country Home and Hospital in Woodland Hills, and BAFTA tweeted news of her death.
The famed British-born editor also received Oscar nominations for Peter Glenville's Becket (1964), David Lynch's The Elephant Man (1980), Wolfgang Petersen's In the Line of Fire (1993) and Steven Soderbergh's Out of Sight (1988). She...
Veteran script supervisor Angela Allen said that Coates died Tuesday at the Motion Picture Country Home and Hospital in Woodland Hills, and BAFTA tweeted news of her death.
The famed British-born editor also received Oscar nominations for Peter Glenville's Becket (1964), David Lynch's The Elephant Man (1980), Wolfgang Petersen's In the Line of Fire (1993) and Steven Soderbergh's Out of Sight (1988). She...
- 7/5/2016
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Needing an anecdote or two for a paper I was due to deliver on the occasion of the director Peter Glenville's birth centenary in 2013, I rang up Ossie Morris (obituary, 20 March) late last year. He recalled, still with astonishing clarity, working with Glenville on Term of Trial (1962), a small black-and-white British film.
Interestingly, he hadn't bothered to give the credit even a mention beyond its title in his riveting 2006 autobiography, despite the fact it co-starred Laurence Olivier, Simone Signoret, Terence Stamp and the newcomer Sarah Miles. Ossie's fabulous memoir, devoting considerable space instead to his long collaboration with the Hollywood film-maker John Huston, was, rather fittingly and wittily, entitled Huston, We Have a Problem.
theguardian.com © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds...
Interestingly, he hadn't bothered to give the credit even a mention beyond its title in his riveting 2006 autobiography, despite the fact it co-starred Laurence Olivier, Simone Signoret, Terence Stamp and the newcomer Sarah Miles. Ossie's fabulous memoir, devoting considerable space instead to his long collaboration with the Hollywood film-maker John Huston, was, rather fittingly and wittily, entitled Huston, We Have a Problem.
theguardian.com © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds...
- 3/24/2014
- The Guardian - Film News
Above: 1970s re-release poster for Jour de Fête (Jacques Tati, France, 1949).
Michel Landi (born 1932) is an incredibly prolific French poster artist with more than 1,500 posters to his name, many of which, like his Bullitt, are very well known. Having worked from the late 50s—when he began by painting the billboards outside Paris movie theaters—through to the 00s, he has worked in many different mediums (he had a notable airbrush period in the 80s) and isn’t really known for one distinctive style. But I recently discovered a number of painted posters by Landi from the late 60s and early 70s that are all very much the work of one artist: all distinguished by wildly expressive brush strokes and a generous, almost fauvist, use of color. The first one I noticed was this exuberant re-release poster for Jacques Tati’s Jour de Fête which renders a carousel as a whirlwind of paint.
Michel Landi (born 1932) is an incredibly prolific French poster artist with more than 1,500 posters to his name, many of which, like his Bullitt, are very well known. Having worked from the late 50s—when he began by painting the billboards outside Paris movie theaters—through to the 00s, he has worked in many different mediums (he had a notable airbrush period in the 80s) and isn’t really known for one distinctive style. But I recently discovered a number of painted posters by Landi from the late 60s and early 70s that are all very much the work of one artist: all distinguished by wildly expressive brush strokes and a generous, almost fauvist, use of color. The first one I noticed was this exuberant re-release poster for Jacques Tati’s Jour de Fête which renders a carousel as a whirlwind of paint.
- 1/24/2014
- by Adrian Curry
- MUBI
Peter O’Toole movies and Best Actor Oscar nominations (photo: young Peter O’Toole in the early ’60s) (See previous post: "Peter O’Toole ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ Actor: Eight-Time Oscar Nominee Dead at 81.") At the 2003 Academy Awards ceremony, Meryl Streep handed Peter O’Toole an Honorary Oscar. That remained O’Toole’s sole Academy Award "victory." In fact, with eight Best Actor Oscar nominations to his credit, Peter O’Toole held — or rather, holds — the Oscars’ record for the most nods in any of the acting categories without a single (competitive) win. He was shortlisted for the following films: ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ "I can’t imagine anyone whom I’m less like than T.E. Lawrence," Peter O’Toole himself admitted, but his characterization in David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia (1962) was widely admired all the same. The movie itself, however historically inaccurate, also received enthusiastic praise, and was perceived as...
- 12/16/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
In Lawrence of Arabia he was insouciant, elegant and outrageously sexy. It was one of the most brilliant debuts in Hollywood history
• Obituary: Peter O'Toole, 1932-2013
• Peter O'Toole: last of the 60s hellraisers
• Peter O'Toole: a career in clips
Perhaps there were other actors as beautiful as Peter O'Toole in his 60s pomp but surely no one had such mesmeric eyes – the eyes of a seducer, a visionary or an anchorite, a sinner or a saint. That long, handsome face compellingly suggested something intelligent and romantic. But there was also something tortured there, sexually wayward and dysfunctional, something that no O'Toole character would ever entirely own up to.
In 1962, aged 30, the unknown Peter O'Toole made one of the most brilliant debuts in Hollywood history, playing the mercurial Arabist and aesthete Te Lawrence in David Lean's monumental Lawrence Of Arabia. He made a sensational splash – as big...
• Obituary: Peter O'Toole, 1932-2013
• Peter O'Toole: last of the 60s hellraisers
• Peter O'Toole: a career in clips
Perhaps there were other actors as beautiful as Peter O'Toole in his 60s pomp but surely no one had such mesmeric eyes – the eyes of a seducer, a visionary or an anchorite, a sinner or a saint. That long, handsome face compellingly suggested something intelligent and romantic. But there was also something tortured there, sexually wayward and dysfunctional, something that no O'Toole character would ever entirely own up to.
In 1962, aged 30, the unknown Peter O'Toole made one of the most brilliant debuts in Hollywood history, playing the mercurial Arabist and aesthete Te Lawrence in David Lean's monumental Lawrence Of Arabia. He made a sensational splash – as big...
- 12/16/2013
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Alec Guinness: Before Obi-Wan Kenobi, there were the eight D’Ascoyne family members (photo: Alec Guiness, Dennis Price in ‘Kind Hearts and Coronets’) (See previous post: “Alec Guinness Movies: Pre-Star Wars Career.”) TCM won’t be showing The Bridge on the River Kwai on Alec Guinness day, though obviously not because the cable network programmers believe that one four-hour David Lean epic per day should be enough. After all, prior to Lawrence of Arabia TCM will be presenting the three-and-a-half-hour-long Doctor Zhivago (1965), a great-looking but never-ending romantic drama in which Guinness — quite poorly — plays a Kgb official. He’s slightly less miscast as a mere Englishman — one much too young for the then 32-year-old actor — in Lean’s Great Expectations (1946), a movie that fully belongs to boy-loving (in a chaste, fatherly manner) fugitive Finlay Currie. And finally, make sure to watch Robert Hamer’s dark comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets...
- 8/3/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Paul Henreid: From lighting two cigarettes and blowing smoke onto Bette Davis’ face to lighting two cigarettes while directing twin Bette Davises Paul Henreid is back as Turner Classic Movies’ Star of the Month of July 2013. TCM will be showing four movies featuring Henreid (Now, Voyager; Deception; The Madwoman of Chaillot; The Spanish Main) and one directed by him (Dead Ringer). (Photo: Paul Henreid lights two cigarettes on the set of Dead Ringer, while Bette Davis remembers the good old days.) (See also: “Paul Henreid Actor.”) Irving Rapper’s Now, Voyager (1942) was one of Bette Davis’ biggest hits, and it remains one of the best-remembered romantic movies of the studio era — a favorite among numerous women and some gay men. But why? Personally, I find Now, Voyager a major bore, made (barely) watchable only by a few of the supporting performances (Claude Rains, Best Supporting Actress Academy Award nominee...
- 7/10/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
We're halfway through our daily countdowns, with part 15 out of 30 in our listing of the 300 Greatest Films Ever Made. These are numbers 160-151.
160) The Thing From Another World (1951) Christian Nyby USA
159) The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari (1919) Robert Wiene Germany Silent
158) Cabaret (1972) Bob Fosse USA
157) Pinocchio (1940) Walt Disney USA Animated
156) Mr. Deeds Goes To Town (1936) Frank Capra USA
155) The King’S Speech (2010) Tom Hooper USA/British
154) The Big Sleep (1946) Howard Hawks USA
153) The Leopard (1963) Lucianno Visconti France/ Italy
152) Beckett (1964) Peter Glenville USA
151) The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) Orsen Wells USA
Numbers 150-141 coming up next.
film cultureClassicslist300...
160) The Thing From Another World (1951) Christian Nyby USA
159) The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari (1919) Robert Wiene Germany Silent
158) Cabaret (1972) Bob Fosse USA
157) Pinocchio (1940) Walt Disney USA Animated
156) Mr. Deeds Goes To Town (1936) Frank Capra USA
155) The King’S Speech (2010) Tom Hooper USA/British
154) The Big Sleep (1946) Howard Hawks USA
153) The Leopard (1963) Lucianno Visconti France/ Italy
152) Beckett (1964) Peter Glenville USA
151) The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) Orsen Wells USA
Numbers 150-141 coming up next.
film cultureClassicslist300...
- 1/16/2013
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (Rob Young)
- Cinelinx
Grant Bowler / Richard Burton: Liz & Dick Grant Bowler as Richard Burton in Lifetime’s fall movie Liz & Dick looks less convincing than Lindsay Lohan as Elizabeth Taylor. Burton met Taylor at the time the two were making Cleopatra for 20th Century Fox. A troubled production, Cleopatra was initially to have starred Taylor, Peter Finch, and Stephen Boyd, under the direction of Rouben Mamoulian. Mamoulian left, Taylor fell seriously ill, nearly died, and had to have a tracheotomy performed. The end result was a Best Actress Academy Award for her troubles (and for Butterfield 8) and brand new leading men for Cleopatra: Richard Burton as Marc Antony and Rex Harrison as Julius Caesar. By then, Cleopatra also had a new director: two-time Best Director Oscar winner Joseph L. Mankiewicz. A respected stage and screen actor in the ’60s, Richard Burton was nominated for seven Academy Awards. Best Supporting Actor...
- 6/7/2012
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Out of circulation for decades, Peter Glenville’s acclaimed film of Jean Anouilh’s 1959 play was recently restored by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation. Friendly rivals Richard Burton and Peter O’Toole once again don regal robes as Archbishop Thomas Becket and King Henry II, whose emotional relationship sours over matters of faith. Edward Anhalt’s eloquent, endlessly quotable screenplay won the only one of the 12 Oscars this film was nominated for. Five years later O’Toole played an older Henry II in The Lion in Winter.
- 5/25/2012
- by Danny
- Trailers from Hell
Graham Greene's historically reflective story of the terror of 'Papa Doc' loses out to the Burton/Taylor romantic juggernaut
Director: Peter Glenville
Entertainment grade: C+
History grade: A–
François "Papa Doc" Duvalier was elected president of Haiti in 1957. His unrestrained brutality and embezzlement, combined with a personality cult based around Haiti's folk religion, Voodoo, made him one of the most notorious dictators of his time. Novelist and screenwriter Graham Greene based The Comedians on his experiences in Duvalier's Haiti.
Politics
Mr Brown (Richard Burton) arrives back in Haiti after failing to sell his Port-au-Prince hotel. For this production, Port-au-Prince was recreated in Dahomey, now Benin. Most Haitians are descended from slaves transported from that part of west Africa: there are similarities of culture, religion and, sadly, underdevelopment. "I've worked in many worse places," said Burton cheerfully in the making-of documentary. "Like the Sahara desert, and south Wales."
Filming in Haiti was not an option.
Director: Peter Glenville
Entertainment grade: C+
History grade: A–
François "Papa Doc" Duvalier was elected president of Haiti in 1957. His unrestrained brutality and embezzlement, combined with a personality cult based around Haiti's folk religion, Voodoo, made him one of the most notorious dictators of his time. Novelist and screenwriter Graham Greene based The Comedians on his experiences in Duvalier's Haiti.
Politics
Mr Brown (Richard Burton) arrives back in Haiti after failing to sell his Port-au-Prince hotel. For this production, Port-au-Prince was recreated in Dahomey, now Benin. Most Haitians are descended from slaves transported from that part of west Africa: there are similarities of culture, religion and, sadly, underdevelopment. "I've worked in many worse places," said Burton cheerfully in the making-of documentary. "Like the Sahara desert, and south Wales."
Filming in Haiti was not an option.
- 6/2/2011
- by Alex von Tunzelmann
- The Guardian - Film News
He has Colin Farrell/Keira Knightley/Colin Farrell gangster romance London Boulevard about to hit cinemas, but writer William Monahan has already targeted his next directing job. He’s planning to adapt and shoot a fresh take on Jean Anouilh’s play Becket.The stage work charts the disintegration of the friendship between King Henry II and Thomas Becket, who served as Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until 1170. While the pair initially agreed about the King’s reach with regards to religion in England, their disagreement flared into conflict and Becket was brutally murdered by followers of the monarch.Monahan’s script won’t be the first version of the play to hit the big screen – Peter Glenville’s 1964 film starred Richard Burton as the titular holy man and Peter O’Toole as the king, and went on to score 12 Oscar nominations, winning the Best Adapted screenplay award for Edward Anhalt’s script.
- 11/14/2010
- EmpireOnline
According to reports, Oscar winning writer William Monahan ("The Departed") will write/direct the period feature "Becket", for producers Patrick Milling Smith, John Hart and Brian Carmody.
Monahan will adapt the 1959 French play, "Honour of God" by Jean Anouilh, based on true events, previously adapted in 1964 by Hal Wallis Productions, for the Oscar-nominated Paramount Pictures release "Becket", starring Peter O'Toole and Richard Burton.
Paramount's "Becket", directed by Peter Glenville, was set during the late 12th century, 100 years after the 1066 Norman Conquest of England, that largely removed the Anglo-Saxon ruling class, replacing it with a French-speaking monarchy, aristocracy and clerical hierarchy.
The story line monitors the transformation of 'Thomas Becket', a Saxon protege and facilitator to carousing 'King Henry', who is appointed by the King as the Archbishop of Canterbury, formenting resentment on the part of Henry's Norman noblemen.
After Henry complains, during a drunken rage, that Becket is...
Monahan will adapt the 1959 French play, "Honour of God" by Jean Anouilh, based on true events, previously adapted in 1964 by Hal Wallis Productions, for the Oscar-nominated Paramount Pictures release "Becket", starring Peter O'Toole and Richard Burton.
Paramount's "Becket", directed by Peter Glenville, was set during the late 12th century, 100 years after the 1066 Norman Conquest of England, that largely removed the Anglo-Saxon ruling class, replacing it with a French-speaking monarchy, aristocracy and clerical hierarchy.
The story line monitors the transformation of 'Thomas Becket', a Saxon protege and facilitator to carousing 'King Henry', who is appointed by the King as the Archbishop of Canterbury, formenting resentment on the part of Henry's Norman noblemen.
After Henry complains, during a drunken rage, that Becket is...
- 11/14/2010
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
Peter O’Toole in David Lean‘s Lawrence of Arabia Peter O’Toole on TCM: Lawrence Of Arabia, The Last Emperor Schedule (Pt) and synopses from the TCM website: 3:00 Am Day They Robbed The Bank Of England, The (1960) Turn-of-the-century Irish patriots plan to overthrow the British government. Cast: Peter O’Toole, Aldo Ray, Elizabeth Sellars. Dir: John Guillermin. Bw-85 mins. 4:30 Am Night of the Generals, The (1967) A Nazi officer tries to catch a serial killer attacking prostitutes. Cast: Peter O’Toole, Omar Sharif, Tom Courtenay. Dir: Anatole Litvak. C-144 mins. 7:00 Am My Favorite Year (1982) A flamboyant star throws a TV comedy show into chaos. Cast: Peter O’Toole, Mark Linn-Baker, Jessica Harper. Dir: Richard Benjamin. C-92 mins. 8:45 Am Becket (1964) England’s King Henry II appoints his best friend Archbishop of Canterbury then turns on him. Cast: Richard Burton, Peter O’Toole, John Gielgud. Dir: Peter Glenville.
- 8/28/2010
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Every time we start up a commentary track we hope it is going to be as good as the Mike Nichols and Steven Soderbergh track on the new Warner Home Video Two-Disc Special Edition of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" (retail $26.99) is, but 99 times out of 100, it isn't. The Nichols and Soderbergh chat is spellbinding from start to finish, as Nichols describes both his naivete and his acumen as he tackled the project, his first as a film director. They discuss his strategies, his discoveries and his adjustments as the job progressed, and they also speak extensively about the differences and similarities between the story on the stage and on the screen, talk in great detail about the talents of each of the four stars, Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, George Segal and Sandy Dennis, and even share tales about parties they have attended where things have gone awry. It is a consummate talk, an absolute necessity for anyone studying or appreciating the film, and highly worthwhile for casual viewers as one of the rare instances where the mysteries of filmmaking are genuinely uncovered.
"One of the things I think that animated this movie the most was that here were, let's see, one, two, three, four stage people -- Richard, George, Sandy and me -- and starting with Richard, who was the most awed by it, we were all awed by Elizabeth's knowledge of film acting, because it wasn't something you thought of. You just thought she was the world's most beautiful girl, but you didn't realize how much she knew, and they watched her very closely and actually learned from her, and talked about it. And of course, the main thing that Richard learned, and he talked about it, was to do as little as possible. I have hundreds of thousands of feet of Richard listening in scenes, and he does absolutely nothing but listen. I think that they're actually learning from Elizabeth -- of course, she wouldn't talk about it or couldn't talk about it. Over and over, I'd say, after 'Take 18, ' 'I guess that's it, there's not going to be any more.' I'd say, 'OK, that's great. Thanks, Elizabeth, ' and see it the next day, and it was like 50% better. There was all these things that you couldn't see standing six feet away, but they were there. And then, when I was editing and scoring, I realized she even left some room for the score. She counted on all that in some semiconscious way. So they were watching her, they were learning, and loving working with her, because of the great surprise of her being able to handle all this verbal material."
The first platter also features the informative commentary from cinematographer Haskell Wexler that was featured on the original release (Nov. 1997), which concludes about a half hour before the 131-minute film is over. The black-and-white picture is presented in letterboxed format only, with an aspect ratio of about 1.78:1 and an accommodation for enhanced 16:9 playback. The letterboxing on the initial DVD had no 16:9 enhancement and a crisper picture, although the smoothed out image on the new release looks slightly cleaner in places. In any case, the transfer was great before and is still great on the new release. The monophonic sound noticeably stronger and clearer. There is an alternate French language track and optional English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Korean subtitles.
The second platter contains a very good 20-minute retrospective documentary about the film and another great 11-minute piece about the 1966 film's impact on motion picture censorship and ratings in America. There is a 66-minute look at Taylor's career from 1975 that combines clips from some of her films and sit-down interviews with a few of the men who have worked with her in front of and behind the camera, a fantastic 7-minute collection of widescreen screen tests of Dennis (with Roddy MacDowall!), a 9-minute Nichols interview from 1966, and a trailer.
Woolf has also been included in the Warner boxed set, "Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton Film Collection" (retail, $49.97), accompanied by three MGM productions made during the maelstrom of their tabloid romance, "The V.I.P.s" from 1963, "The Sandpiper" from 1965 and "The Comedians" from 1967.
"The Comedians" has what is probably their hottest love scenes ever, as Burton kisses Taylor's neck with confident desire and pulls her away from distraction with his attention. It is also the second best film in the group, after "Woolf". Based upon an ironically titled story and screenplay by Graham Greene, it is set in Haiti (and was deftly shot, in part, in Africa) where a dictator has begun cracking down on dissidents. Burton is the owner of an empty resort hotel, Taylor is the wife of an ambassador played by Peter Ustinov, and Alec Guinness is a would-be gun merchant. Lillian Gish and Paul Ford (delivering one of the best performances in his character actor career) are also featured, along with a litany of terrific black stars who didn't make the jacket credits, including Roscoe Lee Browne, James Earl Jones, Raymond St. Jacques and Cicely Tyson. Directed by Peter Glenville and running 152 minutes, the heroism of Greene's characters are distributed in smaller doses than is usually prescribed for the movies, so it may take a viewing or two to get used to their flaws and shortcomings, but the movie does convey a novel's sense of adventure in its hefty scope. That, combined with the dense moral explorations that are Green's hallmark and the don't-you-wish-you-were-him/her fireworks of the Burton-Taylor couplings can make very satisfying entertainment if you give it a chance.
The picture is presented in letterboxed format only, with an aspect ratio of about 2.35:1 and an accommodation for enhanced 16:9 playback. The color transfer is generally in good condition, with accurate fleshtones and solid hues. The monophonic sound is OK, and there are optional English, French and Spanish subtitles. A good 11-minute production featurette from 1967 is also included.
A "Grand Hotel" tale set in the waiting lounge of a London airport and then later in a hotel when fog prevents any flights from taking off, "The V.I.P.s" feels as if it were hastily constructed to capitalize on the notoriety of Burton and Taylor's romantic involvement, even though, within the film itself, they portray a long-married pair who are on the outs, though not with the vindictive fervor on display in "Woolf". The film is mostly claptrap, with Rod Taylor as an industrialist who is in danger of losing his company, Maggie Smith as his overly devoted secretary, Margaret Rutherford as a pill-popping duchess who is in danger of losing her estate, and Orson Welles as a film director in danger of losing his tax shelters. Louis Jourdan is a gambler who has come between the Burton and Taylor characters. Rutherford somehow managed to nab an Oscar for her presence, though it was more likely to have been in appreciation for her efforts as "Miss Marple" and such during the same period of time. Nevertheless, Taylor gives a lovely, delicate performance, and really rescues the movie from being a complete waste of time. If, in "The Comedians", you can see their passion, and in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" you can see their familiarity, than in "The V.I.P.s", you can at least catch glimpses of the starry-eyed affection they have for one another.
The color transfer looks gorgeous, with vivid, crisp fleshtones and bright, solid hues. The presentation is in letterboxed format only, with an aspect ratio of about 2.35:1 and an accommodation for enhanced 16:9 playback. The monophonic sound is clear enough to hear Welles' ADR work-it is a real shame he and Burton couldn't have a scene together. The 119-minute program has an alternate French audio track, and optional English, French, and Spanish subtitles.
The only film Taylor and Burton made that is exclusively about the romance between the two characters they are playing, "The Sandpiper" would be far more compelling if parts of it weren't so snickeringly giggleable. Burton plays a cleric and the head of an exclusive parochial school, and Eva Marie Saint is his wife. Taylor's character is a Bohemian artist, and atheist, living in a nice-looking house that has no apparent plumbing and no electricity, above the waves of Big Sur. When her young son commits a felony by shooting a deer, he is sent by a judge to the school-that part of the story is actually legit, since Family Court often makes use of such facilities -- and in no time at all, Burton and Taylor's characters go from arguing about the legitimacy of religion to grappling in the sand. The film's credits list five different screenwriters, including Dalton Trumbo, and each one seems to have had a different agenda. It was directed by Vincente Minnelli, who was, by that time, starting to lose his masterful touch. What happens is that as a scene progresses, there will be a cut to an exaggerated reaction by either Taylor or Burton that will be completely out of keeping with the tone of their performances up to that point, breaking whatever spell they had established. And then it will happen again -- a passage of dialog, a look, an expression of emotion-something always seems to pop up to distract the viewer from the atmosphere and drama the filmmakers are trying to establish. Taylor's body shape also seems to alter from scene to scene. The folds of skin on her belly are delectable, but it becomes disconcerting when in other shots she's as thin as the legs of a piper. More so than even "The V.I.P.s", however, the 117-minute film captures the thrall of their shared midlife crisis and awashes the viewer in its foam. The popularity of the films that shadowed their real romance was a phenomenon unique to its era, and quite possibly, now that the world is oversaturated with celebrities, may never happen again.
Like "The V.I.P.s", the color transfer is gorgeous, with rich fleshtones and vivid hues. The picture is presented in letterboxed format only, with an aspect ratio of about 2.35:1 and an accommodation for enhanced 16:9 playback. The monophonic sound is fine. There is an alternate French audio track, optional English, French and Spanish subtitles, a good 4-minute black-and-white production featurette about making a redwood statue of Taylor that is used in the film, and an 8-minute black-and-white poetic portrait of Big Sur narrated by Burton.
"One of the things I think that animated this movie the most was that here were, let's see, one, two, three, four stage people -- Richard, George, Sandy and me -- and starting with Richard, who was the most awed by it, we were all awed by Elizabeth's knowledge of film acting, because it wasn't something you thought of. You just thought she was the world's most beautiful girl, but you didn't realize how much she knew, and they watched her very closely and actually learned from her, and talked about it. And of course, the main thing that Richard learned, and he talked about it, was to do as little as possible. I have hundreds of thousands of feet of Richard listening in scenes, and he does absolutely nothing but listen. I think that they're actually learning from Elizabeth -- of course, she wouldn't talk about it or couldn't talk about it. Over and over, I'd say, after 'Take 18, ' 'I guess that's it, there's not going to be any more.' I'd say, 'OK, that's great. Thanks, Elizabeth, ' and see it the next day, and it was like 50% better. There was all these things that you couldn't see standing six feet away, but they were there. And then, when I was editing and scoring, I realized she even left some room for the score. She counted on all that in some semiconscious way. So they were watching her, they were learning, and loving working with her, because of the great surprise of her being able to handle all this verbal material."
The first platter also features the informative commentary from cinematographer Haskell Wexler that was featured on the original release (Nov. 1997), which concludes about a half hour before the 131-minute film is over. The black-and-white picture is presented in letterboxed format only, with an aspect ratio of about 1.78:1 and an accommodation for enhanced 16:9 playback. The letterboxing on the initial DVD had no 16:9 enhancement and a crisper picture, although the smoothed out image on the new release looks slightly cleaner in places. In any case, the transfer was great before and is still great on the new release. The monophonic sound noticeably stronger and clearer. There is an alternate French language track and optional English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Korean subtitles.
The second platter contains a very good 20-minute retrospective documentary about the film and another great 11-minute piece about the 1966 film's impact on motion picture censorship and ratings in America. There is a 66-minute look at Taylor's career from 1975 that combines clips from some of her films and sit-down interviews with a few of the men who have worked with her in front of and behind the camera, a fantastic 7-minute collection of widescreen screen tests of Dennis (with Roddy MacDowall!), a 9-minute Nichols interview from 1966, and a trailer.
Woolf has also been included in the Warner boxed set, "Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton Film Collection" (retail, $49.97), accompanied by three MGM productions made during the maelstrom of their tabloid romance, "The V.I.P.s" from 1963, "The Sandpiper" from 1965 and "The Comedians" from 1967.
"The Comedians" has what is probably their hottest love scenes ever, as Burton kisses Taylor's neck with confident desire and pulls her away from distraction with his attention. It is also the second best film in the group, after "Woolf". Based upon an ironically titled story and screenplay by Graham Greene, it is set in Haiti (and was deftly shot, in part, in Africa) where a dictator has begun cracking down on dissidents. Burton is the owner of an empty resort hotel, Taylor is the wife of an ambassador played by Peter Ustinov, and Alec Guinness is a would-be gun merchant. Lillian Gish and Paul Ford (delivering one of the best performances in his character actor career) are also featured, along with a litany of terrific black stars who didn't make the jacket credits, including Roscoe Lee Browne, James Earl Jones, Raymond St. Jacques and Cicely Tyson. Directed by Peter Glenville and running 152 minutes, the heroism of Greene's characters are distributed in smaller doses than is usually prescribed for the movies, so it may take a viewing or two to get used to their flaws and shortcomings, but the movie does convey a novel's sense of adventure in its hefty scope. That, combined with the dense moral explorations that are Green's hallmark and the don't-you-wish-you-were-him/her fireworks of the Burton-Taylor couplings can make very satisfying entertainment if you give it a chance.
The picture is presented in letterboxed format only, with an aspect ratio of about 2.35:1 and an accommodation for enhanced 16:9 playback. The color transfer is generally in good condition, with accurate fleshtones and solid hues. The monophonic sound is OK, and there are optional English, French and Spanish subtitles. A good 11-minute production featurette from 1967 is also included.
A "Grand Hotel" tale set in the waiting lounge of a London airport and then later in a hotel when fog prevents any flights from taking off, "The V.I.P.s" feels as if it were hastily constructed to capitalize on the notoriety of Burton and Taylor's romantic involvement, even though, within the film itself, they portray a long-married pair who are on the outs, though not with the vindictive fervor on display in "Woolf". The film is mostly claptrap, with Rod Taylor as an industrialist who is in danger of losing his company, Maggie Smith as his overly devoted secretary, Margaret Rutherford as a pill-popping duchess who is in danger of losing her estate, and Orson Welles as a film director in danger of losing his tax shelters. Louis Jourdan is a gambler who has come between the Burton and Taylor characters. Rutherford somehow managed to nab an Oscar for her presence, though it was more likely to have been in appreciation for her efforts as "Miss Marple" and such during the same period of time. Nevertheless, Taylor gives a lovely, delicate performance, and really rescues the movie from being a complete waste of time. If, in "The Comedians", you can see their passion, and in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" you can see their familiarity, than in "The V.I.P.s", you can at least catch glimpses of the starry-eyed affection they have for one another.
The color transfer looks gorgeous, with vivid, crisp fleshtones and bright, solid hues. The presentation is in letterboxed format only, with an aspect ratio of about 2.35:1 and an accommodation for enhanced 16:9 playback. The monophonic sound is clear enough to hear Welles' ADR work-it is a real shame he and Burton couldn't have a scene together. The 119-minute program has an alternate French audio track, and optional English, French, and Spanish subtitles.
The only film Taylor and Burton made that is exclusively about the romance between the two characters they are playing, "The Sandpiper" would be far more compelling if parts of it weren't so snickeringly giggleable. Burton plays a cleric and the head of an exclusive parochial school, and Eva Marie Saint is his wife. Taylor's character is a Bohemian artist, and atheist, living in a nice-looking house that has no apparent plumbing and no electricity, above the waves of Big Sur. When her young son commits a felony by shooting a deer, he is sent by a judge to the school-that part of the story is actually legit, since Family Court often makes use of such facilities -- and in no time at all, Burton and Taylor's characters go from arguing about the legitimacy of religion to grappling in the sand. The film's credits list five different screenwriters, including Dalton Trumbo, and each one seems to have had a different agenda. It was directed by Vincente Minnelli, who was, by that time, starting to lose his masterful touch. What happens is that as a scene progresses, there will be a cut to an exaggerated reaction by either Taylor or Burton that will be completely out of keeping with the tone of their performances up to that point, breaking whatever spell they had established. And then it will happen again -- a passage of dialog, a look, an expression of emotion-something always seems to pop up to distract the viewer from the atmosphere and drama the filmmakers are trying to establish. Taylor's body shape also seems to alter from scene to scene. The folds of skin on her belly are delectable, but it becomes disconcerting when in other shots she's as thin as the legs of a piper. More so than even "The V.I.P.s", however, the 117-minute film captures the thrall of their shared midlife crisis and awashes the viewer in its foam. The popularity of the films that shadowed their real romance was a phenomenon unique to its era, and quite possibly, now that the world is oversaturated with celebrities, may never happen again.
Like "The V.I.P.s", the color transfer is gorgeous, with rich fleshtones and vivid hues. The picture is presented in letterboxed format only, with an aspect ratio of about 2.35:1 and an accommodation for enhanced 16:9 playback. The monophonic sound is fine. There is an alternate French audio track, optional English, French and Spanish subtitles, a good 4-minute black-and-white production featurette about making a redwood statue of Taylor that is used in the film, and an 8-minute black-and-white poetic portrait of Big Sur narrated by Burton.
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