Oscar-nominated film director and producer Norman Jewison, who steered the 1967 racial drama “In the Heat of the Night” to a best picture Oscar and also helmed such popular films as “Moonstruck,” “The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming” and “The Thomas Crown Affair,” as well as film musicals “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Jesus Christ Superstar,” died Saturday at his Los Angeles residence. He was 97.
His film career began with fluffy Doris Day comedies like “The Thrill of It All.” But Jewison’s social conscience began to surface with “In the Heat of the Night” and, later, the labor union drama “F.I.S.T.” and other films focusing on racial tensions such as “A Soldier’s Story” and “The Landlord” (the latter of which he only produced), though he never abandoned comedies and romances.
Jewison had his share of box office hits and was usually attuned to the audience pulse, but did...
His film career began with fluffy Doris Day comedies like “The Thrill of It All.” But Jewison’s social conscience began to surface with “In the Heat of the Night” and, later, the labor union drama “F.I.S.T.” and other films focusing on racial tensions such as “A Soldier’s Story” and “The Landlord” (the latter of which he only produced), though he never abandoned comedies and romances.
Jewison had his share of box office hits and was usually attuned to the audience pulse, but did...
- 1/22/2024
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
Culver City, Calif. – Continuing the fan-favorite and award-winning series—and as part of the upcoming 100th anniversary of Columbia Pictures—Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is proud to debut six more beloved films from its library on 4K Ultra HD disc for the first time ever, exclusively within the Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Volume 4, available February 13. This must-own set includes films with which audiences around the world have fallen in love: His Girl Friday, Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner, Kramer Vs. Kramer, Starman, Sleepless In Seattle and Punch-drunk Love. Each film is presented in 4K resolution with Dolby Vision High Dynamic Range, and five of the films have all-new Dolby Atmos mixes.
The six films in the Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Volume 4 are only available on 4K Ultra HD disc within this special limited edition collector’s set. The collection includes a gorgeous hardbound 80-page book, featuring...
The six films in the Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Volume 4 are only available on 4K Ultra HD disc within this special limited edition collector’s set. The collection includes a gorgeous hardbound 80-page book, featuring...
- 11/19/2023
- by ComicMix Staff
- Comicmix.com
“Sleepless in Seattle,” “Punch-Drunk Love” and four more films from Columbia Pictures will make their 4K Ultra HD debut Feb. 13, 2024, via Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Vol. 4, the latest installment in Sphe’s series of limited edition sets culling critical and commercial hits from the studio’s storied library, will feature Nora Ephron and Paul Thomas Anderson’s romantic comedies — along with Howard Hawks’ “His Girl Friday,” Stanley Kramer’s “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” Robert Benton’s “Kramer vs. Kramer” and John Carpenter’s “Starman.” In addition to more than 30 hours of legacy bonus content for each film, the set includes a bonus disc featuring the entirety of the 1986 “Starman” television series, as well as an 80-page hardbound book exploring the impact and legacy of the six films.
Matching its predecessors, the packaging for the set showcases the included titles, and opens to display...
Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Vol. 4, the latest installment in Sphe’s series of limited edition sets culling critical and commercial hits from the studio’s storied library, will feature Nora Ephron and Paul Thomas Anderson’s romantic comedies — along with Howard Hawks’ “His Girl Friday,” Stanley Kramer’s “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” Robert Benton’s “Kramer vs. Kramer” and John Carpenter’s “Starman.” In addition to more than 30 hours of legacy bonus content for each film, the set includes a bonus disc featuring the entirety of the 1986 “Starman” television series, as well as an 80-page hardbound book exploring the impact and legacy of the six films.
Matching its predecessors, the packaging for the set showcases the included titles, and opens to display...
- 11/17/2023
- by Todd Gilchrist
- Variety Film + TV
Wes Anderson recommends Warner Bros.’ early Barbara Stanwyck vehicle Baby Face, made in 1933 during pre-Production Code Hollywood, for top viewing as part of the November 2023 Turner Classic Movies lineup in the Asteroid City director’s own TCM Picks video that dropped on Wednesday.
The Hollywood studio made the infamous melodrama from director Alfred E. Green during the height of the Depression and before the official censors got their scissors into studio movies after Hollywood’s attempts at self-censorship, including with the Hays Code, failed to keep critics and the authorities at bay.
“There’s a period there where there’s nobody stopping them. Baby Face follows into that time, very, very strongly. It’s one of the most pre-code, pre-codes I can think of,” Anderson says of the breakout movie for a young Stanwyck.
The legendary Hollywood actress early in her career plays a character aptly named Lily Powers, a...
The Hollywood studio made the infamous melodrama from director Alfred E. Green during the height of the Depression and before the official censors got their scissors into studio movies after Hollywood’s attempts at self-censorship, including with the Hays Code, failed to keep critics and the authorities at bay.
“There’s a period there where there’s nobody stopping them. Baby Face follows into that time, very, very strongly. It’s one of the most pre-code, pre-codes I can think of,” Anderson says of the breakout movie for a young Stanwyck.
The legendary Hollywood actress early in her career plays a character aptly named Lily Powers, a...
- 11/1/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
When Twa Flight 3, a twin-engine DC-3 concluding its cross-country route from Indiana to Burbank, California, slammed into Potosi Mountain just outside of Las Vegas in the early evening of January 16, 1942, the movies lost its greatest screwball comedienne.
Carole Lombard was 33 years old, and had just weathered a run of tepidly received dramas to reclaim her stature as one of Hollywood's most dependably hilarious performers via Alfred Hitchcock's "Mr. and Mrs. Smith." She was about to receive another round of critical acclaim for her turn as the Polish theater diva Maria Tura in Ernst Lubitsch's masterful "To Be or Not to Be." She was married to Rhett Butler himself, Clark Gable, and had committed herself to the war effort (she'd been in her home state of Indiana to host a war bond rally). Lombard was as beloved and consequential an actor as there was in the industry, and, just like that,...
Carole Lombard was 33 years old, and had just weathered a run of tepidly received dramas to reclaim her stature as one of Hollywood's most dependably hilarious performers via Alfred Hitchcock's "Mr. and Mrs. Smith." She was about to receive another round of critical acclaim for her turn as the Polish theater diva Maria Tura in Ernst Lubitsch's masterful "To Be or Not to Be." She was married to Rhett Butler himself, Clark Gable, and had committed herself to the war effort (she'd been in her home state of Indiana to host a war bond rally). Lombard was as beloved and consequential an actor as there was in the industry, and, just like that,...
- 5/13/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Click here to read the full article.
Based on New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor’s account of their harpooning of the powerhouse producer and loathsome sexual predator Harvey Weinstein, Maria Schrader’s She Said had a lot going for it: two congenial performers (Carey Mulligan as Twohey and Zoe Kazan as Kantor); a narrative fixation on the target of opportunity; and the cathartic satisfactions of justice served, eventually.
Yet She Said was also — not to bury the lede — a bit pedantic and procedural. Journalism here is serious business — akin to a sacred vocation, actually — and its practitioners are straitlaced and earnest.
This is not the way Hollywood traditionally portrayed members of the Fourth Estate. The ink-stained progenitors of today’s digital crusaders were crude, irreverent, and often inebriated. They didn’t want to change the world or give voice to the voiceless; they wanted to crush the competition by any sneaky,...
Based on New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor’s account of their harpooning of the powerhouse producer and loathsome sexual predator Harvey Weinstein, Maria Schrader’s She Said had a lot going for it: two congenial performers (Carey Mulligan as Twohey and Zoe Kazan as Kantor); a narrative fixation on the target of opportunity; and the cathartic satisfactions of justice served, eventually.
Yet She Said was also — not to bury the lede — a bit pedantic and procedural. Journalism here is serious business — akin to a sacred vocation, actually — and its practitioners are straitlaced and earnest.
This is not the way Hollywood traditionally portrayed members of the Fourth Estate. The ink-stained progenitors of today’s digital crusaders were crude, irreverent, and often inebriated. They didn’t want to change the world or give voice to the voiceless; they wanted to crush the competition by any sneaky,...
- 12/17/2022
- by Thomas Doherty
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Al Pacino created an urban legend with Tony Montana, and Brian De Palma’s Scarface (1983) is an icon of the gangster film genre; one of an unholy trinity alongside The Godfather (1972) and Goodfellas (1990). But when it premiered in New York, Steven Bauer, who played Manny Ribera in the film, remembers Martin Scorsese turning around halfway through the movie to warn: “You guys are great, but be prepared, because they’re going to hate it in Hollywood. Because it’s about them.”
The same could be said about the original Scarface. Studio filmmakers saw producer Howard Hughes as a rich interloper, bullying his way onto the lot with too many guns blazing. Conversely, Brian De Palma’s Scarface is about excess, and how success depends on it. Oliver Stone’s screenplay for the ‘80s movie used a gangster as an allegory for the Reagan administration’s war on drugs and the capitalistic greed of the era.
The same could be said about the original Scarface. Studio filmmakers saw producer Howard Hughes as a rich interloper, bullying his way onto the lot with too many guns blazing. Conversely, Brian De Palma’s Scarface is about excess, and how success depends on it. Oliver Stone’s screenplay for the ‘80s movie used a gangster as an allegory for the Reagan administration’s war on drugs and the capitalistic greed of the era.
- 9/11/2022
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
The American Friend director Wim Wenders on Patricia Highsmith: “Amazing strong person.” Photo: courtesy of Swiss Literary Archives
In honour of Patricia Highsmith and the US theatrical première of Eva Vitija’s intimate Loving Highsmith, Film Forum in New York has scheduled movies adapted from the novels of the acclaimed author to show simultaneously with the documentary.
Eva Vitija with Anne-Katrin Titze: “The character of Ripley shows much about Patricia Highsmith herself.”
Highsmith On Screen includes Alfred Hitchcock’s Strangers On A Train; René Clément’s Purple Noon; Wim Wenders’s The American Friend (starring Dennis Hopper and Bruno Ganz); Anthony Minghella’s The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Todd Haynes’s Carol (screenplay by Phyllis Nagy, adapted from The Price of Salt, starring Rooney Mara, Kyle Chandler, and...
In honour of Patricia Highsmith and the US theatrical première of Eva Vitija’s intimate Loving Highsmith, Film Forum in New York has scheduled movies adapted from the novels of the acclaimed author to show simultaneously with the documentary.
Eva Vitija with Anne-Katrin Titze: “The character of Ripley shows much about Patricia Highsmith herself.”
Highsmith On Screen includes Alfred Hitchcock’s Strangers On A Train; René Clément’s Purple Noon; Wim Wenders’s The American Friend (starring Dennis Hopper and Bruno Ganz); Anthony Minghella’s The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Todd Haynes’s Carol (screenplay by Phyllis Nagy, adapted from The Price of Salt, starring Rooney Mara, Kyle Chandler, and...
- 8/31/2022
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
When a rom-com clicks, that usually means it’s firing on both cylinders: romance and comedy. The sparks fly, the jokes tickle, the situations swirl. But then there’s the sort of comfort-food rom-com-of-the-week like “Wedding Season.” It features a couple of highly appealing actors, Pallavi Sharda and Suraj Sharma, in the tale of two sexy assimilated Indian Americans from Jersey City who are doing all they can to escape their parents’ legacy of arranged-marriage traditionalism.
The movie has jokes, like the barbed insults the two exchange when they meet at a diner for cheeseburgers and sloppy fries after learning that their folks signed them up on the same dating app. It has twists, like when they figure out that they don’t like each other but agree to enter into a fake relationship, all so that the local yentas will stop pestering them. It has turns, like when they...
The movie has jokes, like the barbed insults the two exchange when they meet at a diner for cheeseburgers and sloppy fries after learning that their folks signed them up on the same dating app. It has twists, like when they figure out that they don’t like each other but agree to enter into a fake relationship, all so that the local yentas will stop pestering them. It has turns, like when they...
- 8/4/2022
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
They’ve hit us with three remakes of this one, one about another actress and two about music stars — maybe the next will be about a TikTok star. Thanks to an unexpected full digital restoration from original Technicolor elements, this 1937 original once again plays like a winner. Silent legend Janet Gaynor is Esther Blodgett, soon to become the famous Vicki Lester. Fredric March gives one of his best performances as a matinee idol running his career into the ground with drink. David O. Selznick’s classy production takes some cynical jabs at The Biz yet characterizes Adolph Menjou’s producer as an all-wise, all-forgiving saint. The Wac adds great extras in full HD — a swing musical short and a sarcastic Merrie Melodie cartoon that spoofs the main feature.
A Star is Born (1937)
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1937 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 111 min. / Available at Amazon.com / Street Date March 29, 2022 / 21.99
Starring: Janet Gaynor, Fredric March,...
A Star is Born (1937)
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1937 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 111 min. / Available at Amazon.com / Street Date March 29, 2022 / 21.99
Starring: Janet Gaynor, Fredric March,...
- 3/19/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Judd Bernard, the producer and screenwriter behind films such as “Point Blank” and “Double Trouble,” died Jan. 25 in Burbank, Calif., his family confirmed to Variety. He was 94.
Bernard was born in 1927, and grew up in Chicago. He attended University of Wisconsin, and after graduation moved to New York City to become a band leader and then a publicist. As a publicist, he worked with Billie Holiday, Stanley Kramer, Louis B. Mayer, David Selznick and Ben Hecht, among others.
Bernard would begin his career as a producer in 1967 with the Elvis Presley musical film “Double Trouble.” While working on the film as a co-producer, he met Patricia Casey, who served an assistant on the film. He and Casey married shortly afterwards and moved to London together. The two worked together as producers on multiple projects, including “The Man Who Had Power Over Woman,” “Fade In” and Bernard’s final film credit,...
Bernard was born in 1927, and grew up in Chicago. He attended University of Wisconsin, and after graduation moved to New York City to become a band leader and then a publicist. As a publicist, he worked with Billie Holiday, Stanley Kramer, Louis B. Mayer, David Selznick and Ben Hecht, among others.
Bernard would begin his career as a producer in 1967 with the Elvis Presley musical film “Double Trouble.” While working on the film as a co-producer, he met Patricia Casey, who served an assistant on the film. He and Casey married shortly afterwards and moved to London together. The two worked together as producers on multiple projects, including “The Man Who Had Power Over Woman,” “Fade In” and Bernard’s final film credit,...
- 2/9/2022
- by Wilson Chapman
- Variety Film + TV
The Spider Woman Strikes Back
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1946/ B&w / 1.33:1 / 59 Minutes
Starring Gale Sondergaard, Brenda Joyce, Kirby Grant
Directed by Arthur Lubin
People are measured by the company they keep—in a superhero’s case, that company is usually the supervillain. Villains, besides giving the hero a reason to exist in the first place, can liven up the joint; a dam burst here, a toppled bridge there, chaos and special effects ensue, and the popcorn munchers are happy. Sherlock Holmes was one of the few heroes who was fun all by himself (due respect to Dr. Watson)—the detective’s obsessive-compulsive brilliance, his monkish lifestyle, and his fondness for beekeeping and cocaine were just some of his more endearing quirks.
The filmed versions of Conan Doyle’s most famous character—not a superhero but seemingly immortal—were not so concerned with Holmes’s idiosyncrasies. This was especially true...
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1946/ B&w / 1.33:1 / 59 Minutes
Starring Gale Sondergaard, Brenda Joyce, Kirby Grant
Directed by Arthur Lubin
People are measured by the company they keep—in a superhero’s case, that company is usually the supervillain. Villains, besides giving the hero a reason to exist in the first place, can liven up the joint; a dam burst here, a toppled bridge there, chaos and special effects ensue, and the popcorn munchers are happy. Sherlock Holmes was one of the few heroes who was fun all by himself (due respect to Dr. Watson)—the detective’s obsessive-compulsive brilliance, his monkish lifestyle, and his fondness for beekeeping and cocaine were just some of his more endearing quirks.
The filmed versions of Conan Doyle’s most famous character—not a superhero but seemingly immortal—were not so concerned with Holmes’s idiosyncrasies. This was especially true...
- 1/29/2022
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
The hustle of show business means people not-infrequently have two projects hitting the market at the same time.
Even so, filmmaker Nick Davis is the creative force behind one of the more unusual doubleheaders in recent memory. He directed ESPN “30 for 30” limited series Once Upon a Time in Queens, an account of the World Series-winning, earth-scorching 1986 New York Mets. The two-night, four hour docuseries, whose executive producers include Jimmy Kimmel, premieres tonight and concludes tomorrow. Also today, Knopf has published Davis’s book, Competing with Idiots, a dual portrait of Joseph and Herman Mankiewicz that had been in the works for nearly two decades. The Hollywood royals were his great-uncle and grandfather, respectively.
“I’ve thought about what common ground there is between these projects,” Davis said in an interview with Deadline. “And I think what it is is that I have no memory of not being Herman Mankiewicz’s grandson.
Even so, filmmaker Nick Davis is the creative force behind one of the more unusual doubleheaders in recent memory. He directed ESPN “30 for 30” limited series Once Upon a Time in Queens, an account of the World Series-winning, earth-scorching 1986 New York Mets. The two-night, four hour docuseries, whose executive producers include Jimmy Kimmel, premieres tonight and concludes tomorrow. Also today, Knopf has published Davis’s book, Competing with Idiots, a dual portrait of Joseph and Herman Mankiewicz that had been in the works for nearly two decades. The Hollywood royals were his great-uncle and grandfather, respectively.
“I’ve thought about what common ground there is between these projects,” Davis said in an interview with Deadline. “And I think what it is is that I have no memory of not being Herman Mankiewicz’s grandson.
- 9/14/2021
- by Dade Hayes
- Deadline Film + TV
“It’s strange, but some movies present themselves almost entirely in your head.”—Joel Coen
“I’ll show you a life of the mind!”—Charlie Meadows, a.k.a. Karl Mundt, a.k.a. “Madman” Mundt
Everyone knows about the telegram. It’s an apocryphal Hollywood story, with the actual letter lost to time. But its recipient Ben Hecht quotes it in his memoir, A Child of the Century. The famed journalist, novelist and playwright was toiling away in New York when he received a missive straight from Babylon, courtesy...
“I’ll show you a life of the mind!”—Charlie Meadows, a.k.a. Karl Mundt, a.k.a. “Madman” Mundt
Everyone knows about the telegram. It’s an apocryphal Hollywood story, with the actual letter lost to time. But its recipient Ben Hecht quotes it in his memoir, A Child of the Century. The famed journalist, novelist and playwright was toiling away in New York when he received a missive straight from Babylon, courtesy...
- 8/21/2021
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none
By Todd Garbarini
I originally saw the Brian De Palma/Al Pacino version of Scarface (1983) on laserdisc in 1994 and again in a 20th anniversary theatrical screening in New York, but not since. Recently, I decided to have revisit it on Netflix and was amazed that I recalled very little of it. The constant use of profanity and the intensity of some of the violent set pieces, in particular the notorious chainsaw scene, are tamer than the language and the most violent moments of HBO’s The Sopranos (1999 – 2007) and Showtime’s Brotherhood (2006 – 2008). However, in 1983 Universal Pictures was prompted to release the film with the following caveat in the newspaper ads when the film was released in December: “Caution – Scarface is an intense film both in its use of language and depiction of violence. We suggest mature audiences.” While one might think this was a...
By Todd Garbarini
I originally saw the Brian De Palma/Al Pacino version of Scarface (1983) on laserdisc in 1994 and again in a 20th anniversary theatrical screening in New York, but not since. Recently, I decided to have revisit it on Netflix and was amazed that I recalled very little of it. The constant use of profanity and the intensity of some of the violent set pieces, in particular the notorious chainsaw scene, are tamer than the language and the most violent moments of HBO’s The Sopranos (1999 – 2007) and Showtime’s Brotherhood (2006 – 2008). However, in 1983 Universal Pictures was prompted to release the film with the following caveat in the newspaper ads when the film was released in December: “Caution – Scarface is an intense film both in its use of language and depiction of violence. We suggest mature audiences.” While one might think this was a...
- 7/28/2021
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Still the fiercest and most cinematic of the first wave of gangster classics, Howards Hughes and Hawks’s pre-Code rule-breaker was the one that brought down the ban on ‘glamorous’ gangster movies. In this case classic hardly means dated: the cars and clothes are vintage but the sex and violence are sizzling hot. Paul Muni is the primitive killer who falls in love with submachine guns and George Raft is his loyal trigger man. Karen Morley and especially Ann Dvorak are indeed the hottest pre-Code seducers in film. Plus, Boris Karloff contributes a mobster snarl as a lightly-disguised Bugs Moran. It’s a bullet-ridden city, that’s for sure, and the filmmakers frequently use expressionist effects: like X Marks The Spot!
Scarface
Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] 37
1932 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 93 min. 33 sec. + 95 min. 34 sec. / Scarface, Shame of a Nation / Street Date April 28, 2021 / Available from / 34.95 (au)
Starring: Paul Muni, Ann Dvorak, Karen Morley,...
Scarface
Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] 37
1932 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 93 min. 33 sec. + 95 min. 34 sec. / Scarface, Shame of a Nation / Street Date April 28, 2021 / Available from / 34.95 (au)
Starring: Paul Muni, Ann Dvorak, Karen Morley,...
- 6/5/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Auteur! Auteur! Four of this year’s Best Director Oscar nominees — Chloe Zhao (“Nomadland”), Emerald Fennell (“Promising Young Woman”), Lee Isaac Chung (“Minari”) and Thomas Vinterberg (“Another Round”) — have a writing credit on their films. Zhao, Fennell and Chung reaped bids for their scripting efforts.
Over the past decade, the majority of the Oscar-winning directors were also nominated for their screenplays. Last year, Boon Joon-Ho won Best Director and shared in the Original Screenplay award with Han Jan for their work on the Best Picture champ “Parasite.”
Though writer/directors getting Oscar love is the norm these days, that wasn’t always the case. When nominations were announced for the first Academy Awards, Charlie Chaplin was cited for both Best Actor and Comedy Direction for his 1928 masterpiece “The Circus,” which he also wrote and produced. But the academy decided to withdraw his name from the competitive classes and decided “that...
Over the past decade, the majority of the Oscar-winning directors were also nominated for their screenplays. Last year, Boon Joon-Ho won Best Director and shared in the Original Screenplay award with Han Jan for their work on the Best Picture champ “Parasite.”
Though writer/directors getting Oscar love is the norm these days, that wasn’t always the case. When nominations were announced for the first Academy Awards, Charlie Chaplin was cited for both Best Actor and Comedy Direction for his 1928 masterpiece “The Circus,” which he also wrote and produced. But the academy decided to withdraw his name from the competitive classes and decided “that...
- 3/28/2021
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Twentieth Century
Blu ray – Region B
Indicator
1934 / 1.33:1 / 91 min.
Starring John Barrymore, Carole Lombard
Cinematography by Joseph August
Directed by Howard Hawks
All the world’s a stage and that includes the Twentieth Century, a deluxe passenger train transformed into an itinerant theater thanks to the first class talent in first class, Carole Lombard and John Barrymore. The story of a has-been director conniving to get back on Broadway with the help of a former protege, Howard Hawks’ 1934 comedy is glamorous slapstick—”screwball comedy” before it had a name.
Lombard plays Lily Garland, né Mildred Plotka, former lingerie model, and now a top of the heap movie star. Barrymore is the preening Oscar Jaffe, a director of actors and anyone else who dares cross his path—he was born in a trunk and most of his acquaintances wish that he’d stayed there. Shakespearean in his appetites and his distastes,...
Blu ray – Region B
Indicator
1934 / 1.33:1 / 91 min.
Starring John Barrymore, Carole Lombard
Cinematography by Joseph August
Directed by Howard Hawks
All the world’s a stage and that includes the Twentieth Century, a deluxe passenger train transformed into an itinerant theater thanks to the first class talent in first class, Carole Lombard and John Barrymore. The story of a has-been director conniving to get back on Broadway with the help of a former protege, Howard Hawks’ 1934 comedy is glamorous slapstick—”screwball comedy” before it had a name.
Lombard plays Lily Garland, né Mildred Plotka, former lingerie model, and now a top of the heap movie star. Barrymore is the preening Oscar Jaffe, a director of actors and anyone else who dares cross his path—he was born in a trunk and most of his acquaintances wish that he’d stayed there. Shakespearean in his appetites and his distastes,...
- 3/16/2021
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Gary Oldman is coming up on 24 years sober. “But I remember,” he said in our telephone interview. That helped him to play notorious alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz in David Fincher’s biopic “Mank.” “It’s a chamber piece, a character piece more than anything else. I think it’s about alcoholism. I do know about that.”
In the ’30s, people who drank too much did not have the resources for recovery that exist today. “‘Drink responsibly,’ what do they say in this day and age?” said Oldman. “Now we have Alcoholics Anonymous. It’s a legitimate movement. We have rehabilitation and interventions, all of that. All they had was temperance societies. AA was formed the mid-30s and became a fellowship in 1946. Drinking was looked upon just as an everyday thing. A friend of Mankiewicz once said to him, ‘Why don’t you go home sober for once?’ and he said,...
In the ’30s, people who drank too much did not have the resources for recovery that exist today. “‘Drink responsibly,’ what do they say in this day and age?” said Oldman. “Now we have Alcoholics Anonymous. It’s a legitimate movement. We have rehabilitation and interventions, all of that. All they had was temperance societies. AA was formed the mid-30s and became a fellowship in 1946. Drinking was looked upon just as an everyday thing. A friend of Mankiewicz once said to him, ‘Why don’t you go home sober for once?’ and he said,...
- 2/11/2021
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Gary Oldman is coming up on 24 years sober. “But I remember,” he said in our telephone interview. That helped him to play notorious alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz in David Fincher’s biopic “Mank.” “It’s a chamber piece, a character piece more than anything else. I think it’s about alcoholism. I do know about that.”
In the ’30s, people who drank too much did not have the resources for recovery that exist today. “‘Drink responsibly,’ what do they say in this day and age?” said Oldman. “Now we have Alcoholics Anonymous. It’s a legitimate movement. We have rehabilitation and interventions, all of that. All they had was temperance societies. AA was formed the mid-30s and became a fellowship in 1946. Drinking was looked upon just as an everyday thing. A friend of Mankiewicz once said to him, ‘Why don’t you go home sober for once?’ and he said,...
In the ’30s, people who drank too much did not have the resources for recovery that exist today. “‘Drink responsibly,’ what do they say in this day and age?” said Oldman. “Now we have Alcoholics Anonymous. It’s a legitimate movement. We have rehabilitation and interventions, all of that. All they had was temperance societies. AA was formed the mid-30s and became a fellowship in 1946. Drinking was looked upon just as an everyday thing. A friend of Mankiewicz once said to him, ‘Why don’t you go home sober for once?’ and he said,...
- 2/11/2021
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
With David Fincher’s film Mank reviving the legend of screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz, a descendant of the Citizen Kane scribe and his equally fabled brother, Joseph, will have his dual biography published next summer by Knopf.
Competing with Idiots by Nick Davis takes its title from a telegram Herman Mankiewicz sent after he left his career as a New York theater critic for Hollywood in 1926. “Millions Are To Be Grabbed Out Here And Your Only Competition Is Idiots. Don’T Let This Get Around,” he wrote to Ben Hecht, who would soon join the Westward migration of writing talent.
Davis, who is the grandson of Herman and great-nephew of Joe, followed in the family line and has accumulated a number of writing, producing and directing credits for television and film work. He is directing a multi-part documentary under ESPN’s 30 for 30 banner about the 1986 New York Mets and has also...
Competing with Idiots by Nick Davis takes its title from a telegram Herman Mankiewicz sent after he left his career as a New York theater critic for Hollywood in 1926. “Millions Are To Be Grabbed Out Here And Your Only Competition Is Idiots. Don’T Let This Get Around,” he wrote to Ben Hecht, who would soon join the Westward migration of writing talent.
Davis, who is the grandson of Herman and great-nephew of Joe, followed in the family line and has accumulated a number of writing, producing and directing credits for television and film work. He is directing a multi-part documentary under ESPN’s 30 for 30 banner about the 1986 New York Mets and has also...
- 12/29/2020
- by Dade Hayes
- Deadline Film + TV
Is journalism the best training ground for screenwriting? Two-thirds of the writers of Pixar’s “Soul” have backgrounds as reporters: Mike Jones and Kemp Powers.
They wrote “Soul” with director Pete Docter; Powers is also co-director of the film, which debuts Dec. 25 on Disney Plus and seems a likely contender for Oscars and other film awards.
Jones and Powers join a stellar list of newsmen who became screenwriters. Many went on to win Oscars, including Mark Boal (“The Hurt Locker”), Cameron Crowe (“Almost Famous”), William Monahan (“The Departed”), Emeric Pressburger (“The Invaders”) and, of course, Herman Mankiewicz, Ben Hecht, Charles MacArthur, Ring Lardner Jr. and Billy Wilder.
Jones has been with Pixar since 2013; in 2016, he had a meeting with Docter, who was fascinated that his son was born with a personality that seemed completely his own. “Pete wanted to set a movie in a place beyond place and time, where souls are given their personalities,...
They wrote “Soul” with director Pete Docter; Powers is also co-director of the film, which debuts Dec. 25 on Disney Plus and seems a likely contender for Oscars and other film awards.
Jones and Powers join a stellar list of newsmen who became screenwriters. Many went on to win Oscars, including Mark Boal (“The Hurt Locker”), Cameron Crowe (“Almost Famous”), William Monahan (“The Departed”), Emeric Pressburger (“The Invaders”) and, of course, Herman Mankiewicz, Ben Hecht, Charles MacArthur, Ring Lardner Jr. and Billy Wilder.
Jones has been with Pixar since 2013; in 2016, he had a meeting with Docter, who was fascinated that his son was born with a personality that seemed completely his own. “Pete wanted to set a movie in a place beyond place and time, where souls are given their personalities,...
- 12/25/2020
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
Sony Classics’ “The Father” is an act of daring; it could have gone wrong in so many ways, but it works like gangbusters.
The film marks the movie debut of writer-director Florian Zeller, whose background is as a novelist and playwright; in many cases, that would send warning signals.
What’s more, it all takes place in one location, the apartment of Anthony (Anthony Hopkins), so it might have turned out to be a photographed stage play. Third, it toys with the audience, keeping them off-balance about what is real and what’s not.
Those are potential danger areas, but the film is so good that it defies all logic.
Movie adaptations of plays, from Eugene O’Neill to Neil Simon, usually look like filmed theater, and that’s Ok; they’re still enjoyable. But it’s magic when a filmmaker can set his movie in one space, yet it seems like pure cinema.
The film marks the movie debut of writer-director Florian Zeller, whose background is as a novelist and playwright; in many cases, that would send warning signals.
What’s more, it all takes place in one location, the apartment of Anthony (Anthony Hopkins), so it might have turned out to be a photographed stage play. Third, it toys with the audience, keeping them off-balance about what is real and what’s not.
Those are potential danger areas, but the film is so good that it defies all logic.
Movie adaptations of plays, from Eugene O’Neill to Neil Simon, usually look like filmed theater, and that’s Ok; they’re still enjoyable. But it’s magic when a filmmaker can set his movie in one space, yet it seems like pure cinema.
- 12/18/2020
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
This article contains Mank spoilers. You can read our review here.
It’s like the climax of a Western. Two men stare across from each other in a showdown of ego and calculation. And Gary Oldman’s Herman J. Mankiewicz (or “Mank”) has just told Orson Welles (Tom Burke) he wants writing credit for the Citizen Kane screenplay. This is not going to end well.
Before this moment, Welles had been conciliatory to Mank, feigning concern for his health and offering to take sole rewriting duties on the gargantuan script. He’s even providing $10,000 from Rko Pictures as a consolation. It’s of course more bribe than bonus. Yet as Welles realizes that he might have to share credit, or worse have no credit at all for a screenplay we just watched Mankiewicz write alone for two hours, the budding director throws a temper tantrum worthy of Charles Foster Kane,...
It’s like the climax of a Western. Two men stare across from each other in a showdown of ego and calculation. And Gary Oldman’s Herman J. Mankiewicz (or “Mank”) has just told Orson Welles (Tom Burke) he wants writing credit for the Citizen Kane screenplay. This is not going to end well.
Before this moment, Welles had been conciliatory to Mank, feigning concern for his health and offering to take sole rewriting duties on the gargantuan script. He’s even providing $10,000 from Rko Pictures as a consolation. It’s of course more bribe than bonus. Yet as Welles realizes that he might have to share credit, or worse have no credit at all for a screenplay we just watched Mankiewicz write alone for two hours, the budding director throws a temper tantrum worthy of Charles Foster Kane,...
- 12/5/2020
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
No, it’s not the story of the 18th President of the United States. Kirk Douglas must have been a big hit in Rome, starring in one of the first and best of the Italo epic ‘classics,’ before the musclemen cornered the market. Homer’s tale of the husband who took ten years to come back from Troy is given real star power, a splendid production and best of all, an intelligent script. This disc looks a lot better than the ragged earlier DVD, plus it offers a superior Italian language soundtrack. And don’t forget Gary Teetzel’s recommendation: as an adaptation of The Odyssey, it’s right up there with O Brother Where Art Thou!
Ulysses
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1954 / Color / 1:37 flat Academy / 94 104 117 min. / Street Date November 17, 2020 / Ulisse / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Kirk Douglas, Silvana Mangano, Anthony Quinn, Rossana Podestà, Jacques Dumesnil, Daniel Ivernel, Sylvie, Franco Interlenghi,...
Ulysses
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1954 / Color / 1:37 flat Academy / 94 104 117 min. / Street Date November 17, 2020 / Ulisse / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Kirk Douglas, Silvana Mangano, Anthony Quinn, Rossana Podestà, Jacques Dumesnil, Daniel Ivernel, Sylvie, Franco Interlenghi,...
- 11/21/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
David Fincher’s “Mank” isn’t a work of history. It’s a film first and foremost.
“If you’re talking about the truth, you have to circumnavigate some of the fact,” Fincher tells Variety in this week’s cover story.
And yet, “Mank” sticks much closer to the truth than most fact-based films, if the Variety Archives are any indication.
Variety in the 1930s and ’40s was like a community bulletin board: Aside from covering the business, reporters wrote about daily life in a company town. Reading the archives is like a “Mank Study Guide,” with support for virtually every plot point and detail in the new movie.
For example, the Netflix film features a circus-themed party thrown by Marion Davies and William Randolph Hearst, who in fact threw a similar event for 400 guests:
“W.R. Hearst in gold cloth bolero, and big red bow tie, cut a gigantic birthday cake … Bette Davis,...
“If you’re talking about the truth, you have to circumnavigate some of the fact,” Fincher tells Variety in this week’s cover story.
And yet, “Mank” sticks much closer to the truth than most fact-based films, if the Variety Archives are any indication.
Variety in the 1930s and ’40s was like a community bulletin board: Aside from covering the business, reporters wrote about daily life in a company town. Reading the archives is like a “Mank Study Guide,” with support for virtually every plot point and detail in the new movie.
For example, the Netflix film features a circus-themed party thrown by Marion Davies and William Randolph Hearst, who in fact threw a similar event for 400 guests:
“W.R. Hearst in gold cloth bolero, and big red bow tie, cut a gigantic birthday cake … Bette Davis,...
- 11/18/2020
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
“You cannot capture a man’s entire life in two hours. All you can hope is to leave the impression of one.” That’s a valuable piece of screenwriting advice offered up by legendary movie writer Herman J. Mankiewicz in “Mank,” but it’s also the film lowering the bar for itself – impressions of people and incidents are all that this immaculately produced and beautifully acted film ultimately has to offer.
In telling the story of the creation of the original screenplay for what would become “Citizen Kane,” one of the true masterpieces of American cinema, director David Fincher (working from a screenplay by his late father Jack Fincher) frames the film as the story of a career-dead, alcoholic Mankiewicz (Gary Oldman) drumming out one final script partially to fulfill a contract with Orson Welles’ Mercury Theatre but mainly to settle an old grudge against former benefactor William Randolph Hearst.
In telling the story of the creation of the original screenplay for what would become “Citizen Kane,” one of the true masterpieces of American cinema, director David Fincher (working from a screenplay by his late father Jack Fincher) frames the film as the story of a career-dead, alcoholic Mankiewicz (Gary Oldman) drumming out one final script partially to fulfill a contract with Orson Welles’ Mercury Theatre but mainly to settle an old grudge against former benefactor William Randolph Hearst.
- 11/6/2020
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
When you watch a biographical movie about an artist, the drama of creativity — the writing of “In Cold Blood,” the invention of funk — tends to be front and center. But in “Mank,” David Fincher’s raptly intricate and enticing movie about Herman J. Mankiewicz, the fabled screenwriter of ’30s and ’40s Hollywood, and how he wrote the script for “Citizen Kane,” the act of creation is just one of many things that flow by. That’s part of what gives the movie its uniquely atmospheric, at times tumultuous tone of you-are-there authenticity. , and the effect is to lend it a dizzying time-machine splendor.
In the opening sequence, 1930s cars tool along a California country roadway, kicking up dust in a way that’s captured with supreme luster by Eric Messerschmidt’s exquisitely retro deep-focus black-and-white cinematography. The cars arrive at North Verde Ranch in Victorville, about 90 miles from Los Angeles,...
In the opening sequence, 1930s cars tool along a California country roadway, kicking up dust in a way that’s captured with supreme luster by Eric Messerschmidt’s exquisitely retro deep-focus black-and-white cinematography. The cars arrive at North Verde Ranch in Victorville, about 90 miles from Los Angeles,...
- 11/6/2020
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
"Mank" is the new 1930's-set drama, directed by David Fincher starring actor Gary Oldman, notorious for ranting "Jews control Hollywood...", now oddly cast as Herman J. Mankiewicz, son of Jewish immigrants and screenwriter of "Citizen Kane", co-starring Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins, Arliss Howard, Tom Pelphrey, Sam Troughton, Ferdinand Kingsley, Tuppence Middleton, Tom Burke and Charles Dance, opening in a limited theatrical release November 2020, before streaming on Netflix December 4, 2020:
"...the film follows the life of writer Herman J. Mankiewicz (Oldman) as he scripted 'Citizen Kane' and the problems that arose with Orson Welles (Burke) during production, leading up to the movie's release..."
Cast also includes Joseph Cross as 'Charles Lederer', Jamie McShane as 'Shelly Metcalf', Toby Leonard Moore as 'David O. Selznick', Monika Grossman as 'Fraulein Freda', Jeff Harms as 'Ben Hecht' and Leven Rambin as 'Eve'.
Click the images to enlarge.
"...the film follows the life of writer Herman J. Mankiewicz (Oldman) as he scripted 'Citizen Kane' and the problems that arose with Orson Welles (Burke) during production, leading up to the movie's release..."
Cast also includes Joseph Cross as 'Charles Lederer', Jamie McShane as 'Shelly Metcalf', Toby Leonard Moore as 'David O. Selznick', Monika Grossman as 'Fraulein Freda', Jeff Harms as 'Ben Hecht' and Leven Rambin as 'Eve'.
Click the images to enlarge.
- 10/22/2020
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
Peter Bart: “Corporate Restructuring” Stirs Mounting Fears In Hollywood As Major Studio Layoffs Loom
With yet another major round of layoffs about to hit Hollywood, I am reminded of Ben Hecht’s explanation of how he made his peace with the town. “The key is to understand how to balance the misery with the money,” he wrote.
Arriving in Hollywood at the zenith of the studio system, Hecht wrote that everyone he met was working, but also complaining. Good-paying jobs were abundant — for grips, extras, even writers. Studio contracts kept the stars bejeweled but not wealthy. The dreaded studio chiefs were autocratic but also not rich by today’s billionaire standards. The Hollywood ecosystem worked in its own self-protective way with everyone doing well but wanting more.
If Hecht were around today, he’d wonder why it isn’t working very well anymore (he managed to become its highest-paid writer). He’d especially be fascinated by the melodrama surrounding AT&T and its Hollywood protectorate,...
Arriving in Hollywood at the zenith of the studio system, Hecht wrote that everyone he met was working, but also complaining. Good-paying jobs were abundant — for grips, extras, even writers. Studio contracts kept the stars bejeweled but not wealthy. The dreaded studio chiefs were autocratic but also not rich by today’s billionaire standards. The Hollywood ecosystem worked in its own self-protective way with everyone doing well but wanting more.
If Hecht were around today, he’d wonder why it isn’t working very well anymore (he managed to become its highest-paid writer). He’d especially be fascinated by the melodrama surrounding AT&T and its Hollywood protectorate,...
- 10/16/2020
- by Peter Bart
- Deadline Film + TV
What’s the best Ecological Thriller of all time? Finally available in a good Region A disc is Val Guest and Wolf Mankowitz’s thrilling, realistic account of a world turned topsy-turvy, and perhaps plunging into a fiery oblivion. The violent climate/weather pattern shifts predict today’s global warming chaos. Newspapermen Edward Judd and Leo McKern track down a frightening government secret; Janet Munro is the confidential clerk that leaks the truth. One of the top all-time British Science Fiction films is also a great newspaper story about the importance of a free press. Extras include a new Richard Harland Smith commentary.
The Day the Earth Caught Fire
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1961 / B&w / 2:35 widescreen / 99 min. / Street Date July 7, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Janet Munro, Leo McKern, Edward Judd, Michael Goodliffe, Bernard Braden, Reginald Beckwith, Renée Asherson, Arthur Christiansen, Pamela Green, Robin Hawdon.
Cinematography: Harry Waxman
Art...
The Day the Earth Caught Fire
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1961 / B&w / 2:35 widescreen / 99 min. / Street Date July 7, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Janet Munro, Leo McKern, Edward Judd, Michael Goodliffe, Bernard Braden, Reginald Beckwith, Renée Asherson, Arthur Christiansen, Pamela Green, Robin Hawdon.
Cinematography: Harry Waxman
Art...
- 7/9/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Mother of mercy, did the movies mark the beginning of Rico? The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act was named after the character Rico Bandello in what is largely considered to be the first gangster movie, Little Caesar. While Edward G. Robinson’s Rico wasn’t specifically Al Capone in that film, the real-life gangster’s signature cigar fumes are all over it. Josh Trank replaced the Cuban Corona with a carrot in the recent Vertical Entertainment film Capone, which stars Tom Hardy as the title character in his twilight years, suffering from a premature burial. The aging mobster’s memories were buried by the syphilis microbe, and along with it went the clues to his buried treasure.
That speculative biopic also depicts Capone as a film aficionado. He sings along with Bert Lahr’s incomparable “If I Were King of the Forest,” from The Wizard of Oz, and educates...
That speculative biopic also depicts Capone as a film aficionado. He sings along with Bert Lahr’s incomparable “If I Were King of the Forest,” from The Wizard of Oz, and educates...
- 5/15/2020
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Let's be fair to Disney/Sony/Fox/whoever they think they are: there's been a DVD release of William Wellman's Roxie Hart (1942), but it's not currently streaming, which is a crying shame. It's a masterpiece, up there with The Public Enemy or Safe in Hell or Midnight Mary, Wellman's excoriating, criminous pre-Codes.The story may be a familiar one: former newspaperwoman Maurine Dallas Watkins' stage hit Chicago was filmed as a Cecil B. DeMille production in 1927, and more recently in musical form with Bob Fosse's choreography put through a blender by Rob Marshall, Harvey Weinstein, and Martin Walsh, who promptly won the Oscar for Most Editing.Our story, and its heroine, are laid in the great city of Chicago in the Roaring Twenties. An opening title solemnly dedicates the picture to all those women who have filled their husbands full of lead out of pique. George Montgomery plays an old newspaperman and then,...
- 5/1/2020
- MUBI
The star-studded biopic Capone is due to be released via digital platforms on May 12th. Tom Hardy plays Al Capone in his later years in the movie and he looks fantastic. Linda Cardellini, Kyle MacLachlan, and Matt Dillon co-star. Al Capone is America’s best-known gangster and the single greatest symbol of the collapse of law and order in the United States during the 1920s Prohibition era. Capone had a leading role in the illegal activities that lent Chicago its reputation as a lawless city and an interesting variety of Hollywood stars have had the leading role as Al Capone in the many films that have been made that featured him as a character.
The first film about Capone was produced when he was still making headlines. The main character may be named Antonio Camonte, but there’s little doubt as to who producer Howard Hughes had in mind when...
The first film about Capone was produced when he was still making headlines. The main character may be named Antonio Camonte, but there’s little doubt as to who producer Howard Hughes had in mind when...
- 4/29/2020
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
“I’m working in the outhouse again.” That’s how Ben Hecht, the fabled screenwriter, used to describe toiling in Hollywood. “And the nitwits are still in charge,” he assured his friends.
Hecht wrote terrific movies like Scarface and Notorious but he hated studio chiefs, and it was mutual. His name came to mind last week when Don Winslow posted his poignant piece on Deadline reminding producers and executives that writers of books and scripts these days could use a little more love. Given the tensions of the moment, he argued, a few friendly phone calls (and even checks) would bolster sagging writer morale.
More from DeadlineDon Winslow: Top 10 Things Studios, Networks and Streamers Could Do To Treat Authors BetterDon Winslow: My First Experience With Hollywood MathDon Winslow's Take On Scorsese & De Niro Doing 'The Irishman' Over 'Frankie Machine:' 'I Blame Eric Roth'
Winslow is responsible for...
Hecht wrote terrific movies like Scarface and Notorious but he hated studio chiefs, and it was mutual. His name came to mind last week when Don Winslow posted his poignant piece on Deadline reminding producers and executives that writers of books and scripts these days could use a little more love. Given the tensions of the moment, he argued, a few friendly phone calls (and even checks) would bolster sagging writer morale.
More from DeadlineDon Winslow: Top 10 Things Studios, Networks and Streamers Could Do To Treat Authors BetterDon Winslow: My First Experience With Hollywood MathDon Winslow's Take On Scorsese & De Niro Doing 'The Irishman' Over 'Frankie Machine:' 'I Blame Eric Roth'
Winslow is responsible for...
- 4/16/2020
- by Peter Bart
- Deadline Film + TV
When a neighbour offered up DVDs of a trio of classic films, our writer discovered that amid the laughter they forced him to think about sexual, social and political attitudes
Read all the What I’m really watching choicesThe best arts and entertainment during self-isolation
How to fill the evenings in these desolate times? A colleague told me she will be delving into her BFI playlist of Ingmar Bergman and Werner Herzog. I hope to emulate her ambition, but I was even more thrilled when a kindly cineaste neighbour turned up at my door with DVDs of a trio of Hollywood comedies: Design for Living (1933) directed by Ernst Lubitsch and two Preston Sturges classics, The Lady Eve (1941) and Hail the Conquering Hero (1944).
For a few happy hours, I was able to suspend the feelings of dread and boredom we are all currently experiencing. Watching them on successive evenings, I was struck by several things.
Read all the What I’m really watching choicesThe best arts and entertainment during self-isolation
How to fill the evenings in these desolate times? A colleague told me she will be delving into her BFI playlist of Ingmar Bergman and Werner Herzog. I hope to emulate her ambition, but I was even more thrilled when a kindly cineaste neighbour turned up at my door with DVDs of a trio of Hollywood comedies: Design for Living (1933) directed by Ernst Lubitsch and two Preston Sturges classics, The Lady Eve (1941) and Hail the Conquering Hero (1944).
For a few happy hours, I was able to suspend the feelings of dread and boredom we are all currently experiencing. Watching them on successive evenings, I was struck by several things.
- 4/13/2020
- by Michael Billington
- The Guardian - Film News
There’s a tradition in movies, as vital as a hypnotic action scene or a swooning love scene, of dialogue so witty and nimble and rapid-fire that it comes at you like something out of a stylized dream. I first encountered that brand of high-velocity verbal jousting in “A Hard Day’s Night,” and later on in college when I saw “His Girl Friday,” a movie where the baroque banter flew with a manic spontaneity I could barely keep up with. (The dialogue was action.) More recent examples from the school of rockin’ ping-pong ferocity include the exhilarating aggro chatter of Wes Anderson’s “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and the mad analytical social satire of “Dear White People.”
In the independent romantic comedy “Straight Up,” the writer-director James Sweeney updates that grand and glorious mode of run-for-cover screwball to the age of pop-culture-saturated digital millennials who think faster than they can process.
In the independent romantic comedy “Straight Up,” the writer-director James Sweeney updates that grand and glorious mode of run-for-cover screwball to the age of pop-culture-saturated digital millennials who think faster than they can process.
- 2/27/2020
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
The last of the extravagantly mounted epics produced by Samuel Bronston in the sixties, Circus World stars John Wayne as a two-fisted sharpshooter named Matt Masters taxed with rescuing both a struggling circus and his dysfunctional family, each of them acrobats with their own soap operatic problems. Working from a story by Nicholas Ray, the movie was directed by Henry Hathaway and written by Ben Hecht.
The post Circus World appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
The post Circus World appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
- 1/22/2020
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Two films released, another film shot, and Steven Soderbergh managed to still watch and read a decent amount in 2019. (Note to self: barely using his Twitter account probably helps.) So a favorite tradition continues with today’s release of his annual viewing and reading log on Extension 765, which has a surprise, oddity, or some-such at nearly every turn.
Favorites include: making it through all 181 hours of Nicolas Winding Refn’s Too Old to Die Young in seven days but taking nearly four months to finish Sergei Bondarchuk’s War and Peace; Chinatown and Richard Lester movies appearing on yet another list; he, too, watching Fleabag; seeing a version of his next movie, Let Them All Talk, just under a month after principal photography commenced. And so on and so forth.
All caps, bold: Movie
All caps, bold, asterisk: Short*
All caps: TV Series
Italics: Book
Quotation marks: “Play”
Italics, quotation...
Favorites include: making it through all 181 hours of Nicolas Winding Refn’s Too Old to Die Young in seven days but taking nearly four months to finish Sergei Bondarchuk’s War and Peace; Chinatown and Richard Lester movies appearing on yet another list; he, too, watching Fleabag; seeing a version of his next movie, Let Them All Talk, just under a month after principal photography commenced. And so on and so forth.
All caps, bold: Movie
All caps, bold, asterisk: Short*
All caps: TV Series
Italics: Book
Quotation marks: “Play”
Italics, quotation...
- 1/7/2020
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Long before Martin Scorsese’s “The Departed” (2006) won the best picture Oscar, Academy voters had a soft spot for bad fellas. From the first Academy Awards, voters have taken crime tales and gangster yarns seriously. In 1929, “The Racket” was “best picture, production” nommed, and Ben Hecht won the screenplay award for “Underworld.” In 1931, the classic James Cagney-starrer “The Public Enemy,” competed in the original screenplay category, while Edward G. Robinson’s iconic “Little Caesar” competed for the adapted screenplay award.
In 1935, the gangster film not only won its second Oscar, but that movie became part of American crime lore when John Dillinger met his fate at the hands of the G-men’s Tommy guns when he made the mistake of escorting a certain lady in red to a screening of the picture in Chicago.
As evidence of the genre’s respectability back in that era, perhaps no “serious” actor...
In 1935, the gangster film not only won its second Oscar, but that movie became part of American crime lore when John Dillinger met his fate at the hands of the G-men’s Tommy guns when he made the mistake of escorting a certain lady in red to a screening of the picture in Chicago.
As evidence of the genre’s respectability back in that era, perhaps no “serious” actor...
- 12/20/2019
- by Steven Gaydos
- Variety Film + TV
Justin Long (Drag Me to Hell) and Donald Faison (Scrubs) star in The Wave, which is set to hit theaters and VOD on January 17th, 2020. Also in today's Horror Highlights: a trailer for I See You and release details for Clown Fear on DVD, Digital, and VOD.
The Wave Trailer and Theatrical Dates Released: "Justin Long and Donald Faison lead the unique modern-day parable that follows Frank (Long), an opportunistic insurance lawyer, who thinks he’s in for the time of his life when he goes out on the town to celebrate an upcoming promotion with his co-worker, Jeff (Faison). But their night takes a turn for the bizarre when Frank is dosed with a hallucinogen that completely alters his perception of the world, taking him on a psychedelic quest through board meetings, nightclubs, shootouts, and alternate dimensions. As Frank ping-pongs between reality and fantasy, he finds himself on a...
The Wave Trailer and Theatrical Dates Released: "Justin Long and Donald Faison lead the unique modern-day parable that follows Frank (Long), an opportunistic insurance lawyer, who thinks he’s in for the time of his life when he goes out on the town to celebrate an upcoming promotion with his co-worker, Jeff (Faison). But their night takes a turn for the bizarre when Frank is dosed with a hallucinogen that completely alters his perception of the world, taking him on a psychedelic quest through board meetings, nightclubs, shootouts, and alternate dimensions. As Frank ping-pongs between reality and fantasy, he finds himself on a...
- 12/13/2019
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
“Scarface,” which opened Dec. 9, 1983, made money at the box office but wasn’t immediately profitable. However, in the 36 years since, the film has been embraced as a classic. The project started as a 1930 pulp novel by Armitage Trail, inspired by gangster Al Capone, whose nickname was Scarface. On April 6, 1982, Variety announced star Al Pacino and director Sidney Lumet were working on a remake of the 1932 film, but before long, Brian De Palma stepped in as director. The original budget was $13 million-$14 million. When production wrapped in summer 1983, Variety reported the cost had ballooned to $37 million.
Just before the film’s holiday launch, Universal held a New York premiere screening and a party at Sardi’s, with an eclectic mix of guests including Cher, Raquel Welch, Lucille Ball, Eddie Murphy and Kurt Vonnegut, “who walked out during the grisly chainsaw shower scene,” Variety reported. The article added that an on-screen dedication...
Just before the film’s holiday launch, Universal held a New York premiere screening and a party at Sardi’s, with an eclectic mix of guests including Cher, Raquel Welch, Lucille Ball, Eddie Murphy and Kurt Vonnegut, “who walked out during the grisly chainsaw shower scene,” Variety reported. The article added that an on-screen dedication...
- 12/6/2019
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
Brian De Palma’s 1983 saga of hoodlum Tony Montana is an exceptional remake that’s become a classic almost by default — it’s too strikingly original to ignore. De Palma did the Latin male stereotype no favors, while bringing attention to the outrageous drug trafficking aided by law enforcement and criminal banks in a shameful decade of excess. Al Pacino added a page to his catalog of great performances, and the careers of Michelle Pfeiffer and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio were duly launched. De Palma gives this one ‘classical’ direction: he skips his former film school cinema games and homages to Hitch the Master.
Scarface
“The World is Yours” Limited Edition
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
1983 / Color / 2:39 widescreen / 170 min. / Street Date October 15, 2019 / 57.22
Starring: Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, Steven Bauer, Robert Loggia, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Miriam Colon, F. Murray Abraham, Paul Shenar, Harris Yulin, Pepe Serna, Victor Campos,...
Scarface
“The World is Yours” Limited Edition
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
1983 / Color / 2:39 widescreen / 170 min. / Street Date October 15, 2019 / 57.22
Starring: Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, Steven Bauer, Robert Loggia, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Miriam Colon, F. Murray Abraham, Paul Shenar, Harris Yulin, Pepe Serna, Victor Campos,...
- 10/26/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The experts were right when they said that silent filmmaking was developing something unique and beautiful, before talkies came along and spoiled the party with all that noise. This ‘handy three-pack’ of once-obscure Josef von Sternberg classics proves the theory 100% — his intense dramas excite audiences with something that’s gone missing from the movies, or the cinema or whatever you want to call it: the magic of visual stylization in the service of basic human emotions. Before Marlene there was Evelyn Brent and Betty Compson: Sternberg presents them as shimmering visions.
3 Silent Classics by Josef von Sternberg
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 529, 530, 531
1927-28 / B&w / 1:33 Silent Ap / 81, 88, 75 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date October 8, 2019 / 79.96
Starring: George Bancroft, Evelyn Brent, Clive Brook; Emil Jannings, Evelyn Brent, William Powell; George Bancroft, Betty Compson, Olga Baclanova.
Cinematography: Bert Glennon; Bert Glennon; Harold Rosson
Original Music: multiple scores by Robert Israel,...
3 Silent Classics by Josef von Sternberg
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 529, 530, 531
1927-28 / B&w / 1:33 Silent Ap / 81, 88, 75 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date October 8, 2019 / 79.96
Starring: George Bancroft, Evelyn Brent, Clive Brook; Emil Jannings, Evelyn Brent, William Powell; George Bancroft, Betty Compson, Olga Baclanova.
Cinematography: Bert Glennon; Bert Glennon; Harold Rosson
Original Music: multiple scores by Robert Israel,...
- 10/22/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Otto Preminger and Gene Tierney’s return to the noir fold plays better now than it once did — the performances are impressive and the villain’s diabolical murder scheme is as good as anything that Fantomas or Moriarty ever came up with. Tierney’s pampered wife is the perfect patsy for a con-man with hypnosis skills — a fraud who decides to cover up an earlier crime by mesmerizing a new victim to frame herself for murder. The focus is on third-billed José Ferrer… who puts an oily menace into his character that few actors could provide.
Whirlpool
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1949 / B&w / 1:37 academy / 97 min. / Street Date September 17, 2019 / Available from Twilight Time Movies / 29.95
Starring: Gene Tierney, Richard Conte, José Ferrer, Charles Bickford, Barbara O’Neil, Eduard Franz, Constance Collier, Fortunio Bonanova.
Cinematography: Arthur Miller
Original Music: David Raksin
Written by Ben Hecht, Andrew Solt from the novel Methinks The Lady...
Whirlpool
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1949 / B&w / 1:37 academy / 97 min. / Street Date September 17, 2019 / Available from Twilight Time Movies / 29.95
Starring: Gene Tierney, Richard Conte, José Ferrer, Charles Bickford, Barbara O’Neil, Eduard Franz, Constance Collier, Fortunio Bonanova.
Cinematography: Arthur Miller
Original Music: David Raksin
Written by Ben Hecht, Andrew Solt from the novel Methinks The Lady...
- 10/1/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Director David Fincher has found his next film project and this is one he’s been trying to get made since the late 90s after he made The Game. The film will star Gary Oldman and it will tell the story of Herman Mankiewicz, the newspaper man-turned-screenwriter who is best known for collaborating with Orson Welles on the classic film Citizen Kane.
The film will be called Mank, which was the nickname for Mankiewicz, and it’s being produced by Netflix. Oldman will be taking on the role of the screenwriter who is said to have had an “outsized influence in the Golden Age of Hollywood.”
The script for the film was written by Jack Fincher, David’s dad. He was also a newspaper man, and the filmmaker will shoot the film in black and white so that it has that classic Hollywood vibe. Here are some details on Mankiewicz...
The film will be called Mank, which was the nickname for Mankiewicz, and it’s being produced by Netflix. Oldman will be taking on the role of the screenwriter who is said to have had an “outsized influence in the Golden Age of Hollywood.”
The script for the film was written by Jack Fincher, David’s dad. He was also a newspaper man, and the filmmaker will shoot the film in black and white so that it has that classic Hollywood vibe. Here are some details on Mankiewicz...
- 7/10/2019
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
Saban Films has acquired North American rights to Adam Randall’s thriller “I See You” with Helen Hunt.
The film co-stars Jon Tenney (“Legion”) and had its world premiere at this year’s SXSW Film Festival. “I See You” unfolds in an idyllic town. The peace in the community is shattered after a teenage boy goes missing. The lead investigator in the case pieces together clues while trying to find a way to forgive his wife for a recent infidelity.
The film is written by Devon Graye. “I See You” is a Zodiac Features Production presented by Bankside Films in association with Head Gear Films, Metrol Technology and Kreo Films and in association with Quickfire Films and Zodiac Holdings. Matt Waldeck produces for Zodiac Features, while Ben Hecht serves as executive producer for Zodiac, alongside Stephen Kelliher for Bankside Films, Phil Hunt and Compton Ross for Head Gear Films and...
The film co-stars Jon Tenney (“Legion”) and had its world premiere at this year’s SXSW Film Festival. “I See You” unfolds in an idyllic town. The peace in the community is shattered after a teenage boy goes missing. The lead investigator in the case pieces together clues while trying to find a way to forgive his wife for a recent infidelity.
The film is written by Devon Graye. “I See You” is a Zodiac Features Production presented by Bankside Films in association with Head Gear Films, Metrol Technology and Kreo Films and in association with Quickfire Films and Zodiac Holdings. Matt Waldeck produces for Zodiac Features, while Ben Hecht serves as executive producer for Zodiac, alongside Stephen Kelliher for Bankside Films, Phil Hunt and Compton Ross for Head Gear Films and...
- 5/14/2019
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Bankside Films represents international rights.
Saban Films has picked up North American rights to Adam Randall’s SXSW thriller I See You starring Helen Hunt.
Jon Tenney (Legion) plays the lead investigator in a missing child case who tries to deal with his wife’s (Hunt) recent infidelity, as their home town is plagued by strange occurrences. Devon Graye write the screenplay.
Bankside Films represents international rights on I See You, which Matt Waldeck produced for Zodiac Features. Ben Hecht served as executive producer for Zodiac, alongside Stephen Kelliher of Bankside, Phil Hunt and Compton Ross of Head Gear Films,...
Saban Films has picked up North American rights to Adam Randall’s SXSW thriller I See You starring Helen Hunt.
Jon Tenney (Legion) plays the lead investigator in a missing child case who tries to deal with his wife’s (Hunt) recent infidelity, as their home town is plagued by strange occurrences. Devon Graye write the screenplay.
Bankside Films represents international rights on I See You, which Matt Waldeck produced for Zodiac Features. Ben Hecht served as executive producer for Zodiac, alongside Stephen Kelliher of Bankside, Phil Hunt and Compton Ross of Head Gear Films,...
- 5/14/2019
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Last night, Roundabout Theatre Company welcomed back Emmy, Golden Globe amp SAG Award winner and Oscar amp Tony Award nominee Alec Baldwin, and Emmy Award winner and Tony Award nominee Anne Heche in a one-night-only reunion benefit reading of Ken Ludwig's adaptation of Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur's comedy Twentieth Century, reuniting the original stars of Roundabout's 2004 revival with director Walter Bobbie.
- 4/30/2019
- by Walter McBride
- BroadwayWorld.com
Last night, Roundabout Theatre Company welcomed back Emmy, Golden Globe amp SAG Award winner and Oscar amp Tony Award nominee Alec Baldwin, and Emmy Award winner and Tony Award nominee Anne Heche in a one-night-only reunion benefit reading of Ken Ludwig's adaptation of Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur's comedy Twentieth Century, reuniting the original stars of Roundabout's 2004 revival with director Walter Bobbie.
- 4/30/2019
- by Walter McBride
- BroadwayWorld.com
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