Netflix generates more contemporary content than anyone, but they’re dipping into the past to curate the great movies from the ’70s. These are the films that people like myself discovered as kids in the early days of when HBO premiered on cable. Bravo, I say. Here’s the preliminary list.
Alice Doesn’T Live Here Anymore
A widowed singer and single mother starts over as a diner waitress in Arizona, befriending her coworkers and romancing a ruggedly handsome rancher.
Director: Martin Scorsese
Writer: Robert Getchell
Producers: Audrey Maas, David Susskind
Key Cast (Alphabetical): Ellen Burstyn, Jodie Foster, Diane Ladd, Alfred Lutter, Harvey Keitel, Kris Kristofferson, Vic Tayback
Distributed By: Warner Bros. Discovery
Initial Release Date: December 9, 1974
At the 47th Academy Awards, Burstyn won Best Actress
Black Belt Jones
High-kicking Black Belt Jones is dispatched to take down a group of Mafia goons trying to muscle in on a downtown karate studio.
Alice Doesn’T Live Here Anymore
A widowed singer and single mother starts over as a diner waitress in Arizona, befriending her coworkers and romancing a ruggedly handsome rancher.
Director: Martin Scorsese
Writer: Robert Getchell
Producers: Audrey Maas, David Susskind
Key Cast (Alphabetical): Ellen Burstyn, Jodie Foster, Diane Ladd, Alfred Lutter, Harvey Keitel, Kris Kristofferson, Vic Tayback
Distributed By: Warner Bros. Discovery
Initial Release Date: December 9, 1974
At the 47th Academy Awards, Burstyn won Best Actress
Black Belt Jones
High-kicking Black Belt Jones is dispatched to take down a group of Mafia goons trying to muscle in on a downtown karate studio.
- 1/17/2024
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
1974 was quite a year for cinema; 50 years later, Netflix (of all places) is celebrating the golden jubilee.
In recognition of the anniversary, the streamer on Wednesday launched a new, dedicated content row (and direct URL link) with the first films being honored under its new “Milestone Movies: The Anniversary Collection” banner. Each of the 14 films came to Netflix this month by way of Warner Bros., Paramount, or Sony — the distributors that license content to Netflix.
The 1974 collection includes “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” “Black Belt Jones,” “Blazing Saddles,” “California Split,” “Chinatown,” “The Conversation,” “Death Wish,” “The Gambler,” “The Great Gatsby,” “It’s Alive,” “The Little Prince,” “The Lords of Flatbush,” “The Parallax View,” and “The Street Fighter” (“Gekitotsu! Satsujin ken”).
Netflix doesn’t plan to stop with disco’s heyday. In April, the streaming service will do the same for films from 1984 (turning 40); July will celebrate 1994 movies (turning 30); and in October...
In recognition of the anniversary, the streamer on Wednesday launched a new, dedicated content row (and direct URL link) with the first films being honored under its new “Milestone Movies: The Anniversary Collection” banner. Each of the 14 films came to Netflix this month by way of Warner Bros., Paramount, or Sony — the distributors that license content to Netflix.
The 1974 collection includes “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” “Black Belt Jones,” “Blazing Saddles,” “California Split,” “Chinatown,” “The Conversation,” “Death Wish,” “The Gambler,” “The Great Gatsby,” “It’s Alive,” “The Little Prince,” “The Lords of Flatbush,” “The Parallax View,” and “The Street Fighter” (“Gekitotsu! Satsujin ken”).
Netflix doesn’t plan to stop with disco’s heyday. In April, the streaming service will do the same for films from 1984 (turning 40); July will celebrate 1994 movies (turning 30); and in October...
- 1/17/2024
- by Tony Maglio
- Indiewire
Locked and loaded with a decent screenplay, Michael Winner and Charles Bronson acquit themselves well in this brutal 1974 hit that launched a decade’s worth of nasty vigilante movies. The lynch-mob formula presents crimes so awful that the audience demands violent retribution. The shock is that this incitement to ‘fight back’ is not direct right-wing propaganda — vigilantism is glamorized but not endorsed. A fine supporting cast includes Vincent Gardenia, Steven Keats and unexpected treats like Olympia Dukakis and Jeff Goldblum. “Fill your hand!”
Death Wish, 4K
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1974 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 93 min. / Street Date January 24, 2023 / available through Kino Lorber / 39.95
Starring: Charles Bronson, Hope Lange, Vincent Gardenia, Steven Keats, William Redfield, Stuart Margolin, Stephen Elliott, Kathleen Tolan, Jack Wallace, Fred J. Scollay, Chris Gampel, Robert Kya-Hill, Ed Grover, Jeff Goldblum, Christopher Logan, Gregory Rozakis, Christopher Guest, Paul Dooley, Olympia Dukakis, Al Lewis, Robert Miano.
Cinematography: Arthur J. Ornitz...
Death Wish, 4K
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1974 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 93 min. / Street Date January 24, 2023 / available through Kino Lorber / 39.95
Starring: Charles Bronson, Hope Lange, Vincent Gardenia, Steven Keats, William Redfield, Stuart Margolin, Stephen Elliott, Kathleen Tolan, Jack Wallace, Fred J. Scollay, Chris Gampel, Robert Kya-Hill, Ed Grover, Jeff Goldblum, Christopher Logan, Gregory Rozakis, Christopher Guest, Paul Dooley, Olympia Dukakis, Al Lewis, Robert Miano.
Cinematography: Arthur J. Ornitz...
- 1/28/2023
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Every breakout independent hit seems like a miracle. This delightful ‘little’ picture was fated to be ghetto-ized into ethnic theaters before its producers opted to distribute it themselves. Capturing a vibrant part of the immigrant experience, Joan Micklin Silver’s micro-production often has a big-picture look; it charmed audiences and became a sleeper success. Star Carol Kane was nominated for an acting Oscar as ‘Gitl,’ a woman with Old-Country values plus the grit and determination to win a better life. Also with fine performances from Steven Keats, Mel Howard, Dorrie Kavanaugh and Doris Roberts.
Hester Street
Blu-ray
Cohen Media Group / Kino Lorber
1975 / B&w / 1:85 anamorphic 16:9 / 90 min. / Street Date March 8, 2022 / Available from Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Carol Kane, Steven Keats, Mel Howard, Dorrie Kavanaugh, Doris Roberts, Stephen Strimpell, Lauren Frost, Paul Freedman, Martin Garner.
Cinematography: Kenneth Van Sickle
Production Designer: Stuart Wurtzel
Film Editor: Katherine Wenning
Original Music: Herbert L. Clarke...
Hester Street
Blu-ray
Cohen Media Group / Kino Lorber
1975 / B&w / 1:85 anamorphic 16:9 / 90 min. / Street Date March 8, 2022 / Available from Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Carol Kane, Steven Keats, Mel Howard, Dorrie Kavanaugh, Doris Roberts, Stephen Strimpell, Lauren Frost, Paul Freedman, Martin Garner.
Cinematography: Kenneth Van Sickle
Production Designer: Stuart Wurtzel
Film Editor: Katherine Wenning
Original Music: Herbert L. Clarke...
- 4/9/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none
“You Gotta Get A Get”
By Raymond Benson
(Note: Much of this review is repeated from an earlier Cinema Retro review of a previous Blu-ray release.)
In the world of the Jewish Conservative Orthodox community, a divorce is truly final only when the husband presents his wife with a “get”—a document in Hebrew that grants the woman her freedom to be with other men. Likewise, the wife must accept the get before the man can re-marry, too.
This is the crux of the story behind Hester Street, an independent art-house film that appeared in 1975, written and directed by Joan Micklin Silver. Starring Carol Kane, who was nominated for Best Actress for her performance as Gitl, a newly arrived immigrant to New York City in 1896, and Steven Keats as her husband Yankl, who, in an attempt to assimilate, in public goes by the name “Jake.
“You Gotta Get A Get”
By Raymond Benson
(Note: Much of this review is repeated from an earlier Cinema Retro review of a previous Blu-ray release.)
In the world of the Jewish Conservative Orthodox community, a divorce is truly final only when the husband presents his wife with a “get”—a document in Hebrew that grants the woman her freedom to be with other men. Likewise, the wife must accept the get before the man can re-marry, too.
This is the crux of the story behind Hester Street, an independent art-house film that appeared in 1975, written and directed by Joan Micklin Silver. Starring Carol Kane, who was nominated for Best Actress for her performance as Gitl, a newly arrived immigrant to New York City in 1896, and Steven Keats as her husband Yankl, who, in an attempt to assimilate, in public goes by the name “Jake.
- 3/24/2022
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Most people, cinephiles or not, know Carol Kane as Valerie, bossy wife to Billy Crystal’s Miracle Max in “The Princess Bride.” Her face may have been tough to recognize under all that old age make-up, but her distinctive warble is unmistakable, causing new generations to fall in love with her as Kimmy’s eccentric landlady Lillian in “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.”
But Kane wasn’t always the incomparable character actress we know and love today, and younger audiences may be surprised to learn that her early career included some more dramatic turns, most notably in her Oscar-nominated performance in Joan Micklin Silver’s 1975 masterpiece “Hester Street,” which is receiving renewed interest with a gorgeous 4k restoration from the Cohen Film Collection.
In “Hester Street,” the young Kane plays a Jewish immigrant who arrives in New York to find her husband (Steven Keats) already happily assimilated into American life. She has...
But Kane wasn’t always the incomparable character actress we know and love today, and younger audiences may be surprised to learn that her early career included some more dramatic turns, most notably in her Oscar-nominated performance in Joan Micklin Silver’s 1975 masterpiece “Hester Street,” which is receiving renewed interest with a gorgeous 4k restoration from the Cohen Film Collection.
In “Hester Street,” the young Kane plays a Jewish immigrant who arrives in New York to find her husband (Steven Keats) already happily assimilated into American life. She has...
- 9/9/2021
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
John Frankenheimer’s biggest production since Grand Prix turns the touchy subject of international terrorism into a frightening, outlandish story of a plot to kill thousands of spectators during one of America’s defining rituals, the Super Bowl. Black September operative Marthe Keller seduces disturbed Viet vet Bruce Dern into perpetrating the crime; Israeli agent Robert Shaw races to stop them. The super-crime is both outrageous and credible — making the show seem very modern, even prophetic. True to form, Frankenheimer filmed much of the movie’s final 40-minute suspense sequence during a real Super Bowl game.
Black Sunday
Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] 34
1977 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 143 min. / Street Date February 23, 2021 / Available from Viavision / 34.95 au
Starring: Robert Shaw, Bruce Dern, Marthe Keller, Bekim Fehmiu, Fritz Weaver, Steven Keats, Michael V. Gazzo, William Daniels, Walter Gotell.
Cinematography: John A. Alonzo
Film Editor: Tom Rolf
Original Music: John Williams
Written by Ernest Lehman, Kenneth Ross, Ivan Moffat...
Black Sunday
Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] 34
1977 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 143 min. / Street Date February 23, 2021 / Available from Viavision / 34.95 au
Starring: Robert Shaw, Bruce Dern, Marthe Keller, Bekim Fehmiu, Fritz Weaver, Steven Keats, Michael V. Gazzo, William Daniels, Walter Gotell.
Cinematography: John A. Alonzo
Film Editor: Tom Rolf
Original Music: John Williams
Written by Ernest Lehman, Kenneth Ross, Ivan Moffat...
- 4/10/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The late film-maker Joan Micklin Silver exploded the cliches of modern romances. If only others would do the same
The director Joan Micklin Silver, who died last week, was – to use the kind of cliche she abhorred – a pioneer. She was a female director at a time when studio executives were more than comfortable with being openly sexist, telling Silver: “Women directors are one more problem we don’t need.”
She made distinctly Jewish movies, as opposed to the kind of Jewish-lite movies that were – and are still – Hollywood’s more usual style. Her two greatest films, Hester Street (1975), about a Jewish immigrant couple (Steven Keats and Carol Kane) on the Lower East Side in the 1890s, and the peerless 1988 romcom Crossing Delancey, about a modern young woman (Amy Irving) who is reluctantly fixed up with a pickle seller (Peter Riegert), are to When Harry Met Sally what the Netflix...
The director Joan Micklin Silver, who died last week, was – to use the kind of cliche she abhorred – a pioneer. She was a female director at a time when studio executives were more than comfortable with being openly sexist, telling Silver: “Women directors are one more problem we don’t need.”
She made distinctly Jewish movies, as opposed to the kind of Jewish-lite movies that were – and are still – Hollywood’s more usual style. Her two greatest films, Hester Street (1975), about a Jewish immigrant couple (Steven Keats and Carol Kane) on the Lower East Side in the 1890s, and the peerless 1988 romcom Crossing Delancey, about a modern young woman (Amy Irving) who is reluctantly fixed up with a pickle seller (Peter Riegert), are to When Harry Met Sally what the Netflix...
- 1/8/2021
- by Hadley Freeman
- The Guardian - Film News
Joan Micklin Silver, the trailblazing director behind “Hester Street” and “Crossing Delancey,” died on Thursday in Manhattan due to vascular dementia, her daughter Claudia Silver told the New York Times. She was 85.
Silver was outspoken about her experiences confronting sexism, misogyny and anti-Semitism within the entertainment industry.
“I came of age for film at a time when sexism was pretty strong. And although I could get work as a writer, I couldn’t get work as a director at all. And I had the experience of watching young men who had made shorts as I had, prize-winning shorts as I had, moving on to directing films and I couldn’t do it,” Silver said in a 2005 interview with the Directors Guild of America.
In 1975, she wrote and directed the indie film “Hester Street,” a low-budget production based on Abraham Cahan’s novella “Yekl” about a young Jewish couple who emigrated...
Silver was outspoken about her experiences confronting sexism, misogyny and anti-Semitism within the entertainment industry.
“I came of age for film at a time when sexism was pretty strong. And although I could get work as a writer, I couldn’t get work as a director at all. And I had the experience of watching young men who had made shorts as I had, prize-winning shorts as I had, moving on to directing films and I couldn’t do it,” Silver said in a 2005 interview with the Directors Guild of America.
In 1975, she wrote and directed the indie film “Hester Street,” a low-budget production based on Abraham Cahan’s novella “Yekl” about a young Jewish couple who emigrated...
- 1/2/2021
- by J. Clara Chan
- The Wrap
Silver films star Jeff Goldblum, Jerry Stiller, Mark Ruffalo.
Cohen Media Group has added five titles to its Cannes virtual market slate including the market world premiere of documentary Breaking Bread.
Beth Elise Hawk directed the profile of Dr. Nof Atamna-Ismaeel, the first Muslim Arab to win Israel’s Master Chef who uses the platform to build cultural bridges and invites Arab and Jewish chefs to a cooking event in Haifa, Israel.
Cohen Media Group acquired Us rights to the film before the market and plans a theatrical release this year. On Monday it emerged that Cohen and wholly-owned Curzon...
Cohen Media Group has added five titles to its Cannes virtual market slate including the market world premiere of documentary Breaking Bread.
Beth Elise Hawk directed the profile of Dr. Nof Atamna-Ismaeel, the first Muslim Arab to win Israel’s Master Chef who uses the platform to build cultural bridges and invites Arab and Jewish chefs to a cooking event in Haifa, Israel.
Cohen Media Group acquired Us rights to the film before the market and plans a theatrical release this year. On Monday it emerged that Cohen and wholly-owned Curzon...
- 6/23/2020
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
What more can be said about Chuck Norris? The ubiquitous ’80s B star, he made a series of mostly bland actioners that would only come alive if the director brought a little something different to the table, because they certainly weren’t going to work with an actor who has the charisma of a constipated two-by-four. This brings us to Silent Rage (1982), a hybrid sci-fi/horror/kung fu effort that is quite effective when it pushes away from The Hairy One’s usual antics. You want to see Michael Myers karate chopped by Lone Wolf McQuade? Step right up.
Okay he’s not Michael Myers, but he may as well be; Pov shots and the unstoppable killer’s relentless gait definitely harken back to Halloween and even the previous year’s Halloween II in a bid for some of that sweet slasher bread. It worked well enough at the box office,...
Okay he’s not Michael Myers, but he may as well be; Pov shots and the unstoppable killer’s relentless gait definitely harken back to Halloween and even the previous year’s Halloween II in a bid for some of that sweet slasher bread. It worked well enough at the box office,...
- 4/6/2019
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
Cars! Cars! Cars! What climate accord, when we’re celebrating the internal combustion engine! One of the best of the breezy ’70s action comedies, this cross-country road race picture gave us early looks at Gary Busey and Raul Julia in the midst of an always-amusing ensemble of car crazies, out to go from Manhattan to the Pacific in less than two days, at speeds up 175 mph! No 55 speed limit, no catalytic converters!
The Gumball Rally
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1976 / Color / 2:40 widescreen / 107 min. / Street Date June 13, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Michael Sarrazin, Raul Julia, Norman Burton, Gary Busey, John Durren, Susan Flannery, Harvey Jason, Steven Keats,
Tim McIntire, Joanne Nail, J. Pat O’Malley, Tricia O’Neil, Nicholas Pryor, Vaughn Taylor, Wally Taylor, Colleen Camp, Lazaro Perez, Med Flory, Lauren Simon, .
Cinematography: Richard C. Glouner
Film Editors: Stuart H. Pappé Gordon Scott, Maury Wintrobe
Original Music: Dominic Frontiere
Written by Chuck Bail,...
The Gumball Rally
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1976 / Color / 2:40 widescreen / 107 min. / Street Date June 13, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Michael Sarrazin, Raul Julia, Norman Burton, Gary Busey, John Durren, Susan Flannery, Harvey Jason, Steven Keats,
Tim McIntire, Joanne Nail, J. Pat O’Malley, Tricia O’Neil, Nicholas Pryor, Vaughn Taylor, Wally Taylor, Colleen Camp, Lazaro Perez, Med Flory, Lauren Simon, .
Cinematography: Richard C. Glouner
Film Editors: Stuart H. Pappé Gordon Scott, Maury Wintrobe
Original Music: Dominic Frontiere
Written by Chuck Bail,...
- 6/3/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Stars: Robert Mitchum, Peter Boyle, Richard Jordan, Steven Keats, Alex Rocco, Joe Santos, Mitchell Ryan, Peter MacLean, Marvin Lichterman, Carolyn Pickman, James Tolkan, Margaret Ladd, Matthew Cowles | Written by Paul Monash | Directed by Peter Yates
One of the fun things about loving a particular medium is the aspect of things being recommended, and this is something which has really grown in prominence for me with the growth of social media and podcasts. Having so much immediate access to the thoughts and opinions of others you specifically choose to listen to, whether they align with your tastes or challenge them, enables the discovery of a great deal of content in which much pleasure can be derived. One such example of this is The Friends of Eddie Coyle, a film which I hadn’t heard of before seeing and hearing talk of it’s forthcoming release over the past few months. Seeing...
One of the fun things about loving a particular medium is the aspect of things being recommended, and this is something which has really grown in prominence for me with the growth of social media and podcasts. Having so much immediate access to the thoughts and opinions of others you specifically choose to listen to, whether they align with your tastes or challenge them, enables the discovery of a great deal of content in which much pleasure can be derived. One such example of this is The Friends of Eddie Coyle, a film which I hadn’t heard of before seeing and hearing talk of it’s forthcoming release over the past few months. Seeing...
- 1/24/2016
- by Ian Loring
- Nerdly
Cinema’s Hidden Pearls – Part II
By Alex Simon
One of nature’s rarest items, a pearl is produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a clam, a pearl is composed of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. Truly flawless pearls are infrequently produced in nature, and as a result, the pearl has become a metaphor for something rare, fine, admirable and valuable.
Hidden pearls exist in the world of movies, as well: films that, in spite of being brilliantly crafted and executed, never got the audience they deserved beyond a cult following.
Here are a few more of our favorite hidden pearls in the world of film:
1. Massacre at Central High (1976)
Dutch director, and former cameraman for the legendary Russ Meyer, Rene Daalder was hired by producers to direct an exploitation...
By Alex Simon
One of nature’s rarest items, a pearl is produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a clam, a pearl is composed of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. Truly flawless pearls are infrequently produced in nature, and as a result, the pearl has become a metaphor for something rare, fine, admirable and valuable.
Hidden pearls exist in the world of movies, as well: films that, in spite of being brilliantly crafted and executed, never got the audience they deserved beyond a cult following.
Here are a few more of our favorite hidden pearls in the world of film:
1. Massacre at Central High (1976)
Dutch director, and former cameraman for the legendary Russ Meyer, Rene Daalder was hired by producers to direct an exploitation...
- 6/29/2015
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Those seeking a groove-tastic immersion in a gritty 1970s crime drama will want to pop Criterion’s new burn of The Friends of Eddie Coyle into the nearest blu-ray player. Directed with a cool efficiency by master storyteller Peter Yates, the film is a tale of small time hoods and the sketchy federal marshals who pursue them. Told under the gray, heavy skies of Boston, it depicts a working class world of tiny clapboard houses and chain link fences, with massive land yacht automobiles cruising its wet, glistening streets. With Dave Grusin’s funky yet foreboding score providing Fender Rhodes twinkles and wah-wah pedal counterpoint, The Friends of Eddie Coyle unfolds as a fine example this decade’s unique sub genre: Disco Noir.
Based on a best selling novel by George V. Higgins, The Friends of Eddie Coyle was chiefly a vehicle for Hollywood legend Robert Mitchum, who at the...
Based on a best selling novel by George V. Higgins, The Friends of Eddie Coyle was chiefly a vehicle for Hollywood legend Robert Mitchum, who at the...
- 4/28/2015
- by David Anderson
- IONCINEMA.com
Beginning today, TCM.s 31 Days Of Oscar® and host, Robert Osborne are taking viewers on a trip around the world through nearly 350 Academy Award®-nominated and winning films. Throughout the month, TCM will feature movies set in 47 worldwide locations such as Canada (Feb. 2), Germany (Feb. 7), Italy (Feb. 14), Africa (Feb. 15-16), Russia (Feb. 16), Southeast Asia (Feb. 23), the Middle East (Feb. 28), China (Feb. 29), Japan (March 1) and Hawaii (March 1). Sit back and enjoy the adventure!
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is packing its bags and hitting the road for a globe-trotting February packed with the very best in movie entertainment. With each night.s programming set in a different location, the 2012 edition of TCM.s ultra-popular 31 Days Of Oscar® is going to take viewers on a trip around the world through nearly 350 Academy Award®-nominated and winning films. The extraordinary lineup features 25 Best Picture honorees and 30 movies appearing on TCM for the very first time.
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is packing its bags and hitting the road for a globe-trotting February packed with the very best in movie entertainment. With each night.s programming set in a different location, the 2012 edition of TCM.s ultra-popular 31 Days Of Oscar® is going to take viewers on a trip around the world through nearly 350 Academy Award®-nominated and winning films. The extraordinary lineup features 25 Best Picture honorees and 30 movies appearing on TCM for the very first time.
- 2/2/2012
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Netflix has revolutionized the home movie experience for fans of film with its instant streaming technology. Netflix Nuggets is my way of spreading the word about independent, classic and foreign films being made available by Netflix for instant streaming. Important Note: There may be some films that do not become available on the specified dates. This is merely a report of the most accurate release dates I can find, but is not directly confirmed by Netflix themselves.
American: The Bill Hicks Story (2010)
Streaming Available: 06/29/2011
Synopsis: Since his tragic death from cancer at age 32, comedian Bill Hicks’s legend and stature have only grown, and this unique documentary tells his story, blending live footage, interviews and animation to fill in the details of a life cut short. A comic’s comic and unflagging critic of hypocrisy and cultural emptiness, Hicks was one of a kind, a Lenny Bruce for the late 20th century,...
American: The Bill Hicks Story (2010)
Streaming Available: 06/29/2011
Synopsis: Since his tragic death from cancer at age 32, comedian Bill Hicks’s legend and stature have only grown, and this unique documentary tells his story, blending live footage, interviews and animation to fill in the details of a life cut short. A comic’s comic and unflagging critic of hypocrisy and cultural emptiness, Hicks was one of a kind, a Lenny Bruce for the late 20th century,...
- 6/28/2011
- by Travis Keune
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The Last Dinosaur Directed by: Alexander Grasshoff, Tsugunobu Kotani Written by: William Overgard Starring: Richard Boone, Joan Van Ark and Steven Keats The Last Dinosaur might be worth watching solely to see a clearly hammered Richard Boone scream at one his shipmates, calling him a, “ding dong.” And yes, Last Dinosaur was meant to be taken seriously. This is a co-production from longtime cartoon producers Rankin & Bass and Tsubaraya Productions, scheduled for a theatrical release stateside before being pulled for TV instead. The same two companies, or at least the same people, also delivered King Kong Escapes, a live action take on the Rankin & Bass “King Kong” TV series. That one is a blast, given a goofy, comedic tone, skilled miniatures, and one great looking T-Rex named Gorosaurus. The last dinosaur is no Gorosaurus. There are plenty of unconvincing dinosaur suits out there, from the flop-headed clunkers of Unknown Island...
- 4/7/2011
- by Matt P.
- FilmJunk
I obviously need to acquaint myself more with director Peter Yates, which I quickly learned as he says in his commentary The Friends of Eddie Coyle is one of his three favorite films he directed. The other two are The Dresser (1983) and Breaking Away (1979), both of which I have never seen. The only other Yates feature I have seen is the celebrated 1968 Steve McQueen starrer Bullitt, and I would say Eddie Coyle is far more interesting than that feature, but I have a feeling some may disagree entirely considering Bullitt is most well known for its action, while Coyle is a good watch despite its action sequences. Starring Robert Mitchum in the best performance I have ever seen him in, Eddie Coyle is based on the novel by George V. Higgins and made its theatrical debut over 30 years before modern audiences were introduced to the Boston crime scene depicted in...
- 5/21/2009
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
The critical work on the American New Wave, it seems, has only just begun -- Robert Altman still gets a free skate (who thinks "M*A*S*H" is worthwhile anymore?), Hal Ashby has been sanctified, but Alan J. Pakula has not, and Robert Aldrich's contributions to the decade are forgotten, while the proper canonization of the films of Monte Hellman and Barbara Loden's "Wanda" is paperwork still waiting to be filed, and the few fascinating films Peter Fonda directed are still cinema non grata. The era's propensity for desperate road travel, dusty realism and pitiless narrative makes it the match for the meaning of film noir, but as yet it seems more critical and academic thought has been devoted, generally, to "Blade Runner" and "E.T.", to the least of Hitchcock's films and to the oeuvre of David Fincher. There's still so much that's left out of the discussion -- for example,...
- 5/19/2009
- by Michael Atkinson
- ifc.com
DVD Playhouse—May 2009
Paramount Centennial Collection Paramount Studios releases two more classic titles from its library on special edition DVD: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is John Ford’s last masterpiece (although he would go on to direct two more very good films) from 1962: about an Eastern lawyer (James Stewart) who travels west only to find primal brutality in the form of sadistic bandit Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin, great as always) and pragmatic brutality in local rancher Tom Doniphon (John Wayne), each two sides of a coin that represent a way of life slowly dying out as Stewart’s modern brand of civilization tames the West. A perfect film, period. Howard Hawks’ El Dorado is essentially a remake of his earlier classic Rio Bravo, with John Wayne, Robert Mitchum and a young James Caan as lawmen joining forces against corrupt cattle barons. Great fun. Two disc sets.
Paramount Centennial Collection Paramount Studios releases two more classic titles from its library on special edition DVD: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is John Ford’s last masterpiece (although he would go on to direct two more very good films) from 1962: about an Eastern lawyer (James Stewart) who travels west only to find primal brutality in the form of sadistic bandit Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin, great as always) and pragmatic brutality in local rancher Tom Doniphon (John Wayne), each two sides of a coin that represent a way of life slowly dying out as Stewart’s modern brand of civilization tames the West. A perfect film, period. Howard Hawks’ El Dorado is essentially a remake of his earlier classic Rio Bravo, with John Wayne, Robert Mitchum and a young James Caan as lawmen joining forces against corrupt cattle barons. Great fun. Two disc sets.
- 5/12/2009
- by Allen Gardner
- The Hollywood Interview
Movie Info: Writer: Norman Mailer Director: Lawrence Schiller Cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Christine Lahti, Rosanna Arquette, Eli Wallach, Steven Keats, Jordan Clarke, Richard Venture Rating: Not Rated Studio: Paramount Release Info: Theatrical Release: Aired on television November 28, 1982 DVD Release Date: August 5, 2008 Online Availability: Amazon Once upon a time, movies on television sported a notable cast and they were well written. These [...]...
- 9/2/2008
- by Ashtyn
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