Talk about an identity crisis!
In a wonderfully funny and completely original comedy, French star Chiara Mastroianni in a bit of an existential crisis mode decides one day to morph into her very famous father, the late great Marcello Mastroianni. In a search for her own identity she discovers more about herself, her father, even her equally famous mother Catherine Deneuve who surprisingly consented to play herself and discover truths about her relationship with her ex-finacé (he died in 1996) that had never been made public.
Playing tonight in the official competition of the Cannes Film Festival, where the entire family has appeared many times as fictional characters, this time it hits close to home, but always with a light touch as Chiara drops her own persona and hits the town as if it were Marcello Mastroianni back in Fellini’s 8 1/2. Black suit, hat, moustache, large glasses — she’s all in.
In a wonderfully funny and completely original comedy, French star Chiara Mastroianni in a bit of an existential crisis mode decides one day to morph into her very famous father, the late great Marcello Mastroianni. In a search for her own identity she discovers more about herself, her father, even her equally famous mother Catherine Deneuve who surprisingly consented to play herself and discover truths about her relationship with her ex-finacé (he died in 1996) that had never been made public.
Playing tonight in the official competition of the Cannes Film Festival, where the entire family has appeared many times as fictional characters, this time it hits close to home, but always with a light touch as Chiara drops her own persona and hits the town as if it were Marcello Mastroianni back in Fellini’s 8 1/2. Black suit, hat, moustache, large glasses — she’s all in.
- 5/21/2024
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
Christopher Lee (The Wicker Man) gives one of his most unforgettable performances as Judge Jeffreys, the infamous 17th-century witchfinder whose unholy obsession with a luscious wench (Maria Rohm of Eugenie) fuels a jaw-dropping spree of torture, brutality and flesh-ripping perversion. Howard Vernon (Succubus), Margaret Lee (Five Golden Dragons), Maria Schell (99 Women), and Oscar nominee Leo Genn (Quo Vadis) co-star in this landmark epic of sexual violence and sadism, complete with a superb score by Bruno Nicolai (Count Dracula) and directed with spectacularly deviant glee by the one and only Jess Franco (Venus in Furs).
Night of the Blood Monster is available on 4K Uhd Blu-ray on March 26.
Enter for your chance to win a 4K Uhd Blu-ray of Night of the Blood Monster, courtesy of Blue Underground. Two (2) winners will be selected at random.
Here’s how to enter:
Step 1: Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Step 2:...
Night of the Blood Monster is available on 4K Uhd Blu-ray on March 26.
Enter for your chance to win a 4K Uhd Blu-ray of Night of the Blood Monster, courtesy of Blue Underground. Two (2) winners will be selected at random.
Here’s how to enter:
Step 1: Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Step 2:...
- 3/24/2024
- by Slant Staff
- Slant Magazine
Killer Collectibles highlights five of the most exciting new horror products announced each and every week, from toys and apparel to artwork, records, and much more.
Here are the coolest horror collectibles unveiled this week!
Contagion 4K Uhd from Warner Bros.
Contagion will infect 4K Ultra HD on February 27 via Warner Bros. The 2011 thriller has been newly restored in 4K from the original camera negative, overseen by director Steven Soderbergh, with High Dynamic Range.
The ensemble cast features Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Bryan Cranston, Jennifer Ehle, and Sanaa Lathan. Scott Z. Burns (The Bourne Ultimatum) wrote the script.
Three previously released featurettes are included: “The Reality of Contagion,” “The Contagion Detectives,” and “Contagion: How a Virus Changes the World.”
Body Double Vinyl Soundtrack from Waxwork Records
The soundtrack from Brain De Palma’s Body Double is coming to vinyl for $40 from Waxwork Records.
Here are the coolest horror collectibles unveiled this week!
Contagion 4K Uhd from Warner Bros.
Contagion will infect 4K Ultra HD on February 27 via Warner Bros. The 2011 thriller has been newly restored in 4K from the original camera negative, overseen by director Steven Soderbergh, with High Dynamic Range.
The ensemble cast features Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Bryan Cranston, Jennifer Ehle, and Sanaa Lathan. Scott Z. Burns (The Bourne Ultimatum) wrote the script.
Three previously released featurettes are included: “The Reality of Contagion,” “The Contagion Detectives,” and “Contagion: How a Virus Changes the World.”
Body Double Vinyl Soundtrack from Waxwork Records
The soundtrack from Brain De Palma’s Body Double is coming to vinyl for $40 from Waxwork Records.
- 1/12/2024
- by Alex DiVincenzo
- bloody-disgusting.com
Jess Franco’s Night Of The Blood Monster (aka The Bloody Judge) is making it's debut on 4K Uhd. Arriving on March 26, 2024, a brand-new 4K master of the complete uncensored version will be released on both 4K Uhd and Blu-ray, with all new bonus features and extras:
Horror Will Hold You Helpless!
Christopher Lee (The Wicker Man) gives one of his most unforgettable performances as Judge Jeffreys, the infamous 17th Century witchfinder whose unholy obsession with a luscious wench (Maria Rohm of Eugenie) fuels a jaw-dropping spree of torture, brutality and flesh-ripping perversion. Howard Vernon (Succubus), Margaret Lee (Five Golden Dragons), Maria Schell (99 Women) and Oscar® nominee Leo Genn (Quo Vadis) co-star in this landmark epic of sexual violence and sadism, complete with a superb score by Bruno Nicolai (Count Dracula) and directed with spectacularly deviant glee by the one and only Jess Franco (Venus In Furs).
Blue Underground...
Horror Will Hold You Helpless!
Christopher Lee (The Wicker Man) gives one of his most unforgettable performances as Judge Jeffreys, the infamous 17th Century witchfinder whose unholy obsession with a luscious wench (Maria Rohm of Eugenie) fuels a jaw-dropping spree of torture, brutality and flesh-ripping perversion. Howard Vernon (Succubus), Margaret Lee (Five Golden Dragons), Maria Schell (99 Women) and Oscar® nominee Leo Genn (Quo Vadis) co-star in this landmark epic of sexual violence and sadism, complete with a superb score by Bruno Nicolai (Count Dracula) and directed with spectacularly deviant glee by the one and only Jess Franco (Venus In Furs).
Blue Underground...
- 12/6/2023
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
The Best Picture win at the Oscars is the highest prize in the film industry. However, some films manage to take home the top award, yet they still don’t manage to stand the test of time. There are some Best Picture winners that no one talks about, even though they’ll always be a part of Academy Award history.
‘The Broadway Melody’ (1929) L-r: Charles King as Eddie Kearns, Bessie Love as Harriet ‘Hank’ Mahoney, Mary Doran as Flo, Anita Page as Queen Mahoney, and Nacio Herb Brown as Pianist | John Springer Collection/Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
Harriet ‘Hank’ Mahoney (Bessie Love) and Queenie Mahoney (Anita Page) are vaudeville sister performers looking to break into the Broadway scene. However, romantic melodrama quickly overshadows their attempt to pursue fame as a duo.
The Broadway Melody is the second film to win the Best Picture Oscar, with only Wings coming before it.
‘The Broadway Melody’ (1929) L-r: Charles King as Eddie Kearns, Bessie Love as Harriet ‘Hank’ Mahoney, Mary Doran as Flo, Anita Page as Queen Mahoney, and Nacio Herb Brown as Pianist | John Springer Collection/Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
Harriet ‘Hank’ Mahoney (Bessie Love) and Queenie Mahoney (Anita Page) are vaudeville sister performers looking to break into the Broadway scene. However, romantic melodrama quickly overshadows their attempt to pursue fame as a duo.
The Broadway Melody is the second film to win the Best Picture Oscar, with only Wings coming before it.
- 2/28/2023
- by Jeff Nelson
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Retro-active: The Best From The Cinema Retro Archives
In honor of the esteemed actor Nehemiah Persoff, who recently passed away at age 102, we are running this interview originally conducted with Mr. Persoff in 2010 by the late writer Herb Shadrak.
Nehemiah Persoff: From Jerusalem to Hollywood and Beyond
By Herb Shadrak
Born in Jerusalem in 1919, Nehemiah Persoff went on to become one of the busiest character actors in Hollywood. His face is familiar to millions of boomers across North America from his numerous guest appearances on just about every TV series that aired from the 1950s through the 1990s. Persoff’s name may have been unfamiliar to many of these TV viewers, but his face was instantly recognizable. Filmspot.com describes Persoff as a short, dark and stocky-framed actor who specialized in playing ethnic-type villains, although he frequently essayed sympathetic roles as well.. (Witness his heartbreaking moments with Maria Schell in Voyage of the Damned.
In honor of the esteemed actor Nehemiah Persoff, who recently passed away at age 102, we are running this interview originally conducted with Mr. Persoff in 2010 by the late writer Herb Shadrak.
Nehemiah Persoff: From Jerusalem to Hollywood and Beyond
By Herb Shadrak
Born in Jerusalem in 1919, Nehemiah Persoff went on to become one of the busiest character actors in Hollywood. His face is familiar to millions of boomers across North America from his numerous guest appearances on just about every TV series that aired from the 1950s through the 1990s. Persoff’s name may have been unfamiliar to many of these TV viewers, but his face was instantly recognizable. Filmspot.com describes Persoff as a short, dark and stocky-framed actor who specialized in playing ethnic-type villains, although he frequently essayed sympathetic roles as well.. (Witness his heartbreaking moments with Maria Schell in Voyage of the Damned.
- 4/13/2022
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
One of the best yet least seen of John Sturges’ westerns couples a fine screenplay with strong star perfs and superb direction: the straightforward story builds tension throughout. Kirk Douglas is a sheriff out for both justice and revenge and Anthony Quinn is the he-bull rancher who stands in his way: the guilty party is Quinn’s son. It looks sensational in VistaVision, with a fine music score by Dimitri Tiomkin — it’s a pleasure all the way through, with strong support from Carolyn (swoon) Jones, Earl Holliman, Brian Hutton and Brad Dexter.
Last Train from Gun Hill
Region-free Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] 101
1959 / Color / 1:78 widescreen (VistaVision) / 95 min. / Street Date December 29, 2021 / Available from Imprint and Amazon / 39.95
Starring: Kirk Douglas, Anthony Quinn, Carolyn Jones, Earl Holliman, Brad Dexter, Brian G. Hutton, Ziva Rodann, Bing Russell, Val Avery, Walter Sande, John Anderson, Dabbs Greer, Ty Hardin, Glenn Strange, Julius Tannen, Sid Tomack.
Cinematography:...
Last Train from Gun Hill
Region-free Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] 101
1959 / Color / 1:78 widescreen (VistaVision) / 95 min. / Street Date December 29, 2021 / Available from Imprint and Amazon / 39.95
Starring: Kirk Douglas, Anthony Quinn, Carolyn Jones, Earl Holliman, Brad Dexter, Brian G. Hutton, Ziva Rodann, Bing Russell, Val Avery, Walter Sande, John Anderson, Dabbs Greer, Ty Hardin, Glenn Strange, Julius Tannen, Sid Tomack.
Cinematography:...
- 1/22/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
To mark the release of Just a Gigolo on 8th November, we’ve been given 2 copies to give away on Blu-ray.
Paul von Przygodski (David Bowie), a young Prussian gentleman, arrives in the trenches in time to be caught in the final explosion of the Great War. After recuperating in a military hospital, where he is mistaken for a French hero, he returns to Berlin. His family home has been turned into a boarding house, his father (Rudolf Schündler) is paralyzed, and his mother (Maria Schell) is working in the Turkish baths. Attempting to find a new purpose, his childhood friend, Cilly (Sydne Rome), abandons him for fame and fortune; his former commanding officer, Captain Kraft (David Hemmings), tries to persuade him to join his right-wing movement and a widow, Helga von Kaiserling (Kim Novak), briefly seduces him with the finer things in life. In a society where the...
Paul von Przygodski (David Bowie), a young Prussian gentleman, arrives in the trenches in time to be caught in the final explosion of the Great War. After recuperating in a military hospital, where he is mistaken for a French hero, he returns to Berlin. His family home has been turned into a boarding house, his father (Rudolf Schündler) is paralyzed, and his mother (Maria Schell) is working in the Turkish baths. Attempting to find a new purpose, his childhood friend, Cilly (Sydne Rome), abandons him for fame and fortune; his former commanding officer, Captain Kraft (David Hemmings), tries to persuade him to join his right-wing movement and a widow, Helga von Kaiserling (Kim Novak), briefly seduces him with the finer things in life. In a society where the...
- 11/3/2021
- by Competitions
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
To mark the release of Just a Gigolo, out now, we’ve been given a signed copy of the boxset to give away.
Paul von Przygodski (David Bowie), a young Prussian gentleman, arrives in the trenches in time to be caught in the final explosion of the Great War. After recuperating in a military hospital, where he is mistaken for a French hero, he returns to Berlin. His family home has been turned into a boarding house, his father (Rudolf Schündler) is paralyzed, and his mother (Maria Schell) is working in the Turkish baths.
Attempting to find a new purpose, his childhood friend, Cilly (Sydne Rome), abandons him for fame and fortune; his former commanding officer, Captain Kraft (David Hemmings), tries to persuade him to join his right-wing movement and a widow, Helga von Kaiserling (Kim Novak), briefly seduces him with the finer things in life.
In a society...
Paul von Przygodski (David Bowie), a young Prussian gentleman, arrives in the trenches in time to be caught in the final explosion of the Great War. After recuperating in a military hospital, where he is mistaken for a French hero, he returns to Berlin. His family home has been turned into a boarding house, his father (Rudolf Schündler) is paralyzed, and his mother (Maria Schell) is working in the Turkish baths.
Attempting to find a new purpose, his childhood friend, Cilly (Sydne Rome), abandons him for fame and fortune; his former commanding officer, Captain Kraft (David Hemmings), tries to persuade him to join his right-wing movement and a widow, Helga von Kaiserling (Kim Novak), briefly seduces him with the finer things in life.
In a society...
- 8/16/2021
- by Competitions
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
After exploring “The Civil War,” “Baseball” and “Country Music,” award-winning documentarian Ken Burns and his frequent collaborator Lynn Novick examined the importance of being Ernest Hemingway in their three-part PBS documentary “Hemingway.” Premiering in April to strong reviews and Emmys buzz, the series weaves Papa’s biography with excerpts from his fiction, non-fiction, and personal correspondence. The series also reviews the mythology around the larger-than-life Hemingway, who penned such classic novels as “The Sun Also Rises,” “A Farewell to Arms,” “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and “The Old Man and the Sea,” to reveal the truth behind the bravado.
Feature film adaptations of Hemingway’s works had mixed results. Hemingway Bff Gary Cooper excelled in 1932’s “A Farewell to Arms” and 1943’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” receiving an Oscar nomination for the latter. John Garfield gave one of his strongest performance in 1950’s superb noir “The Breaking Point,” based...
Feature film adaptations of Hemingway’s works had mixed results. Hemingway Bff Gary Cooper excelled in 1932’s “A Farewell to Arms” and 1943’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” receiving an Oscar nomination for the latter. John Garfield gave one of his strongest performance in 1950’s superb noir “The Breaking Point,” based...
- 5/21/2021
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Cimarron (1960) starring Glenn Ford is available on Blu-ray From Warner Archives. Order info can be found Here
Edna Ferber’s epic Western, famously lensed in 1931 with Irene Dunne and Richard Dix, gets the widescreen full color treatment in this remake starring Glenn Ford, Maria Schell and Ann Baxter. As thousands of would-be settlers race across a barren desert to be the first to stake their claim to a plot of land during the Oklahoma Land Rush, Yancey Cravat (Ford) is outwitted by dance hall girl Dixie Lee (Baxter). Without the farm they had hoped to start, Yancey and his wife, Sabra (Schell), take over the local newspaper after the editor is assassinated. But as the newspaper helps bring order to a lawless land, Yancey feels the wanderlust to find new frontiers and new adventures, while Sabra stays to build a publishing empire. Western master Anthony Mann directs while the legendary...
Edna Ferber’s epic Western, famously lensed in 1931 with Irene Dunne and Richard Dix, gets the widescreen full color treatment in this remake starring Glenn Ford, Maria Schell and Ann Baxter. As thousands of would-be settlers race across a barren desert to be the first to stake their claim to a plot of land during the Oklahoma Land Rush, Yancey Cravat (Ford) is outwitted by dance hall girl Dixie Lee (Baxter). Without the farm they had hoped to start, Yancey and his wife, Sabra (Schell), take over the local newspaper after the editor is assassinated. But as the newspaper helps bring order to a lawless land, Yancey feels the wanderlust to find new frontiers and new adventures, while Sabra stays to build a publishing empire. Western master Anthony Mann directs while the legendary...
- 1/29/2020
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Once upon a time, MGM launched a big spectacle Western remake with the top star Glenn Ford and the bright import Maria Schell — and then second-guessed the whole production, cutting back on everything so severely that director Anthony Mann ankled the set for Spain and El Cid. The storytelling is a mess — after starting big, the show soon falls into pieces. But many of individual scenes and set pieces are exemplary, especially Mann’s re-run of the Oklahoma Land Rush, staged in Arizona and augmented by classy special effects. The large cast rounds up some big talent — Mercedes McCambridge, Russ Tamblyn — to tell Edna Ferber’s multi-generational story about ambition, intolerance and dreams of glory on the frontier.
Cimarron (1960)
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1960 / Color / 2:35 anamorphic widescreen / 147 min. / Street Date January 21, 2020 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Glenn Ford, Maria Schell, Anne Baxter, Arthur O’Connell, Russ Tamblyn, Mercedes McCambridge, Vic Morrow,...
Cimarron (1960)
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1960 / Color / 2:35 anamorphic widescreen / 147 min. / Street Date January 21, 2020 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Glenn Ford, Maria Schell, Anne Baxter, Arthur O’Connell, Russ Tamblyn, Mercedes McCambridge, Vic Morrow,...
- 1/7/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
By Todd Garbarini
Richard Donner’s spectacular 1978 film, Superman: The Movie, arguably the greatest comic book movie of all-time (Imho), will be screened at Laemmle’s Ahrya Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills in a 4K Digital Cinema Package (Dcp) presentation on Tuesday, October 9, 2018 at 7:30 pm. The 143-minute film, which stars Christopher Reeve in the title role, with Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, and Margot Kidder, made us all believe that a man could fly.
Please Note: At press time, several of the supporting performers in the film will be on hand to discuss their roles (please read the press release below for more info).
From the press release:
Superman (1978)
40th Anniversary Screening
Cast members joining for Q&A
New 4K Dcp
Tuesday, October 9, at 7:30 Pm
Ahyra Fine Arts Theatre
Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present a 40th anniversary screening of the film that launched the comic book movie craze,...
Richard Donner’s spectacular 1978 film, Superman: The Movie, arguably the greatest comic book movie of all-time (Imho), will be screened at Laemmle’s Ahrya Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills in a 4K Digital Cinema Package (Dcp) presentation on Tuesday, October 9, 2018 at 7:30 pm. The 143-minute film, which stars Christopher Reeve in the title role, with Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, and Margot Kidder, made us all believe that a man could fly.
Please Note: At press time, several of the supporting performers in the film will be on hand to discuss their roles (please read the press release below for more info).
From the press release:
Superman (1978)
40th Anniversary Screening
Cast members joining for Q&A
New 4K Dcp
Tuesday, October 9, at 7:30 Pm
Ahyra Fine Arts Theatre
Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present a 40th anniversary screening of the film that launched the comic book movie craze,...
- 10/3/2018
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
“To really live, you must almost die,” sings Marty Robbins, a lesson learned by Austrian import star Maria Schell. Delmer Daves’ best western puts virtue and faithfulness to the test: Gary Cooper’s distrustful, manipulative doctor hides his dark secrets and punishes those that admire and love him. Yet the ultimate reckoning demonstrates that sins can be forgiven and goodness rewarded, even in a corrupt and lawless community. That’s a fairy tale I still want to believe in.
The Hanging Tree
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1959 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 107 min. / Street Date January 23, 2018 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Gary Cooper, Maria Schell, Karl Malden, Ben Piazza, George C. Scott, Karl Swenson, Virginia Gregg, John Dierkes, King Donovan.
Cinematography: Ted McCord
Film Editor: Owen Marks
Original Music: Max Steiner
Written by Wendell Mayes, Halsted Welles from the novel by Dorothy M. Johnson
Produced by Martin Jurow, Richard Shepherd
Directed by Delmer...
The Hanging Tree
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1959 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 107 min. / Street Date January 23, 2018 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Gary Cooper, Maria Schell, Karl Malden, Ben Piazza, George C. Scott, Karl Swenson, Virginia Gregg, John Dierkes, King Donovan.
Cinematography: Ted McCord
Film Editor: Owen Marks
Original Music: Max Steiner
Written by Wendell Mayes, Halsted Welles from the novel by Dorothy M. Johnson
Produced by Martin Jurow, Richard Shepherd
Directed by Delmer...
- 1/13/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
I guess there are plenty of adults now too young to remember when Christopher Reeve made his debut as The Man of Steel. It was a massive hit across the full spectrum of moviegoers. Warners is taking good care of everyone’s favorite undocumented visitor from Planet Krypton, and has assembled two separate cuts of his big-screen premiere.
Superman: The Movie
Blu-ray
2-Film Collection
Warner Bros.
1978 / Color / 2:40 widescreen / 188 min. Extended Cut + 151 min. Special Edition orig. 143 min. / Street Date October 10, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Ned Beatty, Jackie Cooper, Glenn Ford, Trevor Howard, Margot Kidder, Jack O’Halloran, Valerie Perrine, Maria Schell, Terence Stamp, Phyllis Thaxter, Susannah York, Jeff East, Marc McClure, Sarah Douglas, Harry Andrews, Diane Sherry, Randy Jurgensen, Larry Hagman, John Ratzenberger, Kirk Alyn, Noel Neill.
Cinematography: Geoffrey Unsworth
Film Editors: Stuart Baird, Michael Ellis
Production Design: John Barry
Assistant Director: Vincent Winter...
Superman: The Movie
Blu-ray
2-Film Collection
Warner Bros.
1978 / Color / 2:40 widescreen / 188 min. Extended Cut + 151 min. Special Edition orig. 143 min. / Street Date October 10, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Ned Beatty, Jackie Cooper, Glenn Ford, Trevor Howard, Margot Kidder, Jack O’Halloran, Valerie Perrine, Maria Schell, Terence Stamp, Phyllis Thaxter, Susannah York, Jeff East, Marc McClure, Sarah Douglas, Harry Andrews, Diane Sherry, Randy Jurgensen, Larry Hagman, John Ratzenberger, Kirk Alyn, Noel Neill.
Cinematography: Geoffrey Unsworth
Film Editors: Stuart Baird, Michael Ellis
Production Design: John Barry
Assistant Director: Vincent Winter...
- 10/10/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
When a Potiche Ascends the Stairs: Brizé’s Winning, Textured de Maupassant Adaptation
Although cinematic adaptations of French writer Guy de Maupassant still occur with some regularity, few contemporary Gallic auteurs have successfully tackled the naturalist who was a protégé of Flaubert and a contemporary of Zola. Frequent adaptations of his famed short story “Boule de Suif” and Bel-Ami are resurrected regularly, and his stories have inspired auteurs like Robert Wise, Jean-Luc Godard, Marcel Ophüls, and Jean Renoir. However, de Maupassant’s seminal first novel, Une Vie (1883), has been adapted several times outside of France, while previously its most definitive mounting was the 1958 End of Desire headlined by Maria Schell.
For his seventh feature, Stephane Brizé persuasively reflects the subjugation of women’s agency with the fragmented A Woman’s Life, and is perhaps the most auspicious transformation of the author since the handsome productions of the 1950s with this astute period piece featuring an exquisite ensemble of character actors.
After returning from convent school, Jeanne (Judith Chemla) takes joy in assisting her father (Jean-Pierre Darroussin) in the garden and perambulating with her mother (Yolande Moreau), a woman who spends most of her free time scrolling through the contents of letters she received throughout her life. With only the young family maid Rosalie (Nina Meurisse) as a friend and confidante, Jeanne soon finds herself courted by the handsome Viscount Julien de Lamare (Swann Arlaud). Swept into what she’s made to believe is romance, the marriage soon sours when Rosalie is found to be with child after having been raped by Julien. Thus begins Jeanne’s initiation into a world more harrowing than she had anticipated as her ideals and dignity are slowly stripped away.
Judith Chemla, who has starred as a supporting player in a number of period productions for noted auteurs (Tavernier, Techine) comes to the fore as the passive, frustrated center of Brizé’s film. Oblivious to the tendencies and behaviors of those around her, A Woman’s Life gently ushers her from a frivolous young woman of privilege to an increasingly fraught wife forced to contend with a debauched husband.
Brizé’s film has all the potential of a tawdry soap opera, and yet is distilled into fragmented reflections of her escapist tendencies. As we rush through defining moments of her life, time slows as Jeanne disappears into the bright, sunshiny memories which brought her to such a brooding standstill. Chemla is tasked with revealing Jeanne’s persona through inscrutable moments, an object acted upon despite meager efforts to gain control of her life. When escape presents itself upon learning of her own pregnancy at the same time as her husband’s philandering with Rosalie, her own mother confirms her fate by forcing Jeanne to forgive rather than return home.
Yolande Moreau gives a subversively droll performance as a cold maternal figure who has several major secrets of her own. As her counterpart, Jean-Pierre Darroussin nearly disappears within the period garb as Jeanne’s mild mannered father, while a mousy Swann Arlaud is sufficiently unpalatable as her cheating husband. Clotilde Hesme surfaces in a brief subplot which yields shockingly violent results, while rising young actor Finnegan Oldfield (Nocturama; Les Cowboys) shows up in the third act as Jeanne’s selfish teenage son, the specter haunting her golden years and sending her into protracted anguish.
Much like Brizé’s last lauded feature, 2015’s The Measure of a Man, the narrative revolves around distilled, refracted moments informing its protagonist’s mind frame, a person once again trapped by economic necessity in an unfavorable role which whittles away at their resolve.
Collaborating once more with scribe Florence Vignon (who scripted his superb 2009 film Mademoiselle Chambon), they achieve a striking portrait of a woman of certain means as equally weighted down by her expectations and limited control. Brizé also taps Dp Antoine Heberle (who worked on Chambon and A Few Hours of Spring, as well as Ozon’s Under the Sand) who transforms the film into a constant visual juxtaposition of stark, contrasting palettes, ranging from the brooding grays of Jeanne’s present to the golden, sparkling vivaciousness of happy times she can never return to. With stunning finality, a drastic situation boils down to bittersweet reality— “Life is never as good or as bad as you think it is.”
★★★★/☆☆☆☆☆
The post A Woman’s Life | Review appeared first on Ioncinema.com.
Although cinematic adaptations of French writer Guy de Maupassant still occur with some regularity, few contemporary Gallic auteurs have successfully tackled the naturalist who was a protégé of Flaubert and a contemporary of Zola. Frequent adaptations of his famed short story “Boule de Suif” and Bel-Ami are resurrected regularly, and his stories have inspired auteurs like Robert Wise, Jean-Luc Godard, Marcel Ophüls, and Jean Renoir. However, de Maupassant’s seminal first novel, Une Vie (1883), has been adapted several times outside of France, while previously its most definitive mounting was the 1958 End of Desire headlined by Maria Schell.
For his seventh feature, Stephane Brizé persuasively reflects the subjugation of women’s agency with the fragmented A Woman’s Life, and is perhaps the most auspicious transformation of the author since the handsome productions of the 1950s with this astute period piece featuring an exquisite ensemble of character actors.
After returning from convent school, Jeanne (Judith Chemla) takes joy in assisting her father (Jean-Pierre Darroussin) in the garden and perambulating with her mother (Yolande Moreau), a woman who spends most of her free time scrolling through the contents of letters she received throughout her life. With only the young family maid Rosalie (Nina Meurisse) as a friend and confidante, Jeanne soon finds herself courted by the handsome Viscount Julien de Lamare (Swann Arlaud). Swept into what she’s made to believe is romance, the marriage soon sours when Rosalie is found to be with child after having been raped by Julien. Thus begins Jeanne’s initiation into a world more harrowing than she had anticipated as her ideals and dignity are slowly stripped away.
Judith Chemla, who has starred as a supporting player in a number of period productions for noted auteurs (Tavernier, Techine) comes to the fore as the passive, frustrated center of Brizé’s film. Oblivious to the tendencies and behaviors of those around her, A Woman’s Life gently ushers her from a frivolous young woman of privilege to an increasingly fraught wife forced to contend with a debauched husband.
Brizé’s film has all the potential of a tawdry soap opera, and yet is distilled into fragmented reflections of her escapist tendencies. As we rush through defining moments of her life, time slows as Jeanne disappears into the bright, sunshiny memories which brought her to such a brooding standstill. Chemla is tasked with revealing Jeanne’s persona through inscrutable moments, an object acted upon despite meager efforts to gain control of her life. When escape presents itself upon learning of her own pregnancy at the same time as her husband’s philandering with Rosalie, her own mother confirms her fate by forcing Jeanne to forgive rather than return home.
Yolande Moreau gives a subversively droll performance as a cold maternal figure who has several major secrets of her own. As her counterpart, Jean-Pierre Darroussin nearly disappears within the period garb as Jeanne’s mild mannered father, while a mousy Swann Arlaud is sufficiently unpalatable as her cheating husband. Clotilde Hesme surfaces in a brief subplot which yields shockingly violent results, while rising young actor Finnegan Oldfield (Nocturama; Les Cowboys) shows up in the third act as Jeanne’s selfish teenage son, the specter haunting her golden years and sending her into protracted anguish.
Much like Brizé’s last lauded feature, 2015’s The Measure of a Man, the narrative revolves around distilled, refracted moments informing its protagonist’s mind frame, a person once again trapped by economic necessity in an unfavorable role which whittles away at their resolve.
Collaborating once more with scribe Florence Vignon (who scripted his superb 2009 film Mademoiselle Chambon), they achieve a striking portrait of a woman of certain means as equally weighted down by her expectations and limited control. Brizé also taps Dp Antoine Heberle (who worked on Chambon and A Few Hours of Spring, as well as Ozon’s Under the Sand) who transforms the film into a constant visual juxtaposition of stark, contrasting palettes, ranging from the brooding grays of Jeanne’s present to the golden, sparkling vivaciousness of happy times she can never return to. With stunning finality, a drastic situation boils down to bittersweet reality— “Life is never as good or as bad as you think it is.”
★★★★/☆☆☆☆☆
The post A Woman’s Life | Review appeared first on Ioncinema.com.
- 5/5/2017
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
David Bowie in 'The Hunger' with Catherine Deneuve. David Bowie movies: Iconic singer memorable as fast-aging vampire in 'The Hunger,' Nikola Tesla in 'The Prestige' Singer and sometime actor David Bowie, one of the iconic figures of the English-language music scene of the second half of the 20th century, died of cancer yesterday, Jan. 10, '16. Bowie (born David Robert Jones in the London suburb of Brixton) had turned 69 on Jan. 8. His son, filmmaker Duncan Jones (Moon), has confirmed Bowie's death on Twitter. Bowie was seen in only a couple of dozen movies during his four-decade show business career. Among his most memorable film roles were those in the titles listed below. The Man Who Fell to Earth Directed by Nicolas Roeg (Walkabout, Don't Look Now) from a screenplay by Paul Mayersberg (based on a novel by Walter Tevis), The Man Who Fell to Earth...
- 1/11/2016
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Forget English soap operas about upstairs and downstairs upheavals, Yoji Yamada's chronicle of a life in the little Tokyo house with the little red roof is an emotional grabber. It's the war years of patriotic acquiescence and home-front selfishness -- and a secret, forbidden romance. The Little House (Chiisai ouchi) Twilight Time Savant Blu-ray Review Limited Edition 2014 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 136 min. / Chiisai ouchi / Ship Date August 11, 2015 / available through Twilight Time Movies / 29.95 Starring Takaku Matsu, Haru Kuroki, Takataro Kataoka, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Satoshi Tsumabuki, Chieko Baisho Cinematography Masashi Chikamori Art Direction Mitsuo Degawa, Daisuke Sue Film Editor Iwao Ishii Original Music Joe Hisashi Written by Yoji Yamada, Emiko Hiramatsu, Kyoko Nakajima Produced by Tadashi Ohsumi Directed by Yoji Yamada
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
When Twilight Time brings out a disc not licensed from a major studio, I pay special attention. Last year they released a good Yoji Yamada film called The Twilight Samurai,...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
When Twilight Time brings out a disc not licensed from a major studio, I pay special attention. Last year they released a good Yoji Yamada film called The Twilight Samurai,...
- 9/8/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Marc Allégret: From André Gide lover to Simone Simon mentor (photo: Marc Allégret) (See previous post: "Simone Simon Remembered: Sex Kitten and Femme Fatale.") Simone Simon became a film star following the international critical and financial success of the 1934 romantic drama Lac aux Dames, directed by her self-appointed mentor – and alleged lover – Marc Allégret.[1] The son of an evangelical missionary, Marc Allégret (born on December 22, 1900, in Basel, Switzerland) was to have become a lawyer. At age 16, his life took a different path as a result of his romantic involvement – and elopement to London – with his mentor and later "adoptive uncle" André Gide (1947 Nobel Prize winner in Literature), more than 30 years his senior and married to Madeleine Rondeaux for more than two decades. In various forms – including a threesome with painter Théo Van Rysselberghe's daughter Elisabeth – the Allégret-Gide relationship remained steady until the late '20s and their trip to...
- 2/28/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
'Henry V' Movie Actress Renée Asherson dead at 99: Laurence Olivier leading lady in acclaimed 1944 film (image: Renée Asherson and Laurence Olivier in 'Henry V') Renée Asherson, a British stage actress featured in London productions of A Streetcar Named Desire and Three Sisters, but best known internationally as Laurence Olivier's leading lady in the 1944 film version of Henry V, died on October 30, 2014. Asherson was 99 years old. The exact cause of death hasn't been specified. She was born Dorothy Renée Ascherson (she would drop the "c" some time after becoming an actress) on May 19, 1915, in Kensington, London, to Jewish parents: businessman Charles Ascherson and his second wife, Dorothy Wiseman -- both of whom narrowly escaped spending their honeymoon aboard the Titanic. (Ascherson cancelled the voyage after suffering an attack of appendicitis.) According to Michael Coveney's The Guardian obit for the actress, Renée Asherson was "scantly...
- 11/5/2014
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Christopher Reeve Foundation for spinal cord and stem cell research (photo: Darryl Hannah and Christopher Reeve in 'Rear Window') (See previous post: "'Superman' Christopher Reeve and his Movies: Ten-Year Death Anniversary.") In his 1998 autobiography Still Me, Christopher Reeve recalled: "At an especially bleak moment [prior to an operation that might result in his death], the door [of his hospital room] flew open and in hurried a squat fellow with a blue scrub hat and a yellow surgical gown and glasses, speaking in a Russian accent. For the first time since the accident, I laughed. My old friend had helped me know that somehow I was going to be okay." The "old friend" was the recently deceased Robin Williams, whom Reeve had befriended while both were studying at Juillard. Eventually, Reeve became a staunch advocate for spinal cord and stem cell research, sponsoring with his wife the Christopher Reeve Foundation — later renamed the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation (and formerly known...
- 10/11/2014
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Honorary Award: Gloria Swanson, Rita Hayworth among dozens of women bypassed by the Academy (photo: Honorary Award non-winner Gloria Swanson in 'Sunset Blvd.') (See previous post: "Honorary Oscars: Doris Day, Danielle Darrieux Snubbed.") Part three of this four-part article about the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Honorary Award bypassing women basically consists of a long, long — and for the most part quite prestigious — list of deceased women who, some way or other, left their mark on the film world. Some of the names found below are still well known; others were huge in their day, but are now all but forgotten. Yet, just because most people (and the media) suffer from long-term — and even medium-term — memory loss, that doesn't mean these women were any less deserving of an Honorary Oscar. So, among the distinguished female film professionals in Hollywood and elsewhere who have passed away without...
- 9/4/2014
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Maximilian Schell movie director (photo: Maximilian Schell and Maria Schell) (See previous post: “Maximilian Schell Dies: Best Actor Oscar Winner for ‘Judgment at Nuremberg.’”) Maximilian Schell’s first film as a director was the 1970 (dubbed) German-language release First Love / Erste Liebe, adapted from Igor Turgenev’s novella, and starring Englishman John Moulder-Brown, Frenchwoman Dominique Sanda, and Schell in this tale about a doomed love affair in Czarist Russia. Italian Valentina Cortese and British Marius Goring provided support. Directed by a former Best Actor Oscar winner, First Love, a movie that could just as easily have been dubbed into Swedish or Swahili (or English), ended up nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award. Three years later, nominated in that same category was Schell’s second feature film as a director, The Pedestrian / Der Fußgänger, in which a car accident forces a German businessman to delve deep into his past.
- 2/2/2014
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Maximilian Schell dead at 83: Best Actor Oscar winner for ‘Judgment at Nuremberg’ (photo: Maximilian Schell ca. 1960) Actor and filmmaker Maximilian Schell, best known for his Oscar-winning performance as the defense attorney in Stanley Kramer’s 1961 political drama Judgment at Nuremberg died at a hospital in Innsbruck, Austria, on February 1, 2014. According to his agent, Patricia Baumbauer, Schell died overnight following a "sudden and serious illness." Maximilian Schell was 83. Born on December 8, 1930, in Vienna, Maximilian Schell was the younger brother of future actor Carl Schell and Maria Schell, who would become an international film star in the 1950s (The Last Bridge, Gervaise, The Hanging Tree). Immy Schell, who would be featured in several television and film productions from the mid-’50s to the early ’90s, was born in 1935. Following Nazi Germany’s annexation of Austria in 1938, Schell’s parents, Swiss playwright Hermann Ferdinand Schell and Austrian stage actress Margarete Schell Noé,...
- 2/2/2014
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Austrian who won best actor Oscar for role in Judgment at Nuremberg died at clinic in Innsbruck after sudden illness
Austrian actor Maximilian Schell, who won an Academy award for his role as a German defence attorney in the acclaimed 1961 courtroom drama Judgment at Nuremberg, has died aged 83.
The Vienna-born actor died overnight at a clinic in Innsbruck as the result of a "sudden and serious illness", his agent, Patricia Baumbauer, told the Austria Press Agency on Saturday.
One of the best-known foreign actors in Us films, Schell starred on stage and screen on both sides of the Atlantic after growing up in Switzerland, where his family settled to escape the Nazis after Germany's 1938 annexation of Austria.
The brother of actress Maria Schell, he also won a Golden Globe and New York Film Critics Circle award for his role in Judgment at Nuremberg, which followed a television drama version of the play.
Austrian actor Maximilian Schell, who won an Academy award for his role as a German defence attorney in the acclaimed 1961 courtroom drama Judgment at Nuremberg, has died aged 83.
The Vienna-born actor died overnight at a clinic in Innsbruck as the result of a "sudden and serious illness", his agent, Patricia Baumbauer, told the Austria Press Agency on Saturday.
One of the best-known foreign actors in Us films, Schell starred on stage and screen on both sides of the Atlantic after growing up in Switzerland, where his family settled to escape the Nazis after Germany's 1938 annexation of Austria.
The brother of actress Maria Schell, he also won a Golden Globe and New York Film Critics Circle award for his role in Judgment at Nuremberg, which followed a television drama version of the play.
- 2/2/2014
- The Guardian - Film News
The AP is reporting that Austrian-born actor Maximilian Schell, a fugitive from Adolf Hitler who became a Hollywood favorite and won an Oscar for his role as a defense attorney in “Judgment at Nuremberg,” has died. He was 83.
Schell’s agent, Patricia Baumbauer, said Saturday he died overnight at a hospital in the Austrian city of Innsbruck following a “sudden illness.”
It was only his second Hollywood role, as defense attorney Hans Rolfe in Stanley Kramer’s classic “Judgment at Nuremberg,” that earned him wide international acclaim. Schell’s impassioned but unsuccessful defense of four Nazi judges on trial for sentencing innocent victims to death won him the 1961 Academy Award for best actor. Schell had first played Rolfe in a 1959 episode of the television program “Playhouse 90.”
Despite being type-cast for numerous Nazi-era films, Schell’s acting performances in the mid-1970s also won him renewed popular acclaim, earning him...
Schell’s agent, Patricia Baumbauer, said Saturday he died overnight at a hospital in the Austrian city of Innsbruck following a “sudden illness.”
It was only his second Hollywood role, as defense attorney Hans Rolfe in Stanley Kramer’s classic “Judgment at Nuremberg,” that earned him wide international acclaim. Schell’s impassioned but unsuccessful defense of four Nazi judges on trial for sentencing innocent victims to death won him the 1961 Academy Award for best actor. Schell had first played Rolfe in a 1959 episode of the television program “Playhouse 90.”
Despite being type-cast for numerous Nazi-era films, Schell’s acting performances in the mid-1970s also won him renewed popular acclaim, earning him...
- 2/1/2014
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Austrian actor Maximilian Schell, who won an Academy Award for his role as a German defense attorney in the 1961 film “Judgment at Nuremberg,” has died at the age of 83. The Vienna-born actor died overnight at a clinic in Innsbruck, his agent told the Austria Press Agency on Saturday. Schell starred on stage and screen on both sides of the Atlantic after growing up in Switzerland, where his family settled to escape the Nazis after Germany’s 1938 annexation of Austria. Also read: Hollywood’s Notable Deaths of 2014 (Photos) The brother of actress Maria Schell, he also won a Golden Globe and New York.
- 2/1/2014
- by Todd Cunningham
- The Wrap
Austrian-born actor Maximilian Schell, a fugitive from Adolf Hitler who became a Hollywood favorite and won an Oscar for his role as a defense attorney in Judgment at Nuremberg, has died. He was 83.
Schell’s agent, Patricia Baumbauer, said Saturday he died overnight at a hospital in Innsbruck following a “sudden and serious illness,” the Austria Press Agency reported.
It was only his second Hollywood role, as defense attorney Hans Rolfe in Stanley Kramer’s classic Judgment at Nuremberg, that earned him wide international acclaim. Schell’s impassioned but unsuccessful defense of four Nazi judges on trial for sentencing innocent...
Schell’s agent, Patricia Baumbauer, said Saturday he died overnight at a hospital in Innsbruck following a “sudden and serious illness,” the Austria Press Agency reported.
It was only his second Hollywood role, as defense attorney Hans Rolfe in Stanley Kramer’s classic Judgment at Nuremberg, that earned him wide international acclaim. Schell’s impassioned but unsuccessful defense of four Nazi judges on trial for sentencing innocent...
- 2/1/2014
- by Associated Press
- EW - Inside Movies
Austrian actor Maximilian Schell, who won the Academy Award for best actor in 1961 for his portrayal of a defense attorney in the drama Judgment at Nuremberg, has died. He was 83. He death was announced Saturday by his agent, Patricia Baumbauer, who said that Schell died overnight at a hospital in Innsbruck following a "sudden and serious illness," the Associated Press reported, citing the Austria Press Agency. The Vienna-born Schell was later honored with further Oscar nominations - in the best actor category for The Man in the Glass Booth in 1975, and for best supporting actor in Julia in 1977. Born to...
- 2/1/2014
- by Andrea Billups
- PEOPLE.com
Irene Dunne movies: Five-time Best Actress Academy Award nominee starred in now-forgotten originals of well-remembered remakes In his August 2007 Bright Lights article "The Elusive Pleasures of Irene Dunne," Dan Callahan explained that "the reasons for Irene Dunne’s continuing, undeserved obscurity are fairly well known. Nearly all of her best films from the thirties and forties were remade and the originals were suppressed and didn’t play on television. She did some of her most distinctive work for John Stahl at Universal, and non-horror Universal films are rarely shown now. Practically all of her movies need to be restored; even her most popular effort, The Awful Truth (1937), looks grainy and blotchy on its DVD transfer, to say nothing of things like Stahl’s When Tomorrow Comes (1939), or Rouben Mamoulian’s High, Wide, and Handsome (1937), two key Dunne films that have languished and deteriorated in a sort of television/video purgatory.
- 9/12/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Man of Steel 2013 box office: $250 million milestone in North America (photo: possibly after his Man of Steel workout, Henry Cavill chats with director Zack Snyder) Directed by Zack Snyder, and starring Henry Cavill, Man of Steel passed the $250 million milestone at the North American box office on Monday, July 1, 2013. On that day, Man of Steel added $3.04 million, for a domestic cume of $251.62 million, according to figures found at Box Office Mojo. After adding another $2.78 million on Tuesday, July 2, the Superman reboot’s domestic total currently stands at $254.4 million. Not adjusted for inflation, Man of Steel is no. 28 on Box Office Mojo’s chart of the fastest movies to reach $250 million at the North American box office: 18 days. The no. 1 title is Joss Whedon’s The Avengers, with 6 days. Other movies that also took 18 days to reach $250 million — years ago, when ticket prices were lower — are Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers...
- 7/4/2013
- by Zac Gille
- Alt Film Guide
Man of Steel weekend box office: Above estimates, but real June record remains beyond the reach of Superman 2013 reboot (image: Henry Cavill as Superman in Man of Steel) Somewhat surprisingly — it’s usually the other way around — Warner Bros.’ Man of Steel grossed more than $3 million above studio estimates released on Sunday, June 16, 2013. Directed by Zack Snyder (300, Sucker Punch), and starring Henry Cavill (The Tudors, possibly the upcoming The Man from U.N.C.L.E.), the 2013 Superman reboot scored $116.61 million from 4,207 North American locations according to weekend box-office actuals found at Box Office Mojo. Once Thursday evening figures are added, the $225 million-budgeted Man of Steel‘s domestic cume reached $128.68 million by Sunday evening. Now, Man of Steel‘s adjusted $116.61 million doesn’t change the June Box-Office Record Chart in any way. The Superman reboot remains ahead of the former official June champ, the Tom Hanks-, Tim Allen-voiced Toy Story 3‘s...
- 6/18/2013
- by Zac Gille
- Alt Film Guide
Henry Cavill Superman: Man of Steel vs. Superman movies of years past [See previous post: "Man of Steel Trailing Original Iron Man in Ticket Sales."] As mentioned in our previous posts, the $225 million-budgeted Man of Steel grossed an estimated $113.08 million this past weekend, including $9 million from Thursday midnight screenings. Directed by Zack Snyder, the 2013 Superman reboot stars Henry Cavill as Clark Kent aka Superman. (Photo: Henry Cavill in Man of Steel.) Released in late June 2006, Bryan Singer’s $270 million-budgeted Superman Returns, starring Brandon Routh as Superman, debuted with $52.53 million, or about $64 million today. Even taking into account that Superman Returns lacked the box-office-boosting advantage of 3D surcharges, Man of Steel is obviously a much bigger hit than its immediate predecessor. Superman Returns eventually reached $200.08 million in North America, plus a slightly more modest $191 million internationally. Man of Steel will not only easily surpass Superman Returns at the domestic box office, but it’ll also earn at the very least twice as much as Superman Returns internationally.
- 6/17/2013
- by Zac Gille
- Alt Film Guide
Henry Cavill Man of Steel to trail Robert Downey Jr in Iron Man 3 [See previous post: "Man of Steel Weekend Box Office: June Record May Not Be Broken."] As long as it grosses at least $100 million by Sunday evening — and that’s a given — Zack Snyder / Henry Cavill’s Man of Steel will boast the second-biggest opening of 2013, behind only Shane Black / Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man 3, which collected $174.14 million in early May according to Box Office Mojo. As mentioned in the previous post, Man of Steel is expected to score anywhere between $115-$140 million. Note: Figures for both Man of Steel and Iron Man 3 include Thursday evening shows. (See updated posts: “Man of Steel trailing Original Iron Man” and “Man of Steel vs. Superman movies of years past.”) (Photo: Henry Cavill Superman in Man of Steel.) For comparison’s sake: without the advantage of box-office-inflating 3D surcharges or Thursday evening screenings, the Jon Favreau-directed Iron Man debuted with $98.68 million...
- 6/16/2013
- by Zac Gille
- Alt Film Guide
Man of Steel vs. Superman Returns (photo: Amy Adams as Lois Lane in Man of Steel) [See previous post: "Man of Steel Box Office: June Record Likely (Sort of)."] Released in late June 2006, Bryan Singer / Brandon Routh’s Superman Returns opened with $52.53 million, or about $64 million today. Even taking into account that Superman Returns lacked the advantage of box-office-inflating 3D surcharges, Man of Steel will clearly soar much higher. (See updated post: “Man of Steel to Trail Iron Man 3: Box Office” — and possibly to trail the original Iron Man as well.) Superman Returns cumed at $200.08 million in North America, in addition to $191 million internationally. Considering the exponential growth of the international market in the last decade, expect Man of Steel to earn much more outside of than in North America. Remember, without the international market, movies that cost $225 million (not including marketing and distribution expenses) would likely never, ever get made. Directed by Richard Donner and starring Christopher Reeve in the title role,...
- 6/15/2013
- by Zac Gille
- Alt Film Guide
Man of Steel box office: Will latest Superman reboot break June domestic record? (Photo: Henry Cavill in Man of Steel) Directed by Zack Snyder, and starring Henry Cavill as Superman, Man of Steel had, as expected, a strong opening at the domestic box office on Thursday evening. The latest Superman reboot collected an estimated $12 million, in addition to another $9 million at midnight showings for a grand total of $21 million. For comparison’s sake: Starring Robert Downey Jr, Shane Black’s Iron Man 3 debuted with $15.6 million from Thursday evening / midnight showings in early May. (See also updated post: “Man of Steel Box Office: June Record Likely — Sort of.”) Now, to compare Man of Steel‘s Thursday late evening $21 million take to the midnight box-office grosses of, for instance, Gary Ross / Jennifer Lawrence’s The Hunger Games ($19.74 million), Robert Pattinson / Kristen Stewart / Taylor Lautner’s The Twilight Saga: Eclipse ($30.1 million), Christopher Nolan...
- 6/14/2013
- by Zac Gille
- Alt Film Guide
Kim Novak to attend Cannes 2013 Vertigo screening Kim Novak will be in attendance at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, festival organizers have announced. Novak will be present at a Cannes Classics screening of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 psychological thriller Vertigo, which has been recently restored. For all it’s worth, Vertigo was the top movie at the most recent (2012) Sight & Sound decennial poll of film critics and filmmakers. (Photo: Kim Novak Vertigo.) Vertigo was also a source of controversy in early 2012, when Kim Novak took out an ad in one of the trade publications claiming she felt she had been violated ("I want to report a rape") after finding bits from Bernard Herrmann’s Vertigo music in Ludovic Bource’s eventually Oscar-winning The Artist score. Besides the Vertigo screening, Kim Novak will also be a presenter at Cannes’ closing ceremony on Sunday, May 26. According to the festival’s press release, Novak first...
- 4/23/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Spanish director dies following a stroke: Best known for his nearly two hundred underground, "exploitation" films "I think I was born because my father and my mother had sex ... ." Nope, that has nothing to do with the anti-censorship lectured delivered by Oz the Great and Powerful and Interior. Leather Bar's James Franco online. The words above were uttered by another Franco, a Spaniard. No, not the foaming-at-the-mouth right-wing military ruler Francisco Franco, but multitasking filmmaker Jesús Franco, aka Jess Franco aka dozens of other aliases, including those in honor of jazz performers Clifford Brown and James P. Johnson. His oeuvre included about 200 films, among them The White Slave, The Sexual History of O, Macumba Sexual, , Emmanuelle Exposed, Vampyros Lesbos, The Mistresses of Dr. Jekyll, and White Cannibal Queen. The director died today in Malaga, a city in southern Spain, after suffering a stroke. According to reports, he had never truly...
- 4/3/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
The Bloody Judge
Stars: Christopher Lee, Maria Rohm, Hans Haas Jr., Maria Schell, Leo Genn, Margaret Lee | Written by Enrico Colombo, Jesús Franco, Michael Haller, Harry Alan Towers, Anthony Scott Veitch | Directed by Jess Franco
During the sixties and into the seventies the sub-genre of the witch trial films was arguably sprung to life by Michael Reeves’ Witchfinder General. Vincent Price created a character that was memorable and strangely likable, even if we wanted him to fail in his dastardly deeds and die a grisly death. With Witchfinder General’s release in 1968. Moving into the seventies there were a number of exploitation movies (or hexploitation), most notably Mark of the Devil and of course Jess Franco’s Il Trono di Fuoco or as we know it The Bloody Judge.
The most interesting thing about The Bloody Judge is that it was based on a real historical figure. Chief Justice Jeffreys...
Stars: Christopher Lee, Maria Rohm, Hans Haas Jr., Maria Schell, Leo Genn, Margaret Lee | Written by Enrico Colombo, Jesús Franco, Michael Haller, Harry Alan Towers, Anthony Scott Veitch | Directed by Jess Franco
During the sixties and into the seventies the sub-genre of the witch trial films was arguably sprung to life by Michael Reeves’ Witchfinder General. Vincent Price created a character that was memorable and strangely likable, even if we wanted him to fail in his dastardly deeds and die a grisly death. With Witchfinder General’s release in 1968. Moving into the seventies there were a number of exploitation movies (or hexploitation), most notably Mark of the Devil and of course Jess Franco’s Il Trono di Fuoco or as we know it The Bloody Judge.
The most interesting thing about The Bloody Judge is that it was based on a real historical figure. Chief Justice Jeffreys...
- 1/20/2013
- by Pzomb
- Nerdly
Anna Magnani in (what looks like) Luchino Visconti's Bellissima At the end of Giuseppe Tornatore's Best Foreign Language Film Oscar winner Cinema Paradiso, small-town projectionist Philippe Noiret has died and the Nuovo Cinema Paradiso has become a pile of rubble. The bratty Italian boy Salvatore Cascio has grown into the classy Frenchman Jacques Perrin (like Noiret, dubbed in Italian), a filmmaker who sits to watch a mysterious reel of film the deceased projectionist had left him. It turns out the reel contains clips from films censored by the prudish local parish priest, whose family values found kisses, embraces, and bare breasts and legs a danger to society. Now, who's doing all that kissing, embracing, and breast/leg-displaying in that film reel? (Please scroll down for the Cinema Paradiso clip.) Here are the ones I recognize: Silvana Mangano and Vittorio Gassman in Giuseppe De Santis' Bitter Rice (1949); Mangano...
- 2/14/2012
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Audrey Hepburn, Ben Gazzara, They All Laughed Ben Gazzara Dead Pt.1: Anatomy Of A Murder, Husbands, An Early Frost Long before An Early Frost, Ben Gazzara had already appeared in two (however veiled) gay-themed productions. On Broadway, he was the virile ex-football player pining for his "best friend" while ignoring wife Barbara Bel Geddes in the 1955 original staging of Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. (Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor played those two roles in the bowdlerized 1958 movie version directed by Richard Brooks.) And in 1957, Gazzara made his film debut as a sexually troubled military man who gets off by viciously abusing (or watching others viciously abuse) his fellow cadets in Jack Garfein's The Strange One. Among Gazzara's other 75 or so feature films — many of which were made in Italy — are Steve Carver's Capone (1975), in the title role; Stuart Rosenberg's Voyage of the Damned...
- 2/4/2012
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.