Nine decades ago this December, moviegoers were witnessing the beginning of one of the most successful movie teams, as well as the demise of one of the most dramatic.
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers made box office magic during the Depression-era 1930s in nine Art Deco musical comedy delights from Rko including 1934’s “The Gay Divorcee” and 1936’s “Swing Time.” Their chemistry was unmatched, and they literally made beautiful musical together introducing countless standards including the Oscar-winning “The Continental” and “The Way You Look Tonight.” And their dancing was robust, romantic and heavenly-just check out the “Never Gonna Dance” routine from “Swing Time.”
It was 90 years ago this week, their first pairing “Flying Down to Rio” opened at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City. One of the big surprises is that the duo aren’t the stars of the lightweight pre-Code musicals: Dolores Del Rio, Gene Raymond...
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers made box office magic during the Depression-era 1930s in nine Art Deco musical comedy delights from Rko including 1934’s “The Gay Divorcee” and 1936’s “Swing Time.” Their chemistry was unmatched, and they literally made beautiful musical together introducing countless standards including the Oscar-winning “The Continental” and “The Way You Look Tonight.” And their dancing was robust, romantic and heavenly-just check out the “Never Gonna Dance” routine from “Swing Time.”
It was 90 years ago this week, their first pairing “Flying Down to Rio” opened at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City. One of the big surprises is that the duo aren’t the stars of the lightweight pre-Code musicals: Dolores Del Rio, Gene Raymond...
- 12/28/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Fred Astaire was an Oscar-nominated song and dance man best remembered for a series of musicals he made alongside many female dancer, but especially Ginger Rogers. Yet his filmography extends well past those titles. Let’s take a look back at 20 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.
As a dancer, Astaire was known for his perfectionism, doing multiple takes to get the most precise movements correct. His immaculate steps were matched only by his outfits, which often consisted of top hats and coats.
After making a name for himself on the stage in London and on Broadway, Astaire came to Hollywood. He first appeared with fellow dancer Rogers in “Flying Down to Rio” (1933), where they played second fiddle to Dolores del Rio and Gene Raymond. Their first starring vehicle came just one year later: “The Gay Divorcee” (1934).
Their subsequent films, including “Top Hat” (1935), “Follow the Fleet” (1936), “Swing Time...
As a dancer, Astaire was known for his perfectionism, doing multiple takes to get the most precise movements correct. His immaculate steps were matched only by his outfits, which often consisted of top hats and coats.
After making a name for himself on the stage in London and on Broadway, Astaire came to Hollywood. He first appeared with fellow dancer Rogers in “Flying Down to Rio” (1933), where they played second fiddle to Dolores del Rio and Gene Raymond. Their first starring vehicle came just one year later: “The Gay Divorcee” (1934).
Their subsequent films, including “Top Hat” (1935), “Follow the Fleet” (1936), “Swing Time...
- 5/5/2023
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Just as movie buffs wait all year to see what film will take home the coveted Oscar for Best Picture, music gurus also tune in to the iconic awards show to check out who will win Best Original Song. The category was first introduced at the seventh annual Academy Awards which took place in 1934 and saw "The Continental" - from "The Gay Divorcee" - take home the win. The song had music by Con Conrad and lyrics by Herb Magidson, stars of yesteryear. The award has since named many current, high-profile winners including Lionel Richie, John Legend, Adele, and Billie Eilish.
In order to be nominated for this award, the songwriter's composition must have been written for a film. "An original song consists of words and music, both of which are original and written specifically for the motion picture," the official rules for the Academy Awards read. "There must be a clearly audible,...
In order to be nominated for this award, the songwriter's composition must have been written for a film. "An original song consists of words and music, both of which are original and written specifically for the motion picture," the official rules for the Academy Awards read. "There must be a clearly audible,...
- 3/10/2023
- by Jessica Vacco-Bolanos
- Popsugar.com
For the second consecutive year and 13th time ever, the present Best Picture Oscar lineup consists of an even 10 nominees. As has been the case since 2009, the winner will be decided by a preferential voting system. Over the past 13 years, only twice — at the ceremonies for the films of 2014 and 2018 — has every Best Picture contender won something. An annual average of 2.4 films recognized in the top category during the period wound up with zero trophies, with the biggest shutout having affected five of the nine 2013 nominees. Since several films in this year’s group have reached the point where they’d be lucky to pull off one win apiece, that preferential era record could easily be matched or even broken.
The films competing for the 2022 Best Picture Oscar have a collective total of 65 nominations across 18 categories. According to Gold Derby’s current odds, the most-recognized movie of the year, “Everything Everywhere All at Once,...
The films competing for the 2022 Best Picture Oscar have a collective total of 65 nominations across 18 categories. According to Gold Derby’s current odds, the most-recognized movie of the year, “Everything Everywhere All at Once,...
- 3/9/2023
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
The parallel section unveiled 23 titles on Tuesday, with a 24th selection to follow in the coming days.
UK director Alex Garland’s horror film Men and French filmmaker Mia Hansen-Løve’s romantic drama One Fine Morning are among the 24 features due to world premiere in the 54th Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, running May 18-27.
The non-competitive Cannes parallel section, run by French directors guild the Société des Réalisateurs (Srf), unveiled 23 of the selected titles at a news conference at the Forum cultural centre in central Paris on Tuesday morning. A final selected film will be revealed in the coming days along with the short film line-up.
UK director Alex Garland’s horror film Men and French filmmaker Mia Hansen-Løve’s romantic drama One Fine Morning are among the 24 features due to world premiere in the 54th Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, running May 18-27.
The non-competitive Cannes parallel section, run by French directors guild the Société des Réalisateurs (Srf), unveiled 23 of the selected titles at a news conference at the Forum cultural centre in central Paris on Tuesday morning. A final selected film will be revealed in the coming days along with the short film line-up.
- 4/19/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Despite the increase in pop-culture amnesia, there are actually a lot of great rom-coms that predate the Reagan era
For many pop-culture websites, which we will not name here, the history of cinema apparently begins somewhere around the release of “Star Wars” (1977), with almost everything that preceded it to the big screen being sloughed off as quaint, forgettable and irrelevant.
It’s the sort of thing that people who love movies and movie history can often ignore with the roll of an eye, but when one site recently trumpeted its list of the 50 Best Rom-Coms of All Time — which featured exactly one movie made before 1980 and zero prior to 1970 — we could sit by no longer.
Here is an alphabetical list of 50 classic romantic comedies that merely scratches the surface of great movies made during ye olden times of 1979 and earlier:
“The Awful Truth” (1937): Cary Grant and Irene Dunne star...
For many pop-culture websites, which we will not name here, the history of cinema apparently begins somewhere around the release of “Star Wars” (1977), with almost everything that preceded it to the big screen being sloughed off as quaint, forgettable and irrelevant.
It’s the sort of thing that people who love movies and movie history can often ignore with the roll of an eye, but when one site recently trumpeted its list of the 50 Best Rom-Coms of All Time — which featured exactly one movie made before 1980 and zero prior to 1970 — we could sit by no longer.
Here is an alphabetical list of 50 classic romantic comedies that merely scratches the surface of great movies made during ye olden times of 1979 and earlier:
“The Awful Truth” (1937): Cary Grant and Irene Dunne star...
- 4/18/2022
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
After that epic Lip-sync battle of Tom Holland converting to Rihanna’s ‘Umbrella’ in 2017, Tom Holland has finally landed himself the role of the legendary actor, singer and dancer Fred Astaire in an upcoming biopic.
The ‘Spider-man’ actor confirmed the role while doing press for the upcoming third instalment of the Sony/Marvel out ‘Spider-man: No Way Home.’
“The script came in a week ago,” Holland told reporters. “I haven’t read it yet; they haven’t given it to me,” Holland noted. “She [Amy Pascal] FaceTimed me earlier. I was in the bath,” he said with a laugh. “And we had a lovely FaceTime, but I will be playing Fred Astaire.”
Also in news – Cate Blanchett & Kevin Kline to star in Alfonso Cuaron’s Apple series ‘Disclaimer’
Astaire starred in more than 30 film musicals, as well as appearing on stage on Broadway and the West End over the course of a seven-decade career.
The ‘Spider-man’ actor confirmed the role while doing press for the upcoming third instalment of the Sony/Marvel out ‘Spider-man: No Way Home.’
“The script came in a week ago,” Holland told reporters. “I haven’t read it yet; they haven’t given it to me,” Holland noted. “She [Amy Pascal] FaceTimed me earlier. I was in the bath,” he said with a laugh. “And we had a lovely FaceTime, but I will be playing Fred Astaire.”
Also in news – Cate Blanchett & Kevin Kline to star in Alfonso Cuaron’s Apple series ‘Disclaimer’
Astaire starred in more than 30 film musicals, as well as appearing on stage on Broadway and the West End over the course of a seven-decade career.
- 12/6/2021
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
“Spider-Man” star Tom Holland is swapping his web-shooters for dancing shoes. The 25-year-old officially confirmed on Sunday that he’ll portray legendary actor, dancer and singer Fred Astaire in an upcoming biopic for Sony.
In a recent profile for GQ, Oscar-nominated producer Amy Pascal teased that she wanted Holland for the part of Astaire in the forthcoming movie, as well as another trilogy of “Spider-Man films.”
But during an interview with AP, at an event promoting the upcoming “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” Holland confirmed that he’ll step into the entertainer’s dance shoes for the project, which is still in its early stages.
“The script came in a week ago,” Holland told reporters. “I haven’t read it yet; they haven’t given it to me.”
Pascal has received the script though, Holland noted. “She FaceTimed me earlier. I was in the bath,” he said with a laugh. “And we had a lovely FaceTime,...
In a recent profile for GQ, Oscar-nominated producer Amy Pascal teased that she wanted Holland for the part of Astaire in the forthcoming movie, as well as another trilogy of “Spider-Man films.”
But during an interview with AP, at an event promoting the upcoming “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” Holland confirmed that he’ll step into the entertainer’s dance shoes for the project, which is still in its early stages.
“The script came in a week ago,” Holland told reporters. “I haven’t read it yet; they haven’t given it to me.”
Pascal has received the script though, Holland noted. “She FaceTimed me earlier. I was in the bath,” he said with a laugh. “And we had a lovely FaceTime,...
- 12/5/2021
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
Colin Woodell (The Flight Attendant) has been tapped as the lead in The Continental, Starz’s TV series prequel to the Keanu Reeves film franchise John Wick. Woodell, who will play Winston Scott, the younger version of Ian McShane’s character from the John Wick films, joins Mel Gibson in the three-night special-event TV series, produced by Lionsgate Television.
The Continental explores the origin behind the hotel-for-assassins, a centerpiece of the John Wick universe, through the eyes and actions of a young Winston Scott (Woodell) who is dragged into the Hell-scape of a 1975 New York City to face a past he thought he’d left behind. Winston charts a deadly course through the New York’s mysterious underworld in a harrowing attempt to seize the iconic hotel, which serves as the meeting point for the world’s most dangerous criminals.
Gibson plays a character named Cormac in the series based...
The Continental explores the origin behind the hotel-for-assassins, a centerpiece of the John Wick universe, through the eyes and actions of a young Winston Scott (Woodell) who is dragged into the Hell-scape of a 1975 New York City to face a past he thought he’d left behind. Winston charts a deadly course through the New York’s mysterious underworld in a harrowing attempt to seize the iconic hotel, which serves as the meeting point for the world’s most dangerous criminals.
Gibson plays a character named Cormac in the series based...
- 10/19/2021
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Director Albert Hughes has checked into The Continental.
The filmmaker, who with his brother co-directed movies such as Menace II Society and The Book of Eli, has signed on to direct two episodes of Lionsgate and Starz’s three-installment event series based on the hit John Wick action movies that star Keanu Reeves.
Continental, which is set in the unique hotel for assassins in the Wick movies, was initially envisioned as spinoff series but was redeveloped as a three-night event series with movie length and movie budgets. The installments are to run about 90 minutes in length and, according to sources, have budgets upwards of $20 million....
The filmmaker, who with his brother co-directed movies such as Menace II Society and The Book of Eli, has signed on to direct two episodes of Lionsgate and Starz’s three-installment event series based on the hit John Wick action movies that star Keanu Reeves.
Continental, which is set in the unique hotel for assassins in the Wick movies, was initially envisioned as spinoff series but was redeveloped as a three-night event series with movie length and movie budgets. The installments are to run about 90 minutes in length and, according to sources, have budgets upwards of $20 million....
- 7/16/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Director Albert Hughes has checked into The Continental.
The filmmaker, who with his brother co-directed movies such as Menace II Society and The Book of Eli, has signed on to direct two episodes of Lionsgate and Starz’s three-installment event series based on the hit John Wick action movies that star Keanu Reeves.
Continental, which is set in the unique hotel for assassins in the Wick movies, was initially envisioned as spinoff series but was redeveloped as a three-night event series with movie length and movie budgets. The installments are to run about 90 minutes in length and, according to sources, have budgets upwards of $20 million....
The filmmaker, who with his brother co-directed movies such as Menace II Society and The Book of Eli, has signed on to direct two episodes of Lionsgate and Starz’s three-installment event series based on the hit John Wick action movies that star Keanu Reeves.
Continental, which is set in the unique hotel for assassins in the Wick movies, was initially envisioned as spinoff series but was redeveloped as a three-night event series with movie length and movie budgets. The installments are to run about 90 minutes in length and, according to sources, have budgets upwards of $20 million....
- 7/16/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
You’re going to have to steel yourself for this monster of a content update. Between them, Netflix, HBO Max, Hulu, Disney Plus and Amazon Prime have an obscene number of quality titles debuting this weekend.
Be it films or television shows, new releases or old classics, there’s a ton to dig into here. So if you’re ready, let’s dive right in…
Netflix
July 31st
Get Even — Netflix Original
Latte and the Magic Waterstone — Netflix Family
Seriously Single — Netflix Film
The Speed Cubers — Netflix Documentary
Sugar Rush: Extra Sweet — Netflix Original
The Umbrella Academy: Season 2 — Netflix Original
Vis a vis: El Oasis (Locked Up) — Netflix Original
August 1st
A Knight’s Tale
Acts of Violence
The Addams Family (1991)
An Education
Being John Malkovich
Death at a Funeral
Dennis the Menace
Elizabeth Harvest
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Hardcore Henry
Iron Man: Armored Adventures: Season 1-2
Jurassic Park...
Be it films or television shows, new releases or old classics, there’s a ton to dig into here. So if you’re ready, let’s dive right in…
Netflix
July 31st
Get Even — Netflix Original
Latte and the Magic Waterstone — Netflix Family
Seriously Single — Netflix Film
The Speed Cubers — Netflix Documentary
Sugar Rush: Extra Sweet — Netflix Original
The Umbrella Academy: Season 2 — Netflix Original
Vis a vis: El Oasis (Locked Up) — Netflix Original
August 1st
A Knight’s Tale
Acts of Violence
The Addams Family (1991)
An Education
Being John Malkovich
Death at a Funeral
Dennis the Menace
Elizabeth Harvest
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Hardcore Henry
Iron Man: Armored Adventures: Season 1-2
Jurassic Park...
- 7/31/2020
- by Alex Crisp
- We Got This Covered
HBO Max has a lot to offer in August, with titles to look forward to including the premiere of a brand new Seth Rogen movie called “An American Pickle” on Aug. 6, and Christopher Nolan’s 2008 Batman film “The Dark Knight” out Aug. 1.
The nascent streaming service also shares content with HBO, with new films coming like “Jojo Rabbit” out Aug. 1, “Birds of Prey” out Aug. 15, “Richard Jewell” out Aug. 8, and “Queen & Slim,” out Aug. 22. The upcoming series “Lovecraft County,” which mixes fact and fantasy and takes place in 1950s Jim Crow America, arrives Aug. 16.
Leaving throughout the month include, tragically, all eight “Harry Potter” films, which will be gone after Aug. 25. Other absolute classics like “Good Will Hunting,” “You’ve Got Mail,” and both “Kill Bill” movies will be gone after Aug. 31, so watch them while you can.
Below is the full list of everything coming and going in August.
The nascent streaming service also shares content with HBO, with new films coming like “Jojo Rabbit” out Aug. 1, “Birds of Prey” out Aug. 15, “Richard Jewell” out Aug. 8, and “Queen & Slim,” out Aug. 22. The upcoming series “Lovecraft County,” which mixes fact and fantasy and takes place in 1950s Jim Crow America, arrives Aug. 16.
Leaving throughout the month include, tragically, all eight “Harry Potter” films, which will be gone after Aug. 25. Other absolute classics like “Good Will Hunting,” “You’ve Got Mail,” and both “Kill Bill” movies will be gone after Aug. 31, so watch them while you can.
Below is the full list of everything coming and going in August.
- 7/30/2020
- by Margeaux Sippell
- The Wrap
With the end of the month ahead of us, we now have a full list of everything that’s coming to Netflix and the various other streaming services across August. The sites will continue to do their best to keep you from straying out into the sun for the rest of the summer, too, as each of them has got a whole heap of new movies and TV shows coming to their libraries that you’ll want to check out. Mostly classic films you’ll enjoy sticking on again, but also a few much-anticipated originals, too.
See below for the full line-up of titles coming to Netflix, Disney Plus, HBO Max, Hulu and Prime Video, as well as our own picks for what should be on your radar.
August 1
Netflix
A Knight’s Tale
Acts of Violence
The Addams Family (1991)
An Education
Being John Malkovich
Death at a Funeral
Dennis the Menace...
See below for the full line-up of titles coming to Netflix, Disney Plus, HBO Max, Hulu and Prime Video, as well as our own picks for what should be on your radar.
August 1
Netflix
A Knight’s Tale
Acts of Violence
The Addams Family (1991)
An Education
Being John Malkovich
Death at a Funeral
Dennis the Menace...
- 7/25/2020
- by Christian Bone
- We Got This Covered
HBO Max is continuing to pull from Warner Bros.’ incredible back catalogue of movies, with August bringing a huge number of new titles to the streaming service. With over 130 new pieces of content, the list of upcoming arrivals encompasses classic films of all kinds, from Oscar winners to comedies, horrors to family pics and, of course, tons of blockbusters.
A highlight for many users will probably be the glut of Batman films coming to HBO Max at the start of the month. Every cinematic outing for the Caped Crusader from 1989’s Batman starring Michael Keaton to 2008’s The Dark Knight with Christian Bale (which just celebrated its 12th anniversary this weekend) are going up on the site. Sticking in Gotham, both seasons of Harley Quinn are also coming to HBO Max, following their original release on DC Universe.
Elsewhere on August 1st, some of the more notable new titles include Before Sunrise and its sequel,...
A highlight for many users will probably be the glut of Batman films coming to HBO Max at the start of the month. Every cinematic outing for the Caped Crusader from 1989’s Batman starring Michael Keaton to 2008’s The Dark Knight with Christian Bale (which just celebrated its 12th anniversary this weekend) are going up on the site. Sticking in Gotham, both seasons of Harley Quinn are also coming to HBO Max, following their original release on DC Universe.
Elsewhere on August 1st, some of the more notable new titles include Before Sunrise and its sequel,...
- 7/20/2020
- by Christian Bone
- We Got This Covered
It’s August 2020 and that can only mean one thing: HBO Max is about to enter Lovecraft Country.
Over the years HBO (and by the transitive property its new HBO Max streaming offshoot) has grown accustomed to debuting a buzzworthy new TV show or limited series every couple of months. For August 2020 that will almost certainly be Southern Gothic horror series Lovecraft Country. The J.J. Abrams and Jordan Peele-produced thriller arrives on August 14 on HBO and HBO Max.
Other strong HBO Max originals arriving in August include the documentary Class Action Park (release date Tbd), Seth Rogen-starring comedy An American Pickle (Aug. 6), and finales for I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, Doom Patrol, and Perry Mason.
Of course, HBO Max is designed to house much of WarnerMedia’s content across many mediums. That means some recent movies on note like Jojo Rabbit (Aug. 1), Richard Jewell (Aug. 8), and Birds of Prey (Aug.
Over the years HBO (and by the transitive property its new HBO Max streaming offshoot) has grown accustomed to debuting a buzzworthy new TV show or limited series every couple of months. For August 2020 that will almost certainly be Southern Gothic horror series Lovecraft Country. The J.J. Abrams and Jordan Peele-produced thriller arrives on August 14 on HBO and HBO Max.
Other strong HBO Max originals arriving in August include the documentary Class Action Park (release date Tbd), Seth Rogen-starring comedy An American Pickle (Aug. 6), and finales for I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, Doom Patrol, and Perry Mason.
Of course, HBO Max is designed to house much of WarnerMedia’s content across many mediums. That means some recent movies on note like Jojo Rabbit (Aug. 1), Richard Jewell (Aug. 8), and Birds of Prey (Aug.
- 7/20/2020
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
Thanks to our current situation, there aren’t many new movies being released at the moment. And while that’s a sad state of affairs for cinephiles, it does at least provide a good opportunity to look back and check out some golden oldies that might have so far slipped under your radar.
Luckily, the good old Beeb has you covered. Streaming service BBC iPlayer has acquired a bunch of big-screen masterpieces for your lockdown delectation, all produced by the legendary Rko Pictures – one of the “big five” studios of Hollywood’s Golden Age.
From powerhouse dramas to technicolour marvels, toe-tapping musicals to weird and wonderful B-movies, Rko produced some of Tinseltown’s all-time classic movies, and boasted some of the period’s biggest star signings – including Orson Welles, Cary Grant, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Joan Fontaine and Robert Mitchum.
BBC iPlayer currently has 26 “silver screen classics” available to stream or download,...
Luckily, the good old Beeb has you covered. Streaming service BBC iPlayer has acquired a bunch of big-screen masterpieces for your lockdown delectation, all produced by the legendary Rko Pictures – one of the “big five” studios of Hollywood’s Golden Age.
From powerhouse dramas to technicolour marvels, toe-tapping musicals to weird and wonderful B-movies, Rko produced some of Tinseltown’s all-time classic movies, and boasted some of the period’s biggest star signings – including Orson Welles, Cary Grant, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Joan Fontaine and Robert Mitchum.
BBC iPlayer currently has 26 “silver screen classics” available to stream or download,...
- 5/22/2020
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
This article contains major spoilers for Netflix’s Hollywood.
Ryan Murphy’s new Netflix series is here. And as Hollywood begins tripping the light fantastic on your streaming service, we’re here to provide you with some texture, color, and insight on all the little easter eggs about the Dreamland that was. We’ve already gone further in-depth here with regard to the real historical players bouncing around Murphy and co-creator Ian Brennan’s fantasy, but here we begin a nice overview of all the little nods (and perhaps come-hither stares that accompany their winks) in the show. Go here to find all our coverage, including more episodes’ easter eggs.
Hollywood Episode 1
-Ryan Murphy begins his Hollywood show where else but at the movies! We meet David Corenswet’s Jack Castello as he watches a newsreel in awe. It tells him to go west, young man, and find his start in Hollywood’s boomtown!
Ryan Murphy’s new Netflix series is here. And as Hollywood begins tripping the light fantastic on your streaming service, we’re here to provide you with some texture, color, and insight on all the little easter eggs about the Dreamland that was. We’ve already gone further in-depth here with regard to the real historical players bouncing around Murphy and co-creator Ian Brennan’s fantasy, but here we begin a nice overview of all the little nods (and perhaps come-hither stares that accompany their winks) in the show. Go here to find all our coverage, including more episodes’ easter eggs.
Hollywood Episode 1
-Ryan Murphy begins his Hollywood show where else but at the movies! We meet David Corenswet’s Jack Castello as he watches a newsreel in awe. It tells him to go west, young man, and find his start in Hollywood’s boomtown!
- 5/1/2020
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
The category of Best Original Song was first introduced at the 7th Academy Awards, honoring the best films of 1934. The first winner was “The Continental” from the film, “The Gay Divorcee.” But is that first Oscar-winning song among our list of the best Oscar-winning original songs? Click through our photo gallery to find out if your favorite made our list.
Many of the winners in this category have become pop music standards, with winning tunes sung by the likes of Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Celine Dion, and Adele. Crosby holds the record as the original singer performing the most Oscar-winning songs with four victories for his songwriters. Vocalists originating three Oscar-winners are Bob Hope, Jennifer Warnes, and Sinatra.
What do you think of our Top 30 list of Best Original Song Winners, ranked from best to worst? Sound off in the comments below.
Many of the winners in this category have become pop music standards, with winning tunes sung by the likes of Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Celine Dion, and Adele. Crosby holds the record as the original singer performing the most Oscar-winning songs with four victories for his songwriters. Vocalists originating three Oscar-winners are Bob Hope, Jennifer Warnes, and Sinatra.
What do you think of our Top 30 list of Best Original Song Winners, ranked from best to worst? Sound off in the comments below.
- 1/27/2020
- by Tony Ruiz and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Fred Astaire would’ve celebrated his 120th birthday on May 10, 2019. The Oscar-nominated song and dance man is best remembered for a series of musicals he made alongside Ginger Rogers. Yet his filmography extends well past those titles. In honor of his birthday, let’s take a look back at 20 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.
As a dancer, Astaire was known for his perfectionism, doing multiple takes to get the most precise movements correct. His immaculate steps were matched only by his outfits, which often consisted of top hats and coats.
SEEOscars flashback: Gold Derby celebrates 84 years of Best Original Song at the Academy Awards
After making a name for himself on the stage in London and on Broadway, Astaire came to Hollywood. He first appeared with fellow dancer Rogers in “Flying Down to Rio” (1933), where they played second fiddle to Dolores del Rio and Gene Raymond. Their...
As a dancer, Astaire was known for his perfectionism, doing multiple takes to get the most precise movements correct. His immaculate steps were matched only by his outfits, which often consisted of top hats and coats.
SEEOscars flashback: Gold Derby celebrates 84 years of Best Original Song at the Academy Awards
After making a name for himself on the stage in London and on Broadway, Astaire came to Hollywood. He first appeared with fellow dancer Rogers in “Flying Down to Rio” (1933), where they played second fiddle to Dolores del Rio and Gene Raymond. Their...
- 5/10/2019
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
“You’ll know before the dance is through that you’re in love with her and she’s in love with you.”
That lyric is from the very first Best Song Oscar winner, “The Continental,” from the 1934 Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musical, “The Gay Divorcee.” It’s a celebration of the power of dance to ignite the flames of desire.
Now “Shallow,” a more clear-eyed view on matters of the heart (“Ain’t it hard keeping it so hardcore?”) from “A Star Is Born” is part of that Academy Award tradition. But the fact is, such honored love songs are becoming a rarity.
It used to be that romantic tunes regularly caught Oscar’s ear. Occasionally, a song of yearning like 1939’s “Over the Rainbow” from “The Wizard of Oz,” “When You Wish Upon a Star” from 1940’s “Pinocchio” and “White Christmas” from 1942’s “Holiday Inn” broke through. There...
That lyric is from the very first Best Song Oscar winner, “The Continental,” from the 1934 Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musical, “The Gay Divorcee.” It’s a celebration of the power of dance to ignite the flames of desire.
Now “Shallow,” a more clear-eyed view on matters of the heart (“Ain’t it hard keeping it so hardcore?”) from “A Star Is Born” is part of that Academy Award tradition. But the fact is, such honored love songs are becoming a rarity.
It used to be that romantic tunes regularly caught Oscar’s ear. Occasionally, a song of yearning like 1939’s “Over the Rainbow” from “The Wizard of Oz,” “When You Wish Upon a Star” from 1940’s “Pinocchio” and “White Christmas” from 1942’s “Holiday Inn” broke through. There...
- 3/2/2019
- by Susan Wloszczyna
- Gold Derby
This article marks Part 6 of the Gold Derby series analyzing 84 years of Best Original Song at the Oscars. Join us as we look back at the timeless tunes recognized in this category, the results of each race and the overall rankings of the Academy Awards winners.
The 1954 Oscar nominees in Best Original Song were:
“The High and the Mighty” from “The High and the Mighty”
“The Man That Got Away” from “A Star Is Born”
“Hold My Hand” from “Susan Slept Here”
“Three Coins in the Fountain” from “Three Coins in the Fountain”
“Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep)” from “White Christmas”
Won: “Three Coins in the Fountain” from “Three Coins in the Fountain”
Should’ve won: “The Man That Got Away” from “A Star Is Born”
Sure, the 1954 Oscar ceremony could have gone a lot worse. “On the Waterfront” and leading man Marlon Brando could have, for instance, fallen...
The 1954 Oscar nominees in Best Original Song were:
“The High and the Mighty” from “The High and the Mighty”
“The Man That Got Away” from “A Star Is Born”
“Hold My Hand” from “Susan Slept Here”
“Three Coins in the Fountain” from “Three Coins in the Fountain”
“Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep)” from “White Christmas”
Won: “Three Coins in the Fountain” from “Three Coins in the Fountain”
Should’ve won: “The Man That Got Away” from “A Star Is Born”
Sure, the 1954 Oscar ceremony could have gone a lot worse. “On the Waterfront” and leading man Marlon Brando could have, for instance, fallen...
- 8/27/2018
- by Andrew Carden
- Gold Derby
This article marks Part 2 of the Gold Derby series analyzing 84 years of Best Original Song at the Oscars. Join us as we look back at the timeless tunes recognized in this category, the results of each race and the overall rankings of the Academy Awards winners.
The 1940 Oscar nominees in Best Original Song were:
“Down Argentine Way” from “Down Argentine Way”
“Who Am I” from “Hit Parade of 1941”
“It’s a Blue World” from Music in My Heart”
“When You Wish Upon a Star” from “Pinocchio”
“Only Forever” from “Rhythm on the River”
“Love of My Life” from “Second Chorus”
“Waltzing in the Clouds” from “Spring Parade”
“Our Love Affair” from “Strike Up the Band”
“I’d Know You Anywhere” from “You’ll Find Out”
Won and should’ve won: “When You Wish Upon a Star” from “Pinocchio”
Let’s take a moment to stare in wonder at the star-studded nature of this line-up.
The 1940 Oscar nominees in Best Original Song were:
“Down Argentine Way” from “Down Argentine Way”
“Who Am I” from “Hit Parade of 1941”
“It’s a Blue World” from Music in My Heart”
“When You Wish Upon a Star” from “Pinocchio”
“Only Forever” from “Rhythm on the River”
“Love of My Life” from “Second Chorus”
“Waltzing in the Clouds” from “Spring Parade”
“Our Love Affair” from “Strike Up the Band”
“I’d Know You Anywhere” from “You’ll Find Out”
Won and should’ve won: “When You Wish Upon a Star” from “Pinocchio”
Let’s take a moment to stare in wonder at the star-studded nature of this line-up.
- 7/16/2018
- by Andrew Carden
- Gold Derby
This article marks Part 1 of the Gold Derby series analyzing 84 years of Best Original Song at the Oscars. Join us as we look back at the timeless tunes recognized in this category, the results of each race and the overall rankings of the Academy Awards winners.
The 1934 Oscar nominees in Best Original Song were:
“Carioca” from “Flying Down to Rio”
“The Continental” from “The Gay Divorcee”
“Love in Bloom” from “She Loves Me Not”
Won: “The Continental” from “The Gay Divorcee”
Should’ve won: “Love in Bloom” from “She Loves Me Not”
The inaugural Best Original Song showdown included a mere three nominees – a far cry from the 10 nominations that would crowd this category a few years later, in 1938. Nominated were tracks from two Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers vehicles and then one, “Love in Bloom,” from an early Bing Crosby picture. None of the three songs are terribly memorable.
The 1934 Oscar nominees in Best Original Song were:
“Carioca” from “Flying Down to Rio”
“The Continental” from “The Gay Divorcee”
“Love in Bloom” from “She Loves Me Not”
Won: “The Continental” from “The Gay Divorcee”
Should’ve won: “Love in Bloom” from “She Loves Me Not”
The inaugural Best Original Song showdown included a mere three nominees – a far cry from the 10 nominations that would crowd this category a few years later, in 1938. Nominated were tracks from two Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers vehicles and then one, “Love in Bloom,” from an early Bing Crosby picture. None of the three songs are terribly memorable.
- 7/9/2018
- by Andrew Carden
- Gold Derby
At the seventh Oscar ceremony in 1934, the academy introduced three new categories: Best Film Editing, Best Original Score and Best Original Song. The latter race had a mere three nominees that first year, with “The Continental,” performed by the incomparable Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in “The Gay Divorcee,” taking home the inaugural prize. Over the years to follow, the category would balloon in size, reaching a chaotic all-time high of 14 nominees at the 1945 Oscars, before contracting down to the five nominees seen in the vast majority of years since.
The category has produced a remarkable variety of Academy Awards winners, from the timeless likes of “Over the Rainbow” from “The Wizard of Oz” (1939) and “Moon River” from “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (1961) to bold, contemporary fare like “Lose Yourself” from “8 Mile” (2002) and “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” from “Hustle & Flow” (2005). There are the beloved champions from animated features too,...
The category has produced a remarkable variety of Academy Awards winners, from the timeless likes of “Over the Rainbow” from “The Wizard of Oz” (1939) and “Moon River” from “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (1961) to bold, contemporary fare like “Lose Yourself” from “8 Mile” (2002) and “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” from “Hustle & Flow” (2005). There are the beloved champions from animated features too,...
- 7/9/2018
- by Andrew Carden
- Gold Derby
In 2009 — when the Academy Awards went to 10 Best Picture nominees for the first time since 1943 — the preferential system of voting, which had been used from 1934 to 1945, was reintroduced. The academy did so as it believed this “best allows the collective judgment of all voting members to be most accurately represented.”
We have detailed how the preferential voting system works at the Oscars in the modern era. So, let’s take a look back at those dozen years early in the history of the academy when it first used this complicated counting to determine the Best Picture winner rather than a simple popular vote. (At the bottom of this post, be sure to vote for the film that you think will take the top Oscar this year.)
See Best Picture Gallery: Every winner of the top Academy Award
1934
This seventh ceremony marked the first time that the Oscars eligibility period was the calendar year.
We have detailed how the preferential voting system works at the Oscars in the modern era. So, let’s take a look back at those dozen years early in the history of the academy when it first used this complicated counting to determine the Best Picture winner rather than a simple popular vote. (At the bottom of this post, be sure to vote for the film that you think will take the top Oscar this year.)
See Best Picture Gallery: Every winner of the top Academy Award
1934
This seventh ceremony marked the first time that the Oscars eligibility period was the calendar year.
- 2/28/2018
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
David Crow Joseph Baxter Jan 15, 2020
Starz is developing a John Wick TV series spinoff called "The Continental." So dress well, because this'll be a five-star experience!
How far can a delightful joke be stretched? We’ll soon find out, because the amusing five-star hotel with likely Michelin Star dining in John Wick, which grew into being a whole underground franchise with its own governing bylaws and multiple, unique-to-assassins currencies in two (soon to be three) sequel films, is about to be the basis of its own TV show, titled The Continental! So, dress well, because the spinoff is headed to Starz.
Plans have been in the works for a small-screen expansion of the big screen John Wick mythology going back to 2017, when film directors Chad Stahelski and Derek Kolstad – after initially floating the ultimately-nixed idea to make first sequel John Wick: Chapter 2 into a prequel – revealed that studio Lionsgate...
Starz is developing a John Wick TV series spinoff called "The Continental." So dress well, because this'll be a five-star experience!
How far can a delightful joke be stretched? We’ll soon find out, because the amusing five-star hotel with likely Michelin Star dining in John Wick, which grew into being a whole underground franchise with its own governing bylaws and multiple, unique-to-assassins currencies in two (soon to be three) sequel films, is about to be the basis of its own TV show, titled The Continental! So, dress well, because the spinoff is headed to Starz.
Plans have been in the works for a small-screen expansion of the big screen John Wick mythology going back to 2017, when film directors Chad Stahelski and Derek Kolstad – after initially floating the ultimately-nixed idea to make first sequel John Wick: Chapter 2 into a prequel – revealed that studio Lionsgate...
- 1/12/2018
- Den of Geek
A version of this article originally appeared on EW.com.
Thanksgiving has arrived and with it comes bingeing of all kinds — but mainly food, shopping and TV. We’ve rounded up all the movie and TV show marathons airing over the long holiday weekend so you can watch your favorite while digesting on the couch.
There’s something for everyone to enjoy, whether you’re a Parks and Recreation fan and just want to spend time with your favorite Pawnee residents or a horror fan looking for a scare-fest like those on IFC and Syfy. Perhaps you’d prefer to...
Thanksgiving has arrived and with it comes bingeing of all kinds — but mainly food, shopping and TV. We’ve rounded up all the movie and TV show marathons airing over the long holiday weekend so you can watch your favorite while digesting on the couch.
There’s something for everyone to enjoy, whether you’re a Parks and Recreation fan and just want to spend time with your favorite Pawnee residents or a horror fan looking for a scare-fest like those on IFC and Syfy. Perhaps you’d prefer to...
- 11/24/2016
- by Lanford Beard
- PEOPLE.com
“It kind of freed me from a lot of criticisms people have from my other films,” Whit Stillman told us at Sundance earlier this year, speaking about adapting Jane Austen‘s epistolary novel Lady Susan, which became Love & Friendship. “Things can work really well and not be entirely realistic and often they can be better than realism. We love the old James Bond films. They weren’t realistic, but they’re delightful. And the great 30s films. The Awful Truth with Cary Grant and Irene Dunne. It’s not realistic; it’s just perfect.”
To celebrate Stillman’s latest feature becoming his most successful yet at the box office, we’re highlighting his 10 favorite films, from a ballot submitted for the most recent Sight & Sound poll. Along with the aforementioned Leo McCarey classic, he includes romantic touchstones from Preston Sturges, Ernst Lubitsh, and François Truffaut. As for his favorite Alfred Hitchcock, he fittingly picks perhaps one of the best scripts he directed, and one not mentioned often enough.
We’ve covered many directors’ favorites, but this is one that perhaps best reflects the style and tone of an artist’s filmography. Check it out below, followed by our discussion of his latest film, if you missed it.
The Awful Truth (Leo McCarey)
Big Deal on Madonna Street (Mario Monicelli)
The Gay Divorcee (Mark Sandrich)
Howards End (James Ivory)
Miracle of Morgan’s Creek (Preston Sturges)
The Shop Around the Corner (Ernst Lubitsch)
Stolen Kisses (François Truffaut)
Stranger than Paradise (Jim Jarmusch)
Strangers on a Train (Alfred Hitchcock)
Wagon Master (John Ford)
See more directors’ favorite films.
To celebrate Stillman’s latest feature becoming his most successful yet at the box office, we’re highlighting his 10 favorite films, from a ballot submitted for the most recent Sight & Sound poll. Along with the aforementioned Leo McCarey classic, he includes romantic touchstones from Preston Sturges, Ernst Lubitsh, and François Truffaut. As for his favorite Alfred Hitchcock, he fittingly picks perhaps one of the best scripts he directed, and one not mentioned often enough.
We’ve covered many directors’ favorites, but this is one that perhaps best reflects the style and tone of an artist’s filmography. Check it out below, followed by our discussion of his latest film, if you missed it.
The Awful Truth (Leo McCarey)
Big Deal on Madonna Street (Mario Monicelli)
The Gay Divorcee (Mark Sandrich)
Howards End (James Ivory)
Miracle of Morgan’s Creek (Preston Sturges)
The Shop Around the Corner (Ernst Lubitsch)
Stolen Kisses (François Truffaut)
Stranger than Paradise (Jim Jarmusch)
Strangers on a Train (Alfred Hitchcock)
Wagon Master (John Ford)
See more directors’ favorite films.
- 6/13/2016
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Best Song Oscar 2016 contender 'Fifty Shades of Grey,' with Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan. 74 entries in contention for 2016 Best Song Academy Award 'Tis the season for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to announce the semi-finalists – in some instances, the semi-semi-finalists – for the Academy Awards. Today, the Academy released the list of songs eligible for the 2016 Best Song – or rather, Best Original Song – Oscar. There are 74 contenders, with titles ranging from “Happy” and “I'll See You in My Dreams” to “Hypnosis” and “Bhoomiyilenghanumundo.” Curiously, apart from the inevitable animated and/or kiddie flicks (Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip, Anomalisa, Pan, Shaun the Sheep Movie, Home, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge out of Water, etc.) most of this year's contenders are songs from smaller movies and Bollywood/South Asian releases. Exceptions include Sam Taylor-Johnson's Fifty Shades of Grey, Ryan Coogler's Creed, Kenneth Branagh's...
- 12/11/2015
- by Steve Montgomery
- Alt Film Guide
Fred Astaire ca. 1935. Fred Astaire movies: Dancing in the dark, on the ceiling on TCM Aug. 5, '15, is Fred Astaire Day on Turner Classic Movies, as TCM continues with its “Summer Under the Stars” series. Just don't expect any rare Astaire movies, as the actor-singer-dancer's star vehicles – mostly Rko or MGM productions – have been TCM staples since the early days of the cable channel in the mid-'90s. True, Fred Astaire was also featured in smaller, lesser-known fare like Byron Chudnow's The Amazing Dobermans (1976) and Yves Boisset's The Purple Taxi / Un taxi mauve (1977), but neither one can be found on the TCM schedule. (See TCM's Fred Astaire movie schedule further below.) Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musicals Some fans never tire of watching Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing together. With these particular fans in mind, TCM is showing – for the nth time – nine Astaire-Rogers musicals of the '30s,...
- 8/5/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Teresa Wright and Matt Damon in 'The Rainmaker' Teresa Wright: From Marlon Brando to Matt Damon (See preceding post: "Teresa Wright vs. Samuel Goldwyn: Nasty Falling Out.") "I'd rather have luck than brains!" Teresa Wright was quoted as saying in the early 1950s. That's understandable, considering her post-Samuel Goldwyn choice of movie roles, some of which may have seemed promising on paper.[1] Wright was Marlon Brando's first Hollywood leading lady, but that didn't help her to bounce back following the very public spat with her former boss. After all, The Men was released before Elia Kazan's film version of A Streetcar Named Desire turned Brando into a major international star. Chances are that good film offers were scarce. After Wright's brief 1950 comeback, for the third time in less than a decade she would be gone from the big screen for more than a year.
- 3/11/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
It’s been 80 years since the Academy handed out the first ever Oscar for Best Original Song and those eight decades have provided the widest possible array of winning numbers.
Six years following the all-silent first Oscar ceremony, musicians were given their chance to win Oscars of their very own. The in-between years saw the roar of The Jazz Singer open the floodgates to the movie musical, culminating in the set-pieces typified by the inaugural Best Song winner, “The Continental” from the Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire vehicle The Gay Divorcee.
However, as the years rolled on different musical styles took their turn providing Oscar’s top tune as well as some songs that emerged from the unlikeliest of films to capture the imagination.
Here is a list of the top 10 Best Song recipients in Oscar history. Please note that these are not necessarily the best stand-alone songs, but a...
Six years following the all-silent first Oscar ceremony, musicians were given their chance to win Oscars of their very own. The in-between years saw the roar of The Jazz Singer open the floodgates to the movie musical, culminating in the set-pieces typified by the inaugural Best Song winner, “The Continental” from the Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire vehicle The Gay Divorcee.
However, as the years rolled on different musical styles took their turn providing Oscar’s top tune as well as some songs that emerged from the unlikeliest of films to capture the imagination.
Here is a list of the top 10 Best Song recipients in Oscar history. Please note that these are not necessarily the best stand-alone songs, but a...
- 2/20/2015
- by Shane McNeil
- Cineplex
By Anjelica Oswald
Managing Editor
On Dec. 12, the Academy released a shortlist of 79 songs in contention for best original song at the 87th Academy Awards, but it’s not so easy to predict which songs will be announced as nominees on Jan. 15. You can’t turn to potential best picture nominees — or best animated features, for that matter — to predict which songs make the final cut. Though a number of best picture nominees have also been nominated for best original song, there’s not much correlation between the two.
The original song category was first introduced at the 7th Annual Academy Awards, and the winner was “The Continental” from 1934’s The Gay Divorcee, also nominated for best picture.
Nineteen of the 80 Oscar-winning songs have come from best picture nominees. They are as follows:
“The Continental” — The Gay Divorcee (1934) “Over the Rainbow” — The Wizard of Oz (1939) “Swinging on a Star” — Going My Way...
Managing Editor
On Dec. 12, the Academy released a shortlist of 79 songs in contention for best original song at the 87th Academy Awards, but it’s not so easy to predict which songs will be announced as nominees on Jan. 15. You can’t turn to potential best picture nominees — or best animated features, for that matter — to predict which songs make the final cut. Though a number of best picture nominees have also been nominated for best original song, there’s not much correlation between the two.
The original song category was first introduced at the 7th Annual Academy Awards, and the winner was “The Continental” from 1934’s The Gay Divorcee, also nominated for best picture.
Nineteen of the 80 Oscar-winning songs have come from best picture nominees. They are as follows:
“The Continental” — The Gay Divorcee (1934) “Over the Rainbow” — The Wizard of Oz (1939) “Swinging on a Star” — Going My Way...
- 12/22/2014
- by Anjelica Oswald
- Scott Feinberg
Claudette Colbert movies on Turner Classic Movies: From ‘The Smiling Lieutenant’ to TCM premiere ‘Skylark’ (photo: Claudette Colbert and Maurice Chevalier in ‘The Smiling Lieutenant’) Claudette Colbert, the studio era’s perky, independent-minded — and French-born — "all-American" girlfriend (and later all-American wife and mother), is Turner Classic Movies’ star of the day today, August 18, 2014, as TCM continues with its "Summer Under the Stars" film series. Colbert, a surprise Best Actress Academy Award winner for Frank Capra’s 1934 comedy It Happened One Night, was one Paramount’s biggest box office draws for more than decade and Hollywood’s top-paid female star of 1938, with reported earnings of $426,944 — or about $7.21 million in 2014 dollars. (See also: TCM’s Claudette Colbert day in 2011.) Right now, TCM is showing Ernst Lubitsch’s light (but ultimately bittersweet) romantic comedy-musical The Smiling Lieutenant (1931), a Best Picture Academy Award nominee starring Maurice Chevalier as a French-accented Central European lieutenant in...
- 8/19/2014
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
His characters are uncool, preppy and full of the self-dramatising melancholy of youth, yet his films are hugely likeable. His latest, Damsels in Distress, continues his peculiar cinematic vision
Every great American film-maker struggles to create their own peculiar vision, just as the studio men struggle to stop them doing so. Yet few visions are quite so peculiar as Whit Stillman's, and few have seemed so marginal to the industry of which they are a part. It's hard to say how much impact his films have had; there have been, for reasons beyond his own control, too few of them. He has succeeded in getting four films made: a comic trilogy set in the 1980s, Metropolitan (1990), Barcelona (1994) and The Last Days of Disco (1998), and now the about-to-be released "campus comedy" Damsels in Distress. On one level it may seem a rather meagre body of work. However, for some, myself included,...
Every great American film-maker struggles to create their own peculiar vision, just as the studio men struggle to stop them doing so. Yet few visions are quite so peculiar as Whit Stillman's, and few have seemed so marginal to the industry of which they are a part. It's hard to say how much impact his films have had; there have been, for reasons beyond his own control, too few of them. He has succeeded in getting four films made: a comic trilogy set in the 1980s, Metropolitan (1990), Barcelona (1994) and The Last Days of Disco (1998), and now the about-to-be released "campus comedy" Damsels in Distress. On one level it may seem a rather meagre body of work. However, for some, myself included,...
- 4/20/2012
- by Michael Newton
- The Guardian - Film News
From Fred and Ginger to Jennifer and Ashton, romantic comedies used to be one of the safest bets in Hollywood. But it seems that rom is just not into com any more
Is it the end for the romcom? You can imagine the celebrity mag headlines: "Romcom's relationship on the rocks?" "Com: I'm just not that into Rom" "Rom: Com doesn't make me laugh any more."
After all, who says romance and comedy go together like a horse and carriage? It seems to be a chiselled Hollywood commandment that the two shall be forever conjoined in cinematic matrimony, but perhaps it's time they went their separate ways. Sure, they got off to a great start: in those early years it was all fun and games and sparkling repartee, but recently they haven't quite looked the happy couple; the spark just hasn't been there.
They've been stuck in the same repetitive formula: boy meets girl,...
Is it the end for the romcom? You can imagine the celebrity mag headlines: "Romcom's relationship on the rocks?" "Com: I'm just not that into Rom" "Rom: Com doesn't make me laugh any more."
After all, who says romance and comedy go together like a horse and carriage? It seems to be a chiselled Hollywood commandment that the two shall be forever conjoined in cinematic matrimony, but perhaps it's time they went their separate ways. Sure, they got off to a great start: in those early years it was all fun and games and sparkling repartee, but recently they haven't quite looked the happy couple; the spark just hasn't been there.
They've been stuck in the same repetitive formula: boy meets girl,...
- 2/11/2012
- by Steve Rose, Richard Vine
- The Guardian - Film News
Hayao Miyazaki, Gregory Peck, King Vidor, Ingmar Bergman: Packard Campus January 2011 Thursday, January 6 (7:30 p.m.) The Gay Divorcee (Rko, 1934) An unhappily married woman mistakes a suitor for the gigolo hired to end her marriage. Musical, comedy, romance. Directed by Mark Sandrich. With Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Alice Brady, Edward Everett Horton, Erik Rhodes and Eric Blore. Black & White, 107 min. Friday, January 7 (7:30 p.m.) Tron (Disney, 1982) A computer genius falls into the game he's designed and has to fight an evil intelligence he accidentally created. Science Fiction, action, adventure. Directed by Steven Lisberger. With Jeff Bridges, David Warner and Bruce Boxleitner. Color, 96 min. Rated PG. Saturday, January 8 (2:00 p.m.) My Neighbor Totoro (Toho,1988) When two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wondrous forest spirits who live nearby. Animation, family adventure, fantasy. Directed by Hayao [...]...
- 1/8/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Danny Boyle's Trainspotting stars Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Robert Carlyle, and Kevin McKidd It's too bad I'm posting this a little too late, as the Library of Congress' Packard Campus Theater welcomed the year 2011 with a screening of one of the best Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musicals, The Gay Divorcee (1934). And screening tonight at 7:30 p.m. — there's still time if you live (very) near Culpeper, Va — is the 1982 original Tron, starring Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner. [Packard Campus January 2011 schedule.] Also of interest in the upcoming days are My Neighbor Totoro (1988), directed by Hayao Miyazaki, one of the precious few animators out there actually capable of creating magical worlds (sorry, Pixar); John Boorman's Excalibur (1981), a visually stunning retelling of the Arthurian legends; and Ingmar Bergman's cryptic Shame (1968), starring Max von Sydow and Liv Ullmann as an apolitical couple who [...]...
- 1/8/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
She was one of the first Hollywood child stars, often cast as a 'Little Miss Fixit' orphan
There have been child stars in movies since Hollywood was in its infancy, and Baby Marie Osborne, who has died aged 99, was among the very first. She appeared in 29 films (including shorts and features) in five years, from the age of three. But by the age of eight, she was considered over the hill and, like many child stars since, retired from the movies before puberty.
Appearing only in silent films, Osborne satisfied those who believed that children should be seen and not heard, although some of the intertitles indicated that she had a lisp. Only a few of her films still exist, but one of the survivors, Little Mary Sunshine (1916), which is available on DVD, gives a good idea of her precocious talents.
This extremely popular sentimental comedy starred Osborne as the...
There have been child stars in movies since Hollywood was in its infancy, and Baby Marie Osborne, who has died aged 99, was among the very first. She appeared in 29 films (including shorts and features) in five years, from the age of three. But by the age of eight, she was considered over the hill and, like many child stars since, retired from the movies before puberty.
Appearing only in silent films, Osborne satisfied those who believed that children should be seen and not heard, although some of the intertitles indicated that she had a lisp. Only a few of her films still exist, but one of the survivors, Little Mary Sunshine (1916), which is available on DVD, gives a good idea of her precocious talents.
This extremely popular sentimental comedy starred Osborne as the...
- 11/19/2010
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
In 1935, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers made cinema history with their most successful film partnership, Top Hat. However, it wasn’t Astaire’s headgear that got people talking; it was Rogers’ ostrich feather dress worn in the Oscar-nominated song ‘Cheek to Cheek’.
The fact remains that this is quite possibly the most memorable, beautiful and romantic musical number ever captured on film, and Rogers’ dress contributes to this greatly.
Whenever Astaire and Rogers dance, they are making love without undressing, without even kissing in the majority of their films; “they is angels” remarks unfairly condemned criminal Kofi as he fulfils his dying wish of watching the lovers perform ‘Cheek to Cheek’ in the film The Green Mile (1999).
In this scene, Rogers certainly does look like an angel in her now-famous dress, accessorised only by a glass panel-style bracelet (costume jewellery in enamel or glass was very fashionable in the 1930s...
The fact remains that this is quite possibly the most memorable, beautiful and romantic musical number ever captured on film, and Rogers’ dress contributes to this greatly.
Whenever Astaire and Rogers dance, they are making love without undressing, without even kissing in the majority of their films; “they is angels” remarks unfairly condemned criminal Kofi as he fulfils his dying wish of watching the lovers perform ‘Cheek to Cheek’ in the film The Green Mile (1999).
In this scene, Rogers certainly does look like an angel in her now-famous dress, accessorised only by a glass panel-style bracelet (costume jewellery in enamel or glass was very fashionable in the 1930s...
- 8/11/2010
- by Sarah H
- Clothes on Film
Sex and the City 2 has a lot going on. The cast is large (so many cameos!), the storylines are many, puns -- and crotch shots -- abound, the budget is sizable, and the movie clocks in at just less than 2.5 hours. Could the movie have been simpler? Sure, but then it wouldn't be Sex and the City.
The film begins with Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), our narrator, reminiscing about when she met Charlotte (Kristin Davis), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), and Samantha (Kim Cattrall) in NYC; this is mainly an opportunity to show how the ladies look in 1980s era fashion. From there the story moves to Connecticut, where Anthony and Stanford are getting married by Liza Minnelli (their wedding hall looks like something out of The Gay Divorcee).
Carrie is still getting used to her role as Big's wife, Charlotte's two daughters are overwhelming her (despite the help of her...
The film begins with Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), our narrator, reminiscing about when she met Charlotte (Kristin Davis), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), and Samantha (Kim Cattrall) in NYC; this is mainly an opportunity to show how the ladies look in 1980s era fashion. From there the story moves to Connecticut, where Anthony and Stanford are getting married by Liza Minnelli (their wedding hall looks like something out of The Gay Divorcee).
Carrie is still getting used to her role as Big's wife, Charlotte's two daughters are overwhelming her (despite the help of her...
- 5/27/2010
- by Elizabeth Stoddard
- Slackerwood
Ginger Rogers is Turner Classic Movies‘ Star of the Month of March. Most of the films — perhaps all of them — have been shown on TCM before. So, don’t expect hard-to-find titles such as The Confession, Forever Female, The Groom Wore Spurs, Young Man of Manhattan, Sitting Pretty (1933), A Shriek in the Night, or Harlow (the Carol Lynley version). TCM’s Ginger Rogers salute begins tonight at 5 p.m. Pacific Time with a screening of The Gay Divorcee (above), one of Rogers’ best pairings with Fred Astaire, partly thanks to a top-notch supporting cast that includes Alice Brady, Eric Blore, and Erik Rhodes. That will be followed by the other nine Rogers-Astaire (I know it’s usually the other way around) [...]...
- 3/10/2010
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Robert Wise, a four-time Academy Award winner whose epic 65-year career ranged from editing Orson Welles' Citizen Kane to directing the quintessential 1960s musical The Sound of Music to launching the first Star Trek film, died Wednesday of heart failure. He was 91. Wise died at UCLA Medical Center, according to family friend Lawrence Mirisch, owner of The Mirisch Agency, a Hollywood talent agency. Wise, who was honored with the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award in 1998, enjoyed a longevity that few filmmakers achieve: His resume ranged from his early work as a sound editor on Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers musicals like The Gay Divorcee to his collaboration as a film editor with Welles on Citizen Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons to his emergence as a director, and later producer, of films as varied as The Day the Earth Stood Still, I Want to Live! and West Side Story, which he co-directed with Jerome Robbins. His filmography covers almost every genre except animation.
- 9/15/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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