Guy Maddin on Stump The Guesser: “Kharms had so many ideas and we wanted them all …”
A standout decision by the Currents programming team for the 58th New York Film Festival, is to show Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, and Galen Johnson’s mysterious fairground short, Stump The Guesser, starring Adam Brooks, with There Are Not Thirty-Six Ways Of Showing A Man Getting On A Horse, Nicolás Zukerfeld’s tribute to Raoul Walsh. On the afternoon of the Autumnal Equinox, Guy Maddin joined me for a lively and in-depth e-mail exchange conversation, which touched on the costumes by Greg Blagoev (”Winnipeg's Mayakovsky!”), Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps, Robert Donat questioning Mr. Memory, and John Buchan (1st Baron Tweedsmuir), Ludwig Tieck, Thomas Mann's The Holy Sinner, Bertrand Tavernier and Pursued, Soviet absurdist Daniil Kharms, and the evolution of Stump The Guesser, starting with the Ensemble Musikfabrik in Cologne.
The Guesser...
A standout decision by the Currents programming team for the 58th New York Film Festival, is to show Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, and Galen Johnson’s mysterious fairground short, Stump The Guesser, starring Adam Brooks, with There Are Not Thirty-Six Ways Of Showing A Man Getting On A Horse, Nicolás Zukerfeld’s tribute to Raoul Walsh. On the afternoon of the Autumnal Equinox, Guy Maddin joined me for a lively and in-depth e-mail exchange conversation, which touched on the costumes by Greg Blagoev (”Winnipeg's Mayakovsky!”), Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps, Robert Donat questioning Mr. Memory, and John Buchan (1st Baron Tweedsmuir), Ludwig Tieck, Thomas Mann's The Holy Sinner, Bertrand Tavernier and Pursued, Soviet absurdist Daniil Kharms, and the evolution of Stump The Guesser, starting with the Ensemble Musikfabrik in Cologne.
The Guesser...
- 9/23/2020
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
From the people that brought you Pandemic Parade chapters 1-8, comes yet another thrilling episode featuring Jesse V. Johnson, Casper Kelly, Fred Dekker, Don Coscarelli, Daniel Noah, Elijah Wood and Blaire Bercy.
Please support the Hollywood Food Coalition. Text “Give” to 323.402.5704 or visit https://hofoco.org/donate!
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
The Wondrous Story of Birth a.k.a. The Birth of Triplets (1950)
Contagion (2011)
The Omega Man (1971)
Panic In The Streets (1950)
The Last Man On Earth (1964)
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Fantastic Voyage (1966)
Innerspace (1987)
The Howling (1981)
The Invisible Man (2020)
The Sand Pebbles (1966)
Where Eagles Dare (1969)
Planet of the Apes (1968)
Goldfinger (1964)
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (1965)
Murder On The Orient Express (1974)
Dr. No (1962)
From Russia With Love (1963)
Bellman and True (1987)
Brimstone and Treacle (1982)
Richard III (1995)
Titanic (1997)
Catch 22 (1970)
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966)
The Graduate (1967)
1941 (1979)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Jaws (1975)
The Fortune (1975)
Carnal Knowledge (1970)
Manhattan...
Please support the Hollywood Food Coalition. Text “Give” to 323.402.5704 or visit https://hofoco.org/donate!
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
The Wondrous Story of Birth a.k.a. The Birth of Triplets (1950)
Contagion (2011)
The Omega Man (1971)
Panic In The Streets (1950)
The Last Man On Earth (1964)
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Fantastic Voyage (1966)
Innerspace (1987)
The Howling (1981)
The Invisible Man (2020)
The Sand Pebbles (1966)
Where Eagles Dare (1969)
Planet of the Apes (1968)
Goldfinger (1964)
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (1965)
Murder On The Orient Express (1974)
Dr. No (1962)
From Russia With Love (1963)
Bellman and True (1987)
Brimstone and Treacle (1982)
Richard III (1995)
Titanic (1997)
Catch 22 (1970)
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966)
The Graduate (1967)
1941 (1979)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Jaws (1975)
The Fortune (1975)
Carnal Knowledge (1970)
Manhattan...
- 5/29/2020
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
Helping you stay sane while staying safe… featuring Leonard Maltin, Dave Anthony, Miguel Arteta, John Landis, and Blaire Bercy from the Hollywood Food Coalition.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Plague (1979)
Target Earth (1954)
The Left Hand of God (1955)
A Lost Lady (1934)
Enough Said (2013)
Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)
Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939)
Heaven Can Wait (1978)
Down to Earth (2001)
Down To Earth (1947)
The Commitments (1991)
Once (2007)
Election (1999)
About Schmidt (2002)
Sideways (2004)
Nebraska (2013)
The Man in the Moon (1991)
The 39 Steps (1935)
Casablanca (1942)
The Lady Vanishes (1938)
The Night Walker (1964)
Chuck and Buck (2000)
Cedar Rapids (2011)
Beatriz at Dinner (2017)
Duck Butter (2018)
The Good Girl (2002)
The Big Heat (1953)
Human Desire (1954)
Slightly French (1949)
Week-End with Father (1951)
Experiment In Terror (1962)
They Shoot Horses Don’t They? (1969)
Ray’s Male Heterosexual Dance Hall (1987)
Airport (1970)
Earthquake (1974)
Drive a Crooked Road (1954)
Pushover (1954)
Waves (2019)
Krisha (2015)
The Oblong Box (1969)
80,000 Suspects (1963)
Panic In The Streets (1950)
It Comes At Night (2017)
Children of Men (2006)
The Road (2009)
You Were Never Really Here...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Plague (1979)
Target Earth (1954)
The Left Hand of God (1955)
A Lost Lady (1934)
Enough Said (2013)
Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)
Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939)
Heaven Can Wait (1978)
Down to Earth (2001)
Down To Earth (1947)
The Commitments (1991)
Once (2007)
Election (1999)
About Schmidt (2002)
Sideways (2004)
Nebraska (2013)
The Man in the Moon (1991)
The 39 Steps (1935)
Casablanca (1942)
The Lady Vanishes (1938)
The Night Walker (1964)
Chuck and Buck (2000)
Cedar Rapids (2011)
Beatriz at Dinner (2017)
Duck Butter (2018)
The Good Girl (2002)
The Big Heat (1953)
Human Desire (1954)
Slightly French (1949)
Week-End with Father (1951)
Experiment In Terror (1962)
They Shoot Horses Don’t They? (1969)
Ray’s Male Heterosexual Dance Hall (1987)
Airport (1970)
Earthquake (1974)
Drive a Crooked Road (1954)
Pushover (1954)
Waves (2019)
Krisha (2015)
The Oblong Box (1969)
80,000 Suspects (1963)
Panic In The Streets (1950)
It Comes At Night (2017)
Children of Men (2006)
The Road (2009)
You Were Never Really Here...
- 5/1/2020
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
Today we rewind with original footage from The 39 Steps, which ran on Broadway for almost two years from 2008-2010.The 39 Stepsis aparodyadapted from the1915 novelbyJohn Buchanand the1935 filmbyAlfred Hitchcock. The play's concept calls for the entirety of the 1935 adventure filmThe 39 Stepsto be performed with a cast of only four. One actor plays the hero,Richard Hannay, an actress or sometimes actor plays the three women with whom he has romantic entanglements, and two other actors play every other character in the show heroes, villains, men, women, children and even the occasional inanimate object. The original Broadway cast featured Charles Edwards,Jennifer Ferrin, Arnie Burton and Cliff Saunders...
- 4/15/2020
- by BroadwayWorld TV
- BroadwayWorld.com
” There are 20 million women in this island and I’ve got to be chained to you.”
Classics on the Loop at The Tivoli happens Mondays at 4 pm and 7 pm This week, March 2nd is Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps (1935)!.Admission is just $7.The Tivoli is located at 6350 Delmar Blvd, St. Louis, Mo 63130
In The 30 Steps, Robert Donat plays Richard Hannay, a Canadian visitor to London. At the end of “Mr Memory”‘s show in a music hall, he meets Annabella Smith, who is running away from secret agents. He agrees to hide her in his flat, but she is murdered during the night. Fearing that he could be accused of the murder, Hannay goes on the run to break the spy ring.
Here’s the rest of the Classics in the Loop lineup:
March 9 Strangers On A Train
March 16 Vertigo 4K digital restoration
March 23 The Wizard Of Oz
March...
Classics on the Loop at The Tivoli happens Mondays at 4 pm and 7 pm This week, March 2nd is Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps (1935)!.Admission is just $7.The Tivoli is located at 6350 Delmar Blvd, St. Louis, Mo 63130
In The 30 Steps, Robert Donat plays Richard Hannay, a Canadian visitor to London. At the end of “Mr Memory”‘s show in a music hall, he meets Annabella Smith, who is running away from secret agents. He agrees to hide her in his flat, but she is murdered during the night. Fearing that he could be accused of the murder, Hannay goes on the run to break the spy ring.
Here’s the rest of the Classics in the Loop lineup:
March 9 Strangers On A Train
March 16 Vertigo 4K digital restoration
March 23 The Wizard Of Oz
March...
- 3/1/2020
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
With the Academy Awards just around the corner, it’s time to talk about the “who didn’ts” — the actors who never won an Oscas, let alone received a nomination-as well as classic films that never saw Oscar gold. And there are plenty of who didn’t filmmakers. Countless legendary directors didn’t win Oscars or even earn nominations.
Martin Scorsese, who is one of the most influential, acclaimed directors of the past 50 years has only won for directing 2006’s Best Picture winner “The Departed.” Though his 1976 masterpiece “Taxi Driver” was nominated for Best Picture, he didn’t earn an Oscar nomination for Best Director. He first got his first directing nomination for his 1980 masterwork “Raging Bull,” but lost to Robert Redford for “Ordinary People.”
Scorsese has received a lot of Oscar love. As far as producing, writing and directing, he’s received 14 nominations. And this year, he’s nominated...
Martin Scorsese, who is one of the most influential, acclaimed directors of the past 50 years has only won for directing 2006’s Best Picture winner “The Departed.” Though his 1976 masterpiece “Taxi Driver” was nominated for Best Picture, he didn’t earn an Oscar nomination for Best Director. He first got his first directing nomination for his 1980 masterwork “Raging Bull,” but lost to Robert Redford for “Ordinary People.”
Scorsese has received a lot of Oscar love. As far as producing, writing and directing, he’s received 14 nominations. And this year, he’s nominated...
- 1/30/2020
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
“Hitchcock And Humor: Modes Of Comedy In Twelve Defining Films” by Wes D. Gehring
(McFarland; Isbn 978-1-4766-7356-1 print; 978-1-4766-3621-4 e-book; $39.95 retail)
“The Master Of Dark Comedy”
By Raymond Benson
Just about anything with film historian and media writer Wes D. Gehring’s name on it will be of quality. A professor of telecommunications at Ball State University in Indiana and author of the regular column “The Reel World” in USA Today magazine, Gehring has distinguished himself as an expert on comedy—especially as it has been utilized in the cinema.
Among Gehring’s several books that explore humor in film are tomes on Chaplin, the Marx Brothers, Leo McCarey, Laurel and Hardy, Carole Lombard, W. C. Fields, and Frank Capra, as well as topical studies on dark comedy and screwball comedy.
Now comes Hitchcock and Humor, which evaluates the notion that the filmmaker who...
(McFarland; Isbn 978-1-4766-7356-1 print; 978-1-4766-3621-4 e-book; $39.95 retail)
“The Master Of Dark Comedy”
By Raymond Benson
Just about anything with film historian and media writer Wes D. Gehring’s name on it will be of quality. A professor of telecommunications at Ball State University in Indiana and author of the regular column “The Reel World” in USA Today magazine, Gehring has distinguished himself as an expert on comedy—especially as it has been utilized in the cinema.
Among Gehring’s several books that explore humor in film are tomes on Chaplin, the Marx Brothers, Leo McCarey, Laurel and Hardy, Carole Lombard, W. C. Fields, and Frank Capra, as well as topical studies on dark comedy and screwball comedy.
Now comes Hitchcock and Humor, which evaluates the notion that the filmmaker who...
- 12/27/2019
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options—not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves–each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit platforms. Check out this week’s selections below and an archive of past round-ups here.
A Burning Hot Summer (Philippe Garrel)
What makes Philippe Garrel’s films so distinct is their blend of autobiographical pain and silent-film mise-en-scène–a failed relationship or revolution rendered not so much through the increasingly dialogue-heavy scripts of his films, but the placement of bodies, gestures, and, furthermore, the dreams that contain and emerge from them. Yet while A Burning Hot Summer may be the only film he’s made in the 21st century not shot in black-and-white, once the senior Maurice Garrel (in his final role) appears as an apparition in his grandson’s hospital bed-bound vision, the personal and the fantastical have formed their most natural relationship.
A Burning Hot Summer (Philippe Garrel)
What makes Philippe Garrel’s films so distinct is their blend of autobiographical pain and silent-film mise-en-scène–a failed relationship or revolution rendered not so much through the increasingly dialogue-heavy scripts of his films, but the placement of bodies, gestures, and, furthermore, the dreams that contain and emerge from them. Yet while A Burning Hot Summer may be the only film he’s made in the 21st century not shot in black-and-white, once the senior Maurice Garrel (in his final role) appears as an apparition in his grandson’s hospital bed-bound vision, the personal and the fantastical have formed their most natural relationship.
- 8/30/2019
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Mark Allison Jul 11, 2019
To celebrate the 60th anniversary of Hitchcock's spy thriller, we look at how the classic actioner set the template for a new kind of movie.
This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
Alfred Hitchcock was never content with mastering a single genre. Having spent the 1950s perfecting the murder mystery (Rear Window), crime drama (To Catch a Thief), and psychological thriller (Vertigo), the master of suspense ended the decade by turning his lens to the world of spies and statecraft.
Now 60 years on from its premiere in Chicago, North by Northwest remains the perfect espionage thriller, providing the template for James Bond, Ethan Hunt, and six decades of imitators.
Eschewing the slow-burn suspense and hushed atmosphere of Hitchcock's earlier spy thrillers like The 39 Steps (1935) and Saboteur (1942), North by Northwest pioneered a new breed of action cinema rooted in larger-than-life adventure and momentous setpieces. Indeed, the...
To celebrate the 60th anniversary of Hitchcock's spy thriller, we look at how the classic actioner set the template for a new kind of movie.
This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
Alfred Hitchcock was never content with mastering a single genre. Having spent the 1950s perfecting the murder mystery (Rear Window), crime drama (To Catch a Thief), and psychological thriller (Vertigo), the master of suspense ended the decade by turning his lens to the world of spies and statecraft.
Now 60 years on from its premiere in Chicago, North by Northwest remains the perfect espionage thriller, providing the template for James Bond, Ethan Hunt, and six decades of imitators.
Eschewing the slow-burn suspense and hushed atmosphere of Hitchcock's earlier spy thrillers like The 39 Steps (1935) and Saboteur (1942), North by Northwest pioneered a new breed of action cinema rooted in larger-than-life adventure and momentous setpieces. Indeed, the...
- 7/11/2019
- Den of Geek
Dan Norman Oct 10, 2018
Grab your passport and bring a sidekick. We're hunting for Alfred Hitchcock’s greatest MacGuffins
This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
Spoilers lie ahead for The Trouble With Harry, Psycho, North By Northwest, To Catch A Thief, The Lady Vanishes, and...Star Wars
The MacGuffin is one of those storytelling inventions that operates by a vague “I know it when I see it” rule. The man who popularized its use, Alfred Hitchcock, didn’t help matters. When asked to define the MacGuffin – as he frequently was – he would repeat the same nonsensical joke.
In Hitchcock’s interview with François Truffaut, Truffaut attempts to establish limits on the phrase (is it “the pretext for the plot”? is it ideally “forgotten” amongst the rush of the action?). Each time, Hitch replies with an answer that amounts to little more than "sort of."
Without any exact definitions being...
Grab your passport and bring a sidekick. We're hunting for Alfred Hitchcock’s greatest MacGuffins
This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
Spoilers lie ahead for The Trouble With Harry, Psycho, North By Northwest, To Catch A Thief, The Lady Vanishes, and...Star Wars
The MacGuffin is one of those storytelling inventions that operates by a vague “I know it when I see it” rule. The man who popularized its use, Alfred Hitchcock, didn’t help matters. When asked to define the MacGuffin – as he frequently was – he would repeat the same nonsensical joke.
In Hitchcock’s interview with François Truffaut, Truffaut attempts to establish limits on the phrase (is it “the pretext for the plot”? is it ideally “forgotten” amongst the rush of the action?). Each time, Hitch replies with an answer that amounts to little more than "sort of."
Without any exact definitions being...
- 10/10/2018
- Den of Geek
Peter Donat, the prolific character actor of the stage and screen who appeared in two films for Francis Ford Coppola and portrayed the father of Agent Fox Mulder on The X-Files, has died. He was 90.
Donat died Monday of diabetes complications at his home in Point Reyes Station, California, his wife, Maria, told The New York Times.
The Canadian-born Donat was inspired to become an actor by his uncle, British star Robert Donat, who was known for his performances in such films as Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps (1935) and, in an Oscar-winning role, Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939).
Peter Donat was married to ...
Donat died Monday of diabetes complications at his home in Point Reyes Station, California, his wife, Maria, told The New York Times.
The Canadian-born Donat was inspired to become an actor by his uncle, British star Robert Donat, who was known for his performances in such films as Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps (1935) and, in an Oscar-winning role, Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939).
Peter Donat was married to ...
- 9/15/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
David Crow Jan 15, 2019
Mission: Impossible 7 (and 8) is definitely happening, and when it does we have some ideas about what we'd like to see come next.
This Mission: Impossible 7 article contains spoilers for the most recent entry, Fallout.
The New Year has begun, but we're still a bit nostalgic for 2018. After all, it's not any year that Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie, and Paramount Pictures gift-wrap for you one of the finest action moives of the decade. In fact, to call last year’s Mission: Impossible – Fallout, the sixth entry in the spy games led by the indestructible Ethan Hunt, a popcorn movie is an understatement. It’s a balls-to-the-wall and expertly crafted shot of adrenaline straight into your cinematic bloodstream.
With clever writing and a sublime loyalty to the “old ways” of in-camera movie magic, Fallout is a triumph, and one that has left everyone, including probably Tom Cruise, wondering how they can top that.
Mission: Impossible 7 (and 8) is definitely happening, and when it does we have some ideas about what we'd like to see come next.
This Mission: Impossible 7 article contains spoilers for the most recent entry, Fallout.
The New Year has begun, but we're still a bit nostalgic for 2018. After all, it's not any year that Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie, and Paramount Pictures gift-wrap for you one of the finest action moives of the decade. In fact, to call last year’s Mission: Impossible – Fallout, the sixth entry in the spy games led by the indestructible Ethan Hunt, a popcorn movie is an understatement. It’s a balls-to-the-wall and expertly crafted shot of adrenaline straight into your cinematic bloodstream.
With clever writing and a sublime loyalty to the “old ways” of in-camera movie magic, Fallout is a triumph, and one that has left everyone, including probably Tom Cruise, wondering how they can top that.
- 8/7/2018
- Den of Geek
A MacGuffin is basically a gimmick utilized by a screenwriter to create motivation for a film’s characters. Here’s a look at ten MacGuffins that have transcended their stigma to become something much more important and influential.
During a discussion about one of his films, Alfred Hitchcock used the term “MacGuffin” to describe one of his techniques. He explained it succinctly as, “the device, the gimmick, if you will...In crook stories it is almost always the necklace, and in spy stories it is most always the papers." A MacGuffin can be an object, a person, a place, or an event. In most cases, it is something that the film’s primary characters are looking for. However, the exact nature of a MacGuffin is not supposed to be overly important to the audience. In reality, the MacGuffin has hardly any substance beyond its purpose on screen, it is irrelevant...
During a discussion about one of his films, Alfred Hitchcock used the term “MacGuffin” to describe one of his techniques. He explained it succinctly as, “the device, the gimmick, if you will...In crook stories it is almost always the necklace, and in spy stories it is most always the papers." A MacGuffin can be an object, a person, a place, or an event. In most cases, it is something that the film’s primary characters are looking for. However, the exact nature of a MacGuffin is not supposed to be overly important to the audience. In reality, the MacGuffin has hardly any substance beyond its purpose on screen, it is irrelevant...
- 7/18/2018
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (G.S. Perno)
- Cinelinx
As an actor yourself, you might be jaded by celebrity but there’s something gorgeous about an iconic movie by a celebrity filmmaker, an actor who’s dabbling in another medium, and yes, an Oscar- and Tony-winning actress in a cable TV movie. This week’s slate of goodies has all of the above and more, so go forth and be inspired! Snag a copy of David Duchovny’s latest novel.Many actors cross over into different areas of entertainment, whether it’s singing, dancing, or writing. David Duchovny, who, ironically, played tortured novelist Hanky Moody in “Californication,” debuts his latest fiction book, “Miss Subways” at the Grove’s Barnes and Noble on May 4. Duchovny himself will be on hand to chat about the story, sign copies, and maybe even answer a question or two about just how he seems to do it all. (Free; book must be purchased day-of...
- 5/3/2018
- backstage.com
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit platforms. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.
Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story (Alexandra Dean)
The tell-all “autobiography” Ecstasy and Me: My Life As A Woman was exactly what Hedy Lamarr’s agent wanted to make quick money. But it wasn’t her life. Whether her ghostwriter’s words were true or not, the story dealt with everything she hoped wouldn’t define her legacy. Sadly she never had the chance to set the record straight with...
Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story (Alexandra Dean)
The tell-all “autobiography” Ecstasy and Me: My Life As A Woman was exactly what Hedy Lamarr’s agent wanted to make quick money. But it wasn’t her life. Whether her ghostwriter’s words were true or not, the story dealt with everything she hoped wouldn’t define her legacy. Sadly she never had the chance to set the record straight with...
- 4/27/2018
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
In the late 1970s, an associate professor in the Philosophy department at Johns Hopkins (thesis title: "The Nature of the Natural Numbers") began publishing essays on Hollywood movies. George M. Wilson wasn't the first person to undergo this shift in specialism. At the start of the decade, Stanley Cavell had published The World Viewed, a series of "reflections on the ontology of film." But Cavell had always been concerned with how works of art enable us to think through philosophical themes such as knowledge and meaning, and he held a chair, at Harvard, in Aesthetics. Wilson differed in that he brought a range of analytic gifts to an ongoing revolution: the close reading of American cinema, conceived as part of the "auteur" policy of Truffaut and other writers at Cahiers du cinéma in the 1950s, and concertedly developed in the following decades by critics in England such as V. F.
- 12/11/2017
- MUBI
The Reflecting Skin
Directed by Philip Ridley
Written by Philip Ridley
1990, USA
The Reflecting Skin is not your average vampire movie. I’m not even sure if it is a vampire movie, nor am I sure the movie knows what it wants to be. Although, most people easily label it a psychological horror film, The Reflecting Skin is not a film that is easily pigeonholed. It appears to be a film about the trauma of growing up and more importantly, growing up with a dysfunctional family that is haunted by their past. And it’s all told in a series of twisted events.
This independent feature was the directorial debut of Philip Ridley, a British painter-illustrator-novelist who had supplied the script to Peter Medek’s mesmerizing 1990 gangster film The Krays. The Reflecting Skin was celebrated as one of the unique films of its year and received a good deal of favorable reviews.
Directed by Philip Ridley
Written by Philip Ridley
1990, USA
The Reflecting Skin is not your average vampire movie. I’m not even sure if it is a vampire movie, nor am I sure the movie knows what it wants to be. Although, most people easily label it a psychological horror film, The Reflecting Skin is not a film that is easily pigeonholed. It appears to be a film about the trauma of growing up and more importantly, growing up with a dysfunctional family that is haunted by their past. And it’s all told in a series of twisted events.
This independent feature was the directorial debut of Philip Ridley, a British painter-illustrator-novelist who had supplied the script to Peter Medek’s mesmerizing 1990 gangster film The Krays. The Reflecting Skin was celebrated as one of the unique films of its year and received a good deal of favorable reviews.
- 7/25/2015
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
The director's most powerful and abiding images can be traced back to his early work in silent movies, as the forthcoming season at London's British Film Institute makes clear
Cary Grant runs through a desolate cornfield, pursued by a crop duster overhead. Ingrid Bergman risks her life to go into a wine cellar, looking for a secret. Eva Marie Saint clambers over the faces of the American presidents at Mount Rushmore. Tippi Hedren is pecked at by mysteriously aggressive gulls. James Stewart watches helplessly from a window as Grace Kelly creeps into a murderer's apartment. Kim Novak drives through San Francisco in a trance-like state wearing a grey suit. Janet Leigh takes a shower at the Bates Motel and never comes out.
These movie images could only belong to one director: Alfred Hitchcock, who from the end of June until October is being celebrated in a definitive season at the British Film Institute in London.
Cary Grant runs through a desolate cornfield, pursued by a crop duster overhead. Ingrid Bergman risks her life to go into a wine cellar, looking for a secret. Eva Marie Saint clambers over the faces of the American presidents at Mount Rushmore. Tippi Hedren is pecked at by mysteriously aggressive gulls. James Stewart watches helplessly from a window as Grace Kelly creeps into a murderer's apartment. Kim Novak drives through San Francisco in a trance-like state wearing a grey suit. Janet Leigh takes a shower at the Bates Motel and never comes out.
These movie images could only belong to one director: Alfred Hitchcock, who from the end of June until October is being celebrated in a definitive season at the British Film Institute in London.
- 6/16/2012
- by Bee Wilson
- The Guardian - Film News
Genuinely fascist films made in democratic countries are agreeably scarce, although Gregory La Cava's Gabriel Over the White House (1933)—or President Jesus Hitler as a friend dubbed it—could certainly qualify, even if it does veer around a lot, almost as if a Hollywood film were trying to avoid committing itself politically. Nominations for other fascist films will be gratefully considered.
Bulldog Drummond was featured in ten novels by a pseudonymous character called "Sapper," (to sap: to slug over the head, British slang). Drummond, an ex-soldier bored by civilian life, advertises for adventure and finds it, as detailed in 1929 Bulldog Drummond with Ronald Colman. This movie largely avoids the racism and jingoistic fervor of the source novels, and seems to play the more brutal moments for laughs, as when Colman exchanges sweet nothings with Joan Bennett while cheerfully throttling Lionel Atwill.
The books' biggest influence in an indirect one:...
Bulldog Drummond was featured in ten novels by a pseudonymous character called "Sapper," (to sap: to slug over the head, British slang). Drummond, an ex-soldier bored by civilian life, advertises for adventure and finds it, as detailed in 1929 Bulldog Drummond with Ronald Colman. This movie largely avoids the racism and jingoistic fervor of the source novels, and seems to play the more brutal moments for laughs, as when Colman exchanges sweet nothings with Joan Bennett while cheerfully throttling Lionel Atwill.
The books' biggest influence in an indirect one:...
- 4/25/2012
- MUBI
Director of eerily atmospheric Hammer horror films including The Kiss of the Vampire
In 1962, Don Sharp was a minor ex-actor, hack writer and jobbing director of British B-films, when he was offered the chance to make a gothic horror movie for Hammer, "the studio that dripped blood". In the event, The Kiss of the Vampire (1963) rescued both Sharp, who has died aged 90, and Hammer from the doldrums.
The studio, which had suffered several expensive flops, turned to Sharp due to his experience in low-budget film-making. Sharp, who claimed to have never watched a horror movie, let alone directed one, quickly steeped himself in the Hammer style by spending a week or so watching past successes, principally those directed by Terence Fisher and Freddie Francis. The Kiss of the Vampire, made with a smaller budget and an unstarry cast, recruited mostly from television, scored at the box office, and Sharp became associated with horror movies thereafter.
In 1962, Don Sharp was a minor ex-actor, hack writer and jobbing director of British B-films, when he was offered the chance to make a gothic horror movie for Hammer, "the studio that dripped blood". In the event, The Kiss of the Vampire (1963) rescued both Sharp, who has died aged 90, and Hammer from the doldrums.
The studio, which had suffered several expensive flops, turned to Sharp due to his experience in low-budget film-making. Sharp, who claimed to have never watched a horror movie, let alone directed one, quickly steeped himself in the Hammer style by spending a week or so watching past successes, principally those directed by Terence Fisher and Freddie Francis. The Kiss of the Vampire, made with a smaller budget and an unstarry cast, recruited mostly from television, scored at the box office, and Sharp became associated with horror movies thereafter.
- 12/22/2011
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
"In 1962," begins Ronald Bergan in the Guardian, "Don Sharp was a minor ex-actor, hack writer and jobbing director of British B-films, when he was offered the chance to make a gothic horror movie for Hammer, 'the studio that dripped blood.' In the event, The Kiss of the Vampire (1963) rescued both Sharp, who has died aged 89, and Hammer from the doldrums. The studio, which had suffered several expensive flops, turned to Sharp due to his experience in low-budget filmmaking. Sharp, who claimed to have never watched a horror movie, let alone directed one, quickly steeped himself in the Hammer style by spending a week or so watching past successes, principally those directed by Terence Fisher and Freddie Francis. The Kiss of the Vampire, made with a smaller budget and an unstarry cast, recruited mostly from television, scored at the box office, and Sharp became associated with horror movies thereafter."
The Kiss of the Vampire...
The Kiss of the Vampire...
- 12/20/2011
- MUBI
With the next Sherlock Holmes movie on the horizon, David looks at a few other literary heroes that deserve a fresh chance on the big screen…
Classic suspense heroes are getting a lot of Hollywood attention at the moment. Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows will be released in December, and Robert Downey Jr wants to similarly reinvent Perry Mason, while Miss Marple will apparently turn into Jennifer Garner.
Meanwhile, The Saint, as played by James Purefoy, will return to the small-screen in a TV movie called The Saint In New Orleans. With this in mind, here are a few other classic characters that could be similarly adapted.
Sexton Blake
Originally a Holmes pretender, this character evolved into a hybrid of Holmes, James Bond and Indiana Jones, going on to become the most documented fictional character in the history of the English language, with over two thousand stories and novels published.
Classic suspense heroes are getting a lot of Hollywood attention at the moment. Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows will be released in December, and Robert Downey Jr wants to similarly reinvent Perry Mason, while Miss Marple will apparently turn into Jennifer Garner.
Meanwhile, The Saint, as played by James Purefoy, will return to the small-screen in a TV movie called The Saint In New Orleans. With this in mind, here are a few other classic characters that could be similarly adapted.
Sexton Blake
Originally a Holmes pretender, this character evolved into a hybrid of Holmes, James Bond and Indiana Jones, going on to become the most documented fictional character in the history of the English language, with over two thousand stories and novels published.
- 10/10/2011
- Den of Geek
Auckland Theatre Company in association with the Court Theatre presents The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan, adapted by Ross Gumbley. 12 February - 07 March 2009 They say there are no more heroes. They haven't met Richard Hannay yet. Director: Ross Gumbley Starring: Lisa Chappell, Stephen Papps, Cameron Rhodes Design: Tony Geddes, Elizabeth Whiting, Brad Gledhill Four fearless actors play 139 roles in 100 madcap minutes in this inventive adaptation of John Buchan's classic British spy thriller.
- 1/16/2009
- BroadwayWorld.com
NEW YORK -- Sam Robards soon will be seen onstage and on the big screen.
He is set to play Catherine Zeta-Jones' ex-husband in Bart Freundlich's The Rebound and also is taking over the lead in the Broadway adaptation "Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps."
In Rebound, a Film Department/Process Media romantic comedy, Robards' character is shocked to discover that his ex is romantically involved with a younger man (Justin Bartha). The film is tentatively set for release next year.
Beginning July 8, Robards will replace Charles Edwards in 39 Steps, adapted from Hitchcock's 1935 spy thriller and John Buchan's book.
Robards, the son of Lauren Bacall and the late Jason Robards, recently completed narration on the PBS documentary The Trial of Saddam Hussein. He also appeared as the father of Chace Crawford's character on Gossip Girl.
He is repped by Paradigm.
He is set to play Catherine Zeta-Jones' ex-husband in Bart Freundlich's The Rebound and also is taking over the lead in the Broadway adaptation "Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps."
In Rebound, a Film Department/Process Media romantic comedy, Robards' character is shocked to discover that his ex is romantically involved with a younger man (Justin Bartha). The film is tentatively set for release next year.
Beginning July 8, Robards will replace Charles Edwards in 39 Steps, adapted from Hitchcock's 1935 spy thriller and John Buchan's book.
Robards, the son of Lauren Bacall and the late Jason Robards, recently completed narration on the PBS documentary The Trial of Saddam Hussein. He also appeared as the father of Chace Crawford's character on Gossip Girl.
He is repped by Paradigm.
- 6/18/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Hollywood bosses are planning to give Alfred Hitchcock's classic 1935 thriller The 39 Steps a modern makeover. Movie company Carlton America, which owns the rights to the film, has hired Robert Towne, writer of the much-vaunted 1974 Oscar-winner Chinatown, to script and direct the new version. Hitchcock's film, often included in Greatest Movie lists, starred Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll and Lucie Mannheim. Towne, who's also written blockbusters like Shampoo, Tequila Sunrise and the Mission: Impossible series, says, "It's not much of an exaggeration to say that all contemporary escapist entertainment begins with The 39 Steps. I look forward to having it in my future."...
- 1/8/2004
- WENN
A television remake of Alfred Hitchcock's classic The 39 Steps is in the works at Carlton America with Academy Award-winning scribe Robert Towne set to write and helm the project. Carlton America, the U.S. production wing of U.K.-based Carlton International Media Group, has signed Towne (Chinatown, Mission: Impossible 3) to write and direct what will in fact be the fourth version of the classic John Buchan novel to grace Carlton's library. 39 Steps is part of Carlton International's Film Collection -- one of the world's largest catalogs of classic movies. Carlton International owns the rights to three versions of the film; in addition to the 1935 Hitchcock version, the library is home to Ralph Thomas' 1959 version, starring Kenneth More, and the 1978 version by Don Sharp.
- 12/23/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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