Some apotheosis of film culture has been reached with Freddy Got Fingered‘s addition to the Criterion Channel. Three years after we interviewed Tom Green about his consummate film maudit, it’s appearing on the service’s Razzie-centered program that also includes the now-admired likes of Cruising, Heaven’s Gate, Querelle, and Ishtar; the still-due likes of Under the Cherry Moon; and the more-contested Gigli, Swept Away, and Nicolas Cage-led Wicker Man. In all cases it’s an opportunity to reconsider one of the lamest, thin-gruel entities in modern culture.
A Jane Russell retro features von Sternberg’s Macao, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and Raoul Walsh’s The Tall Men and The Revolt of Mamie Stover; streaming premieres will be held for Yuen Woo-ping’s Dreadnaught, Claire Simon’s Our Body, Ellie Foumbi’s Our Father, the Devil, the recently restored Sepa: Our Lord of Miracles, and The Passion of Rememberance.
A Jane Russell retro features von Sternberg’s Macao, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and Raoul Walsh’s The Tall Men and The Revolt of Mamie Stover; streaming premieres will be held for Yuen Woo-ping’s Dreadnaught, Claire Simon’s Our Body, Ellie Foumbi’s Our Father, the Devil, the recently restored Sepa: Our Lord of Miracles, and The Passion of Rememberance.
- 2/14/2024
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
A few of the industry heavyweights who cast ballots to help determine The Hollywood Reporter’s list of the 100 greatest film books of all time agreed to share a few words with THR about a film book that they especially treasure.
Below, you can read actor Alec Baldwin gush about his “favorite show business memoir,” marketing exec Terry Press explain why she owns three copies of “the only book dedicated to one of the most iconic screen teams,” studio chief Tom Rothman reveal which how-to book he gives to every young executive who comes to work for him and actor Robert Wagner on the biography of an oft-caricatured golden age studio mogul that actually captures the “vulnerable human being” who met some 70 years ago.
Alec Baldwin on By Myself, by Lauren Bacall By Myself
“I had always admired Lauren Bacall as an actress throughout her career, beginning as a young...
Below, you can read actor Alec Baldwin gush about his “favorite show business memoir,” marketing exec Terry Press explain why she owns three copies of “the only book dedicated to one of the most iconic screen teams,” studio chief Tom Rothman reveal which how-to book he gives to every young executive who comes to work for him and actor Robert Wagner on the biography of an oft-caricatured golden age studio mogul that actually captures the “vulnerable human being” who met some 70 years ago.
Alec Baldwin on By Myself, by Lauren Bacall By Myself
“I had always admired Lauren Bacall as an actress throughout her career, beginning as a young...
- 10/12/2023
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It's been a long road, getting from there to here.
One might recall in June of 2023, it was announced that several key executives and programmers at Turner Classic Movies were callously canned by the new management at their parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery. For many, this was tantamount to nixing TCM altogether. CEO David Zaslav made this decision at the end of a string of bad decisions that made him look like the film world's most callous villain. After the weird rebranding of HBO Max to merely Max, it was starting to look like Zaslav didn't give a damn about film history.
It certainly looked that way to Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Paul Thomas Anderson, three lovers of vintage film and advocates for the preservation of classics. The trio famously called Zaslav to appeal for the retaining of TCM and the re-hiring of some of their old staff. A...
One might recall in June of 2023, it was announced that several key executives and programmers at Turner Classic Movies were callously canned by the new management at their parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery. For many, this was tantamount to nixing TCM altogether. CEO David Zaslav made this decision at the end of a string of bad decisions that made him look like the film world's most callous villain. After the weird rebranding of HBO Max to merely Max, it was starting to look like Zaslav didn't give a damn about film history.
It certainly looked that way to Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Paul Thomas Anderson, three lovers of vintage film and advocates for the preservation of classics. The trio famously called Zaslav to appeal for the retaining of TCM and the re-hiring of some of their old staff. A...
- 9/2/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
In the proliferation of subgenres, the media noir is perhaps the rarest. From the ’50s alone, Billy Wilder’s Ace in the Hole, Fritz Lang’s While the City Sleeps, and Alexander Mackendrick’s Sweet Smell of Success spring to mind. Just lately, with the exception of Dan Gilroy’s Nightcrawler (2014), there hasn’t been too much evidence of a renaissance, but Roxine Helberg’s satisfying feature debut taps back into the same dark wells of oral ambivalence corruption and power, casting the excellent Bel Powley as a journalism student who will do whatever it takes to make it in the cut-throat world of TV news broadcasting.
It’s possible that the media noir was supplanted by the white-knight school of journalism movies, which has been going strong since All the President’s Men (1976) and struck Oscar gold as recently as 2015’s Spotlight But that was in the dinosaur print era,...
It’s possible that the media noir was supplanted by the white-knight school of journalism movies, which has been going strong since All the President’s Men (1976) and struck Oscar gold as recently as 2015’s Spotlight But that was in the dinosaur print era,...
- 6/12/2023
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
Zia Mohyeddin, the British-Pakistani actor known for his parts in ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ and ‘Immaculate Conception’, and the stage version of ‘A Passage to India’, died on Monday in a Karachi hospital, ‘Variety’ reports. Mohyeddin, who was 91, was ill and on life support, his family said. His death was condoled by top members of Pakistan’s political establishment, including President Arif Ali, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and his predecessor, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Imran Khan.
Mohyeddin was born in Lyallpur (now Faisalabad), British India, in 1931. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London in the early 1950s.
After theatre roles in ‘Long Day’s Journey into Night’ and ‘Julius Caesar’, Mohyeddin in 1960 made his West End debut in ‘A Passage to India’, where he originated the role of Dr Aziz.
The actor featured in David Lean’s ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ (1962), playing the role of Arab guide Tafas. Roles in...
Mohyeddin was born in Lyallpur (now Faisalabad), British India, in 1931. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London in the early 1950s.
After theatre roles in ‘Long Day’s Journey into Night’ and ‘Julius Caesar’, Mohyeddin in 1960 made his West End debut in ‘A Passage to India’, where he originated the role of Dr Aziz.
The actor featured in David Lean’s ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ (1962), playing the role of Arab guide Tafas. Roles in...
- 2/13/2023
- by News Bureau
- GlamSham
Zia Mohyeddin, a British-Pakistani actor known for films “Lawrence of Arabia” and “Immaculate Conception” and the stage version of “A Passage to India,” died on Monday in Karachi. He was 91.
Mohyeddin was ill and was on life support in a Karachi hospital, his family said.
Mohyeddin was born in Lylallpur (now Faisalabad), British India, in 1931. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London in the early 1950s. After theater roles in “Long Day’s Journey into Night” and “Julius Caesar,” Mohyeddin made his West End debut in “A Passage to India” in 1960, where he originated the role of Dr. Aziz.
The actor featured in David Lean’s “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962), playing the role of Arab guide Tafas. Roles in Alexander Mackendrick’s “Sammy Going South” (1963), Fred Zinnemann’s “Behold a Pale Horse” (1964), Basil Dearden’s “Khartoum” (1966), Ralph Thomas’ “Deadlier Than the Male” (1966), Tony Richardson’s “The Sailor from...
Mohyeddin was ill and was on life support in a Karachi hospital, his family said.
Mohyeddin was born in Lylallpur (now Faisalabad), British India, in 1931. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London in the early 1950s. After theater roles in “Long Day’s Journey into Night” and “Julius Caesar,” Mohyeddin made his West End debut in “A Passage to India” in 1960, where he originated the role of Dr. Aziz.
The actor featured in David Lean’s “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962), playing the role of Arab guide Tafas. Roles in Alexander Mackendrick’s “Sammy Going South” (1963), Fred Zinnemann’s “Behold a Pale Horse” (1964), Basil Dearden’s “Khartoum” (1966), Ralph Thomas’ “Deadlier Than the Male” (1966), Tony Richardson’s “The Sailor from...
- 2/13/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Cinematography retrospectives are the way to go—more than a thorough display of talent, it exposes the vast expanse a Dp will travel, like an education in form and business all the same. Accordingly I’m happy to see the Criterion Channel give a 25-film tribute to James Wong Howe, whose career spanned silent cinema to the ’70s, populated with work by Howard Hawks, Michael Curtz, Samuel Fuller, Alexander Mackendrick, Sydney Pollack, John Frankenheimer, and Raoul Walsh.
Further retrospectives are granted to Romy Schneider (recent repertory sensation La piscine among them), Carlos Saura (finally a chance to see Peppermint frappe!), the British New Wave, and groundbreaking distributor Cinema 5, who brought to U.S. shores everything from The Man Who Fell to Earth and Putney Swope to Pumping Iron and Scenes from a Marriage.
September also yields streaming premieres for the recently restored Bronco Bullfrog, Ang Lee’s Pushing Hands,...
Further retrospectives are granted to Romy Schneider (recent repertory sensation La piscine among them), Carlos Saura (finally a chance to see Peppermint frappe!), the British New Wave, and groundbreaking distributor Cinema 5, who brought to U.S. shores everything from The Man Who Fell to Earth and Putney Swope to Pumping Iron and Scenes from a Marriage.
September also yields streaming premieres for the recently restored Bronco Bullfrog, Ang Lee’s Pushing Hands,...
- 8/22/2022
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Look into the series Criterion Channel have programmed for August and this lineup is revealed as (in scientific terms) quite something. “Hollywood Chinese” proves an especially deep bench, spanning “cinema’s first hundred years to explore the ways in which the Chinese people have been imagined in American feature films” and bringing with it the likes of Cronenberg’s M. Butterfly, Cimino’s Year of the Dragon, Griffith’s Broken Blossoms, and Ang Lee’s The Wedding Banquet—among 20-or-so others. A three-film Marguerite Duras series brings one of the greatest films ever (India Song) and two lesser-screened experiments; films featuring Yaphet Kotto include Blue Collar, Across 110th Street, and Midnight Run; and lest we ignore a Myrna Loy retro that goes no later than 1949.
Criterion editions include The Asphalt Jungle, Husbands, Rouge, and Sweet Smell of Success; streaming premieres for Loznitsa’s Donbass, Béla Tarr’s watershed Damnation, and...
Criterion editions include The Asphalt Jungle, Husbands, Rouge, and Sweet Smell of Success; streaming premieres for Loznitsa’s Donbass, Béla Tarr’s watershed Damnation, and...
- 7/25/2022
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Get Them to the Greek: Madden Traipses Lightly Through Factual WWII Espionage
Despite it’s presentation as a frothy pseudo-comedy, the events transpiring in John Madden’s Operation Mincemeat actually happened, albeit under more strenuous circumstances than the cheery disposition the film leans into. Based on the book by Ben Macintyre, which was already the basis for a 2010 television documentary, the comedically inclined Michelle Ashford (Masters of Sex) spins this into the kind of lighthearted territory of 1940s studio efforts grappling with post WWII realities.
Somewhere between Lubitsch’s original To Be or Not to Be (1942) and maybe Alexander Mackendrick’s original Whisky Galore!…...
Despite it’s presentation as a frothy pseudo-comedy, the events transpiring in John Madden’s Operation Mincemeat actually happened, albeit under more strenuous circumstances than the cheery disposition the film leans into. Based on the book by Ben Macintyre, which was already the basis for a 2010 television documentary, the comedically inclined Michelle Ashford (Masters of Sex) spins this into the kind of lighthearted territory of 1940s studio efforts grappling with post WWII realities.
Somewhere between Lubitsch’s original To Be or Not to Be (1942) and maybe Alexander Mackendrick’s original Whisky Galore!…...
- 5/13/2022
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
With fears our winter travel will need a, let’s say, reconsideration, the Criterion Channel’s monthly programming could hardly come at a better moment. High on list of highlights is Louis Feuillade’s delightful Les Vampires, which I suggest soundtracking to Coil, instrumental Nine Inch Nails, and Jóhann Jóhannson’s Mandy score. Notable too is a Sundance ’92 retrospective running the gamut from Paul Schrader to Derek Jarman to Jean-Pierre Gorin, and I’m especially excited for their look at one of America’s greatest actors, Sterling Hayden.
Special notice to Criterion editions of The Killing, The Last Days of Disco, All About Eve, and The Asphalt Jungle, and programming of Ognjen Glavonić’s The Load, among the better debuts in recent years.
See the full list of January titles below and more on the Criterion Channel.
-Ship: A Visual Poem, Terrance Day, 2020
5 Fingers, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1952
After Migration: Calabria,...
Special notice to Criterion editions of The Killing, The Last Days of Disco, All About Eve, and The Asphalt Jungle, and programming of Ognjen Glavonić’s The Load, among the better debuts in recent years.
See the full list of January titles below and more on the Criterion Channel.
-Ship: A Visual Poem, Terrance Day, 2020
5 Fingers, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1952
After Migration: Calabria,...
- 12/20/2021
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
With it being seven years since his last live-action film, 2014’s The Grand Budapast Hotel, Wes Anderson is hard at work. Following a Cannes premiere, The French Dispatch finally arrives in limited theaters on October 22 followed by a wide release the following week, and he’s already shooting his next film (recently revealed to have the title Asteroid City) outside of Madrid with Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray, Adrien Brody, Tom Hanks, Margot Robbie, Rupert Friend, Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Bryan Cranston, Hope Davis, Jeffrey Wright, Liev Schreiber, Tony Revolori, and Matt Dillon.
As is the case with all of his work, Wes Anderson synthesizes cinema history in his own specific language and for The French Dispatch he has provided a list of influences. As revealed in a promotional book sent to The Flim Stage and styled after the film’s magazine, 32 films are listed that “provided inspiration to the filmmakers,...
As is the case with all of his work, Wes Anderson synthesizes cinema history in his own specific language and for The French Dispatch he has provided a list of influences. As revealed in a promotional book sent to The Flim Stage and styled after the film’s magazine, 32 films are listed that “provided inspiration to the filmmakers,...
- 10/12/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
It’s the granddaddy of British cop dramas of the modern era. The most popular English picture of 1950 introduced PC George Dixon, a warm-hearted constable who would become a staple on BBC TV for 21 years. T.E.B. Clarke’s screenplay of a murder manhunt is stocked with actors American fans know well — Dirk Bogarde, Bernard Lee — and some we should know better — Jack Warner, Robert Flemyng, Dora Bryan. The show was made by the top craftsmen of Ealing Studios, and its fast pace and Brit sensibility will definitely impress. And remember — the Bobbies on the beat don’t even carry guns.
The Blue Lamp
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1950 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 85 min. / Street Date June 1, 2021 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Jack Warner, Jimmy Hanley, Dirk Bogarde, Robert Flemyng, Bernard Lee, Peggy Evans, Patric Doonan, Bruce Seton, Meredith Edwards, Dora Bryan, Gladys Henson, Tessie O’Shea, Betty Ann Davies, Jennifer Jayne, Sam Kydd,...
The Blue Lamp
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1950 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 85 min. / Street Date June 1, 2021 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Jack Warner, Jimmy Hanley, Dirk Bogarde, Robert Flemyng, Bernard Lee, Peggy Evans, Patric Doonan, Bruce Seton, Meredith Edwards, Dora Bryan, Gladys Henson, Tessie O’Shea, Betty Ann Davies, Jennifer Jayne, Sam Kydd,...
- 5/11/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
If you’ve been jealous of those across the pond that get access to The British Film Institute’s streaming service BFI Player Classics, one will be delighted to hear it’s now coming to the United States. Launching on May 14, the curated collection––which will have offering distinct from its UK counterpart––will kick off with over 200 British or British co-production films picked by BFI experts.
With work by legendary directors Alfred Hitchcock, Michael Powell, Ken Russell, and Ken Loach, it also includes a number of ground-breaking British filmmakers who deserve more attention, including Horace Ové, Laura Mulvey, Ron Peck; Menelik Shabazz, Sally Potter, Gurinder Chadha (I’m British But… 1989), Waris Hussein, and John Akomfrah.
“BFI Player Classics brings together a collection of British films – the cinematic DNA of the UK – that is essential for anyone who wants to see and understand the best of British film,” said Robin Baker,...
With work by legendary directors Alfred Hitchcock, Michael Powell, Ken Russell, and Ken Loach, it also includes a number of ground-breaking British filmmakers who deserve more attention, including Horace Ové, Laura Mulvey, Ron Peck; Menelik Shabazz, Sally Potter, Gurinder Chadha (I’m British But… 1989), Waris Hussein, and John Akomfrah.
“BFI Player Classics brings together a collection of British films – the cinematic DNA of the UK – that is essential for anyone who wants to see and understand the best of British film,” said Robin Baker,...
- 4/26/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
BFI Player Classics includes Alexander Mackendrick’s The Ladykillers (1955), Ken Russell’s feature debut French Dressing (1963).
The British Film Institute will launch BFI Player Classics as a stand-alone streaming service in the US featuring a curated roster of classic UK cinema on May 14.
The platform arrives with more than 200 UK or UK co-productions picked by BFI experts, and includes work from as Alfred Hitchcock, Michael Powell, Ken Russell, and Ken Loach.
BFI Player Classics includes titles like Alexander Mackendrick’s The Ladykillers (1955), Russell’s feature debut French Dressing (1963), and Carol Reed’s The Fallen Idol (1948).
Films not currently available across...
The British Film Institute will launch BFI Player Classics as a stand-alone streaming service in the US featuring a curated roster of classic UK cinema on May 14.
The platform arrives with more than 200 UK or UK co-productions picked by BFI experts, and includes work from as Alfred Hitchcock, Michael Powell, Ken Russell, and Ken Loach.
BFI Player Classics includes titles like Alexander Mackendrick’s The Ladykillers (1955), Russell’s feature debut French Dressing (1963), and Carol Reed’s The Fallen Idol (1948).
Films not currently available across...
- 4/23/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
During a three-hour discussion on a recent episode of “The Empire Film Podcast,” Edgar Wright and Quentin Tarantino revealed the existence of their makeshift quarantine movie club over the last 9 months. As Wright explained, “It’s nice. We’ve kept in touch in a sort of way that cinephiles do. It’s been one of the very few blessings of this [pandemic], the chance to disappear down a rabbit hole with the hours indoors that we have.” Tarantino added, “Edgar is more social than I am. It’s a big deal that I’ve been talking to him these past 9 months.”
A bulk of the film club was curated by none other than Martin Scorsese, who sent Wright a recommendation list of nearly 50 British films that Scorsese considers personal favorites. In the five months Wright spent in lockdown before resuming production on “Last Night in Soho” — and before he received the...
A bulk of the film club was curated by none other than Martin Scorsese, who sent Wright a recommendation list of nearly 50 British films that Scorsese considers personal favorites. In the five months Wright spent in lockdown before resuming production on “Last Night in Soho” — and before he received the...
- 2/8/2021
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Whisky Galore Photo: Optimum Releasing
Whisky Galore, 10pm, BBC4, Thursday January 14
Seventy years has done little to dim the subversive joy of Alexander Mackendrick's Hebridean wartime comedy - which it's worth remembering, was his directorial debut. Compton Mackenzie's novel - which was inspired by the actual grounding of the SS Politician off Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides - springs to glorious life, bursting with colour despite the black and white. As the locals try to salvage 50,000 cases of Scotch from a stricken US ship while outwitting a pompous Englishman Basil Radford who has been sent to the island, the character and visual comedy build to dram fine effect. Read our full review.
The Angel's Share, BBC iPlayer, until December
If Whisky Galore! puts you in the mood for more of the spirit, then why not make it a double-bill with this Scottish charmer, which sees Ken Loach and...
Whisky Galore, 10pm, BBC4, Thursday January 14
Seventy years has done little to dim the subversive joy of Alexander Mackendrick's Hebridean wartime comedy - which it's worth remembering, was his directorial debut. Compton Mackenzie's novel - which was inspired by the actual grounding of the SS Politician off Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides - springs to glorious life, bursting with colour despite the black and white. As the locals try to salvage 50,000 cases of Scotch from a stricken US ship while outwitting a pompous Englishman Basil Radford who has been sent to the island, the character and visual comedy build to dram fine effect. Read our full review.
The Angel's Share, BBC iPlayer, until December
If Whisky Galore! puts you in the mood for more of the spirit, then why not make it a double-bill with this Scottish charmer, which sees Ken Loach and...
- 1/11/2021
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Devo’s Gerald Casale joins us for a discussion of the movies that made Devo!
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
The Truth About De-Evolution (1976)
Island Of Lost Souls (1932)
Akran (1969)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Fail Safe (1964)
Valley Of The Dolls (1967)
Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls (1970)
The President’s Analyst (1967)
The Atomic Cafe (1982)
The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)
Village Of The Damned (1960)
Children Of The Damned (1964)
20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (1954)
Planet Of The Apes (1968)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
The Parallax View (1974)
Soylent Green (1973)
Sweet Smell Of Success (1957)
Rocky (1976)
A Face In The Crowd (1957)
Whisky Galore! (1949)
No Time For Sergeants (1958)
Network (1976)
JFK (1991)
Natural Born Killers (1994)
Lost Highway (1997)
Mulholland Drive (2001)
Expresso Bongo (1959)
Gremlins (1984)
I Was A Teenage Werewolf (1957)
Other Notable Items
Paul McCartney
Slash
Willie Nelson
Devo
Elliot Roberts
Lorne Michaels
Saturday Night Live TV series (1975- )
Michael O’Donoghue
The Muppets
Neil Young
Walter Williams
Mr. Bill
Richard Myers
George Kuchar
Mike Kuchar
John F.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
The Truth About De-Evolution (1976)
Island Of Lost Souls (1932)
Akran (1969)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Fail Safe (1964)
Valley Of The Dolls (1967)
Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls (1970)
The President’s Analyst (1967)
The Atomic Cafe (1982)
The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)
Village Of The Damned (1960)
Children Of The Damned (1964)
20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (1954)
Planet Of The Apes (1968)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
The Parallax View (1974)
Soylent Green (1973)
Sweet Smell Of Success (1957)
Rocky (1976)
A Face In The Crowd (1957)
Whisky Galore! (1949)
No Time For Sergeants (1958)
Network (1976)
JFK (1991)
Natural Born Killers (1994)
Lost Highway (1997)
Mulholland Drive (2001)
Expresso Bongo (1959)
Gremlins (1984)
I Was A Teenage Werewolf (1957)
Other Notable Items
Paul McCartney
Slash
Willie Nelson
Devo
Elliot Roberts
Lorne Michaels
Saturday Night Live TV series (1975- )
Michael O’Donoghue
The Muppets
Neil Young
Walter Williams
Mr. Bill
Richard Myers
George Kuchar
Mike Kuchar
John F.
- 12/22/2020
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
To celebrate the 65th anniversary of Ealing Studios’ flawless The Ladykillers, Studiocanal is releasing the first ever 4k restoration of the 1955 black comedy from the original 3-strip Technicolor negative, showcasing director Alexander Mackendrick’s vision in its full glory.
Featuring all-star line-up of the finest comedy actors of the era: Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker Peter Sellers, Herbert Lom, Danny Green, Frankie Howerd and Katie Johnson, The Ladykillers follows the hilarious capers of a group of small-time crooks, taking on more they can handle in the form of their sweet, but slightly dotty, elderly landlady Mrs Wilberforce. The gang pull off a robbery but none of them could have predicted that their greatest obstacle to escaping with the loot would be their tiny hostess.
Please note: This competition is open to UK residents only
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The Ladykillers is released as a 4K Uhd Blu-ray Collector’s Edition, Standard Blu-ray,...
Featuring all-star line-up of the finest comedy actors of the era: Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker Peter Sellers, Herbert Lom, Danny Green, Frankie Howerd and Katie Johnson, The Ladykillers follows the hilarious capers of a group of small-time crooks, taking on more they can handle in the form of their sweet, but slightly dotty, elderly landlady Mrs Wilberforce. The gang pull off a robbery but none of them could have predicted that their greatest obstacle to escaping with the loot would be their tiny hostess.
Please note: This competition is open to UK residents only
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The Ladykillers is released as a 4K Uhd Blu-ray Collector’s Edition, Standard Blu-ray,...
- 11/8/2020
- by Competitions
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
As Disney quietly disappears huge swathes of film history into its vaults, I'm going to spend 2020 celebrating Twentieth Century Fox and the Fox Film Corporation's films, what one might call their output if only someone were putting it out.***"Like watching Shirley Temple pull the wings off a fly," was one critic's evocative summary of A High Wind in Jamaica (1965), Alexander Mackendrick's disturbingly faithful rendition of Richard Hughes' striking novel.The book had been a passion project of Mackendrick for years, and he'd tried unsuccessfully to set it up at Ealing, the little British studio which had launched his career, but the story, in which a crew of anachronistic Victorian pirates find themselves inadvertent abductors of a family of schoolchildren, was much too strange and upsetting for producer Michael Balcon. You see, the children utterly destroy the pirates. It was a variation on the theme of "lethal innocence...
- 10/29/2020
- MUBI
Sixty-five years later the classic from Ealing Studios is still subversive, hilarious and distinctly English
It hardly makes sense to think of it as a rerelease, as the 1955 crime caper classic from Ealing Studios is perennially being revisited on screen, and in “Best Of” lists and there have been a number of adaptations, chiefly a middling but well-intentioned remake from the Coen brothers in 2004 featuring Tom Hanks as the mastermind professor first played by Alec Guinness.
The original – now getting a 4K restoration – is subversive, hilarious and as English as Elgar. That’s despite being written by the expatriate American William Rose and directed by American-born Alexander Mackendrick. Both bring a street-smart American snap to the movie, but with an exquisitely English sensibility: a mixture of cynicism with guileless innocence. The comedy works because it is as superbly constructed as a deadly-serious noir thriller – there are weirdly distinct echoes of...
It hardly makes sense to think of it as a rerelease, as the 1955 crime caper classic from Ealing Studios is perennially being revisited on screen, and in “Best Of” lists and there have been a number of adaptations, chiefly a middling but well-intentioned remake from the Coen brothers in 2004 featuring Tom Hanks as the mastermind professor first played by Alec Guinness.
The original – now getting a 4K restoration – is subversive, hilarious and as English as Elgar. That’s despite being written by the expatriate American William Rose and directed by American-born Alexander Mackendrick. Both bring a street-smart American snap to the movie, but with an exquisitely English sensibility: a mixture of cynicism with guileless innocence. The comedy works because it is as superbly constructed as a deadly-serious noir thriller – there are weirdly distinct echoes of...
- 10/23/2020
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none
“Ealing Goes Scottish”
By Raymond Benson
The famous British studio, Ealing, made many kinds of pictures and became a major force in the U.K.’s film industry, especially after producer Michael Balcon took it over. While the studio had already made a few comedies, for some reason in the late 1940s it started producing more of them. The natures of these comedies shifted and became more intelligent, dry, and focused on underdog characters who valiantly attempt to overcome a series of obstacles. Sometimes the protagonists are successful—and sometimes not. Along the way, though, a series of misadventures occur. They range from “amusing” to “riotously funny.” It all worked, and the Ealing Comedies became a sub-genre unto themselves, especially when they starred the likes of Alec Guinness, Alastair Sim, or Stanley Holloway.
The year 1949 is generally considered the beginning of the run,...
“Ealing Goes Scottish”
By Raymond Benson
The famous British studio, Ealing, made many kinds of pictures and became a major force in the U.K.’s film industry, especially after producer Michael Balcon took it over. While the studio had already made a few comedies, for some reason in the late 1940s it started producing more of them. The natures of these comedies shifted and became more intelligent, dry, and focused on underdog characters who valiantly attempt to overcome a series of obstacles. Sometimes the protagonists are successful—and sometimes not. Along the way, though, a series of misadventures occur. They range from “amusing” to “riotously funny.” It all worked, and the Ealing Comedies became a sub-genre unto themselves, especially when they starred the likes of Alec Guinness, Alastair Sim, or Stanley Holloway.
The year 1949 is generally considered the beginning of the run,...
- 5/20/2020
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Make way for the parade! Featuring Brian Trenchard-Smith, Eli Roth, Katt Shea, Thomas Jane, our very own Don Barrett and Blaire Bercy from the Hollywood Food Coalition.
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
Screams of a Winter Night (1979)
Goodbye Bruce Lee: His Last Game Of Death (1975)
I Think We’re Alone Now (2018)
The Rhythm Section (2020)
Atomic Blonde (2017)
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (1965)
The Ipcress File (1965)
Funeral In Berlin (1966)
Extraction (2020)
Kung Fu Hustle (2004)
The Mermaid (2016)
Oklahoma! (1955)
Singin’ In The Rain (1953)
Nightcrawler (2014)
I Think We’re Alone Now (2008)
Ghetto Freaks a.k.a. Sign of Aquarius (1970)
Hostel (2005)
Cabin Fever (2002)
Final Cut: Ladies And Gentlemen (2012)
The Movie Orgy (1968)
Gremlins (1984)
The Goonies (1985)
Hell of the Living Dead a.k.a. Night of the Zombies (1980)
Troll 2 (1990)
In The Land Of The Cannibals a.k.a. Land of...
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
Screams of a Winter Night (1979)
Goodbye Bruce Lee: His Last Game Of Death (1975)
I Think We’re Alone Now (2018)
The Rhythm Section (2020)
Atomic Blonde (2017)
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (1965)
The Ipcress File (1965)
Funeral In Berlin (1966)
Extraction (2020)
Kung Fu Hustle (2004)
The Mermaid (2016)
Oklahoma! (1955)
Singin’ In The Rain (1953)
Nightcrawler (2014)
I Think We’re Alone Now (2008)
Ghetto Freaks a.k.a. Sign of Aquarius (1970)
Hostel (2005)
Cabin Fever (2002)
Final Cut: Ladies And Gentlemen (2012)
The Movie Orgy (1968)
Gremlins (1984)
The Goonies (1985)
Hell of the Living Dead a.k.a. Night of the Zombies (1980)
Troll 2 (1990)
In The Land Of The Cannibals a.k.a. Land of...
- 5/8/2020
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
Film Movement, a self-described “film service” that traffics in esoteric theatrical and home video product has released two notable examples of post-war British comedy with Whisky Galore! and The Maggie – both are seafaring satires directed by Alexander Mackendrick featuring some of Ealing Studio’s most memorable players.
Whiskey Galore!/The Maggie
Blu ray
Film Movement
1949, 1954 / 1:33:1 / 82 min., 92 min.
Starring Joan Greenwood, Paul Douglas
Cinematography by Gerald Gibbs, Gordon Dines
Directed by Alexander Mackendrick
The men and women of Ealing emerged from the second World War with their cheerful cynicism intact and more than ready to take a bite out of the hand what fed them – from Passport to Pimlico to Kind Hearts and Coronets those artists happily took potshots at the class systems they had fought so hard to defend. Though these satires had teeth (Kind Hearts was especially lethal), romance was never far away – it’s no wonder...
Whiskey Galore!/The Maggie
Blu ray
Film Movement
1949, 1954 / 1:33:1 / 82 min., 92 min.
Starring Joan Greenwood, Paul Douglas
Cinematography by Gerald Gibbs, Gordon Dines
Directed by Alexander Mackendrick
The men and women of Ealing emerged from the second World War with their cheerful cynicism intact and more than ready to take a bite out of the hand what fed them – from Passport to Pimlico to Kind Hearts and Coronets those artists happily took potshots at the class systems they had fought so hard to defend. Though these satires had teeth (Kind Hearts was especially lethal), romance was never far away – it’s no wonder...
- 3/10/2020
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
The Oscar
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1966/ 1:66:1 / 120 min.
Starring Stephen Boyd, Tony Bennett, Elke Sommer
Written by Harlan Ellison
Directed by Russell Rouse
Alexander Mackendrick’s Sweet Smell of Success is a great movie with two career-best performances from Burt Lancaster as a malignant gossip columnist named J. J. Hunsecker and Tony Curtis as press agent Sidney Falco – “a real louse.” The third star of the show is surely the screenplay by Ernest Lehman and Clifford Odets – a lyrical pastiche of streetwise slang that sizzles like “a pocketful of firecrackers.”
Hunsecker – What’s this boy got that Susie likes?
Falco – Integrity – acute, like indigestion.
Hunsecker – I’d hate to take a bite outta you. You’re a cookie full of arsenic.
And so on. Mackendrick’s Broadway melodrama is a tale of bright lights and the big city so some hyperbole is expected. But Lehman and Odets were performing...
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1966/ 1:66:1 / 120 min.
Starring Stephen Boyd, Tony Bennett, Elke Sommer
Written by Harlan Ellison
Directed by Russell Rouse
Alexander Mackendrick’s Sweet Smell of Success is a great movie with two career-best performances from Burt Lancaster as a malignant gossip columnist named J. J. Hunsecker and Tony Curtis as press agent Sidney Falco – “a real louse.” The third star of the show is surely the screenplay by Ernest Lehman and Clifford Odets – a lyrical pastiche of streetwise slang that sizzles like “a pocketful of firecrackers.”
Hunsecker – What’s this boy got that Susie likes?
Falco – Integrity – acute, like indigestion.
Hunsecker – I’d hate to take a bite outta you. You’re a cookie full of arsenic.
And so on. Mackendrick’s Broadway melodrama is a tale of bright lights and the big city so some hyperbole is expected. But Lehman and Odets were performing...
- 1/25/2020
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Much of Ealing Studios’ core appeal begins right here, with T.E.B. Clarke’s astute look at the character of pragmatic, energetic Londoners, who in this fantasy face an outrageous situation with spirit, pluck, and a determination not to be cheated. What happens when a few square blocks of London discover that they’re no longer even part of the British Empire? A classic of wartime ‘adjustments,’ the ensemble comedy even begins with a Tex Avery- like ode to rationing.
Passport to Pimlico
Blu-ray
Film Movement Classics
1949 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 84 min. / Street Date December 20, 2019 / 29.95
Starring: Stanley Holloway, Hermione Baddeley, Margaret Rutherford, Sydney Tafler, Betty Warren, Barbara Murray, Paul Dupuis, John Slater, Jane Hylton, Raymond Huntley, Philip Stainton, Roy Carr, Nancy Gabrielle, Malcolm Knight, Roy Gladdish, Frederick Piper, Charles Hawtrey, Stuart Lindsell, Naunton Wayne, Basil Radford, Gilbert Davis, Michael Hordern, Arthur Howard, Bill Shine, Harry Locke, Sam Kydd.
Cinematography: Lionel...
Passport to Pimlico
Blu-ray
Film Movement Classics
1949 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 84 min. / Street Date December 20, 2019 / 29.95
Starring: Stanley Holloway, Hermione Baddeley, Margaret Rutherford, Sydney Tafler, Betty Warren, Barbara Murray, Paul Dupuis, John Slater, Jane Hylton, Raymond Huntley, Philip Stainton, Roy Carr, Nancy Gabrielle, Malcolm Knight, Roy Gladdish, Frederick Piper, Charles Hawtrey, Stuart Lindsell, Naunton Wayne, Basil Radford, Gilbert Davis, Michael Hordern, Arthur Howard, Bill Shine, Harry Locke, Sam Kydd.
Cinematography: Lionel...
- 12/31/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Alexander Mackendrick’s exhilarating pirate adventure mixes accurate history with a fine story of innocence corrupting the corrupt: Anthony Quinn’s pirate goes soft for a 12 year-old girl, and jeopardizes his highly insecure professional standing. James Coburn is superb as the first mate trying to keep the skullduggery on course with a passel of interfering kids on board. And young Deborah Baxter offers an un-sentimentalized portrait of the ordinary magic of childhood. No Summer Magic this! Region-Free German disc.
A High Wind in Jamaica
Blu-ray Caution This May be Region B only see below
Explosive Media GmbH
1965 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 106 min. / Street Date July 20, 2018 / Sturm über Jamaika / Available at Amazon.de
11.99 Euros Starring: Anthony Quinn, James Coburn, Deborah Baxter, Dennis Price, Lila Kedrova, Nigel Davenport, Isabel Dean, Kenneth J. Warren, Gert Fröbe, Vivienne Ventura
Cinematography: Douglas Slocombe
Art Director: John Hoesli
Film Editor: Derek York
Original Music: Larry Adler
Written by Stanley Mann,...
A High Wind in Jamaica
Blu-ray Caution This May be Region B only see below
Explosive Media GmbH
1965 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 106 min. / Street Date July 20, 2018 / Sturm über Jamaika / Available at Amazon.de
11.99 Euros Starring: Anthony Quinn, James Coburn, Deborah Baxter, Dennis Price, Lila Kedrova, Nigel Davenport, Isabel Dean, Kenneth J. Warren, Gert Fröbe, Vivienne Ventura
Cinematography: Douglas Slocombe
Art Director: John Hoesli
Film Editor: Derek York
Original Music: Larry Adler
Written by Stanley Mann,...
- 8/31/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
File this great comedy under social science fiction, subheading ‘H’ for hilarious. Alec Guinness’s comic boffin hero is both a bringer of miracles and one of the most dangerous men alive. The story of Sidney Stratton, brilliant chemist and inadvertent industrial terrorist, is a consistent laugh riot. Call the jokes droll, understated, dry, and reserved, but they certainly aren’t stupid — Ealing’s high-class comedy is slapstick heaven, yet hides a lesson about modern economics that most people still haven’t learned. And Guinness’s romantic foil is the woman with the velvet-gravel voice, Joan Greenwood.
The Man in the White Suit
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1951 / B&w / 1:37 flat Academy / 85 min. / Street Date September 3, 2019 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, Cecil Parker, Michael Gough, Ernest Thesiger, Howard Marion-Crawford, Henry Mollison, Vida Hope.
Cinematography: Douglas Slocombe
Art Direction: Jim Morahan
Film Editor: Bernard Gribble
Original Music:...
The Man in the White Suit
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1951 / B&w / 1:37 flat Academy / 85 min. / Street Date September 3, 2019 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, Cecil Parker, Michael Gough, Ernest Thesiger, Howard Marion-Crawford, Henry Mollison, Vida Hope.
Cinematography: Douglas Slocombe
Art Direction: Jim Morahan
Film Editor: Bernard Gribble
Original Music:...
- 8/24/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Burt Lancaster in Frank and Eleanor Perry's The Swimmer (1968), based upon the John Cheever short story. Courtesy of Film Forum.For decades, film critics and academics interested in the classical Hollywood cinema have been dutifully studying the canonized big stars—Cary Grant, Garbo, the Hepburns, Bogart and Bacall, Dietrich and Crawford and Monroe—while downplaying one of the most highly varied and fascinating careers of any studio actor: Burt Lancaster. Now, New York’s Film Forum is giving us a great excuse to revisit this actor’s towering body of work—emphasis on “body.” From big-name classics like Louis Malle’s Atlantic City (1980) and John Frankenheimer’s Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) to little-known masterpieces like Carol Reed’s Trapeze (1956) and Luchino Visconti’s late decadent chamber drama Conversation Piece (1974), a meaty, healthy range of Burt is on display for the next four weeks, between July 19 to August 15.Serious film talk...
- 7/23/2019
- MUBI
Above: Italian 4-fogli for Birdman of Alcatraz. Artist: Renato Casaro.Starting today with a week-long run of Robert Siodmak’s The Killers, New York’s Film Forum is hosting a 4-week, 37-film retrospective of one of the great he-men of Hollywood. With his square jaw, gymnast’s physique, and megawatt grin, Burt Lancaster (1913–1994) must have been a boon to movie poster artists and over the years he was drawn or painted by many great affichistes. I could have curated a post on just the Italian renditions of Lancaster alone: over the years he was painted by Ercole Brini, Anselmo Ballester, Luigi Martinati, Renato Casaro, Averardo Ciriello, and many more. To mark the retrospective I have selected 50 of my favorite illustrated images of the indelible star, from his brooding film noir youth (though he was actually 33 when he made his debut in The Killers), through his serious thespian mid-period to his...
- 7/19/2019
- MUBI
Tony Curtis would’ve celebrated his 94th birthday on June 3, 2019. The Oscar-nominated performer starred in dozens of movies throughout his career, becoming famous as the charismatic leading man of romantic comedies, action films, and prestige dramas. But how many of his titles remain classics? In honor of his birthday, let’s take a look back at 15 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Born in 1925 in The Bronx, New York, Curtis got his start in movies thanks mainly to his good looks. He first gained attention as a serious actor thanks to Alexander Mackendrick‘s searing drama “Sweet Smell of Success” (1957), in which he played an unscrupulous publicist who agrees to do the bidding of an amoral Broadway critic (Burt Lancaster). The film brought him a BAFTA nomination as Best Actor.
SEEBurt Lancaster movies: 20 greatest films ranked worst to best
He earned his one and only Oscar bid the...
Born in 1925 in The Bronx, New York, Curtis got his start in movies thanks mainly to his good looks. He first gained attention as a serious actor thanks to Alexander Mackendrick‘s searing drama “Sweet Smell of Success” (1957), in which he played an unscrupulous publicist who agrees to do the bidding of an amoral Broadway critic (Burt Lancaster). The film brought him a BAFTA nomination as Best Actor.
SEEBurt Lancaster movies: 20 greatest films ranked worst to best
He earned his one and only Oscar bid the...
- 6/3/2019
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Tony Curtis would’ve celebrated his 94th birthday on June 3, 2019. The Oscar-nominated performer starred in dozens of movies throughout his career, becoming famous as the charismatic leading man of romantic comedies, action films, and prestige dramas. But how many of his titles remain classics? In honor of his birthday, let’s take a look back at 15 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Born in 1925 in The Bronx, New York, Curtis got his start in movies thanks mainly to his good looks. He first gained attention as a serious actor thanks to Alexander Mackendrick‘s searing drama “Sweet Smell of Success” (1957), in which he played an unscrupulous publicist who agrees to do the bidding of an amoral Broadway critic (Burt Lancaster). The film brought him a BAFTA nomination as Best Actor.
He earned his one and only Oscar bid the following year as Best Actor for Stanley Kramer‘s...
Born in 1925 in The Bronx, New York, Curtis got his start in movies thanks mainly to his good looks. He first gained attention as a serious actor thanks to Alexander Mackendrick‘s searing drama “Sweet Smell of Success” (1957), in which he played an unscrupulous publicist who agrees to do the bidding of an amoral Broadway critic (Burt Lancaster). The film brought him a BAFTA nomination as Best Actor.
He earned his one and only Oscar bid the following year as Best Actor for Stanley Kramer‘s...
- 6/3/2019
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Blown up to Road Show spectacular dimensions, a fairly modest idea for a comedy western became something of a career Waterloo for director John Sturges. But it’s still a favorite of fans thrilled by fancy 70mm-style presentations. A huge cast led by Burt Lancaster, Lee Remick, Jim Hutton and Pamela Tiffin leads the charge on a whisky-soaked madcap chase. It’s all in a fine spirit of fun. . . so where are the big laughs?
The Hallelujah Trail
Blu-ray
Olive Films
1965 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 155 min. / Street Date February 27, 2018 / available through the Olive Films website / 24.95
Starring: Burt Lancaster, Lee Remick, Jim Hutton, Pamela Tiffin, Donald Pleasence, Brian Keith, Martin Landau, John Anderson, Tom Stern, Robert J. Wilke, Dub Taylor, Whit Bissell, Helen Kleeb, Val Avery, Hope Summers, John Dehner.
Cinematography: Robert Surtees
Film Editor: Ferris Webster
Original Music: Elmer Bernstein
Written by John Gay from the novel by William Gulick
Executive...
The Hallelujah Trail
Blu-ray
Olive Films
1965 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 155 min. / Street Date February 27, 2018 / available through the Olive Films website / 24.95
Starring: Burt Lancaster, Lee Remick, Jim Hutton, Pamela Tiffin, Donald Pleasence, Brian Keith, Martin Landau, John Anderson, Tom Stern, Robert J. Wilke, Dub Taylor, Whit Bissell, Helen Kleeb, Val Avery, Hope Summers, John Dehner.
Cinematography: Robert Surtees
Film Editor: Ferris Webster
Original Music: Elmer Bernstein
Written by John Gay from the novel by William Gulick
Executive...
- 3/3/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Each month, the fine folks at FilmStruck and the Criterion Collection spend countless hours crafting their channels to highlight the many different types of films that they have in their streaming library. This March will feature an exciting assortment of films, as noted below.
To sign up for a free two-week trial here.
Friday, March 2
Friday Night Double Feature: The Ladykillers and La poison
Criminal schemes take unlikely targets in these two pitch-dark comedies from the 1950s. In Alexander Mackendrick’s Ealing Studio farce The Ladykillers (1955), a team of thieves (led by Alec Guinness) descends on a boardinghouse run by an elderly widow, who becomes the victim of their misdeeds. In Sacha Guitry’s brisk, witty, and savage La poison (1951), a gardener (Michel Simon) and his wife, fed up after thirty years of marriage, find themselves plotting each other’s murder.
Tuesday, March 6
Tuesday’s Short + Feature: Art* and In...
To sign up for a free two-week trial here.
Friday, March 2
Friday Night Double Feature: The Ladykillers and La poison
Criminal schemes take unlikely targets in these two pitch-dark comedies from the 1950s. In Alexander Mackendrick’s Ealing Studio farce The Ladykillers (1955), a team of thieves (led by Alec Guinness) descends on a boardinghouse run by an elderly widow, who becomes the victim of their misdeeds. In Sacha Guitry’s brisk, witty, and savage La poison (1951), a gardener (Michel Simon) and his wife, fed up after thirty years of marriage, find themselves plotting each other’s murder.
Tuesday, March 6
Tuesday’s Short + Feature: Art* and In...
- 3/1/2018
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
Like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich laced with too many prescription drugs, Suburbicon might look, sound, and perhaps even taste a little like a Joel and Ethan Coen picture because, in a sense, it is. The Minnesota brothers penned the script for this deliciously cruel and acerbically funny 1960s suburban nightmare years ago — something of a surprise given the story’s fixation on building walls and having other people pay for them — before being picked up and brought to life, in all its glory, by George Clooney.
In a turn of events worth noting, the film’s publicity (surely amongst the year’s most misleading) hinted that Suburbicon would be something derivative of those brothers’ more slapstick-leaning ensemble outings (Burn After Reading, Hail, Caesar!, etc.) but — much to the director’s credit, it must be said — it is, in both content and tone, a far more somber beast.
Based in the titular,...
In a turn of events worth noting, the film’s publicity (surely amongst the year’s most misleading) hinted that Suburbicon would be something derivative of those brothers’ more slapstick-leaning ensemble outings (Burn After Reading, Hail, Caesar!, etc.) but — much to the director’s credit, it must be said — it is, in both content and tone, a far more somber beast.
Based in the titular,...
- 9/6/2017
- by Rory O'Connor
- The Film Stage
You never heard of the Great Glasgow Ice Cream Wars? They weren’t exactly Armageddon, and the gentle director Bill Forsyth makes a radio personality’s involvement with two competing ice cream companies more of a plunge into amiable drollery. If you like Gregory’s Girl and Local Hero you’ll understand the odd, unhurried attitude of this oddball show from 1984.
Comfort and Joy
Region B Blu-ray
Studiocanal
1984 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 100 min. / Street Date February 29, 2016 / At Amazon UK / £ 9.99
Starring: Bill Patterson, C.P. Grogan, Eleanor David, Alex Norton, Patrick Malahide.
Cinematography: Chris Menges
Film Editor: Michael Ellis
Original Music: Mark Knopfler
Produced by Davina Belling, Clive Parsons
Written and Directed by Bill Forsyth
Quick, name some great filmmakers before the 1990s that hail from Scotland. Actually, there are plenty, it’s just that most made their careers and reputations in London, and some later in Hollywood. The home-grown talent Bill Forsyth...
Comfort and Joy
Region B Blu-ray
Studiocanal
1984 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 100 min. / Street Date February 29, 2016 / At Amazon UK / £ 9.99
Starring: Bill Patterson, C.P. Grogan, Eleanor David, Alex Norton, Patrick Malahide.
Cinematography: Chris Menges
Film Editor: Michael Ellis
Original Music: Mark Knopfler
Produced by Davina Belling, Clive Parsons
Written and Directed by Bill Forsyth
Quick, name some great filmmakers before the 1990s that hail from Scotland. Actually, there are plenty, it’s just that most made their careers and reputations in London, and some later in Hollywood. The home-grown talent Bill Forsyth...
- 6/23/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Stars: Mandy Miller, Phyllis Calvert, Jack Hawkins, Terence Morgan, Godfrey Tearle, Marjorie Fielding, Nancy Price, Edward Chapman, Patricia Plunkett, Eleanor Summerfield, Colin Gordon | Written by Nigel Balchin, Jack Whittingham | Directed by Alexander Mackendrick
When you watch Mandy, you can’t help but feel it was a film ahead of its time. The story of a deaf girl unable to speak, the new Blu-ray is the perfect chance to watch the movie again.
When Mandy’s (Mandy Miller) parents discover that their child is deaf, they struggle to help her communicate not only with the outside world, but with themselves too. When Christine (Phyllis Calvert), the mother, decides to take Mandy to a school for deaf children, her husband’s reluctance to allow this puts a strain on their marriage.
What is impressive about Mandy is that it doesn’t over dramatise the story of a little girl trapped in her own little world,...
When you watch Mandy, you can’t help but feel it was a film ahead of its time. The story of a deaf girl unable to speak, the new Blu-ray is the perfect chance to watch the movie again.
When Mandy’s (Mandy Miller) parents discover that their child is deaf, they struggle to help her communicate not only with the outside world, but with themselves too. When Christine (Phyllis Calvert), the mother, decides to take Mandy to a school for deaf children, her husband’s reluctance to allow this puts a strain on their marriage.
What is impressive about Mandy is that it doesn’t over dramatise the story of a little girl trapped in her own little world,...
- 6/15/2017
- by Paul Metcalf
- Nerdly
Whisky Galore! screens Friday, May 19th through Sunday May 21st at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (470 East Lockwood). The movie starts each evening at 8:00pm. Look for a review of Whisky Galore! by Mark Longden this Thursday night here at We Are Movie Geeks.
The inhabitants of a Scottish island try to plunder 50,000 cases of whisky from a nearby stranded ship. A remake of the beloved black and white original film directed by Alexander Mackendrick for Ealing Studios, which was based on the novel by Sir Compton Mackenzie, which itself was based on the real events of 1941 when the S.S. Politician was shipwrecked in the Outer Hebrides leading to a hilarious battle as the wily islanders on nearby Eriskay tried to salvage the huge cargo of whisky on board, enraging the British authorities.
Admission is:
$6 for the general public
$5 for seniors, Webster alumni and students from other schools...
The inhabitants of a Scottish island try to plunder 50,000 cases of whisky from a nearby stranded ship. A remake of the beloved black and white original film directed by Alexander Mackendrick for Ealing Studios, which was based on the novel by Sir Compton Mackenzie, which itself was based on the real events of 1941 when the S.S. Politician was shipwrecked in the Outer Hebrides leading to a hilarious battle as the wily islanders on nearby Eriskay tried to salvage the huge cargo of whisky on board, enraging the British authorities.
Admission is:
$6 for the general public
$5 for seniors, Webster alumni and students from other schools...
- 5/17/2017
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Unsung actress Beverly Garland becomes TV’s first lady cop, in what’s claimed to be the first TV show filmed on the streets of New York City. This one-season wonder from 1957 has vintage locations, fairly tough-minded storylines and solid performances, from Bev and a vast gallery of stage and TV actors on the way up.
Decoy
(Policewoman Decoy)
TV Series
DVD
Film Chest Media
1957-’58 / B&W / 1:33 flat full frame (TV) / 39 x 30 min. / Street Date May 30, 2017 / 19.98
Starring: Beverly Garland
Art Direction (some episodes): Mel Bourne
Original Music: Wladimir Selinsky
Written by Lillian Andrews, Nicholas E. Baehr, Cy Chermak, Jerome Coopersmith, Don Ettlinger, Frances Frankel, Steven Gardner, Abram S. Ginnes, Mel Goldberg, Saul Levitt, Leon Tokatyan
Produced by Arthur H. Singer, David Alexander, Stuart Rosenberg, Everett Rosenthal
Directed by Teddy Sills, Stuart Rosenberg, David Alexander, Michael Gordon, Don Medford, Arthur H. Singer, Marc Daniels
How did I experience...
Decoy
(Policewoman Decoy)
TV Series
DVD
Film Chest Media
1957-’58 / B&W / 1:33 flat full frame (TV) / 39 x 30 min. / Street Date May 30, 2017 / 19.98
Starring: Beverly Garland
Art Direction (some episodes): Mel Bourne
Original Music: Wladimir Selinsky
Written by Lillian Andrews, Nicholas E. Baehr, Cy Chermak, Jerome Coopersmith, Don Ettlinger, Frances Frankel, Steven Gardner, Abram S. Ginnes, Mel Goldberg, Saul Levitt, Leon Tokatyan
Produced by Arthur H. Singer, David Alexander, Stuart Rosenberg, Everett Rosenthal
Directed by Teddy Sills, Stuart Rosenberg, David Alexander, Michael Gordon, Don Medford, Arthur H. Singer, Marc Daniels
How did I experience...
- 5/16/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Since any New York City cinephile has a nearly suffocating wealth of theatrical options, we figured it’d be best to compile some of the more worthwhile repertory showings into one handy list. Displayed below are a few of the city’s most reliable theaters and links to screenings of their weekend offerings — films you’re not likely to see in a theater again anytime soon, and many of which are, also, on 35mm. If you have a chance to attend any of these, we’re of the mind that it’s time extremely well-spent.
Quad Cinema
A series devoted to films scored by Ryuichi Sakamoto offers an absolute murderer’s row.
The Wertmüller series winds down.
Film Society of Lincoln Center
Tarkovsky-twofer: restored versions of Stalker and Solaris are both screening.
BAMcinématek
Lynch, Lynch, and De Palma screen in the Twin Peaks-centered “Peak Performances.”
Anthology Film Archives
Middle Eastern cinema,...
Quad Cinema
A series devoted to films scored by Ryuichi Sakamoto offers an absolute murderer’s row.
The Wertmüller series winds down.
Film Society of Lincoln Center
Tarkovsky-twofer: restored versions of Stalker and Solaris are both screening.
BAMcinématek
Lynch, Lynch, and De Palma screen in the Twin Peaks-centered “Peak Performances.”
Anthology Film Archives
Middle Eastern cinema,...
- 5/12/2017
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
As far as viral video #content goes, the Criterion Collection have got it nailed down with their Criterion Closet series. A sort of cinephile version of Supermarket Sweep, it’s seen all kinds of world-class filmmakers come to the headquarters of the great video label, and get to take with them whatever they can carry from their back catalog, while talking about some of their favorite filmmakers.
Read More: ‘The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,’ ‘La La Land’ And The Bittersweetness Of A Demy Musical
The latest to get in there, following the likes of Barry Jenkins, Mike Leigh and Edgar Wright, is Ben Wheatley, who dropped by Criterion HQ on the press tour for his recent, highly enjoyable “Free Fire.” The “Kill List” helmer is, as most visiting filmmakers seem to be, visibly thrilled and like a kid in a candy store, and picks out a fine selection of movies, including “The Seven Samurai,...
Read More: ‘The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,’ ‘La La Land’ And The Bittersweetness Of A Demy Musical
The latest to get in there, following the likes of Barry Jenkins, Mike Leigh and Edgar Wright, is Ben Wheatley, who dropped by Criterion HQ on the press tour for his recent, highly enjoyable “Free Fire.” The “Kill List” helmer is, as most visiting filmmakers seem to be, visibly thrilled and like a kid in a candy store, and picks out a fine selection of movies, including “The Seven Samurai,...
- 5/4/2017
- by Oliver Lyttelton
- The Playlist
Alexander Mackendrick’s final film for Britain’s Ealing Studios is one of its most celebrated comedies as well as a pivotal film for an embryonic Peter Sellers, thrilled to be working with his idol Alec Guinness. Sellers later emulated Guinness by taking on numerous multi-character assignments. The macabrely witty (Oscar-nominated) script is a virtual catalog of post-war English manners and traditions, yet it was penned by an American, William Rose (it’s a Mad, etc. World). Sellers and costar Herbert Lom later teamed for the Pink Panther series. Remade in 2004 with the locale switched from London to Biloxi, Mississippi.
- 12/14/2016
- by TFH Team
- Trailers from Hell
Edinburgh International Film Festival saw out its historic 70th edition last week with a Closing Screening of homegrown comedy, Whisky Galore. Directed by Gillies MacKinnon, the film is a remake of the Alexander Mackendrick Ealing comedy classic of the same name. Set at the tail end of the war and based on real life events, it tells the story of the inhabitants of the little Isle of Eriskay and their plot to steal the precious supply of Scotch from a cargo ship that’s run aground. Acting veteran Gregor Fisher stars in the central role of booze-loving postmaster Macroon, a widower sadly preparing to see his feisty daughters marry and move out of the family homestead. Fisher, instantly recognisable to UK audiences as booze-soaked street philosopher...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 7/3/2016
- Screen Anarchy
Edinburgh International Film Festival 2016 wrapped up over the weekend with a screening of its Closing Film and the announcement of the event’s final prize: the Audience Award. Fittingly Gillies MacKinnon’s warm-hearted and whiskey-soaked remake of Alexander Mackendrick’s Ealing Comedy classic Whiskey Galore played out the festival, while a man who’s carving out his own niche in classic comedies took the Award. Taika Waititi’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople proved a firm favorite with critics and audiences alike. Starring Sam Neill as a grizzled loner forced to go on the run with a young tear away, the exceptional Julian Dennison. The film is both hilarious and touching throughout and fully deserves the praise it has received. Other entries to score highly in the public vote included...
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[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 6/28/2016
- Screen Anarchy
Gillies MacKinnon’s remake of the classic postwar Ealing comedy is light on laughs and feels out of place in 2016
The Edinburgh film festival kicked off with Tommy’s Honour, a gently old-fashioned yarn about a 19th-century Scottish golf champion that may have induced mild stirrings of patriotism. Now the festival is aiming to repeat the trick with a remake of Alexander Mackendrick’s fondly remembered 1949 Ealing comedy Whisky Galore!, an adaptation of Compton Mackenzie’s novel that itself drew on real events.
Like the original, it sets out to be a celebration of canny Scots outwitting humourless (and partly English) officialdom: a ship runs aground on a fictional Hebridean island during the second world war and the locals do their best to liberate some of the thousands of whisky bottles in its cargo. Cue cat-and-mouse shenanigans as the home guard try to reinforce wartime discipline and prevent imbibement above and beyond the quota level.
The Edinburgh film festival kicked off with Tommy’s Honour, a gently old-fashioned yarn about a 19th-century Scottish golf champion that may have induced mild stirrings of patriotism. Now the festival is aiming to repeat the trick with a remake of Alexander Mackendrick’s fondly remembered 1949 Ealing comedy Whisky Galore!, an adaptation of Compton Mackenzie’s novel that itself drew on real events.
Like the original, it sets out to be a celebration of canny Scots outwitting humourless (and partly English) officialdom: a ship runs aground on a fictional Hebridean island during the second world war and the locals do their best to liberate some of the thousands of whisky bottles in its cargo. Cue cat-and-mouse shenanigans as the home guard try to reinforce wartime discipline and prevent imbibement above and beyond the quota level.
- 6/26/2016
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
Film directors trying to express themselves in East Germany had a tough row to hoe, yet quite a few of them dared to stray beyond the confines of social realism. The Defa Film Library has two new releases from 1966 that were banned and shelved before they could be finished -- and weren't seen until they were patched together in 1990. When You're Older, Dear Adam DVD Defa Film Library 1966-1990 / Color / 2:35 / 74 min. / Wenn du groß bist, lieber Adam / Street Date April, 2016 / Available from the Defa Umass Film Library / 29.95 (separate release) Starring: Stephan Jahnke, Gerry Wolff, Manfred Krug, Daisy Granados, Rolf Römer, Hanns Anselm Perten, Wolfgang Greese, Günther Simon. Cinematography Helmut Grewald Film Editor Monika Schindler Original Music Kurt Zander Written by Egon Günther, Helga Schütz Produced by Defa Directed by Egon Günther Berlin Around the Corner DVD Defa Film Library 1966-90 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 83 min. / Berlin um die ecke / Street Date April,...
- 4/26/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Remake of classic Scottish comedy set for world premiere as 2016 Edinburgh closing night gala.
The 70th edition of the Edinburgh Film Festival (Eiff) (June 15-26) will close with the world premiere of Scottish comedy remake Whisky Galore!.
A remake of Alexander Mackendrick’s 1949 feature of the same name, the story follows a group of Scottish islanders who enjoy a windfall of whiskey during the Second World War.
The original was based on Sir Compton Mackenzie’s novel of the same name, which was inspired by the shipwreck off the Scottish coast of a ship sailing for America with a cargo of export-only alcohol during World War II.
The home-grown production was filmed on location in Scotland and features Scottish actors including Gregor Fisher (Love Actually), James Cosmo (Braveheart), Kevin Guthrie (Sunset Song), Sean Biggerstaff (Harry Potter And The Chamber of Secrets), and Eddie Izzard (Valkyrie).
Gillies Mackinnon (Regeneration, Hideous Kinky) directed from Peter McDougall’s screenplay. Iain Maclean...
The 70th edition of the Edinburgh Film Festival (Eiff) (June 15-26) will close with the world premiere of Scottish comedy remake Whisky Galore!.
A remake of Alexander Mackendrick’s 1949 feature of the same name, the story follows a group of Scottish islanders who enjoy a windfall of whiskey during the Second World War.
The original was based on Sir Compton Mackenzie’s novel of the same name, which was inspired by the shipwreck off the Scottish coast of a ship sailing for America with a cargo of export-only alcohol during World War II.
The home-grown production was filmed on location in Scotland and features Scottish actors including Gregor Fisher (Love Actually), James Cosmo (Braveheart), Kevin Guthrie (Sunset Song), Sean Biggerstaff (Harry Potter And The Chamber of Secrets), and Eddie Izzard (Valkyrie).
Gillies Mackinnon (Regeneration, Hideous Kinky) directed from Peter McDougall’s screenplay. Iain Maclean...
- 4/21/2016
- ScreenDaily
New York's Film Forum presents a new 4K restoration of Akira Kurosawa's Ran (1985) from February 26 through March 3, but first, starting on Friday, Chris Marker's A.K., also from 1985 and also restored, sees a week-long run. More goings on: Lizzie Borden's Born in Flames and Regrouping at Anthology Film Archives, witches at Bam, Oscar Micheaux and Spencer Williams at Film Forum, Ernie Gehr at MoMA, Alexander Mackendrick in Paris, Sergei Eisenstein and Jacques Tati in London and what to see at the Glasgow Film Festival. » - David Hudson...
- 2/17/2016
- Keyframe
New York's Film Forum presents a new 4K restoration of Akira Kurosawa's Ran (1985) from February 26 through March 3, but first, starting on Friday, Chris Marker's A.K., also from 1985 and also restored, sees a week-long run. More goings on: Lizzie Borden's Born in Flames and Regrouping at Anthology Film Archives, witches at Bam, Oscar Micheaux and Spencer Williams at Film Forum, Ernie Gehr at MoMA, Alexander Mackendrick in Paris, Sergei Eisenstein and Jacques Tati in London and what to see at the Glasgow Film Festival. » - David Hudson...
- 2/17/2016
- Fandor: Keyframe
There are no really bad films from the Coen brothers. Where does "Hail, Caesar!" (February 5) fall in our overall ranking? See below, as Toh! ranks all 17 films by the Coens from worst to best. 17. “The Ladykillers” (2004). Painful remake of the 1955 Alexander Mackendrick comedy starring Alec Guinness and a dare-we-say masterpiece was misbegotten for a multitude of reasons, among them the fact that the Ealing comedies of post-war Britain were frothy, elegant, and understated, and the Coen Brothers are anything but. Tom Hanks, reprising the Guinness role —as the cockeyed mastermind of a nitwit band of robbers who decide they have to kill their landlady after she discovers their plans —is far less funny than he thinks he is, prosthetic teeth or no; the jokes are telegraphed from a mile away, everyone tries too hard and the whole thing lands with a thud. Perhaps the worst of the brothers outings, it has its fans,...
- 2/3/2016
- by TOH!
- Thompson on Hollywood
Constance Cummings: Stage and film actress ca. early 1940s. Constance Cummings on stage: From Sacha Guitry to Clifford Odets (See previous post: “Constance Cummings: Flawless 'Blithe Spirit,' Supporter of Political Refugees.”) In the post-World War II years, Constance Cummings' stage reputation continued to grow on the English stage, in plays as diverse as: Stephen Powys (pseudonym for P.G. Wodehouse) and Guy Bolton's English-language adaptation of Sacha Guitry's Don't Listen, Ladies! (1948), with Cummings as one of shop clerk Denholm Elliott's mistresses (the other one was Betty Marsden). “Miss Cummings and Miss Marsden act as fetchingly as they look,” commented The Spectator. Rodney Ackland's Before the Party (1949), delivering “a superb performance of controlled hysteria” according to theater director and Michael Redgrave biographer Alan Strachan, writing for The Independent at the time of Cummings' death. Clifford Odets' Winter Journey / The Country Girl (1952), as...
- 11/10/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
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