The High and the Mighty (1954) - News Poster

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Review: "Meteor" (1979) Starring Sean Connery, Natalie Wood, Brian Keith And Karl Malden, Blu-ray Release From Kino Lorber Studio Classics

  • CinemaRetro
Review:
By Lee Pfeiffeer

Throughout motion picture history, there have always been "disaster" movies. From Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy facing the great earthquake in "San Francisco" to John Wayne trying to rescue an airliner in distress in "The High and the Mighty". However, the disaster movie didn't emerge as a genre until the 1970s. Most people credit "The Poseidon Adventure" (1972) with being the first major entry among these kinds of films during that era, but arguably the genre began two years earlier with "Airport". That blockbuster flick set the standard for all of the disaster movies to follow:

An all-star cast ranging from top boxoffice attractions to respected veteran stars and popular character actors Big production values State-of-the-art special effects Majestic musical score  A well-regarded director at the helm to preside over the mayhem

For the most part the formula worked fairly well. "Poseidon" was a major boxoffice smash and
See full article at CinemaRetro »

Oscar ‘Category Fraud’ Inspires Sound & Fury But Voters Just Shrug

Oscar ‘Category Fraud’ Inspires Sound & Fury But Voters Just Shrug
There is a lot of negativity in the world, so it would be nice if awards journalists didn’t contribute to that.

One example: Can we get rid of the phrase “category fraud”? That prissy, finger-pointing term is sometimes used to describe the comedy-drama split in Golden Globes races, but more frequently it refers to studio “fraud” by pushing an actor for lead or supporting.

So far this season, some bloggers have speculated on “fraud” with such ensemble films as “One Night in Miami,” “Da 5 Bloods,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” “The Glorias” and “Hillbilly Elegy” as well as debate over films not even seen yet, including Netflix’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”

Here are two things to remember.

In awards season, there are three very distinct groups: journalists, members of the Twitterverse and awards voters. The first two get outraged over “category fraud,” but voters always shrug and ignore the noise.
See full article at Variety »

Emmys flashback: When game shows ruled the airwaves and the scandal that threatened the genre

Emmys flashback: When game shows ruled the airwaves and the scandal that threatened the genre
All the world is a game and we are merely players! The Bard will probably disagree with that assessment, but game shows and panel series have been a staple on both radio and television. And they are going strong today.

In fact, there is the Gsn cable network, as well as Buzzr which features such series as “Password,” “Family Feud,” “Tattletales” and “Classic Concentration.” “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune” are still among the top syndicated series and CBS’ daytime “The Price is Right” is heading toward its fifth decade of people coming on down. And ABC is back for its summer of deja “view” with new versions of such series as “Match Game,” “To Tell the Truth,” “Press Your Luck” and “Family Feud.” The network also scored with a limited return of its 20-plus-year old “Who Wants to Be Millionaire” with host Jimmy Kimmel.

Back in the 1950s, contestants became stars like Dr.
See full article at Gold Derby »

The High and the Mighty

William Wellman’s soap opera in the sky is the granddaddy of disaster films, in particular Airport and its many sequels. John Wayne plays the harried pilot who experiences more than his share of turbulence including jealous husbands and an airliner that is slowly dismantling itself. Claire Trevor, Wayne’s old flame from Stagecoach, is on board along with Robert Stack as The Duke’s nerve-wracked co-pilot. Dimitri Tiomkin’s haunting theme song was nominated for an Oscar.

The post The High and the Mighty appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
See full article at Trailers from Hell »

Soldier of Fortune

Two-fisted Hong Kong racketeer Clark Gable goes out on a limb to recover Susan Hayward’s husband, held prisoner in Red China. In a literal pirate vessel armed with a stolen cannon, Gable literally goes to war, risking his smuggling empire by half-kidnapping Michael Rennie’s Hong Kong cop. This lush CinemaScope action-travelogue-romance now comes off as comfort food movie viewing: familiar stars doing what they do best. It’s a German import from a Hollywood Studio whose library titles may no longer be licensed to hard media home video.

Soldier of Fortune

Region-Free Blu-ray

Explosive Media GmbH

1955 / Color / 2:55 widescreen / 96 min. / Street Date September 26, 2019 / Treffpunkt Hongkong / Available at Amazon.de

15.99 Euros Starring: Clark Gable, Susan Hayward, Michael Rennie, Gene Barry, Alexander D’Arcy, Tom Tully, Anna Sten, Russell Collins, Richard Loo, Frank Tang, Jack Kruschen, Leo Gordon, Mel Welles, Robert Quarry.

Cinematography: Leo Tover

Film Editor: Dorothy Spencer

Original Music:
See full article at Trailers from Hell »

Film Review: ‘Duke’

Film Review: ‘Duke’
If you can envision “Let’s Be Cops” reconstituted as a noirish psychodrama, you may be adequately prepared for “Duke,” an uneven but arresting indie thriller about two siblings who are driven to heroic extremes by childhood traumas. Co-directed by twin brothers James and Anthony Gaudioso, who also appear in strikingly different supporting roles, the film sustains more than enough dramatic tension from scene to scene to keep a viewer intrigued, despite the sporadic fuzziness of motivation and plot specifics, though it faces long odds as it tries to distinguish itself among scads of similar small-budget efforts currently available on streaming platforms.

After a portentous prologue that hints at psychologically scarring childhood experiences at an institution referenced only as “The Home” — maybe an orphanage, maybe a reformatory — the narrative proper kicks in as Dare (Carmine Giovinazzo), a tightly wired undercover detective, and Roost (Michael Monks), a uniformed officer, are patrolling a West L.
See full article at Variety »

1954 Oscar Flashback: Judy Garland classic from ‘A Star is Born’ loses Best Original Song to Frank Sinatra standard

1954 Oscar Flashback: Judy Garland classic from ‘A Star is Born’ loses Best Original Song to Frank Sinatra standard
This article marks Part 6 of the Gold Derby series analyzing 84 years of Best Original Song at the Oscars. Join us as we look back at the timeless tunes recognized in this category, the results of each race and the overall rankings of the Academy Awards winners.

The 1954 Oscar nominees in Best Original Song were:

The High and the Mighty” from “The High and the Mighty

“The Man That Got Away” from “A Star Is Born

“Hold My Hand” from “Susan Slept Here

Three Coins in the Fountain” from “Three Coins in the Fountain

“Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep)” from “White Christmas

Won: “Three Coins in the Fountain” from “Three Coins in the Fountain

Should’ve won: “The Man That Got Away” from “A Star Is Born

Sure, the 1954 Oscar ceremony could have gone a lot worse. “On the Waterfront” and leading man Marlon Brando could have, for instance, fallen
See full article at Gold Derby »

'The Searchers': THR's 1956 Review

'The Searchers': THR's 1956 Review
On March 13, 1956, reviews for director John Ford's 110-minute Western epic, The Searchers, began arriving from industry press. The Hollywood Reporter's original take on Warner Bros.' John Wayne starrer, headlined "Searchers Great Picture," is below.

This C.V. Whitney production is undoubtedly one of the greatest Westerns ever made. For sheer scope, guts and beauty I can think of no picture of the Indian Wars of the Southwest to compare with it. In it John Wayne delivers a performance that tops his great performance in The High and the Mighty. Even in this age when ...
See full article at The Hollywood Reporter »

Gun the Man Down

This almost completely forgotten '50s western couldn't compete with the big productions, but it has a good cast -- James Arness, Robert J. Wilke, Emile Meyer, Harry Carey Jr. Plus early work by writer Burt Kennedy, and the debuts of actress Angie Dickinson and director Andrew V. McLaglen. Gun the Man Down Blu-ray Olive Films 1956 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 76 min. / Street Date July 19, 2016 / available through the Olive Films website / 29.98 Starring James Arness, Angie Dickinson, Emile Meyer, Robert J. Wilke, Harry Carey Jr., Don Megowan, Michael Emmet, Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez. Cinematography William H. Clothier Film Editor A. Edward Sutherland Original Music Henry Vars Written by Burt Kennedy, Sam Freedle Produced by Robert E. Morrison Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

When the 1950s rolled in John Wayne stopped being merely an actor and graduated to institution status, starting his own production company, Batjac, and promoting his own group of talent.
See full article at Trailers from Hell »

No Fear: The Year’S Best Movies

This is definitely the time of year when film critic types (I’m sure you know who I mean) spend an inordinate amount of time leading up to awards season—and it all leads up to awards season, don’t it?—compiling lists and trying to convince anyone who will listen that it was a shitty year at the movies for anyone who liked something other than what they saw and liked. And ‘tis the season, or at least ‘thas (?) been in the recent past, for that most beloved of academic parlor games, bemoaning the death of cinema, which, if the sackcloth-and-ashes-clad among us are to be believed, is an increasingly detached and irrelevant art form in the process of being smothered under the wet, steaming blanket of American blockbuster-it is. And it’s going all malnourished from the siphoning off of all the talent back to TV, which, as everyone knows,
See full article at Trailers from Hell »

Here’s What’s Coming And Going From Netflix in December

The holiday season is here and like a lot of you, I plan on staying inside as much as I can and watching some great TV and movies. Thankfully Netflix is here to help with a new batch of offerings for December. They are also removing some titles you may want to watch while you can! Of course we are all waiting to see this Bill Murray Christmas special which arrives December 4th. Have a safe and happy viewing month everyone! Check out the full listings below:

All Title Dates are Subject to Change

Netflix U.S. Release Dates Only

Available 12/1

#DeathToSelfie (2014)

30 for 30: Chasing Tyson (2015)

50 Shades of They: Season 1

A Christmas Star (2015)

A Genius Leaves the Hood: The Unauthorized Story of Jay Z (2014)

Amnesiac (2015)

Broadchurch: Season 2

Cbgb (2013)

Christmas Wedding Baby (2014)

The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury (2004)

Cradle 2 the Grave (2003)

Darkman (1990)

Detectorists: Season 1

I’m Brent Morin — Netflix Original
See full article at City of Films »

What's Leaving Netflix in December 2015

It's last call for several horror films, including "The Silence of the Lambs" and the "The Omen" trilogy, which are leaving Netflix in December.

Also going bye-bye: Both versions of manly tearjerker "Brian's Song" and classics including "All About Eve" (1950), "The Great Escape" (1963) and "The Hustler" (1961). And if you want to stream '80s favorites "The Dark Crystal" (1982) or "Labyrinth" (1986), better get on that before December 1.

Here's what's leaving Netflix in December 2015.

Leaving December 1

"All About Eve" (1950)

"The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes": Season 1 (2012)

"Batman Begins" (2005)

"Beverly Hills Cop III" (1994)

"Brian's Song" (1971)

"Brian's Song" (2001)

"The Brothers Grimm" (2005)

"The Burbs" (1989)

"Cop Land" (1997)

"Damien: Omen II" (1978)

"The Dark Crystal" (1982)

"Employee of the Month" (2006)

"Forces of Nature" (1999)

"Get Low" (2009)

"The Great Escape" (1963)

"The Guardian": Season 1-3

"The High and the Mighty" (1954)

"The Hustler" (1961)

"Insomnia" (2002)

"Juice" (1992)

"K-19: The Widowmaker" (2002)

"Labyrinth" (1986)

"Last Night" (2010)

"Left Behind: The Movie" (2000)

"Left Behind II: Tribulation Force
See full article at Moviefone »

Day of the Dead List: Top 10 Most Piercingly Horrific Movie Screams

Top Ten Scream Queens: Barbara Steele, who both emitted screams and made others do same, is in a category of her own. Top Ten Scream Queens Halloween is over until next year, but the equally bewitching Day of the Dead is just around the corner. So, dead or alive, here's my revised and expanded list of cinema's Top Ten Scream Queens. This highly personal compilation is based on how memorable – as opposed to how loud or how frequent – were the screams. That's the key reason you won't find listed below actresses featured in gory slasher films. After all, the screams – and just about everything else in such movies – are as meaningless as their plots. You also won't find any screaming guys (i.e., Scream Kings) on the list below even though I've got absolutely nothing against guys who scream in horror, whether in movies or in life. There are
See full article at Alt Film Guide »

Man with the Gun

First-time director Richard Wilson's B&W '50s western is different. Robert Mitchum is on-task as a town tamer with believable problems, both in exterminating gunslingers Claude Akins and Leo Gordon, and with making peace with his estranged wife, Jan Sterling. That's not to mention Mitchum's attraction for pacifist Karen Sharpe, and ditzy showgirl Barbara Lawrence. And don't forget an incredibly young Angie Dickinson. Man with the Gun Blu-ray Kl Studio Classics 1955 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 83 min. / Deadly Peacemaker / Street Date September 25, 2015 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring Robert Mitchum, Jan Sterling, Karen Sharpe, Henry Hull, Emile Meyer, John Lupton, Barbara Lawrence, Ted de Corsia, Leo Gordon, James Westerfield, Jay Adler, Claude Akins, Joe Barry, Norma Calderón, Angie Dickinson, Mara McAfee, Maidie Norman, Robert Osterloh, Maudie Prickett, Stafford Repp. Cinematography Lee Garmes Film Editor Gene Milford Original Music Alex North Written by N.B. Stone Jr., Richard Wilson Produced by Samuel Goldwyn Jr.
See full article at Trailers from Hell »

'Airplane!': 25 Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About the Comedy Classic

Looks like we picked the wrong week to quit celebrating milestones.

Hard to believe it's been 35 years since "Airplane!" took flight (on July 2, 1980) and taught us all to speak jive, order the chicken instead of the fish, and avoid calling each other "Shirley." Three and a half decades later, the airline disaster parody remains one of the funniest films ever made, one that generations of viewers have watched over and over -- though probably never as an in-flight movie.

Still, as many times as you've seen it, there's much you may not know about how it was made. In honor of "Airplane!" turning 35, here are a few facts every fan must know about the comedy classic.

1. Strip away all the jokes, and "Airplane!" is essentially a remake of a little-known 1957 air disaster movie called "Zero Hour!" The writing/directing team of Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker lifted the plot,
See full article at Moviefone »

Smackdown Summer - Revamp Your Queues!

We're just 9 days away from the launch of another Smackdown Summer. Rather than announce piecemeal, we'll give you all five lineups in case you'd like more time to catch up with these films (some of them stone cold classics) over the hot months. Remember to cast your own ballots during each month for the reader-polling (your 1979 votes are due by June 4th). Your votes count toward the final Smackdown win so more of you should join in. 

These Oscar years were chosen after comment reading, dvd searching, handwringing, and desire-to-watch moods.  I wish we had time to squeeze in a dozen Smackdowns each summer! As it is there will be Two Smackdowns in June, a gift to you since this first episode was delayed.

Sunday June 7th

The Best Supporting Actresses of 1979

Meryl Streep won her first of three Oscars while taking her co-star Jane Alexander along for the Oscar ride in Kramer vs. Kramer.
See full article at FilmExperience »

Here’s What’s New to Netflix in June: Marvel, Scorsese, and More

School’s out for summer, and the monthly changeover at Netflix is about to ensure that you’ll have plenty of different content to watch next month. A number of films will become available to stream in June, including the magnificent Nightcrawler, Martin Scorsese’s somewhat underrated The Aviator, Jon Stewart’s directorial debut Rosewater, and one of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s final films, A Most Wanted Man. Additionally, last year’s critically hailed but way underseen Beyond the Lights will be available to stream, as will Transformers: Age of Extinction if you enjoy having your senses assaulted. On the TV side, Season 2 of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Scandal Season 4 will become available, as will the third season of the Netflix Original Series Orange Is the New Black and the first season of Sense8, from creators Lana and Andy Wachowski. Check out the full list of new to Netflix titles below.
See full article at Collider.com »

What’s Coming And Going On Netflix: June 2015

It’s almost June and that means Netflix is about to give their content a refresh. Some of the notable titles leaving in June include Rain Man, Taxi Driver, and Donnie Brasco. So if you haven’t seen some of these titles, plan your nights accordingly. We of course can look forward more than a few new titles including the premiere of the Wachowskis’ show Sense8, the new season of Orange is the New Black, Nightcrawler, and Jon Stewart’s film Rosewater.

Available June 1

Employee of the Month (2006)

Hidden Kingdoms (2014)

La Dictadura Perfecta (2014)

R.L. Stine’s Mostly Ghostly (2008)

R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour: Don’t Think About It (2007)

Sex Ed (2014)

Shaquille O’Neal Presents: All Star Comedy Jam: Live from Orlando (2012)

Shaquille O’Neal Presents: All Star Comedy Jam: Live From Atlanta (2013)

Shaquille O’Neal Presents: All Star Comedy Jam: Live from Las Vegas (2014)

The Aviator
See full article at City of Films »

New on Netflix: June 2015

New on Netflix this June: "Sense8," the new sci-fi drama from Andy and Lana Wachowski ("The Matrix" trilogy) and "Babylon 5" creator J. Michael Straczynski, in which eight strangers suddenly find themselves mysteriously connected. Also, look for the return of Netflix original series "Orange Is the New Black" on June 12.

As for movies, you won't want to miss Jake Gyllenhaal's terrifyingly great turn in "Nightcrawler." Also new: "Life of Crime" and "Cake" with Jennifer Aniston; Philip Seymour Hoffman's last completed film, the spy thriller "A Most Wanted Man"; Gina Prince-Bythewood's acclaimed film "Beyond the Lights" starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw as a rising singer; not to mention the critically panned "Grace of Monaco," starring Nicole Kidman as Princess Grace.

Below is a full rundown of what's new on Netflix in June 2015, provided by Netflix. As always, all titles and dates are subject to change. We've also go you covered
See full article at Moviefone »

Full trailer for Almodovar's latest 'crazy' comedy

Pedro Almodóvar I’m So Excited trailer, with Miguel Ángel Silvestre Pedro Almodóvar’s upcoming movie, I’m So Excited / Los amantes pasajeros (literally, "passing lovers" and/or "passenger lovers") has a new and full trailer. That’s the good news. The not-so-good news (for non-Spanish speakers): it’s in Spanish, without subtitles. (Please scroll down to check out the I’m So Excited trailer.) [Photo: Miguel Ángel Silvestre in Pedro Almodóvar's I'm So Excited.] But don’t feel bad if you don’t speak Spanish. After all, even Spanish speakers will likely have to pay close attention to the one-gazillion-words-a-minute dialogue — which would put James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Una Merkel, et al. to shame. I’m So Excited plot I’m So Excited is set on an airplane flying from Spain to Mexico City. If the trailer is any indication, the plane in question has many more staff members than passengers. Perhaps not such a bad thing, considering
See full article at Alt Film Guide »
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