“You know you can watch that at home, right?” Such was the advice directed my way by a wisecracking passerby while queued up for a screening at the 2024 Turner Classic Movies Film Festival in Hollywood, California. They were clearly not a festival passholder, but the indifference heard right there on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was another instance of the trampling of history that both the festival and its parent channel aim to counter.
Probably the most even-handed response to that trampling would be a reminder—to flip a well-known phrase—that a home is not a house (not a movie house anyway). The folks who flock to Los Angeles every year from all over the world to attend this festival, probably all subscribers or rabid devotees of the channel that bears its name, cough up a prodigious amount of money to do so. It’s clear that for them,...
Probably the most even-handed response to that trampling would be a reminder—to flip a well-known phrase—that a home is not a house (not a movie house anyway). The folks who flock to Los Angeles every year from all over the world to attend this festival, probably all subscribers or rabid devotees of the channel that bears its name, cough up a prodigious amount of money to do so. It’s clear that for them,...
- 4/23/2024
- by Dennis Cozzalio
- Slant Magazine
Seth MacFarlane of “Family Guy” and “Ted” fame is partnering through his Seth MacFarlane Foundation with filmmaker Martin Scorsese to fund The Film Foundation’s (led by Scorsese) first-ever restoration of a curated selection of a dozen historically significant animated shorts from the 1920s through the 1940s. The announcement was made today. Among the lot are nine short animated films from the legendary team of brothers Max and Dave Fleischer, who created Betty Boop and Koko the Clown among many other memorable characters.
The films were selected and restored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive and The Film Foundation, in collaboration with Paramount Studio Archives. They were funded by MacFarlane and completed using unique original pre-print elements and/or print sources, mostly nitrate.
See‘Ted’ prequel series from Seth MacFarlane and Peacock drops official trailer in advance of January 11 premiere
“I’m so grateful to Seth MacFarlane for his...
The films were selected and restored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive and The Film Foundation, in collaboration with Paramount Studio Archives. They were funded by MacFarlane and completed using unique original pre-print elements and/or print sources, mostly nitrate.
See‘Ted’ prequel series from Seth MacFarlane and Peacock drops official trailer in advance of January 11 premiere
“I’m so grateful to Seth MacFarlane for his...
- 4/18/2024
- by Ray Richmond
- Gold Derby
Martin Scorsese's non-profit Film Foundation was first founded in 1990 as a means to restore and archive films that stood on the brink of being lost. Scorsese, one of the world's preeminent cineastes, was aghast to learn that only about 10% of the films made before 1929 still survive and that more than half of the films made before 1950 were lost forever. The Film Foundation is run by a consortium of famous filmmakers who raise money for extensive restoration efforts. To date, the Foundation has restored over 1,000 movies. Many of the films can be watched online on the Fest Foundation's website. The Foundation also provides educational materials for teachers who might want to show some of these movies to their students. Scorsese wants to make sure that audiences have a chance to see some of the greatest films of all time.
His efforts expanded in 2007 when the director founded the World Cinema Project,...
His efforts expanded in 2007 when the director founded the World Cinema Project,...
- 4/18/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane and Goodfellas director Martin Scorsese may not seem like the most likely match, but Deadline reports that the pair have joined forces to fund the restoration of historically significant animated shorts from the 1920s to 1940s.
“I’m so grateful to Seth MacFarlane for his enthusiasm and his support on these restorations,” said Martin Scorsese. “What an astonishing experience, to see these remarkable pictures that I experienced for the first time as a child brought back to their full glory. Imagine the reactions of children today! Because the films now seem as fresh as they did when they were newly made.“
In his own statement, MacFarlane added, “The work Martin Scorsese and his Film Foundation have been doing is essential cinematic preservation. I’m honored to partner with them in restoring their first-ever collection of storied animation.“
Related Is Family Guy funny enough to have lasted 25 years?...
“I’m so grateful to Seth MacFarlane for his enthusiasm and his support on these restorations,” said Martin Scorsese. “What an astonishing experience, to see these remarkable pictures that I experienced for the first time as a child brought back to their full glory. Imagine the reactions of children today! Because the films now seem as fresh as they did when they were newly made.“
In his own statement, MacFarlane added, “The work Martin Scorsese and his Film Foundation have been doing is essential cinematic preservation. I’m honored to partner with them in restoring their first-ever collection of storied animation.“
Related Is Family Guy funny enough to have lasted 25 years?...
- 4/17/2024
- by Kevin Fraser
- JoBlo.com
Exclusive: Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane is partnering, through his Seth MacFarlane Foundation, with Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation to fund the first-ever, curated restoration of historically significant animated shorts from the 1920s to 1940s.
MacFarlane is committed to saving and honoring the art form from its earliest days forward. He’s been fascinated by animation since childhood when he began drawing. He’s also an animation alum of Rhode Island School of Design. This year MacFarlane’s The Family Guy is celebrating its 25th anniversary.
“I’m so grateful to Seth MacFarlane for his enthusiasm and his support on these restorations,” said Martin Scorsese in a statement. “What an astonishing experience, to see these remarkable pictures that I experienced for the first time as a child brought back to their full glory. Imagine the reactions of children today! Because the films now seem as fresh as they did when they were newly made.
MacFarlane is committed to saving and honoring the art form from its earliest days forward. He’s been fascinated by animation since childhood when he began drawing. He’s also an animation alum of Rhode Island School of Design. This year MacFarlane’s The Family Guy is celebrating its 25th anniversary.
“I’m so grateful to Seth MacFarlane for his enthusiasm and his support on these restorations,” said Martin Scorsese in a statement. “What an astonishing experience, to see these remarkable pictures that I experienced for the first time as a child brought back to their full glory. Imagine the reactions of children today! Because the films now seem as fresh as they did when they were newly made.
- 4/17/2024
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Take a look at Fleischer Studios 1936 "Popeye the Sailor " cartoon short "Never Kick A Woman", directed by Dave Fleischer, starring Jack Mercer as 'Popeye' and Mae Questel as 'Olive Oyl':
"...'Popeye' talks Olive into taking a self defense lesson...
"... but it's Olive who goes on the offense when Popeye take a turn for the pretty instructor..."
Click the images to enlarge... ...
"...'Popeye' talks Olive into taking a self defense lesson...
"... but it's Olive who goes on the offense when Popeye take a turn for the pretty instructor..."
Click the images to enlarge... ...
- 3/30/2024
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For regular updates, sign up for our weekly email newsletter and follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSEvil Does Not Exist.We are saddened to learn that Issue 97 will be Cinema Scope’s last in its current form. To “do something valuable in this field,” editor and publisher Mark Peranson writes, “one needs creative freedom.” This is exactly what, for twenty-five years and just under 100 issues, Cinema Scope was able to provide, offering a space that allowed, per Peranson, “a certain kind of filmmaker’s work to be treated with the intellect and respect they deserve.” The print issue is on its way to subscribers now, and its entire contents—including interviews with Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Rodrigo Moreno, and Alex Ross Perry—can also be read online.Sandra Milo has died at the age of 90. She starred in Federico Fellini’s 8½ (1963) and Juliet of the Spirits...
- 1/31/2024
- MUBI
Take a look at Fleischer Studios 1936 "Popeye the Sailor " cartoon short "Never Kick A Woman", directed by Dave Fleischer, starring Jack Mercer as 'Popeye' and Mae Questel as 'Olive Oyl':
"...'Popeye' talks Olive into taking a self defense lesson...
"... but it's Olive who goes on the offense when Popeye take a turn for the pretty instructor..."
Click the images to enlarge... ...
"...'Popeye' talks Olive into taking a self defense lesson...
"... but it's Olive who goes on the offense when Popeye take a turn for the pretty instructor..."
Click the images to enlarge... ...
- 12/10/2023
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
In honor of 'Father's Day', take a look @ the 1938 "Popeye" cartoon short "Goonland", directed by Dave Fleischer and Seymour Kneitel, starring Jack Mercer as the ad-libbing voice of 'Popeye' and his father 'Poopdeck Pappy':
"...'Popeye' sails to 'Goon Island' in search of his 'Pappy'. He finds the place populated by the imposing and ugly 'goons'..."
Click the images to enlarge... ...
"...'Popeye' sails to 'Goon Island' in search of his 'Pappy'. He finds the place populated by the imposing and ugly 'goons'..."
Click the images to enlarge... ...
- 6/18/2023
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
One of the joys of growing up in the 1960s is that you were treated to cartoons from earlier eras, long before limited animation filled the Saturday morning airwaves. Among those gems were the work of Max and Dave Fleischer, including Popeye, Gulliver’s Travels and, of course, Superman. Since then, they have fallen into public domain and were widely available, but never in the best condition.
Until Warner Bros. Home Entertainment got involved. First came a DVD set in 02006 and now we have a Blu-ray collection, mastered from the original film negatives. All seventeen episodes from September 26, 1941 through July 30, 1943 are here.
For those unfamiliar, the fairly formulaic stories involve a problem, Lois Lane (Joan Alexander) getting into trouble, Clark Kent (Bud Collyer) changing in the phone booth (the trope introduced in the second short), and Superman to the rescue. This si the early Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster Superman, so...
Until Warner Bros. Home Entertainment got involved. First came a DVD set in 02006 and now we have a Blu-ray collection, mastered from the original film negatives. All seventeen episodes from September 26, 1941 through July 30, 1943 are here.
For those unfamiliar, the fairly formulaic stories involve a problem, Lois Lane (Joan Alexander) getting into trouble, Clark Kent (Bud Collyer) changing in the phone booth (the trope introduced in the second short), and Superman to the rescue. This si the early Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster Superman, so...
- 6/13/2023
- by Robert Greenberger
- Comicmix.com
Kyle Edward Ball's "Skinamarink" is a singular horror movie experience that /Film heralds as an early contender for the scariest movie of 2023. The abstract story follows two young children, Kevin and Kaylee, tiptoeing around their house at night. As they search for their parents, they discover the doors and windows have mysteriously gone missing.
"Experience" is the appropriate word for watching this film that strips all narrative and visual traditions. Ball rarely focuses on the children's faces and only part of their bodies, instead angling his camera on walls, doors, and other parts of the home. Dialogue is difficult to hear and is only occasionally understood through subtitles. Jamie McRae's scratched and grainy cinematography adds a lo-fi aesthetic that reflects the 1990s setting. The darkened surroundings are indistinguishable, with only the flicker of the television or a hallway night light shining through.
Public domain cartoons from the 1930s play on VHS throughout "Skinamarink,...
"Experience" is the appropriate word for watching this film that strips all narrative and visual traditions. Ball rarely focuses on the children's faces and only part of their bodies, instead angling his camera on walls, doors, and other parts of the home. Dialogue is difficult to hear and is only occasionally understood through subtitles. Jamie McRae's scratched and grainy cinematography adds a lo-fi aesthetic that reflects the 1990s setting. The darkened surroundings are indistinguishable, with only the flicker of the television or a hallway night light shining through.
Public domain cartoons from the 1930s play on VHS throughout "Skinamarink,...
- 1/19/2023
- by Caroline Madden
- Slash Film
This post contains spoilers for "Skinamarink."
Writer/director Kyle Edward Ball's "Skinamarink" is a wholly thrilling experience, a horror film that teaches you how to watch it while you watch it, a brazen work of experimental art released into domestic multiplexes, and cleaning up in the process, it seems. One of its innovations lies in the way its cinematography and aesthetic are constructed out of liminal spaces. As /Film's Joe Roberts pointed out recently, Ball is an avowed fan of the meme, admitting that a subreddit devoted to liminal spaces influenced him when making the film. The subreddit defines the term using text from the Cambridge Art Association:
"A liminal space is the time between the 'what was' and the 'next.' It is a place of transition, a season of waiting, and not knowing. Liminal space is where all transformation takes place."
Gee, that sounds kinda similar to:...
Writer/director Kyle Edward Ball's "Skinamarink" is a wholly thrilling experience, a horror film that teaches you how to watch it while you watch it, a brazen work of experimental art released into domestic multiplexes, and cleaning up in the process, it seems. One of its innovations lies in the way its cinematography and aesthetic are constructed out of liminal spaces. As /Film's Joe Roberts pointed out recently, Ball is an avowed fan of the meme, admitting that a subreddit devoted to liminal spaces influenced him when making the film. The subreddit defines the term using text from the Cambridge Art Association:
"A liminal space is the time between the 'what was' and the 'next.' It is a place of transition, a season of waiting, and not knowing. Liminal space is where all transformation takes place."
Gee, that sounds kinda similar to:...
- 1/18/2023
- by Bill Bria
- Slash Film
Netflix has scored 50 Annie Award nominations across series and features, including bids for “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” which leads in individual nominations with nine.
“Pinocchio,” which has picked up 38 awards so far this season, including the Golden Globe for animated feature, is one of three Netflix projects up for best feature, along with “The Sea Beast” and “Wendell & Wild.” Netflix has one contender in the indie feature field: “My Father’s Dragon,” with Cartoon Saloon.
Other films nominated for best feature are Disney-Pixar’s “Turning Red” and DreamWorks Animation’s “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.” Rounding out the indie feature category are “Charlotte,” from January Films, Balthlazar Productions and Walking the Dog; “Inu-Oh,” from Science Saru; “Little Nicholas, Happy as Can Be,” from On Classics (Mediawan) and Bidibul Productions; and “Marcel the Shell With Shoes On,” from Marcel the Movie, LLC.
Del Toro, with co-director Mark Gustafson, is...
“Pinocchio,” which has picked up 38 awards so far this season, including the Golden Globe for animated feature, is one of three Netflix projects up for best feature, along with “The Sea Beast” and “Wendell & Wild.” Netflix has one contender in the indie feature field: “My Father’s Dragon,” with Cartoon Saloon.
Other films nominated for best feature are Disney-Pixar’s “Turning Red” and DreamWorks Animation’s “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.” Rounding out the indie feature category are “Charlotte,” from January Films, Balthlazar Productions and Walking the Dog; “Inu-Oh,” from Science Saru; “Little Nicholas, Happy as Can Be,” from On Classics (Mediawan) and Bidibul Productions; and “Marcel the Shell With Shoes On,” from Marcel the Movie, LLC.
Del Toro, with co-director Mark Gustafson, is...
- 1/17/2023
- by Terry Flores
- Variety Film + TV
“1995” declares a 1970s-style title card in the opening minutes of Kyle Edward Ball’s Skinamarink, a film presented in fake grain filters meant to suggest the scratchy 35mm video nasties of that era. The date proves totally irrelevant to Skinamarink’s minimal plot; at best it vaguely informs the technology we see in the two-story suburban household where the entire film takes place. This might pass as a conscious irony, but over the ensuing 100 minutes it becomes far more plausible that this semiotically lazy confusion of time and history is a quality of Ball as director, and not of his film’s barely glimpsed preschool-age protagonists.
Skinamarink, a crowdfunded passion project for writer-director-editor-YouTuber Ball, is a proudly experimental film in the sense that it is brutally formless and repetitive and masks these qualities with a veneer of faux-ethereal vagueness. Ostensibly the chronicle of two young children trapped with their single...
Skinamarink, a crowdfunded passion project for writer-director-editor-YouTuber Ball, is a proudly experimental film in the sense that it is brutally formless and repetitive and masks these qualities with a veneer of faux-ethereal vagueness. Ostensibly the chronicle of two young children trapped with their single...
- 1/12/2023
- by Eli Friedberg
- The Film Stage
For the second year in a row, the 49th Annie Awards will be virtual after Asifa-Hollywood, the organization behind the event, decided to pivot amid the omicron-driven surge in Covid-19 cases.
The show was originally going to be an in-person affair Feb. 26 at Royce Hall on the campus of UCLA. Now it will be streamed on the Annie Awards website, on Saturday, March 12, beginning at 7 p.m. Pt.
According to Asifa-Hollywood executive director Frank Gladstone, the board made the decision to pivot in mid-January. Members considered three options. “One was to just stay the course and do the live show,” Gladstone says. Option two was to go virtual. “And the third option was doing a live show but postponing it even further,” he says. “At the end of the day, going virtual was what the board decided to do.”
The decision meant the team behind the show had to scramble...
The show was originally going to be an in-person affair Feb. 26 at Royce Hall on the campus of UCLA. Now it will be streamed on the Annie Awards website, on Saturday, March 12, beginning at 7 p.m. Pt.
According to Asifa-Hollywood executive director Frank Gladstone, the board made the decision to pivot in mid-January. Members considered three options. “One was to just stay the course and do the live show,” Gladstone says. Option two was to go virtual. “And the third option was doing a live show but postponing it even further,” he says. “At the end of the day, going virtual was what the board decided to do.”
The decision meant the team behind the show had to scramble...
- 3/10/2022
- by Terry Flores
- Variety Film + TV
In honor of Father's Day", take a look @ the 1938 "Popeye" cartoon short "Goonland", directed by Dave Fleischer and Seymour Kneitel, starring Jack Mercer as the voice of 'Popeye' and his father 'Poopdeck Pappy':
"...'Popeye' sails to 'Goon Island' in search of his 'Pappy'. He finds the place populated by the imposing and ugly goons..."
Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Popeye" In "Goonland"...
"...'Popeye' sails to 'Goon Island' in search of his 'Pappy'. He finds the place populated by the imposing and ugly goons..."
Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Popeye" In "Goonland"...
- 6/21/2020
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
Den of Geek Staff Feb 21, 2020
Foldable smartphones, Princess Diana's handwritten letters, the best memes of 2020 so far, plus more in today's Link Tank!
Foldable smartphones are the latest rage within the tech industry, but the average consumer may not be as taken with them as previously thought.
"Foldable smartphones are a big trend in the tech world lately, from Samsung's Galaxy Fold and its upcoming Z Flip to the resurrection of the Motorola Razr. Even Pablo Escobar's brother is launching one (sort of). But what they all seem to have in common is a lackluster reception from consumers, who are not quite ready to invest more than $1,000 in one of these devices."
Read more at PCMag.
A collection of Princess Diana's handwritten letters are going up for auction, along with a number of other personal items of hers.
"On June 25, 1997, just months before Princess Diana’s death in August,...
Foldable smartphones, Princess Diana's handwritten letters, the best memes of 2020 so far, plus more in today's Link Tank!
Foldable smartphones are the latest rage within the tech industry, but the average consumer may not be as taken with them as previously thought.
"Foldable smartphones are a big trend in the tech world lately, from Samsung's Galaxy Fold and its upcoming Z Flip to the resurrection of the Motorola Razr. Even Pablo Escobar's brother is launching one (sort of). But what they all seem to have in common is a lackluster reception from consumers, who are not quite ready to invest more than $1,000 in one of these devices."
Read more at PCMag.
A collection of Princess Diana's handwritten letters are going up for auction, along with a number of other personal items of hers.
"On June 25, 1997, just months before Princess Diana’s death in August,...
- 2/21/2020
- Den of Geek
The Annies, started by animation organization Asifa-Hollywood nearly 50 years ago as a dinner to honor toon veterans Max and Dave Fleischer, has today morphed into a major awards season event, honoring achievements in 32 categories as well as a number of juried kudos.
“We keep growing every year,” says Frank Gladstone, executive director of Asifa-Hollywood. This year it will be held on Jan. 25 at Royce Hall on the UCLA campus, its home for the past several years.
“Every year, for the last few years, we’ve had between 10% and 20% growth. Not only in how much it costs, because that’s true too, but in the amount of submissions. This year, we had almost 2,000 submissions. That’s a lot of submissions!”
More entries, more award categories, more impact, more cachet.
“We’re getting to be an award that people are paying attention to,” he says. “I saw a billboard the other day...
“We keep growing every year,” says Frank Gladstone, executive director of Asifa-Hollywood. This year it will be held on Jan. 25 at Royce Hall on the UCLA campus, its home for the past several years.
“Every year, for the last few years, we’ve had between 10% and 20% growth. Not only in how much it costs, because that’s true too, but in the amount of submissions. This year, we had almost 2,000 submissions. That’s a lot of submissions!”
More entries, more award categories, more impact, more cachet.
“We’re getting to be an award that people are paying attention to,” he says. “I saw a billboard the other day...
- 1/24/2020
- by Terry Flores
- Variety Film + TV
Popeye the Sailor: The 1940s – Volume 3
Blu ray
Warner Archive
1948-49/ 1.33:1 / 121 min.
Starring Jack Mercer, Mae Questel, Jackson Beck
Directed by Izzy Sparber
E. C. Segar’s Popeye made his newspaper debut in 1929 and his first animated appearance in 1933 with Max Fleischer’s Popeye the Sailor. By the time he reached Famous Studios a decade later the ornery bar-fighter had become respectable – safely homogenized for the delicate sensibilities of an audience that existed only for over-cautious suits in the front office.
None of that should stop Popeye fans and animation completists from scooping up Popeye the Sailor: The 1940s – Volume 3, Warner Archive’s third and final round-up of Popeye’s post-war adventures. The glossy veneer of these brightly colored cartoons was tailor made for high def scrutiny.
The set opens with one of the studio’s most memorable productions, the schizoid feminist fantasy, Olive Oyl for President. What at...
Blu ray
Warner Archive
1948-49/ 1.33:1 / 121 min.
Starring Jack Mercer, Mae Questel, Jackson Beck
Directed by Izzy Sparber
E. C. Segar’s Popeye made his newspaper debut in 1929 and his first animated appearance in 1933 with Max Fleischer’s Popeye the Sailor. By the time he reached Famous Studios a decade later the ornery bar-fighter had become respectable – safely homogenized for the delicate sensibilities of an audience that existed only for over-cautious suits in the front office.
None of that should stop Popeye fans and animation completists from scooping up Popeye the Sailor: The 1940s – Volume 3, Warner Archive’s third and final round-up of Popeye’s post-war adventures. The glossy veneer of these brightly colored cartoons was tailor made for high def scrutiny.
The set opens with one of the studio’s most memorable productions, the schizoid feminist fantasy, Olive Oyl for President. What at...
- 9/28/2019
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Sneak Peek "Wotta Nitemare", the 71st "Popeye" animated cartoon from Fleischer Studios, released in 1939, featuring the voices of Pinto Colvig, Margie Hines and Jack Mercer as 'Popeye', directed by Dave Fleischer and Willard Bowsky:
"...'Popeye' tosses and turns in his sleep. He dreams of himself up in the clouds sitting with an angelic 'Olive Oyl'.
"Soon, however, 'Bluto' materializes and leads the angel away to have a picnic.
"Popeye is left behind bars - in fact, the bars from his bed..."
Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Popeye: Wotta Nitemare"....
"...'Popeye' tosses and turns in his sleep. He dreams of himself up in the clouds sitting with an angelic 'Olive Oyl'.
"Soon, however, 'Bluto' materializes and leads the angel away to have a picnic.
"Popeye is left behind bars - in fact, the bars from his bed..."
Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Popeye: Wotta Nitemare"....
- 7/10/2019
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
Inside the projection booth at George Eastman Museum’s Dryden Theatre.
It’s been nearly 70 years since Kodak manufactured their last nitrate film, but the appreciation for the highly flammable, stunningly vivid film stock lives on in more ways than one in Rochester, New York. The George Eastman Museum, home of photography and moving image collections, opened in 1949 and two years later in 1951, the 500-seat Dryden Theatre was unveiled. However, it wasn’t until 1996 that the museum’s nitrate collection found a more secure home. Located in North Chili, NY–about a 15-minute drive from the museum–the unassumingly adorned Louis B. Mayer Conservation Center is a safe haven for nitrate film stock.
With room for 40,000 reels of film (about 26 million-plus feet) amongst its 12 vaults–completely separated to prevent a total catastrophe if a fire breaks out in a single vault–the center houses some of the most precious gems in film history.
It’s been nearly 70 years since Kodak manufactured their last nitrate film, but the appreciation for the highly flammable, stunningly vivid film stock lives on in more ways than one in Rochester, New York. The George Eastman Museum, home of photography and moving image collections, opened in 1949 and two years later in 1951, the 500-seat Dryden Theatre was unveiled. However, it wasn’t until 1996 that the museum’s nitrate collection found a more secure home. Located in North Chili, NY–about a 15-minute drive from the museum–the unassumingly adorned Louis B. Mayer Conservation Center is a safe haven for nitrate film stock.
With room for 40,000 reels of film (about 26 million-plus feet) amongst its 12 vaults–completely separated to prevent a total catastrophe if a fire breaks out in a single vault–the center houses some of the most precious gems in film history.
- 5/7/2019
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The most populous city in Canada has appeared on-screen in many different ways over the years.Enemy (2013)
There are many ways in which cities are portrayed in cinema. Sometimes cities are anonymous and nameless, and sometimes cities become characters in the films they are portrayed in. Cities can be merely incidental settings, or the specific locations within a city can be incredibly important both narratively and visually. The people within a city tend to represent the place itself: how they act, how they dress, where they work, how they speak, and what they eat. All of these things can be related to the place they live. Cities are home to an infinite multitude of experiences — people from different places, with different families, different wants and desires and identities.
There are cities that are frequently remembered as being iconic within the world of cinema. Paris, Rome, New York, Venice, Chicago, and London have all received loving portraits in...
There are many ways in which cities are portrayed in cinema. Sometimes cities are anonymous and nameless, and sometimes cities become characters in the films they are portrayed in. Cities can be merely incidental settings, or the specific locations within a city can be incredibly important both narratively and visually. The people within a city tend to represent the place itself: how they act, how they dress, where they work, how they speak, and what they eat. All of these things can be related to the place they live. Cities are home to an infinite multitude of experiences — people from different places, with different families, different wants and desires and identities.
There are cities that are frequently remembered as being iconic within the world of cinema. Paris, Rome, New York, Venice, Chicago, and London have all received loving portraits in...
- 4/13/2017
- by Angela Morrison
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Quick…name a favorable film where the landscape is run by (or at least partially include) the demographic of little people as part of the instrumental storyline? C’mon…it should not be that difficult, okay? If you want to mention say Darby O’Gill and the Little People then that would fine. How about Bad Santa or Poltergeist for that matter?
In That’s Good Enough, Short Stuff: Top Ten Films Featuring Little People we will take a look at some of the mini megastars that inhabited these movies and contributed their fair share of entertainment value to the on-screen proceedings. The debate as to whether some of these selected films featuring these pint-sized performers are considered positive, exploitative or dismissive are not up for discussion (although one of these considerations could apply in the minds of a few folks). Instead, we want to celebrate the inclusion of...
In That’s Good Enough, Short Stuff: Top Ten Films Featuring Little People we will take a look at some of the mini megastars that inhabited these movies and contributed their fair share of entertainment value to the on-screen proceedings. The debate as to whether some of these selected films featuring these pint-sized performers are considered positive, exploitative or dismissive are not up for discussion (although one of these considerations could apply in the minds of a few folks). Instead, we want to celebrate the inclusion of...
- 1/26/2015
- by Frank Ochieng
- SoundOnSight
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Sept. 30, 2014
Price: DVD $24.95, Blu-ray $29.95
Studio: Olive Films
Betty Boop, one of the first and most famous sex symbols on the animated screen, returns newly re-mastered in HD from 4K scans of the original negatives and fine grains in Betty Boop: The Essential Collection, Vol. 4, Olive Films’ fourth high-definition anthology of her shorts.
A symbol of the Depression Era and a reminder of the more carefree days of the Roaring Twenties, Betty Boop’s popularity was drawn largely from adult audiences and the cartoons, while seemingly surreal, contained many sexual and psychological elements. (Or does Betty’s catchphrase “Boop-Oop-a-Doop” not have a deeper meaning than you may have imagined?)
Vol. 4 includes 13 classic animated short films, reportedly available for the first time on DVD and Blu-ray. All were produced by Max Fleischer and directed by his brother Dave Fleischer. They feature the voices of Mae Questel, Bonnie Poe...
Price: DVD $24.95, Blu-ray $29.95
Studio: Olive Films
Betty Boop, one of the first and most famous sex symbols on the animated screen, returns newly re-mastered in HD from 4K scans of the original negatives and fine grains in Betty Boop: The Essential Collection, Vol. 4, Olive Films’ fourth high-definition anthology of her shorts.
A symbol of the Depression Era and a reminder of the more carefree days of the Roaring Twenties, Betty Boop’s popularity was drawn largely from adult audiences and the cartoons, while seemingly surreal, contained many sexual and psychological elements. (Or does Betty’s catchphrase “Boop-Oop-a-Doop” not have a deeper meaning than you may have imagined?)
Vol. 4 includes 13 classic animated short films, reportedly available for the first time on DVD and Blu-ray. All were produced by Max Fleischer and directed by his brother Dave Fleischer. They feature the voices of Mae Questel, Bonnie Poe...
- 7/18/2014
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: April 29, 2014
Price: DVD $24.95, Blu-ray $29.95
Studio: Olive Films
Betty Boop, one of the first and most famous sex symbols on the animated screen, returns newly re-mastered in HD from 4K scans of the original negatives and fine grains in Betty Boop: The Essential Collection, Vol. 3, Olive Films’ second high-definition anthology of her shorts.
A symbol of the Depression Era and a reminder of the more carefree days of the Roaring Twenties, Betty Boop’s popularity was drawn largely from adult audiences and the cartoons, while seemingly surreal, contained many sexual and psychological elements. (Or does Betty’s catchphrase “Boop-Oop-a-Doop” not have a deeper meaning than you may have imagined?)
Vol. 2 includes 12 classic animated short films, reportedly available for the first time on DVD and Blu-ray. All were produced by Max Fleischer and directed by his brother Dave Fleischer. They feature the voices of Mae Questel, Bonnie Poe...
Price: DVD $24.95, Blu-ray $29.95
Studio: Olive Films
Betty Boop, one of the first and most famous sex symbols on the animated screen, returns newly re-mastered in HD from 4K scans of the original negatives and fine grains in Betty Boop: The Essential Collection, Vol. 3, Olive Films’ second high-definition anthology of her shorts.
A symbol of the Depression Era and a reminder of the more carefree days of the Roaring Twenties, Betty Boop’s popularity was drawn largely from adult audiences and the cartoons, while seemingly surreal, contained many sexual and psychological elements. (Or does Betty’s catchphrase “Boop-Oop-a-Doop” not have a deeper meaning than you may have imagined?)
Vol. 2 includes 12 classic animated short films, reportedly available for the first time on DVD and Blu-ray. All were produced by Max Fleischer and directed by his brother Dave Fleischer. They feature the voices of Mae Questel, Bonnie Poe...
- 4/4/2014
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Sneak Peek "Wotta Nitemare", the 71st "Popeye" animated cartoon from Fleischer Studios, released in 1939, featuring the voices of
Pinto Colvig, Margie Hines and Jack Mercer, directed by Dave Fleischer and Willard Bowsky:
"...'Popeye' tosses and turns in his sleep. He dreams of himself up in the clouds sitting with an angelic 'Olive Oyl'.
"Soon, however, 'Bluto' materializes and leads the angel away to have a picnic.
"Popeye is left behind bars - in fact, the bars from his bed..."
Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Popeye: Wotta Nitemare"....
Pinto Colvig, Margie Hines and Jack Mercer, directed by Dave Fleischer and Willard Bowsky:
"...'Popeye' tosses and turns in his sleep. He dreams of himself up in the clouds sitting with an angelic 'Olive Oyl'.
"Soon, however, 'Bluto' materializes and leads the angel away to have a picnic.
"Popeye is left behind bars - in fact, the bars from his bed..."
Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Popeye: Wotta Nitemare"....
- 1/31/2014
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Sept. 24, 2013
Price: DVD $24.95, Blu-ray $29.95
Studio: Olive Films
Betty Boop, one of the first and most famous sex symbols on the animated screen, returns newly re-mastered in HD from 4K scans of the original negatives and fine grains in Betty Boop: The Essential Collection, Vol. 2, Olive Films’ second high-definition anthology of her shorts.
A symbol of the Depression Era and a reminder of the more carefree days of the Roaring Twenties, Betty Boop’s popularity was drawn largely from adult audiences and the cartoons, while seemingly surreal, contained many sexual and psychological elements. (Or does Betty’s catchphrase “Boop-Oop-a-Doop” not have a deeper meaning than you may have imagined?)
Vol. 2 includes 12 classic animated short films, reportedly available for the first time on DVD and Blu-ray. All were produced by Max Fleischer and directed by his brother Dave Fleischer. They feature the voices of Mae Questel, Bonnie Poe...
Price: DVD $24.95, Blu-ray $29.95
Studio: Olive Films
Betty Boop, one of the first and most famous sex symbols on the animated screen, returns newly re-mastered in HD from 4K scans of the original negatives and fine grains in Betty Boop: The Essential Collection, Vol. 2, Olive Films’ second high-definition anthology of her shorts.
A symbol of the Depression Era and a reminder of the more carefree days of the Roaring Twenties, Betty Boop’s popularity was drawn largely from adult audiences and the cartoons, while seemingly surreal, contained many sexual and psychological elements. (Or does Betty’s catchphrase “Boop-Oop-a-Doop” not have a deeper meaning than you may have imagined?)
Vol. 2 includes 12 classic animated short films, reportedly available for the first time on DVD and Blu-ray. All were produced by Max Fleischer and directed by his brother Dave Fleischer. They feature the voices of Mae Questel, Bonnie Poe...
- 9/30/2013
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: July 30, 2013
Price: DVD $24.95, Blu-ray $29.95
Studio: Olive Films
Betty Boop, one of the first and most famous sex symbols on the animated screen, returns newly re-mastered in HD from 4K scans of the original negatives and fine grains, in Betty Boop: The Essential Collection, Vol. 1.
A symbol of the Depression Era and a reminder of the more carefree days of the Roaring Twenties, Betty Boop’s popularity was drawn largely from adult audiences and the cartoons, while seemingly surreal, contained many sexual and psychological elements. (Or does Betty’s catchphrase “Boop-Oop-a-Doop” not have a deeper meaning than you may have imagined?)
Vol. One includes 12 classic animated short films, reportedly available for the first time on DVD and Blu-ray. All were produced by Max Fleischer and directed by his brother Dave Fleischer. They feature the voices of Mae Questel, Bonnie Poe and Ann Little as Betty Boop, as...
Price: DVD $24.95, Blu-ray $29.95
Studio: Olive Films
Betty Boop, one of the first and most famous sex symbols on the animated screen, returns newly re-mastered in HD from 4K scans of the original negatives and fine grains, in Betty Boop: The Essential Collection, Vol. 1.
A symbol of the Depression Era and a reminder of the more carefree days of the Roaring Twenties, Betty Boop’s popularity was drawn largely from adult audiences and the cartoons, while seemingly surreal, contained many sexual and psychological elements. (Or does Betty’s catchphrase “Boop-Oop-a-Doop” not have a deeper meaning than you may have imagined?)
Vol. One includes 12 classic animated short films, reportedly available for the first time on DVD and Blu-ray. All were produced by Max Fleischer and directed by his brother Dave Fleischer. They feature the voices of Mae Questel, Bonnie Poe and Ann Little as Betty Boop, as...
- 6/3/2013
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
January 1929 was a very good month for comic strip readers. On the 7th they got to see the arrival of Tarzan and Buck Rogers while ten days later, fans of Thimble Theater met a brand new character named Popeye. The sailor was never intended to take over the strip but his popularity with readers encouraged E.C. Segar to keep him around until he finally shoved the Oyl family from the spotlight.
Burnishing his reputation were the brilliantly execute black and white theatrical shorts produced by Max and Dave Fleischer. After they shuttered operations, others took over the cartoon production, keeping Popeye a mainstay for generations of fans. Many of my generation were treated to the somewhat inferior Associated Artists Productions cartoons which completed their run in 1957. Not to be undone, King Features Syndicate hired Al Brodax to oversee a new round of cartoons aimed for the burgeoning television syndication market.
Burnishing his reputation were the brilliantly execute black and white theatrical shorts produced by Max and Dave Fleischer. After they shuttered operations, others took over the cartoon production, keeping Popeye a mainstay for generations of fans. Many of my generation were treated to the somewhat inferior Associated Artists Productions cartoons which completed their run in 1957. Not to be undone, King Features Syndicate hired Al Brodax to oversee a new round of cartoons aimed for the burgeoning television syndication market.
- 5/18/2013
- by Robert Greenberger
- Comicmix.com
Idw Publishing reports that writer Roger Langridge and illustrator Bruce Ozella are the creative team behind Idw's new "Popeye" comic book series, debuting April 2012.
"Popeye" #1 will feature a cover from Ozella, as well as a special variant edition, with a cover by Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Jules Feiffer.
The monthly series will be co-edited by Idw's co-founder, chief executive officer, Ted Adams and Craig Yoe.
"Ever since I was a kid, the two cartoonists who have had the biggest influence on me have been Carl Barks ("Donald Duck") and E.C. Segar," said Langridge, "so getting a chance to write Popeye is quite a thrill. I'm especially pleased that Idw have decided to go with a Segar-flavored interpretation. As much as I like some of the later versions of the character, for me, it's those early strips where the magic really happened."
'Popeye the Sailor' was created by Elzie Crisler (E.
"Popeye" #1 will feature a cover from Ozella, as well as a special variant edition, with a cover by Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Jules Feiffer.
The monthly series will be co-edited by Idw's co-founder, chief executive officer, Ted Adams and Craig Yoe.
"Ever since I was a kid, the two cartoonists who have had the biggest influence on me have been Carl Barks ("Donald Duck") and E.C. Segar," said Langridge, "so getting a chance to write Popeye is quite a thrill. I'm especially pleased that Idw have decided to go with a Segar-flavored interpretation. As much as I like some of the later versions of the character, for me, it's those early strips where the magic really happened."
'Popeye the Sailor' was created by Elzie Crisler (E.
- 1/19/2012
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
Sony Pictures Animation and Arad Productions, report they have hired screenwriters Jay Scherick and David Ronn ("The Smurfs") to write a script for a new "Popeye" stereoscopic 3D animated feature, based on the comic strip and cartoon characters.
"Scherick & Ronn have a remarkable talent in re-energizing beloved characters," said Bob Osher, president of Sony Pictures Digital Productions. "As they demonstrated with 'The Smurfs,' they embrace the iconic characteristics of these timeless characters and craft a story that really engages moviegoers today."
"We're thrilled that Jay and Dave are helping us reintroduce 'Popeye' to a new generation," said Michelle Raimo Kouyate, president of production for Sony Pictures Animation. "Their take on the world of 'Popeye' has just the right blend of comedy, adventure and heart..."
'Popeye the Sailor' was created by Elzie Crisler (E.C.) Segar, debuting in the daily King Features comic strip 'Thimble Theatre',...
"Scherick & Ronn have a remarkable talent in re-energizing beloved characters," said Bob Osher, president of Sony Pictures Digital Productions. "As they demonstrated with 'The Smurfs,' they embrace the iconic characteristics of these timeless characters and craft a story that really engages moviegoers today."
"We're thrilled that Jay and Dave are helping us reintroduce 'Popeye' to a new generation," said Michelle Raimo Kouyate, president of production for Sony Pictures Animation. "Their take on the world of 'Popeye' has just the right blend of comedy, adventure and heart..."
'Popeye the Sailor' was created by Elzie Crisler (E.C.) Segar, debuting in the daily King Features comic strip 'Thimble Theatre',...
- 11/3/2011
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
Avi Arad, producer of the live-action "Spider-Man" movies, continues to develop Sony Pictures Animation's 3D "Popeye" feature film, rendered in CG by Sony Pictures ImageWorks.
Arad confirmed that the new film will highlight themes of friendship, love, greed and life, focusing on human strengths and human frailties.
"Popeye has become one of the most enduring and iconic cartoon characters of all time and indelibly linked to the evolution of animation," said Hannah Minghella, president of production, Sony Pictures Animation.
'Popeye the Sailor' was created by Elzie Crisler (E.C.) Segar, debuting in the daily King Features comic strip 'Thimble Theatre', January 17, 1929. Thimble Theatre was carried on after Segar's death in 1938 by several writers and artists, most notably Segar's assistant Bud Sagendorf.
Retitled "Popeye", the comic strip continues to appear in first-run installments in a Sunday edition, written/illustrated by Hy Eisman, with daily strip reprints of Sagendorf's original stories.
Arad confirmed that the new film will highlight themes of friendship, love, greed and life, focusing on human strengths and human frailties.
"Popeye has become one of the most enduring and iconic cartoon characters of all time and indelibly linked to the evolution of animation," said Hannah Minghella, president of production, Sony Pictures Animation.
'Popeye the Sailor' was created by Elzie Crisler (E.C.) Segar, debuting in the daily King Features comic strip 'Thimble Theatre', January 17, 1929. Thimble Theatre was carried on after Segar's death in 1938 by several writers and artists, most notably Segar's assistant Bud Sagendorf.
Retitled "Popeye", the comic strip continues to appear in first-run installments in a Sunday edition, written/illustrated by Hy Eisman, with daily strip reprints of Sagendorf's original stories.
- 6/14/2011
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
20th Century Fox' "Gulliver's Travels" is director Rob Letterman's upcoming, 3D live-action family adventure, based on the 18th-century novel of the same name by author Jonathan Swift.
Set in the modern era, the feature stars Jack Black as title character 'Lemuel Gulliver' with Catherine Tate as the 'Queen of Lilliput', Emily Blunt as the 'Princess of Lilliput', Jason Segel as 'Horatio', Amanda Peet as 'Darcy', T.J. Miller as 'Dan', Billy Connolly as the 'King of Lilliput', Chris O'Dowd as 'Edward' and Romany Malco as 'Young Hank'.
Premise follows Gulliver, a free-spirited travel writer who, on an assignment to the Bermuda Triangle, suddenly finds himself a giant among men when he washes ashore on the hidden island of Lilliput, home to a population of industrious, yet tiny, people.
The Davis Entertainment production will be released December 22, 2010.
In 1939, the story was produced as a cel-animated Technicolor feature, directed by Dave Fleischer and produced by Max Fleischer,...
Set in the modern era, the feature stars Jack Black as title character 'Lemuel Gulliver' with Catherine Tate as the 'Queen of Lilliput', Emily Blunt as the 'Princess of Lilliput', Jason Segel as 'Horatio', Amanda Peet as 'Darcy', T.J. Miller as 'Dan', Billy Connolly as the 'King of Lilliput', Chris O'Dowd as 'Edward' and Romany Malco as 'Young Hank'.
Premise follows Gulliver, a free-spirited travel writer who, on an assignment to the Bermuda Triangle, suddenly finds himself a giant among men when he washes ashore on the hidden island of Lilliput, home to a population of industrious, yet tiny, people.
The Davis Entertainment production will be released December 22, 2010.
In 1939, the story was produced as a cel-animated Technicolor feature, directed by Dave Fleischer and produced by Max Fleischer,...
- 10/1/2010
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
Fox unveils the first poster for Gulliver's Travels, starring Jack Black…
Originally written in 1726, Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels became, thanks to the author's biting wit and playful imagination, popular among readers of all ages. Told in four parts, the story saw its sea-faring protagonist encounter humans both tiny and colossal, a magnetically floating island populated by a tyrannical king, and finally an unknown continent and its population of intellectual horses.
There have been several attempts to adapt Swift's imaginative satire in the past, including an early silent film by Georges Méliès, a 1939 animated feature by Dave Fleischer, and a television mini-series in 1996 with Ted Danson starring as the titular Gulliver.
Now it's 20th Century Fox's turn to produce their take on the 18th century novel, which this time stars Jack Black as Gulliver, the "surgeon and captain of several ships" of the original novel. What's clear from both...
Originally written in 1726, Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels became, thanks to the author's biting wit and playful imagination, popular among readers of all ages. Told in four parts, the story saw its sea-faring protagonist encounter humans both tiny and colossal, a magnetically floating island populated by a tyrannical king, and finally an unknown continent and its population of intellectual horses.
There have been several attempts to adapt Swift's imaginative satire in the past, including an early silent film by Georges Méliès, a 1939 animated feature by Dave Fleischer, and a television mini-series in 1996 with Ted Danson starring as the titular Gulliver.
Now it's 20th Century Fox's turn to produce their take on the 18th century novel, which this time stars Jack Black as Gulliver, the "surgeon and captain of several ships" of the original novel. What's clear from both...
- 6/2/2010
- Den of Geek
Avi Arad, producer of the live-action "Spider-Man" movies is now on board Sony Pictures Animation's developing 3D "Popeye" feature film, to be rendered in CG by Sony Pictures ImageWorks.
Arad confirmed that the new film will highlight themes of friendship, love, greed and life, focusing on human strengths and human frailties.
"Popeye has become one of the most enduring and iconic cartoon characters of all time and indelibly linked to the evolution of animation," said Hannah Minghella, president of production, Sony Pictures Animation.
'Popeye the Sailor' was created by Elzie Crisler (E.C.) Segar, debuting in the daily King Features comic strip 'Thimble Theatre', January 17, 1929. Thimble Theatre was carried on after Segar's death in 1938 by several writers and artists, most notably Segar's assistant Bud Sagendorf.
Retitled "Popeye", the comic strip continues to appear in first-run installments in a Sunday edition, written/illustrated by Hy Eisman,...
Arad confirmed that the new film will highlight themes of friendship, love, greed and life, focusing on human strengths and human frailties.
"Popeye has become one of the most enduring and iconic cartoon characters of all time and indelibly linked to the evolution of animation," said Hannah Minghella, president of production, Sony Pictures Animation.
'Popeye the Sailor' was created by Elzie Crisler (E.C.) Segar, debuting in the daily King Features comic strip 'Thimble Theatre', January 17, 1929. Thimble Theatre was carried on after Segar's death in 1938 by several writers and artists, most notably Segar's assistant Bud Sagendorf.
Retitled "Popeye", the comic strip continues to appear in first-run installments in a Sunday edition, written/illustrated by Hy Eisman,...
- 3/23/2010
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
Jose here, to remind you of an underrated gem from 2004.
When I was a child I was addicted to Superman. Not the Christopher Reeve movies and obviously not the weird TV show with Teri Hatcher, but the classic animated shorts from the 1930s. We had a VHS tape which I could watch for hours and hours completely enthralled by the terrific stories, the foreign adventures and even the sense of menace and doom conveyed by Dave Fleischer in under ten minutes.
Years later I had the same feeling watching Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. Kerry Conran's debut film was a tribute to this era which featured giants robots, timeless kingdoms atop the Himalayas, perky reporters and heroines with eye patches.
Everything in the film is CGI, except for the actors, which gives it a retro-futuristic air. With nods to Dave Fleischer, Flash Gordon, Indiana Jones (which is...
When I was a child I was addicted to Superman. Not the Christopher Reeve movies and obviously not the weird TV show with Teri Hatcher, but the classic animated shorts from the 1930s. We had a VHS tape which I could watch for hours and hours completely enthralled by the terrific stories, the foreign adventures and even the sense of menace and doom conveyed by Dave Fleischer in under ten minutes.
Years later I had the same feeling watching Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. Kerry Conran's debut film was a tribute to this era which featured giants robots, timeless kingdoms atop the Himalayas, perky reporters and heroines with eye patches.
Everything in the film is CGI, except for the actors, which gives it a retro-futuristic air. With nods to Dave Fleischer, Flash Gordon, Indiana Jones (which is...
- 12/17/2009
- by Jose
- FilmExperience
A computer-generated movie version of Popeye has undergone development. Marvel studio head Avi Arad revealed that he has secured the rights to the character and plans to reboot the famed sailor in a feature-length film utilising computer technology, Variety reports. Created by Elzie Crisler Segar, Popeye was first introduced to the public in the 1929 King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre. The character was adapted by Max and Dave Fleischer (more)...
- 9/24/2009
- by By Tim Parks
- Digital Spy
Superman may have caught the world’s imagination and helped make comic books an industry, but I wasn’t All That fond of him. I began reading comics about 25 years after his 1938 introduction (my first comic was actually a Green Lantern-Flash team-up), but I soon became a Marvel guy (or should I say a Disney/Marvel guy?), and if I had to have a favorite DC hero, it would have to be Batman. So, it’s kind of ironic that I became friends with Superman’s legendary comics editor Julie Schwartz in the 1980s, and no less than three ex-starlog Managing Editors (my protégés Eddie Berganza, Mike McAvennie, Maureen McTigue) ended up at DC Comics editing the Superman titles in the ’90s. So I sorta feel like a step-uncle, twice removed, to the Man of Steel. I had no effect on him, but my posse did.
Although Batman just edges...
Although Batman just edges...
- 8/31/2009
- by no-reply@starlog.com (David McDonnell)
- Starlog
In this incarnation of our Videolog column (which began in 1982 with VHS and Betamax and later laserdisc), Starlog posts information usually (though not always) on Tuesdays regarding selected genre titles being released (or re-released) now on DVD and Blu-ray. Prices listed are Msrp, while clickable links lead to Amazon where the savings is significant. Here’s what coming out this week:
DVD Releases for August 25, 2009
The Adventures Of Robin Hood: The Complete Fourth Season & The Complete Series (Mill Creek Entertainment, Fourth Season, $14.98; Complete Series, $29.98): The 1955 British TV series is being released on two new DVD sets: The fourth and final season, and the complete series. Richard Greene stars as Robin Hood, who rules Sherwood Forest with his band of Merry Men in their endless fight against the despicable Sheriff of Nottingham (Alan Wheatley).
Batman: The Brave And The Bold: Volume One (Warner, $14.98): In this latest Batman interpretation,...
DVD Releases for August 25, 2009
The Adventures Of Robin Hood: The Complete Fourth Season & The Complete Series (Mill Creek Entertainment, Fourth Season, $14.98; Complete Series, $29.98): The 1955 British TV series is being released on two new DVD sets: The fourth and final season, and the complete series. Richard Greene stars as Robin Hood, who rules Sherwood Forest with his band of Merry Men in their endless fight against the despicable Sheriff of Nottingham (Alan Wheatley).
Batman: The Brave And The Bold: Volume One (Warner, $14.98): In this latest Batman interpretation,...
- 8/25/2009
- by no-reply@starlog.com (Allan Dart)
- Starlog
From 1941 through 1942, Max and Dave Fleischer rewrote the rules for animation and people have been trying to match those results ever since. When no one had previously tried adventure in animated form, the Fleischers took their lessons from Popeye and applied them to Superman with astounding results.
The seventeen shorts, released by Paramount Pictures, were the closet anyone would come to bringing Superman to a live action feature film until Richard Donner achieved that goal in 1977 (and people have been trying to match that goal ever since).
Warner Home Video has previously included the cartoons as part of their mammoth tin can set of Superman features but now there’s a two-disc set, Max Fleischer's Superman: 1941-1942 , which was released this week. Technically, one wishes they cleaned the prints a bit better before transfer but these are better than most of the public domain dubs that have been circulating since the 1980s.
The seventeen shorts, released by Paramount Pictures, were the closet anyone would come to bringing Superman to a live action feature film until Richard Donner achieved that goal in 1977 (and people have been trying to match that goal ever since).
Warner Home Video has previously included the cartoons as part of their mammoth tin can set of Superman features but now there’s a two-disc set, Max Fleischer's Superman: 1941-1942 , which was released this week. Technically, one wishes they cleaned the prints a bit better before transfer but these are better than most of the public domain dubs that have been circulating since the 1980s.
- 4/13/2009
- by Robert Greenberger
- Comicmix.com
Warner Home Video is finally releasing their own version of the Superman cartoons produced by Max & Dave Fleischer. The seventeen classics have been in the public domain and collected repeatedly over the last 20 years. Come April 7, though, the first authorized collection will be released.
In addition to the Paramount cartoons, released in 1941 and 1942, the two-disc set will include two extras: “The Man, The Myth, Superman” and “First Flight: The Fleischer Superman Series”. The set will retail for $26.99 and if you have never seen these cartoons, they are well worth it...
In addition to the Paramount cartoons, released in 1941 and 1942, the two-disc set will include two extras: “The Man, The Myth, Superman” and “First Flight: The Fleischer Superman Series”. The set will retail for $26.99 and if you have never seen these cartoons, they are well worth it...
- 12/30/2008
- by Robert Greenberger
- Comicmix.com
Release date: Nov. 28
Along with the good, everything that was bad about the first two Christopher Reeve "Superman" films is repeated in the 2006 franchise resurrection, "Superman Returns", starring Brandon Routh.
Kevin Spacey, for example, is in the same league as Gene Hackman and delivers the same sort of appealing one-liners and amusing emotional explosions as the central villain, but, like Hackman, he is also overly clownish, emphasizing the 'comic' part of comic book.
Like its predecessors, the 132-minute film is too long, and there are too many strings playing in the musical score when the hero flies, instilling the viewer not so much with a sense of awe as with an attack of yawns.
In the story's deliberately vague premise, the hero has been away from the Earth for a somewhat unspecified length of time, returning to find that his girlfriend has an unspecified relationship with another man and a child of an unspecified age (he certainly looks older than what the dialog claims he is).
These dynamics play out as the villain hatches a monumentally evil plot to create a new continent and eliminate several of the old ones in the process. That's the other problem with Superman. He's really not suited, as it were, for modern film special effects.
The best utilizations of the character have been in confined circumstance -- animated cartoons, or the TV shows, where resources are limited. Since there are almost no limits to his powers, there is almost no tension to his dilemmas, and so the big budget canvas, which has been ideal for the depiction of other, less powerful and more psychologically conflicted super heroes, is reduced with the indestructible Superman to depicting simplistic stories and mindless fights.
Directed by Bryan Singer, the film has some viable special effect sequences, but no real demo-quality action scenes comparable to the helicopter rescue in the first Christopher Reeve Superman feature. The spiritual metaphors that were suggested in the film's trailer are nowhere to be seen. As hard as he tries, there is only so much psychological ore Singer can strip mine from such a shallow premise.
The Warner Home Video Widescreen release (retail $29) has a few thrills, a few laughs and a great surround soundtrack, but it is not the uber-entertainment it seems to want to become, and the more often one goes back to watch it again, the more one is going to hit the Scan button to hurry it up.
The letterboxing has an aspect ratio of about 2.35:1 and an accommodation for enhanced 16:9 playback. The 5.1-channel Dolby Digital track has strong and distinctive rear channel effects and lots of power coming from every direction. There is an alternate Spanish track in 5.1 Dolby and optional English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Warner has also released a Two-Disc Special Edition (retail $34.98) with worthwhile supplementary features. The first platter is identical to the standard release. Along with two of the film's trailers and a 4-minute promo sequence about resurrecting Marlon Brando's image for the film, there are 15 minutes of deleted scenes and 173 minutes of behind-the-scenes materials.
Both contain hints of what the movie should have been.
There is a deleted scene that explains the film's premise much more clearly than what made it into the film and would have had a great resonance to today -- basically, that Superman has abandoned America. There are also story conferences in the behind-the-scenes materials that go over the same point. But the deleted scene is way too slow to have been included in the already sluggish opening act, and Singer was too rushed with his tight development deadlines to really work out what he was trying to accomplish. The behind-the-scenes material is excellent, showing how every major sequence was staged and giving you a feel for the personalities of the cast and crew, as well as capturing raw moments of creative brainstorming that normally don't make it into a DVD.
To promote the theatrical release of "Superman Returns", Warner commissioned a documentary about Superman by Kevin Burns, which is featured in the two-platter set, "Look, Up in the Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman" (retail $14.99). Yes, it promotes all of Warner's Superman products, and yes, the final section has an extended segment on 'Superman Returns" disproportionate to the coverage of the other movies, TV shows and so on, but it is still a terrific effort that will offer up revelations and insights to even the most knowledgeable of fans.
The history of the development of the character is told in great detail, footage from discarded pilots and other rarities is shared, screen tests are included (Stockard Channing as Lois Lane, anyone?), and a steady tracking of the changes made to the character as a reflection of shifts in the American psyche is provided. It is an engrossing presentation.
The picture is in letterboxed format only, with an aspect ratio of about 1.78:1 and an accommodation for enhanced 16:9 playback. The 5.1-channel Dolby Digital sound applies John Williams' musical score effectively. There are optional French subtitles (contrary to a jacket notation, there is no Spanish subtitling) and there is English captioning. The second platter contains 29 more minutes of esoteric behind-the-scenes footage from "Superman Returns" that was not included on the Special Edition DVD, the most interesting segment being a look at how you fake a baseball super-toss.
As is explained in the documentary, director Richard Donner was removed from the 1980 "Superman II" after having directed the first "Superman", and was replaced by Richard Lester. Thanks entirely to the popularity of the DVD format, Warner has made the admirable effort of allowing Donner to reconstruct the film as he originally envisioned it, which has been released as "Superman II The Richard Donner Cut" (retail $24.98).
Don't expect miracles. The basic story is the same, with the hero squaring off against three super-villains from his home planet. But at 116 minutes, compared to the standard version's 127 minutes, the film is tighter and less tedious. The opening act is much stronger and more to the point, and sequences later in the film, such as the hero's humiliation after he loses his powers, are less of a strain because it hasn't taken quite so long to get there.
Marlon Brando's footage, which had been excised by the film's producers in a cost-cutting move, is restored, and is good fun (he reads from Joyce Kilmer's "Trees", which may or may not be intended for ironic effect).
Nevertheless, the ending leaves something to be desired -- the hero reverses the earth's spin as he did in "Superman" to erase everyone's memories, which is just as ridiculous as him kissing the heroine and sucking out her memories in the standard version of "II" (it seems more clear now, however, in the standard version, that she is pregnant, something that would be impossible with the revised version). Essentially, what made the second film the most satisfying in the series has been slightly better honed and sculpted, but its imperfections remain.
The picture is in letterboxed format only, with an aspect ratio of about 2.35:1 and an accommodation for enhanced 16:9 playback. The image is smooth and sharp, and although there is an opening card that claims some of the footage came from screen tests, you would be hard pressed to identify it.
The 5.1-channel Dolby Digital sound is on par with the standard version, and the great sub woofer workout during the final battle remains. There are optional English, French and Spanish subtitles, a 13-minute featurette about the revisions, and 9 minutes of deleted scenes with a few scattered gags
Donner and screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz supply a commentary track. Donner reminisces about shooting both films and the various people he worked with, but a lot of the talk is an attempted justification for their version of the movie. "Richard Lester ... kind of reverted back to, in my eyes, the face value of the comic book rather than the heart, and reality was lost. Therefore, as much as possible, tried to remove as much of his footage, without making a major hole in the storytelling."
It is rare to come across controversy on a DVD commentary track because most filmmakers know they are speaking for the ages and try to put themselves in as best a light as possible, but an entertaining cat fight kind of develops between the commentary on the "Richard Donner Cut", and the commentary by producers Ilya Salkind and Pierre Spengler (who speak separately) on the Two-Disc Special Edition of "Superman II" (retail $26.98). Donner claims that he has no real idea why the producers replaced him on the second film, but both Salkind and Spengler say specifically that Donner refused to work with Spengler again after the first film was completed. They also disagree on whether it would have been a worthy investment to bring Brando back for "II," and on the value of various scenes that are in one film but not the other.
When not defending their turf, the two producers talk in general terms about the film, the stars, the logistics of the shoot, Lester's contributions to the movie, and what constitutes the Superman character.
"The circulation of the Superman comic book was somewhere in the region of 200,000-250,000, so it's not that huge, but what the comic books have done, they have created a common subconscious. I think you ask anybody who Superman is, not only after the film, but even before, people knew who Superman was and knew one or two idiosyncrasies, and then the rest they imagined what it could be.
"The comic book fans will know a lot of details and will be very precise. The other people will know a few details and then what you have to do when you re-create a thing like a movie, you have to basically satisfy what they imagine it is, so long as it is in keeping with what the general, common subconscious. I'm sounding like Freud here, but there is some truth. I think the comic book base was very happy. DC Comics was very happy with what we did with the film and what we did with the character."
The picture is presented in letterboxed format only, with an aspect ratio of about 2.35:1 and an accommodation for enhanced 16:9 playback. The picture transfer differs from Warner's first release of the title, but the earlier transfer wasn't bad, so there isn't much to improve upon. The framing is slightly different, to no effect.
The source material varies between scenes that are very crisp and glossy, and scenes that are soft and a little grainy, and that is how the film comes off on both DVDs. The 5.1-channel Dolby Digital sound, on the other hand, has a much nicer and better-detailed separation mix, and plenty of punch. There is an alternate French track in mono, optional English, French and Spanish subtitles, a trailer, and a minute-long deleted scene in which the hero uses his heat ray vision to cook a souffle for the heroine.
The second platter has a very good 52-minute TV special from 1980 with lots of behind-the-scenes footage that shows how several elaborate action scenes were staged.
There is also a jokey-but-fun 48-minute TV special from 1988, with a number of guest stars, which shows clips from all of the various Superman iterations -- cartoons, serials, TV shows, movies and so on -- but pretends that it is a documentary about the 'real' Superman. "Superman's powers come in very handy in Metropolis, the city which annually leads the nation in accidents and natural disasters."
A nice 13-minute featurette about the Max and Dave Fleischer cartoons is accompanied by the latter eight of those cartoons from the early '40s, "Japoteurs", "Showdown", "Eleventh Hour", "Destruction Inc.", "The Mummy Strikes", "Jungle Drums", "The Underground World" and "Secret Agent". Although they are the weaker of the series as a whole, that is a relative term since all of them are highly engaging, with fantastic artwork and reasonably enjoyable stories. The transfers look super, too, with bright, crisp colors and minimal wear.
The complete database of Doug Pratt's DVD-video reviews is available at http://www.dvdlaser.com. A sample copy of the DVD-Laser Disc Newsletter can be obtained by calling (516) 594-9304....
Along with the good, everything that was bad about the first two Christopher Reeve "Superman" films is repeated in the 2006 franchise resurrection, "Superman Returns", starring Brandon Routh.
Kevin Spacey, for example, is in the same league as Gene Hackman and delivers the same sort of appealing one-liners and amusing emotional explosions as the central villain, but, like Hackman, he is also overly clownish, emphasizing the 'comic' part of comic book.
Like its predecessors, the 132-minute film is too long, and there are too many strings playing in the musical score when the hero flies, instilling the viewer not so much with a sense of awe as with an attack of yawns.
In the story's deliberately vague premise, the hero has been away from the Earth for a somewhat unspecified length of time, returning to find that his girlfriend has an unspecified relationship with another man and a child of an unspecified age (he certainly looks older than what the dialog claims he is).
These dynamics play out as the villain hatches a monumentally evil plot to create a new continent and eliminate several of the old ones in the process. That's the other problem with Superman. He's really not suited, as it were, for modern film special effects.
The best utilizations of the character have been in confined circumstance -- animated cartoons, or the TV shows, where resources are limited. Since there are almost no limits to his powers, there is almost no tension to his dilemmas, and so the big budget canvas, which has been ideal for the depiction of other, less powerful and more psychologically conflicted super heroes, is reduced with the indestructible Superman to depicting simplistic stories and mindless fights.
Directed by Bryan Singer, the film has some viable special effect sequences, but no real demo-quality action scenes comparable to the helicopter rescue in the first Christopher Reeve Superman feature. The spiritual metaphors that were suggested in the film's trailer are nowhere to be seen. As hard as he tries, there is only so much psychological ore Singer can strip mine from such a shallow premise.
The Warner Home Video Widescreen release (retail $29) has a few thrills, a few laughs and a great surround soundtrack, but it is not the uber-entertainment it seems to want to become, and the more often one goes back to watch it again, the more one is going to hit the Scan button to hurry it up.
The letterboxing has an aspect ratio of about 2.35:1 and an accommodation for enhanced 16:9 playback. The 5.1-channel Dolby Digital track has strong and distinctive rear channel effects and lots of power coming from every direction. There is an alternate Spanish track in 5.1 Dolby and optional English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Warner has also released a Two-Disc Special Edition (retail $34.98) with worthwhile supplementary features. The first platter is identical to the standard release. Along with two of the film's trailers and a 4-minute promo sequence about resurrecting Marlon Brando's image for the film, there are 15 minutes of deleted scenes and 173 minutes of behind-the-scenes materials.
Both contain hints of what the movie should have been.
There is a deleted scene that explains the film's premise much more clearly than what made it into the film and would have had a great resonance to today -- basically, that Superman has abandoned America. There are also story conferences in the behind-the-scenes materials that go over the same point. But the deleted scene is way too slow to have been included in the already sluggish opening act, and Singer was too rushed with his tight development deadlines to really work out what he was trying to accomplish. The behind-the-scenes material is excellent, showing how every major sequence was staged and giving you a feel for the personalities of the cast and crew, as well as capturing raw moments of creative brainstorming that normally don't make it into a DVD.
To promote the theatrical release of "Superman Returns", Warner commissioned a documentary about Superman by Kevin Burns, which is featured in the two-platter set, "Look, Up in the Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman" (retail $14.99). Yes, it promotes all of Warner's Superman products, and yes, the final section has an extended segment on 'Superman Returns" disproportionate to the coverage of the other movies, TV shows and so on, but it is still a terrific effort that will offer up revelations and insights to even the most knowledgeable of fans.
The history of the development of the character is told in great detail, footage from discarded pilots and other rarities is shared, screen tests are included (Stockard Channing as Lois Lane, anyone?), and a steady tracking of the changes made to the character as a reflection of shifts in the American psyche is provided. It is an engrossing presentation.
The picture is in letterboxed format only, with an aspect ratio of about 1.78:1 and an accommodation for enhanced 16:9 playback. The 5.1-channel Dolby Digital sound applies John Williams' musical score effectively. There are optional French subtitles (contrary to a jacket notation, there is no Spanish subtitling) and there is English captioning. The second platter contains 29 more minutes of esoteric behind-the-scenes footage from "Superman Returns" that was not included on the Special Edition DVD, the most interesting segment being a look at how you fake a baseball super-toss.
As is explained in the documentary, director Richard Donner was removed from the 1980 "Superman II" after having directed the first "Superman", and was replaced by Richard Lester. Thanks entirely to the popularity of the DVD format, Warner has made the admirable effort of allowing Donner to reconstruct the film as he originally envisioned it, which has been released as "Superman II The Richard Donner Cut" (retail $24.98).
Don't expect miracles. The basic story is the same, with the hero squaring off against three super-villains from his home planet. But at 116 minutes, compared to the standard version's 127 minutes, the film is tighter and less tedious. The opening act is much stronger and more to the point, and sequences later in the film, such as the hero's humiliation after he loses his powers, are less of a strain because it hasn't taken quite so long to get there.
Marlon Brando's footage, which had been excised by the film's producers in a cost-cutting move, is restored, and is good fun (he reads from Joyce Kilmer's "Trees", which may or may not be intended for ironic effect).
Nevertheless, the ending leaves something to be desired -- the hero reverses the earth's spin as he did in "Superman" to erase everyone's memories, which is just as ridiculous as him kissing the heroine and sucking out her memories in the standard version of "II" (it seems more clear now, however, in the standard version, that she is pregnant, something that would be impossible with the revised version). Essentially, what made the second film the most satisfying in the series has been slightly better honed and sculpted, but its imperfections remain.
The picture is in letterboxed format only, with an aspect ratio of about 2.35:1 and an accommodation for enhanced 16:9 playback. The image is smooth and sharp, and although there is an opening card that claims some of the footage came from screen tests, you would be hard pressed to identify it.
The 5.1-channel Dolby Digital sound is on par with the standard version, and the great sub woofer workout during the final battle remains. There are optional English, French and Spanish subtitles, a 13-minute featurette about the revisions, and 9 minutes of deleted scenes with a few scattered gags
Donner and screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz supply a commentary track. Donner reminisces about shooting both films and the various people he worked with, but a lot of the talk is an attempted justification for their version of the movie. "Richard Lester ... kind of reverted back to, in my eyes, the face value of the comic book rather than the heart, and reality was lost. Therefore, as much as possible, tried to remove as much of his footage, without making a major hole in the storytelling."
It is rare to come across controversy on a DVD commentary track because most filmmakers know they are speaking for the ages and try to put themselves in as best a light as possible, but an entertaining cat fight kind of develops between the commentary on the "Richard Donner Cut", and the commentary by producers Ilya Salkind and Pierre Spengler (who speak separately) on the Two-Disc Special Edition of "Superman II" (retail $26.98). Donner claims that he has no real idea why the producers replaced him on the second film, but both Salkind and Spengler say specifically that Donner refused to work with Spengler again after the first film was completed. They also disagree on whether it would have been a worthy investment to bring Brando back for "II," and on the value of various scenes that are in one film but not the other.
When not defending their turf, the two producers talk in general terms about the film, the stars, the logistics of the shoot, Lester's contributions to the movie, and what constitutes the Superman character.
"The circulation of the Superman comic book was somewhere in the region of 200,000-250,000, so it's not that huge, but what the comic books have done, they have created a common subconscious. I think you ask anybody who Superman is, not only after the film, but even before, people knew who Superman was and knew one or two idiosyncrasies, and then the rest they imagined what it could be.
"The comic book fans will know a lot of details and will be very precise. The other people will know a few details and then what you have to do when you re-create a thing like a movie, you have to basically satisfy what they imagine it is, so long as it is in keeping with what the general, common subconscious. I'm sounding like Freud here, but there is some truth. I think the comic book base was very happy. DC Comics was very happy with what we did with the film and what we did with the character."
The picture is presented in letterboxed format only, with an aspect ratio of about 2.35:1 and an accommodation for enhanced 16:9 playback. The picture transfer differs from Warner's first release of the title, but the earlier transfer wasn't bad, so there isn't much to improve upon. The framing is slightly different, to no effect.
The source material varies between scenes that are very crisp and glossy, and scenes that are soft and a little grainy, and that is how the film comes off on both DVDs. The 5.1-channel Dolby Digital sound, on the other hand, has a much nicer and better-detailed separation mix, and plenty of punch. There is an alternate French track in mono, optional English, French and Spanish subtitles, a trailer, and a minute-long deleted scene in which the hero uses his heat ray vision to cook a souffle for the heroine.
The second platter has a very good 52-minute TV special from 1980 with lots of behind-the-scenes footage that shows how several elaborate action scenes were staged.
There is also a jokey-but-fun 48-minute TV special from 1988, with a number of guest stars, which shows clips from all of the various Superman iterations -- cartoons, serials, TV shows, movies and so on -- but pretends that it is a documentary about the 'real' Superman. "Superman's powers come in very handy in Metropolis, the city which annually leads the nation in accidents and natural disasters."
A nice 13-minute featurette about the Max and Dave Fleischer cartoons is accompanied by the latter eight of those cartoons from the early '40s, "Japoteurs", "Showdown", "Eleventh Hour", "Destruction Inc.", "The Mummy Strikes", "Jungle Drums", "The Underground World" and "Secret Agent". Although they are the weaker of the series as a whole, that is a relative term since all of them are highly engaging, with fantastic artwork and reasonably enjoyable stories. The transfers look super, too, with bright, crisp colors and minimal wear.
The complete database of Doug Pratt's DVD-video reviews is available at http://www.dvdlaser.com. A sample copy of the DVD-Laser Disc Newsletter can be obtained by calling (516) 594-9304....
- 12/13/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
After one successful launch ("Space Jam") and two discouraging misfires ("Quest for Camelot", "The King and I"), Warner Bros.' outstanding "The Iron Giant" is a giant leap for the studio and robotkind. And, with the steady erosion of the Disney monopoly in feature animation, the Aug. 6 release is a potential sleeper hit for kids and adults.
Director Brad Bird ("King of the Hill", "The Simpsons"), adapting the original children's book by the late British poet laureate Ted Hughes, has created a wonderful character in the huge, childlike visitor from space. In the spectacular opening, the I.G. arrives in a ball of flames and crashes into the sea off the coast of Maine during a hurricane. Young human hero Hogarth Hughes (voiced by Eli Marienthal) befriends the sometimes clumsy behemoth after he saves it from being electrocuted by power lines, not knowing that the Big Guy has a dark secret.
Bird takes many liberties -- imagining a whole different destiny and hidden persona for the mammoth lead -- but the genre humor is clever and the supporting characters are mostly entertaining, while the anti-violence themes are universally relevant. Executive produced by the Who's Pete Townshend -- who released 1989 album "The Iron Man: A Musical" -- "Iron Giant" is more inspired by the previous versions than faithful to the original, with the story now set in 1957 not long after Sputnik has been launched and small-town Americans are scared by "War of the Worlds"-like rumors.
The elusive sense of joy, which movies such as the original "Babe" and "Free Willy" had, is found in the many funny and inventive scenes between parentlike Hogarth and the puppyish I.G. (voiced by Vin Diesel), who prowls around the countryside unseen at first, eating anything made of metal. Eventually, the lead learns to speak, and Hogarth teams with junkyard-owning hipster Dean McCoppen (voiced by Harry Connick Jr.) to keep it hidden from a fanatical government agent (voiced by Christopher McDonald).
Indeed, the subplots are fanciful and semi-serious re-creations of the prosperous and paranoid times -- from Hogarth's love of Action Comics and how that inspires the I.G. to become like Superman to the mysterious space robot's unexpected, climactic transformation into an awesome war machine -- and it might irk some NRA members and gun owners with its "what if a gun had a soul" premise.
The movie gets a bit shrill with the government agent's antics that lead to a tearful near-disaster, which the I.G. -- newly flying like his super hero idol -- narrowly averts. It concludes with a beautiful homage to the end of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" and the opening of Ted Hughes' original book.
The well-paced film, written by Tim McCanlies from Bird's screen story, also features solid voice contributions from Jennifer Aniston as Hogarth's single housewife mom and John Mahoney as a skeptical general, along with bit parts voiced by Cloris Leachman, James Gammon and M. Emmet Walsh.
With a 2-D visual style that is agreeably nostalgic -- reminiscent of 1950s comic books and science fiction pulp magazine covers, as well as Dave Fleischer's "Superman" and other '40s and '50s cartoons -- "Iron Giant" is a terrific use of the medium, including great sound work. Michael Kamen's soaring orchestral score is a classy bonus.
THE IRON GIANT
Warner Bros.
Director: Brad Bird
Producers: Allison Abbate, Des McAnuff
Screenwriter: Tim McCanlies
Based on a book by: Ted Hughes
Executive producer: Pete Townshend
Production designer: Mark Whiting
Editor: Darren T. Holmes
Music: Michael Kamen
Art director: Alan Bodner
Head of animation: Tony Fucile
Casting: Marci Liroff
Color/stereo
Voices:
Hogarth Hughes: Eli Marienthal
The Iron Giant: Vin Diesel
Annie Hughes: Jennifer Aniston
Dean McCoppen: Harry Connick Jr.
Kent Mansley: Christopher McDonald
Gen. Rogard: John Mahoney
Running time -- 86 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
Director Brad Bird ("King of the Hill", "The Simpsons"), adapting the original children's book by the late British poet laureate Ted Hughes, has created a wonderful character in the huge, childlike visitor from space. In the spectacular opening, the I.G. arrives in a ball of flames and crashes into the sea off the coast of Maine during a hurricane. Young human hero Hogarth Hughes (voiced by Eli Marienthal) befriends the sometimes clumsy behemoth after he saves it from being electrocuted by power lines, not knowing that the Big Guy has a dark secret.
Bird takes many liberties -- imagining a whole different destiny and hidden persona for the mammoth lead -- but the genre humor is clever and the supporting characters are mostly entertaining, while the anti-violence themes are universally relevant. Executive produced by the Who's Pete Townshend -- who released 1989 album "The Iron Man: A Musical" -- "Iron Giant" is more inspired by the previous versions than faithful to the original, with the story now set in 1957 not long after Sputnik has been launched and small-town Americans are scared by "War of the Worlds"-like rumors.
The elusive sense of joy, which movies such as the original "Babe" and "Free Willy" had, is found in the many funny and inventive scenes between parentlike Hogarth and the puppyish I.G. (voiced by Vin Diesel), who prowls around the countryside unseen at first, eating anything made of metal. Eventually, the lead learns to speak, and Hogarth teams with junkyard-owning hipster Dean McCoppen (voiced by Harry Connick Jr.) to keep it hidden from a fanatical government agent (voiced by Christopher McDonald).
Indeed, the subplots are fanciful and semi-serious re-creations of the prosperous and paranoid times -- from Hogarth's love of Action Comics and how that inspires the I.G. to become like Superman to the mysterious space robot's unexpected, climactic transformation into an awesome war machine -- and it might irk some NRA members and gun owners with its "what if a gun had a soul" premise.
The movie gets a bit shrill with the government agent's antics that lead to a tearful near-disaster, which the I.G. -- newly flying like his super hero idol -- narrowly averts. It concludes with a beautiful homage to the end of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" and the opening of Ted Hughes' original book.
The well-paced film, written by Tim McCanlies from Bird's screen story, also features solid voice contributions from Jennifer Aniston as Hogarth's single housewife mom and John Mahoney as a skeptical general, along with bit parts voiced by Cloris Leachman, James Gammon and M. Emmet Walsh.
With a 2-D visual style that is agreeably nostalgic -- reminiscent of 1950s comic books and science fiction pulp magazine covers, as well as Dave Fleischer's "Superman" and other '40s and '50s cartoons -- "Iron Giant" is a terrific use of the medium, including great sound work. Michael Kamen's soaring orchestral score is a classy bonus.
THE IRON GIANT
Warner Bros.
Director: Brad Bird
Producers: Allison Abbate, Des McAnuff
Screenwriter: Tim McCanlies
Based on a book by: Ted Hughes
Executive producer: Pete Townshend
Production designer: Mark Whiting
Editor: Darren T. Holmes
Music: Michael Kamen
Art director: Alan Bodner
Head of animation: Tony Fucile
Casting: Marci Liroff
Color/stereo
Voices:
Hogarth Hughes: Eli Marienthal
The Iron Giant: Vin Diesel
Annie Hughes: Jennifer Aniston
Dean McCoppen: Harry Connick Jr.
Kent Mansley: Christopher McDonald
Gen. Rogard: John Mahoney
Running time -- 86 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
- 7/21/1999
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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