Much-loved BBC drama The Box Of Delights is making its Blu-ray debut for its 40th anniversary. More on the release here.
Fully appreciating that some (younger) people will read this post and have no idea what it’s actually about, The Box Of Delights was a much-loved festive children’s television drama that first aired in 1984.
Based on the book by John Masefield, the BBC adapted it into a six-parter, that it ran in the run-up to Christmas. From its festive theme tune, to Patrick Troughton in a fine beard, wolves running and a wonderfully 1980s visual effects, the programme quickly became hugely popular. So much so that a relatively successful DVD release popped up too.
It’s not been in great shape though in terms of its presentation for some time now. Hence, the really rather excellent news that for its 40th anniversary, the BBC has remastered The Box Of Delights...
Fully appreciating that some (younger) people will read this post and have no idea what it’s actually about, The Box Of Delights was a much-loved festive children’s television drama that first aired in 1984.
Based on the book by John Masefield, the BBC adapted it into a six-parter, that it ran in the run-up to Christmas. From its festive theme tune, to Patrick Troughton in a fine beard, wolves running and a wonderfully 1980s visual effects, the programme quickly became hugely popular. So much so that a relatively successful DVD release popped up too.
It’s not been in great shape though in terms of its presentation for some time now. Hence, the really rather excellent news that for its 40th anniversary, the BBC has remastered The Box Of Delights...
- 9/30/2024
- by Simon Brew
- Film Stories
The unfortunate demise of Dame Maggie Smith has left a massive void in cinema. The legendary late British actress was not only popular for starring in Harry Potter and Downtown Abbey but also won two Oscars in her career. While she had a very storied journey in acting, her personal life was marred with health issues and a heartbreaking first marriage.
The late Maggie Smith as Professor McGonagall in Harry Potter | Credits: Warner Bros. Pictures
The late Maggie Smith was married twice, first to actor Robert Stephens from 1967 to 1975 and then to English playwright Alan Beverly Cross. Both of them had very varied impacts on her life. Smith enjoyed some of her best moments with the late Cross before his untimely demise in 1998, but her married life to Stephens ended due to serious troubles, including infidelity.
The late Maggie Smith’s first marriage was anything but magical Maggie Smith with...
The late Maggie Smith as Professor McGonagall in Harry Potter | Credits: Warner Bros. Pictures
The late Maggie Smith was married twice, first to actor Robert Stephens from 1967 to 1975 and then to English playwright Alan Beverly Cross. Both of them had very varied impacts on her life. Smith enjoyed some of her best moments with the late Cross before his untimely demise in 1998, but her married life to Stephens ended due to serious troubles, including infidelity.
The late Maggie Smith’s first marriage was anything but magical Maggie Smith with...
- 9/28/2024
- by Subham Mandal
- FandomWire
Acting legend Dame Maggie Smith, known for her iconic performances of resilient, determined women, has died at 89.
Smith was born on December 28, 1934, in Essex, England. Her cause of death has not been revealed. Her sons, Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin, shared the news on Friday.
The statement stated, “It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith. An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end. She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.”
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“We would like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful staff at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for their care and unstinting kindness during her final days. We thank you for all your kind messages and...
Smith was born on December 28, 1934, in Essex, England. Her cause of death has not been revealed. Her sons, Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin, shared the news on Friday.
The statement stated, “It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith. An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end. She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.”
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“We would like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful staff at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for their care and unstinting kindness during her final days. We thank you for all your kind messages and...
- 9/28/2024
- by Baila Eve Zisman
- Uinterview
Maggie Smith was a constant in the life of producer Robert Fox for half a century. She could “make grown men cry,” says Fox, because “if you weren’t 100 percent on top of your game, you were dead in the water, and she was right.”
Fox produced Dame Maggie in some of her greatest stage hits from Peter Shaffer’s Lettice and Lovage to David Hare’s The Breath of Life, in which she and her best friend, Judi Dench, shared top billing at London’s Theatre Royal Haymarket.
Dame Judi got the No. 1 dressing room. “But Maggie wasn’t fussed because she joked that Judi, she’d say, “had all those people in from Surrey to see her, so she needs the space.’ She wasn’t at all unhappy about it. She’d watch all of Judi’s guests troop in to see her. She’d say: ‘Look, there they go.
Fox produced Dame Maggie in some of her greatest stage hits from Peter Shaffer’s Lettice and Lovage to David Hare’s The Breath of Life, in which she and her best friend, Judi Dench, shared top billing at London’s Theatre Royal Haymarket.
Dame Judi got the No. 1 dressing room. “But Maggie wasn’t fussed because she joked that Judi, she’d say, “had all those people in from Surrey to see her, so she needs the space.’ She wasn’t at all unhappy about it. She’d watch all of Judi’s guests troop in to see her. She’d say: ‘Look, there they go.
- 9/27/2024
- by Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline Film + TV
Dame Maggie Smith, a celebrated two-time Oscar winner and one of the most revered actresses globally, has passed away at age 89.
Her sons, Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin, shared the news on Friday, September 27, through their publicist, Clair Dobbs, “We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Dame Maggie Smith.”
Dame Maggie Passed Away Peacefully
The announcement states she peacefully departed this world in the hospital early this morning, Friday, September 27th.
Described as an intensely private individual, she was surrounded by her friends and family in her final moments; Smith is survived by her sons and five grandchildren.
We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the incredible staff at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for their compassionate care and unwavering kindness during her last days.
We appreciate all the kind messages and support we have received and kindly ask for privacy during this difficult time.
Dame Maggie...
Her sons, Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin, shared the news on Friday, September 27, through their publicist, Clair Dobbs, “We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Dame Maggie Smith.”
Dame Maggie Passed Away Peacefully
The announcement states she peacefully departed this world in the hospital early this morning, Friday, September 27th.
Described as an intensely private individual, she was surrounded by her friends and family in her final moments; Smith is survived by her sons and five grandchildren.
We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the incredible staff at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for their compassionate care and unwavering kindness during her last days.
We appreciate all the kind messages and support we have received and kindly ask for privacy during this difficult time.
Dame Maggie...
- 9/27/2024
- by Rita Ryan
- Celebrating The Soaps
Beloved British actress Dame Maggie Smith, best known for her roles in the Harry Potter films and Downton Abbey, has died at the age of 89.
Smith’s family confirmed her death in a statement to the BBC. “She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning, Friday 27th September,” they said. “An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end. She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.”
Thanks to her affinity for comedic performances, Smith stole the hearts of viewers across generations — from her breakout title role in 1969’s The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie to her work as Violet Crawley in Downton Abbey. Her most widely recognized role was as Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter franchise.
Smith is one of 24 actors to achieve the “Triple Crown of Acting,” being awarded a competitive Academy Award,...
Smith’s family confirmed her death in a statement to the BBC. “She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning, Friday 27th September,” they said. “An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end. She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.”
Thanks to her affinity for comedic performances, Smith stole the hearts of viewers across generations — from her breakout title role in 1969’s The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie to her work as Violet Crawley in Downton Abbey. Her most widely recognized role was as Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter franchise.
Smith is one of 24 actors to achieve the “Triple Crown of Acting,” being awarded a competitive Academy Award,...
- 9/27/2024
- by Emma Carey
- Consequence - Film News
Dame Maggie Smith, the British actress who starred in Harry Potter films, the wildly popular Downton Abbey series and scores of other movies, TV shows, West End and Broadway productions in a career that brought two Oscars, five BAFTAs, four Emmys and a Tony Award, died today. She was 89.
Smith’s death was confirmed by her sons Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin. In a statement shared with UK media, they said: “She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning, Friday 27th September. An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end. She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.”
Smith was one of the finest British screen and stage stars of her generation and will be remembered for her performances in iconic films and TV shows, including Harry Potter and Downton Abbey. Her...
Smith’s death was confirmed by her sons Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin. In a statement shared with UK media, they said: “She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning, Friday 27th September. An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end. She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.”
Smith was one of the finest British screen and stage stars of her generation and will be remembered for her performances in iconic films and TV shows, including Harry Potter and Downton Abbey. Her...
- 9/27/2024
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
Shirley Anne Field, the British leading lady who starred alongside Laurence Olivier in The Entertainer, Albert Finney in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, and Kenneth More in Man in the Moon — all in 1960 — has died. She was 87.
“It is with great sadness that we are sharing the news that Shirley Anne Field passed away peacefully on Sunday, Dec. 10, surrounded by her family and friends,” a spokesperson announced.
“Shirley Anne will be greatly missed and remembered for her unbreakable spirit and her amazing legacy spanning more than five decades on stage and screen.”
For her first Hollywood film, Field passed up John Schlesinger’s A Kind of Loving to star opposite Steve McQueen and Robert Wagner in the World War II drama The War Lover (1962). It was a decision she would regret, she explained in a 2009 interview.
“I finally had a chance to go to Hollywood and become a worldwide name.
“It is with great sadness that we are sharing the news that Shirley Anne Field passed away peacefully on Sunday, Dec. 10, surrounded by her family and friends,” a spokesperson announced.
“Shirley Anne will be greatly missed and remembered for her unbreakable spirit and her amazing legacy spanning more than five decades on stage and screen.”
For her first Hollywood film, Field passed up John Schlesinger’s A Kind of Loving to star opposite Steve McQueen and Robert Wagner in the World War II drama The War Lover (1962). It was a decision she would regret, she explained in a 2009 interview.
“I finally had a chance to go to Hollywood and become a worldwide name.
- 12/12/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
To celebrate the release of Mark Cousins’ new documentary The Storms of Jeremy Thomas, a portrait of the Oscar-winning producer responsible for bringing to life films by David Cronenberg, Jonathan Glazer, Jim Jarmusch, Bernardo Bertolucci, Nagisa Ôshima, Jerzy Skolimowski, and many more, NYC’s Quad Cinema is fittingly paying tribute to his career with a fantastic retrospective.
“Jeremy Thomas Presents” kicks off today and runs through September 28 at Quad Cinema, with The Storms of Jeremy Thomas opening this Friday, September 22. As the retrospective commences, we’re pleased to exclusively share the trailer along with comments directly from Thomas looking back at the making of these iconic films.
Sexy Beast
I was sent a script with a Jonathan Glazer attached, called “Sexy Beast”. It was on a Friday night, and I read it over the weekend. The screenplay was brilliant, and on the Monday I bought it before anyone else could.
“Jeremy Thomas Presents” kicks off today and runs through September 28 at Quad Cinema, with The Storms of Jeremy Thomas opening this Friday, September 22. As the retrospective commences, we’re pleased to exclusively share the trailer along with comments directly from Thomas looking back at the making of these iconic films.
Sexy Beast
I was sent a script with a Jonathan Glazer attached, called “Sexy Beast”. It was on a Friday night, and I read it over the weekend. The screenplay was brilliant, and on the Monday I bought it before anyone else could.
- 9/18/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Franco Zeffirelli apprenticed to Luchino Visconti, stage directed operas and directed several movie hits, the biggest of which was this exuberant, attractive Shakespeare adaptation, filmed like an opera with sumptuous sets and sunswept Italian locations. The novelty for 1968 was casting the Bard’s star-crossed young lovers with actual teenagers. Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting are attractive kids directed to give spirited performances; the critics may have had mixed reactions but the public received the film well. If memory serves, Criterion’s new remaster looks better than Paramount’s original release prints.
Romeo and Juliet
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 1171
1968 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 138 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date February 14, 2023 / 39.95
Starring: Leonard Whiting, Olivia Hussey, John McEnery, Milo O’Shea, Pat Heywood, Robert Stephens, Michael York, Bruce Robinson, Paul Hardwick, Natasha Parry, Antonio Pierfederici, Esmeralda Ruspoli, Roberto Bisacco, Roy Holder, Keith Skinner, Dyson Lovell, Richard Warwick, Laurence Olivier.
Cinematography: Pasquelino De...
Romeo and Juliet
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 1171
1968 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 138 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date February 14, 2023 / 39.95
Starring: Leonard Whiting, Olivia Hussey, John McEnery, Milo O’Shea, Pat Heywood, Robert Stephens, Michael York, Bruce Robinson, Paul Hardwick, Natasha Parry, Antonio Pierfederici, Esmeralda Ruspoli, Roberto Bisacco, Roy Holder, Keith Skinner, Dyson Lovell, Richard Warwick, Laurence Olivier.
Cinematography: Pasquelino De...
- 2/21/2023
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Awkwardly plotted but chilling just the same, this beautifully-filmed tale of Victorian experimentation with death has nightmarish qualities that won’t go away. Class actors Robert Stephens, Robert Powell & Jane Lapotaire bring believability to a deadly-serious idea that scores the ‘phantom-trapping’ concept years before Ghostbusters. The cinematographer was Freddie Young; both versions are included, along with a commentary by Kim Newman and Stephen Jones.
The Asphyx
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1972 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 98, 86 min. / Street Date January 31, 2023 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Robert Stephens, Robert Powell, Jane Lapotaire, Fiona Walker, Ralph Arliss.
Cinematography: Freddie Young
Production Designer: John Stoll
Costume Design: Evelyn Gibbs
Film Editor: Maxine Julius
Original Music: Bill McGuffie
Written by Brian Comport, from an idea by Christina and Laurence Beers
Produced by John Brittany
Directed by Peter Newbrook
The Asphyx is a strangely disturbing horror film with a consistently morbid theme. Despite its web of borrowed ideas and forced ironies,...
The Asphyx
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1972 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 98, 86 min. / Street Date January 31, 2023 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Robert Stephens, Robert Powell, Jane Lapotaire, Fiona Walker, Ralph Arliss.
Cinematography: Freddie Young
Production Designer: John Stoll
Costume Design: Evelyn Gibbs
Film Editor: Maxine Julius
Original Music: Bill McGuffie
Written by Brian Comport, from an idea by Christina and Laurence Beers
Produced by John Brittany
Directed by Peter Newbrook
The Asphyx is a strangely disturbing horror film with a consistently morbid theme. Despite its web of borrowed ideas and forced ironies,...
- 1/24/2023
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Exclusive: Sk Global and LA-based production and literary outfit The Mazur Kaplan Company have closed a first-look development deal, with an initial five books set for adaptation. The pact was jointly announced Tuesday by Sk Global President of Television Marcy Ross, and Mazur Kaplan principals Paula Mazur and Mitchell Kaplan. It is part of Sk Global’s expansion into television under Ross who joined the company in April. The deal also is part of book IP-focused Mazur Kaplan’s push into TV.
Here are the first five books identified for television or feature adaptation under the pact, along the creative auspices attached to each project:
The Hierarchies. Written by debut novelist Ros Anderson and set in the not-too-distant future, The Hierarchies is a character driven story about a sentient pleasure robot designed to cater to her husband’s needs, and her startling self-discovery as she begins to realize more about...
Here are the first five books identified for television or feature adaptation under the pact, along the creative auspices attached to each project:
The Hierarchies. Written by debut novelist Ros Anderson and set in the not-too-distant future, The Hierarchies is a character driven story about a sentient pleasure robot designed to cater to her husband’s needs, and her startling self-discovery as she begins to realize more about...
- 11/17/2020
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
This four part, eight hour miniseries turns the fate of a family of German Jews into a sprawling drama that covers all the bases of the holocaust horror. It was strong stuff and a big Emmy winner, boosting the careers of James Woods and Michael Moriarty. His warped charisma as a psychotic Nazi is so good that he’s consistently more interesting than the courageous victims. As for Meryl Streep, she became an instant star — everybody remembered her from this. Although it’s been called ‘The Holocaust for Dummies,’ it’s a quality show. Looking from today’s perspective, after forty years of Political Correctness adjustments, I’m not sure any two viewers will react in quite the same way.
Holocaust
Blu-ray
CBS Television Studio / Paramount
1978 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 7 hours, 36 min. / Street Date September 24, 2019 / 43.19
Starring: James Woods, Meryl Streep, Michael Moriarty, Joseph Bottoms, Rosemary Harris, Fritz Weaver, Tovah Feldshuh, Deborah Norton,...
Holocaust
Blu-ray
CBS Television Studio / Paramount
1978 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 7 hours, 36 min. / Street Date September 24, 2019 / 43.19
Starring: James Woods, Meryl Streep, Michael Moriarty, Joseph Bottoms, Rosemary Harris, Fritz Weaver, Tovah Feldshuh, Deborah Norton,...
- 10/5/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Ken Hughes was an interesting character. The closest thing I have to a personal anecdote came from an old friend who was an assistant director: "Ken Hughes was the dirtiest man I ever met." I don't really know what he meant by that, and it may be unfair. But you can see little hints in his work.Hughes is best-remembered today for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), and he did some of the better work in the astonishing sixties farrago Casino Royale (1967), but none of that really typifies him. His best film may be The Small World of Sammy Lee (1963), which he wrote as well as directed, and which brought to a kind of climax his early thriller period.Hughes' first film, in 1952, was Wide Boy, about a lowlife blackmailer, not a distinguished work but an unusual one for its frankness about the anti-hero's Jewishness. Sammy Lee is a much more...
- 5/28/2019
- MUBI
One of the most exciting newcomers to appear on Starz series Black Sails is Chris Larkin, a British veteran of stage and screen who is bonafide thespian royalty — the son of Dame Maggie Smith and Sir Robert Stephens. He also happens to be lead actor Toby Stephens’ older brother. Larkin may be related to Stephens by blood, but in Season 4 of Starz’ swashbuckling ripped-from-the-history-books drama, he is squarely at odds with Stephens’ rogue yet erudite and educated pirate leader Captain Flint. Larkin portrays Captain Berringer, Woodes Rogers’ Royal Navy right hand who doesn’t take any nonsense from pirates and...read more...
- 2/6/2017
- by April Neale
- Monsters and Critics
Pirate drama Black Sails features a new baddie in Season 4 — Captain Berringer, played by actor Chris Larkin, as English privateer Woodes Rogers’ new right-hand man. But who is Larkin, and where will you have seen him before? The actor was born Christopher Stephens in London, England in 1967 taking the name Larkin as a stage name. Chris is the eldest son of famous stage actor Sir Robert Stephens and U.K. national treasure (as well as Dowager of Downton Abbey) Dame Maggie Smith. Chris’s younger brother is actor Toby Stephens, known for playing Bond villain Gustav Graves in Die Another...read more...
- 2/6/2017
- by Kirsteen Duckers
- Monsters and Critics
If you’re a Maggie Smith fan who enjoyed watching the Dowager Countess’ biting wit or seeing Professor McGonagall’s strict but kind-hearted command of her classroom, you’re in for a treat today. In the 1960s, when Smith was a fixture at the National Theatre in London, she starred in a production there as one of Shakespeare’s wittiest verbal sparrers, Much Ado About Nothing’s Beatrice. That production boasted plenty more talent, including Derek Jacobi early in his soon-to-be-acclaimed stage career, Franco Zeffirelli producing the show just before he went on to make his celebrated Romeo and Juliet film, and Smith’s first husband, Robert Stephens, shortly before they got married. Though all that talent on stage together was preserved in a 1967 telecast on BBC, preserving the show forever didn’t appear to be the production’s destiny. Recorded at a time when BBC routinely deleted archive programs...
- 9/30/2016
- by Emily Rome
- Hitfix
Alex Westthorp Sep 14, 2016
Did fantasy dramas Chocky, The Box Of Delights and Dramarama leave an impression on you as a kid? Revisit those nightmares here...
Spooky, always magical and occasionally downright scary dramas are the bedrock of kids' television. For me, the pinnacle of this sort of programme was reached in the 1980s. The decade saw a new approach to both traditional and contemporary drama by both UK broadcasters: ITV committed itself to regular seasons of children's plays with Dramarama (1983-89), a kind of youth version of the venerable BBC Play For Today (1970-84), which saw the 1988 television debut of one David Tennant. The BBC, building upon an impressive body of work from the early 70s onwards, produced some of its very best family drama in this era, embracing cutting edge technology to bring treats like The Box Of Delights (1984) and The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe (1988) to the screen.
Did fantasy dramas Chocky, The Box Of Delights and Dramarama leave an impression on you as a kid? Revisit those nightmares here...
Spooky, always magical and occasionally downright scary dramas are the bedrock of kids' television. For me, the pinnacle of this sort of programme was reached in the 1980s. The decade saw a new approach to both traditional and contemporary drama by both UK broadcasters: ITV committed itself to regular seasons of children's plays with Dramarama (1983-89), a kind of youth version of the venerable BBC Play For Today (1970-84), which saw the 1988 television debut of one David Tennant. The BBC, building upon an impressive body of work from the early 70s onwards, produced some of its very best family drama in this era, embracing cutting edge technology to bring treats like The Box Of Delights (1984) and The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe (1988) to the screen.
- 8/15/2016
- Den of Geek
Elfin Rita Tushingham makes a smash film debut as Shelagh Delaney's dispirited working class teen, on her own in Manchester and unprepared for the harsh truths of life. It's one of the best of the British New Wave. A Taste of Honey Blu-ray The Criterion Collection 829 1961 / B&W / 1:66 widescreen / 100 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date August 23, 2016 / 39.95 Starring Rita Tushingham, Dora Bryan, Paul Danquah, Murray Melvin, Robert Stephens. Cinematography Walter Lassally Film Editor Anthony Gibbs Original Music John Addison Written by Tony Richardson and Shelagh Delaney adapted from her stage play Produced and directed by Tony Richardson
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
The British New Wave got a real shot in the arm with 1961's A Taste of Honey. A stubbornly realistic drama about life in the lower working classes of Manchester, it was adapted from a near-revolutionary play by Shelagh Delaney, produced by Joan Littlewood. Here in...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
The British New Wave got a real shot in the arm with 1961's A Taste of Honey. A stubbornly realistic drama about life in the lower working classes of Manchester, it was adapted from a near-revolutionary play by Shelagh Delaney, produced by Joan Littlewood. Here in...
- 8/15/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
“Everything But The Kitchen Sink”
By Raymond Benson
In the late 1950s, a film movement emerged in Britain known as “Free Cinema.” Some of the U.K.’s most celebrated filmmakers of the 1960s and 70s were among its practitioners—Lindsay Anderson, Karel Reisz, Lorenza Mazzetti, and Tony Richardson. The directors made low budget, short documentaries about the working class with an almost deliberate “non commercial” sensibility. It was radical and exciting, and it was a precursor to the British New Wave that dovetailed with the French New Wave that was so influential on filmmakers everywhere.
Many of the pictures of the British New Wave, released between 1959 and 1964, focused on characters described as “angry young men,” and the films themselves were referred to by critics and theorists as “kitchen sink dramas.” This was because the movies were presented in a harsh, realistic fashion and were indeed about the gritty, working...
By Raymond Benson
In the late 1950s, a film movement emerged in Britain known as “Free Cinema.” Some of the U.K.’s most celebrated filmmakers of the 1960s and 70s were among its practitioners—Lindsay Anderson, Karel Reisz, Lorenza Mazzetti, and Tony Richardson. The directors made low budget, short documentaries about the working class with an almost deliberate “non commercial” sensibility. It was radical and exciting, and it was a precursor to the British New Wave that dovetailed with the French New Wave that was so influential on filmmakers everywhere.
Many of the pictures of the British New Wave, released between 1959 and 1964, focused on characters described as “angry young men,” and the films themselves were referred to by critics and theorists as “kitchen sink dramas.” This was because the movies were presented in a harsh, realistic fashion and were indeed about the gritty, working...
- 8/13/2016
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Whoa, Nelly! Have we finally discovered beneath the depths of Loch Ness the fabled monster which people have sought for decades? Sorta, kinda... not really. According to the BBC, an underwater robot that has been exploring the loch discovered a massive movie prop from a Loch Ness monster flick. The 30-foot model was used in The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970) but sank during filming. In the film, which stars Robert Stephens and Christopher Lee, a pre-World War I submarine for the British Navy is taken out for testing, disguised as a sea monster. As for that robot drone that found the sunken Nessie model on the bottom of the 750 foot-deep lake? It was down there...
- 4/14/2016
- E! Online
Nessie at large in The Private Life Of Sherlock Holmes
Scientists got a shock today when the underwater robot they were operating Loch Ness discovered a monster. 30 feet long with a slender neck, it certainly looked like the famous beastie that has brought tourists to the loch for over a century, but there's a reason for that. Upon close inspection, it turned out to be a long lost prop made for 1970 film The Private Life Of Sherlock Holmes.
The discovery was made by Kongsberg Maritime, a Norwegian company working with VisitScotland to explore the ecology of the loch and find out if it's possible that a real monster could be living there.
The Private Life Of Sherlock Holmes was directed by Billy Wilder and stared Robert Stephens as the famous sleuth with Colin Blakely as Dr Watson and Christopher Lee (who himself played Sherlock on three occasions) as Mycroft. The...
Scientists got a shock today when the underwater robot they were operating Loch Ness discovered a monster. 30 feet long with a slender neck, it certainly looked like the famous beastie that has brought tourists to the loch for over a century, but there's a reason for that. Upon close inspection, it turned out to be a long lost prop made for 1970 film The Private Life Of Sherlock Holmes.
The discovery was made by Kongsberg Maritime, a Norwegian company working with VisitScotland to explore the ecology of the loch and find out if it's possible that a real monster could be living there.
The Private Life Of Sherlock Holmes was directed by Billy Wilder and stared Robert Stephens as the famous sleuth with Colin Blakely as Dr Watson and Christopher Lee (who himself played Sherlock on three occasions) as Mycroft. The...
- 4/13/2016
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
New Line Cinema/Lucasfilm/Universal Pictures/MGM
As far as the cinema scene is concerned, The Lord of the Rings trilogy essentially put the fantasy genre back on the map. After years and years of uninspired, awkward fantasy pictures filled with tired cliches and naff renderings of mystical lands, strange creatures and magic that just plainly didn’t gel, New Zealand director Peter Jackson made fantasy cool again with his outright epic adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s most famous series of novels.
Jackson’s approach was, essentially, to bring Tolkien’s books to life as something akin to a more realistic, hack and slash-styled action movie franchise; less “fantastical” and a whole lot grittier (with a violent edge to match). This turned out to be something of an overall masterstroke, of course – people were blown away when the first flick, The Fellowship of the Ring, hit theatres back in 2001 – the...
As far as the cinema scene is concerned, The Lord of the Rings trilogy essentially put the fantasy genre back on the map. After years and years of uninspired, awkward fantasy pictures filled with tired cliches and naff renderings of mystical lands, strange creatures and magic that just plainly didn’t gel, New Zealand director Peter Jackson made fantasy cool again with his outright epic adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s most famous series of novels.
Jackson’s approach was, essentially, to bring Tolkien’s books to life as something akin to a more realistic, hack and slash-styled action movie franchise; less “fantastical” and a whole lot grittier (with a violent edge to match). This turned out to be something of an overall masterstroke, of course – people were blown away when the first flick, The Fellowship of the Ring, hit theatres back in 2001 – the...
- 9/2/2015
- by Sam Hill
- Obsessed with Film
From spoofs to point-and-click adventure games, here are 10 of the most memorable unusual incarnations of Sherlock Holmes...
We don’t know a great deal about the content of the 90-minute Sherlock special set to air later this year, but one thing has emerged from the set photos and tantalising titbits of information we’ve seen so far. Sherlock Holmes and John Watson will be in nineteenth-century garb, pitching them back into the setting of the legendary detective’s original adventures: 1895, to be precise. Why that happens is as yet unclear, but all will be revealed.
For those still craving their Holmes fix in the meantime, the new film Mr. Holmes offers us Ian McKellen’s take on the character, musing upon an old case as he looks back on his long career from the vantage point of retirement. Jonny Lee Miller’s ultra-modern, Us-based Sherlock will be entering his fourth...
We don’t know a great deal about the content of the 90-minute Sherlock special set to air later this year, but one thing has emerged from the set photos and tantalising titbits of information we’ve seen so far. Sherlock Holmes and John Watson will be in nineteenth-century garb, pitching them back into the setting of the legendary detective’s original adventures: 1895, to be precise. Why that happens is as yet unclear, but all will be revealed.
For those still craving their Holmes fix in the meantime, the new film Mr. Holmes offers us Ian McKellen’s take on the character, musing upon an old case as he looks back on his long career from the vantage point of retirement. Jonny Lee Miller’s ultra-modern, Us-based Sherlock will be entering his fourth...
- 6/29/2015
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
At the moment, Toby Stephens may be more likely to don a pirate hat than to put on a full spandex body suit, due to his role as Captain Flint in Black Sails. But that doesn't mean he still wouldn't like the opportunity to sport his own skintight costume, mask or cape. In fact, he's recently gone out of his way to vocalize his yearning desire to suit up as a superhero, specifically a Marvel character. Stephens not only thoroughly enjoys Marvel movies, but also thinks that they blend all of the perfect elements. There's no doubt Stephens must be a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I mean, who isn't these days, right? This is at least the second time the British actor, and son of actors Dame Maggie Smith and Sir Robert Stephens, has voiced his interest in appearing in one of their upcoming movies. Here's what Stephens...
- 1/25/2015
- cinemablend.com
“The British Film” collection was launched by Network Distributing in April 2013 as part of a five-year plan to release over 450 vintage British films through a deal with Studiocanal. Many of the films have never been available to own and will benefit from new transfers. We’ve already reviewed a couple of their previous releases, the Hammer horror pairing of Countess Dracula and Twins of Evil – and now we take a look at two more interesting British horrors of the 1970s…
The Shout
Stars: Alan Bates, Susannah York, John Hurt, Robert Stephens, Tim Curry | Directed by Jerzy Skolimowski
Synopsis: During a cricket match at an insane asylum between the inmates and the local villagers, Crossley and Graves keep themselves entertained by telling stories. Crossley tells of how he came to possess supernatural powers enabling him to kill with a single shout and although his companion dismisses the tale as an insane fantasy,...
The Shout
Stars: Alan Bates, Susannah York, John Hurt, Robert Stephens, Tim Curry | Directed by Jerzy Skolimowski
Synopsis: During a cricket match at an insane asylum between the inmates and the local villagers, Crossley and Graves keep themselves entertained by telling stories. Crossley tells of how he came to possess supernatural powers enabling him to kill with a single shout and although his companion dismisses the tale as an insane fantasy,...
- 10/26/2014
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
Stage and screen actor known for playing battle-axe aunts, village gossips and servants
When Mel Brooks visited the film set of Up at the Villa (2000), in which his wife, Anne Bancroft, was starring, he proclaimed Barbara Hicks, who has died aged 89, the funniest woman he had ever met. This stalwart character actor, always lodged some way down any cast list as if to prove the truth of Stanislavski's dictum that there are no small parts, only small actors, was a fund of stories, many of them unprintable. And Hicks, though slight of build, with a long face and asymmetrical features, was certainly not a small actor.
As another admirer, Alan Bennett, once told her wistfully: "When you go, Barbara, there'll be a terrible hole in Spotlight." And so there is, for since first appearing on television in 1962 playing Miss Print, a comedy sidekick to Richard Hearne's popular Mr Pastry,...
When Mel Brooks visited the film set of Up at the Villa (2000), in which his wife, Anne Bancroft, was starring, he proclaimed Barbara Hicks, who has died aged 89, the funniest woman he had ever met. This stalwart character actor, always lodged some way down any cast list as if to prove the truth of Stanislavski's dictum that there are no small parts, only small actors, was a fund of stories, many of them unprintable. And Hicks, though slight of build, with a long face and asymmetrical features, was certainly not a small actor.
As another admirer, Alan Bennett, once told her wistfully: "When you go, Barbara, there'll be a terrible hole in Spotlight." And so there is, for since first appearing on television in 1962 playing Miss Print, a comedy sidekick to Richard Hearne's popular Mr Pastry,...
- 11/7/2013
- by Michael Coveney
- The Guardian - Film News
Powerful stage and screen actor often cast as an aristocrat, king or moustachioed villain
When the whisky flowed, according to the writer John Heilpern, the actor Nigel Davenport looked "as if he might knock you through the wall for sport". However, words such as "imposing" and "heavyweight", both often applied to his performances on stage and screen across more than 40 years, do not do sufficient justice to his lightness of touch and comic energy.
Davenport, who has died aged 85, was a founder member of the English Stage Company (Esc) at the Royal Court – in the first season, he was in every production except Look Back in Anger – and a distinguished president of Equity, the actors' union; he played leads in Restoration comedy and absurdist drama as well as King Lear.
In a recent rerun of the BBC's Keeping Up Appearances, he loomed as a lubricious old navy commodore coming on...
When the whisky flowed, according to the writer John Heilpern, the actor Nigel Davenport looked "as if he might knock you through the wall for sport". However, words such as "imposing" and "heavyweight", both often applied to his performances on stage and screen across more than 40 years, do not do sufficient justice to his lightness of touch and comic energy.
Davenport, who has died aged 85, was a founder member of the English Stage Company (Esc) at the Royal Court – in the first season, he was in every production except Look Back in Anger – and a distinguished president of Equity, the actors' union; he played leads in Restoration comedy and absurdist drama as well as King Lear.
In a recent rerun of the BBC's Keeping Up Appearances, he loomed as a lubricious old navy commodore coming on...
- 10/30/2013
- by Michael Coveney
- The Guardian - Film News
Screenwriter of British horror feature films such as The Asphyx and Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny and Girly
Brian Comport, who has died aged 74, was the screenwriter for the cult films Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny and Girly (1970), The Fiend (1972) and The Asphyx (1973). Like so many others working in the British film industry during the last half century, he had ups and downs, but the horror feature films he wrote are widely regarded as classics of the genre.
His break into films came in 1967 when he was introduced to Norman Cohen, a film editor on his way to becoming a very successful director, who had acquired the film rights to Geoffrey Fletcher's delightful 1962 book The London Nobody Knows.
Cohen had secured James Mason to narrate the commentary, and Brian was engaged to provide the words. It was Brian's idea to have Mason walk and talk directly to the camera, making the film a...
Brian Comport, who has died aged 74, was the screenwriter for the cult films Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny and Girly (1970), The Fiend (1972) and The Asphyx (1973). Like so many others working in the British film industry during the last half century, he had ups and downs, but the horror feature films he wrote are widely regarded as classics of the genre.
His break into films came in 1967 when he was introduced to Norman Cohen, a film editor on his way to becoming a very successful director, who had acquired the film rights to Geoffrey Fletcher's delightful 1962 book The London Nobody Knows.
Cohen had secured James Mason to narrate the commentary, and Brian was engaged to provide the words. It was Brian's idea to have Mason walk and talk directly to the camera, making the film a...
- 10/14/2013
- by John Crome
- The Guardian - Film News
Joss Whedon's California-set Much Ado, filmed in black and white over 12 days, is a charming and witty triumph
Reading this on mobile? Click here to watch video
There was a great fear in the 1960s and 70s that various respected directors who'd moved into making epics and blockbusters would be unable to return, even occasionally, to more modest productions. Some of them didn't, most notably David Lean. Some of them did, most impressively John Huston with Fat City, Wise Blood and The Dead. The same query was raised over Francis Ford Coppola and, more recently, hangs over Christopher Nolan. But the 49-year-old Joss Whedon has triumphantly answered the question.
After scripting Buffy the Vampire Slayer for TV and the first Toy Story for the cinema, Whedon rose fairly rapidly to direct The Avengers with a budget of $220m. His producers apparently insisted that between the long shooting schedule on...
Reading this on mobile? Click here to watch video
There was a great fear in the 1960s and 70s that various respected directors who'd moved into making epics and blockbusters would be unable to return, even occasionally, to more modest productions. Some of them didn't, most notably David Lean. Some of them did, most impressively John Huston with Fat City, Wise Blood and The Dead. The same query was raised over Francis Ford Coppola and, more recently, hangs over Christopher Nolan. But the 49-year-old Joss Whedon has triumphantly answered the question.
After scripting Buffy the Vampire Slayer for TV and the first Toy Story for the cinema, Whedon rose fairly rapidly to direct The Avengers with a budget of $220m. His producers apparently insisted that between the long shooting schedule on...
- 6/17/2013
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Ridley Scott is, in some circles anyhow, a god. Practically treated as royalty with laudatory genuflection from certain film enthusiasts -- generally genre fetishists -- he has turned in two unimpeachable cinema touchstones, "Blade Runner" and "Alien," plus a few other arguable modern semi-classics including "Black Hawk Down" (though as you'll see, not all us here agree with that assessment) and "Gladiator." But his track record overall? Scott's batting average isn't exactly amazing across the board, and while he has major peaks, his work can be frustratingly uneven for someone who is clearly and masterfully talented. While a craftsman of technically marvelous and grand spectacle cinema, his films can also be inordinately soulless and have become increasingly so with each film (Sigourney Weaver famously said that Scott paid more attention to the props and extraterrestrials than the actors on "Alien," but somehow that picture still worked).
And while his latest,...
And while his latest,...
- 6/7/2012
- by Oliver Lyttelton
- The Playlist
A Planet Fury-approved selection of notable genre releases for April.
Night Gallery: Season 3 DVD Available Now
The third and final season (1972–73) of Rod Serling’s underrated series finally comes to DVD. Season 3 (with episodes downsized to half an hour) is generally considered inferior to the first two years, but it still contains several classic episodes. Best of all, Jim Benson and Scott Skelton, co-authors of Rod Serling’s Night Gallery: An After-Hours Tour, helped put together a “lost” episode featuring four segments that were heavily altered for syndication. Guest stars this season include Mickey Rooney, Vincent Price, Burgess Meredith and gorgeous Joanna Pettet (The Evil).
Thou Shalt Not Kill… Except (1985) Blu-ray/DVD combo Available Now
One of the last great exploitation films of the ‘80s to receive wide theatrical distribution, this gonzo action/horror hybrid from director Josh Becker features many names from the Evil Dead team, both...
Night Gallery: Season 3 DVD Available Now
The third and final season (1972–73) of Rod Serling’s underrated series finally comes to DVD. Season 3 (with episodes downsized to half an hour) is generally considered inferior to the first two years, but it still contains several classic episodes. Best of all, Jim Benson and Scott Skelton, co-authors of Rod Serling’s Night Gallery: An After-Hours Tour, helped put together a “lost” episode featuring four segments that were heavily altered for syndication. Guest stars this season include Mickey Rooney, Vincent Price, Burgess Meredith and gorgeous Joanna Pettet (The Evil).
Thou Shalt Not Kill… Except (1985) Blu-ray/DVD combo Available Now
One of the last great exploitation films of the ‘80s to receive wide theatrical distribution, this gonzo action/horror hybrid from director Josh Becker features many names from the Evil Dead team, both...
- 4/11/2012
- by Bradley Harding
- Planet Fury
Harvey Keitel and Matthew Guinness in The Duellists
Photo: Paramount Pictures With all the excitement surrounding Ridley Scott's upcoming film Prometheus marking the director's much anticipated return to the world of Alien, which he brought to life back in 1979, I've heard many people reference Scott's 1977 directorial debut, The Duellists. Strangely I've heard it mentioned not only because Scott has a new film coming out, but I've read it mentioned in articles discussing its accomplished cinematic swordplay. My interest was piqued and I took to Netflix. Based on Joseph Conrad's 1908 short story "The Duel" (download it for free here), which itself is based on a true story, The Duelists centers on Armand d'Hubert (Keith Carradine) and Gabriel Feraud (Harvey Keitel), a pair of officers in Napoleon's army. The film begins with Feraud in a duel with a man we'll later learn is the nephew of the Mayor of Strasbourg.
Photo: Paramount Pictures With all the excitement surrounding Ridley Scott's upcoming film Prometheus marking the director's much anticipated return to the world of Alien, which he brought to life back in 1979, I've heard many people reference Scott's 1977 directorial debut, The Duellists. Strangely I've heard it mentioned not only because Scott has a new film coming out, but I've read it mentioned in articles discussing its accomplished cinematic swordplay. My interest was piqued and I took to Netflix. Based on Joseph Conrad's 1908 short story "The Duel" (download it for free here), which itself is based on a true story, The Duelists centers on Armand d'Hubert (Keith Carradine) and Gabriel Feraud (Harvey Keitel), a pair of officers in Napoleon's army. The film begins with Feraud in a duel with a man we'll later learn is the nephew of the Mayor of Strasbourg.
- 4/3/2012
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
"I want to thank three persons,” said Michel Hazanavicius, accepting the 2012 Best Picture Oscar for “The Artist.” “I want to thank Billy Wilder, I want to thank Billy Wilder and I want to thank Billy Wilder.” He wasn’t the first director to namecheck Wilder in an acceptance speech. In 1994, Fernando Trueba, accepting the Foreign Language Film Oscar for "Belle Epoque" quipped, "I would like to believe in God in order to thank him. But I just believe in Billy Wilder... so, thank you Mr. Wilder." Wilder reportedly called the next day "Fernando? It's God."
So just what exactly was it that inspired these men to expend some of the most valuable seconds of speechifying airtime they'll ever know, to tip their hats to Wilder? And can we bottle it?
Born in a region of Austria/Hungary that is now part of Poland, Wilder's story feels like an archetype of...
So just what exactly was it that inspired these men to expend some of the most valuable seconds of speechifying airtime they'll ever know, to tip their hats to Wilder? And can we bottle it?
Born in a region of Austria/Hungary that is now part of Poland, Wilder's story feels like an archetype of...
- 3/27/2012
- by Oliver Lyttelton
- The Playlist
Chicago – Let’s do the time warp again. Never have those words been truer than at the “Hollywood Celebrities & Memorabilia Show,” where two of the prominent cast members of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” – Barry Bostwick (Brad) and Patricia Quinn (Magenta) – reunited 36 years after the film was made.
Both Bostwick and Quinn went on to have careers outside the midnight show cult classic, but that unforgettable film lives on still in theaters around the country. Bostwick, Susan Sarandon (Janet) and Meatloaf (Eddie) were the only Americans in the cast, director Jim Sharman took a smaller budget so he could use the players from the original London stage production, which included Tim Curry (Frank-n-Furter), Richard O’Brien (Riff-Raff), Quinn and Nell Campbell (Columbia).
HollywoodChicago.com got the opportunity to interview Barry Bostwick and Patricia Quinn, with Joe Arce providing his unique Exclusive Portraits.
The “Hollywood Celebrities & Memorabilia Show” is being retooled as “The Hollywood Show,...
Both Bostwick and Quinn went on to have careers outside the midnight show cult classic, but that unforgettable film lives on still in theaters around the country. Bostwick, Susan Sarandon (Janet) and Meatloaf (Eddie) were the only Americans in the cast, director Jim Sharman took a smaller budget so he could use the players from the original London stage production, which included Tim Curry (Frank-n-Furter), Richard O’Brien (Riff-Raff), Quinn and Nell Campbell (Columbia).
HollywoodChicago.com got the opportunity to interview Barry Bostwick and Patricia Quinn, with Joe Arce providing his unique Exclusive Portraits.
The “Hollywood Celebrities & Memorabilia Show” is being retooled as “The Hollywood Show,...
- 1/3/2012
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
The Box of Delights
N Conrad
Click here to friend Best British TV on Facebook or here to follow us on Twitter.
Over the years, the British TV networks have aired some amazing shows over the festive season. People will inevitably argue over the Christmas dinner table as to which of these shows are the best. In order to spare you all from such fierce debates we have decided to put together our list of the 10 best ever British TV Christmas shows.
1. The Snowman. As the debate about the best Christmas show rages on, it is ironic that the best ever British TV Christmas show is the one that contains absolutely no dialogue unless you count David Bowie’s cheesy intro scene. Raymond Briggs’ artwork and Aled Jones singing have ensured that this 80s cartoon will always remain at the top of this list.
2. The Box of Delights. Money was...
N Conrad
Click here to friend Best British TV on Facebook or here to follow us on Twitter.
Over the years, the British TV networks have aired some amazing shows over the festive season. People will inevitably argue over the Christmas dinner table as to which of these shows are the best. In order to spare you all from such fierce debates we have decided to put together our list of the 10 best ever British TV Christmas shows.
1. The Snowman. As the debate about the best Christmas show rages on, it is ironic that the best ever British TV Christmas show is the one that contains absolutely no dialogue unless you count David Bowie’s cheesy intro scene. Raymond Briggs’ artwork and Aled Jones singing have ensured that this 80s cartoon will always remain at the top of this list.
2. The Box of Delights. Money was...
- 12/19/2011
- by admin
Perhaps nearly any classy English actor could have played Sherlock Holmes – if not elementary, it's fundamental to a certain type of career
I'm typing this in Baskerville; it's the only way to go with the astonishing parade of Baker Street irregulars, the actors who have played the great detective in one medium or another. We are about to receive the second picture in the latest manifestation, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. The wonders of film number one (just plain Sherlock Holmes) in what may end up a wearying franchise included a gross Us income of over $200m, a real part for Jude Law (Watson), and the realisation Robert Downey Jr had found the vehicle for his languid-depraved attitude (the thinking man's Johnny Depp) and his urge to get away with whatever came into his head – plus, it seemed to resurrect the career of director Guy Ritchie whose insecure grasp...
I'm typing this in Baskerville; it's the only way to go with the astonishing parade of Baker Street irregulars, the actors who have played the great detective in one medium or another. We are about to receive the second picture in the latest manifestation, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. The wonders of film number one (just plain Sherlock Holmes) in what may end up a wearying franchise included a gross Us income of over $200m, a real part for Jude Law (Watson), and the realisation Robert Downey Jr had found the vehicle for his languid-depraved attitude (the thinking man's Johnny Depp) and his urge to get away with whatever came into his head – plus, it seemed to resurrect the career of director Guy Ritchie whose insecure grasp...
- 12/2/2011
- by David Thomson
- The Guardian - Film News
The Master
K Kinsella
Click here to friend Best British TV on Facebook.
The good guys of British TV such as Doctor Who, Super Ted and Jim Bergerac always get the credit for keeping TV viewers entertained but without baddies there could be no good guys. Villains have been a major part of British TV since the black and white days so we have decided to pay tribute to these unsung anti-heroes by compiling our list of the 10 best British TV baddies.
1. The Master (Doctor Who). It is hard to believe that it is now 40 years since a rogue Timelord first made his way to Earth and started to meddle in the affairs of the Doctor (Jon Pertwee). In the history of British TV, no one has destroyed so many planets, killed so many people and worn so many different black suits. Eric Roberts, John Simm, Anthony Ainley, Peter Pratt...
K Kinsella
Click here to friend Best British TV on Facebook.
The good guys of British TV such as Doctor Who, Super Ted and Jim Bergerac always get the credit for keeping TV viewers entertained but without baddies there could be no good guys. Villains have been a major part of British TV since the black and white days so we have decided to pay tribute to these unsung anti-heroes by compiling our list of the 10 best British TV baddies.
1. The Master (Doctor Who). It is hard to believe that it is now 40 years since a rogue Timelord first made his way to Earth and started to meddle in the affairs of the Doctor (Jon Pertwee). In the history of British TV, no one has destroyed so many planets, killed so many people and worn so many different black suits. Eric Roberts, John Simm, Anthony Ainley, Peter Pratt...
- 11/1/2011
- by admin
New to Netflix Streaming On Monday August 1st: The Dirty Dozen (Nr | 1967)
Flickchart Ranking: #392
Times Ranked: 20571
Win Percentage: 46%
How Many Top-20′s: 34 Users
________________________________________________
Directed By: Robert Aldrich
Starring: Charles Bronson • Jim Brown • John Cassavetes • Richard Jaeckel • Robert Ryan
Genres: Adventure • Ensemble Film • War • War Adventure
Studios/Franchises: AFI’s 100 Years…100 Thrills
• • • • • • • •
Lethal Weapon (R | 1987)
Flickchart Ranking: #477
Times Ranked: 187567
Win Percentage: 46%
How Many Top-20′s: 756 Users
________________________________________________
Directed By: Richard Donner
Starring: Gary Busey • Mel Gibson • Danny Glover
Genres: Action • Action Thriller • Police Detective Film • Odd Couple Film • Holiday Film
Studios/Franchises: Lethal Weapon
Lethal Weapon 2 is also available to stream.
• • • • • • • •
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (PG | 1970)
Flickchart Ranking: #4976
Times Ranked: 1337
Win Percentage: 54%
How Many Top-20′s: 0 Users
________________________________________________
Directed By: Billy Wilder
Starring: Robert Stephens • Colin Blakely • Tamara Toumanova • Christopher Lee • Geneviève Page
Genres: Detective Film • Mystery • Romance • Romantic Mystery
• • • • • • • •
Spaceballs (PG | 1987)
Flickchart Ranking: #493
Times Ranked: 233515
Win Percentage: 45%
How Many...
Flickchart Ranking: #392
Times Ranked: 20571
Win Percentage: 46%
How Many Top-20′s: 34 Users
________________________________________________
Directed By: Robert Aldrich
Starring: Charles Bronson • Jim Brown • John Cassavetes • Richard Jaeckel • Robert Ryan
Genres: Adventure • Ensemble Film • War • War Adventure
Studios/Franchises: AFI’s 100 Years…100 Thrills
• • • • • • • •
Lethal Weapon (R | 1987)
Flickchart Ranking: #477
Times Ranked: 187567
Win Percentage: 46%
How Many Top-20′s: 756 Users
________________________________________________
Directed By: Richard Donner
Starring: Gary Busey • Mel Gibson • Danny Glover
Genres: Action • Action Thriller • Police Detective Film • Odd Couple Film • Holiday Film
Studios/Franchises: Lethal Weapon
Lethal Weapon 2 is also available to stream.
• • • • • • • •
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (PG | 1970)
Flickchart Ranking: #4976
Times Ranked: 1337
Win Percentage: 54%
How Many Top-20′s: 0 Users
________________________________________________
Directed By: Billy Wilder
Starring: Robert Stephens • Colin Blakely • Tamara Toumanova • Christopher Lee • Geneviève Page
Genres: Detective Film • Mystery • Romance • Romantic Mystery
• • • • • • • •
Spaceballs (PG | 1987)
Flickchart Ranking: #493
Times Ranked: 233515
Win Percentage: 45%
How Many...
- 8/1/2011
- by Daniel Rohr
- Flickchart
With ‘Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows’ set for release this December you have plenty of time to brush up on the great detective and his trusty partner Dr Watson. Only problem is that in his 124 year history, Holmes is one of, if not ‘the’, most portrayed fictional character of all time – so where to start?
Luckily you readers I have compiled a list of the 10 must see Sherlock Holmes Interpretations.
10. Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)
I’ll start with this underrated and often overlooked entry from executive producer Steven Spielberg and writer Chris Columbus (who went on to direct ‘Home Alone’ and the first two ‘Harry Potter’ pictures). This original adventure which re-imagines Holmes and Watson as teenagers who meet at boarding school and team up to solve a mystery involving a spate of murders around London.
Intended to kick off a franchise, this movie, while not based on any of Doyle’s stories,...
Luckily you readers I have compiled a list of the 10 must see Sherlock Holmes Interpretations.
10. Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)
I’ll start with this underrated and often overlooked entry from executive producer Steven Spielberg and writer Chris Columbus (who went on to direct ‘Home Alone’ and the first two ‘Harry Potter’ pictures). This original adventure which re-imagines Holmes and Watson as teenagers who meet at boarding school and team up to solve a mystery involving a spate of murders around London.
Intended to kick off a franchise, this movie, while not based on any of Doyle’s stories,...
- 7/8/2011
- by Tom Ryan
- Obsessed with Film
DVD Playhouse: May 2011
By
Allen Gardner
Blow Out (Criterion) Brian De Palma’s greatest Hitchcock homage, with a dash of Antonioni thrown in for good measure. John Travolta gives one of his best turns as a sound-effects engineer who unwittingly records a political assassination, then finds himself hunted by a ruthless hitman (John Lithgow, a memorably creepy psycho) after saving the life of the kindly, albeit dim-witted call girl (Nancy Allen, excellent) who was with the deceased. Terrific blend of suspense and very black humor, perhaps De Palma’s finest hour as an auteur. Beautifully shot by Vilmos Zsigmond. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Interviews with De Palma, Allen, cameraman Garrett Brown; Photo gallery; De Palma’s 1967 feature Murder a la Mod; Trailer. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS-hd 2.0 surround.
Kes (Criterion) Ken Loach’s landmark 1970 film is both a heart-rending portrait of adolescence, and a pointed socio-political commentary on life in the North of England.
By
Allen Gardner
Blow Out (Criterion) Brian De Palma’s greatest Hitchcock homage, with a dash of Antonioni thrown in for good measure. John Travolta gives one of his best turns as a sound-effects engineer who unwittingly records a political assassination, then finds himself hunted by a ruthless hitman (John Lithgow, a memorably creepy psycho) after saving the life of the kindly, albeit dim-witted call girl (Nancy Allen, excellent) who was with the deceased. Terrific blend of suspense and very black humor, perhaps De Palma’s finest hour as an auteur. Beautifully shot by Vilmos Zsigmond. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Interviews with De Palma, Allen, cameraman Garrett Brown; Photo gallery; De Palma’s 1967 feature Murder a la Mod; Trailer. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS-hd 2.0 surround.
Kes (Criterion) Ken Loach’s landmark 1970 film is both a heart-rending portrait of adolescence, and a pointed socio-political commentary on life in the North of England.
- 5/9/2011
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Written by British playwright and dramatist Terry Johnson, 99-1 centres on Mick Raynor (Leslie Grantham), a maverick cop in a no-man's land where the underworld meets the establishment. Raynor is 'regular' police posing as a bent ex-policeman who uses his old contacts to gain information on a complex web of organised crime and high-level corruption lurking beneath the surface of British public life. Rather than making arrests every week like a regular cop, Raynor is always after the bigger and more elusive fish: the gangsters with knighthoods and the politicians who are laundering the money. His pursuit of these high-profile targets brings Raynor face to face with one of the most dangerous assignments of his career - and one which will tax his conscience to the very limit.
99-1 makes a bold entrance, with a well-renowned organisation having a regular meeting and stumbling upon a blood-drenched body. The series builds...
99-1 makes a bold entrance, with a well-renowned organisation having a regular meeting and stumbling upon a blood-drenched body. The series builds...
- 2/14/2011
- Shadowlocked
As a film that deals with themes of insanity, jealousy, romance and class division, whilst simultaneously skipping between madcap comedy and tragic love story, it is little wonder that Karel Reisz's Morgan, A Suitable Case for Treatment (1966) achieves rather mixed results.
The film details the descent into madness of the already psychologically unstable Morgan (David Warner), as he is forced to deal with the break-up of his marriage to Leonie (Vanessa Redgrave) and her plans to marry her new lover Charles Napier (Robert Stephens). His inability to deal with the reality of his situation forces him into a world of Billy Liar-esque fantasy, whereupon he sees things and people as wild animals in the jungle, viewing himself always as a gorilla. This particular obsession with gorillas increase along with his plight, with the lines of reality and fantasy becoming blurred as he inexplicably mimics the creatures in public...
The film details the descent into madness of the already psychologically unstable Morgan (David Warner), as he is forced to deal with the break-up of his marriage to Leonie (Vanessa Redgrave) and her plans to marry her new lover Charles Napier (Robert Stephens). His inability to deal with the reality of his situation forces him into a world of Billy Liar-esque fantasy, whereupon he sees things and people as wild animals in the jungle, viewing himself always as a gorilla. This particular obsession with gorillas increase along with his plight, with the lines of reality and fantasy becoming blurred as he inexplicably mimics the creatures in public...
- 1/18/2011
- by Daniel Green
- CineVue
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (Billy Wilder, 1970)
The magic of this film, I think, comes down to the writing of the dialogue by Wilder and his writing partner, Izzy Diamond. There are a number of conversations between Robert Stephens (Sherlock) and Colin Blakely (Watson) that are just like tiny symphonies. Every gag, every little annunciation or pause is poised perfectly and, watching it recently (it was a template of sorts for Stephen Moffat and me as we made our adaptation for the BBC) made me realise that Wilder and Diamond were among the best screenwriters in the world. They gently take the mickey out of Sherlock Holmes in the way that you can only do with something that you really adore. It's a fantastically melancholy film. The relationship between Sherlock and Watson is treated beautifully; Sherlock effectively falls in love with him in the film, but it's so desperately unspoken.
The magic of this film, I think, comes down to the writing of the dialogue by Wilder and his writing partner, Izzy Diamond. There are a number of conversations between Robert Stephens (Sherlock) and Colin Blakely (Watson) that are just like tiny symphonies. Every gag, every little annunciation or pause is poised perfectly and, watching it recently (it was a template of sorts for Stephen Moffat and me as we made our adaptation for the BBC) made me realise that Wilder and Diamond were among the best screenwriters in the world. They gently take the mickey out of Sherlock Holmes in the way that you can only do with something that you really adore. It's a fantastically melancholy film. The relationship between Sherlock and Watson is treated beautifully; Sherlock effectively falls in love with him in the film, but it's so desperately unspoken.
- 11/7/2010
- by Interview by Eleanor Morgan
- The Guardian - Film News
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (Billy Wilder, 1970)
The magic of this film, I think, comes down to the writing of the dialogue by Wilder and his writing partner, Izzy Diamond. There are a number of conversations between Robert Stephens (Sherlock) and Colin Blakely (Watson) that are just like tiny symphonies. Every gag, every little annunciation or pause is poised perfectly and, watching it recently (it was a template of sorts for Stephen Moffat and me as we made our adaptation for the BBC) made me realise that Wilder and Diamond were among the best screenwriters in the world. They gently take the mickey out of Sherlock Holmes in the way that you can only do with something that you really adore. It's a fantastically melancholy film. The relationship between Sherlock and Watson is treated beautifully; Sherlock effectively falls in love with him in the film, but it's so desperately unspoken.
The magic of this film, I think, comes down to the writing of the dialogue by Wilder and his writing partner, Izzy Diamond. There are a number of conversations between Robert Stephens (Sherlock) and Colin Blakely (Watson) that are just like tiny symphonies. Every gag, every little annunciation or pause is poised perfectly and, watching it recently (it was a template of sorts for Stephen Moffat and me as we made our adaptation for the BBC) made me realise that Wilder and Diamond were among the best screenwriters in the world. They gently take the mickey out of Sherlock Holmes in the way that you can only do with something that you really adore. It's a fantastically melancholy film. The relationship between Sherlock and Watson is treated beautifully; Sherlock effectively falls in love with him in the film, but it's so desperately unspoken.
- 11/7/2010
- The Guardian - Film News
A hoard of lost TV dramas – starring the likes of Sean Connery, Maggie Smith and Derek Jacobi – have resurfaced. What do they say about TV then and now?
We have become used to the idea of major TV dramas being imported from America: series such as The Wire, The Sopranos and The West Wing. But a stash of programmes heading for Britain this month have a more complicated history. These are not strictly imports; rather, they are being returned to their country of origin.
The 65 plays – starring actors such as Sean Connery, Maggie Smith and Derek Jacobi – were transmitted by the BBC and ITV between 1957 and 1969, but were only seen once. Subsequently, if they were asked after by historians or biographers, they were found to be missing, presumed wiped, a frequent fate in a period when the preservation of TV programmes was an expensive business. However, during a recent stock-taking...
We have become used to the idea of major TV dramas being imported from America: series such as The Wire, The Sopranos and The West Wing. But a stash of programmes heading for Britain this month have a more complicated history. These are not strictly imports; rather, they are being returned to their country of origin.
The 65 plays – starring actors such as Sean Connery, Maggie Smith and Derek Jacobi – were transmitted by the BBC and ITV between 1957 and 1969, but were only seen once. Subsequently, if they were asked after by historians or biographers, they were found to be missing, presumed wiped, a frequent fate in a period when the preservation of TV programmes was an expensive business. However, during a recent stock-taking...
- 11/4/2010
- by Mark Lawson
- The Guardian - Film News
Even by the colourful standards of her own family's public profile and professional achievements, Lynn Redgrave, who has died of breast cancer aged 67, was an exceptional personality. Her death seems particularly cruel after the loss of both her niece, Natasha Richardson, after a skiing accident last year, and her brother, Corin Redgrave, last month. The third child of the actors Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson, Lynn was a gifted comedian who received her first Oscar nomination for a delightful, clownish performance in the title role of Georgy Girl (1966), one of the defining movies of the so-called swinging 60s. She went on to spend many years living and working in America. Less politically engaged than her older siblings, Vanessa and Corin, she was no less a remarkable talent.
Her 1991 television remake of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? with...
Her 1991 television remake of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? with...
- 5/3/2010
- by Michael Coveney
- The Guardian - Film News
Sherlock Holmes purists who were not enamored with Robert Downey Jr.'s recent take on the Great Detective may want to thank A&E for cashing in on Hollywood's Christmas blockbuster. In The Sherlock Holmes Collection on DVD the American cable and satellite network has resurrected a bygone Holmes in the form of Peter Cushing. The great British actor, who played Van Helsing in Hammer's horror films in the 1970s and Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars Episode IV, played Holmes in a 1960s BBC television series. Not much of that show survives but what does is a welcome addition to the detective's DVD canon.
Want to know more? The BBC aired the Cushing series in 1968 under the title Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. The show was a continuation of sorts of another series of adaptations the network had aired three years earlier. That starred Douglas Wilmer as...
Want to know more? The BBC aired the Cushing series in 1968 under the title Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. The show was a continuation of sorts of another series of adaptations the network had aired three years earlier. That starred Douglas Wilmer as...
- 2/14/2010
- CinemaSpy
Darwin Day is a global celebration of science and reason held on or around Feb. 12, the birthday anniversary of evolutionary biologist Charles Darwin. This year marks the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth.
The first Darwin Day was initiated by Dr. Robert ("Bob") Stephens and took place at Stanford University, with the help of the Stanford Humanists student group and the Humanist Community, on April 22, 1995. The famous anthropologist Dr. Donald Johanson, who discovered the early fossil human called ‘Lucy’, gave a lecture entitled "Darwin and Human Origins" to over 600 people in the Kresge Auditorium.
In subsequent years the location and date of the celebration was changed to coincide with Darwin's birthday and was held on, or near, February 12 each year. The success of the venture is reflected in the list of speakers which include Richard Dawkins, 1996; Paul Berg, 1997; Robert Sapolsky, 1998; Douglas Hofstadter, 1999; Michael Shermer, 2001; Robert Stephens and Arthur Jackson, 2003; Robert and Lola Stephens,...
The first Darwin Day was initiated by Dr. Robert ("Bob") Stephens and took place at Stanford University, with the help of the Stanford Humanists student group and the Humanist Community, on April 22, 1995. The famous anthropologist Dr. Donald Johanson, who discovered the early fossil human called ‘Lucy’, gave a lecture entitled "Darwin and Human Origins" to over 600 people in the Kresge Auditorium.
In subsequent years the location and date of the celebration was changed to coincide with Darwin's birthday and was held on, or near, February 12 each year. The success of the venture is reflected in the list of speakers which include Richard Dawkins, 1996; Paul Berg, 1997; Robert Sapolsky, 1998; Douglas Hofstadter, 1999; Michael Shermer, 2001; Robert Stephens and Arthur Jackson, 2003; Robert and Lola Stephens,...
- 2/12/2010
- doorQ.com
Recently I asked you who your favorite big screen werewolf was and that got me thinkin’ about some other popular characters portrayed by multiple leading men in the movies. This discussion must always start with the character of agent 007 James Bond, best played by Sean Connery. Other popular Bonds were Pierce Brosnan and Roger Moore while Timothy Dalton and George Lazenby aren’t
remembered so fondly for their portrayal of the famous secret agent. Currently carrying the torch and ordering shaken martinis is Daniel Craig who seems to make a lot of people happy; I prefer him on the other side of the law as he was in Layer Cake and Road to Perdition.
Then there’s Dracula, or vampires in general. The list of actors who have played a vampire on film is a long one. So here are a few that come to mind, please remind me of...
remembered so fondly for their portrayal of the famous secret agent. Currently carrying the torch and ordering shaken martinis is Daniel Craig who seems to make a lot of people happy; I prefer him on the other side of the law as he was in Layer Cake and Road to Perdition.
Then there’s Dracula, or vampires in general. The list of actors who have played a vampire on film is a long one. So here are a few that come to mind, please remind me of...
- 2/10/2010
- by creth
- Atomic Popcorn
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