Ron Howard has been part of our collective consciousness for as long as I can remember. Or at least he looms large in mine. Born in 1954, he was on many of the TV series I grew up watching and had his own starring role on “The Andy Griffith Show” by 1960. And his father had the idea that little “Ronny Howard” should play a good kid, not the wise-guy type popular in those “Dennis the Menace” years. He’d be nice. It stuck. He’s been known as “nice” ever since.
That made him much too easy to dismiss. However prominent he was — as a principal star of “American Graffiti” in 1973, top-billed “Happy Days” actor the next year and then as a director debuting with “Night Shift” in 1977 — we could take him lightly. By then I was reviewing films, and I overlooked him to a fault. I didn’t even give...
That made him much too easy to dismiss. However prominent he was — as a principal star of “American Graffiti” in 1973, top-billed “Happy Days” actor the next year and then as a director debuting with “Night Shift” in 1977 — we could take him lightly. By then I was reviewing films, and I overlooked him to a fault. I didn’t even give...
- 5/7/2024
- by Janet Maslin
- Variety Film + TV
We’re zapping into science fiction territory and back into “re-adaptation” conversations this month for Revenge of the Remakes. Don Siegel and Philip Kaufman bring vastly different approaches to their Invasion of the Body Snatchers films, uniformly citing Jack Finney’s 1954 novel “The Body Snatchers” as their source. Kaufman isn’t directly remaking Siegel’s film but acknowledges its existence multiple times; there’s a literary influence behind both features, yet Kaufman can’t ignore what already exists. The same conversation arose in my The Fly analysis, and will assuredly surface again down the road. Invasion of the Body Snatchers can’t help itself from being a remake, and with decades apart, Kaufman evolves the product into a contemporary extraterrestrial nightmare (speaking for the late 1970s).
Everything about Invasion of the Body Snatchers showcases how cinematic advancements benefit remakes like The Blob or House on Haunted Hill, reimaginings of classics...
Everything about Invasion of the Body Snatchers showcases how cinematic advancements benefit remakes like The Blob or House on Haunted Hill, reimaginings of classics...
- 5/3/2024
- by Matt Donato
- bloody-disgusting.com
With the number of ever created movies being unimaginably high, there’s no wonder that an average viewer wonders where the inspiration comes from? Well, the answer is right there: sometimes history gives us the story worthy of creating a movie, but when it doesn’t – there’s always a way to create a remake.
Of course, the niche is dangerous because it takes courage to try to recreate another movie with your own ideas and vision. The main goal is to make it better and not end up being just another disappointment in the industry.
That’s why when Sofia Coppola announced she is going to remake an iconic Western featuring Clint Eastwood. The movie titled The Beguiled was directed by Don Siegel and released in 1971. And After many years have passed, it was Coppola who thought it’s time to create something different from what already existed.
What...
Of course, the niche is dangerous because it takes courage to try to recreate another movie with your own ideas and vision. The main goal is to make it better and not end up being just another disappointment in the industry.
That’s why when Sofia Coppola announced she is going to remake an iconic Western featuring Clint Eastwood. The movie titled The Beguiled was directed by Don Siegel and released in 1971. And After many years have passed, it was Coppola who thought it’s time to create something different from what already existed.
What...
- 4/21/2024
- by info@startefacts.com (Rachel Bailey)
- STartefacts.com
Don Siegel’s 1976 western The Shootist stars John Wayne in his final film appearance, though it’s perhaps just as notable for the muted nature of its regard for the pathology of violence. After all, Siegel is the same filmmaker who half a decade prior made Dirty Harry, in which Clint Eastwood’s renegade cop relishes squeezing the trigger of his 44-magnum revolver whenever the opportunity presents itself.
There’s a propulsive mania to Siegel’s direction of Dirty Harry, tapping as it does into the curious overlap between Harry’s police tactics and a psycho sniper’s bloodlust. Wayne’s J.B. Books in The Shootist has no such compelling correlate. He’s a former sheriff turned gunslinger, now an old man easing the pain of his terminal cancer with swigs of laudanum, and he’s aiming to die in peace. It’s 1901, and the fact that he can’t...
There’s a propulsive mania to Siegel’s direction of Dirty Harry, tapping as it does into the curious overlap between Harry’s police tactics and a psycho sniper’s bloodlust. Wayne’s J.B. Books in The Shootist has no such compelling correlate. He’s a former sheriff turned gunslinger, now an old man easing the pain of his terminal cancer with swigs of laudanum, and he’s aiming to die in peace. It’s 1901, and the fact that he can’t...
- 4/11/2024
- by Clayton Dillard
- Slant Magazine
Inspector Dave Toschi needs a night off. After years of chasing the so-called Zodiac Killer, Toschi thought he had found his man, only for his captain to shoot him down, citing insufficient evidence to make an arrest. At the movie theater later on, the picture Toschi watches with his wife doesn’t make him feel any better. It’s Dirty Harry, the 1971 movie in which Clint Eastwood‘s Inspector Harry Callahan does battle with a killer called Scorpio.
Frustrated by what he’s seeing, Toschi heads to the lobby for a smoke. As viewers shuffle out after him, one remarks, “Dave, that Harry Callahan did a hell of a job with your case.”
“Yeah, no need for due process, right?” Toschi responds sarcastically to indicate his frustration.
Or, at least that’s how it went in the movies. Specifically, the film Zodiac, written by James Vanderbilt and directed by David Fincher,...
Frustrated by what he’s seeing, Toschi heads to the lobby for a smoke. As viewers shuffle out after him, one remarks, “Dave, that Harry Callahan did a hell of a job with your case.”
“Yeah, no need for due process, right?” Toschi responds sarcastically to indicate his frustration.
Or, at least that’s how it went in the movies. Specifically, the film Zodiac, written by James Vanderbilt and directed by David Fincher,...
- 3/18/2024
- by Joe George
- Den of Geek
While David Fincher’s The Killer starring Michael Fassbender as the tile character was an entertaining watch for fans, it was a notable step down from his prior works. Although it possesses Fincher’s impeccable filmmaking chops, instead of being a complex narrative, full of twists and turns, which fans have come to expect from him, The Killer was more like a straight arrow.
And American Psycho author Bret Easton Ellis was one of the many, who shared a similar sentiment about the film, stressing that the film didn’t have anything to say despite being brilliantly directed.
David Fincher’s The Killer
The Killer Has Nothing to Offer Narrativelty Apart From Great Visuals per Bret Easton Ellis
While visually impeccable as David Fincher doesn’t back down from displaying his skills behind the lens, Bret Easton Ellis expressed that the narrative of The Killer didn’t have much to offer.
And American Psycho author Bret Easton Ellis was one of the many, who shared a similar sentiment about the film, stressing that the film didn’t have anything to say despite being brilliantly directed.
David Fincher’s The Killer
The Killer Has Nothing to Offer Narrativelty Apart From Great Visuals per Bret Easton Ellis
While visually impeccable as David Fincher doesn’t back down from displaying his skills behind the lens, Bret Easton Ellis expressed that the narrative of The Killer didn’t have much to offer.
- 2/29/2024
- by Santanu Roy
- FandomWire
The glut of movie podcasts makes it hard to prioritize any single show. But there’s been unique pleasure in One Handshake Away, which allows directors to reflect on titans of yesteryear who host Peter Bogdanovich once interviewed––supplemented by audio of those decades-old conversations and creating a wild bridge in film history. Drawing direct paths from Alfred Hitchcock to Guillermo del Toro, Orson Welles to Rian Johnson, Don Siegel to Quentin Tarantino, it emphasizes just how quickly cinema history could be collapsed by a figure of Bogdanovich’s experience and just how much was lost with his passing.
The latest episode picks up from Bogdanovich’s passing. Guillermo del Toro’s now on hosting duties and his guest is Greta Gerwig, who discusses the films of Howard Hawks and their influence on her work––particularly the John Barrymore and Barbara Stanwyck performances that informed Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie in Barbie.
The latest episode picks up from Bogdanovich’s passing. Guillermo del Toro’s now on hosting duties and his guest is Greta Gerwig, who discusses the films of Howard Hawks and their influence on her work––particularly the John Barrymore and Barbara Stanwyck performances that informed Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie in Barbie.
- 2/29/2024
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Late auteur Peter Bogdanovich is still just a handshake away per his posthumous podcast, “One Handshake Away.”
Prior to Bogdanovich’s January 2022 death, the filmmaker recorded a series of interviews with fellow directors such as Guillermo del Toro, Quentin Tarantino, Ken Burns, and Rian Johnson to discuss their biggest cinematic influences.
Per Deadline, Bogdanovich named the podcast “One Handshake Away” to honor the relationship between contemporary directors and pioneering filmmakers, with each filmmaker being “one handshake away” from one another in film history.
After Bogdanovich’s passing, del Toro took over the podcast and recorded the final three episodes, interviewing Greta Gerwig, Julie Delpy, and Allison Anders, which included discussing the works of Howard Hawks, Fritz Lang, and Raoul Walsh.
Filmmakers Alfred Hitchcock, Don Siegel, Orson Welles, and John Ford were reexamined in episodes Bogdanovich recorded; the podcast additionally features exclusive archival interviews with Hitchcock, Welles, and Ford that have...
Prior to Bogdanovich’s January 2022 death, the filmmaker recorded a series of interviews with fellow directors such as Guillermo del Toro, Quentin Tarantino, Ken Burns, and Rian Johnson to discuss their biggest cinematic influences.
Per Deadline, Bogdanovich named the podcast “One Handshake Away” to honor the relationship between contemporary directors and pioneering filmmakers, with each filmmaker being “one handshake away” from one another in film history.
After Bogdanovich’s passing, del Toro took over the podcast and recorded the final three episodes, interviewing Greta Gerwig, Julie Delpy, and Allison Anders, which included discussing the works of Howard Hawks, Fritz Lang, and Raoul Walsh.
Filmmakers Alfred Hitchcock, Don Siegel, Orson Welles, and John Ford were reexamined in episodes Bogdanovich recorded; the podcast additionally features exclusive archival interviews with Hitchcock, Welles, and Ford that have...
- 2/5/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Peter Bogdanovich, the director of Hollywood classics such as The Last Picture Show and Paper Moon, may have died two years ago but he left behind a “love letter to film.”
The critic-turned-filmmaker was working on One Handshake Away, a podcast series that saw him in conversation with some of the greatest living filmmakers, including Guillermo del Toro, Quentin Tarantino, Rian Johnson and Ken Burns framed through a series of never-before-heard archival interviews with legends including Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles and John Ford.
After Bogdanovich’s death, del Toro took over for the final three interviews with Greta Gerwig, Julie Delpy and Allison Anders.
Each episode pays homage to a master and offers insight and perspective on the influence and impact the legends who came before them had on their career and filmmaking.
Bogdanovich discussed Hitchcock with del Toro, Don Siegel with Tarantino, Welles with Johnson and Ford with Burns.
The critic-turned-filmmaker was working on One Handshake Away, a podcast series that saw him in conversation with some of the greatest living filmmakers, including Guillermo del Toro, Quentin Tarantino, Rian Johnson and Ken Burns framed through a series of never-before-heard archival interviews with legends including Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles and John Ford.
After Bogdanovich’s death, del Toro took over for the final three interviews with Greta Gerwig, Julie Delpy and Allison Anders.
Each episode pays homage to a master and offers insight and perspective on the influence and impact the legends who came before them had on their career and filmmaking.
Bogdanovich discussed Hitchcock with del Toro, Don Siegel with Tarantino, Welles with Johnson and Ford with Burns.
- 2/5/2024
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Nearly 40 years after he made his big screen debut with a brief appearance in the James Bond picture “A View to a Kill,” Dolph Lundgren is still best known as an actor thanks to a series of iconic roles in ’80s and ’90s favorites like “Rocky IV,” “Masters of the Universe,” and “Universal Soldier.” (More recently he’s been a fixture in the “Expendables” and “Aquaman” franchises.) Yet for the past couple of decades, Lundgren has been quietly forging a side career as an accomplished writer and director of low-budget action films, movies that belie their limited resources in ambition and craftsmanship. Like the scrappy genre directors of Hollywood’s past — filmmakers like Budd Boetticher, Sam Fuller, and Don Siegel — Lundgren uses the creative freedom of lower budgets to smuggle his personal obsessions and stylistic preoccupations into accessible entertainments that are as intelligent as they are lively.
Lundgren’s latest release,...
Lundgren’s latest release,...
- 1/25/2024
- by Jim Hemphill
- Indiewire
If anyone is good at spotting hidden meanings in movies, it’s Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino wrote a book of film criticism in which he said one of Elvis Presley’s movies had a rich subtext. The film was helmed by one of the most consequential action movie directors of all time.
Quentin Tarantino felt 1 Elvis Presley movie is similar its director’s struggles in Hollywood
In his 2022 book Cinema Speculation, Tarantino talked about the work of film director Don Siegel of Dirty Harry fame. “But the rogue law enforcement officer, at odds with their superiors, who operates independently to get their man and enforce their own self-determined version of justice, is practically the quintessential Siegel protagonist,” he wrote. “Even his criminals go rogue.
“Mickey Rooney’s Baby Face Nelson stands in direct contrast to Leo Gordon’s Dillinger, and both Walter Matthau’s Charley Varrick and Burt Reynolds’ cat burglar...
Quentin Tarantino felt 1 Elvis Presley movie is similar its director’s struggles in Hollywood
In his 2022 book Cinema Speculation, Tarantino talked about the work of film director Don Siegel of Dirty Harry fame. “But the rogue law enforcement officer, at odds with their superiors, who operates independently to get their man and enforce their own self-determined version of justice, is practically the quintessential Siegel protagonist,” he wrote. “Even his criminals go rogue.
“Mickey Rooney’s Baby Face Nelson stands in direct contrast to Leo Gordon’s Dillinger, and both Walter Matthau’s Charley Varrick and Burt Reynolds’ cat burglar...
- 12/17/2023
- by Matthew Trzcinski
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
For better or worse, Elvis Presley and Jesse James are two of America’s rebel icons. Elvis lost out on the opportunity to play the Western outlaw for reasons beyond his control. Another famous actor of the era replaced him. Regardless, the Western genre became a significant part of the singer’s career.
The director of ‘Rebel Without a Cause’ wanted Elvis Presley to play Jesse James
Nicholas Ray was a film director known for making movies about outcasts. His filmography includes King of Kings, In a Lonely Place, Johnny Guitar, and, most famously, Rebel Without a Cause. According to the book Elvis Films Faq: All That’s Left to Know About the King of Rock’ n’ Roll in Hollywood, Ray wanted the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll to star in his movie The True Story of Jesse James. The director wanted James to come across as a sex symbol,...
The director of ‘Rebel Without a Cause’ wanted Elvis Presley to play Jesse James
Nicholas Ray was a film director known for making movies about outcasts. His filmography includes King of Kings, In a Lonely Place, Johnny Guitar, and, most famously, Rebel Without a Cause. According to the book Elvis Films Faq: All That’s Left to Know About the King of Rock’ n’ Roll in Hollywood, Ray wanted the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll to star in his movie The True Story of Jesse James. The director wanted James to come across as a sex symbol,...
- 12/15/2023
- by Matthew Trzcinski
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
We’re big fans of Aardman Animation here at Film Stories Towers. With the new Chicken Run sequel out soon, this week’s film quiz covers their cracking canon to date…
Why did the chicken cross the road? Well, since Netflix has cracked down on password-sharing, it’s might go and watch Chicken Run: Dawn Of The Nugget at a mate’s house when the long-awaited sequel drops next week. It’s also in selected cinemas throughout the UK today, but whenever you’re watching it, we’ve got some Aardman-themed quiz questions to keep you going.
Once you’ve completed all three rounds, you’ll find a link to a separate post with the correct answers at the bottom of this post. As always, this is just for fun, but please let us know how you did in the comments (scores out of 30 this week!) and give us any other lovely feedback.
Why did the chicken cross the road? Well, since Netflix has cracked down on password-sharing, it’s might go and watch Chicken Run: Dawn Of The Nugget at a mate’s house when the long-awaited sequel drops next week. It’s also in selected cinemas throughout the UK today, but whenever you’re watching it, we’ve got some Aardman-themed quiz questions to keep you going.
Once you’ve completed all three rounds, you’ll find a link to a separate post with the correct answers at the bottom of this post. As always, this is just for fun, but please let us know how you did in the comments (scores out of 30 this week!) and give us any other lovely feedback.
- 12/8/2023
- by Mark Harrison
- Film Stories
In 1971, Clint Eastwood's Harry Callahan saved San Francisco from a theatrical serial killer while simultaneously establishing the "loose canon" genre of cop movies. "Dirty Harry" saw Andrew Robinson's Scorpio Killer sniping innocent Franciscans before he's taken down by Eastwood's lone wolf cop, in a film that caused significant controversy upon its release with many critics accusing it of being fascist propaganda. As time has gone on, the prevailing view of the film has become much more favorable, and "Dirty Harry" is now considered easily one of the best films of the 1970s, and even 21st century as a whole.
That's a good thing, because despite the fact that Eastwood's cavalier inspector appears to be a walking endorsement of police brutality and extreme right-wing values, the movie as a whole should leave any discerning viewer conflicted and reflective. After all, director Don Siegel obviously went to great lengths...
That's a good thing, because despite the fact that Eastwood's cavalier inspector appears to be a walking endorsement of police brutality and extreme right-wing values, the movie as a whole should leave any discerning viewer conflicted and reflective. After all, director Don Siegel obviously went to great lengths...
- 12/3/2023
- by Joe Roberts
- Slash Film
Along with being one of the finest shows in the history of television, the original run of Rod Serling's "The Twilight Zone" could function as a laboratory for advancements in visual effects. The often fantastical nature of the series, and Serling's desire to push the envelope of the still-developing medium's potential, was something of a creative sandbox for directors. As such, the show attracted not just aspiring young filmmakers like Richard Donner, Jack Smight, and Richard C. Sarafian, but established masters on the level of Jacques Tourneur, Don Siegel, and Norman Z. McLeod.
Douglas Heyes was more of a journeyman director when entered "The Twilight Zone." His experience and skill were highly valuable to Serling, who assigned him a total of nine episodes – the second most over the show's five seasons next to John Brahm's 12. Heyes' most celebrated episode is probably "Eye of the Beholder," the creepy tale...
Douglas Heyes was more of a journeyman director when entered "The Twilight Zone." His experience and skill were highly valuable to Serling, who assigned him a total of nine episodes – the second most over the show's five seasons next to John Brahm's 12. Heyes' most celebrated episode is probably "Eye of the Beholder," the creepy tale...
- 11/19/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Italian cinema is in the spotlight at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles where the screening series “Ennio Morricone: Essential Scores from a Movie Maestro,” programmed in partnership with Cinecittà, is currently playing to sold-out audiences.
The Oct. 6-Nov. 25 event comprises 20 titles, including Sergio Leone’s “The Good the Bad and the Ugly” in a new restored print, “Once Upon a Time in the West” (pictured) and Don Siegel’s “Two Mules for Sister Sara,” plus a selection of other works hailing both from the master composer’s native Italy and the U.S.. Among these are Brian De Palma (“The Untouchables”), Terrence Malick (“Days of Heaven”) and Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight,” for which Morricone finally won the the Oscar for best original soundtrack in 2016.
“Hateful Eight” screened at the museum’s David Geffen Theatre in the 70mm “Roadshow” version with an intermission and an overture.
Cinecittà operates...
The Oct. 6-Nov. 25 event comprises 20 titles, including Sergio Leone’s “The Good the Bad and the Ugly” in a new restored print, “Once Upon a Time in the West” (pictured) and Don Siegel’s “Two Mules for Sister Sara,” plus a selection of other works hailing both from the master composer’s native Italy and the U.S.. Among these are Brian De Palma (“The Untouchables”), Terrence Malick (“Days of Heaven”) and Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight,” for which Morricone finally won the the Oscar for best original soundtrack in 2016.
“Hateful Eight” screened at the museum’s David Geffen Theatre in the 70mm “Roadshow” version with an intermission and an overture.
Cinecittà operates...
- 11/16/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
No director in Hollywood has a weirder résumé than Alan Smithee. Between 1969 and 2015, his credits included the Richard Widmark western "Death of a Gunfighter"; the horror comedies "Student Bodies" and "Ghost Fever"; the Jodie Foster thriller "Catchfire"; the franchise sequels "The Birds II: Land's End" and "Hellraiser: Bloodline"; episodes of hit TV series like "MacGyver" and "Tiny Toon Adventures"; and music videos for artists like Metallica, Destiny's Child, Wu-Tang Clan, Whitney Houston, and Jennifer Lopez.
But there's a reason for that: "Alan Smithee" is not a real person. It's a pseudonym invented by the Director's Guild of America for filmmakers to use when they no longer want to be credited for their work. This usually happens when they're replaced on a project, or believe that studio interference has altered the film so much that it no longer reflects their vision. That's why you'll sometimes see "Alan Smithee" credited on TV...
But there's a reason for that: "Alan Smithee" is not a real person. It's a pseudonym invented by the Director's Guild of America for filmmakers to use when they no longer want to be credited for their work. This usually happens when they're replaced on a project, or believe that studio interference has altered the film so much that it no longer reflects their vision. That's why you'll sometimes see "Alan Smithee" credited on TV...
- 11/12/2023
- by William Bibbiani
- Slash Film
This post contains spoilers for the "Dirty Harry" films.
Don Siegel's "Dirty Harry" changed cop movies forever upon its release in 1971. Capitalizing on the "law and order" craze stoked by President Richard Nixon, which was a reaction to the perceived anarchy of the various protest movements of the 1960s, Clint Eastwood's Miranda rights-flouting Harry Callahan fed conservative moviegoers a big, juicy slab of red meat. It also allowed the actor to flourish in a genre outside of Westerns, thus expanding his appeal and turning him into one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood.
"Dirty Harry" ends with Callahan, having caught and killed (in self-defense) a vicious serial killer, hurling his badge into a quarry. Throughout the movie, his hard-driving, occasionally extrajudicial methods, which could've resulted in a swift arrest and saved multiple lives, are decried by his superiors. It appears the inspector has had enough. Audiences, however,...
Don Siegel's "Dirty Harry" changed cop movies forever upon its release in 1971. Capitalizing on the "law and order" craze stoked by President Richard Nixon, which was a reaction to the perceived anarchy of the various protest movements of the 1960s, Clint Eastwood's Miranda rights-flouting Harry Callahan fed conservative moviegoers a big, juicy slab of red meat. It also allowed the actor to flourish in a genre outside of Westerns, thus expanding his appeal and turning him into one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood.
"Dirty Harry" ends with Callahan, having caught and killed (in self-defense) a vicious serial killer, hurling his badge into a quarry. Throughout the movie, his hard-driving, occasionally extrajudicial methods, which could've resulted in a swift arrest and saved multiple lives, are decried by his superiors. It appears the inspector has had enough. Audiences, however,...
- 11/12/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
After the Southern Gothic thriller elements of 2017’s The Beguiled and the broad rom-com antics of 2020’s On the Rocks, which saw Sofia Coppola departing slightly from the aesthetic territory that she’d staked so forcefully in her earlier work, Priscilla finds the filmmaker firmly back in her wheelhouse. Based on Priscilla Presley’s 1985 biography Elvis and Me, Coppola’s latest is another impossibly photogenic tale of fame, solitude, material wealth, and female desire in a world that often contrives to deny its existence. In conjunction with the film’s release, we ranked all of Coppola’s features to date. David Robb
Editor’s Note: This entry was originally published on June 23, 2017.
9. The Bling Ring (2013)
As this film’s Bling Ringers raid sprawling manses for McQueen sunglasses, Alaia dresses, and Birkin bags, Coppola responds with a propulsive collage of modern pop iconography, filling the screen with paparazzi shots, step-and-repeat footage,...
Editor’s Note: This entry was originally published on June 23, 2017.
9. The Bling Ring (2013)
As this film’s Bling Ringers raid sprawling manses for McQueen sunglasses, Alaia dresses, and Birkin bags, Coppola responds with a propulsive collage of modern pop iconography, filling the screen with paparazzi shots, step-and-repeat footage,...
- 11/3/2023
- by Slant Staff
- Slant Magazine
Among the myriad reasons we could call the Criterion Channel the single greatest streaming service is its leveling of cinematic snobbery. Where a new World Cinema Project restoration plays, so too does Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight. I think about this looking at November’s lineup and being happiest about two new additions: a nine-film Robert Bresson retro including L’argent and The Devil, Probably; and a one-film Hype Williams retro including Belly and only Belly, but bringing as a bonus the direct-to-video Belly 2: Millionaire Boyz Club. Until recently such curation seemed impossible.
November will also feature a 20-film noir series boasting the obvious and the not. Maybe the single tightest collection is “Women of the West,” with Johnny Guitar and The Beguiled and Rancho Notorious and The Furies only half of it. Lynch/Oz, Irradiated, and My Two Voices make streaming premieres; Drylongso gets a Criterion Edition; and joining...
November will also feature a 20-film noir series boasting the obvious and the not. Maybe the single tightest collection is “Women of the West,” with Johnny Guitar and The Beguiled and Rancho Notorious and The Furies only half of it. Lynch/Oz, Irradiated, and My Two Voices make streaming premieres; Drylongso gets a Criterion Edition; and joining...
- 10/24/2023
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Back in 1992 Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson — who had met the University of Texas in Dallas and were roomies — decided to make a movie. But after spending $10,000 and shooting 13 minutes of the crime caper comedy “Bottle Rocket,” they ran out of money. Eventually, the short and the full script made its way to Oscar-winning writer/director/producer James L. Brooks. It just so happened that Columbia had a deal with Brooks to finance a low-budget film selected by the filmmaker. And in 1996, the feature-length version of “Bottle Rocket” was released with Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson and James Caan. Though the film didn’t set the box office on fire, critics realized Anderson was a new and exciting cinematic voice.
Anderson has made 11 feature films — his latest “Asteroid City” came out earlier this year — and has been nominated seven times for an Oscar including three for screenplay, two for animated features,...
Anderson has made 11 feature films — his latest “Asteroid City” came out earlier this year — and has been nominated seven times for an Oscar including three for screenplay, two for animated features,...
- 10/6/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
For almost 50 years, John Williams' music has been virtually synonymous with the films of Steven Spielberg (and vice versa), and for nearly as long, Williams' compositions have formed the emotional backbone of the Skywalker Saga from "Star Wars." However, 20 years before the cinematic musical maestro become known for either of those things, Williams was merely a whipper-snapper fresh out of Julliard and eager to leave his mark on the worlds of concert and film music.
Williams' pre-Spielberg run would have made for an incredible career all by itself. It was an era that saw the composer collaborating with numerous giants among the old guard of Hollywood directors, including Robert Altman, Don Siegel, William Wyler, Irwin Allen, Frank Sinatra, and Norman Jewison. In 1974, Williams worked with Spielberg for the first time on the filmmaker's theatrical feature debut, "The Sugarland Express." Appearing with Williams at the American Cinematheque event "50 Years of...
Williams' pre-Spielberg run would have made for an incredible career all by itself. It was an era that saw the composer collaborating with numerous giants among the old guard of Hollywood directors, including Robert Altman, Don Siegel, William Wyler, Irwin Allen, Frank Sinatra, and Norman Jewison. In 1974, Williams worked with Spielberg for the first time on the filmmaker's theatrical feature debut, "The Sugarland Express." Appearing with Williams at the American Cinematheque event "50 Years of...
- 9/24/2023
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
Every generation gets the Invasion of the Body Snatchers movie it deserves. To date, there have been four official adaptations of Jack Finney’s 1954 novel The Body Snatchers and each one adapts its premise to the concerns of the time in which it was made. The deep core of the novel asks, “what exactly is it that makes us human?” and then examines it through a non-human threat that attempts to replicate humanity but just can’t get it quite right. Every twenty years or so, a new version of the story applies that question to the current climate. We are right around that twenty-year mark. We are ready for a new Body Snatchers movie, and it should be about Artificial Intelligence.
In 1954 and 1956 when the novel and the first film version of the story directed by Don Siegel were released, the Cold War was America’s preoccupation. The brilliance...
In 1954 and 1956 when the novel and the first film version of the story directed by Don Siegel were released, the Cold War was America’s preoccupation. The brilliance...
- 9/7/2023
- by Brian Keiper
- bloody-disgusting.com
Few American filmmakers of the last 40 years await a major rediscovery like Hal Hartley, whose traces in modern movies are either too-minor or entirely unknown. Thus it’s cause for celebration that the Criterion Channel are soon launching a major retrospective: 13 features (which constitutes all but My America) and 17 shorts, a sui generis style and persistent vision running across 30 years. Expect your Halloween party to be aswim in Henry Fool costumes.
Speaking of: there’s a one-month headstart on seasonal programming with the 13-film “High School Horror”––most notable perhaps being a streaming premiere for the uncut version of Suspiria, plus the rare opportunity to see a Robert Rodriguez movie on the Criterion Channel––and a retrospective of Hong Kong vampire movies. A retrospective of ’70s car movies offer chills and thrills of a different sort
Six films by Allan Dwan and 12 “gaslight noirs” round out the main September series; The Eight Mountains,...
Speaking of: there’s a one-month headstart on seasonal programming with the 13-film “High School Horror”––most notable perhaps being a streaming premiere for the uncut version of Suspiria, plus the rare opportunity to see a Robert Rodriguez movie on the Criterion Channel––and a retrospective of Hong Kong vampire movies. A retrospective of ’70s car movies offer chills and thrills of a different sort
Six films by Allan Dwan and 12 “gaslight noirs” round out the main September series; The Eight Mountains,...
- 8/21/2023
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
In the fifth season episode of "The Twilight Zone," called "The Masks", an elderly millionaire named Jason Foster (Robert Keith) has gathered his daughter, her husband, and their two adult children for a Mardi Gras gathering. Jason, attended by his doctor (Willis Bouchey), is dying. He expects he'll be dead by morning. Jason also hates his daughter and her family. He sees Emily (Virginia Gregg) as spineless, her husband Wilfred (Milton Seltzer) as greedy, her son Wilfred, Jr. (Alan Sues) as dumb and oafish, and her daughter Paula (Brooke Hayward) as vain and shallow.
At dinner, the family members all feign politeness, but the audience trusts Jason when he says they are all terrible people who are only interested in inheriting his fortune. After dinner, Jason calls the quartet into the drawing room for a Mardi Gras game. The patriarch has commissioned five expressive, full-face masks that he and his family are to wear.
At dinner, the family members all feign politeness, but the audience trusts Jason when he says they are all terrible people who are only interested in inheriting his fortune. After dinner, Jason calls the quartet into the drawing room for a Mardi Gras game. The patriarch has commissioned five expressive, full-face masks that he and his family are to wear.
- 8/1/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Japan’s Hiroshi Teshigahara, who seemed on track for greatness after winning two Oscar nominations for “Woman in the Sands,” will be the subject of a San Sebastian Festival retrospective.
Nominated for best foreign-language film in 1964, and winning Teshigahara a best director Academy Award nomination a year later, “Woman in the Sands” was just Teshigahara’s second feature, a social and erotic allegory which yoked the political convictions of Teshigahara and screenwriter Kobo Abe, both members of Japan’s communist party in their youth, with Abe’s penchant for the darkly surreal.
Turning on an entomologist from Tokyo who discovers a young widow living at the bottom of an enormous sandpit on a deserted beach, it also won a Cannes Special Jury prize. Hailed as a masterpiece, and building on 1961’s “The Pitfall,” a political allegory which won Teshigahara fans, with Abe adapting his TV play, it looked like Teshigahara...
Nominated for best foreign-language film in 1964, and winning Teshigahara a best director Academy Award nomination a year later, “Woman in the Sands” was just Teshigahara’s second feature, a social and erotic allegory which yoked the political convictions of Teshigahara and screenwriter Kobo Abe, both members of Japan’s communist party in their youth, with Abe’s penchant for the darkly surreal.
Turning on an entomologist from Tokyo who discovers a young widow living at the bottom of an enormous sandpit on a deserted beach, it also won a Cannes Special Jury prize. Hailed as a masterpiece, and building on 1961’s “The Pitfall,” a political allegory which won Teshigahara fans, with Abe adapting his TV play, it looked like Teshigahara...
- 6/29/2023
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Charles Laughton’s The Night of the Hunter is so loaded with neurotic symbology that you can attach nearly any meaning to it, and that’s the source of its uneasy, primordial power. In 1955, it might’ve been logical to assume that Laughton and critic turned screenwriter James Agee, working from David Grubb’s novel, were intending the film as an allegory for McCarthyism. After all, the villain, Reverend Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum), cannily exploits people’s panic in order to line his pockets, turning them on one another so as to distract them from the true evildoings being committed.
Like those in the grip of the second Red Scare, most of Harry’s victims are easily exploited because they willingly forfeit individual judgment in the presence of reassuringly unquestioned leadership. As in other McCarthyism parables (most obviously Don Siegel’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers), only the children and...
Like those in the grip of the second Red Scare, most of Harry’s victims are easily exploited because they willingly forfeit individual judgment in the presence of reassuringly unquestioned leadership. As in other McCarthyism parables (most obviously Don Siegel’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers), only the children and...
- 6/23/2023
- by Chuck Bowen
- Slant Magazine
I honestly never expected Steven Spielberg in a Criterion Channel series––certainly not one that pairs him with Kogonada, anime, and Johnny Mnemonic––but so’s the power of artificial intelligence. Perhaps his greatest film (at this point I don’t need to tell you the title) plays with After Yang, Ghost in the Shell, and pre-Matrix Keanu in July’s aptly titled “AI” boasting also Spike Jonze’s Her, Carpenter’s Dark Star, and Computer Chess. Much more analog is a British Noir collection obviously carrying the likes of Odd Man Out, Night and the City, and The Small Back Room, further filled by Joseph Losey’s Time Without Pity and Basil Dearden’s It Always Rains on Sunday. (No two ways about it: these movies have great titles.) An Elvis retrospective brings six features, and the consensus best (Don Siegel’s Flaming Star) comes September 1.
While Isabella Rossellini...
While Isabella Rossellini...
- 6/22/2023
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
The man who directed a scene so bloody it was filmed in black and white to avoid an Nc-17 rating has some qualms with violence in film.
In an hourlong conversation at the Cannes Film Festival, Quentin Tarantino addressed some parts of his book “Cinema Speculation” and he teased his 10th and final film, “The Movie Critic.” As a serious grind-house fanatic, Tarantino discussed the place of violence in his own films and in classics like John Flynn’s “Rolling Thunder” and Martin Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver.”
On John Flynn’s “Rolling Thunder”
“It was the movie that made me start taking myself seriously as a film critic,” Tarantino said of “Rolling Thunder.”
Not that he was writing and publishing reviews on movies, but as he watched the film, he was able to note its nuances and form opinions on them. The moderators asked Tarantino about why he believed Flynn...
In an hourlong conversation at the Cannes Film Festival, Quentin Tarantino addressed some parts of his book “Cinema Speculation” and he teased his 10th and final film, “The Movie Critic.” As a serious grind-house fanatic, Tarantino discussed the place of violence in his own films and in classics like John Flynn’s “Rolling Thunder” and Martin Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver.”
On John Flynn’s “Rolling Thunder”
“It was the movie that made me start taking myself seriously as a film critic,” Tarantino said of “Rolling Thunder.”
Not that he was writing and publishing reviews on movies, but as he watched the film, he was able to note its nuances and form opinions on them. The moderators asked Tarantino about why he believed Flynn...
- 6/13/2023
- by Sophia Scorziello
- Variety Film + TV
Clint Eastwood had at last achieved film stardom in the United States when Sergio Leone's "Dollars Trilogy" was meted out to theaters over the course of 1967 and '68. The films were hits internationally, but had been held back from U.S. theaters because distributors were concerned Akira Kurosawa and Toho might sue them due to 1964's "A Fistful of Dollars," the first movie in the trilogy, bearing a remarkable similarity to the Japanese director's masterpiece "Yojimbo" (which was itself an unofficial adaptation of Dashiell Hammett's "Red Harvest"). Toho did sue, but the success of the second and third films, which were top-down originals, more than offset what they lost over the first movie.
In any event, Eastwood had emerged as a Western antihero for a new, rebellious generation. While he was more than happy to knock out more oaters in roughly the same revisionist vein as Leone's movies,...
In any event, Eastwood had emerged as a Western antihero for a new, rebellious generation. While he was more than happy to knock out more oaters in roughly the same revisionist vein as Leone's movies,...
- 4/15/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
“Fair to middling” is how Angie Dickinson is feeling this morning as she talks about “Rio Bravo,” the 1959 film that made her a star. “Somebody who says they’re great at 90, you can figure out that they lie a lot.” It’s a line that could have come straight from Jules Furthman and Leigh Brackett’s script for the film — and a reminder that Dickinson’s gift for delivery isn’t dependent on working with a brilliant director, though she has many times in her seven-decade career.
Dickinson has more then 350 screen credits — an enormous body of work that includes “Ocean’s Eleven” (the 1960 original), “Point Blank” and “Dressed to Kill.” She’s set to appear April 13 at the TCM Film Festival to introduce a 4K restoration of Howard Hawks’ classic Western, whose boys’ club cast of John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson and Walter Brennan she breaks up with that same brisk humor.
Dickinson has more then 350 screen credits — an enormous body of work that includes “Ocean’s Eleven” (the 1960 original), “Point Blank” and “Dressed to Kill.” She’s set to appear April 13 at the TCM Film Festival to introduce a 4K restoration of Howard Hawks’ classic Western, whose boys’ club cast of John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson and Walter Brennan she breaks up with that same brisk humor.
- 4/12/2023
- by Todd Gilchrist
- Variety Film + TV
John Wayne gets a bit of a bad rap as an actor. Yes, he mostly made star vehicles after his breakthrough performance in John Wayne's "Stagecoach," but he was willing to challenge himself (and his audience) by playing unlikable protagonists in Howard Hawks' "Red River" and Ford's "The Searchers." He had an acute understanding of film acting, and, according to Ron Howard, could make minor adjustments on the fly that would turn an otherwise ordinary scene into a classic Wayne moment.
But did anyone want to see John Wayne play King Lear on Broadway? Not particularly. At least, not because they thought it would be good.
Wayne was not a classically trained actor. He found his way to motion pictures because Tom Mix owed a favor to legendary USC football coach Howard Jones. When Wayne was forced to quit the team, Mix and Ford brought the young man into their extended company.
But did anyone want to see John Wayne play King Lear on Broadway? Not particularly. At least, not because they thought it would be good.
Wayne was not a classically trained actor. He found his way to motion pictures because Tom Mix owed a favor to legendary USC football coach Howard Jones. When Wayne was forced to quit the team, Mix and Ford brought the young man into their extended company.
- 4/1/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Western movie star John Wayne and classic Hollywood actor Lauren Bacall combined their efforts for 1976’s The Shootist. The film required them to demonstrate a certain uneasy chemistry that blossoms over the course of the runtime. However, Bacall had a real issue with how Wayne couldn’t stop spitting on the set, which really got on the actor’s last nerve.
‘The Shootist’ actors John Wayne and Lauren Bacall worked together once before L-r: Lauren Bacall as Bond Rogers and John Wayne as J.B. Books | Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images
Wayne personally recommended hiring Bacall for The Shootist after they worked together on 1955’s Blood Alley. It tells the story of Capt. Tom Wilder (Wayne) after Chinese Communists capture his ship. Meanwhile, Bacall plays Cathy Grainger, a medical missionary’s daughter.
The Shootist follows an older gunfighter named J.B. Books (Wayne), who has an infamous reputation that precedes him. However,...
‘The Shootist’ actors John Wayne and Lauren Bacall worked together once before L-r: Lauren Bacall as Bond Rogers and John Wayne as J.B. Books | Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images
Wayne personally recommended hiring Bacall for The Shootist after they worked together on 1955’s Blood Alley. It tells the story of Capt. Tom Wilder (Wayne) after Chinese Communists capture his ship. Meanwhile, Bacall plays Cathy Grainger, a medical missionary’s daughter.
The Shootist follows an older gunfighter named J.B. Books (Wayne), who has an infamous reputation that precedes him. However,...
- 3/24/2023
- by Jeff Nelson
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
The end was in sight for John Wayne when he took the part of aging gunfighter J.B. Books in Don Siegel's 1976 Western "The Shootist." He was only 69, but the quintessential American movie star hadn't been nice to his body. Decades of drinking and smoking had taken their toll. He'd lost a lung and a couple of ribs to cancer in the 1960s, but had evidently been in remission since. Still, his energy was flagging. He'd struggled throughout the filming of "Rooster Coburn," and was being asked to literally hop back on a horse in the elevated altitude of Carson City, Nevada. He had not been diagnosed with a return of the cancer that would kill him three years later, but The Duke looked a deathly shadow of his former, swaggering self.
Culturally, there was a sense that people should celebrate Wayne while he was still around (for those willing...
Culturally, there was a sense that people should celebrate Wayne while he was still around (for those willing...
- 3/18/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
John Williams began his film composing career in 1958, working on Lou Place's J.D. film "Daddy-o." He was credited as "Johnny Williams," and he was only 26. From there, Williams -- a Juilliard graduate -- began a prolific, decades-long life of music that included writing hundreds of film scores and TV themes, as well as conducting concerts and making some of the most memorable music in the history of filmed media. He has worked for Don Siegel, Frank Sinatra, Irwin Allen, Gene Kelly, Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg, John Frankenheimer, Richard Donner, George Miller, Barry Levinson, Oliver Stone, John Singleton ... and dozens of other notable filmmakers besides. Indeed, introducing Williams at all seems a churlish exercise, as some his scores and themes have become hummable, eternally recognizable elements of the pop consciousness.
Williams is responsible for the main theme for George Lucas' 1977 film "Star Wars," handily one of the most popular films of all time.
Williams is responsible for the main theme for George Lucas' 1977 film "Star Wars," handily one of the most popular films of all time.
- 3/10/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Richard Widmark reportedly used his clout to amp up this revisionist western, but the result seems forced at best, and hampered by Universal’s TV-grade production values. The sober screenplay brings in good ideas but the execution can’t quite hold its own with the more progressive westerns of the genre-changing years 1968-’69. A cast of familiar faces makes much of it look fresh: Carroll O’Connor’s venal saloon keeper steals the show, while interesting casting gives us Lena Horne as Widmark’s romantic partner.
Death of a Gunfighter
Region B Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1969 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 94 min. / working title Patch / Street Date February 27, 2023 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £15.99
Starring: Richard Widmark, Lena Horne, Carroll O’Connor, David Opatashu, Kent Smith, Jacqueline Scott, Morgan Woodward, Larry Gates, Dub Taylor, John Saxon, Darleen Carr, Michael McGreevey, Royal Dano, James (Jimmy) Lydon, Kathleen Freeman, Harry Carey Jr., Walter Sande, Victor French.
Cinematography:...
Death of a Gunfighter
Region B Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1969 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 94 min. / working title Patch / Street Date February 27, 2023 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £15.99
Starring: Richard Widmark, Lena Horne, Carroll O’Connor, David Opatashu, Kent Smith, Jacqueline Scott, Morgan Woodward, Larry Gates, Dub Taylor, John Saxon, Darleen Carr, Michael McGreevey, Royal Dano, James (Jimmy) Lydon, Kathleen Freeman, Harry Carey Jr., Walter Sande, Victor French.
Cinematography:...
- 3/7/2023
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
John Wayne earned two Oscar nominations for Sands of Iwo Jima and The Alamo before finally taking home the win for 1969’s True Grit. His eyepatch-wearing performance as Rooster Cogburn became one of the most iconic images in Hollywood history, although there was some talk that the Oscar win was meant more as a “career award” than for the individual performance. However, that honor should have been for playing J.B. Books in The Shootist.
‘The Shootist’ actor John Wayne tackled mortality and dignity John Wayne as J.B. Books | Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
The Shootist found Wayne playing an older gunfigther after he travels to Nevada at the turn of the 20th century. He’s diagnosed with cancer, deciding to stay in town and die with as much dignity as possible, seeking peace in his final days.
J.B. Books rents a room from a widowed Bond Rogers (Lauren Bacall) and her son,...
‘The Shootist’ actor John Wayne tackled mortality and dignity John Wayne as J.B. Books | Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
The Shootist found Wayne playing an older gunfigther after he travels to Nevada at the turn of the 20th century. He’s diagnosed with cancer, deciding to stay in town and die with as much dignity as possible, seeking peace in his final days.
J.B. Books rents a room from a widowed Bond Rogers (Lauren Bacall) and her son,...
- 2/23/2023
- by Jeff Nelson
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Marc Eliot's 2009 biography "American Rebel: The Life of Clint Eastwood" lays out the production of Don Siegel's 1971 cop drama "Dirty Harry" as a complicated affair. The first version of the film's script was violent and raw, telling the story of a cop who has to break the law in order to stop a dangerous serial killer. As the script was passed around, though, many became wary of its violence, and many actors expressed interest and dropped out. The rights to the film were once in the hands of ABC who aimed to adapt it for TV, but sold it to Warner Bros. when they realized just how violent the film had to be. Irvin Kershner was once hired to direct, with Frank Sinatra starring. Sydney Pollock, George C. Scott, Robert Mitchum, Steve McQueen, and many other famous people brushed up against "Dirty Harry" during pre-production. Even Terrence Malick purportedly wrote a draft.
- 2/17/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
The Western might be the quintessential American film genre, but it probably would've fallen completely out of favor in the 1960s were it not for Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone. With loads of ingenuity and not a lot of money (initially at least), Leone overhauled the increasingly staid formula, and knocked out a surprise international hit via "A Fistful of Dollars." Aside from Leone's striking widescreen compositions, there were two keys to the film's success: Clint Eastwood's taciturn portrayal of The Man with No Name and Ennio Morricone's bizarrely innovative score.
When Eastwood traveled to Spain in 1964 to shoot "A Fistful of Dollars," he was nearing the end of his run as cowboy Rowdy Yates on CBS' Western series "Rawhide." Despite the name, his character was a bit of a cliched bore, so teaming with the up-and-coming Leone far away from Hollywood gave Eastwood the opportunity to transform his...
When Eastwood traveled to Spain in 1964 to shoot "A Fistful of Dollars," he was nearing the end of his run as cowboy Rowdy Yates on CBS' Western series "Rawhide." Despite the name, his character was a bit of a cliched bore, so teaming with the up-and-coming Leone far away from Hollywood gave Eastwood the opportunity to transform his...
- 2/17/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Movie star John Wayne had dedicated fans who hated seeing any deaths surrounding the characters he played. He held an image that represented America to many moviegoers, making it hard for some to stomach watching his characters die. Nevertheless, Wayne had 8 character deaths out of his large filmography totaling over 200 motion pictures, not including 1955’s The Sea Chase, which left his character’s fate unknown.
‘Reap the Wild Wind’ (1942) L-r: Paulette Goddard as Loxi Claiborne and John Wayne as Captain Jack Stuart | FilmPublicityArchive/United Archives via Getty Images
Cecil B. DeMille’s Reap the Wild Wind is set in the 1840s, when a group of salvagers go from profiting off shipwrecks to to causing them. All those in the American South consider King Cutler (Raymond Massey) the most dangerous, who sets his eyes on the ships of the wealthy Devereaux Company, Captain Jack Stuart (Wayne), and the company’s lawyer,...
‘Reap the Wild Wind’ (1942) L-r: Paulette Goddard as Loxi Claiborne and John Wayne as Captain Jack Stuart | FilmPublicityArchive/United Archives via Getty Images
Cecil B. DeMille’s Reap the Wild Wind is set in the 1840s, when a group of salvagers go from profiting off shipwrecks to to causing them. All those in the American South consider King Cutler (Raymond Massey) the most dangerous, who sets his eyes on the ships of the wealthy Devereaux Company, Captain Jack Stuart (Wayne), and the company’s lawyer,...
- 2/15/2023
- by Jeff Nelson
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Lee Marvin, Vera Miles and Bradford Dillman shine a military courtroom drama, a TV movie released as a theatrical feature five years later. It’s small-scale but effective, with strong performances and a reasonably credible storyline. Marvin’s Ryker is on trial for his life, with the entire U.S. Army convinced that he’s a traitor. Attorney Bradford Dillman stumbles in his defense — other officers catch him consorting with Ryker’s wife. It’s a treat for Lee Marvin fans, provided they don’t expect the action epic depicted on the posters.
Sergeant Ryker
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1968 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 85 min. / Street Date January 10, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Lee Marvin, Bradford Dillman, Peter Graves, Vera Miles, Lloyd Nolan, Murray Hamilton, Norman Fell, Walter Brooke, Charles Aidman.
Cinematography: Walter Strenge
Production Designer:
Art Director: John J. Lloyd
Film Editor: Robert B. Warwick
Original Music: John Williams
Written by Seelef Lester,...
Sergeant Ryker
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1968 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 85 min. / Street Date January 10, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Lee Marvin, Bradford Dillman, Peter Graves, Vera Miles, Lloyd Nolan, Murray Hamilton, Norman Fell, Walter Brooke, Charles Aidman.
Cinematography: Walter Strenge
Production Designer:
Art Director: John J. Lloyd
Film Editor: Robert B. Warwick
Original Music: John Williams
Written by Seelef Lester,...
- 12/31/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
When The New Yorker's Pauline Kael wrote of Don Siegel's "Dirty Harry" in 1971 that the American cop thriller "has always had a fascist potential, and it has finally surfaced," she kicked off a fierce debate about the genre that still roils today.
Taken at face value, it's difficult to dispute that the film is meant to titillate viewers with the ultimate, judge-jury-executioner justice pursued and dispensed by Clint Eastwood's Harry Callahan. He despises the Miranda Warning, and complains that the United States' judicial system has been corrupted to favor the rights of criminals. The screenplay, credited to Harry Julian Fink, R.M. Fink, and Dean Riesner, stacks the deck to a ludicrous degree by having Andrew Robinson's Scorpio Killer orchestrate an act of police brutality late in the movie to get Callahan kicked off the case. At this moment, it feels like we're meant to throw our hands...
Taken at face value, it's difficult to dispute that the film is meant to titillate viewers with the ultimate, judge-jury-executioner justice pursued and dispensed by Clint Eastwood's Harry Callahan. He despises the Miranda Warning, and complains that the United States' judicial system has been corrupted to favor the rights of criminals. The screenplay, credited to Harry Julian Fink, R.M. Fink, and Dean Riesner, stacks the deck to a ludicrous degree by having Andrew Robinson's Scorpio Killer orchestrate an act of police brutality late in the movie to get Callahan kicked off the case. At this moment, it feels like we're meant to throw our hands...
- 12/30/2022
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
By the time "Dirty Harry" came along, Clint Eastwood was already a movie star. So, it's fair to say that this film not only solidified his place in the Hollywood firmament but also crystallized his star persona. The role of Harry Callahan took someone who was already the embodiment of traditional toxic masculinity, and cranked that up to 11, captivating enough people to make it the sixth-highest-grossing film of 1971. "Dirty Harry" features so many things I find objectionable, yet I cannot say that the film isn't an entertaining watch. That is due in large part to Eastwood's performance, clearly enjoying playing a hard-ass cop who doesn't play by the rules.
While Eastwood and "Dirty Harry" are now inextricably linked thanks to the five-film franchise that it spawned (six if you count the unofficial spiritual sequel "Gran Torino"), he was not the first actor the studio looked to star in the film.
While Eastwood and "Dirty Harry" are now inextricably linked thanks to the five-film franchise that it spawned (six if you count the unofficial spiritual sequel "Gran Torino"), he was not the first actor the studio looked to star in the film.
- 12/29/2022
- by Mike Shutt
- Slash Film
If you’re a film fanatic, one book that’s absolutely worth checking out is Quentin Tarantino’s Cinema Speculation (buy it here). On the brilliant Video Archives podcast (which you really should be listening to), Tarantino downplays the autobiographical nature of the book, which is mostly about his reactions to the films that were seminal to him as a child of the seventies. But, along with the film analysis, there’s a lot of interesting, autobiographical material that adds up to a nostalgic depiction of a young film fan coming of age. For a lot of us, it’s tough not to relate.
With that in mind, Tarantino’s formative films are likely different than the ones from those of us who grew up a generation or so later, but every single movie that he mentions is well worth seeking out. Here are five to get started with:
Rolling...
With that in mind, Tarantino’s formative films are likely different than the ones from those of us who grew up a generation or so later, but every single movie that he mentions is well worth seeking out. Here are five to get started with:
Rolling...
- 12/26/2022
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
Despite a long and prolific acting career that spans over 60 films, Clint Eastwood rarely worked with directors more than once. Only Sergio Leone, Don Siegel, and Ted Post worked with the actor on multiple occasions, with Post earning extra credit for directing "Magnum Force," a sequel to Siegel's "Dirty Harry." The directors in question might also be credited for creating some of Eastwood's most recognizable characters. Siegel and his screenwriters invented Harry Callahan, a tough-as-nails cop who cannot arrest a vicious Zodiac-like serial killer because of the police force's new implementation of Miranda laws. And Leone helped invent the stoic gunfighter often called The Man With No Name in a celebrated trilogy of Westerns in the 1960s.
Both characters are strong, silent types, their faces both etched with a permanent scowl of annoyance. Both are handy with a gun and tend to rely on vigilante justice. Both appear to...
Both characters are strong, silent types, their faces both etched with a permanent scowl of annoyance. Both are handy with a gun and tend to rely on vigilante justice. Both appear to...
- 12/20/2022
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Clint Eastwood entered the 1970s at a transitional point in his career. He was for certain a movie star, but, despite hits like the crime-thriller "Coogan's Bluff" and the World War II flick "Where Eagles Dare," he was still primarily associated with Westerns. This was hardly a precarious place to be. He'd earned enough studio goodwill to take a risk or two on a movie that wasn't a straight-down-the-middle commercial play.
Thomas P. Cullinan's novel "The Beguiled" presented such a risk. The Southern Gothic about a wounded Union soldier cared for by a headmistress (Geraldine Page) and her young female charges at a Mississippi seminary was dark and creepy and just about as far from the macho heroics of "A Fistful of Dollars" as Eastwood could get. His character becomes an object of desire for many of the women in the house, and he uses his worldly charm to encourage their advances.
Thomas P. Cullinan's novel "The Beguiled" presented such a risk. The Southern Gothic about a wounded Union soldier cared for by a headmistress (Geraldine Page) and her young female charges at a Mississippi seminary was dark and creepy and just about as far from the macho heroics of "A Fistful of Dollars" as Eastwood could get. His character becomes an object of desire for many of the women in the house, and he uses his worldly charm to encourage their advances.
- 12/13/2022
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Director Don Siegel started his filmmaking career back in the 1940s, directing montages for high-profile studio pictures like "Now, Voyager" and "Casablanca." He eventually made a name for himself in the 1950s with hard-boiled crime dramas like "The Verdict" and "Riot in Cell Block 11" as well as the indelible sci-fi classic "Invasion of the Body Snatchers." Siegel would also become notable for the five feature films he made with Clint Eastwood — "Coogan's Bluff," "Two Mules for Sister Sara," "The Beguiled," "Escape from Alcatraz," and, most popular, the 1971 classic "Dirty Harry."
Film director Sergio Leone also began his career in the 1940s, working as an assistant director or a writer on dozens of features in his native Italy. He would begin directing in 1959 with "The Last Days of Pompeii," but his reputation as an auteur would be cemented with his famed five-film cycle of Spaghetti Westerns, so-called for their country of origin.
Film director Sergio Leone also began his career in the 1940s, working as an assistant director or a writer on dozens of features in his native Italy. He would begin directing in 1959 with "The Last Days of Pompeii," but his reputation as an auteur would be cemented with his famed five-film cycle of Spaghetti Westerns, so-called for their country of origin.
- 12/5/2022
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Clint Eastwood was in show business for nearly twenty years when he finally made his directorial debut with 1971's "Play Misty For Me." The shift from actor to director wouldn't have been possible without the help and encouragement of his friend Don Siegel, a filmmaker perhaps as responsible for Eastwood's iconic screen presence as Sergio Leone. Like Eastwood, Siegel had decades of experience and had fashioned a professional, unpretentious style of working that Eastwood would embrace.
For starters, he took the work seriously. "Play Misty For Me" would not be a vanity project, but the work of a dedicated professional committed to the art of making movies, one who was willing to take a pay cut just for the chance of doing the work. The result was a movie that even now ranks as one of Eastwood's best.
"Misty" has the economical sensibilities that would become a trademark of his directorial work,...
For starters, he took the work seriously. "Play Misty For Me" would not be a vanity project, but the work of a dedicated professional committed to the art of making movies, one who was willing to take a pay cut just for the chance of doing the work. The result was a movie that even now ranks as one of Eastwood's best.
"Misty" has the economical sensibilities that would become a trademark of his directorial work,...
- 12/5/2022
- by Anthony Crislip
- Slash Film
Every decade — on the "twos" for some reason — Sight and Sound releases what may very well be the definitive list of the greatest movies ever made.
The organization asks film critics and filmmakers from all over the world, people who really know their stuff, to present their own lists of the ten greatest motion pictures in history. Those lists are tabulated and spun out into a mighty Top 100, giving movie lovers a chance to learn about a lot of amazing movies and consider the impact that history and cultural shifts in our collective opinions about movies have over time.
And as usual, we learned that critics and filmmakers over the world don't seem to like horror very much.
There are a handful of scary films on the Sight and Sound poll in 2022, but most are squarely in the realm of arthouse cinema, and could also be classified as dramas or...
The organization asks film critics and filmmakers from all over the world, people who really know their stuff, to present their own lists of the ten greatest motion pictures in history. Those lists are tabulated and spun out into a mighty Top 100, giving movie lovers a chance to learn about a lot of amazing movies and consider the impact that history and cultural shifts in our collective opinions about movies have over time.
And as usual, we learned that critics and filmmakers over the world don't seem to like horror very much.
There are a handful of scary films on the Sight and Sound poll in 2022, but most are squarely in the realm of arthouse cinema, and could also be classified as dramas or...
- 12/2/2022
- by William Bibbiani
- Slash Film
It's something of a cliche and a bit of a lie when actors say they do their own stunts. If you want to know what that really looks like, watch the end credits of any film Jackie Chan made in his Hong Kong prime. You'll see him break various extremities and get carried out on a stretcher more than once. The only Hollywood star with that kind of daredevil spirit working today is Tom Cruise, who seems determined to keep making Mission: Impossible movies well into his autumn years or die trying.
John Wayne was an ornery, prideful cuss who wanted to look like an authentic badass on the big screen, but he knew when to defer to his longtime stunt double Chuck Roberson. This was a practical matter as much as anything. If The Duke took a nasty spill, production could be shut down for months, which was anathema...
John Wayne was an ornery, prideful cuss who wanted to look like an authentic badass on the big screen, but he knew when to defer to his longtime stunt double Chuck Roberson. This was a practical matter as much as anything. If The Duke took a nasty spill, production could be shut down for months, which was anathema...
- 11/28/2022
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
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