Joe Dante's 1981 werewolf flick "The Howling" boasts one of the most impressive werewolf transformation scenes in the genre's history. A vicious serial killer named Eddie Quist (Robert Picardo) confront's the film's protagonist, Karen (Dee Wallace), an investigative reporter recovering from a previous attack at a woods-bound therapy camp. Lit through the slits in Venetian blinds, Quist's face extends and mutates, his mouth ripping into a terrifying wolf grin, his eyes bulging. Karen witnesses the entire transformation and is, naturally, terrified. Quist was already known for his penchant for murder, but learning that he is a werewolf makes him that much more monstrous. The effects were provided by the amazing Rob Bottin.
"The Howling," while a corker of a monster movie, is also a clever satire of then-modern therapy. A certain kind of "touchy-feely" language had come into vogue in the late '70s and early '80s, and...
"The Howling," while a corker of a monster movie, is also a clever satire of then-modern therapy. A certain kind of "touchy-feely" language had come into vogue in the late '70s and early '80s, and...
- 5/26/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
With Lady Gaga and Brendon Gleeson in the cast, director Todd Phillips sequel project would sit fine with the nuttiness of the current DC universe
The history of Hollywood comic-book musicals is not a long and garlanded one. Comic books that have become stage musicals, well yes – there are quite a few of those. Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark, Little Orphan Annie, Josie and the Pussycats – all were inspired by, or were synonymous with, the printed page before making it to the big screen. Alison Bechdel, she of the Bechdel test, saw her introspective and gruelling graphic memoir Fun Home transformed into a Tony award-winning Broadway musical in 2015.
But actual superhero musicals? There’s the ill-fated, rightly obscure 1983 Australian comedy The Return of Captain Invincible, starring Alan Arkin and (remarkably) Christopher Lee, but it is certainly not a populous pantheon. So it is something of a surprise to learn that...
The history of Hollywood comic-book musicals is not a long and garlanded one. Comic books that have become stage musicals, well yes – there are quite a few of those. Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark, Little Orphan Annie, Josie and the Pussycats – all were inspired by, or were synonymous with, the printed page before making it to the big screen. Alison Bechdel, she of the Bechdel test, saw her introspective and gruelling graphic memoir Fun Home transformed into a Tony award-winning Broadway musical in 2015.
But actual superhero musicals? There’s the ill-fated, rightly obscure 1983 Australian comedy The Return of Captain Invincible, starring Alan Arkin and (remarkably) Christopher Lee, but it is certainly not a populous pantheon. So it is something of a surprise to learn that...
- 9/9/2022
- by Ben Child
- The Guardian - Film News
Marvel and DC aren’t the only entities to take advantage of the popularity of superheroes by putting them on the big screen. This is a look at 10 superhero films made by filmmakers outside of the Us and UK.
These days, it's the superhero movie that reigns king at the box office. Studios are pumping out as many as they can to take advantage of receptive audiences and to maintain profitable franchises that expand beyond the cinema. Part of the reason that superhero movies have worked so well of late is that they provide mass appeal. This mass appeal has allowed Hollywood-made superhero films to become hits overseas as well as at the domestic box office. Seeing that success and profitability, international filmmakers have tried their hand at creating their own superhero films. Here are 10 such examples:
Turbo Kid (2015)
Origin: Canada / New Zealand
Plot: In an alternate future, an evil...
These days, it's the superhero movie that reigns king at the box office. Studios are pumping out as many as they can to take advantage of receptive audiences and to maintain profitable franchises that expand beyond the cinema. Part of the reason that superhero movies have worked so well of late is that they provide mass appeal. This mass appeal has allowed Hollywood-made superhero films to become hits overseas as well as at the domestic box office. Seeing that success and profitability, international filmmakers have tried their hand at creating their own superhero films. Here are 10 such examples:
Turbo Kid (2015)
Origin: Canada / New Zealand
Plot: In an alternate future, an evil...
- 5/9/2018
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (G.S. Perno)
- Cinelinx
Mike Cecchini Oct 18, 2016
By your powers combined, or at least the powers of some folks in Hollywood, a Captain Planet movie is in development.
This just in: Paramount is developing a Captain Planet movie. Remember Captain Planet? Captain Planet And The Planeteers was a somewhat preachy cartoon with an environmental message that ran from 1993-1996. Depending on how old you were at the time, you either have fond memories of it (and its brightly designed, but strangely mulleted title character) or found it insufferable (primarily because of his supporting cast of teenage 'planeteers'), but it's unlikely you've forgotten it.
Captain Planet would be summoned "by your powers combined" when the Planeteers would work together with their magic rings to fight villains with names like 'Hoggish Greedly.'
The nostalgia factor aside, there's some interesting talent involved in bringing the Captain Planet movie to life. For starters, Paramount is the studio...
By your powers combined, or at least the powers of some folks in Hollywood, a Captain Planet movie is in development.
This just in: Paramount is developing a Captain Planet movie. Remember Captain Planet? Captain Planet And The Planeteers was a somewhat preachy cartoon with an environmental message that ran from 1993-1996. Depending on how old you were at the time, you either have fond memories of it (and its brightly designed, but strangely mulleted title character) or found it insufferable (primarily because of his supporting cast of teenage 'planeteers'), but it's unlikely you've forgotten it.
Captain Planet would be summoned "by your powers combined" when the Planeteers would work together with their magic rings to fight villains with names like 'Hoggish Greedly.'
The nostalgia factor aside, there's some interesting talent involved in bringing the Captain Planet movie to life. For starters, Paramount is the studio...
- 10/18/2016
- Den of Geek
By Hank Reineke
Perhaps it is only fitting that area meteorologists would forewarn ominously that the Mahoning Drive-in Theater’s “Christopher Lee Tribute” might take place on a cold and dark and stormy night. After all, it was the villainous film legacy of the actor – who passed away at age 93 on June 7th of this year – to have frightened generations of moviegoers in such a bleakly nightmarish rain-soaked setting. As it happened, while the shivery autumnal chill on Saturday night was undeniable, there was – happily - nary a sprinkle of precipitation to obscure one’s windshield view of the drive-in’s massive CinemaScope screen.
The Mahoning Drive-in, located amidst the Pocono Mountains surrounding Lehighton, Pennsylvania, is – quite frankly – an anomaly amongst the anomalies of surviving drive-in theaters. Whilst most remaining drive-ins have been forced to move cautiously and expensively to digital projection systems or else suffer their screens going dark,...
Perhaps it is only fitting that area meteorologists would forewarn ominously that the Mahoning Drive-in Theater’s “Christopher Lee Tribute” might take place on a cold and dark and stormy night. After all, it was the villainous film legacy of the actor – who passed away at age 93 on June 7th of this year – to have frightened generations of moviegoers in such a bleakly nightmarish rain-soaked setting. As it happened, while the shivery autumnal chill on Saturday night was undeniable, there was – happily - nary a sprinkle of precipitation to obscure one’s windshield view of the drive-in’s massive CinemaScope screen.
The Mahoning Drive-in, located amidst the Pocono Mountains surrounding Lehighton, Pennsylvania, is – quite frankly – an anomaly amongst the anomalies of surviving drive-in theaters. Whilst most remaining drive-ins have been forced to move cautiously and expensively to digital projection systems or else suffer their screens going dark,...
- 10/4/2015
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
I unabashedly love Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf and, on July 14, the patron saints of classic cult film- Scream Factory- are resurrecting Philippe Mora’s sequel on Blu-ray. In honor of its release, I was fortunate to be able to speak with Mora about his experiences working on the film, collaborating with both Sybil Danning and the legendary Christopher Lee, and how the latter had quite a lifetime of experiences even before he became one of the greatest actors to grace the silver screen.
Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me, Philippe- I am a huge fan of Howling II and I even have an original one-sheet hanging in my kitchen.
Philippe Mora: Oh, thank you so much! Let me tell you how that image came about. One day we were filming a scene with Sybil who is supposed to be in...
Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me, Philippe- I am a huge fan of Howling II and I even have an original one-sheet hanging in my kitchen.
Philippe Mora: Oh, thank you so much! Let me tell you how that image came about. One day we were filming a scene with Sybil who is supposed to be in...
- 7/3/2015
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Sir Christopher Lee has died at the age of 93.
The actor was best known for his work with Hammer Horror, as well as The Wicker Man and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Lee died at 8.30am on Sunday (June 7) at London's Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, The Telegraph reports.
He had been undergoing treatment for respiratory problems and heart failure over the last few weeks.
Born in London in 1922, Lee worked as an office clerk before enlisting in the Raf in World War II.
He trained as an actor in the Rank Organisation, and appeared in several films before his breakthrough role in 1958's Hammer Horror Dracula.
Christopher Lee 1922-2015: 6 of the acting icon's greatest movie roles
Lee played Count Dracula opposite Peter Cushing's Van Helsing, and went on to play Dracula several times more in more Hammer films.
Other key Lee roles included The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes...
The actor was best known for his work with Hammer Horror, as well as The Wicker Man and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Lee died at 8.30am on Sunday (June 7) at London's Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, The Telegraph reports.
He had been undergoing treatment for respiratory problems and heart failure over the last few weeks.
Born in London in 1922, Lee worked as an office clerk before enlisting in the Raf in World War II.
He trained as an actor in the Rank Organisation, and appeared in several films before his breakthrough role in 1958's Hammer Horror Dracula.
Christopher Lee 1922-2015: 6 of the acting icon's greatest movie roles
Lee played Count Dracula opposite Peter Cushing's Van Helsing, and went on to play Dracula several times more in more Hammer films.
Other key Lee roles included The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes...
- 6/11/2015
- Digital Spy
Philippe Mora has made so many films, from historical to hysterical. The first time I heard of him was with his film “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” in 1975, which he wrote and directed. Produced by Sandy Lieberman and David Puttnam and edited by Jeremy Thomas, it was already his eighth film. His life story and his family’s life stories are so incredible that they are hard to believe, but you know they are true. Even his great aunt Charlotte Morawski, one of the few women ever to attend university at the time, wrote a dissertation in 1915 in Breslau, Germany on Nietzsche and his relationship with a Jewish woman named Rees. This dissertation was recently brought to Philippe by the widow of the director Sam Fuller…(!)
Philippe is one of the most consistently eclectic directors of the '70s and ‘80s. His work has ranged from the controversial Nazi documentary “Swastika" — banned in Israel and Germany for its use of Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun's home movies — to the outlaw biopic "Mad Dog Morgan " starring Dennis Hopper, to superhero spoof "The Return of Captain Invincible" featuring Alan Arkin.
And now, ‘Three Days in Auschwitz -The Film” is a couple days from finishing the campaign on Indiegogo. He says, " We are looking great on the Indiedgogo Flexible Funding option. We are deeply grateful to all who have funded. Those who have not please have a look at this, and if you can, please kick us up a notch!"
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/three-days-in-auschwitz-a-film
Philippe explains the origin of this film:
"My mother Mirka Mora was scheduled to be transported from Paris to Auschwitz via Pithiviers in 1942. She escaped by one day. Many in my family did not escape. I've spent decades wondering why did this catastrophe happen? There are still no definitive answers. In the light of all current knowledge this film asks why once more. This current examination started in Poland in 2010.
The barbaric events in Paris last week underline that violent depravity is still with us. The medieval notions that fuelled Auschwitz are sadly and dangerously still present. Please be kind enough to continue to support the completion of this artistic but factual film, by spreading the link amongst contacts you feel may be sympathetic, and/or interested in the history of racism and bigotry. To those of you who have already contributed, again my heartfelt thanks. Rest assured the film will be completed."
To support the film visit Here...
Philippe is one of the most consistently eclectic directors of the '70s and ‘80s. His work has ranged from the controversial Nazi documentary “Swastika" — banned in Israel and Germany for its use of Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun's home movies — to the outlaw biopic "Mad Dog Morgan " starring Dennis Hopper, to superhero spoof "The Return of Captain Invincible" featuring Alan Arkin.
And now, ‘Three Days in Auschwitz -The Film” is a couple days from finishing the campaign on Indiegogo. He says, " We are looking great on the Indiedgogo Flexible Funding option. We are deeply grateful to all who have funded. Those who have not please have a look at this, and if you can, please kick us up a notch!"
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/three-days-in-auschwitz-a-film
Philippe explains the origin of this film:
"My mother Mirka Mora was scheduled to be transported from Paris to Auschwitz via Pithiviers in 1942. She escaped by one day. Many in my family did not escape. I've spent decades wondering why did this catastrophe happen? There are still no definitive answers. In the light of all current knowledge this film asks why once more. This current examination started in Poland in 2010.
The barbaric events in Paris last week underline that violent depravity is still with us. The medieval notions that fuelled Auschwitz are sadly and dangerously still present. Please be kind enough to continue to support the completion of this artistic but factual film, by spreading the link amongst contacts you feel may be sympathetic, and/or interested in the history of racism and bigotry. To those of you who have already contributed, again my heartfelt thanks. Rest assured the film will be completed."
To support the film visit Here...
- 1/19/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
The Oldenburg International Film Festival, an indie fest billed as “Germany's Sundance” will honor Australian cult director Philippe Mora this year with a retrospective of his life's work. One of the most consistently eclectic of the 70s and 80s, Mora's work has ranged form controversial Nazi documentary Swastika – banned in Israel and Germany for its use of Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun's home movies – to outlaw-biopic Mad Dog Morgan starring Dennis Hopper to superhero spoof The Return of Captain Invincible featuring Alan Arkin. Mora will attend the 21st Oldenburg festival and will receive the fest's German Independence
read more...
read more...
- 8/22/2014
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Wendy Hughes, who has died in Sydney aged 61, will be remembered by her peers as one of the finest actors of her generation.
Hughes won the AFI award for best actress for Careful, He Might Hear You in 1983 and was nominated on six other occasions, for Newsfront, My Brilliant Career, Lonely Hearts, My First Wife, Echoes of Paradise and Boundaries of the Heart.
.She was a brilliant actress who set the standard and was pioneering for her era,. filmmaker Philippe Mora, who was a close friend in the 1980s and early 1990s, told If.
.In my opinion without Wendy there would have been no Judy Davis, no Nicole Kidman and no Cate Blanchett. If timing had been different she would have been a major international star. As it is she leaves a legacy of perfect performances as one of Australia's greatest actresses..
Mora wanted to cast Hughes as the female...
Hughes won the AFI award for best actress for Careful, He Might Hear You in 1983 and was nominated on six other occasions, for Newsfront, My Brilliant Career, Lonely Hearts, My First Wife, Echoes of Paradise and Boundaries of the Heart.
.She was a brilliant actress who set the standard and was pioneering for her era,. filmmaker Philippe Mora, who was a close friend in the 1980s and early 1990s, told If.
.In my opinion without Wendy there would have been no Judy Davis, no Nicole Kidman and no Cate Blanchett. If timing had been different she would have been a major international star. As it is she leaves a legacy of perfect performances as one of Australia's greatest actresses..
Mora wanted to cast Hughes as the female...
- 3/8/2014
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
You’ve seen him play Dracula and Sherlock Holmes, Sith lords and dark wizards, but have you ever heard Christopher Lee sing... about booze? And doing so in an effort to corrupt an alcoholic superhero into falling off the wagon? While surrounded by sexy back-up dancers and a goblin?
If you can answer yes to all of the above, then you’ve obviously see the 1983 Australian superhero musical comedy The Return of Captain Invincible.
From Philippe Mora, the director of Howling III: The Marsupials, The Beast Within, and Communion, and Steven E. de Souza, the writer of 48 Hours, The Running Man, and Die Hard (who co-wrote with Andrew Gaty), comes a musical comedy starring Alan Arkin as a bumbling alcoholic superhero (you thought Hancock did it first?) lured out of drunken retirement to save the world when his old nemesis Mr. Midnight (Lee) steals a military superweapon.
The Return of Captain Invincible...
If you can answer yes to all of the above, then you’ve obviously see the 1983 Australian superhero musical comedy The Return of Captain Invincible.
From Philippe Mora, the director of Howling III: The Marsupials, The Beast Within, and Communion, and Steven E. de Souza, the writer of 48 Hours, The Running Man, and Die Hard (who co-wrote with Andrew Gaty), comes a musical comedy starring Alan Arkin as a bumbling alcoholic superhero (you thought Hancock did it first?) lured out of drunken retirement to save the world when his old nemesis Mr. Midnight (Lee) steals a military superweapon.
The Return of Captain Invincible...
- 11/23/2013
- by Foywonder
- DreadCentral.com
Philippe Mora.s Absolutely Modern, a comedy about Modernism, muses and the role of sexuality in art, will have its Australian premiere on November 30.
The venue will be the National Film and Sound Archive in Canberra, supported by the Jewish Film Foundation of Australia. Mora is in discussions with Australian distributors to set up a commercial cinema release.
The screening continues Mora.s relationship with the Nfsa, to which he donated his one-hour, pop art-inspired version of Shakespeare's Richard III,. described as the world.s first internet movie as it was uploaded and shared online in 1996.
A blend of fact and fiction, Absolutely Modern follows Lord Steinway, the .Method. art critic, as he makes a TV show, The End of Civilization, while he focusses on the famous Australian muse, Sunday Reed, and her ménage a trois with her husband John and young protégé Sidney Nolan.
Under their patronage Nolan produced...
The venue will be the National Film and Sound Archive in Canberra, supported by the Jewish Film Foundation of Australia. Mora is in discussions with Australian distributors to set up a commercial cinema release.
The screening continues Mora.s relationship with the Nfsa, to which he donated his one-hour, pop art-inspired version of Shakespeare's Richard III,. described as the world.s first internet movie as it was uploaded and shared online in 1996.
A blend of fact and fiction, Absolutely Modern follows Lord Steinway, the .Method. art critic, as he makes a TV show, The End of Civilization, while he focusses on the famous Australian muse, Sunday Reed, and her ménage a trois with her husband John and young protégé Sidney Nolan.
Under their patronage Nolan produced...
- 9/15/2013
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Australian archive says 1996 pop art-inspired version of Shakespeare was first movie created specifically for the internet
A one-hour, pop art-inspired version of William Shakespeare's Richard III by the Australian director Philippe Mora, has been hailed by Australia's National Film and Sound Archive (Nfsa) as the first movie ever created specifically for the internet – uploaded and shared online in 1996.
The master tape and a sheaf of documents in which senior Apple executives discuss the film, sent at the time by post from the company's Cupertino, California headquarters, were found in Mora's private collection in Los Angeles and given to the Nfsa in Canberra in May.
Mora's film, featuring 20 actors, mostly friends who worked for free, was shot on Betacam with Walter Bal, operator on Francois Truffaut's Day for Night. The cost of the experiment – Us$50,000 – was met by Peter Sterling, a New Zealand mining expert and internet entrepreneur.
Nfsa...
A one-hour, pop art-inspired version of William Shakespeare's Richard III by the Australian director Philippe Mora, has been hailed by Australia's National Film and Sound Archive (Nfsa) as the first movie ever created specifically for the internet – uploaded and shared online in 1996.
The master tape and a sheaf of documents in which senior Apple executives discuss the film, sent at the time by post from the company's Cupertino, California headquarters, were found in Mora's private collection in Los Angeles and given to the Nfsa in Canberra in May.
Mora's film, featuring 20 actors, mostly friends who worked for free, was shot on Betacam with Walter Bal, operator on Francois Truffaut's Day for Night. The cost of the experiment – Us$50,000 – was met by Peter Sterling, a New Zealand mining expert and internet entrepreneur.
Nfsa...
- 8/29/2013
- by Paola Totaro
- The Guardian - Film News
My thanks to Martha Thomases for her column this week. In it she confessed to having a fondness for the 1980 Flash Gordon film that started the immortal Sam Jones and Max Van Sydow. It’s bad film and she knows it but she has legit reasons for her fondness of it. Martha, just so you know, the 2007 SyFy TV series is much worse, not even having space ships, for crying out loud! Flash Gordon without space ships?! Talk about not getting the concept!
I say thank you because I had no idea what I was going to do for my column this week and now I do. There are bad films and one CD that I know are horrible but I felt a compulsion to go out and buy a copy of them. This isn’t the same as the weird films of which I own a copy and that...
I say thank you because I had no idea what I was going to do for my column this week and now I do. There are bad films and one CD that I know are horrible but I felt a compulsion to go out and buy a copy of them. This isn’t the same as the weird films of which I own a copy and that...
- 7/8/2012
- by John Ostrander
- Comicmix.com
After BNAT1138: The Beginning and Bnat: The Middle, we're coming to the end of Butt-Numb-a-Thon (Bnat). Don't panic. There's plenty to make it a very memorable ending.
Inappropriate Clip: Apparently it's tradition to show something tasteless. This year it's sumo-diapered men in a ring allowing themselves to be dry-humped by dogs, from a variety of angles, with a special guest (perhaps the Mc?) wearing a penis'd afro wig. The truly disturbing part was at least one of the men seemed to be enjoying it.
Special Presentation: "AICN True-ish Hollywood Story." Birthday wishes and wisecracks from Jj Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Damon Lindelof, Danny McBride, Michael Bay and Jon Favreau. Favreau had a very special birthday/Bnat greeting, with an introduction to world premiere of the Iron Man 2 trailer.
Trailers: Iron Man 2, Fearless Frank, Animal Protector, The Return of Captain Invincible
Matthew Vaughn brought the not quite...
Inappropriate Clip: Apparently it's tradition to show something tasteless. This year it's sumo-diapered men in a ring allowing themselves to be dry-humped by dogs, from a variety of angles, with a special guest (perhaps the Mc?) wearing a penis'd afro wig. The truly disturbing part was at least one of the men seemed to be enjoying it.
Special Presentation: "AICN True-ish Hollywood Story." Birthday wishes and wisecracks from Jj Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Damon Lindelof, Danny McBride, Michael Bay and Jon Favreau. Favreau had a very special birthday/Bnat greeting, with an introduction to world premiere of the Iron Man 2 trailer.
Trailers: Iron Man 2, Fearless Frank, Animal Protector, The Return of Captain Invincible
Matthew Vaughn brought the not quite...
- 12/15/2009
- by Jenn Brown
- Slackerwood
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.