The Hollywood Blacklist ruined dozens of lives. United States-based artists who were sympathetic to, or even curious about, communism were demonized as traitors to their country and, due to hysterical pressure from The House Committee on Un-American Activities (aka Huac), banned from working in the industry. Disgraced and unemployed, blacklisted individuals were forced to leave the country if they wanted to continue working or, if they could not afford to relocate, find a line of work where being an alleged communist wasn't frowned upon. This latter option was, of course, dismally unlikely. The mental and financial burden of being completely shunned from one's industry was so unbearable that it led actor Philip Loeb to die by suicide.
This put Hollywood at war against itself. Anyone suspected of having communist ties was pressured to come clean and, if they wanted to continue working, name names (a cowardly practice savaged by films...
This put Hollywood at war against itself. Anyone suspected of having communist ties was pressured to come clean and, if they wanted to continue working, name names (a cowardly practice savaged by films...
- 5/25/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Cinephiles will have plenty to celebrate this April with the next slate of additions to the Criterion Channel. The boutique distributor, which recently announced its June 2024 Blu-ray releases, has unveiled its new streaming lineup highlighted by an eclectic mix of classic films and modern arthouse hits.
Students of Hollywood history will be treated to the “Peak Noir: 1950” collection, which features 17 noir films from the landmark film year from directors including Billy Wilder, Alfred Hitchcock, and John Huston.
New Hollywood maverick William Friedkin will also be celebrated when five of his most beloved movies, including “Sorcerer” and “The Exorcist,” come to the channel in April.
Criterion will offer the streaming premiere of Wim Wenders’ 3D art documentary “Anselm,” which will be accompanied by the “Wim Wenders’ Adventures in Moviegoing” collection, which sees the director curating a selection of films from around the world that have influenced his careers.
Contemporary cinema is also well represented,...
Students of Hollywood history will be treated to the “Peak Noir: 1950” collection, which features 17 noir films from the landmark film year from directors including Billy Wilder, Alfred Hitchcock, and John Huston.
New Hollywood maverick William Friedkin will also be celebrated when five of his most beloved movies, including “Sorcerer” and “The Exorcist,” come to the channel in April.
Criterion will offer the streaming premiere of Wim Wenders’ 3D art documentary “Anselm,” which will be accompanied by the “Wim Wenders’ Adventures in Moviegoing” collection, which sees the director curating a selection of films from around the world that have influenced his careers.
Contemporary cinema is also well represented,...
- 3/18/2024
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
April’s an uncommonly strong auteurist month for the Criterion Channel, who will highlight a number of directors––many of whom aren’t often grouped together. Just after we screened House of Tolerance at the Roxy Cinema, Criterion are showing it and Nocturama for a two-film Bertrand Bonello retrospective, starting just four days before The Beast opens. Larger and rarer (but just as French) is the complete Jean Eustache series Janus toured last year. Meanwhile, five William Friedkin films and work from Makoto Shinkai, Lizzie Borden, and Rosine Mbakam are given a highlight.
One of my very favorite films, Comrades: Almost a Love Story plays in a series I’ve been trying to program for years: “Hong Kong in New York,” boasting the magnificent Full Moon in New York, Farewell China, and An Autumn’s Tale. Wim Wenders gets his “Adventures in Moviegoing”; After Hours, Personal Shopper, and Werckmeister Harmonies fill...
One of my very favorite films, Comrades: Almost a Love Story plays in a series I’ve been trying to program for years: “Hong Kong in New York,” boasting the magnificent Full Moon in New York, Farewell China, and An Autumn’s Tale. Wim Wenders gets his “Adventures in Moviegoing”; After Hours, Personal Shopper, and Werckmeister Harmonies fill...
- 3/18/2024
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
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 headline of this column is doubtlessly unfair. I’m judging a movie before I’ve seen it, before it has even been made. Given the vast volume of junky indifferent product that now slides through the megaplex, and the streaming ocean, on a weekly basis, why not settle in for an ambitious remake of “Vertigo,” Alfred Hitchcock’s romantically kinky and voluptuous dream thriller of 1958? At least it’s not “Texas Chainsaw Xviii” or another “Minions” movie. At least it will be interesting (right?).
Robert Downey Jr., who is in talks to produce and possibly star in a remake of “Vertigo” at Paramount (home of the original film), is a great actor. But once he became a box-office superstar, 15 years ago, with “Iron Man,” he got sucked into the escapist vortex of Marvel and “Sherlock Holmes” and duds like “Dolittle.” Downey, who is about to turn 58, needs to rediscover himself as an actor.
Robert Downey Jr., who is in talks to produce and possibly star in a remake of “Vertigo” at Paramount (home of the original film), is a great actor. But once he became a box-office superstar, 15 years ago, with “Iron Man,” he got sucked into the escapist vortex of Marvel and “Sherlock Holmes” and duds like “Dolittle.” Downey, who is about to turn 58, needs to rediscover himself as an actor.
- 3/25/2023
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Robert De Niro and Robert De Niro will star in Warner Bros. Discovery first big bet: a mafia picture
While Warner Bros. Discovery has been busy fretting over their DC Comics slate—deleting the already-completed “Batgirl” film while hoping Ezra Miller’s intention to seek mental health help will bring enough stability to successfully launch “The Flash” next year—the newly-formed entertainment entity is placing a bet on another American superhero: Robert De Niro.
And it’s not just a bet, they’re doubling down.
The first original film produced with David Zaslav as the top executive at the studio will feature the two-time Oscar-winner (and eight-time nominee) in two roles. According to The Hollywood Reporter, “Wise Guys” concerns the true mafia war between Frank Costello and Vito Genovese, and De Niro will play both men. This will be an acting feat like Jeremy Irons in “Dead Ringers,” but trading gynecological instruments for zabaglione.
The script comes from a guy who knows a thing or two about the New York City mob: Nicholas Pileggi,...
And it’s not just a bet, they’re doubling down.
The first original film produced with David Zaslav as the top executive at the studio will feature the two-time Oscar-winner (and eight-time nominee) in two roles. According to The Hollywood Reporter, “Wise Guys” concerns the true mafia war between Frank Costello and Vito Genovese, and De Niro will play both men. This will be an acting feat like Jeremy Irons in “Dead Ringers,” but trading gynecological instruments for zabaglione.
The script comes from a guy who knows a thing or two about the New York City mob: Nicholas Pileggi,...
- 8/17/2022
- by Jordan Hoffman
- Gold Derby
Less talked about than film noir is its lighter cousin film gris, an artistic movement from the 1940s and 1950s founded to specifically criticize the American class system through the eyes of struggling criminals, thieves, and con men. Unlike film noir, which focused on a hardboiled world absent of heroes, film gris was more analytical, taking place in a more realistic version of the world, viewing crime not as a societal aberration but a natural outcropping of failed capitalism. Connecticut born filmmaker Jules Dassin was at the forefront of this movement, having made the notable film gris crime movies "Thieves' Highway" and "Night and the City" in 1949...
The post Rififi's Famous Safecracking Scene Was a Little Too Realistic appeared first on /Film.
The post Rififi's Famous Safecracking Scene Was a Little Too Realistic appeared first on /Film.
- 3/23/2022
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
As 2021 mercifully winds down, the Criterion Channel have a (November) lineup that marks one of their most diverse selections in some time—films by the new masters Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Garrett Bradley, Dan Sallitt’s Fourteen (one of 2020’s best films) couched in a fantastic retrospective, and Criterion editions of old favorites.
Fourteen is featured in “Between Us Girls: Bonds Between Women,” which also includes Céline and Julie, The Virgin Suicides, and Yvonne Rainer’s Privilege. Of equal note are Criterion editions for Ghost World, Night of the Hunter, and (just in time for del Toro’s spin) Nightmare Alley—all stacked releases in their own right.
See the full list of October titles below and more on the Criterion Channel.
300 Nassau, Marina Lameiro, 2015
5 Card Stud, Henry Hathaway, 1968
Alone, Garrett Bradley, 2017
Álvaro, Daniel Wilson, Elizabeth Warren, Alexandra Lazarowich, and Chloe Zimmerman, 2015
America, Garrett Bradley, 2019
Angel Face, Otto Preminger, 1953
Angels Wear White,...
Fourteen is featured in “Between Us Girls: Bonds Between Women,” which also includes Céline and Julie, The Virgin Suicides, and Yvonne Rainer’s Privilege. Of equal note are Criterion editions for Ghost World, Night of the Hunter, and (just in time for del Toro’s spin) Nightmare Alley—all stacked releases in their own right.
See the full list of October titles below and more on the Criterion Channel.
300 Nassau, Marina Lameiro, 2015
5 Card Stud, Henry Hathaway, 1968
Alone, Garrett Bradley, 2017
Álvaro, Daniel Wilson, Elizabeth Warren, Alexandra Lazarowich, and Chloe Zimmerman, 2015
America, Garrett Bradley, 2019
Angel Face, Otto Preminger, 1953
Angels Wear White,...
- 10/25/2021
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
In his latest podcast/interview, host and screenwriter Stuart Wright talks to writer Nick Triplow about his new book Getting Carter: Ted Lewis and the Birth of Brit Noir, which is out now from No Exit Press: https://www.noexit.co.uk/index1.php?imprint=1&isbn=&ebookid=1689
The story of Ted Lewis carries historical and cultural resonances for our own troubled times. Get Carter are two words to bring a smile of fond recollection to all British film lovers of a certain age. The cinema classic was based on a book called Jack’s Return Home, and many commentators agree contemporary British crime writing began with that novel. The influence of both book and film is strong to this day, reflected in the work of David Peace, Jake Arnott and a host of contemporary crime & noir authors. But what of the man who wrote this seminal work? Ted Lewis is...
The story of Ted Lewis carries historical and cultural resonances for our own troubled times. Get Carter are two words to bring a smile of fond recollection to all British film lovers of a certain age. The cinema classic was based on a book called Jack’s Return Home, and many commentators agree contemporary British crime writing began with that novel. The influence of both book and film is strong to this day, reflected in the work of David Peace, Jake Arnott and a host of contemporary crime & noir authors. But what of the man who wrote this seminal work? Ted Lewis is...
- 7/13/2021
- by Stuart Wright
- Nerdly
Oscar-winning filmmaker Steven Soderbergh is no stranger to heist movies. Remember 1998’s “Out of Sight,” 2001’s “Ocean’s Eleven” and 2017’s “Logan Lucky”? And he’s returned to the popular genre with this latest film “No Sudden Move,” which landed on HBO Max July 1 after having premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Set in Detroit in 1954, “No Sudden Move” around a group of small-time hoods who are hired to steal a document. Though they consider it to be a straightforward job, it turns out to be anything but when the gig goes wrong. While the crooks try to figure out who hired them and way, they are lead down a rabbit hole of twists and turns involving racial prejudice, corporate greed in the auto industry and even the mob. “No Sudden Move,” which stars Don Cheadle, Benicio del Toro, David Harbour, Jon Hamm, Brendan Fraser, and Ray Liotta, is currently at...
Set in Detroit in 1954, “No Sudden Move” around a group of small-time hoods who are hired to steal a document. Though they consider it to be a straightforward job, it turns out to be anything but when the gig goes wrong. While the crooks try to figure out who hired them and way, they are lead down a rabbit hole of twists and turns involving racial prejudice, corporate greed in the auto industry and even the mob. “No Sudden Move,” which stars Don Cheadle, Benicio del Toro, David Harbour, Jon Hamm, Brendan Fraser, and Ray Liotta, is currently at...
- 7/2/2021
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
If you have to name One movie that’s not likely to ever be screened in a prison, this one’s a good bet. In his sophomore starring outing Burt Lancaster leads a group of rebel convicts on a do-or-die bust-out against Hume Cronyn’s utter Nazi of a warden Captain. Richard Brooks’ script and Jules Dassin’s direction don’t sugarcoat the sadistic goings-on and producer Mark Hellinger pushed the result through the Production Code office. Sure, sure, plenty of noirs are violent … but this one must have been quite a head-spinner in ’47.
Brute Force
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 383
1947 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 98 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date September 8, 2020 / 39.95
Starring: Burt Lancaster, Hume Cronyn, Charles Bickford, Yvonne De Carlo, Ann Blyth, Ella Raines, Anita Colby, Sam Levene, Jeff Corey, John Hoyt, Jack Overman, Roman Bohnen, Sir Lancelot, Howard Duff, Art Smith, Whit Bissell.
Cinematography: William Daniels...
Brute Force
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 383
1947 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 98 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date September 8, 2020 / 39.95
Starring: Burt Lancaster, Hume Cronyn, Charles Bickford, Yvonne De Carlo, Ann Blyth, Ella Raines, Anita Colby, Sam Levene, Jeff Corey, John Hoyt, Jack Overman, Roman Bohnen, Sir Lancelot, Howard Duff, Art Smith, Whit Bissell.
Cinematography: William Daniels...
- 10/10/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The Academy has chosen its film scholars this year and is not letting the coronavirus pandemic get in the way of one of AMPAS’ most important programs, at least in terms of serious studies relating to the film industry. Fittingly, considering Oscar’s drive toward greater diversity, both projects involve issues revolving around movies and their depictions of the Black community.
Racquel Gates and Rebecca Prime have been chosen as 2020 Academy Film Scholars by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Their respective book projects, Hollywood Style and the Invention of Blackness and Uptight!: Race, Revolution, and the Struggle to Make the Most Dangerous Film of 1968, explore in depth the topic of race in Hollywood. The Academy’s Educational Grants Committee will award Gates and Prime $25,000 each on the basis of their proposals.
Established in 1999, the Academy Film Scholars program is designed to support significant new works of film scholarship.
Racquel Gates and Rebecca Prime have been chosen as 2020 Academy Film Scholars by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Their respective book projects, Hollywood Style and the Invention of Blackness and Uptight!: Race, Revolution, and the Struggle to Make the Most Dangerous Film of 1968, explore in depth the topic of race in Hollywood. The Academy’s Educational Grants Committee will award Gates and Prime $25,000 each on the basis of their proposals.
Established in 1999, the Academy Film Scholars program is designed to support significant new works of film scholarship.
- 7/30/2020
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
The producer of Narcos takes us on a walk through some of the movies that made him.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Contagion (2011)
Panic In The Streets (1950)
Rififi (1955)
Night And The City (1950)
Thieves’ Highway (1949)
Never on Sunday (1960)
The Karate Kid (1984)
The Game (1997)
The Dirty Dozen (1967)
The Great Escape (1963)
Children of Men (2006)
Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory (1971)
If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (1969)
Charlie And The Chocolate Factory (2005)
The Wild Bunch (1969)
The Godfather (1972)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Animal House (1978)
An American Werewolf In London (1981)
Trading Places (1983)
Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (2004)
Fellini Satyricon (1969)
The Beastmaster (1982)
Sheena (1984)
High Risk (1981)
Ghostbusters (1984)
The Masque of the Red Death (1964)
Piranha (1978)
Gallipoli (1981)
Witness (1985)
The Killing Fields (1984)
Mad Max (1980)
Max Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)
Picnic At Hanging Rock (1975)
The Last Wave (1978)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
The Lord of the Rings (1978)
The Hobbit (1977)
The Return of the King (1980)
Class (1983)
The Great Santini (1979)
Fast Times At Ridgemont High...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Contagion (2011)
Panic In The Streets (1950)
Rififi (1955)
Night And The City (1950)
Thieves’ Highway (1949)
Never on Sunday (1960)
The Karate Kid (1984)
The Game (1997)
The Dirty Dozen (1967)
The Great Escape (1963)
Children of Men (2006)
Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory (1971)
If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (1969)
Charlie And The Chocolate Factory (2005)
The Wild Bunch (1969)
The Godfather (1972)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Animal House (1978)
An American Werewolf In London (1981)
Trading Places (1983)
Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (2004)
Fellini Satyricon (1969)
The Beastmaster (1982)
Sheena (1984)
High Risk (1981)
Ghostbusters (1984)
The Masque of the Red Death (1964)
Piranha (1978)
Gallipoli (1981)
Witness (1985)
The Killing Fields (1984)
Mad Max (1980)
Max Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)
Picnic At Hanging Rock (1975)
The Last Wave (1978)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
The Lord of the Rings (1978)
The Hobbit (1977)
The Return of the King (1980)
Class (1983)
The Great Santini (1979)
Fast Times At Ridgemont High...
- 6/16/2020
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
Lust-filled treachery in the steaming tropics! He dared to love a cannibal empress! Taglines like that suggest that it wasn’t easy to sell Carol Reed’s phenomenally good adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s classic, a tale of human self-degradation and malevolence in the tropics. Long difficult to see, it’s finally here to dazzle a generation that might appreciate its superb performances. Forget Lord Jim and Colonel Kurtz. Trevor Howard’s back-stabbing Peter Willems shows us the price of total betrayal: permanent banishment from humanity.
Outcast of the Islands
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1951 / B&w / 1:37 flat / 100 93 min. / Street Date April 29, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Trevor Howard, Ralph Richardson, Robert Morley, Wendy Hiller, Aissa, George Coulouris, Tamine, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Peter Illing, Betty Ann Davies, Frederick Valk, A.V. Bramble, Marne Maitland, James Kenney, Annabel Morley.
Cinematography: Edward Scaife, John Wilcox
Production Design: Vincent Korda
Second Unit Director: Guy Hamilton...
Outcast of the Islands
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1951 / B&w / 1:37 flat / 100 93 min. / Street Date April 29, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Trevor Howard, Ralph Richardson, Robert Morley, Wendy Hiller, Aissa, George Coulouris, Tamine, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Peter Illing, Betty Ann Davies, Frederick Valk, A.V. Bramble, Marne Maitland, James Kenney, Annabel Morley.
Cinematography: Edward Scaife, John Wilcox
Production Design: Vincent Korda
Second Unit Director: Guy Hamilton...
- 4/18/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Peter Larkin, whose innovative set design graced Broadway productions and major films, died Monday at his home in Bridgehampton, New York after a brief illness. He was 93 years old and his death was confirmed by his stepson, screenwriter Wesley Strick.
Larkin won four Tony Awards and was behind the set design for such Broadway productions as Peter Pan, The Teahouse of the August Moon and No Time for Sergeants. His film resume was equally impressive, including Tootsie and Get Shorty.
Born in Massachusetts and raised in Boston by Pulitzer Prize winning historian Oliver Waterman Larkin, he attended Yale.
Larkin’s Broadway debut came with Henrik Ibsen’s The Wild Duck in 1951. That led to his big break, the Broadway show of Peter Pan with actress Mary Martin. The show was so successful it immediately went to television within five months, setting a television record for the time with 65 million viewers.
Larkin won four Tony Awards and was behind the set design for such Broadway productions as Peter Pan, The Teahouse of the August Moon and No Time for Sergeants. His film resume was equally impressive, including Tootsie and Get Shorty.
Born in Massachusetts and raised in Boston by Pulitzer Prize winning historian Oliver Waterman Larkin, he attended Yale.
Larkin’s Broadway debut came with Henrik Ibsen’s The Wild Duck in 1951. That led to his big break, the Broadway show of Peter Pan with actress Mary Martin. The show was so successful it immediately went to television within five months, setting a television record for the time with 65 million viewers.
- 12/19/2019
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Auteurist film books from the early ’70s touted the crime pictures of Jean-Pierre Melville, a Yankeephile Frenchman who chose a new name for himself and embraced crime pix because he loved John Huston’s The Asphalt Jungle. This tale of utter ruthlessness among thieves is one of Melville’s best. The great Jean-Paul Belmondo and Serge Reggiani leading a superior cast of underworld losers: Fabienne Dali, Michel Piccoli, Jean Desailly and Monique Hennessy.
Le Doulos
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1962 / B&w / 1:66 widescreen / 109 min. / Street Date July 2, 2019 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Jean-Paul Belmondo, Serge Reggiani, Fabienne Dali, Michel Piccoli, Jean Desailly, René Lefèvre, Aimé De March, Monique Hennessy, Carl Studer.
Cinematography: Nicolas Hayer
Film Editor: Monique Bonnot
Original Music: Paul Misraki
Written by Jean-Pierre Melville from a book by Pierre Lesou
Produced by Carlo Ponti, Georges De Beauregard
Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville
Having plumbed the libraries of some of...
Le Doulos
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1962 / B&w / 1:66 widescreen / 109 min. / Street Date July 2, 2019 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Jean-Paul Belmondo, Serge Reggiani, Fabienne Dali, Michel Piccoli, Jean Desailly, René Lefèvre, Aimé De March, Monique Hennessy, Carl Studer.
Cinematography: Nicolas Hayer
Film Editor: Monique Bonnot
Original Music: Paul Misraki
Written by Jean-Pierre Melville from a book by Pierre Lesou
Produced by Carlo Ponti, Georges De Beauregard
Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville
Having plumbed the libraries of some of...
- 7/2/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
‘3rd Dimension!’ ‘Technicolor!’ Paramount underwent a difficult post-production learning curve getting this early entry in the 3-D craze out the door and into waiting theaters. Fernando Lamas and Arlene Dahl decorate the colonial-era costume drama, injecting some heat into their frisky wrestling match meet-cute love scene. Rip those bodices!
Sangaree
3-D Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1953 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 94 min. / Street Date October 16, 2018 / 34.95
Starring: Fernando Lamas, Arlene Dahl, Patricia Medina, Francis L. Sullivan, Charles Korvin, Tom Drake, John Sutton, Willard Parker.
Cinematography: W. Wallace Kelley, Lionel Lindon
Film Editor: Howard A. Smith
3-D Blu-ray restoration: 3-D Film Archive
Original Music: Lucien Cailliet
Written by David Duncan, Frank L. Moss, from the novel by Frank Slaughter
Produced by William H. Pine, William C. Thomas
Directed by Edward Ludwig
Producers William H. Pine and William C. Thomas turned out profitable Paramount product for fifteen years, although few of their shows were accorded artistic accolades.
Sangaree
3-D Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1953 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 94 min. / Street Date October 16, 2018 / 34.95
Starring: Fernando Lamas, Arlene Dahl, Patricia Medina, Francis L. Sullivan, Charles Korvin, Tom Drake, John Sutton, Willard Parker.
Cinematography: W. Wallace Kelley, Lionel Lindon
Film Editor: Howard A. Smith
3-D Blu-ray restoration: 3-D Film Archive
Original Music: Lucien Cailliet
Written by David Duncan, Frank L. Moss, from the novel by Frank Slaughter
Produced by William H. Pine, William C. Thomas
Directed by Edward Ludwig
Producers William H. Pine and William C. Thomas turned out profitable Paramount product for fifteen years, although few of their shows were accorded artistic accolades.
- 9/15/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Harry J. Ufland, agent-turned producer and frequent collaborator of Martin Scorsese, has died. He was 81.
Ufland died in his Los Angeles home after suffering from brain cancer, his son Tommy told The Hollywood Reporter. Ufland spent many years in the entertainment industry as an agent with William Morris, where he represented names like Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Ridley Scott, Martin Sheen, Harvey Keitel, Peter Bogdanovich, Catherine Deneuve, Charles Grodin and Jodie Foster.
There, he packaged movies such as “Raging Bull” and “Blade Runner” and produced films including “Crazy/Beautiful,” “One True Thing,” “Night and the City,” “Snow...
Ufland died in his Los Angeles home after suffering from brain cancer, his son Tommy told The Hollywood Reporter. Ufland spent many years in the entertainment industry as an agent with William Morris, where he represented names like Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Ridley Scott, Martin Sheen, Harvey Keitel, Peter Bogdanovich, Catherine Deneuve, Charles Grodin and Jodie Foster.
There, he packaged movies such as “Raging Bull” and “Blade Runner” and produced films including “Crazy/Beautiful,” “One True Thing,” “Night and the City,” “Snow...
- 3/6/2018
- by Rosemary Rossi
- The Wrap
Witness the ‘fifties transformation of the femme fatale, from scheming murderess to self-deluding social climber. Barbara Stanwyck redefines herself once again in Gerd Oswald’s best-directed picture, a searing portrayal of needs and anxieties in the nervous decade. With fine support from Raymond Burr, Virginia Grey and Royal Dano.
Crime of Passion
Blu-ray
ClassicFlix
1957 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 84 min. / Street Date September 5, 2017 /
Starring: Barbara Stanwyck, Sterling Hayden, Raymond Burr, Fay Wray, Virginia Grey, Royal Dano.
Cinematography: Joseph Lashelle
Art Direction: Leslie Thomas
Original Music: Paul Dunlap
Original Story and Screenplay by Jo Eisinger
Produced by Herman Cohen, Robert Goldstein
Directed by Gerd Oswald
A key title in the development of the Film Noir, 1957’s Crime of Passion shows how much the style had departed from the dark romanticism and expressive visuals of the previous decade. The best mid-’50s noirs strike a marvelously cynical and existentially bleak attitude regarding crime and society.
Crime of Passion
Blu-ray
ClassicFlix
1957 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 84 min. / Street Date September 5, 2017 /
Starring: Barbara Stanwyck, Sterling Hayden, Raymond Burr, Fay Wray, Virginia Grey, Royal Dano.
Cinematography: Joseph Lashelle
Art Direction: Leslie Thomas
Original Music: Paul Dunlap
Original Story and Screenplay by Jo Eisinger
Produced by Herman Cohen, Robert Goldstein
Directed by Gerd Oswald
A key title in the development of the Film Noir, 1957’s Crime of Passion shows how much the style had departed from the dark romanticism and expressive visuals of the previous decade. The best mid-’50s noirs strike a marvelously cynical and existentially bleak attitude regarding crime and society.
- 9/16/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Film set to be made under UK-China co-pro treaty.
Jules Dassin’s London-set noir classic Night And The City (1950) is set to be remade under the UK-China co-production treaty.
Nick Love is to write and direct, with Kris Thykier producing on the UK side, Jeffrey Chan (Bona Film Group) handling the Chinese end and 20th Century Fox also on board. While the original featured wrestling, the remake will have a Mixed Martial Art fighting component.
Further details of the project were revealed by Michael Andreen, senior vice-president 20th Century Fox International, at the Winston Baker Film Finance Forum at Cannes Film Festival today (May 19).
“Given that the nature of the film allowed us to explore the international landscape, we decided to see what would happen to see if we could take the opportunity presented by this picture to develop a picture that starts in Macau,” Andreen explained.
He revealed that the production would be set in London...
Jules Dassin’s London-set noir classic Night And The City (1950) is set to be remade under the UK-China co-production treaty.
Nick Love is to write and direct, with Kris Thykier producing on the UK side, Jeffrey Chan (Bona Film Group) handling the Chinese end and 20th Century Fox also on board. While the original featured wrestling, the remake will have a Mixed Martial Art fighting component.
Further details of the project were revealed by Michael Andreen, senior vice-president 20th Century Fox International, at the Winston Baker Film Finance Forum at Cannes Film Festival today (May 19).
“Given that the nature of the film allowed us to explore the international landscape, we decided to see what would happen to see if we could take the opportunity presented by this picture to develop a picture that starts in Macau,” Andreen explained.
He revealed that the production would be set in London...
- 5/20/2017
- by geoffrey@macnab.demon.co.uk (Geoffrey Macnab)
- ScreenDaily
John Huston’s primal heist film is an almost perfect movie, with a score of unforgettable characterizations. A solid crime noir, it concerns itself with the human ironies in the ‘left handed form of human endeavor.’
The Asphalt Jungle
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 847
1950 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 112 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date December 13, 2016 /
Starring Sterling Hayden, Sam Jaffe, Louis Calhern, James Whitmore, Jean Hagen, John McIntire, Marc Lawrence, Barry Kelley, Anthony Caruso, Marilyn Monroe, Brad Dexter.
Cinematography Harold Rosson
Art Direction Randall Duell, Cedric Gibbons
Film Editor George Boemler
Original Music Miklos Rosza
Written by Ben Maddow and John Huston from the novel by W.R. Burnett
Produced by Arthur Hornblow, Jr.
Directed by John Huston
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Talk about a film that becomes only more enjoyable with each viewing… John Huston’s The Asphalt Jungle is the Singin’ in the Rain of noir masterpieces.
The Asphalt Jungle
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 847
1950 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 112 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date December 13, 2016 /
Starring Sterling Hayden, Sam Jaffe, Louis Calhern, James Whitmore, Jean Hagen, John McIntire, Marc Lawrence, Barry Kelley, Anthony Caruso, Marilyn Monroe, Brad Dexter.
Cinematography Harold Rosson
Art Direction Randall Duell, Cedric Gibbons
Film Editor George Boemler
Original Music Miklos Rosza
Written by Ben Maddow and John Huston from the novel by W.R. Burnett
Produced by Arthur Hornblow, Jr.
Directed by John Huston
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Talk about a film that becomes only more enjoyable with each viewing… John Huston’s The Asphalt Jungle is the Singin’ in the Rain of noir masterpieces.
- 11/29/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger officially become ‘The Archers’ for this sterling morale-propaganda picture lauding the help of the valiant Dutch resistance. It’s a joyful show of spirit, terrific casting (with a couple of surprises) and first-class English filmmaking.
One of Our Aircraft is Missing
Blu-ray
Olive Films
1942 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy /103 82 min. / Street Date November 15, 2016 / available through the Olive Films website / 29.98
Starring Godfrey Tearle, Eric Portman, Hugh Williams, Bernard Miles, Hugh Burden, Emrys Jones, Pamela Brown, Joyce Redman, Googie Withers, Hay Petrie, Arnold Marlé, Robert Helpmann, Peter Ustinov, Roland Culver, Robert Beatty, Michael Powell.
Cinematography Ronald Neame
Film Editor David Lean
Camera Crew Robert Krasker, Guy Green
Written by Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Produced by The Archers
Directed by Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
There are still a few more key Powell-Pressburger ‘Archer’ films waiting for a quality disc release, Contraband and Gone to Earth for just two.
One of Our Aircraft is Missing
Blu-ray
Olive Films
1942 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy /103 82 min. / Street Date November 15, 2016 / available through the Olive Films website / 29.98
Starring Godfrey Tearle, Eric Portman, Hugh Williams, Bernard Miles, Hugh Burden, Emrys Jones, Pamela Brown, Joyce Redman, Googie Withers, Hay Petrie, Arnold Marlé, Robert Helpmann, Peter Ustinov, Roland Culver, Robert Beatty, Michael Powell.
Cinematography Ronald Neame
Film Editor David Lean
Camera Crew Robert Krasker, Guy Green
Written by Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Produced by The Archers
Directed by Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
There are still a few more key Powell-Pressburger ‘Archer’ films waiting for a quality disc release, Contraband and Gone to Earth for just two.
- 11/21/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Mark and Aaron are joined by Dave Eves to evaluate the massive Zatoichi serial starring Shintaro Katsu. We explore the character of Zatoichi, and how he’s an unusual type of superhero. We also share tips on the best way to watch the series, whether a little bit at a time or to go on a binge-watch. We evaluate the series as both a piece of art and as pop culture, observing the high and low points.
About the film:
The colossally popular Zatoichi films make up the longest-running action series in Japanese history and created one of the screen’s great heroes: an itinerant blind masseur who also happens to be a lightning-fast swordsman. As this iconic figure, the charismatic and earthy Shintaro Katsu became an instant superstar, lending a larger-than-life presence to the thrilling adventures of a man who lives staunchly by a code of honor and delivers...
About the film:
The colossally popular Zatoichi films make up the longest-running action series in Japanese history and created one of the screen’s great heroes: an itinerant blind masseur who also happens to be a lightning-fast swordsman. As this iconic figure, the charismatic and earthy Shintaro Katsu became an instant superstar, lending a larger-than-life presence to the thrilling adventures of a man who lives staunchly by a code of honor and delivers...
- 9/6/2016
- by Aaron West
- CriterionCast
There are two major sides to the film noir coin, as I see it – the psychological and the practical. Now, the practical noir is fairly straightforward; maybe a detective has to solve a crime, or someone gets themselves in over their head with some scheme gone wrong. There’s a problem to be solved, and the protagonist either overcomes or becomes consumed by it. Double Indemnity, Where the Sidewalk Ends, Night and the City, The Killing, and The Maltese Falcon fit into this section rather well. The psychological noir uses genre tropes to investigate someone’s soul, usually stemming from their nearness to sin and death. Scarlet Street, Laura, Female on the Beach, The Chase, Sunset Boulevard, and Kiss Me Deadly fit the bill. Obviously films in each use elements of the other to shade the characters or move the story along, but the texture and flavor is notably distinct,...
- 7/19/2016
- by Scott Nye
- CriterionCast
It’s been 10 years since audiences first got to see Mater and Lightning McQueen on the big screen. Pixar’s Cars opened in theaters on June 9, 2006, following its world premiere at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, Nc. The seventh feature from the Emeryville, CA-based animation studio, it returned John Lasseter to the director’s chair. Cars failed to reach the box office grosses of the three other Pixar movies released before it in the new millennium — Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo and The Incredibles — but, unsurprisingly, merchandise sales were huge for this one. A sequel was released in 2011, and Cars 3 is set for a June 2017 release. Other notable June 9 happenings in pop culture history: • 1950: British noir film Night and the City had its U.S. premiere. • 1963: Barbra Streisand appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show for the third time. • 1984: Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” hit the top of the Billboard singles chart.
- 6/9/2016
- by Emily Rome
- Hitfix
Remember Charlie Chaplin's 'The Killer with a Heart?' You too will be frustrated by this well-produced story of a slum kid who commits an unpardonable crime... except that a do-gooder priest wants to pardon him. Dana Andrews and Farley Granger star but the good work is in the smaller roles of this urban tragedy. Edge of Doom DVD-r The Warner Archive Collection 1950 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 97 min. / Street Date February 9, 2016 / available through the WBshop / 18.59 Starring Dana Andrews, Farley Granger, Joan Evans, Robert Keith, Paul Stewart, Mala Powers, Adele Jergens, Harold Vermilyea, John Ridgely, Douglas Fowley, Mabel Paige, Howland Chamberlain, Houseley Stevenson Sr., Jean Inness, Ellen Corby, Ray Teal. Cinematography Harry Stradling Film Editor Daniel Mandell Original Music Hugo Friedhofer Written by Philip Yordan Produced by Samuel Goldwyn Directed by Mark Robson
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
What's the most hopeless, depressing, feel-bad film noir on the charts? How about Detour,...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
What's the most hopeless, depressing, feel-bad film noir on the charts? How about Detour,...
- 5/16/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
This noir hits with the force of a blast furnace -- Cy Endfield's wrenching tale of social neglect and injustice will tie your stomach in knots. Sound like fun? An unemployed man turns to crime and reaps a whirlwind of disproportionate retribution. It's surely the most powerful of all filmic accusations thrown at the American status quo. Try and Get Me! Blu-ray Olive Films 1950 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 92 min. / Street Date April 19, 2016 / The Sound of Fury / available through the Olive Films website / 29.95 Starring Frank Lovejoy, Kathleen Ryan, Richard Carlson, Lloyd Bridges, Katherine Locke, Adele Jergens, Art Smith, Renzo Cesana, Irene Vernon, Cliff Clark, Donald Smelick, Joe E. Ross. Cinematography Guy Roe Production Design Perry Ferguson Film Editor George Amy Original Music Hugo Friedhofer Written by Jo Pagano from his novel The Condemned Produced by Robert Stillman Directed by Cyril Endfield
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Socially conscious 'issue' movies are not all made equal.
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Socially conscious 'issue' movies are not all made equal.
- 4/15/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Otto Preminger looks at police corruption and comes up with a classy noir starring Dana Andrews as a rogue cop and Gene Tierney as the woman whose father he accidentally frames for murder. With Karl Malden, Gary Merrill and velvety-slick B&W cinematography by Joseph Lashelle. Where the Sidewalk Ends Blu-ray Twilight Time Limited Edition 1950 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 95 min. / Ship Date February 9, 2016 / available through Twilight Time Movies / 29.95 Starring Dana Andrews, Gene Tierney, Gary Merrill, Bert Freed, Tom Tully, Karl Malden, Ruth Donnelly, Craig Stevens. Cinematography Joseph Lashelle Art Direction J. Russell Spencer, Lyle Wheeler Film Editor Louis R. Loeffler Original Music Cyril J. Mockridge Written by Ben Hecht, Robert E. Kent, Frank P. Rosenberg, Victor Trivas from the novel Night Cry by William L. Stuart Produced and Directed by Otto Preminger
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Want to see an example of a gloriously polished studio production, a film noir...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Want to see an example of a gloriously polished studio production, a film noir...
- 2/21/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Welcome to HumanSide, the podcast that looks at the human side of pop culture. This episode offers an early peek at Chicago's own Music Box Theatre 70mm Film Festival, taking place February 19 to March 10. I also review a couple of surreal classics on Blu-ray from Scream Factory. Trust me, if you love weird movies, Sonny Boy and Blood and Lace deserve your attention. I also look at the Criterion Collection upgrade of one of my favorite noir films, Night and the City, by the great Jules Dassin. Lastly, HumanSide episode 2 offers an interview with director Heath Cozens about his often humorous but ultimately moving documentary Doglegs, which tells the story of disabled Japanese wrestlers grappling with able bodied opponents in a bid for societal and self-respect.You can listen to the...
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- 2/1/2016
- Screen Anarchy
Close-Up is a column that spotlights films now playing on Mubi. The Law is playing on Mubi in the Us through January 21, 2016.For those who like nice touches, keep your eye on the bird. In Jules Dassin's The Law (1959), it's the first character we meet, where, in a town square under the hot Mediterranean sun, a group of men are watching a pigeon. The men are out of work and squarely at the bottom of the socioeconomic totem pole. The pigeon is an idiot, one man says—why would anything that could fly choose to stay here? Because sometimes people throw it crumbs, a man answers. And if you had any doubts what this all symbolizes, another of the men hastily adds: just like us. This is a film very much about hierarchy, and the forces or illusions that keep everyone in their place. The air is soon...
- 12/23/2015
- by Duncan Gray
- MUBI
or, Savant picks The Most Impressive Discs of 2015
This is the actual view from Savant Central, looking due North.
What a year! I was able to take one very nice trip back East too see Washington D.C. for the first time, or at least as much as two days' walking in the hot sun and then cool rain would allow. Back home in Los Angeles, we've had a year of extreme drought -- my lawn is looking patriotically ratty -- and we're expecting something called El Niño, that's supposed to be just shy of Old-Testament build-me-an-ark intensity. We withstood heat waves like those in Day the Earth Caught Fire, and now we'll get the storms part. This has been a wild year for DVD Savant, which is still a little unsettled. DVDtalk has been very patient and generous, and so have Stuart Galbraith & Joe Dante; so far everything...
This is the actual view from Savant Central, looking due North.
What a year! I was able to take one very nice trip back East too see Washington D.C. for the first time, or at least as much as two days' walking in the hot sun and then cool rain would allow. Back home in Los Angeles, we've had a year of extreme drought -- my lawn is looking patriotically ratty -- and we're expecting something called El Niño, that's supposed to be just shy of Old-Testament build-me-an-ark intensity. We withstood heat waves like those in Day the Earth Caught Fire, and now we'll get the storms part. This has been a wild year for DVD Savant, which is still a little unsettled. DVDtalk has been very patient and generous, and so have Stuart Galbraith & Joe Dante; so far everything...
- 12/15/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
(Region B) It's just like the film industry, I tell ya! Director Jules Dassin teams with writer A.I. Bezzerides for one of filmdom's strongest slams at the free market system. Trucker Richard Conte fights back when cheated and robbed by Lee J. Cobb's racketeering produce czar. Thieves' Highway Region B Blu-ray + Pal DVD Arrow Video (UK) 1949 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 94 min. / Street Date October 20, 2015 / Available at Amazon UK / £14.99 Starring Richard Conte, Valentina Cortese, Lee J. Cobb, Barbara Lawrence, Jack Oakie, Millard Mitchell, Joseph Pevney, Morris Carnovsky Cinematography Norbert Brodine Art Direction Chester Gore, Lyle Wheeler Film Editor Nick DeMaggio Original Music Alfred Newman Written by A.I. Bezzerides from his novel Thieves' Market Produced by Robert Bassler Directed by Jules Dassin
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Did Jules Dassin initiate his string of studio produced films noirs, each of which has a strong element of social criticism, if not outright condemnation of 'the system?...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Did Jules Dassin initiate his string of studio produced films noirs, each of which has a strong element of social criticism, if not outright condemnation of 'the system?...
- 11/3/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
★★★★★ Adapted from Gerald Kersh's 1938 novel, which at the time warned readers that it featured a story "not for the strait-laced or squeamish, but for those willing to taste it, a treat of rare substance", Night and the City (1950) postmarked the end of the gloom-ridden cinema of the forties as something of an exemplary of the film noir genre. Directed by Jules Dassin before his unfathomable exile from Hollywood, the film is an astonishing, baroque study of corruption and paranoia in a frantic metropolitan setting rife with betrayal.
- 9/29/2015
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Night and the City
Written by Jo Eisinger
Directed by Jules Dassin
UK, 1950
Harry Fabian is probably the best at what he does, even if he is never very successful. Richard Widmark’s character in Night and the City, out now on a gorgeous new Criterion Collection Blu-ray, is a low-level con who works wherever he can, however he can, doing whatever he can to make a buck. He enters Jules Dassin’s 1950 film noir classic on the run; he will always be on the run: always hustling, always running. Sincere though his half-baked plans may be, he is perpetually—pathetically—down on his luck. He has the ambition, there’s no doubt about that, and as he shrewdly stumbles past one obstacle after another, it becomes almost humorous in the way he manages to charm his way through life, always just by the skin of his teeth. He cooks...
Written by Jo Eisinger
Directed by Jules Dassin
UK, 1950
Harry Fabian is probably the best at what he does, even if he is never very successful. Richard Widmark’s character in Night and the City, out now on a gorgeous new Criterion Collection Blu-ray, is a low-level con who works wherever he can, however he can, doing whatever he can to make a buck. He enters Jules Dassin’s 1950 film noir classic on the run; he will always be on the run: always hustling, always running. Sincere though his half-baked plans may be, he is perpetually—pathetically—down on his luck. He has the ambition, there’s no doubt about that, and as he shrewdly stumbles past one obstacle after another, it becomes almost humorous in the way he manages to charm his way through life, always just by the skin of his teeth. He cooks...
- 8/12/2015
- by Jeremy Carr
- SoundOnSight
Apologies to those of you that look forward to this column each weekend, I took a mini-vacation last weekend somewhere that didn't have Internet. Yeah, three days in the woods, no Internet other than the one time last Saturday we rolled into a nearby town and I checked my email and posted one story... it was wonderful. Back to work this weekend though and it was actually a light week. In theaters all I saw was this weekend's disastrous Fantastic Four, but at home I watched a couple things including the Poltergeist remake (not good, not terrible, definitely no need for you to watch it unless you're eager to do so) and Criterion's latest release of Night and the City on Blu-ray, which I hope to have a review this week, but there's a healthy number of features including a British version of the film and a commentary, both of...
- 8/9/2015
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
This week on Off The Shelf, Ryan is joined by Brian Saur to take a look at the new DVD and Blu-ray releases for the week of August 4th, 2015, and chat about some follow-up and home video news.
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Episode Links & Notes Follow-up Vudu News Miyazaki Box Set BFI titles announced Land Before Time Kl Studio Classics: Phantom of the Opera / The Knack Criterion’s Dressed To Kill stretched, resolved Funimation to release Speed Racer on Blu-ray + (Ghost in the Shell to theaters) Clue Club from the Warner Archive on August 11th The Hunger from the Warner Archive on August 18th The World According To Garp from the Warner Archive on August 25th The Iron Giant New Releases Big House, U.S.A. Blast from the Past Flamenco, Flamenco Foreign Intrigue Free Willy He Ran All the Way I Love Lucy: The Ultimate Season 2 Innerspace The Man from U.
Subscribe in iTunes or RSS.
Episode Links & Notes Follow-up Vudu News Miyazaki Box Set BFI titles announced Land Before Time Kl Studio Classics: Phantom of the Opera / The Knack Criterion’s Dressed To Kill stretched, resolved Funimation to release Speed Racer on Blu-ray + (Ghost in the Shell to theaters) Clue Club from the Warner Archive on August 11th The Hunger from the Warner Archive on August 18th The World According To Garp from the Warner Archive on August 25th The Iron Giant New Releases Big House, U.S.A. Blast from the Past Flamenco, Flamenco Foreign Intrigue Free Willy He Ran All the Way I Love Lucy: The Ultimate Season 2 Innerspace The Man from U.
- 8/5/2015
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
Links: Blu-rays Under $10 | Today's Deals | Release Dates | Reviews
First off, I want to apologize for this column's absence this past couple of weeks. When It Follows and Ex Machina arrived on Blu-ray back on July 14 I honestly completely spaced and forgot all about this column, which is a shame considering those are two of my top three movies of 2015 so far. That said, if you weren't aware they were released you can click on either title and purchase them now. Otherwise, here are this week's new DVD and Blu-ray releases along with a boatload of new release dates including Avengers: Age of Ultron, The Duke of Burgundy (another one of this year's best films), Mad Max: Fury Road (probably my favorite film of 2015 so far) and Furious 7.
The Divergent Series: Insurgent Not a good movie and I'm pretty sure everyone knows it, though they may say something different so...
First off, I want to apologize for this column's absence this past couple of weeks. When It Follows and Ex Machina arrived on Blu-ray back on July 14 I honestly completely spaced and forgot all about this column, which is a shame considering those are two of my top three movies of 2015 so far. That said, if you weren't aware they were released you can click on either title and purchase them now. Otherwise, here are this week's new DVD and Blu-ray releases along with a boatload of new release dates including Avengers: Age of Ultron, The Duke of Burgundy (another one of this year's best films), Mad Max: Fury Road (probably my favorite film of 2015 so far) and Furious 7.
The Divergent Series: Insurgent Not a good movie and I'm pretty sure everyone knows it, though they may say something different so...
- 8/4/2015
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
I didn't have much luck with the movies I saw in theaters this week and that's including skipping Pixels. I caught screenings of Southpaw (read the review here), Paper Towns (read the review here) and Vacation (review coming next week), but at home I had a little better luck, though I only watched one "new" film... new to me that is. In preparation for tomorrow night's screening of Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, my wife and I watched Mission: Impossible and Mission: Impossible II, two films I like and yes, that even means I enjoy M:i 2 on some level, mainly on a level that I take enjoyment out of John Woo's ridiculous direction while, at the same time, I'm able to recognize it's a pretty bad movie. We watched Mission: Impossible III rather recently so tonight might be Ghost Protocol... we'll see. readmore postid="54359" The other film I watched...
- 7/26/2015
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
don't bother to knock
Happy Centennial to Richard Widmark today, the noir star who won instant fame (and an Oscar nod) for his film debut as dangerous "Tommy Udo" in Kiss of Death (1947). He almost made it to his centennial too but passed away in 2008. Other highlights from his filmography include: Night and the City (1950), Don't Bother to Knock (1952), Pick Up on South Street (1952), and that late career trio of all-star-cast Oscar darlings: Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), How the West Was Won (1962), and Murder on the Orient Express (1974).
Any favorite Widmark performances? I have never seen (gulp) Kiss of Death. I suppose I should get on that given the Oscar nomination.
Happy Centennial to Richard Widmark today, the noir star who won instant fame (and an Oscar nod) for his film debut as dangerous "Tommy Udo" in Kiss of Death (1947). He almost made it to his centennial too but passed away in 2008. Other highlights from his filmography include: Night and the City (1950), Don't Bother to Knock (1952), Pick Up on South Street (1952), and that late career trio of all-star-cast Oscar darlings: Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), How the West Was Won (1962), and Murder on the Orient Express (1974).
Any favorite Widmark performances? I have never seen (gulp) Kiss of Death. I suppose I should get on that given the Oscar nomination.
- 12/26/2014
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
It's a Criterion Christmas! I'll be using Meeting The Criterion as a convenient way of reminding you of many of the Criterion Collection's great releases from the past year. Whether your Criterion Collection is organized by spine number, title or director, there's a good chance you'll see some releases that are bound to end up on your must remember to get list. Rififi (1955) got a Blu-ray upgrade and a stunning transfer here. Widely regarded as one of the greatest heist films ever made, it secured director Jules Dassin, also known for films like Night and The City (1950) and Thieves Highway (1949), a prominent place in film history. The story concerns a jewel thief recently released from prison and ready to go straight who instead...
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- 12/15/2014
- Screen Anarchy
To mark the release of Brute Force on 15th September, we’ve been given 3 copies to give away on Blu-ray.
Before making the French crime classic Rififi, Jules Dassin was arguably the greatest of film noir directors, responsible for a string of gems including The Naked City, Thieves’ Highway and Night and the City. Brute Force kickstarted that run of pictures and never did a film live up to its name more. Burt Lancaster is Joe Collins, one of a number of convicts squeezed into cell R17 intent on staging a prison break. Not only does he need to return to the side of his cancer-ridden wife (Ann Blyth), he also wants to escape the clutches of sadistic warden Captain Munsey (an unforgettable performance from Hume Cronyn) who enjoys a reign of terror over the inmates.
Beautifully shot by the great William H. Daniels, tautly written by Richard Brooks (Blackboard Jungle,...
Before making the French crime classic Rififi, Jules Dassin was arguably the greatest of film noir directors, responsible for a string of gems including The Naked City, Thieves’ Highway and Night and the City. Brute Force kickstarted that run of pictures and never did a film live up to its name more. Burt Lancaster is Joe Collins, one of a number of convicts squeezed into cell R17 intent on staging a prison break. Not only does he need to return to the side of his cancer-ridden wife (Ann Blyth), he also wants to escape the clutches of sadistic warden Captain Munsey (an unforgettable performance from Hume Cronyn) who enjoys a reign of terror over the inmates.
Beautifully shot by the great William H. Daniels, tautly written by Richard Brooks (Blackboard Jungle,...
- 9/8/2014
- by Competitions
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Night and the City
Written by Joe Eisinger
Directed by Jules Dassin
United Kingdom, 1950
In the heart of the London night Harry Fabian (Richard Widmark) runs wild in the streets and alleyways of this most famous of English cities. Harry, a con artist, owes someone a hefty sum and his only recourse is to plead his lover Mary Bristol (Gene Tierney) to lend him some pounds to call off the hounds. Such is the life the protagonist has led for some years now, much to Mary’s consternation and chagrin. What once was a happy companionship has turned more more strenuous. A get rich scheme here, another there but always the same result: Harry gets nowhere fast. His latest attempt to make it big arrives in form of an aging wrestler, Gregorius the Great (Stanislaus Zbyszko) whom he encounters by happenstance at a wrestling event a few nights later. The...
Written by Joe Eisinger
Directed by Jules Dassin
United Kingdom, 1950
In the heart of the London night Harry Fabian (Richard Widmark) runs wild in the streets and alleyways of this most famous of English cities. Harry, a con artist, owes someone a hefty sum and his only recourse is to plead his lover Mary Bristol (Gene Tierney) to lend him some pounds to call off the hounds. Such is the life the protagonist has led for some years now, much to Mary’s consternation and chagrin. What once was a happy companionship has turned more more strenuous. A get rich scheme here, another there but always the same result: Harry gets nowhere fast. His latest attempt to make it big arrives in form of an aging wrestler, Gregorius the Great (Stanislaus Zbyszko) whom he encounters by happenstance at a wrestling event a few nights later. The...
- 6/6/2014
- by Edgar Chaput
- SoundOnSight
A lot of what I have to say about Rififi would probably read as hyperbole as it stands as not only an important film given its director's political status, but the way in which it can double as not only an art film, but also a striking piece of cinema that can be enjoyed by any measure of movie lover. It's a film noir captured in shadows and silence as a jewel heist takes place over the course of more than 30 dialogue-free minutes after we've watched four men meticulously plan every detail. The tension mounts with every pound of the hammer, screech of the hand-powered crank cutting into the safe and the crumble of asphalt, gently landing in an open umbrella with nary a sound. Is there more that needs be saidc Criterion's new Blu-ray transfer adds much more detail to every inky black scene, elevating the overall effect of...
- 1/15/2014
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
(Gerhard Lamprecht, 1931, BFI, U)
The versatile German writer Erich Kästner (1899-1974) was a lifelong pacifist following his military service in the first world war, and as a result of his anti-Nazism he was banned from publishing during the Third Reich. His most famous book was and remains Emil and the Detectives, the children's adventure classic that appeared in 1929 and was filmed in 1931 with a script by Billy Wilder and (uncredited) Emeric Pressburger.
The film tells the story of Emil, a lower-middle-class lad from a small provincial town who makes his first visit to Berlin to stay with his grandmother and bring her hard-earned money from his mother, a hairdresser. On the train Emil is robbed by a suave criminal (played by the celebrated character actor Fritz Rasp), whom he pursues across Berlin assisted by a gang of kids from all over the town. It's a lively, funny, exciting tale of...
The versatile German writer Erich Kästner (1899-1974) was a lifelong pacifist following his military service in the first world war, and as a result of his anti-Nazism he was banned from publishing during the Third Reich. His most famous book was and remains Emil and the Detectives, the children's adventure classic that appeared in 1929 and was filmed in 1931 with a script by Billy Wilder and (uncredited) Emeric Pressburger.
The film tells the story of Emil, a lower-middle-class lad from a small provincial town who makes his first visit to Berlin to stay with his grandmother and bring her hard-earned money from his mother, a hairdresser. On the train Emil is robbed by a suave criminal (played by the celebrated character actor Fritz Rasp), whom he pursues across Berlin assisted by a gang of kids from all over the town. It's a lively, funny, exciting tale of...
- 9/7/2013
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Jules Dassin had established himself as a very capable, smart genre filmmaker in Hollywood by the time the blacklist kicked him out. In Britain, he made Night and the City (1950), which continued his winning streak, and in France Rififi (1955) not only anticipated the direction Jean-Pierre Melville's career was about to take (translating American crime movie tropes to the French idiom), it spawned a whole sub-genre of unofficial sequels. Dassin's own Topkapi (1964) was a colorful spoof of the heist movie.
But the other strand of Dassin's European filmmaking is not so popular: his attempts at being an arthouse director have inspired considerable derision: David Thomson recommends The Law, Phaedra and 10:30 P.M. Summer as cures for suicidal depression; their earnestness strikes him as irresistibly preposterous.
Well, I can resist the temptation to laugh, up to a point: Anthony Perkins' torrid love scene with Dassin's wife, Melina Mercouri, in...
But the other strand of Dassin's European filmmaking is not so popular: his attempts at being an arthouse director have inspired considerable derision: David Thomson recommends The Law, Phaedra and 10:30 P.M. Summer as cures for suicidal depression; their earnestness strikes him as irresistibly preposterous.
Well, I can resist the temptation to laugh, up to a point: Anthony Perkins' torrid love scene with Dassin's wife, Melina Mercouri, in...
- 11/8/2012
- by David Cairns
- MUBI
News.
A new issue of one the most essential film publications, La Furia Umana, is now available online. As always, alongside a rich collection of disparate texts, the issue has separate dossiers devoted to specific filmmakers, including ones on René Vautier (edited by Nicole Brenez) and Ida Lupino with Claire Denis. The amount of must-read coverage is daunting: included, too, are homages to Chris Marker and Stephen Dwoskin, a new video by David Phelps, and much more to explore.
In this issue, our pride and joy is to be found in the monograph-length dossier on Hollywood auteur William A. Wellman, a dossier edited by Gina Telaroli and Phelps. Our editor Daniel Kasman has contributed anoverview to Wellman's filmography; Telaroli has an incredible image-based piece on Good-bye, My Lady (alongside "scraps" and "findings" pointing the way for even more coverage of this filmmaker's wide oeuvre), filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier has a new piece,...
A new issue of one the most essential film publications, La Furia Umana, is now available online. As always, alongside a rich collection of disparate texts, the issue has separate dossiers devoted to specific filmmakers, including ones on René Vautier (edited by Nicole Brenez) and Ida Lupino with Claire Denis. The amount of must-read coverage is daunting: included, too, are homages to Chris Marker and Stephen Dwoskin, a new video by David Phelps, and much more to explore.
In this issue, our pride and joy is to be found in the monograph-length dossier on Hollywood auteur William A. Wellman, a dossier edited by Gina Telaroli and Phelps. Our editor Daniel Kasman has contributed anoverview to Wellman's filmography; Telaroli has an incredible image-based piece on Good-bye, My Lady (alongside "scraps" and "findings" pointing the way for even more coverage of this filmmaker's wide oeuvre), filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier has a new piece,...
- 10/8/2012
- by Notebook
- MUBI
big screen
People Anne Hathaway Just Got Married
/Film what to expect on the Prometheus BluRay
Playbill character actor Herbert Lom (The Pink Panther, Night and the City) dies at 94
In Contention shines a spotlight on AMPAS's best quality: their interest in film preservation. They're still trying to find the missing Oscar nominees from year's past. God speed, AMPAS, god speed.
The Envelope can Disney dominate the Animated Film Race? I think so. I'm guessing that Frankenweenie wins.
i09 original production art from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
small screen
In Our Words smart piece on gaycism and sitcoms -- just because you include a gay character, you shouldn't have carte blanche to indulge in every other form of bigotry.
Gawker what's going on with Christina Aguilera's vagina in her new video?
Big Thoughts... enjoys Kelly Macdonald on Boardwalk Empire. I have to say that's my only regret...
People Anne Hathaway Just Got Married
/Film what to expect on the Prometheus BluRay
Playbill character actor Herbert Lom (The Pink Panther, Night and the City) dies at 94
In Contention shines a spotlight on AMPAS's best quality: their interest in film preservation. They're still trying to find the missing Oscar nominees from year's past. God speed, AMPAS, god speed.
The Envelope can Disney dominate the Animated Film Race? I think so. I'm guessing that Frankenweenie wins.
i09 original production art from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
small screen
In Our Words smart piece on gaycism and sitcoms -- just because you include a gay character, you shouldn't have carte blanche to indulge in every other form of bigotry.
Gawker what's going on with Christina Aguilera's vagina in her new video?
Big Thoughts... enjoys Kelly Macdonald on Boardwalk Empire. I have to say that's my only regret...
- 9/30/2012
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Czech-born actor best known as Inspector Clouseau's crazed boss in the Pink Panther films
Herbert Lom, who has died aged 95, spent more than 50 years in dramatic roles, playing mostly smooth villains, but he was best known for his portrayal of Charles Dreyfus, the hysterically twitching boss of the bumbling Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers) in the series of slapstick Pink Panther comedies. "Give me 10 men like Clouseau and I could destroy the world," blurts out the bewildered Dreyfus in A Shot in the Dark (1964).
Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchacevich ze Schluderpacheru was born into an impoverished aristocratic family in Prague. He studied philosophy at Prague University, where he organised student theatre. In 1939, on the eve of the German invasion of Czechoslovakia, he arrived in Britain with his Jewish girlfriend, Didi, but she was sent back at Dover because she did not have the correct papers. Her subsequent death in a concentration...
Herbert Lom, who has died aged 95, spent more than 50 years in dramatic roles, playing mostly smooth villains, but he was best known for his portrayal of Charles Dreyfus, the hysterically twitching boss of the bumbling Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers) in the series of slapstick Pink Panther comedies. "Give me 10 men like Clouseau and I could destroy the world," blurts out the bewildered Dreyfus in A Shot in the Dark (1964).
Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchacevich ze Schluderpacheru was born into an impoverished aristocratic family in Prague. He studied philosophy at Prague University, where he organised student theatre. In 1939, on the eve of the German invasion of Czechoslovakia, he arrived in Britain with his Jewish girlfriend, Didi, but she was sent back at Dover because she did not have the correct papers. Her subsequent death in a concentration...
- 9/27/2012
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
We look back at the work of Herbert Lom, the much-loved Czech-born actor who has died aged 95. His career took in everything from low-budget noir to the Pink Panther movies
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A refugee from the Nazis at the age of 22, Lom arrived in London in 1939 and immediately set about continuing the acting career he'd started in his home city of Prague. His first role was a small but eyecatching one: Napoleon, in the Fox-produced biopic The Young Mr Pitt, with Robert Donat as the wily but principled British prime minister – starts at 6:30. (He would play Boney again in 1956, in the Audrey Hepburn War and Peace.)
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Lom's unmistakeable charisma quickly won him admirers: though lead roles would be few and far between later on, he quickly scored one as the mysterious hypnotist in Brit thriller The Dark Tower, where he exerts his fateful,...
Reading on mobile? Watch here
A refugee from the Nazis at the age of 22, Lom arrived in London in 1939 and immediately set about continuing the acting career he'd started in his home city of Prague. His first role was a small but eyecatching one: Napoleon, in the Fox-produced biopic The Young Mr Pitt, with Robert Donat as the wily but principled British prime minister – starts at 6:30. (He would play Boney again in 1956, in the Audrey Hepburn War and Peace.)
Reading on mobile? Watch here
Lom's unmistakeable charisma quickly won him admirers: though lead roles would be few and far between later on, he quickly scored one as the mysterious hypnotist in Brit thriller The Dark Tower, where he exerts his fateful,...
- 9/27/2012
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
Actor best known for playing chief inspector Dreyfus in the Pink Panther movies has died aged 95
Herbert Lom, the Czech-born character actor best known for his roles in The Ladykillers and the Pink Panther franchise, has died at the age of 95. In a career spanning 60 years, he specialised in dark, dangerous, at times positively demented turns in a number of British film classics. "To British eyes, all foreigners are sinister," he once remarked.
Lom was born Herbert Karel Angelo Kuchacevic ze Schluderpacheru, in Prague, the son of a count, and fled to London ahead of the 1939 Nazi occupation. He played Napoleon Bonaparte in the 1942 epic The Young Mr Pitt and starred as the King of Siam in the original stage production of The King and I. Other notable screen credits include the pirate captain in Spartacus, the lordly general in El Cid, an underworld kingpin in Night and the City,...
Herbert Lom, the Czech-born character actor best known for his roles in The Ladykillers and the Pink Panther franchise, has died at the age of 95. In a career spanning 60 years, he specialised in dark, dangerous, at times positively demented turns in a number of British film classics. "To British eyes, all foreigners are sinister," he once remarked.
Lom was born Herbert Karel Angelo Kuchacevic ze Schluderpacheru, in Prague, the son of a count, and fled to London ahead of the 1939 Nazi occupation. He played Napoleon Bonaparte in the 1942 epic The Young Mr Pitt and starred as the King of Siam in the original stage production of The King and I. Other notable screen credits include the pirate captain in Spartacus, the lordly general in El Cid, an underworld kingpin in Night and the City,...
- 9/27/2012
- by Xan Brooks
- The Guardian - Film News
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