Now up for grabs in Region A, it’s the Robert Aldrich movie that wins over all that see it. The epitome of Men In Peril adventures, the tale of 14 random oil men marooned in the Sahara is brutal yet optimistic about human cooperation — please, the world needs more of that right now. James Stewart is at his best, stretching his hard-bitten loner persona and tapping into his flying experience. Also with an English-language-best performance from Hardy Krüger. The male group dynamics are absorbing and the suspense powerful — especially when seen cold. No spoilers here!
The Flight of the Phoenix
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 1116
1965 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 142 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date March 22, 2022 / 39.95
Starring: James Stewart, Richard Attenborough, Peter Finch, Hardy Krüger, Ernest Borgnine, Ian Bannen, Ronald Fraser, Christian Marquand, Dan Duryea, George Kennedy, Gabriele Tinti, Alex Montoya, Peter Bravos, William Aldrich, Barrie Chase.
Cinematography: Joseph Biroc...
The Flight of the Phoenix
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 1116
1965 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 142 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date March 22, 2022 / 39.95
Starring: James Stewart, Richard Attenborough, Peter Finch, Hardy Krüger, Ernest Borgnine, Ian Bannen, Ronald Fraser, Christian Marquand, Dan Duryea, George Kennedy, Gabriele Tinti, Alex Montoya, Peter Bravos, William Aldrich, Barrie Chase.
Cinematography: Joseph Biroc...
- 3/19/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
German actor Hardy Krüger, known for his roles in films including Barry Lyndon, Hatari! and A Bridge Too Far, died Wednesday at at his home in California. He was 93.
His death was confirmed by his literary agent, Peter Kaefferlein, who told the AP that Krüger died “suddenly and unexpectedly.”
Born on April 12, 1928, in Berlin, Krüger’s parents were Nazi party members, with the actor later in life recalling his upbringing as a supporter of Adolf Hitler. Having made his acting debut at 15, he was conscripted into the army and saw combat during the Second World War. When he refused to ambush a group of U.S. soldiers, he was sentenced to death, only to be given a late reprieve. Kruger deserted the army and hid out until the war was over. He later went on to become a member of the Amadeu Antonio Foundation, which campaigns against right-wing extremism.
Returning to his acting work,...
His death was confirmed by his literary agent, Peter Kaefferlein, who told the AP that Krüger died “suddenly and unexpectedly.”
Born on April 12, 1928, in Berlin, Krüger’s parents were Nazi party members, with the actor later in life recalling his upbringing as a supporter of Adolf Hitler. Having made his acting debut at 15, he was conscripted into the army and saw combat during the Second World War. When he refused to ambush a group of U.S. soldiers, he was sentenced to death, only to be given a late reprieve. Kruger deserted the army and hid out until the war was over. He later went on to become a member of the Amadeu Antonio Foundation, which campaigns against right-wing extremism.
Returning to his acting work,...
- 1/20/2022
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Olaf Möller on Black Gravel (Schwarzer Kies) starring Ingmar Zeisberg, Helmut Wildt and Hans Cossy: "This is really Käutner on his realism track."
At the Film Society of Lincoln Center inside the Furman Gallery of the Walter Reade Theater, Olaf Möller, the curator of The Lost Years of German Cinema: 1949–1963, discussed with me the films of Helmut Käutner, including his Hamlet adaptation, Der Rest Ist Schweigen (The Rest Is Silence), starring Hardy Krüger, Der Traum Von Lieschen Müller (The Dream Of Lieschen Mueller) and Bildnis Einer Unbekannten (Portrait Of An Unknown Woman).
Oe Hasse, Lilli Palmer and Peter van Eyck in Harald Braun's The Glass Tower (Der Gläserne Turm)
Wolfgang Staudte's The Fair (Kirmes) starring Juliette Mayniel, and Harald Braun's The Glass Tower (Der Gläserne Turm) with Lilli Palmer, Oe Hasse and Peter van Eyck, along with Käutner's Redhead (Die Rote) with Gert Fröbe and Ruth Leuwerik,...
At the Film Society of Lincoln Center inside the Furman Gallery of the Walter Reade Theater, Olaf Möller, the curator of The Lost Years of German Cinema: 1949–1963, discussed with me the films of Helmut Käutner, including his Hamlet adaptation, Der Rest Ist Schweigen (The Rest Is Silence), starring Hardy Krüger, Der Traum Von Lieschen Müller (The Dream Of Lieschen Mueller) and Bildnis Einer Unbekannten (Portrait Of An Unknown Woman).
Oe Hasse, Lilli Palmer and Peter van Eyck in Harald Braun's The Glass Tower (Der Gläserne Turm)
Wolfgang Staudte's The Fair (Kirmes) starring Juliette Mayniel, and Harald Braun's The Glass Tower (Der Gläserne Turm) with Lilli Palmer, Oe Hasse and Peter van Eyck, along with Käutner's Redhead (Die Rote) with Gert Fröbe and Ruth Leuwerik,...
- 11/21/2017
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Stanley Kubrick’s contribution to great cinema of the 1970s offers his vision of what an epic should be. Transported by images that recall great paintings of the period, and Kubrick’s new approaches to low-light cinematography, we witness a rogue’s progress through troubled times. And even Ryan O’Neal is good!
Barry Lyndon
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 897
1975 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 185 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date October 17, 2017 / 39.95
Starring: Ryan O’Neal, Marisa Berenson, Patrick Magee, Hardy Krüger, Steven Berkoff, Gay Hamilton, Marie Kean, Diana Körner, Murray Melvin, Frank Middlemass, André Morell, Arthur O’Sullivan, Godfrey Quigley, Leonard Rossiter, Philip Stone, Leon Vitali Leon Vitali, Wolf Kahler, Ferdy Mayne, George Sewell, Michael Hordern (narrator).
Cinematography: John Alcott
Editor: Tony Lawson
Production design: Ken Adam
Conductor & Musical Adaptor: Leonard Rosenman
Written by Stanley Kubrick from the novel by William Makepeace Thackeray
Produced and Directed by Stanley Kubrick
The...
Barry Lyndon
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 897
1975 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 185 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date October 17, 2017 / 39.95
Starring: Ryan O’Neal, Marisa Berenson, Patrick Magee, Hardy Krüger, Steven Berkoff, Gay Hamilton, Marie Kean, Diana Körner, Murray Melvin, Frank Middlemass, André Morell, Arthur O’Sullivan, Godfrey Quigley, Leonard Rossiter, Philip Stone, Leon Vitali Leon Vitali, Wolf Kahler, Ferdy Mayne, George Sewell, Michael Hordern (narrator).
Cinematography: John Alcott
Editor: Tony Lawson
Production design: Ken Adam
Conductor & Musical Adaptor: Leonard Rosenman
Written by Stanley Kubrick from the novel by William Makepeace Thackeray
Produced and Directed by Stanley Kubrick
The...
- 10/3/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Forgotten amid Robert Aldrich’s more critic-friendly movies is this superb suspense picture, an against-all-odds thriller that pits an old-school pilot against a push-button young engineer with his own kind of male arrogance. Can a dozen oil workers and random passengers ‘invent’ their way out of an almost certain death trap? It’s a late-career triumph for James Stewart, at the head of a sterling ensemble cast. I review a UK disc in the hope of encouraging a new restoration.
The Flight of the Phoenix
Region B Blu-ray
(will not play in domestic U.S. players)
Masters of Cinema / Eureka Entertainment
1965 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 142 min. / Street Date September 12, 2016 / £12.95
Starring: James Stewart, Richard Attenborough, Peter Finch, Hardy Krüger, Ernest Borgnine, Ian Bannen, Ronald Fraser, Christian Marquand, Dan Duryea, George Kennedy, Gabriele Tinti, Alex Montoya, Peter Bravos, William Aldrich, Barrie Chase.
Cinematography: Joseph Biroc
Stunt Pilot: Paul Mantz
Art Direction: William Glasgow...
The Flight of the Phoenix
Region B Blu-ray
(will not play in domestic U.S. players)
Masters of Cinema / Eureka Entertainment
1965 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 142 min. / Street Date September 12, 2016 / £12.95
Starring: James Stewart, Richard Attenborough, Peter Finch, Hardy Krüger, Ernest Borgnine, Ian Bannen, Ronald Fraser, Christian Marquand, Dan Duryea, George Kennedy, Gabriele Tinti, Alex Montoya, Peter Bravos, William Aldrich, Barrie Chase.
Cinematography: Joseph Biroc
Stunt Pilot: Paul Mantz
Art Direction: William Glasgow...
- 9/22/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
John Wayne plays a German sea captain in a film that goes out of its way to create a favorable image of our former enemy, with hardly a Nazi flag or even a German accent in sight. Wayne and his co-star Lana Turner are as Teutonic as Blondie and Dagwood, yet the film works as a basic adventure – we like the charismatic star, and the sea chase format guarantees extra interest.
The Sea Chase
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1955 / Color / 2:55 widescreen / 117 min. / Street Date July 11, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: John Wayne, Lana Turner, David Farrar, Lyle Bettger, Tab Hunter, James Arness, Richard Davalos, John Qualen, Paul Fix, Alan Hale Jr., Peter Whitney, Claude Akins, John Doucette, Tudor Owen, Adam Williams.
Cinematography: William Clothier
Film Editors: William Ziegler, Owen Marks
Original Music: Roy Webb
Written by James Warner Bellah, John Twist from a novel by Andrew Geer
Produced and Directed...
The Sea Chase
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1955 / Color / 2:55 widescreen / 117 min. / Street Date July 11, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: John Wayne, Lana Turner, David Farrar, Lyle Bettger, Tab Hunter, James Arness, Richard Davalos, John Qualen, Paul Fix, Alan Hale Jr., Peter Whitney, Claude Akins, John Doucette, Tudor Owen, Adam Williams.
Cinematography: William Clothier
Film Editors: William Ziegler, Owen Marks
Original Music: Roy Webb
Written by James Warner Bellah, John Twist from a novel by Andrew Geer
Produced and Directed...
- 7/18/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
By Lee Pfeiffer
Over the last year the entertainment industry has suffered incalculable losses of talented people. Some of them hit home personally, as is the case with producer Euan Lloyd, who passed away this weekend in London. I first met Euan in 1978 when I was attending college in New Jersey. I had the enviable gig of being the film critic for the campus newspaper, which afforded me the opportunity to routinely attend press screenings of forthcoming films in New York, which was a stone's throw across the river from my native Jersey City. I had read about the upcoming release of "The Wild Geese" which seemed to promise a "too-good-to-be-true" cast composed of some of my favorite actors (Richard Burton, Roger Moore and Richard Harris above all) in the kind of gritty, macho British war flick that I had become addicted to ever since seeing "Zulu" at age 8. To...
Over the last year the entertainment industry has suffered incalculable losses of talented people. Some of them hit home personally, as is the case with producer Euan Lloyd, who passed away this weekend in London. I first met Euan in 1978 when I was attending college in New Jersey. I had the enviable gig of being the film critic for the campus newspaper, which afforded me the opportunity to routinely attend press screenings of forthcoming films in New York, which was a stone's throw across the river from my native Jersey City. I had read about the upcoming release of "The Wild Geese" which seemed to promise a "too-good-to-be-true" cast composed of some of my favorite actors (Richard Burton, Roger Moore and Richard Harris above all) in the kind of gritty, macho British war flick that I had become addicted to ever since seeing "Zulu" at age 8. To...
- 7/4/2016
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
"You're a liar, you're an imposter, you're a deserter." BFI has unveiled a new trailer for the re-release of Stanley Kubrick's underrated period piece Barry Lyndon, following the story of Redmond Barry in 18th century England. The film is getting a re-release in the UK for its 41st anniversary this year, so anyone who wants to see all 184 minutes of this on the big screen can catch it in the theaters (at least in England). The cast includes Ryan O'Neal as Barry, as well as Marisa Berenson, Patrick Magee, Hardy Krüger, Steven Berkoff, Gay Hamilton, Frank Middlemass and others. This is one of Kubrick's films that is not always mentioned, but there are many fans of it, and many others who probably haven't even seen it yet. Here's the new re-release trailer for Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon, direct from BFI's YouTube: Here's another follow-up trailer for the 40th anniversary (2015) of the film,...
- 6/17/2016
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Ron Moody as Fagin in 'Oliver!' based on Charles Dickens' 'Oliver Twist.' Ron Moody as Fagin in Dickens musical 'Oliver!': Box office and critical hit (See previous post: "Ron Moody: 'Oliver!' Actor, Academy Award Nominee Dead at 91.") Although British made, Oliver! turned out to be an elephantine release along the lines of – exclamation point or no – Gypsy, Star!, Hello Dolly!, and other Hollywood mega-musicals from the mid'-50s to the early '70s.[1] But however bloated and conventional the final result, and a cast whose best-known name was that of director Carol Reed's nephew, Oliver Reed, Oliver! found countless fans.[2] The mostly British production became a huge financial and critical success in the U.S. at a time when star-studded mega-musicals had become perilous – at times downright disastrous – ventures.[3] Upon the American release of Oliver! in Dec. 1968, frequently acerbic The...
- 6/19/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
By Lee Pfeiffer
Twilight Time has released Stanley Kramer's 1969 WWII era comedy "The Secret of Santa Vittoria" as a limited edition (3,000 units) Blu-ray. I hadn't seen the film since it was originally released and only had vague recollections of it. Watching it today, I found the movie to be an absolute delight thanks to a terrific script by Ben Maddow and William Rose (the latter co-wrote Kramer's "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World") and a sterling cast. The film is set in 1943 in the small Italian village of Santa Vittoria. The story opens with a young university studio, Fabio (Giancarlo Giannini in one of his first major roles) who hurries to his native town to breathtakingly inform the residents that Mussolini has just been deposed. The announcement is met with a collective yawn by the townspeople, who have remained largely immune from the effects of the war and their dictator's fascist police state.
Twilight Time has released Stanley Kramer's 1969 WWII era comedy "The Secret of Santa Vittoria" as a limited edition (3,000 units) Blu-ray. I hadn't seen the film since it was originally released and only had vague recollections of it. Watching it today, I found the movie to be an absolute delight thanks to a terrific script by Ben Maddow and William Rose (the latter co-wrote Kramer's "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World") and a sterling cast. The film is set in 1943 in the small Italian village of Santa Vittoria. The story opens with a young university studio, Fabio (Giancarlo Giannini in one of his first major roles) who hurries to his native town to breathtakingly inform the residents that Mussolini has just been deposed. The announcement is met with a collective yawn by the townspeople, who have remained largely immune from the effects of the war and their dictator's fascist police state.
- 10/7/2014
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 1963, Serge Bourguignon’s Sundays and Cybèle has finally been issued in an official North American digital video edition by Criterion. For decades Sundays and Cybèle was only available to Ntsc markets through imported discs of dodgy provenance and a few murky, widely scattered VHS copies. While half a century is certainly a significant delay, the high quality of the film and this superb pressing will make most cinephiles agree it was worth the wait.
Sundays and Cybèle is the story of Pierre (Hardy Krüger), a 30-ish former fighter pilot who now aimlessly wanders the quiet streets of Ville-d’Avray on the outskirts of Paris. Pierre suffers from a severe case of what would now be called Ptsd, squarely blaming himself for a tragic accident that occurred during the heat of battle in Vietnam. Reeling from amnesia and nightmarish visions, Pierre...
Sundays and Cybèle is the story of Pierre (Hardy Krüger), a 30-ish former fighter pilot who now aimlessly wanders the quiet streets of Ville-d’Avray on the outskirts of Paris. Pierre suffers from a severe case of what would now be called Ptsd, squarely blaming himself for a tragic accident that occurred during the heat of battle in Vietnam. Reeling from amnesia and nightmarish visions, Pierre...
- 9/30/2014
- by David Anderson
- IONCINEMA.com
For the past two months, viewers have been disturbed and unsettled by Richard Sammel's performance as Eichorst, the Nazi concentration camp guard turned vampire apocalypse facilitator, on FX's "The Strain." Playing both the human (but inhuman) Nazi version of Eichorst and his steely, arrogant contemporary incarnation, Sammel has given very different monstrous shadings to his role. That's why it's a bit funny to Skype up with the smiley, voluble Sammel and have him immediately cackle in pleasure at being able to identify my mogwai avatar from "Gremlins," before he very politely asks me to switch on my webcam so that we can see each other as we chat. Sammel is in a good mood because it's the first sunny day in Paris for a while. Or maybe he just genuinely enjoys talking about his part in the FX vampire drama, which was recently renewed for a second season. "I...
- 9/5/2014
- by Daniel Fienberg
- Hitfix
Blu-ray Release Date: Aug. 12, 2014
Price: Blu-ray $29.95
Studio: Twilight Time
Anthony Quinn (l.) drinks to his health--not Hardy Kruger's--in The Secret of Santa Vittoria.
Producer-director Stanley Kramer’s 1969 wartime comedy The Secret of Santa Vittoria arrives on Blu-ray for the very first time from Twilight Time.
Set towards the close of World War II, the movie stars Anthony Quinn (Zorba the Greek) as the mayor of an Italian wine-making village that finds its age-old economy imperiled as the Nazis close in. Those nasty Germans are determined to plunder a million-bottle cache of valuable vino, while the villagers are just as determined to keep their treasure safe.
A warm-hearted comedy with dramatic touches, Santa Vittoria also features Anna Magnani (Bellisima), Virna Lisi (Queen Margot), Giancarlo Giannini (The Seduction of Mimi), and Hardy Kruger (Sundays and Cybèle) in the cast.
The film is supported by an Oscar-nominated score by Ernest Gold, which...
Price: Blu-ray $29.95
Studio: Twilight Time
Anthony Quinn (l.) drinks to his health--not Hardy Kruger's--in The Secret of Santa Vittoria.
Producer-director Stanley Kramer’s 1969 wartime comedy The Secret of Santa Vittoria arrives on Blu-ray for the very first time from Twilight Time.
Set towards the close of World War II, the movie stars Anthony Quinn (Zorba the Greek) as the mayor of an Italian wine-making village that finds its age-old economy imperiled as the Nazis close in. Those nasty Germans are determined to plunder a million-bottle cache of valuable vino, while the villagers are just as determined to keep their treasure safe.
A warm-hearted comedy with dramatic touches, Santa Vittoria also features Anna Magnani (Bellisima), Virna Lisi (Queen Margot), Giancarlo Giannini (The Seduction of Mimi), and Hardy Kruger (Sundays and Cybèle) in the cast.
The film is supported by an Oscar-nominated score by Ernest Gold, which...
- 7/16/2014
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Sept. 30, 2014
Price: DVD $29.95, Blu-ray $39.95
Studio: Criterion
Hardy Kruger and Nicole Courcel in Sundays and Cybele.
In French director Serge Bourgignon’s provocative 1962 drama Sundays and Cybèle, a psychologically damaged war veteran (Hardy Kruger) and a neglected child (Nicole Courcel) begin a startlingly intimate friendship—one that ultimately ignites the suspicion and anger of his friends and neighbors in suburban Paris.
Bourguignon’s film makes thoughtful, humane drama out of potentially incendiary subject matter, and with the help of the sensitive cinematography of Henri Decaë (The 400 Blows) and a delicate score by Maurice Jarre (Lawrence of Arabia), Sundays and Cybèle becomes a stirring contemplation of an alliance between two troubled souls.
Presented in French with English subtitles, Criterion’s Blu-ray and DVD editions of the film include the following:
• New 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• New interviews with director Serge Bourguignon...
Price: DVD $29.95, Blu-ray $39.95
Studio: Criterion
Hardy Kruger and Nicole Courcel in Sundays and Cybele.
In French director Serge Bourgignon’s provocative 1962 drama Sundays and Cybèle, a psychologically damaged war veteran (Hardy Kruger) and a neglected child (Nicole Courcel) begin a startlingly intimate friendship—one that ultimately ignites the suspicion and anger of his friends and neighbors in suburban Paris.
Bourguignon’s film makes thoughtful, humane drama out of potentially incendiary subject matter, and with the help of the sensitive cinematography of Henri Decaë (The 400 Blows) and a delicate score by Maurice Jarre (Lawrence of Arabia), Sundays and Cybèle becomes a stirring contemplation of an alliance between two troubled souls.
Presented in French with English subtitles, Criterion’s Blu-ray and DVD editions of the film include the following:
• New 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• New interviews with director Serge Bourguignon...
- 6/25/2014
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Hatari!
Written by Leigh Brackett
Directed by Howard Hawks
USA, 1962
Hatari! is essentially about a group of men with a job to do, which makes it a perfect vehicle for John Wayne and Howard Hawks. Hawks reveled in stories about professional people who take their job seriously, and more often than not, Wayne played a character who was the best man for the job. As in their other collaborations — two Westerns before and two after — this film highlights what these two can best bring to the cinematic table. While Hatari! mostly falls into the action/adventure category (though throughout its 157-minute runtime, relatively little is concentrated on extensive action), it ends up being an entertaining and amusing character study, something perhaps more in line with Hawks than Wayne.
This was Leigh Brackett’s third screenplay for Hawks (with two more to follow) and as usual, she expertly captures the banter...
Written by Leigh Brackett
Directed by Howard Hawks
USA, 1962
Hatari! is essentially about a group of men with a job to do, which makes it a perfect vehicle for John Wayne and Howard Hawks. Hawks reveled in stories about professional people who take their job seriously, and more often than not, Wayne played a character who was the best man for the job. As in their other collaborations — two Westerns before and two after — this film highlights what these two can best bring to the cinematic table. While Hatari! mostly falls into the action/adventure category (though throughout its 157-minute runtime, relatively little is concentrated on extensive action), it ends up being an entertaining and amusing character study, something perhaps more in line with Hawks than Wayne.
This was Leigh Brackett’s third screenplay for Hawks (with two more to follow) and as usual, she expertly captures the banter...
- 3/21/2014
- by Jeremy Carr
- SoundOnSight
French film director who attracted big stars and box-office success but was disdained by the Nouvelle Vague
Denys de La Patellière, who has died aged 92, was of the generation of French film directors described with ironic contempt by François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard and other critics turned Nouvelle Vague directors as representing le cinéma de papa. But De La Patellière had several huge box-office hits in France in the 1950s and 60s, featuring some of the biggest internationally known French stars of the period such as Lino Ventura, Danielle Darrieux, Michèle Mercier, Pierre Fresnay, Bernard Blier and, above all, Jean Gabin, whom he directed in six films.
"I was a commercial director, which for me is not a pejorative word," De La Patellière recalled. "I never had the ambition to become an auteur, but to make entertaining films that pleased general audiences." In a way, his first film, Les Aristocrates (1955), could...
Denys de La Patellière, who has died aged 92, was of the generation of French film directors described with ironic contempt by François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard and other critics turned Nouvelle Vague directors as representing le cinéma de papa. But De La Patellière had several huge box-office hits in France in the 1950s and 60s, featuring some of the biggest internationally known French stars of the period such as Lino Ventura, Danielle Darrieux, Michèle Mercier, Pierre Fresnay, Bernard Blier and, above all, Jean Gabin, whom he directed in six films.
"I was a commercial director, which for me is not a pejorative word," De La Patellière recalled. "I never had the ambition to become an auteur, but to make entertaining films that pleased general audiences." In a way, his first film, Les Aristocrates (1955), could...
- 7/30/2013
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
By Allen Gardner
Killer Joe (Lionsgate) William Friedkin’s film of Tracy Letts’ off-Broadway hit about a family of Texas trailer park cretins (Emile Hirsch, Juno Temple, Thomas Haden Church, Gina Gershon) who hire a cop-cum-hitman (Matthew McConaughey) to take out their troublesome mother, then foolishly cross him, is a stinging satire, given double-barreled audacity by Friedkin’s sure, and fearless, directorial hand. Earning its Nc-17 rating in spades, “Killer Joe” reminds us that daring, frank material like this is why movies exist in the first place. McConaughey gives the performance of his career, hopefully redefined after this. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Featurettes; Commentary by Friendkin; Trailer. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS-hd 5.1 surround.
The Dark Knight Rises (Warner Bros.) Christopher Nolan’s coda to his “Batman” trilogy finds Christian Bale returning as a brooding Bruce Wayne/Caped Crusader, this time faced with a hulking villain (Tom Hardy) with respiratory...
Killer Joe (Lionsgate) William Friedkin’s film of Tracy Letts’ off-Broadway hit about a family of Texas trailer park cretins (Emile Hirsch, Juno Temple, Thomas Haden Church, Gina Gershon) who hire a cop-cum-hitman (Matthew McConaughey) to take out their troublesome mother, then foolishly cross him, is a stinging satire, given double-barreled audacity by Friedkin’s sure, and fearless, directorial hand. Earning its Nc-17 rating in spades, “Killer Joe” reminds us that daring, frank material like this is why movies exist in the first place. McConaughey gives the performance of his career, hopefully redefined after this. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Featurettes; Commentary by Friendkin; Trailer. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS-hd 5.1 surround.
The Dark Knight Rises (Warner Bros.) Christopher Nolan’s coda to his “Batman” trilogy finds Christian Bale returning as a brooding Bruce Wayne/Caped Crusader, this time faced with a hulking villain (Tom Hardy) with respiratory...
- 1/8/2013
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
"Morals among mercenaries, who’d think we’d ever see the day."
If you’re going to see The Wild Geese (1978), you’re going to want to read this set-up first since things are very quickly explained. Sir Edward Matheson (Stewart Granger) is in negotiations over rights to copper mines with Mboya (Thomas Baptiste) the leader of the (fictional) nation of Zimbala. He’s giving Matheson some trouble. In order to counter this trouble, Matheson has brought in the aging mercenary Col. Allen Faulkner (Richard Burton) to bring some sound and fury into Zimbala. He is to rescue the fabled former president of Zimbala, Limbani (Winston Ntshona), who was coup’d upon and is held (and thought to be dead). Faulkner needs the help of two other ancient reivers. Capt. Rafer Janders (Richard Harris), he’s the brains, and Lt. Shawn Flynn (Roger Moore), he’s a friend and can fly planes.
If you’re going to see The Wild Geese (1978), you’re going to want to read this set-up first since things are very quickly explained. Sir Edward Matheson (Stewart Granger) is in negotiations over rights to copper mines with Mboya (Thomas Baptiste) the leader of the (fictional) nation of Zimbala. He’s giving Matheson some trouble. In order to counter this trouble, Matheson has brought in the aging mercenary Col. Allen Faulkner (Richard Burton) to bring some sound and fury into Zimbala. He is to rescue the fabled former president of Zimbala, Limbani (Winston Ntshona), who was coup’d upon and is held (and thought to be dead). Faulkner needs the help of two other ancient reivers. Capt. Rafer Janders (Richard Harris), he’s the brains, and Lt. Shawn Flynn (Roger Moore), he’s a friend and can fly planes.
- 12/7/2012
- by Jason Ratigan
- JustPressPlay.net
The Wild Geese
Stars: Richard Burton, Roger Moore, Richard Harris, Hardy Krüger, Stewart Granger | Written by Reginald Rose | Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen
Before we had The Expendables with its big explosions, 100% testosterone fuelled aggression and witty one liners there were the more subtle action films, that had their fair share of action, had the big stars but also had heart, something that The Expendables often fails at. The Wild Geese is a film very much like The Expendables, it collected a group of mercenaries together who were the best at what they do and gave them a mission, the difference was that the biggest stars in this one were British and they knew they were the best. When a British company seeks to overthrow a dictator in Central Africa they decide that they need a group of mercenaries for a mission to save an opposition leader who can destabilise...
Stars: Richard Burton, Roger Moore, Richard Harris, Hardy Krüger, Stewart Granger | Written by Reginald Rose | Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen
Before we had The Expendables with its big explosions, 100% testosterone fuelled aggression and witty one liners there were the more subtle action films, that had their fair share of action, had the big stars but also had heart, something that The Expendables often fails at. The Wild Geese is a film very much like The Expendables, it collected a group of mercenaries together who were the best at what they do and gave them a mission, the difference was that the biggest stars in this one were British and they knew they were the best. When a British company seeks to overthrow a dictator in Central Africa they decide that they need a group of mercenaries for a mission to save an opposition leader who can destabilise...
- 10/9/2012
- by Pzomb
- Nerdly
Outstanding Blu-ray presentations of two all-action classics, featuring the best of British are available to purchase right now. Arrow Video are proud to announce the release of The Wild Geese and Who Dares Win, available to buy on Blu-ray from 8th October 2012.
We have three copies of each Blu-ray to give away to our readers…
The Wild Geese (Arrow Video)
Available to buy on Blu-ray from 8th October 2012
British film legends Richard Burton (Where Eagles Dare; Cleopatra), Roger Moore (James Bond) and Richard Harris (Gladiator; Unforgiven) head up an all-star cast in the much-revered, all-action adventure film, The Wild Geese, coming to Blu-ray for the first time in October.
A high octane, thrill-ride directed by veteran action and western director Andrew V. McLaglen (The Sea Wolves; Chisum) and edited by John Glen (the director of the Bond movies For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, A View To A Kill, The Living Daylights...
We have three copies of each Blu-ray to give away to our readers…
The Wild Geese (Arrow Video)
Available to buy on Blu-ray from 8th October 2012
British film legends Richard Burton (Where Eagles Dare; Cleopatra), Roger Moore (James Bond) and Richard Harris (Gladiator; Unforgiven) head up an all-star cast in the much-revered, all-action adventure film, The Wild Geese, coming to Blu-ray for the first time in October.
A high octane, thrill-ride directed by veteran action and western director Andrew V. McLaglen (The Sea Wolves; Chisum) and edited by John Glen (the director of the Bond movies For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, A View To A Kill, The Living Daylights...
- 10/9/2012
- by Matt Holmes
- Obsessed with Film
Whether you measure your movies by box office, reviews, or popular appeal, Sony’s $125 million remake of the 1990 Ah-nuld Schwarzenegger interplanetary action fest Total Recall looks like a strike-out. The movie opened with a lethal softness; a $25.7 million first weekend meaning Recall won’t even come close to making back its budget during its domestic theatrical run. In fact, despite 22 years of ticket price increases, it’s doubtful the movie will even match the original’s $119.3 million haul.
And for those of you who think maybe the problem is Total Recall was outgunned opening while The Dark Knight Rises was still sucking up box office coin, entertain, at least for a moment if you will, the possibility the movie just plain sucks. According to Rotten Tomatoes’ canvas, almost 70% of reviewers – and over three-quarters of “top critics” – gave Total Recall a thumbs-down. Those who went to see the movie didn’t...
And for those of you who think maybe the problem is Total Recall was outgunned opening while The Dark Knight Rises was still sucking up box office coin, entertain, at least for a moment if you will, the possibility the movie just plain sucks. According to Rotten Tomatoes’ canvas, almost 70% of reviewers – and over three-quarters of “top critics” – gave Total Recall a thumbs-down. Those who went to see the movie didn’t...
- 8/15/2012
- by Bill Mesce
- SoundOnSight
Montgomery Clift, I Confess Montgomery Clift on TCM: A Place In The Sun, The Heiress, Raintree County Schedule (Et) and synopses from the TCM website: 6:00 Am Raintree County (1957) In this sumptuous Civil War story, a willful southern belle goes mad out of fear that she may be part black. Dir: Edward Dmytryk. Cast: Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Eva Marie Saint. C-173 mins, Letterbox Format. 9:00 Am Lonelyhearts (1958) A sensitive young reporter assigned to write an advice column gets caught up in his readers' lives. Dir: Vincent J. Donehue. Cast: Montgomery Clift, Robert Ryan, Myrna Loy. Bw-103 mins. 11:00 Am The Big Lift (1950) Two Air Force sergeants find love while flying the Berlin Airlift. Dir: George Seaton. Cast: Montgomery Clift, Paul Douglas, Cornell Borchers. Bw-118 mins. 1:00 Pm Red River (1948) A young cowhand rebels against his rancher stepfather during a perilous cattle drive. Dir: Howard Hawks. Cast: John Wayne, Montgomery Clift,...
- 8/20/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
From aerial bravery in Wwi to Tom Cruise in an F-14 Tomcat, Mark lists his top ten all-time favourite flying movies…
This is a personal list, and as such, won't please everyone. I accept that, but I wanted to look at the films that have best represented flying for me over the years.
I've also excluded helicopters in exchange for a festival of fixed wings. But as a person who loves aircraft and flying of all kinds, these are the ones that made me feel the need. The need for speed...
The Dam Busters (1955)
Gosh, what a place to start. For the most part, the film's an historically accurate retelling of the ultimate daring-do of WWII. Richard Todd plays the unflappable Guy Gibson, who lead the amazing 617 Squadron on their secret mission against the dams of the Ruhr valley.
Using the Barnes Wallis (played by Michael Redgrave) utterly inspired bouncing bomb,...
This is a personal list, and as such, won't please everyone. I accept that, but I wanted to look at the films that have best represented flying for me over the years.
I've also excluded helicopters in exchange for a festival of fixed wings. But as a person who loves aircraft and flying of all kinds, these are the ones that made me feel the need. The need for speed...
The Dam Busters (1955)
Gosh, what a place to start. For the most part, the film's an historically accurate retelling of the ultimate daring-do of WWII. Richard Todd plays the unflappable Guy Gibson, who lead the amazing 617 Squadron on their secret mission against the dams of the Ruhr valley.
Using the Barnes Wallis (played by Michael Redgrave) utterly inspired bouncing bomb,...
- 6/21/2011
- Den of Geek
Film director whose quirky career covered sci-fi, westerns, drama and Hammer horror
Roy Ward Baker, who has died aged 93, progressed from teaboy to director of sturdy British dramas to weird Hammer horrors, via Hollywood. It was a rather quirky career for a very straightforward man. Baker – who directed Marilyn Monroe in Don't Bother to Knock and made the camp Mexican western The Singer Not the Song, the lesbian The Vampire Lovers and the transsexual Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde – insisted on calling himself "a simple-minded English lad". Perhaps the film closest to his personality was A Night to Remember (1958), which many would argue is the best of the cinematic versions of the story of the sinking of the Titanic.
Roy Horace Baker (he frequently replaced his middle name with Ward, his mother's maiden name) was born in London into a middle-class family. As a boy, he was sent to study...
Roy Ward Baker, who has died aged 93, progressed from teaboy to director of sturdy British dramas to weird Hammer horrors, via Hollywood. It was a rather quirky career for a very straightforward man. Baker – who directed Marilyn Monroe in Don't Bother to Knock and made the camp Mexican western The Singer Not the Song, the lesbian The Vampire Lovers and the transsexual Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde – insisted on calling himself "a simple-minded English lad". Perhaps the film closest to his personality was A Night to Remember (1958), which many would argue is the best of the cinematic versions of the story of the sinking of the Titanic.
Roy Horace Baker (he frequently replaced his middle name with Ward, his mother's maiden name) was born in London into a middle-class family. As a boy, he was sent to study...
- 10/8/2010
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
This week’s pick is Richard Attenborough’s A Bridge Too Far (1977) which was based on the Cornelius Ryan novel about the Allied airborne invasion of Holland in September 1944. A Bridge Too Far is a sprawling Hollywood epic, filmed in the same tradition as Ryan’s earlier adaptation The Longest Day (1962) which was based on the D-Day invasion in France. A Bridge Too Far has over thirty of the most acclaimed international stars of the seventies, and even today, as the military and civilian individuals involved in what was known as “Operation Market Garden.”
By September 1944, the German army was in full retreat from France and the low countries (Belgium & The Netherlands) as the allied push from Normandy and Belgium began advancing East towards the German frontier. Due to supply shortages having to be driven from the Normandy beach head, to over five hundred miles away, made the advances come...
By September 1944, the German army was in full retreat from France and the low countries (Belgium & The Netherlands) as the allied push from Normandy and Belgium began advancing East towards the German frontier. Due to supply shortages having to be driven from the Normandy beach head, to over five hundred miles away, made the advances come...
- 4/12/2010
- by Douglas Barnett
- The Flickcast
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