Alice Walker published her acclaimed novel “The Color Purple” in 1982. It sold five million copies; Walker became the first Black woman to win the Pulitzer Prize and she also received the National Book Club Award. Three years later, Steven Spielberg directed the lauded film version which made stars out of Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey and Danny Glover. It earned 11 Oscar nominations. The story revolves around a young woman who suffers abuse from her father and husband for four decades until she finds her own identity. Not exactly the stuff of a Broadway musical.
But the 2005 tuner version received strong reviews, ran 910 performances and earned ten Tony nominations, winning best actress for Lachanze. The 2015 production picked up two Tonys for best revival and actress for Cynthia Erivo. The movie musical version opened strong Christmas Day with $18 million and is a strong contender in several Oscar categories especially for Fantasia Barrino and Danielle Brooks.
But the 2005 tuner version received strong reviews, ran 910 performances and earned ten Tony nominations, winning best actress for Lachanze. The 2015 production picked up two Tonys for best revival and actress for Cynthia Erivo. The movie musical version opened strong Christmas Day with $18 million and is a strong contender in several Oscar categories especially for Fantasia Barrino and Danielle Brooks.
- 1/2/2024
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Mari Törőcsik, one of Hungary’s most prominent actors who won Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival and starred in two Oscar-nominated films, died on Friday in Budapest after a long illness. She was 85.
Törőcsik’s first international appearance was at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival where she starred in Palme d’Or contender Körhinta (Merry-Go-Round), from director Zoltán Fábri. In that film, she played a young farmer girl who falls in love with a peasant boy against her father’s wishes.
Francois Truffaut, who was then a journalist with the weekly Arts, said he would have given her the Best Actress Award and French poet Jean Cocteau also praised her talent. Truffaut wrote: “without the twenty-year-old artist knowing it, she was the biggest star of the festival.”
Over the past half century, she played more than 100 roles. She worked with Fábri as well as Miklós Jancsó, Márta Mészáros and Károly Makk on multiple occasions.
Törőcsik’s first international appearance was at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival where she starred in Palme d’Or contender Körhinta (Merry-Go-Round), from director Zoltán Fábri. In that film, she played a young farmer girl who falls in love with a peasant boy against her father’s wishes.
Francois Truffaut, who was then a journalist with the weekly Arts, said he would have given her the Best Actress Award and French poet Jean Cocteau also praised her talent. Truffaut wrote: “without the twenty-year-old artist knowing it, she was the biggest star of the festival.”
Over the past half century, she played more than 100 roles. She worked with Fábri as well as Miklós Jancsó, Márta Mészáros and Károly Makk on multiple occasions.
- 4/16/2021
- by Diana Lodderhose
- Deadline Film + TV
Mari Törőcsik, one of Hungary’s leading actors, died on Friday, at the age of 85, in Budapest after a long illness. She won best actress at the Cannes Film Festival, and appeared in two Oscar nominated films.
Törőcsik’s first international appearance was in 1956 at Cannes, where she starred in Zoltán Fábri’s Palme d’Or competitor “Körhinta” (Merry-Go-Round), playing a country girl in love with a peasant boy, battling against the opposition of her father to the relationship.
During the festival, Francois Truffaut, who was then a journalist with the weekly Arts, said he would have given her the best actress award, and Jean Cocteau also praised her performance. Truffaut wrote: “Without the 20-year-old artist knowing it, she was the biggest star of the festival.”
Since then she has played more than 100 roles. She worked with directors Fábri, Miklós Jancsó, Márta Mészáros and Károly Makk on multiple occasions.
Several...
Törőcsik’s first international appearance was in 1956 at Cannes, where she starred in Zoltán Fábri’s Palme d’Or competitor “Körhinta” (Merry-Go-Round), playing a country girl in love with a peasant boy, battling against the opposition of her father to the relationship.
During the festival, Francois Truffaut, who was then a journalist with the weekly Arts, said he would have given her the best actress award, and Jean Cocteau also praised her performance. Truffaut wrote: “Without the 20-year-old artist knowing it, she was the biggest star of the festival.”
Since then she has played more than 100 roles. She worked with directors Fábri, Miklós Jancsó, Márta Mészáros and Károly Makk on multiple occasions.
Several...
- 4/16/2021
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
The young British star of Lady Macbeth, King Lear and the BBC’s new Le Carré adaptation talks about ambition, being body shamed and Gen Z’s new brat pack
Legend has it that, in the early 20th century, Hungarian playwright Ferenc Molnár threw the keys to the New York cafe in Budapest into the Danube, in the hope of getting the cafe to open round the clock. Fast forward to 2018 and Florence Pugh, an actor and short-term resident at the cafe’s accompanying hotel, has made her presence felt in a similarly dramatic fashion. “You are making us feel unwelcome,” she complained recently to a snooty bar manager. “My friends and I have chosen to come here and we want to have a good time.” Her companions – a clutch of fellow up-and-coming actors who were also filming in the city, including Call Me By Your Name star Timothée Chalamet – trailed behind her.
Legend has it that, in the early 20th century, Hungarian playwright Ferenc Molnár threw the keys to the New York cafe in Budapest into the Danube, in the hope of getting the cafe to open round the clock. Fast forward to 2018 and Florence Pugh, an actor and short-term resident at the cafe’s accompanying hotel, has made her presence felt in a similarly dramatic fashion. “You are making us feel unwelcome,” she complained recently to a snooty bar manager. “My friends and I have chosen to come here and we want to have a good time.” Her companions – a clutch of fellow up-and-coming actors who were also filming in the city, including Call Me By Your Name star Timothée Chalamet – trailed behind her.
- 10/6/2018
- by Martha Hayes
- The Guardian - Film News
Some like their comedy hot and some like it cold. Billy Wilder opted to step on the joke accelerator to see what top speed looked like. One of the most finely tuned comedies ever made, this political satire crams five hours’ worth of wit and sight gags into 115 minutes. The retirement-age James Cagney practically blows a fuse rattling through Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond’s high-pressure speeches, without slurring so much as a single syllable.
One, Two, Three
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1961 / B&W / 2:35 widescreen / 115 min. / Street Date May 30, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring James Cagney, Horst Buchholz, Pamela Tiffin, Arlene Francis,
Howard St. John, Hanns Lothar, Lilo Pulver
Cinematography Daniel L. Fapp
Production Designers Robert Stratil, Heinrich Weidemann
Art Direction Alexander Trauner
Film Editor Daniel Mandell
Original Music André Previn
Written by Billy Wilder, I.A.L. Diamond from the play by Ferenc Molnar
Produced and Directed by Billy Wilder
How...
One, Two, Three
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1961 / B&W / 2:35 widescreen / 115 min. / Street Date May 30, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring James Cagney, Horst Buchholz, Pamela Tiffin, Arlene Francis,
Howard St. John, Hanns Lothar, Lilo Pulver
Cinematography Daniel L. Fapp
Production Designers Robert Stratil, Heinrich Weidemann
Art Direction Alexander Trauner
Film Editor Daniel Mandell
Original Music André Previn
Written by Billy Wilder, I.A.L. Diamond from the play by Ferenc Molnar
Produced and Directed by Billy Wilder
How...
- 5/27/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Death doesn't take a holiday in this, the granddaddy of movies about the woeful duties of the Grim Reaper. Fritz Lang's heavy-duty Expressionist fable is as German as they get -- a morbid folk tale with an emotionally powerful finish. Destiny Blu-ray Kino Classics 1921 / B&W / 1:33 flat / 98 min. / Street Date August 30, 2016 / Der müde Tod / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring Lil Dagover, Walter Janssen, Bernhard Goetzke, Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Georg John. Cinematography Bruno Mondi, Erich Nitzschmann, Herrmann Saalfrank, Bruno Timm, Fritz Arno Wagner Film Editor Fritz Lang Written by Fritz Lang, Thea von Harbou Produced by Erich Pommer Directed by Fritz Lang
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari takes the prize for the most influential work of early German Expressionism, but coming in a close second is the film in which Fritz Lang first got his act (completely) together, 1921's Destiny (Der müde Tod). A wholly cinematic...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari takes the prize for the most influential work of early German Expressionism, but coming in a close second is the film in which Fritz Lang first got his act (completely) together, 1921's Destiny (Der müde Tod). A wholly cinematic...
- 8/6/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Here's a sterling example of what Hollywood excelled at back in the golden age: Robert Montgomery, Evelyn Keyes, Claude Rains and Edward Everett Horton star in possibly the most magical of movies known as Film Blanc. A cosmic goof leaves a man with fifty years yet to live without a body -- so heavenly troubleshooters try to find him a new one. Here Comes Mr. Jordan Blu-ray The Criterion Collection 819 1941 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 94 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date June 14, 2016 / 39.95 Starring Robert Montgomery, Evelyn Keyes, Claude Rains, Rita Johnson, Edward Everett Horton, James Gleason. Cinematography Joseph Walker Art Direction Lionel Banks Film Editor Viola Lawrence Original Music Frederick Hollander Written by Sidney Buchman, Seton I. Miller from the play Heaven Can Wait by Harry Segall Produced by Everett Riskin Directed by Alexander Hall
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Some movies are so entertaining that it's best to tell people,...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Some movies are so entertaining that it's best to tell people,...
- 6/7/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Today in 1954, Carousel opened at City Center, where it ran for 79 performances. Carousel is the second stage musical by the team of Richard Rodgers music and Oscar Hammerstein II book and lyrics. The work premiered in 1945 and was adapted from Ferenc Molnar's 1909 play Liliom, transplanting its Budapest setting to the Maine coastline. The story revolves around carousel barker Billy Bigelow, whose romance with millworker Julie Jordan comes at the price of both their jobs. He attempts a robbery to provide for Julie and their unborn child when it goes wrong, he has a chance to make things right.
- 6/2/2016
- by Stage Tube
- BroadwayWorld.com
Teresa Wright and Matt Damon in 'The Rainmaker' Teresa Wright: From Marlon Brando to Matt Damon (See preceding post: "Teresa Wright vs. Samuel Goldwyn: Nasty Falling Out.") "I'd rather have luck than brains!" Teresa Wright was quoted as saying in the early 1950s. That's understandable, considering her post-Samuel Goldwyn choice of movie roles, some of which may have seemed promising on paper.[1] Wright was Marlon Brando's first Hollywood leading lady, but that didn't help her to bounce back following the very public spat with her former boss. After all, The Men was released before Elia Kazan's film version of A Streetcar Named Desire turned Brando into a major international star. Chances are that good film offers were scarce. After Wright's brief 1950 comeback, for the third time in less than a decade she would be gone from the big screen for more than a year.
- 3/11/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Today in 1954, Carousel opened at City Center, where it ran for 79 performances. Carousel is the second stage musical by the team of Richard Rodgers music and Oscar Hammerstein II book and lyrics. The work premiered in 1945 and was adapted from Ferenc Molnar's 1909 play Liliom, transplanting its Budapest setting to the Maine coastline. The story revolves around carousel barker Billy Bigelow, whose romance with millworker Julie Jordan comes at the price of both their jobs. He attempts a robbery to provide for Julie and their unborn child when it goes wrong, he has a chance to make things right.
- 6/2/2014
- by Stage Tube
- BroadwayWorld.com
Today in 1954, Carousel opened at City Center, where it ran for 79 performances. Carousel is the second stage musical by the team of Richard Rodgers music and Oscar Hammerstein II book and lyrics. The work premiered in 1945 and was adapted from Ferenc Molnar's 1909 play Liliom, transplanting its Budapest setting to the Maine coastline. The story revolves around carousel barker Billy Bigelow, whose romance with millworker Julie Jordan comes at the price of both their jobs. He attempts a robbery to provide for Julie and their unborn child when it goes wrong, he has a chance to make things right.
- 6/2/2013
- by Stage Tube
- BroadwayWorld.com
The new movie from the director of Blue Valentine is a modern morality tale underpinned by outstanding central performances
Brother Tied, the first film by Derek Cianfrance, now aged 39, was made 15 years ago and apparently remains in some legal limbo, unreleased and unseen. His second film, Blue Valentine, released in 2010, attracted considerable attention for the outstanding performances of Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams as respectively a blue-collar worker and the middle-class medical student who gives up her studies to marry him. The movie traces their seven-year marriage achronologically, starting with its final collapse. But unlike Harold Pinter's Betrayal, which moves steadily back in time from bitter dissolution to propitious beginning, Blue Valentine hops around over the years as the couple reflect on their lives.
Cianfrance's ambitious new film, The Place Beyond the Pines, has a straight linear movement that sprawls and at times crawls over some 17 years. It's a...
Brother Tied, the first film by Derek Cianfrance, now aged 39, was made 15 years ago and apparently remains in some legal limbo, unreleased and unseen. His second film, Blue Valentine, released in 2010, attracted considerable attention for the outstanding performances of Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams as respectively a blue-collar worker and the middle-class medical student who gives up her studies to marry him. The movie traces their seven-year marriage achronologically, starting with its final collapse. But unlike Harold Pinter's Betrayal, which moves steadily back in time from bitter dissolution to propitious beginning, Blue Valentine hops around over the years as the couple reflect on their lives.
Cianfrance's ambitious new film, The Place Beyond the Pines, has a straight linear movement that sprawls and at times crawls over some 17 years. It's a...
- 4/13/2013
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Dead at 99: Opera star and Crosby's ex-girlfriend in 1944 Best Picture Oscar winner Risë Stevens, the Metropolitan Opera mezzo-soprano that moviegoers remember as Nelson Eddy's romantic partner in Roy Del Ruth's 1941 musical The Chocolate Soldier and as Bing Crosby's ex-girlfriend in Leo McCarey's 1944 Oscar-winning blockbuster Going My Way, died on Wednesday, March 20, at her Manhattan home. The former singer was 99 years old. (Pictured above: Stevens in her most famous operatic role, that of Bizet's anti-heroine Carmen.) Born in The Bronx, New York City, Stevens sang at the Metropolitan from 1938 to 1961; among her most popular roles were Dalila in Camille Saint-Saëns' Samson et Dalila, Mignon in Ambroise Thomas' opera of the same name, and most notable of all, the lead in Bizet's Carmen. After leaving the stage, she became an arts administrator with the Met and president of the Mannes College of Music.
- 3/22/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts today announced Finn Wittrock as The Actor, Sarah Wayne Callies as The Actress, and Shuler Hensley as The Critic in the Kennedy Center production of The Guardsman in the Eisenhower Theater May 25 to June 23, 2013. Based on the 1910 comedy by Hungarian playwright Ferenc Molnar, The Guardsman features a new literal translation by Richard Nelson and is directed by Gregory Mosher. The press opening will take place on Thursday, May 30 at 730 p.m.
- 3/21/2013
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
The President
by Ferenc Molnár (Adapted by Morwyn Brebner) Storm Theatre Company
When was the last time you attended a stage play, of any variety, that fully utilized 23 spirited professional actors? Storm Theater Company gives us the opportunity to see this in an excellent production of The President, a madcap farce resurrected intact from olden days when large and varied casts were customary. As then, The President gives each supporting actor a moment of undivided focus, in concert with great comic performances by the principals.
The President is a highly fast-paced and hilarious farce. Its 75 minutes fly by lickety-split as it tells the story of an officious and manipulative big bank president, Norrison (Joe Danbusky), as he is driven by self-interest to accomplish the (almost) impossible. In a scant one hour, he must transform the drab, dull-witted, communist, yet handsome husband of his ward Lydia (Becca Pesce) into a "captain...
by Ferenc Molnár (Adapted by Morwyn Brebner) Storm Theatre Company
When was the last time you attended a stage play, of any variety, that fully utilized 23 spirited professional actors? Storm Theater Company gives us the opportunity to see this in an excellent production of The President, a madcap farce resurrected intact from olden days when large and varied casts were customary. As then, The President gives each supporting actor a moment of undivided focus, in concert with great comic performances by the principals.
The President is a highly fast-paced and hilarious farce. Its 75 minutes fly by lickety-split as it tells the story of an officious and manipulative big bank president, Norrison (Joe Danbusky), as he is driven by self-interest to accomplish the (almost) impossible. In a scant one hour, he must transform the drab, dull-witted, communist, yet handsome husband of his ward Lydia (Becca Pesce) into a "captain...
- 5/23/2012
- by Jay Reisberg
- www.culturecatch.com
Italian film director and screenwriter who established a new school of social-realist comedy
The Italian film director Mario Monicelli has died aged 95, after jumping out of a hospital window in Rome. Monicelli directed more than 60 films, most of which he co-wrote. He was best known for I Soliti Ignoti (Big Deal On Madonna Street, 1958), which was nominated for an Oscar for best foreign-language film. It was remade by Louis Malle as Crackers (1984) and turned into a Broadway musical, Big Deal, by Bob Fosse in 1986. Monicelli's original is one of the most internationally admired Italian comedies of the past 60 years.
Born in Viareggio, Tuscany, Monicelli was the son of a journalist, Tomaso Monicelli, who founded one of the earliest Italian film magazines. Tomaso killed himself in 1946. Mario studied at the universities of Milan and Pisa and took an early interest in films. With the future publisher Alberto Mondadori, he collaborated...
The Italian film director Mario Monicelli has died aged 95, after jumping out of a hospital window in Rome. Monicelli directed more than 60 films, most of which he co-wrote. He was best known for I Soliti Ignoti (Big Deal On Madonna Street, 1958), which was nominated for an Oscar for best foreign-language film. It was remade by Louis Malle as Crackers (1984) and turned into a Broadway musical, Big Deal, by Bob Fosse in 1986. Monicelli's original is one of the most internationally admired Italian comedies of the past 60 years.
Born in Viareggio, Tuscany, Monicelli was the son of a journalist, Tomaso Monicelli, who founded one of the earliest Italian film magazines. Tomaso killed himself in 1946. Mario studied at the universities of Milan and Pisa and took an early interest in films. With the future publisher Alberto Mondadori, he collaborated...
- 11/30/2010
- by John Francis Lane
- The Guardian - Film News
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