Phil Karlson’s The Scarface Mob was originally made as a two-part pilot for the Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse anthology series before the 80-minute episodes were re-cut for theatrical release. Given the sterility of so much dramatic television in the 1950s, it’s hard to imagine Karlson—best known for hard-hitting noirs like Kansas City Confidential and The Phenix City Story—seeing the format as suitable for his style. But Desi Arnaz, a huge admirer of the latter film, promised Karlson no studio interference. And while The Scarface Mob’s story presents a clear battle between good and evil in the form of Eliot Ness (Robert Stack) and Al Capone’s (Neville Brand) Chicago bootlegging empire, Karlson’s gritty brutality finds its way on-screen as the film conflates the maniacal ruthlessness of both men’s actions.
Stack’s performance went a long way in cementing Ness’s legacy in the public imagination.
Stack’s performance went a long way in cementing Ness’s legacy in the public imagination.
- 4/12/2024
- by Derek Smith
- Slant Magazine
As Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison in American Fiction, Wright, for so long Hollywood’s Mr Dependable, is now a fully fledged star – while also challenging mainstream presentations of Black life
There’s a fascinating Instagram account that digs up paparazzi shots of stars attending premieres and film events in the 1990s. The main attraction is the outlandish fashion, but also the randomness of the guest list and the questions the images throw up: why were Angela Lansbury and John Oates invited to the Untouchables premiere in 1987? Did Sidney Poitier really enjoy Predator 2? Why did Richard Harris decide to bring his dog to the 1993 Independent Film awards?
One that caught my eye recently was the premiere of Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting in New York. Metallica are there, looking wild-eyed and inebriated, as is a smouldering Ray Liotta. An incredibly young-looking trio of Jonny Lee Miller, Boyle and Ewen Bremner attempt to fit in.
There’s a fascinating Instagram account that digs up paparazzi shots of stars attending premieres and film events in the 1990s. The main attraction is the outlandish fashion, but also the randomness of the guest list and the questions the images throw up: why were Angela Lansbury and John Oates invited to the Untouchables premiere in 1987? Did Sidney Poitier really enjoy Predator 2? Why did Richard Harris decide to bring his dog to the 1993 Independent Film awards?
One that caught my eye recently was the premiere of Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting in New York. Metallica are there, looking wild-eyed and inebriated, as is a smouldering Ray Liotta. An incredibly young-looking trio of Jonny Lee Miller, Boyle and Ewen Bremner attempt to fit in.
- 1/25/2024
- by Lanre Bakare
- The Guardian - Film News
Martin Scorsese is drawing raves for his latest film, “Killers of the Flower Moon,” and the nearly 81-year-old is not the only Hollywood veteran who’s still making movies.
Ridley Scott, who turns 86 in November, has “Napoleon” out that same month while Clint Eastwood and Francis Ford Coppola both have new films in the works.
Here are 15 directors over 80 who are still busy making movies.
Photo credit: Getty Images
Martin Scorsese, 80
The prolific director of “Goodfellas,” and “The Departed” just released his latest epic, “Killers of the Flower Moon,” which reteams him with Leonardo DiCaprio. He also returned to documentaries with 2022’s “Personality Crisis: One Night Only,” about New York Dolls lead singer David Johansen.
Photo credit: Getty Images
Margarethe von Trotta, 81
The leading New German Cinema director just released her latest, “Ingeborg Bachmann – Journey Into the Desert,” about the relationship between Austrian poet Ingeborg Bachmann and Swiss novelist Max Frisch.
Ridley Scott, who turns 86 in November, has “Napoleon” out that same month while Clint Eastwood and Francis Ford Coppola both have new films in the works.
Here are 15 directors over 80 who are still busy making movies.
Photo credit: Getty Images
Martin Scorsese, 80
The prolific director of “Goodfellas,” and “The Departed” just released his latest epic, “Killers of the Flower Moon,” which reteams him with Leonardo DiCaprio. He also returned to documentaries with 2022’s “Personality Crisis: One Night Only,” about New York Dolls lead singer David Johansen.
Photo credit: Getty Images
Margarethe von Trotta, 81
The leading New German Cinema director just released her latest, “Ingeborg Bachmann – Journey Into the Desert,” about the relationship between Austrian poet Ingeborg Bachmann and Swiss novelist Max Frisch.
- 10/20/2023
- by Sharon Knolle
- The Wrap
“That is the part where you look up and you say, ‘How could people have allowed their neighbors to be taken and put in the camps?’” Origin director Ava DuVernay says of the deep roots of discrimination and the cruel consequences of subjugation.
“Now, in a similar way, you allow it to come across your feed? You repost it and keep going?” the Oscar-nominated filmmaker adds. “The goal of Origin, of this work, is to say stop a second, realize what is going on, how close we are to this and to start to challenge our vocabulary.”
Based on Isabel Wilkerson’s 2020 bestseller Caste: The Origin of Our Discontents, Origin punctiliously tracks the Pulitzer Prize winner’s creative and personal journey over several continents through grief, revelation and the evils of historical stratification. Yet, with Oscar nominee Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as Wikerson, this is a drama not a documentary. In that,...
“Now, in a similar way, you allow it to come across your feed? You repost it and keep going?” the Oscar-nominated filmmaker adds. “The goal of Origin, of this work, is to say stop a second, realize what is going on, how close we are to this and to start to challenge our vocabulary.”
Based on Isabel Wilkerson’s 2020 bestseller Caste: The Origin of Our Discontents, Origin punctiliously tracks the Pulitzer Prize winner’s creative and personal journey over several continents through grief, revelation and the evils of historical stratification. Yet, with Oscar nominee Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as Wikerson, this is a drama not a documentary. In that,...
- 9/6/2023
- by Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
It’s not clear when it happened — sometime in the past 27 years — but the Mission: Impossible movies gradually evolved into Hollywood’s best modern action franchise. Figuring out how this happened is far easier: Star Tom Cruise’s legendary willingness to do anything and everything to make each film a blockbuster while — as the franchise’s most powerful producer — savvily finding creative partners that bring out his best. In fact, Cruise is much like his Imf agent Ethan Hunt: When the man’s on a mission, he’s an unstoppable force who’ll never stop running until he saves the day — or, the summer box office. Below, The Hollywood Reporter ranks every Mission: Impossible film, including the newly released Dead Reckoning Part One, from the very worst to the definite best.
7. Mission: Impossible II (2000) Mission: Impossible II
To the surprise of no one. John Woo, the acclaimed director of Hard Boiled and Face/Off,...
7. Mission: Impossible II (2000) Mission: Impossible II
To the surprise of no one. John Woo, the acclaimed director of Hard Boiled and Face/Off,...
- 7/13/2023
- by James Hibberd
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
There is at least one episode of almost every adventure TV show where the good guys and the bad guys team up to take on a greater threat, like when the 1990s syndicated “Untouchables” show saw Elliott Ness and Al Capone team up to catch a child murderer.
Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie dropped tweets last Wednesday promoting rival theatrical films. Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig joined on Friday, via tweets from the official “Barbie” Twitter feed, to show off purchases of tickets to movies that were not “Barbie.” By Friday afternoon, “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” director James Mangold had expressed his commitment to see those films and “Oppenheimer” — the most anticipated of July — on opening night. As of Monday, Tom Cruise had pledged to see “Oppenheimer” on July 21 and “Barbie” on July 22.
“Like all things, the traditional means of promoting a movie (especially post-covid) likely don...
Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie dropped tweets last Wednesday promoting rival theatrical films. Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig joined on Friday, via tweets from the official “Barbie” Twitter feed, to show off purchases of tickets to movies that were not “Barbie.” By Friday afternoon, “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” director James Mangold had expressed his commitment to see those films and “Oppenheimer” — the most anticipated of July — on opening night. As of Monday, Tom Cruise had pledged to see “Oppenheimer” on July 21 and “Barbie” on July 22.
“Like all things, the traditional means of promoting a movie (especially post-covid) likely don...
- 7/6/2023
- by Scott Mendelson
- The Wrap
June 2023 — Rock legend Billy Idol is releasing an expanded edition of his self-titled debut album on July 28 via Capitol/UMe/Universal Music Canada. The reissue includes the original 10-track album, the previously unreleased August 12,1982 concert from The Roxy in West Hollywood, CA as well as the recently unearthed and previously unreleased 12-minute Clubland Extended Remix of his classic song “White Wedding” from Idol’s debut. You can pre-order the deluxe 2Cd and pre-save the reissue Here.
Fans are also encouraged to celebrate the release of this iconic album with a Dolby Atmos®️ aural upgrade by Grammy®️-winning engineer Paul Hicks who has remixed albums in Atmos®️ for The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, George Harrison and more.
Idol will continue to take his lauded live show on the road this summer with a select run of headline tour dates. The run of shows includes a debut performance at New York City’s Kings Theatre,...
Fans are also encouraged to celebrate the release of this iconic album with a Dolby Atmos®️ aural upgrade by Grammy®️-winning engineer Paul Hicks who has remixed albums in Atmos®️ for The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, George Harrison and more.
Idol will continue to take his lauded live show on the road this summer with a select run of headline tour dates. The run of shows includes a debut performance at New York City’s Kings Theatre,...
- 6/21/2023
- by Music Martin Cid Magazine
- Martin Cid Music
Billy Idol has announced an expanded reissue of his 1982 self-titled debut album, out July 28th.
The reissue arrives a month before Idol embarks on his North American tour, which kicks off August 27th in Vancouver, with tickets available here. The run will most certainly see the rock legend performing songs from his debut, including his massive hit “White Wedding.”
The expanded reissue will be available in a 2-cd physical format and features the original 10-song tracklist and a previously unreleased extended 12-minute Clubland remix of “White Wedding” on the first disc. A previously unreleased 15-song concert, recorded at The Roxy in West Hollywood in 1982, is included on the second disc. A standard single LP repressing of the original album will also be available along with a bundled lithograph.
Following his stint as frontman of Generation X, Idol became a bonafide star upon the release of his solo debut. His sophomore effort,...
The reissue arrives a month before Idol embarks on his North American tour, which kicks off August 27th in Vancouver, with tickets available here. The run will most certainly see the rock legend performing songs from his debut, including his massive hit “White Wedding.”
The expanded reissue will be available in a 2-cd physical format and features the original 10-song tracklist and a previously unreleased extended 12-minute Clubland remix of “White Wedding” on the first disc. A previously unreleased 15-song concert, recorded at The Roxy in West Hollywood in 1982, is included on the second disc. A standard single LP repressing of the original album will also be available along with a bundled lithograph.
Following his stint as frontman of Generation X, Idol became a bonafide star upon the release of his solo debut. His sophomore effort,...
- 6/21/2023
- by Jon Hadusek
- Consequence - Music
As part of the 2023 Tribeca Festival, director Mario Van Peebles opened up about his directorial debut, 1991’s “New Jack City,” alongside Fab 5 Freddy, Vanessa Williams and Michael Michele with an at-capacity crowd at the Sva Theater for an illuminating 35 minutes full of joy, surprises and honesty.
It can’t be understated how jovial Van Peebles—the son of prolific Black filmmaker Mario Van Peebles—was from the moment he stepped on stage to quickly introduce the film, which chronicles the rise of a ruthless drug lord in the dilapidated slums of late-1980s New York City. By the time the opening credits began to roll he was encouraging a major clap-along in the audience to the groove-worthy opening track. His energy, which stayed high until his final goodbyes at the end of the night, was infectious.
The filmmaker, who directed “New Jack City” from a script penned by Thomas Lee Wright and Barry Michael Cooper,...
It can’t be understated how jovial Van Peebles—the son of prolific Black filmmaker Mario Van Peebles—was from the moment he stepped on stage to quickly introduce the film, which chronicles the rise of a ruthless drug lord in the dilapidated slums of late-1980s New York City. By the time the opening credits began to roll he was encouraging a major clap-along in the audience to the groove-worthy opening track. His energy, which stayed high until his final goodbyes at the end of the night, was infectious.
The filmmaker, who directed “New Jack City” from a script penned by Thomas Lee Wright and Barry Michael Cooper,...
- 6/19/2023
- by Lex Briscuso
- The Wrap
It’s no exaggeration to say that filmmaking legend Brian De Palma has had an eclectic and often spectacular career, spanning over fifty years that have brought audiences many unforgettable and classic movies. 1976’s Carrie remains an often referenced (we’re looking at you Wednesday!) horror masterpiece, crime drama Scarface is all time gangster gold, while his first entry in the Mission: Impossible franchise is still perhaps one of the strongest instalments for a then young and even more sprightly Tom Cruise. However, it’s De Palma’s 1987 The Untouchables, an adaptation of the 1950’s TV serial that focuses on the attempts to bring down crime lord Al Capone, that really shows his versatility as a director. The award winning film features several iconic scenes that are now etched in the minds of movie fans around the globe; from the Union Station shoot-out with full-on baby-in-great-peril slow-mo action shot, to...
- 4/2/2023
- by Adam Walton
- JoBlo.com
Lady in a Cage
Blu ray
ViaVision [Imprint]
1964/ B&w / 1.78:1 / 95 Minutes
Starring Olivia de Havilland, James Caan, Ann Sothern
Directed by Walter Grauman
Though the title suggests anything from a feminist manifesto to a women-in-prison melodrama, Lady in a Cage is in fact a home invasion thriller with a mile-wide mean streak. Critics in 1964 saw the film itself as the intruder, a smash and grab aberration wallowing in bloodshed and perversion. In The New York Times, Bosley Crowther labeled it as “reprehensible.” Gossipmonger Hedda Hopper wailed, “The picture should be burned.” Chances are good the reaction to Walter Grauman’s claustrophobic shocker would have been far less shrill without the presence of its leading lady, Olivia de Havilland—according to Hollywood taste-makers, Maid Marian should not be consorting with such riffraff.
De Havilland plays Cornelia Hilyard, a ripely beautiful dowager who lives in a spacious if drably generic house in an unnamed city.
Blu ray
ViaVision [Imprint]
1964/ B&w / 1.78:1 / 95 Minutes
Starring Olivia de Havilland, James Caan, Ann Sothern
Directed by Walter Grauman
Though the title suggests anything from a feminist manifesto to a women-in-prison melodrama, Lady in a Cage is in fact a home invasion thriller with a mile-wide mean streak. Critics in 1964 saw the film itself as the intruder, a smash and grab aberration wallowing in bloodshed and perversion. In The New York Times, Bosley Crowther labeled it as “reprehensible.” Gossipmonger Hedda Hopper wailed, “The picture should be burned.” Chances are good the reaction to Walter Grauman’s claustrophobic shocker would have been far less shrill without the presence of its leading lady, Olivia de Havilland—according to Hollywood taste-makers, Maid Marian should not be consorting with such riffraff.
De Havilland plays Cornelia Hilyard, a ripely beautiful dowager who lives in a spacious if drably generic house in an unnamed city.
- 2/8/2022
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Notorious mobster Al Capone was a larger than life bootlegger, racketeer, killer and organized crime boss in the first half of the 20th century, who has been portrayed on big-screen and small for seven decades. Here is a look at the actors who took on the challenge. And, if you’re curious, here is archival footage of Scarface himself.
Rod Steiger – “Al Capone” (1959) • Rod Steiger played Capone with deliberate showiness, from the roar of his voice to the tilt of hid fedora. Although he won a Laurel Award for his performance, Capone’s sister wasn’t crazy about the film – she sued the filmmakers for $10 million for invasion of privacy because they failed to get permission from the Capone estate to make it. The suit was eventually dismissed. Check out Steiger as Capone in a clip here.
Neville Brand – “The George Raft Story” (1961) • Although Neville Brand had an extensive resume...
Rod Steiger – “Al Capone” (1959) • Rod Steiger played Capone with deliberate showiness, from the roar of his voice to the tilt of hid fedora. Although he won a Laurel Award for his performance, Capone’s sister wasn’t crazy about the film – she sued the filmmakers for $10 million for invasion of privacy because they failed to get permission from the Capone estate to make it. The suit was eventually dismissed. Check out Steiger as Capone in a clip here.
Neville Brand – “The George Raft Story” (1961) • Although Neville Brand had an extensive resume...
- 5/11/2020
- by Rosemary Rossi
- The Wrap
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