Call me a heretic, but I’m someone who never gloried all that much in the comedic awesomeness of Peter Sellers. Well, okay, I did in “Dr. Strangelove” — who would deny the delectable punch of that virtuoso hat trick of performances? But the “Pink Panther” films were always a hit-or-miss mélange of the funny and the slapdash corny, and there’s an underlying zaniness to the Sellers mystique that to me, at least, doesn’t age that well. I make a point of this because there’s a kind of cult for the idea that Peter Sellers was a mad genius: the guy who had no self and only came into being when he played a character, the Swinging Sixties devil who stole movies right out from under their creators. That cult is at the center of “The Ghost of Peter Sellers,” a documentary about the making of one of...
- 6/27/2020
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options—not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves–each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit platforms. Check out this week’s selections below and an archive of past round-ups here.
Beats (Brian Welsh)
What exactly are Johnno and Spanner? There are moments when the two Scottish teens hate each other’s guts with bilious fervor, others when they’re the “dream team and that,” inseparable and co-dependent best friends à la Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal in Y Tu Mamá También, others still when their bromance veers into an uncharted, emotionally complex terrain. Brian Welsh’s rollicking Beats thrives on these ambiguities, on a greater-than-life friendship between an introvert and his volcanic and beguilingly ruffian neighbor as they brace for a night out that’s likely to be their last–or at any rate, the...
Beats (Brian Welsh)
What exactly are Johnno and Spanner? There are moments when the two Scottish teens hate each other’s guts with bilious fervor, others when they’re the “dream team and that,” inseparable and co-dependent best friends à la Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal in Y Tu Mamá También, others still when their bromance veers into an uncharted, emotionally complex terrain. Brian Welsh’s rollicking Beats thrives on these ambiguities, on a greater-than-life friendship between an introvert and his volcanic and beguilingly ruffian neighbor as they brace for a night out that’s likely to be their last–or at any rate, the...
- 6/26/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Most stories of tortured film productions turn on the tragedy of missed opportunities: We’ll never know if Alejandro Jodoworsky’s “Dune” or the original version of Terry Gilliam’s “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote” would have delivered on their directors’ audacious visions. “Ghost in the Noonday Sun” is a different situation. The 1974 pirate comedy, which starred Peter Sellers as a 17th century troublemaker named Dick Scratcher, actually got made — and it sucked. In fact, everyone involved felt that the movie was a mistake. Sellers, at the height of his commercial and creative powers, clashed with director Peter Medak on a nightmarish shoot riddled with practical challenges and indecision; Columbia shelved the project, dumping it on home video a decade later, Medak’s career was forever tarnished, and Sellers died by the end of the decade.
In the grand tradition of “Jodoworsky’s Dune” and “Lost in La Mancha,...
In the grand tradition of “Jodoworsky’s Dune” and “Lost in La Mancha,...
- 6/23/2020
- by Eric Kohn
- Thompson on Hollywood
Most stories of tortured film productions turn on the tragedy of missed opportunities: We’ll never know if Alejandro Jodoworsky’s “Dune” or the original version of Terry Gilliam’s “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote” would have delivered on their directors’ audacious visions. “Ghost in the Noonday Sun” is a different situation. The 1974 pirate comedy, which starred Peter Sellers as a 17th century troublemaker named Dick Scratcher, actually got made — and it sucked. In fact, everyone involved felt that the movie was a mistake. Sellers, at the height of his commercial and creative powers, clashed with director Peter Medak on a nightmarish shoot riddled with practical challenges and indecision; Columbia shelved the project, dumping it on home video a decade later, Medak’s career was forever tarnished, and Sellers died by the end of the decade.
In the grand tradition of “Jodoworsky’s Dune” and “Lost in La Mancha,...
In the grand tradition of “Jodoworsky’s Dune” and “Lost in La Mancha,...
- 6/23/2020
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Movie junkies, rejoice. Director Peter Medak has made an instructive and nightmarishly funny documentary about how actor Peter Sellers drove him crazy and nearly trashed his career. The Ghost of Peter Sellers (now available on demand) recounts the filming of Ghost in the Noonday Sun, a 1973 pirate-epic folly so riven by fits, fights and clashing egos that its producers decided never to release it. “We all just wanted to kill ourselves,” said Medak after the film’s first screening.
On Cyrus, where this 17th-century adventure was shot, disaster was in the air from Day One,...
On Cyrus, where this 17th-century adventure was shot, disaster was in the air from Day One,...
- 6/23/2020
- by Peter Travers
- Rollingstone.com
In 1973, five years after his last Pink Panther film and nine years after Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb, Peter Sellers was set to appear alongside Anthony Franciosa and Spike Milligan in a piratical romp entitled Ghost In The Noonday Sun. If you haven't seen it, don't fear that you're slacking. It never got a cinema release, eventually making it onto video in 1985 and DVD in 2016. Director Peter Medak described making it as the single worst experience of his career. In this documentary, revisiting the Cyprus location, he sets out to explain why.
It's worth stating upfront that there isn't much dispute about the facts of what happened. What was always at stake was the distribution of blame. As far as Sellers was concerned, that all belonged to Medak - who was ultimately left to carry the can - but others...
It's worth stating upfront that there isn't much dispute about the facts of what happened. What was always at stake was the distribution of blame. As far as Sellers was concerned, that all belonged to Medak - who was ultimately left to carry the can - but others...
- 6/19/2020
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The life of accomplished film actor Peter Sellers has been one of the most infamous in Hollywood history. Known most for his creation of Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther movies, Sellers was also the star of classic films such as Being There, Dr. Strangelove, and Lolita. The Oscar-nominated actor struggled with depression and addiction throughout his career and often clashed with fellow actors and directors. One such director is Peter Medak, who outlines his tumultuous working relationship with Sellers in his new documentary The Ghost of Peter Sellers.
In 1973, Medak enlisted Sellers to star in his pirate comedy movie Ghost in the Noonday Sun, where the two had a disastrous working experience that Medak is still reeling from to this day. The trailer for the documentary shows Medak emotional over the experience, detailing Sellers using drugs and faking a heart attack during the filming. The final product stayed...
In 1973, Medak enlisted Sellers to star in his pirate comedy movie Ghost in the Noonday Sun, where the two had a disastrous working experience that Medak is still reeling from to this day. The trailer for the documentary shows Medak emotional over the experience, detailing Sellers using drugs and faking a heart attack during the filming. The final product stayed...
- 6/19/2020
- by Stephen Hladik
- The Film Stage
Filmmaker Peter Medak has carved out a successful career in the industry, but it’s almost impossible to experience failure and disappointment along the way. The documentary The Ghost of Peter Sellers centers on Medak’s relationship with the late actor.
Sellers starred in Medak’s 1973 bomb Ghost in the Noonday Sun, and part [...]
The post Peter Medak Documentary ‘The Ghost of Peter Sellers’ Hits On Demand In June appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.
Sellers starred in Medak’s 1973 bomb Ghost in the Noonday Sun, and part [...]
The post Peter Medak Documentary ‘The Ghost of Peter Sellers’ Hits On Demand In June appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.
- 5/19/2020
- by Hollywood Outbreak
- HollywoodOutbreak.com
Peter Sellers is one of the most famous comedic actors of all time. But that doesn’t mean he was the easiest performer to work with, which is evident in the new documentary, “The Ghost of Peter Sellers.”
As seen in the trailer, “The Ghost of Peter Sellers” tells the story of the tumultuous filming of the pirate comedy film, “Ghost in the Noonday Sun.” The film shows just how the contentious production left lasting scars on those involved, including Sellers and the film’s director.
Continue reading ‘Ghost Of Peter Sellers’ Trailer: Peter Medak’s New Doc Recalls The Tumultuous Production Of A ’70s Pirate Comedy at The Playlist.
As seen in the trailer, “The Ghost of Peter Sellers” tells the story of the tumultuous filming of the pirate comedy film, “Ghost in the Noonday Sun.” The film shows just how the contentious production left lasting scars on those involved, including Sellers and the film’s director.
Continue reading ‘Ghost Of Peter Sellers’ Trailer: Peter Medak’s New Doc Recalls The Tumultuous Production Of A ’70s Pirate Comedy at The Playlist.
- 5/18/2020
- by Charles Barfield
- The Playlist
The first issue of Cinema Retro's 15th season (#43) has now been mailed to subscribers around the globe. Thanks to our loyal readers, the world's most unique film magazine is entering another exciting year with every issue packed with the kind of coverage of classic cinema that you've come to expect. (Issue #44 will ship in April/May and issue #45 ships in September/October.) Our kickoff issue for the new season features the following:
Tribute to the 50th anniversary of the James Bond classic "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" starring George Lazenby: a five-page photo feature packed with rare images, some never published before.
"Mackenna's Gold"- a look back fifty years on at the much-hyped big budget fiasco that has a fascinating back story.. This major article by Dave Worrall and Lee Pfeiffer is the most comprehensive ever written about the troubled production that starred Gregory Peck, Omar Sharif, Telly Savalas...
Tribute to the 50th anniversary of the James Bond classic "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" starring George Lazenby: a five-page photo feature packed with rare images, some never published before.
"Mackenna's Gold"- a look back fifty years on at the much-hyped big budget fiasco that has a fascinating back story.. This major article by Dave Worrall and Lee Pfeiffer is the most comprehensive ever written about the troubled production that starred Gregory Peck, Omar Sharif, Telly Savalas...
- 2/8/2019
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Peter Medak’s new documentary “The Ghost of Peter Sellers,” about the catastrophic production of the actor’s failed 1973 pirate comedy “Ghost in the Noonday Sun,” begins with a little back-patting.
Medak, who also directed the classic films “The Ruling Class” and “The Changeling,” says he’s fairly certain that no filmmaker has ever made a movie about the making of his own movie before. “It’s incredible,” he remarks. And also “completely insane.”
That statement isn’t strictly true. Richard Rush made a documentary about his Oscar-nominated drama “The Stunt Man” called “The Sinister Saga of Making ‘The Stunt Man,'” and Richard Stanley catalogued his catastrophic production of “The Island of Dr. Moreau” (which was eventually finished by John Frankenheimer) in “Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley’s ‘Island of Dr. Moreau.'” But it’s always intriguing, regardless, to look back at what was, what could have been,...
Medak, who also directed the classic films “The Ruling Class” and “The Changeling,” says he’s fairly certain that no filmmaker has ever made a movie about the making of his own movie before. “It’s incredible,” he remarks. And also “completely insane.”
That statement isn’t strictly true. Richard Rush made a documentary about his Oscar-nominated drama “The Stunt Man” called “The Sinister Saga of Making ‘The Stunt Man,'” and Richard Stanley catalogued his catastrophic production of “The Island of Dr. Moreau” (which was eventually finished by John Frankenheimer) in “Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley’s ‘Island of Dr. Moreau.'” But it’s always intriguing, regardless, to look back at what was, what could have been,...
- 9/8/2018
- by William Bibbiani
- The Wrap
“I want to kill people, but they’re all dead,” director Peter Medak says with unambiguous bitterness and enduring resentment in the new documentary “The Ghost Of Peter Sellers.” Usually, when a doc recounts the disastrous making of a runaway film — in this case, Medak’s ill-fated, still-unreleased 17th Century pirate comedy “Ghost In The Noonday Sun” starring the great Peter Sellers — the film has objectivity in another filmmaker.
Continue reading ‘The Ghost of Peter Sellers’: Peter Medak Is Still Haunted By A Disastrous, Unreleased Pirate Comedy [Venice Review] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘The Ghost of Peter Sellers’: Peter Medak Is Still Haunted By A Disastrous, Unreleased Pirate Comedy [Venice Review] at The Playlist.
- 9/5/2018
- by Rodrigo Perez
- The Playlist
"What kind of person would fake a heart attack?" An official trailer has debuted for a documentary titled The Ghost of Peter Sellers, which is playing at film festivals this fall without a release date yet. The film tells the story of how famed actor Peter Sellers started to work an epic 17th Century pirate movie near Cyprus, called Ghost in the Noonday Sun, which became a disaster while filming and was never released in theaters. Structured around the original director Peter Medak and his journey back to the island 42 years later, the film is about how it all went wrong and what happened, and the story of how Peter Sellers helped turn it into a shipwreck. After troubles while filming, Medak later described the film as "the biggest disaster of my life." This film seems to be his attempt to wash himself clean and examine in closer detail exactly what went wrong.
- 9/3/2018
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Peter Sellers is regarded by many as one of the greatest comedians of all time. But behind the charismatic performer, and his three Oscar nominations (two of which were for acting) is a story of reflection and forgiveness that has been years in the making.
Directed by Peter Medak, “The Ghost of Peter Sellers” finds the filmmaker revisiting one of his early credits, “Ghost In The Noonday Sun,” and the antics of its star, the aforementioned Peter Sellers.
Continue reading ‘Ghost Of Peter Sellers’ Trailer: Director Peter Medak Discusses Unique Relationship With The Comedy Great at The Playlist.
Directed by Peter Medak, “The Ghost of Peter Sellers” finds the filmmaker revisiting one of his early credits, “Ghost In The Noonday Sun,” and the antics of its star, the aforementioned Peter Sellers.
Continue reading ‘Ghost Of Peter Sellers’ Trailer: Director Peter Medak Discusses Unique Relationship With The Comedy Great at The Playlist.
- 8/31/2018
- by Julia Teti
- The Playlist
The 1973 movie Ghost in the Noonday Sun, with Spike Milligan, never reached the big screen. Now its director, Peter Medak, reveals why
In 1973, Peter Sellers persuaded his friend Peter Medak to direct a pirate comedy that he had developed with fellow comic genius Spike Milligan – only to then sabotage the production. Sellers’s tantrums and cancelled shoots were among the disasters that took their toll, ensuring that the film was never seen in cinemas.
Now Medak has made a feature documentary that lifts the lid on the “nightmare” of the comedy’s collapse, and of goings-on behind the scenes that were “more outrageous and funnier than the movie itself”.
In 1973, Peter Sellers persuaded his friend Peter Medak to direct a pirate comedy that he had developed with fellow comic genius Spike Milligan – only to then sabotage the production. Sellers’s tantrums and cancelled shoots were among the disasters that took their toll, ensuring that the film was never seen in cinemas.
Now Medak has made a feature documentary that lifts the lid on the “nightmare” of the comedy’s collapse, and of goings-on behind the scenes that were “more outrageous and funnier than the movie itself”.
- 8/11/2018
- by Dalya Alberge
- The Guardian - Film News
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