The blackest of black comedies confronts us with an urban worst case scenario — Jules Feiffer’s ‘social horror’ movie is like a sitcom in Hell, with citizens numbed and trembling over the unending meaningless violence. What was nasty satire in 1971 now plays like the 6 o’clock news. Too radical for its time, Feiffer and director Alan Arkin’s picture is more painfully funny, and frightening, than ever.
Little Murders
Region B Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator (UK)
1971 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 110 min. / Street Date April 30, 2017 / Available from Amazon UK £22.99
Starring: Elliott Gould, Marcia Rodd, Vincent Gardenia, Elizabeth Wilson, Jon Korkes, John Randolph, Doris Roberts, Lou Jacobi, Donald Sutherland, Alan Arkin, Martin Kove.
Cinematography: Gordon Willis
Film Editor: Howard Kuperman
Production Design: Gene Rudolf
Original Music: Fred Kaz
Written by Jules Feiffer from his play
Produced by Jack Brodsky (and Elliott Gould)
Directed by Alan Arkin
Little Murders was one of the first new...
Little Murders
Region B Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator (UK)
1971 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 110 min. / Street Date April 30, 2017 / Available from Amazon UK £22.99
Starring: Elliott Gould, Marcia Rodd, Vincent Gardenia, Elizabeth Wilson, Jon Korkes, John Randolph, Doris Roberts, Lou Jacobi, Donald Sutherland, Alan Arkin, Martin Kove.
Cinematography: Gordon Willis
Film Editor: Howard Kuperman
Production Design: Gene Rudolf
Original Music: Fred Kaz
Written by Jules Feiffer from his play
Produced by Jack Brodsky (and Elliott Gould)
Directed by Alan Arkin
Little Murders was one of the first new...
- 4/24/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask)
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1972 / 1:85 / Street Date July 18th, 2017
Starring: Woody Allen, Gene Wilder, Tony Randall, Burt Reynolds
Cinematography: David M. Walsh
Film Editor: Eric Albertson
Written by Woody Allen
Produced by Jack Brodsky, Elliott Gould
Music: Mundell Lowe
Directed by Woody Allen
A how-to book for fledgling libertines, David Reuben’s bestselling Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask) was the kind of sex manual that could remain on the coffee table when the in-laws arrived. An everyman’s guide to the birds and the bees, it ambled through its range of racy topics, from sodomy, cunnilingus to, um, plastic surgery for the genitalia, with both commonsensical and alarmingly retrograde attitudes, dispensing its advice with all the excitement of an insurance agent’s visit. When Woody Allen was given the opportunity to adapt it,...
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1972 / 1:85 / Street Date July 18th, 2017
Starring: Woody Allen, Gene Wilder, Tony Randall, Burt Reynolds
Cinematography: David M. Walsh
Film Editor: Eric Albertson
Written by Woody Allen
Produced by Jack Brodsky, Elliott Gould
Music: Mundell Lowe
Directed by Woody Allen
A how-to book for fledgling libertines, David Reuben’s bestselling Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask) was the kind of sex manual that could remain on the coffee table when the in-laws arrived. An everyman’s guide to the birds and the bees, it ambled through its range of racy topics, from sodomy, cunnilingus to, um, plastic surgery for the genitalia, with both commonsensical and alarmingly retrograde attitudes, dispensing its advice with all the excitement of an insurance agent’s visit. When Woody Allen was given the opportunity to adapt it,...
- 9/2/2017
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
There is a sumptuousness and exotic look and feel to the Ancient Egyptian culture that I have always been drawn to. The clothing, décor, architecture – it has always been utterly fascinating and their monarchies and dynasties are as rich as any in Europe. One of the best biographies I read in the last few years was Stacy Schiff’s Cleopatra, which mined all known existing records about the Queen and attempts to weave together the most likely version of her storied life and death.
On the other hand, the 1963 spectacle of the same name merely adapted Plutarch’s version of events. Today, Cleopatra has become shorthand for a bloated misfire of a film and is always cited as the one that nearly caused 20th Century-Fox to crumble. The studio survived and has had the last laugh, making a fortune off the film ever since. Out now is the overdue Blu-ray...
On the other hand, the 1963 spectacle of the same name merely adapted Plutarch’s version of events. Today, Cleopatra has become shorthand for a bloated misfire of a film and is always cited as the one that nearly caused 20th Century-Fox to crumble. The studio survived and has had the last laugh, making a fortune off the film ever since. Out now is the overdue Blu-ray...
- 6/4/2013
- by Robert Greenberger
- Comicmix.com
Credit: Twentieth Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, in partnership with Bulgari, is pleased to announce a global celebration fit for a queen to commemorate Cleopatra’s 50th anniversary and pay tribute to the enduring legacy of its stars, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.
Directed by Academy Award® winner Joseph L. Mankiewicz, the historical epic shot on 70mm film took home four Academy Awards and was the highest grossing films of 1963 earning more than $57 million in its initial release. Cleopatra infamously cost an unprecedented $42 million to make (equivalent to over $300 million today) and was racked with scandal as the onscreen love affair between Cleopatra (Taylor) and Mark Antony (Burton) spilled over into real life during the three-year production in Rome. Burton celebrated his great love for Ms. Taylor with exquisite gifts from Bulgari.
Twentieth Century Fox has meticulously restored the 243-minute original theatrical version of Cleopatra to commemorate its 50th anniversary.
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, in partnership with Bulgari, is pleased to announce a global celebration fit for a queen to commemorate Cleopatra’s 50th anniversary and pay tribute to the enduring legacy of its stars, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.
Directed by Academy Award® winner Joseph L. Mankiewicz, the historical epic shot on 70mm film took home four Academy Awards and was the highest grossing films of 1963 earning more than $57 million in its initial release. Cleopatra infamously cost an unprecedented $42 million to make (equivalent to over $300 million today) and was racked with scandal as the onscreen love affair between Cleopatra (Taylor) and Mark Antony (Burton) spilled over into real life during the three-year production in Rome. Burton celebrated his great love for Ms. Taylor with exquisite gifts from Bulgari.
Twentieth Century Fox has meticulously restored the 243-minute original theatrical version of Cleopatra to commemorate its 50th anniversary.
- 5/6/2013
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
More and more great films keep coming to the blu-ray format and details and dates for two classic films have been released, as well as details on the more recent film, Gangster Squad. Come inside to check out all the details on the latest films coming to the blu-ray format.
It's hard to believe, but it's been fifty years since Elizabeth Taylor's Cleopatra film released in theaters. In order to commemorate the milestone Fox is releasing a special 50th Anniversary blu-ray with never before seen footage and a slew of other features, on May 21, 2013. Read the press release below for full details:
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment is proud to announce that the four-time Academy Award® winning* classic Cleopatra, will be released on Blu-ray Disc for the first time May 21 in a special golden anniversary edition and is available for pre-order at major retailers.
In honor of the iconic film’s 50th anniversary,...
It's hard to believe, but it's been fifty years since Elizabeth Taylor's Cleopatra film released in theaters. In order to commemorate the milestone Fox is releasing a special 50th Anniversary blu-ray with never before seen footage and a slew of other features, on May 21, 2013. Read the press release below for full details:
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment is proud to announce that the four-time Academy Award® winning* classic Cleopatra, will be released on Blu-ray Disc for the first time May 21 in a special golden anniversary edition and is available for pre-order at major retailers.
In honor of the iconic film’s 50th anniversary,...
- 3/8/2013
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (Jordan Maison)
- Cinelinx
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
It’s the quintessential Hollywood historic epic, full of over the top grandeur, decadence and glamour: and the perfect choice for a Blu-ray release! Available today, read on for our review…
Elizabeth Taylor stars as Cleopatra, the glamorous and cunning queen of Egypt in this sweeping historical epic. To secure her hold on power, she seduces the ruler of Rome, Julius Caesar (Rex Harrison) and uses her influence to increase Egypt’s power. As Caesar’s bride she is ruler of a grand empire, but after her husband’s murder at the hands of his own Senate, the Queen of the Nile meets her match in Mark Anthony (Richard Burton), Caesar’s devout ally. Their passionate romance could now decide the fate of the world’s greatest empire…
Last year I contributed to WhatCulture! a feature listing ten films worthy of a Blu-ray release that were not yet on Blu-ray.
It’s the quintessential Hollywood historic epic, full of over the top grandeur, decadence and glamour: and the perfect choice for a Blu-ray release! Available today, read on for our review…
Elizabeth Taylor stars as Cleopatra, the glamorous and cunning queen of Egypt in this sweeping historical epic. To secure her hold on power, she seduces the ruler of Rome, Julius Caesar (Rex Harrison) and uses her influence to increase Egypt’s power. As Caesar’s bride she is ruler of a grand empire, but after her husband’s murder at the hands of his own Senate, the Queen of the Nile meets her match in Mark Anthony (Richard Burton), Caesar’s devout ally. Their passionate romance could now decide the fate of the world’s greatest empire…
Last year I contributed to WhatCulture! a feature listing ten films worthy of a Blu-ray release that were not yet on Blu-ray.
- 1/30/2012
- by Stuart Cummins
- Obsessed with Film
My first screenwriting teacher at the Nyu film school was Patricia Cooper, who'd served as the highest female executive at a major studio at that time, overseeing big movies at Paramount in the '70s. She marched our class up to the Gulf & Western Building at Columbus Circle and sat us down in a screening room that resembled what I imagined a first-class airline compartment looked like, then showed us Francis Ford Coppola's "The Conversation."
As we gushed over it afterward, she praised the film but confessed to disappointment with the script. This was my first glimpse of major-league Hollywood story development.
My second teacher was Venable Herndon, co-author of Arthur Penn's "Alice's Restaurant." Venable's class was like some Reichian encounter group, but to get out of it in one piece, you didn't have to bare your primal wounds, only write a screenplay.
My third teacher was once-blacklisted Ian McLellan Hunter,...
As we gushed over it afterward, she praised the film but confessed to disappointment with the script. This was my first glimpse of major-league Hollywood story development.
My second teacher was Venable Herndon, co-author of Arthur Penn's "Alice's Restaurant." Venable's class was like some Reichian encounter group, but to get out of it in one piece, you didn't have to bare your primal wounds, only write a screenplay.
My third teacher was once-blacklisted Ian McLellan Hunter,...
- 1/27/2010
- by By Tom Silvestri
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Not since a dwarf strode to the plate to bat for the White Sox in a promotional gimmick have Chicago fans witnessed a pint-sized baseballer like the one in this fantastic story where the Cubs sign a 12-year-old to pitch them to the pennant.
With this scrappy comedy, 20th Century Fox clearly has a ringer in its summer lineup, a slugger posing as a sleeper. When the dust has cleared on the boxoffice season, score a big H, or hit, for ''Rookie of the Year.''
Twelve-year-old Henry Rowengartner Thomas Ian Nicholas) is just your average, skinny Chicago kid with a single mom (Amy Morton), a couple of good buddies (Robert Gorman, Patrick LaBrecque) and a lot of the typical peer pressures that the modern 12-year old faces.
Athletically, in fact, Henry is a bit of a geek, until he literally stumbles into superstardom. He trips over a baseball, smashes up his shoulder and when it heals, he's got a tightly wound superarm. No longer a benchwarmer, Henry can now clock them over the plate at 100 mph.
The hapless Cubs, mired as usual in late-season doldrums, sign him up as a promo gimmick, to boost attendance. After a wobbly start, Henry finds his rhythm, chiefly through some solid mentoring by the team's chief ace (Gary Busey). Suddenly, the Cubbies are in the pennant race and Henry is the toast of the town. Move over, Michael Jordan.
Lacing the exhilaration of childhood fantasies within a modern-day family story, screenwriter Sam Harper has served up a wonderfully upbeat entertainment. The story bounces along with some terrific ''Major League''-ish comedy with director Daniel Stern keeping ''Rookie'' light and fleet on the story paths. Stern is also a highlight wearing his player's cap, goosing things up with his hilarious, slapstick antics as Henry's hapless pitching coach.
As the kid who stumbles into stardom, Nicholas is a natural, conveying the dreamy gangliness of an everyday boy who comes to stand tall not only on the mound but in real life. Morton as the young fireballer's supportive mom is, perhaps, the cast's strongest player. Her strong and warm performance brings uncommon depth to this type of entertainment. Similarly, Busey delivers as the crusty, shoulder-hurting hurler. Set up a round of tap beers at Harry Caray's for John Candy's uncredited trip to the cinematic plate as the Cubs' overwrought announcer.
Tech credits are big league, especially Bill Conti's rousing, ballpark-flavored score and Jay Hurley's apt and funny costumes.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
20th Century Fox
A Robert Harper Production
A Daniel Stern Film
Producer Robert Harper
Director Daniel Stern
Screenwriter Sam Harper
Executive producers Jack Brodsky, Irby Smith
Director of photography Jack N. Green
Production designer Steven Jordan
Editors Donn Cambern, Raja Gosnell
Music Bill Conti
Costume designer Jay Hurley
Casting Linda Lowy
Sound mixer Scott Smith
Color/Stereo
Henry Rowengartner Thomas Ian Nicholas
Chet Stedman Gary Busey
Martinella Albert Hall
Mary Rowengartner Amy Morton
Larry (Fish) Fisher Dan Hedaya
Jack Bradfield Bruce Altman
Bob Carson Eddie Bracken
Cleark Robert Gorman
George Patrick LaBrecque
Brickma Daniel Stern
Running time -- 105 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
With this scrappy comedy, 20th Century Fox clearly has a ringer in its summer lineup, a slugger posing as a sleeper. When the dust has cleared on the boxoffice season, score a big H, or hit, for ''Rookie of the Year.''
Twelve-year-old Henry Rowengartner Thomas Ian Nicholas) is just your average, skinny Chicago kid with a single mom (Amy Morton), a couple of good buddies (Robert Gorman, Patrick LaBrecque) and a lot of the typical peer pressures that the modern 12-year old faces.
Athletically, in fact, Henry is a bit of a geek, until he literally stumbles into superstardom. He trips over a baseball, smashes up his shoulder and when it heals, he's got a tightly wound superarm. No longer a benchwarmer, Henry can now clock them over the plate at 100 mph.
The hapless Cubs, mired as usual in late-season doldrums, sign him up as a promo gimmick, to boost attendance. After a wobbly start, Henry finds his rhythm, chiefly through some solid mentoring by the team's chief ace (Gary Busey). Suddenly, the Cubbies are in the pennant race and Henry is the toast of the town. Move over, Michael Jordan.
Lacing the exhilaration of childhood fantasies within a modern-day family story, screenwriter Sam Harper has served up a wonderfully upbeat entertainment. The story bounces along with some terrific ''Major League''-ish comedy with director Daniel Stern keeping ''Rookie'' light and fleet on the story paths. Stern is also a highlight wearing his player's cap, goosing things up with his hilarious, slapstick antics as Henry's hapless pitching coach.
As the kid who stumbles into stardom, Nicholas is a natural, conveying the dreamy gangliness of an everyday boy who comes to stand tall not only on the mound but in real life. Morton as the young fireballer's supportive mom is, perhaps, the cast's strongest player. Her strong and warm performance brings uncommon depth to this type of entertainment. Similarly, Busey delivers as the crusty, shoulder-hurting hurler. Set up a round of tap beers at Harry Caray's for John Candy's uncredited trip to the cinematic plate as the Cubs' overwrought announcer.
Tech credits are big league, especially Bill Conti's rousing, ballpark-flavored score and Jay Hurley's apt and funny costumes.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
20th Century Fox
A Robert Harper Production
A Daniel Stern Film
Producer Robert Harper
Director Daniel Stern
Screenwriter Sam Harper
Executive producers Jack Brodsky, Irby Smith
Director of photography Jack N. Green
Production designer Steven Jordan
Editors Donn Cambern, Raja Gosnell
Music Bill Conti
Costume designer Jay Hurley
Casting Linda Lowy
Sound mixer Scott Smith
Color/Stereo
Henry Rowengartner Thomas Ian Nicholas
Chet Stedman Gary Busey
Martinella Albert Hall
Mary Rowengartner Amy Morton
Larry (Fish) Fisher Dan Hedaya
Jack Bradfield Bruce Altman
Bob Carson Eddie Bracken
Cleark Robert Gorman
George Patrick LaBrecque
Brickma Daniel Stern
Running time -- 105 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
- 6/28/1993
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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