Man's Castle.“When you’re dead, you get a hunk of earth. When you’re alive, all you’ve got is that hunk of blue.” This is how Bill (Spencer Tracy), the restless hero of Frank Borzage’s Man’s Castle (1933), explains his insistence on sleeping under the open sky. Borzage’s films always cast their eyes heavenward with exalted sincerity; they offer no sop to modern irony or cynicism. No one should watch them who is not prepared to be enraptured.The essence of Borzage’s romanticism resides in the enchanted spaces his lovers create together: sometimes a semi-permanent home, like the Parisian garret in 7th Heaven (1927), at other times a fleeting idyll of shared fantasy, like the abandoned plantation mansion where the outcast couple in Moonrise (1948) waltz amid the shadows and cobwebs. These magical playhouses are spaces of care and refuge as much as dreamy eroticism; in Man’s Castle,...
- 4/18/2024
- MUBI
“I’ve seen Paris, France, and Paris, Paramount Pictures,” Ernst Lubitsch said, or so they say, “and on the whole I prefer Paris, Paramount Pictures.”
The great director’s preference for the Hollywood city of lights over the French one expresses a common enough affinity for illusion over reality, but the studio in question was not chosen for alliteration alone. If gritty Warner Bros. specialized in mean streets and threadbare apartments and glitzy MGM spent big on grand hotels and emerald cities, Paramount transported moviegoers into realms of dreamy exoticism, allegedly set in Vienna, Budapest or St. Petersburg, but conjured with better-than-the-original costuming, set design, lighting and dialogue. In an age before jumbo jets, who was to quibble over verisimilitude?
A new version of Paramount looks to be a-borning: Controlling stakeholder Shari Redstone may put her company on the auction block. Whatever conglomerate or mogul buys the assets, it’ll...
The great director’s preference for the Hollywood city of lights over the French one expresses a common enough affinity for illusion over reality, but the studio in question was not chosen for alliteration alone. If gritty Warner Bros. specialized in mean streets and threadbare apartments and glitzy MGM spent big on grand hotels and emerald cities, Paramount transported moviegoers into realms of dreamy exoticism, allegedly set in Vienna, Budapest or St. Petersburg, but conjured with better-than-the-original costuming, set design, lighting and dialogue. In an age before jumbo jets, who was to quibble over verisimilitude?
A new version of Paramount looks to be a-borning: Controlling stakeholder Shari Redstone may put her company on the auction block. Whatever conglomerate or mogul buys the assets, it’ll...
- 2/29/2024
- by Thomas Doherty
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Within the same broad outline as Jean Renoir’s La Chienne, Fritz Lang’s Scarlet Street strikes many notes to emphasize the emasculation of Christopher “Chris” Cross (Edgar G. Robinson): at a dinner in his honor, the lowly bank cashier sees his boss (Russell Hicks) rush through a ceremonial toast to make time with his mistress; in his own home he’s obligated to indulge his unwelcome hobby of picture painting in the bathroom; and there’s a bit of business with a frilly smock he puts on to do the dishes.
Against the grain of what we might assume about put-upon little guys in movies and the way they lash out, Lang only dwells on the tableaux of Chris eunuchized doldrums to make one almost invisible moment work—when, over drinks with Katherine “Kitty” March (Joan Bennett), Chris doesn’t really correct her when she makes the fateful...
Against the grain of what we might assume about put-upon little guys in movies and the way they lash out, Lang only dwells on the tableaux of Chris eunuchized doldrums to make one almost invisible moment work—when, over drinks with Katherine “Kitty” March (Joan Bennett), Chris doesn’t really correct her when she makes the fateful...
- 2/6/2024
- by Jaime N. Christley
- Slant Magazine
The Holdovers director Alexander Payne (in Nirvana T-shirt) with Anne-Katrin Titze on Westward The Women: “It’s as though Jean Renoir and Akira Kurosawa got together to make a Western.”
In the first instalment with Alexander Payne on his intricately layered Golden Globe-nominated The Holdovers (screenplay by David Hemingson with an Oscar-shortlisted score by Mark Orton) we started out discussing a film he recommended, William A Wellman’s Westward The Women (screenplay by Frank Capra and Charles Schnee), starring Robert Taylor and Denise Darcel with a formidable supporting cast of women, led by Hope Emerson.
Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa) and Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti) with Mary Lamb (Da'Vine Joy Randolph)
From there we touched upon his longtime collaborators, Wendy Chuck and Nathan Carlson, production designer Ryan Warren Smith, a scene between (Golden Globe-nominated) Paul Giamatti and Carrie Preston leading to Slavoj Žižek’s comment in Sophie Fiennes’s The Pervert’s Guide To Ideology...
In the first instalment with Alexander Payne on his intricately layered Golden Globe-nominated The Holdovers (screenplay by David Hemingson with an Oscar-shortlisted score by Mark Orton) we started out discussing a film he recommended, William A Wellman’s Westward The Women (screenplay by Frank Capra and Charles Schnee), starring Robert Taylor and Denise Darcel with a formidable supporting cast of women, led by Hope Emerson.
Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa) and Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti) with Mary Lamb (Da'Vine Joy Randolph)
From there we touched upon his longtime collaborators, Wendy Chuck and Nathan Carlson, production designer Ryan Warren Smith, a scene between (Golden Globe-nominated) Paul Giamatti and Carrie Preston leading to Slavoj Žižek’s comment in Sophie Fiennes’s The Pervert’s Guide To Ideology...
- 12/24/2023
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Among the myriad reasons we could call the Criterion Channel the single greatest streaming service is its leveling of cinematic snobbery. Where a new World Cinema Project restoration plays, so too does Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight. I think about this looking at November’s lineup and being happiest about two new additions: a nine-film Robert Bresson retro including L’argent and The Devil, Probably; and a one-film Hype Williams retro including Belly and only Belly, but bringing as a bonus the direct-to-video Belly 2: Millionaire Boyz Club. Until recently such curation seemed impossible.
November will also feature a 20-film noir series boasting the obvious and the not. Maybe the single tightest collection is “Women of the West,” with Johnny Guitar and The Beguiled and Rancho Notorious and The Furies only half of it. Lynch/Oz, Irradiated, and My Two Voices make streaming premieres; Drylongso gets a Criterion Edition; and joining...
November will also feature a 20-film noir series boasting the obvious and the not. Maybe the single tightest collection is “Women of the West,” with Johnny Guitar and The Beguiled and Rancho Notorious and The Furies only half of it. Lynch/Oz, Irradiated, and My Two Voices make streaming premieres; Drylongso gets a Criterion Edition; and joining...
- 10/24/2023
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Guillermo del Toro doesn’t hold back about his love for his favorite movies. If you’ve spent any time on his Twitter feed over the years, you’ve likely seen him praise Stanley Donen’s use of the color red throughout the late director’s body of work, and hail everything from William Wellman’s 1931 film “Other Men’s Women” to David Cronenberg’s “Crimes of the Future” from 2022. The man has wide-ranging taste, and a deep awareness of cinematic history that’s informed his own films.
Now he follows Turner Classic Movies advisors Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Paul Thomas Anderson in giving his own picks from TCM’s lineup, all titles that will be airing in October. Watch the video, exclusive to IndieWire, above.
First up, he picks one of the most sorely underrated titles from Alfred Hitchcock’s filmography, 1941’s “Suspicion,” airing on TCM at 2:00am...
Now he follows Turner Classic Movies advisors Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Paul Thomas Anderson in giving his own picks from TCM’s lineup, all titles that will be airing in October. Watch the video, exclusive to IndieWire, above.
First up, he picks one of the most sorely underrated titles from Alfred Hitchcock’s filmography, 1941’s “Suspicion,” airing on TCM at 2:00am...
- 9/29/2023
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
Mubi has announced its lineup of streaming offerings for next month, including the exclusive streaming premiere of Lars von Trier’s The Idiots in a new 4K restoration, Céline Devaux’s anti-romcom Everybody Loves Jeanne, and Tyler Taormina’s Happer’s Comet.
Additional selections include three films by Wong Kar Wai, a Robert Altman double feature, four works by Jacques Rivette, plus shorts by Mia Hansen-Løve and Yorgos Lanthimos.
Check out the lineup below and get 30 days free here.
July 1 – Synecdoche, New York, directed by Charlie Kaufman
July 2 – 2046, directed by Wong Kar Wai | As Time Goes By: Three by Wong Kar Wai
July 3 – The Exiles, directed by Kent MacKenzie
July 4 – Ivansxtc, directed by Bernard Rose
July 5 – Un Pur Esprit, directed by Mia Hansen-Løve | Short Films Big Names
July 6 – Contemporary Color, directed by Bill Ross IV, Turner Ross | Turn It Up: Music on Film
July 7 – The Idiots, directed by Lars von Trier...
Additional selections include three films by Wong Kar Wai, a Robert Altman double feature, four works by Jacques Rivette, plus shorts by Mia Hansen-Løve and Yorgos Lanthimos.
Check out the lineup below and get 30 days free here.
July 1 – Synecdoche, New York, directed by Charlie Kaufman
July 2 – 2046, directed by Wong Kar Wai | As Time Goes By: Three by Wong Kar Wai
July 3 – The Exiles, directed by Kent MacKenzie
July 4 – Ivansxtc, directed by Bernard Rose
July 5 – Un Pur Esprit, directed by Mia Hansen-Løve | Short Films Big Names
July 6 – Contemporary Color, directed by Bill Ross IV, Turner Ross | Turn It Up: Music on Film
July 7 – The Idiots, directed by Lars von Trier...
- 6/26/2023
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
I’ve loved gangster movies since I was four years old and saw Humphrey Bogart and Sylvia Sidney in Dead End (1937) on TV, and Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway in Bonnie and Clyde (1967) at the movies (My dad pinched a lobby card for me). Every Friday night, a local NYC station ran old crime flicks on a slot called “Tough Guys.” Bogart, James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, and George Raft were the faces over the title. Today that might be Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Wesley Snipes, and James Gandolfini.
The gangster and crime genre produced some of the most influential films in cinema history. Mervyn LeRoy’s Little Caesar (1931), William A. Wellman’s The Public Enemy (1931), and Howard Hawks’ Scarface (1932), get a lot of credit for breaking ground in topics beyond criminality, shattering sexual taboos as well as the boundaries of acceptable visual violence. High Sierra (1941) and White Heat...
The gangster and crime genre produced some of the most influential films in cinema history. Mervyn LeRoy’s Little Caesar (1931), William A. Wellman’s The Public Enemy (1931), and Howard Hawks’ Scarface (1932), get a lot of credit for breaking ground in topics beyond criminality, shattering sexual taboos as well as the boundaries of acceptable visual violence. High Sierra (1941) and White Heat...
- 5/6/2023
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
At the conclusion of Apple TV +’s delightful 2021 musical comedy “Schmigadoon!,” Melissa (Cecily Strong) and Josh (Keegan-Michael Key) realized they loved each other and returned to the real world. The second season finds them blissfully married, but boredom soon sets in. And to add insult to injury, they can’t get pregnant. The two decide they need a boost, so they decide to return to the cotton-candy colored tuneful world of Schmigadoon.
But what they find this time around is Schmicago, a much darker town they can’t leave until they find their happy ending. Happy endings, though, are few and far between in the city that never sleeps. And it certainly looks like the two won’t find one anytime soon after Josh is soon arrested for murdering a showgirl.
Schmicago is Fosse-fied with more than a few jazz hands reflecting the adult musicals of the 1960s and 1970s including “Chicago,...
But what they find this time around is Schmicago, a much darker town they can’t leave until they find their happy ending. Happy endings, though, are few and far between in the city that never sleeps. And it certainly looks like the two won’t find one anytime soon after Josh is soon arrested for murdering a showgirl.
Schmicago is Fosse-fied with more than a few jazz hands reflecting the adult musicals of the 1960s and 1970s including “Chicago,...
- 4/11/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
In 1929 and at the first Academy Awards, two movies walked away with the top prizes: William Wellman’s Wings won for Outstanding Picture while F.W. Murnau’s Sunrise scooped up the Oscar for Unique and Artistic Picture. Both movies were ostensibly about love triangles, but the former was a romantic action picture while the latter was an Expressionist film rich in symbolism and allegory.
That was the first and only time that two separate awards were given for what eventually became known as the Oscar for Best Picture. The Unique and Artistic Picture prize went away while Outstanding Picture remained–only it was now open to both populist hits like Wings and, for lack of a better word, artsier fare like Sunrise. And so it stayed for nearly 90 years, as the Oscars grew from a 15-minute ceremony at a private dinner to a massive TV spectacle viewed worldwide by as...
That was the first and only time that two separate awards were given for what eventually became known as the Oscar for Best Picture. The Unique and Artistic Picture prize went away while Outstanding Picture remained–only it was now open to both populist hits like Wings and, for lack of a better word, artsier fare like Sunrise. And so it stayed for nearly 90 years, as the Oscars grew from a 15-minute ceremony at a private dinner to a massive TV spectacle viewed worldwide by as...
- 3/11/2023
- by Don Kaye
- Den of Geek
Movie star John Wayne stepped behind the camera for The Alamo, but not quite for the reasons that one would expect. Similar to many other actors, he pretended not to care about what the critics thought, although their words hurt more than he let on. Wayne directed The Alamo because he didn’t think he was attractive enough to continue his career as an actor into his older years.
John Wayne made ‘The Alamo’ his directorial debut John Wayne | United Artists/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images
Wayne originally started in Hollywood as a prop man for Fox, where he met legendary filmmaker John Ford. Next, he had the opportunity to work on productions, ultimately landing in front of the camera as an actor. There, he managed to capture the hearts of moviegoing audiences across the country.
The iconic Western actor made some of the greatest films the genre has to offer,...
John Wayne made ‘The Alamo’ his directorial debut John Wayne | United Artists/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images
Wayne originally started in Hollywood as a prop man for Fox, where he met legendary filmmaker John Ford. Next, he had the opportunity to work on productions, ultimately landing in front of the camera as an actor. There, he managed to capture the hearts of moviegoing audiences across the country.
The iconic Western actor made some of the greatest films the genre has to offer,...
- 2/23/2023
- by Jeff Nelson
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
After Paramount’s “Top Gun: Maverick” soared with both critics and audiences last year it scored with the academy last month earning six Oscar nominations including Best Picture. The Tom Cruise blockbuster is in a dogfight for this top award with the likes of “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” “Avatar: The Way of Water,” “The Fabelmans” and “The Banshees of Inisherin.”
Turning the clock back over nine decades, the very first Best Picture winner in Oscars history was another high-flying Paramount release, 1927’s “Wings,” which also claimed the prize for best engineering effects. Directed by 30-year-old World War I vet William A. Wellman, who was snubbed, “Wings” revolves around two young smalltown men Jack (Charles “Buddy” Rogers) and David to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember...
Turning the clock back over nine decades, the very first Best Picture winner in Oscars history was another high-flying Paramount release, 1927’s “Wings,” which also claimed the prize for best engineering effects. Directed by 30-year-old World War I vet William A. Wellman, who was snubbed, “Wings” revolves around two young smalltown men Jack (Charles “Buddy” Rogers) and David to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember...
- 2/6/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
William Wellman’s soap opera in the sky is the granddaddy of disaster films, in particular Airport and its many sequels. John Wayne plays the harried pilot who experiences more than his share of turbulence including jealous husbands and an airliner that is slowly dismantling itself. Claire Trevor, Wayne’s old flame from Stagecoach, is on board along with Robert Stack as The Duke’s nerve-wracked co-pilot. Dimitri Tiomkin’s haunting theme song was nominated for an Oscar.
The post The High and the Mighty appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
The post The High and the Mighty appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
- 2/3/2023
- by TFH Team
- Trailers from Hell
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has, ever since 1927, been giving out awards to the best movies, directors, actors, and other artisans throughout the industry. Or at least, they've been giving awards to the ones that can win an annual popularity contest.
Say what you will about the Oscars and their credibility — they were, after all, invented to bust unions, not celebrate the art of cinema — but for nearly 100 years they have done a great job of raising the visibility of motion pictures which, on a long enough timeline, were otherwise destined to fade into obscurity. For every "Casablanca" or "Titanic," blockbuster films that have seemingly permanently invaded the public consciousness, there's a "Cavalcade" or a "The Greatest Show on Earth," which haven't made nearly as much of a cultural footprint, and which are more likely to be seen by modern audiences specifically because they won the Best Picture Oscar,...
Say what you will about the Oscars and their credibility — they were, after all, invented to bust unions, not celebrate the art of cinema — but for nearly 100 years they have done a great job of raising the visibility of motion pictures which, on a long enough timeline, were otherwise destined to fade into obscurity. For every "Casablanca" or "Titanic," blockbuster films that have seemingly permanently invaded the public consciousness, there's a "Cavalcade" or a "The Greatest Show on Earth," which haven't made nearly as much of a cultural footprint, and which are more likely to be seen by modern audiences specifically because they won the Best Picture Oscar,...
- 1/18/2023
- by William Bibbiani
- Slash Film
Holidays loom, but don’t fear TBS marathons of A Christmas Story. If, like me, you once enacted some good and let studio classics stream on Criterion during family Christmas, you know the trip home will be easier with December’s additions. (People at Criterion: please don’t report me for logging into multiple devices.) As family arrives, drinks are downed, and questions about what you’ve been up to are stumbled through it’ll be nice to stream their “Screwball Comedy Classics” series—25 titles meeting some deep cuts (10 via Venmo if you’ve recently watched It Happens Every Spring).
Personally I’m most excited about the 11 movies in “Snow Westerns,” going as far back as The Secret of Convict Lake, as recently as Ravenous, with the likes of Wellman, Peckinpah, and Corbucci in-between. I personally cannot stand soccer but I appreciate the World Cup giving occasion for a series...
Personally I’m most excited about the 11 movies in “Snow Westerns,” going as far back as The Secret of Convict Lake, as recently as Ravenous, with the likes of Wellman, Peckinpah, and Corbucci in-between. I personally cannot stand soccer but I appreciate the World Cup giving occasion for a series...
- 11/22/2022
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Although Universal had struck on big hits with "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" in 1923 and "The Phantom of the Opera" in 1925, studio honcho Carl Laemmle, Sr. was no fan of the horror genre. It was his monster-obsessed son, Carl Laemmle, Jr., that encouraged the studio to adapt the then-popular stage production of "Dracula" to film. The movie, released in 1931 and directed by Tod Browning, was stagey and nightmarish, and it deeply burned itself into the collective unconscious. Bela Lugosi, as Dracula, taught the world how vampires behave.
"Dracula" was one of Universal's biggest hits, and Carl Jr. knew that multiple more monster projects could be instantly pushed into the pipeline. The 1930s saw the release of "Frankenstein," "Dracula's Daughter," "The Invisible Man," "Bride of Frankenstein," "The Black Cat," "The Invisible Ray," "Werewolf of London," "The Raven," and scads of others. Horror became the studio's niche.
The wave of popular horror films at Universal,...
"Dracula" was one of Universal's biggest hits, and Carl Jr. knew that multiple more monster projects could be instantly pushed into the pipeline. The 1930s saw the release of "Frankenstein," "Dracula's Daughter," "The Invisible Man," "Bride of Frankenstein," "The Black Cat," "The Invisible Ray," "Werewolf of London," "The Raven," and scads of others. Horror became the studio's niche.
The wave of popular horror films at Universal,...
- 11/11/2022
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Judging from its dazzlingly chaotic trailer, Damien Chazelle's "Babylon" is hellbent on capturing early Hollywood in all its debauched, Roaring Twenties glory. The particulars of the plot are being kept under wraps, but it appears to be about the suddenly shifting fortunes of an industry about to plunge headlong into the era of sound motion pictures (aka "talkies"). With a ludicrously talented and attractive ensemble cast that includes Bradd Pitt, Margot Robie, Diego Calva, Olivia Wilde, Jovan Adepo and the should-be-in-everything Samara Weaving, it could be about the manufacturing of curling stones and we'd be there on opening day.
Though the film looks like a boozy blast, the sobering truth is that many great artists struggled with the transition from silents to talkies. Cinema had progressed tremendously as a visual medium. Masters like F.W. Murnau, Fritz Lang and Franz Borzage crafted films that were stylized, expressive and utterly captivating,...
Though the film looks like a boozy blast, the sobering truth is that many great artists struggled with the transition from silents to talkies. Cinema had progressed tremendously as a visual medium. Masters like F.W. Murnau, Fritz Lang and Franz Borzage crafted films that were stylized, expressive and utterly captivating,...
- 11/8/2022
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Dore Schary’s post-MGM personal production is a class act in every respect — Montgomery Clift, Robert Ryan and Myrna Loy are well cast in a story of intimate emotional cruelty. It’s from a play derived from Nathanael West’s soul-crushing novella, and despite the talent involved, it can’t shake the feeling of an overheated TV drama. The acting and characterizations are riveting. Young Dolores Hart is a beacon of light amid the gloom and misery, and in her first movie, Maureen Stapleton’s’ fireball of anxiety and malice all but steals the show. The fine cinematography is again by the great John Alton.
Lonelyhearts
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1958 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 103 min. / Street Date October 25, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Montgomery Clift, Robert Ryan, Myrna Loy, Dolores Hart, Maureen Stapleton, Jackie Coogan, Mike Kellin, Onslow Stevens, Frank Maxwell, Frank Overton, John Gallaudet, Don Washbrook, Johnny Washbrook,...
Lonelyhearts
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1958 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 103 min. / Street Date October 25, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Montgomery Clift, Robert Ryan, Myrna Loy, Dolores Hart, Maureen Stapleton, Jackie Coogan, Mike Kellin, Onslow Stevens, Frank Maxwell, Frank Overton, John Gallaudet, Don Washbrook, Johnny Washbrook,...
- 10/29/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Click here to read the full article.
Venetia Stevenson, a model, actress and daughter of Hollywood luminaries who appeared in films including Darby’s Rangers, Island of Lost Women and Horror Hotel after being labeled “the most photogenic girl in the world,” has died. She was 84.
Stevenson died Monday at a health care facility in Atlanta after a battle with Parkinson’s disease, her brother, actor and photographer Jeffrey Byron, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Stevenson’s parents were Robert Stevenson, the Oscar-nominated director of Mary Poppins who earlier helmed King Solomon’s Mines and Jane Eyre, and her mother was Anna Lee, who starred in How Green Was My Valley and portrayed the matriarch Lila Quartermaine for a quarter-century on General Hospital.
The screen siren was married to actor Russ Tamblyn from Valentine’s Day 1956 until their divorce in April 1957 and to Don Everly of The Everly Brothers from 1962-...
Venetia Stevenson, a model, actress and daughter of Hollywood luminaries who appeared in films including Darby’s Rangers, Island of Lost Women and Horror Hotel after being labeled “the most photogenic girl in the world,” has died. She was 84.
Stevenson died Monday at a health care facility in Atlanta after a battle with Parkinson’s disease, her brother, actor and photographer Jeffrey Byron, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Stevenson’s parents were Robert Stevenson, the Oscar-nominated director of Mary Poppins who earlier helmed King Solomon’s Mines and Jane Eyre, and her mother was Anna Lee, who starred in How Green Was My Valley and portrayed the matriarch Lila Quartermaine for a quarter-century on General Hospital.
The screen siren was married to actor Russ Tamblyn from Valentine’s Day 1956 until their divorce in April 1957 and to Don Everly of The Everly Brothers from 1962-...
- 9/27/2022
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
For those who like some reading with their gabagool, "Woke Up This Morning: The Definitive Oral History of The Sopranos" provides a comprehensive collection of memories and insights from the cast and crew of one of the greatest TV drama series of all time. The book was inspired by the robust success of their definitive and thorough re-visit podcast "Talking Sopranos," the groundbreaking HBO series' stars Michael Imperioli (who plays Christopher Moltisanti) and Steve Schirripa (Bobby Baccalieri) and brings incisive and often surprising behind-the-scenes history of the show's 86 episodes. Trending often in the HBO streaming app, "The Sopranos" remains one of the most binged TV shows fifteen years after its final episode aired in June of 2007.
In the book, casting director Georgianne Walken remembers how mesmerized she was by the incredible memory of showrunner David Chase, who incorporated his lifelong fascination with the mafia into the show's observation of an Italian-American mobster,...
In the book, casting director Georgianne Walken remembers how mesmerized she was by the incredible memory of showrunner David Chase, who incorporated his lifelong fascination with the mafia into the show's observation of an Italian-American mobster,...
- 9/16/2022
- by Anya Stanley
- Slash Film
The three musical remakes of a “A Star is Born” have regretfully overshadowed William A. Wellman’s 1937 original version. But a new 4K restoration from the original nitrate three-strip Technicolor camera negative is a revelation vividly illustrating that the first version of the heartbreaking tale of the up-and-coming actress marrying a fading star losing his battle with alcoholism is a masterpiece. As exhilarating as the musical versions with Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand and Lady Gaga belting out such tunes as “The Man Who Got Away,” “Evergreen” and “Shallow,” the original proves that sometimes simpler is better.
Warner Archive recently released the Blu-ray of this new restoration and the TCM Classic Film Festival presents its theatrical premiere on April 21. Produced by David O. Selznick, who was the executive producer of an earlier version of the Hollywood story, 1932’s “What Price Hollywood?,” the 1937 drama was one of the first three-strip Technicolor films produced by Hollywood.
Warner Archive recently released the Blu-ray of this new restoration and the TCM Classic Film Festival presents its theatrical premiere on April 21. Produced by David O. Selznick, who was the executive producer of an earlier version of the Hollywood story, 1932’s “What Price Hollywood?,” the 1937 drama was one of the first three-strip Technicolor films produced by Hollywood.
- 4/20/2022
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none
“A Rise And A Fall In Technicolor”
By Raymond Benson
A Star is Born has been made many times—as four Hollywood feature films, one television movie, and one Bollywood picture. The 1937 original, produced by David O. Selznick, directed by William A. Wellman, is often forgotten amongst the more recent versions, such as the celebrated 2018 remake starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper.
For this reviewer’s money, the 1937 A Star is Born is superior to them all. Granted, it is obviously dated and one must place oneself within the context of the period in which the movie was released. It is also not a musical, as all the others are. The first version also deals exclusively with the motion picture industry. The second one, released in 1954 and starring Judy Garland and James Mason, did as well… but following adaptations went more into the...
“A Rise And A Fall In Technicolor”
By Raymond Benson
A Star is Born has been made many times—as four Hollywood feature films, one television movie, and one Bollywood picture. The 1937 original, produced by David O. Selznick, directed by William A. Wellman, is often forgotten amongst the more recent versions, such as the celebrated 2018 remake starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper.
For this reviewer’s money, the 1937 A Star is Born is superior to them all. Granted, it is obviously dated and one must place oneself within the context of the period in which the movie was released. It is also not a musical, as all the others are. The first version also deals exclusively with the motion picture industry. The second one, released in 1954 and starring Judy Garland and James Mason, did as well… but following adaptations went more into the...
- 3/25/2022
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
They’ve hit us with three remakes of this one, one about another actress and two about music stars — maybe the next will be about a TikTok star. Thanks to an unexpected full digital restoration from original Technicolor elements, this 1937 original once again plays like a winner. Silent legend Janet Gaynor is Esther Blodgett, soon to become the famous Vicki Lester. Fredric March gives one of his best performances as a matinee idol running his career into the ground with drink. David O. Selznick’s classy production takes some cynical jabs at The Biz yet characterizes Adolph Menjou’s producer as an all-wise, all-forgiving saint. The Wac adds great extras in full HD — a swing musical short and a sarcastic Merrie Melodie cartoon that spoofs the main feature.
A Star is Born (1937)
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1937 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 111 min. / Available at Amazon.com / Street Date March 29, 2022 / 21.99
Starring: Janet Gaynor, Fredric March,...
A Star is Born (1937)
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1937 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 111 min. / Available at Amazon.com / Street Date March 29, 2022 / 21.99
Starring: Janet Gaynor, Fredric March,...
- 3/19/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
” His work is beginning to interfere with his drinking.”
Janet Gaynor and Frederick March in A Star Is Born (1937)-Restored Edition will be available on Blu-ray March 29th from Warner Archive. It can be ordered at the Warner Archive store Here
Producer David O. Selznick turned his attention to Hollywood with this 1937 original classic directed by William A. Wellman. Its Academy Award-winning screenplay co-written by Dorothy Parker tells the story of hopeful, young would-be actress Esther Blodgett (Academy Award winner Janet Gaynor) whose career is launched by movie star Norman Maine (Academy Award winner Fredric March), who also wins the young actress’ heart. Esther becomes leading lady Vicki Lester and Mrs. Norman Maine, but as Maine’s career flounders, he sinks into an abyss of alcoholism. Esther chooses to sacrifice her stardom to care for her husband, but he will not allow Esther to abandon her dreams for him. Remade three times in years ahead,...
Janet Gaynor and Frederick March in A Star Is Born (1937)-Restored Edition will be available on Blu-ray March 29th from Warner Archive. It can be ordered at the Warner Archive store Here
Producer David O. Selznick turned his attention to Hollywood with this 1937 original classic directed by William A. Wellman. Its Academy Award-winning screenplay co-written by Dorothy Parker tells the story of hopeful, young would-be actress Esther Blodgett (Academy Award winner Janet Gaynor) whose career is launched by movie star Norman Maine (Academy Award winner Fredric March), who also wins the young actress’ heart. Esther becomes leading lady Vicki Lester and Mrs. Norman Maine, but as Maine’s career flounders, he sinks into an abyss of alcoholism. Esther chooses to sacrifice her stardom to care for her husband, but he will not allow Esther to abandon her dreams for him. Remade three times in years ahead,...
- 3/7/2022
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
As 2021 mercifully winds down, the Criterion Channel have a (November) lineup that marks one of their most diverse selections in some time—films by the new masters Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Garrett Bradley, Dan Sallitt’s Fourteen (one of 2020’s best films) couched in a fantastic retrospective, and Criterion editions of old favorites.
Fourteen is featured in “Between Us Girls: Bonds Between Women,” which also includes Céline and Julie, The Virgin Suicides, and Yvonne Rainer’s Privilege. Of equal note are Criterion editions for Ghost World, Night of the Hunter, and (just in time for del Toro’s spin) Nightmare Alley—all stacked releases in their own right.
See the full list of October titles below and more on the Criterion Channel.
300 Nassau, Marina Lameiro, 2015
5 Card Stud, Henry Hathaway, 1968
Alone, Garrett Bradley, 2017
Álvaro, Daniel Wilson, Elizabeth Warren, Alexandra Lazarowich, and Chloe Zimmerman, 2015
America, Garrett Bradley, 2019
Angel Face, Otto Preminger, 1953
Angels Wear White,...
Fourteen is featured in “Between Us Girls: Bonds Between Women,” which also includes Céline and Julie, The Virgin Suicides, and Yvonne Rainer’s Privilege. Of equal note are Criterion editions for Ghost World, Night of the Hunter, and (just in time for del Toro’s spin) Nightmare Alley—all stacked releases in their own right.
See the full list of October titles below and more on the Criterion Channel.
300 Nassau, Marina Lameiro, 2015
5 Card Stud, Henry Hathaway, 1968
Alone, Garrett Bradley, 2017
Álvaro, Daniel Wilson, Elizabeth Warren, Alexandra Lazarowich, and Chloe Zimmerman, 2015
America, Garrett Bradley, 2019
Angel Face, Otto Preminger, 1953
Angels Wear White,...
- 10/25/2021
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none
By Todd Garbarini
I originally saw the Brian De Palma/Al Pacino version of Scarface (1983) on laserdisc in 1994 and again in a 20th anniversary theatrical screening in New York, but not since. Recently, I decided to have revisit it on Netflix and was amazed that I recalled very little of it. The constant use of profanity and the intensity of some of the violent set pieces, in particular the notorious chainsaw scene, are tamer than the language and the most violent moments of HBO’s The Sopranos (1999 – 2007) and Showtime’s Brotherhood (2006 – 2008). However, in 1983 Universal Pictures was prompted to release the film with the following caveat in the newspaper ads when the film was released in December: “Caution – Scarface is an intense film both in its use of language and depiction of violence. We suggest mature audiences.” While one might think this was a...
By Todd Garbarini
I originally saw the Brian De Palma/Al Pacino version of Scarface (1983) on laserdisc in 1994 and again in a 20th anniversary theatrical screening in New York, but not since. Recently, I decided to have revisit it on Netflix and was amazed that I recalled very little of it. The constant use of profanity and the intensity of some of the violent set pieces, in particular the notorious chainsaw scene, are tamer than the language and the most violent moments of HBO’s The Sopranos (1999 – 2007) and Showtime’s Brotherhood (2006 – 2008). However, in 1983 Universal Pictures was prompted to release the film with the following caveat in the newspaper ads when the film was released in December: “Caution – Scarface is an intense film both in its use of language and depiction of violence. We suggest mature audiences.” While one might think this was a...
- 7/28/2021
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
The Criterion Channel has unveiled their lineup for next month and it’s another strong slate, featuring retrospectives of Carole Lombard, John Waters, Robert Downey Sr., Luis García Berlanga, Jane Russell, and Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman. Also in the lineup is new additions to their Queersighted series, notably Todd Haynes’ early film Poison (Safe is also premiering in a separate presentation), William Friedkin’s Cruising, and Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Teorama.
The new restorations of Manoel de Oliveira’s stunning Francisca and Francesco Rosi’s Christ Stopped at Eboli will join the channel, alongside Agnieszka Holland’s Spoor, Bong Joon Ho’s early short film Incoherence, and Luc Dardenne & Jean-Pierre Dardenne’s Rosetta.
See the lineup below and explore more on criterionchannel.com.
#Blackmendream, Shikeith, 2014
12 Angry Men, Sidney Lumet, 1957
About Tap, George T. Nierenberg, 1985
The AIDS Show, Peter Adair and Rob Epstein, 1986
The Assignation, Curtis Harrington, 1953
Aya of Yop City,...
The new restorations of Manoel de Oliveira’s stunning Francisca and Francesco Rosi’s Christ Stopped at Eboli will join the channel, alongside Agnieszka Holland’s Spoor, Bong Joon Ho’s early short film Incoherence, and Luc Dardenne & Jean-Pierre Dardenne’s Rosetta.
See the lineup below and explore more on criterionchannel.com.
#Blackmendream, Shikeith, 2014
12 Angry Men, Sidney Lumet, 1957
About Tap, George T. Nierenberg, 1985
The AIDS Show, Peter Adair and Rob Epstein, 1986
The Assignation, Curtis Harrington, 1953
Aya of Yop City,...
- 5/24/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Paul Greengrass’ western drama “New of the World” starring Tom Hanks and Helena Zengel is gaining traction during this pandemic awards season despite the fact that sagebrush sagas often get short shrift at the Oscars. Only three traditional Westerns — 1931’s “Cimarron,” 1990’s “Dances with Wolves” and 1992’s “Unforgiven” — and one contemporary Western (2007’s “No Country for Old Men”) have won the Best Picture Oscar.
Among the oaters to be nominated for the top prize at the Academy Awards: John Ford’s 1939 “Stagecoach,” William A. Wellman’s 1943 “The Ox-Bow Incident,” Fred Zinnemann’s 1952’s “High Noon” (Gary Cooper won the Oscar for Best Actor), George Stevens’ 1953 “Shane”; 1960’s “The Alamo;” 1962’s “How the West Was Won”; and George Roy Hill’s 1969’s “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.”
But some of the most acclaimed, treasure and influential Westerns have been all but ignored. Here’s a look at some of the...
Among the oaters to be nominated for the top prize at the Academy Awards: John Ford’s 1939 “Stagecoach,” William A. Wellman’s 1943 “The Ox-Bow Incident,” Fred Zinnemann’s 1952’s “High Noon” (Gary Cooper won the Oscar for Best Actor), George Stevens’ 1953 “Shane”; 1960’s “The Alamo;” 1962’s “How the West Was Won”; and George Roy Hill’s 1969’s “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.”
But some of the most acclaimed, treasure and influential Westerns have been all but ignored. Here’s a look at some of the...
- 1/12/2021
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSThe prolific, captivating Sean Connery has died. As critic Glenn Kenny writes in his obituary for Decider, Connery will always be "tied to the role of James Bond, [but] so many of Connery’s non-Bond roles were [...] fascinating, challenging, and cinematically important." Recommended VIEWINGGrasshopper Films' official trailer for the new 4k digital restoration of Manoel de Oliveira's 1981 Francisca, an adaptation of Agustina Bessa-Luís’ acclaimed novel. Oscilloscope has released the first trailer for The Twentieth Century, Matthew Rankine's dark comedy-drama that reimagines the life of former Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King. The film won the Fipresci prize in the Forum section of the 2019 Berlinale. The Asian Film Archive has announced Monographs 2020, a series of video essays commissioned and conceived during lockdown. Featuring a wide range of filmmakers, the series aims to offer "an...
- 11/4/2020
- MUBI
The Criterion Channel’s stellar offerings are continuing next month with a selection of new releases, retrospective, series, and more. Leading the pack is, of course, a horror lineup perfectly timed for Halloween, featuring ’70s classics and underseen gems, including Abel Ferrara’s The Driller Killer (pictured above), Tobe Hopper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, early films by David Cronenberg, Wes Craven, and Brian De Palma, Bill Gunn’s Ganja & Hess, and more.
Also of note is a New Korean Cinema retrospective, featuring a new introduction by critic Grady Hendrix and a conversation between directors Bong Joon Ho and Park Chan-wook, whose Barking Dogs Never Bite, The Host, Mother, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, and Lady Vengeance are part of the lineup, as well as Lee Myung-se’s Nowhere to Hide, and more titles to be announced. Bong’s short Influenza will also arrive, paired with Michael Haneke’s Caché.
Also of note is a New Korean Cinema retrospective, featuring a new introduction by critic Grady Hendrix and a conversation between directors Bong Joon Ho and Park Chan-wook, whose Barking Dogs Never Bite, The Host, Mother, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, and Lady Vengeance are part of the lineup, as well as Lee Myung-se’s Nowhere to Hide, and more titles to be announced. Bong’s short Influenza will also arrive, paired with Michael Haneke’s Caché.
- 9/29/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Kino Lorber has released three Barbara Stanwyck films in a boxed set collection. Here is the official announcement:
Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none
This collection feature three classic films starring screen legend Barbara Stanwyck:
Internes Can’T Take Money (1937) – Young Dr. James Kildare, interning at a clinic, falls for his patient Janet Haley. The feeling is mutual, but Janet has a secret she will not divulge: She’s the widow of a bank robber who hid their daughter before he died and she is desperately trying to find the little girl. She will use anyone—including Dr. Kildare—to get her child back. The doctor’s association with gangster Hanlon, whose injuries Kildare secretly patched up, and Janet’s connection with gangster Innes (Stanley Ridges, Black Friday), who’s helping her find her daughter, bring it all to a rousing head filled with action, suspense and the unexpected!
Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none
This collection feature three classic films starring screen legend Barbara Stanwyck:
Internes Can’T Take Money (1937) – Young Dr. James Kildare, interning at a clinic, falls for his patient Janet Haley. The feeling is mutual, but Janet has a secret she will not divulge: She’s the widow of a bank robber who hid their daughter before he died and she is desperately trying to find the little girl. She will use anyone—including Dr. Kildare—to get her child back. The doctor’s association with gangster Hanlon, whose injuries Kildare secretly patched up, and Janet’s connection with gangster Innes (Stanley Ridges, Black Friday), who’s helping her find her daughter, bring it all to a rousing head filled with action, suspense and the unexpected!
- 8/12/2020
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Wes Anderson was expected to attend the Cannes Film Festival this month to world premiere his new movie, “The French Dispatch.” The director last attended Cannes for the world premiere of “Moonrise Kingdom,” which opened the 2012 edition of the festival and remains Anderson’s first and only trip to the Croisette. Anderson took part in The New York Times’ Cannes survey to share a memory about the world’s most prestigious film festival, and in doing so he also dropped an update about how he’s been spending his quarantine.
“I have a 4-year-old daughter so, like so many others in our situation, I am now a part-time amateur schoolteacher,” Anderson said. “Much of what I am reading has to do with ancient Egypt, dinosaurs, insects and the Amazon rainforest. But also: Patricia Highsmith, James Baldwin, Elmore Leonard and a book about plagues.”
Anderson also dropped an 11-film quarantine watch list.
“I have a 4-year-old daughter so, like so many others in our situation, I am now a part-time amateur schoolteacher,” Anderson said. “Much of what I am reading has to do with ancient Egypt, dinosaurs, insects and the Amazon rainforest. But also: Patricia Highsmith, James Baldwin, Elmore Leonard and a book about plagues.”
Anderson also dropped an 11-film quarantine watch list.
- 5/13/2020
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
The saga continues, featuring Adam Rifkin, Robert D. Krzykowski, John Sayles, Maggie Renzi, Mick Garris and Larry Wilmore with special guest star Blaire Bercy from the Hollywood Food Coalition.
Please support the Hollywood Food Coalition. Text “Give” to 323.402.5704 or visit https://hofoco.org/donate!
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Key Largo (1948)
I Don’t Want to Talk About It (1993)
Camila (1984)
I, the Worst of All (1990)
The Wages of Fear (1953)
Le Corbeau (1943)
Diabolique (1955)
Red Beard (1965)
Seven Samurai (1954)
Ikiru (1952)
General Della Rovere (1959)
The Gold of Naples (1959)
Bitter Rice (1949)
Pickup On South Street (1953)
My Darling Clementine (1946)
Viva Zapata! (1952)
Panic In The Streets (1950)
Yellow Sky (1948)
Ace In The Hole (1951)
Wall Street (1987)
Women’s Prison (1955)
True Love (1989)
Mean Streets (1973)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
The Abyss (1989)
The China Syndrome (1979)
Big (1988)
Splash (1984)
The ’Burbs (1989)
Long Strange Trip (2017)
Little Women (2019)
Learning To Skateboard In A War Zone (If You’re A Girl) (2019)
The Guns of Navarone...
Please support the Hollywood Food Coalition. Text “Give” to 323.402.5704 or visit https://hofoco.org/donate!
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Key Largo (1948)
I Don’t Want to Talk About It (1993)
Camila (1984)
I, the Worst of All (1990)
The Wages of Fear (1953)
Le Corbeau (1943)
Diabolique (1955)
Red Beard (1965)
Seven Samurai (1954)
Ikiru (1952)
General Della Rovere (1959)
The Gold of Naples (1959)
Bitter Rice (1949)
Pickup On South Street (1953)
My Darling Clementine (1946)
Viva Zapata! (1952)
Panic In The Streets (1950)
Yellow Sky (1948)
Ace In The Hole (1951)
Wall Street (1987)
Women’s Prison (1955)
True Love (1989)
Mean Streets (1973)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
The Abyss (1989)
The China Syndrome (1979)
Big (1988)
Splash (1984)
The ’Burbs (1989)
Long Strange Trip (2017)
Little Women (2019)
Learning To Skateboard In A War Zone (If You’re A Girl) (2019)
The Guns of Navarone...
- 4/17/2020
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
“A Gallant Gesture”
By Raymond Benson
The novel Beau Geste by Percival Christopher Wren was published in 1924 and has been adapted to film no less than four times and parodied a few instances as well. It’s a classic story of the French Foreign Legionnaires set in the years between the turn of the 20th Century and the First World War, and for nearly a hundred years it has been deemed one of the great adventure tales.
The 1939 adaptation, directed by William A. Wellman, was the second filmed version and is generally considered the best and certainly most well-known variation (the first was a silent picture made in 1926 and starring Ronald Colman). With an outstanding cast that includes Gary Cooper, Ray Milland, Robert Preston, Brian Donlevy, Susan Hayward, J. Carrol Naish, Broderick Crawford, Albert Dekker, and even a young Donald O’Connor, Beau Geste is indeed a rousing “Arabian” action flick,...
By Raymond Benson
The novel Beau Geste by Percival Christopher Wren was published in 1924 and has been adapted to film no less than four times and parodied a few instances as well. It’s a classic story of the French Foreign Legionnaires set in the years between the turn of the 20th Century and the First World War, and for nearly a hundred years it has been deemed one of the great adventure tales.
The 1939 adaptation, directed by William A. Wellman, was the second filmed version and is generally considered the best and certainly most well-known variation (the first was a silent picture made in 1926 and starring Ronald Colman). With an outstanding cast that includes Gary Cooper, Ray Milland, Robert Preston, Brian Donlevy, Susan Hayward, J. Carrol Naish, Broderick Crawford, Albert Dekker, and even a young Donald O’Connor, Beau Geste is indeed a rousing “Arabian” action flick,...
- 3/25/2020
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
It’s a classic from the Golden Year of 1939, directed in fine style by Wild Bill Wellman and well cast with Paramount stars Gary Cooper, Ray Milland, and Robert Preston, and with Brian Donlevy as one of the movies’ most hissable villains. The popular story has been remade and spoofed innumerable times, yet this remains the indelible best version. A commentary with William Wellman Jr. and Frank Thompson points out many things we didn’t notice before, including where some excised scenes belong, and what originally happened in them.
Beau Geste
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1939 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 112 min. / Street Date April 7, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Gary Cooper, Ray Milland, Robert Preston, Brian Donlevy, Susan Hayward, J. Carrol Naish, Albert Dekker, Broderick Crawford, Charles Barton, James Stephenson, Heather Thatcher, George P. Huntley, Donald O’Connor, Billy Cook, Martin Spellman, Ann Gillis, David Holt, Henry Brandon, Nestor Paiva, Francis McDonald.
Beau Geste
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1939 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 112 min. / Street Date April 7, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Gary Cooper, Ray Milland, Robert Preston, Brian Donlevy, Susan Hayward, J. Carrol Naish, Albert Dekker, Broderick Crawford, Charles Barton, James Stephenson, Heather Thatcher, George P. Huntley, Donald O’Connor, Billy Cook, Martin Spellman, Ann Gillis, David Holt, Henry Brandon, Nestor Paiva, Francis McDonald.
- 3/24/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Sam Mendes’ “1917,” a gripping survival story that unfolds in the crucible of World War I, inserted itself into the awards race on Saturday with a series of well-received screenings in Los Angeles and New York.
The movie, which is made with great craft and care, now faces the unenviable task of trying to elbow into a crowded field of best picture contenders, one that already includes the likes of Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman,” Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite,” and Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”
Many of these films have been on the festival circuit and these directors have subjected themselves to weeks of grip-and-grins with voters, giving them a head start. And yet “1917’s” epic sweep and undeniable artistry likely means that it has a strong chance of making the cut despite its 11th hour entry into the race. Director Sam Mendes will likely be...
The movie, which is made with great craft and care, now faces the unenviable task of trying to elbow into a crowded field of best picture contenders, one that already includes the likes of Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman,” Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite,” and Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”
Many of these films have been on the festival circuit and these directors have subjected themselves to weeks of grip-and-grins with voters, giving them a head start. And yet “1917’s” epic sweep and undeniable artistry likely means that it has a strong chance of making the cut despite its 11th hour entry into the race. Director Sam Mendes will likely be...
- 11/24/2019
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
“Iconic” is a gassy word for a masterwork of unquestioned approval. But it also describes compositions that actually resemble icons in their form and function, “stiff” by inviolate standards embodied in, say, Howard Hawks characters moving fluidly in and out of the frame. Whenever I watch William A. Wellman’s 1933 talkie Wild Boys of the Road, these standards—themselves rigid and unhelpful to understanding—fall away. An entire canonical order based on naturalism withers. To summon reality vivid enough for the 1930s—during which 250,000 minors left home in hopeless pursuit of the job that wasn’t—Wellman inserts whispering quietude between explosions, cesuras that seem to last aeons. The film’s gestating silences dominate the rather intrusive New Deal evangelism imposed by executive order from the studio. Amid Warner Bros.’ ballyhooing of a freshly-minted American president, they were unconsciously embracing the wrecking-ball approach to a failed capitalist system. That is,...
- 7/8/2019
- MUBI
Veteran William Wellman directed this pre-Code thriller that puts an average New York family at odds with a pack of ruthless gangsters. It’s a 1931 tale of drive-by shootings, witness intimidation and child kidnapping — just one year later, movies about child kidnappings were banned, after the tragedy of the Lindbergh baby. Walter Huston is the rather ruthless District Attorney, and the ex-vaudeville funny man Chic Sale plays an old codger that shows his family what Good Americanism really means — the show could serve as a surly critique of what passes for law and order and good citizenship now.
The Star Witness
DVD
The Warner Archive Collection
1931 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 68 min. / Street Date March 12, 2019 / available through the WBshop / 19.99
Starring: Walter Huston, Charles ‘Chic’ Sale, Frances Starr, Grant Mitchell, Sally Blane, Edward J. Nugent, Dickie Moore, Nat Pendleton, George Ernest, Russell Hopton, Allan Lane.
Cinematography: James Van Trees
Film Editor:...
The Star Witness
DVD
The Warner Archive Collection
1931 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 68 min. / Street Date March 12, 2019 / available through the WBshop / 19.99
Starring: Walter Huston, Charles ‘Chic’ Sale, Frances Starr, Grant Mitchell, Sally Blane, Edward J. Nugent, Dickie Moore, Nat Pendleton, George Ernest, Russell Hopton, Allan Lane.
Cinematography: James Van Trees
Film Editor:...
- 4/6/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Great news for fans of Walter Huston! The Star Witness (1931) is currently available on DVD From Warner Archives. Ordering information can be found Here
The Star Witness is a gripping crime thriller by way of courtroom drama in this early talkie directed by cinema titan “Wild Bill” William A. Wellman. The Leeds family have just sat down for dinner with Abby’s father, Civil War veteran Grandpa Summerill (Charles `Chic’ Sale) when shots are fired outside, down the street. Gangster Maxey Campo has gunned down two men in cold blood and he makes his getaway through the Leeds’ family house, assaulting feisty Grandpa along the way. Crusading District Attorney Whitlock (Walter Huston) is elated at first, having an entire family of witnesses ready to do their civic duty and testify against the racketeers running rampant in the city. Maxey, however, isn’t finished with the Leeds and unleashes his forces...
The Star Witness is a gripping crime thriller by way of courtroom drama in this early talkie directed by cinema titan “Wild Bill” William A. Wellman. The Leeds family have just sat down for dinner with Abby’s father, Civil War veteran Grandpa Summerill (Charles `Chic’ Sale) when shots are fired outside, down the street. Gangster Maxey Campo has gunned down two men in cold blood and he makes his getaway through the Leeds’ family house, assaulting feisty Grandpa along the way. Crusading District Attorney Whitlock (Walter Huston) is elated at first, having an entire family of witnesses ready to do their civic duty and testify against the racketeers running rampant in the city. Maxey, however, isn’t finished with the Leeds and unleashes his forces...
- 3/18/2019
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
When the 2019 Oscar nominations were announced, one-time Best Picture front-runner “A Star Is Born” was hit with two major snubs: Best Director for Bradley Cooper and Best Film Editing for Jay Cassidy. Of course, it’s still possible to win Best Picture without one of these two nominations — just ask “Argo” (snubbed for directing in 2012) and “Birdman” (shunned in editing in 2014). No film has ever won Best Picture without either a directing Or an editing bid. Can “A Star Is Born” make Oscars history by becoming the very first?
SEELady Gaga’s heart will go on: ‘Shallow’ may be the 1st soundtrack song to win top Grammy since ‘Titanic’ anthem
The good news for Warner Bros’ drama musical is that is was still nominated in eight categories: Best Picture, Best Actress (Lady Gaga), Best Actor (Bradley Cooper), Best Supporting Actor (Sam Elliott), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Mixing...
SEELady Gaga’s heart will go on: ‘Shallow’ may be the 1st soundtrack song to win top Grammy since ‘Titanic’ anthem
The good news for Warner Bros’ drama musical is that is was still nominated in eight categories: Best Picture, Best Actress (Lady Gaga), Best Actor (Bradley Cooper), Best Supporting Actor (Sam Elliott), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Mixing...
- 2/4/2019
- by Marcus James Dixon
- Gold Derby
[Editor’s note: The following post contains spoilers for “A Star Is Born.”]
Bradley Cooper’s “A Star Is Born” ends as all iterations of the classic love story end: The male star takes his own life so the skyrocketing career of the woman he loves won’t suffer from his personal issues. Cooper stuck to the basic template originally used by William A. Wellman and his co-screenwriters for the 1937 version of “A Star Is Born,” but the director originally intended to be much more faithful to the first movie, starring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March.
As part of Variety’s Lady Gaga cover story, Warner Bros. Pictures Group chairman Toby Emmerich revealed the first script he read for Cooper’s “A Star Is Born” ended the same way Wellman’s original did. The 1937 film ends with March’s Norman Maine taking his life by drowning himself in the Pacific Ocean. The new film, written by Cooper, Eric Roth,...
Bradley Cooper’s “A Star Is Born” ends as all iterations of the classic love story end: The male star takes his own life so the skyrocketing career of the woman he loves won’t suffer from his personal issues. Cooper stuck to the basic template originally used by William A. Wellman and his co-screenwriters for the 1937 version of “A Star Is Born,” but the director originally intended to be much more faithful to the first movie, starring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March.
As part of Variety’s Lady Gaga cover story, Warner Bros. Pictures Group chairman Toby Emmerich revealed the first script he read for Cooper’s “A Star Is Born” ended the same way Wellman’s original did. The 1937 film ends with March’s Norman Maine taking his life by drowning himself in the Pacific Ocean. The new film, written by Cooper, Eric Roth,...
- 11/14/2018
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
A Star Is Born, the latest remake of William A. Wellman's 1937 film, as well as Bradley Cooper's directorial debut, stars Cooper as Jackson Maine, a rockstar hanging to life by a thread simultaneously led closer to rock bottom by alcoholism and drug addiction. One rough night in drunken stupor, Jackson stumbles into a drag bar and watches as Ally (Lady Gaga) performs an exuberant cover of Édith Piaf's "La vie en rose." Her heavily-made up face, veiled in red spotlight, distorts her unwanted features and overshadows a modest life as a restaurant server. Dusk approaches as the pair leaves together, ending up in a secluded parking lot. Seclusion causes the masks to come off, and at once the pair realize that they—singer-songwriters of preternatural talent, capable of conjuring hit records from thin air—are perfect for each other.Their fates are thus locked together and sealed:...
- 10/18/2018
- MUBI
Frank Pierson's 1976 A Star Is BornLate in the night, early into their tumultuous romance, Kris Kristofferson’s John Norman Howard rescues Barbra Streisand’s Esther Hoffman from a crowd of fans and sycophants she’s just floored with a breath-taking rendition of "The Woman in The Moon" and "I Believe in Love." It’s a pivotal juncture that marks Esther’s ascent to fame, her star finally welcomed into the entertainment industry. Hands on the wheel of a roaring Ferrari, Kristofferson gives Streisand a proud smile, then looks at the city’s skyline and drives away: “it’s all yours baby, everything you want—your own piece of the American Dream.”Frank Pierson’s is the first version of A Star is Born to make explicit reference to the myth that underpins an eight-decades-old series of remakes. To be sure, the American Dream lingers all throughout the first two installments,...
- 10/18/2018
- MUBI
Stars: Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper, Sam Elliott, Anthony Ramos, Dave Chappelle | Written by Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, Will Fetters | Directed by Bradley Cooper
Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born is the fourth iteration of the beloved source material of the classic rags to riches story. At one stage reportedly through the last decade of development, it was a passion project for Clint Eastwood to helm with any eye for Beyonce in the leading actress role. Ultimately, Eastwood chose the road of Jersey Boys to mixed response and the queen of music continued to solidify herself as the biggest star on the planet. Fast-forward to 2017 and understudy to Eastwood, Bradley Cooper takes the directors chair for his directorial debut and the leading actor role with the somewhat sceptical choice of Lady Gaga taking the incredibly ardent and monumental task of leading actress.
The end result? A majestic and empowering venture...
Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born is the fourth iteration of the beloved source material of the classic rags to riches story. At one stage reportedly through the last decade of development, it was a passion project for Clint Eastwood to helm with any eye for Beyonce in the leading actress role. Ultimately, Eastwood chose the road of Jersey Boys to mixed response and the queen of music continued to solidify herself as the biggest star on the planet. Fast-forward to 2017 and understudy to Eastwood, Bradley Cooper takes the directors chair for his directorial debut and the leading actor role with the somewhat sceptical choice of Lady Gaga taking the incredibly ardent and monumental task of leading actress.
The end result? A majestic and empowering venture...
- 10/10/2018
- by Jak-Luke Sharp
- Nerdly
Co-written and directed by actor Bradley Cooper, 2018's A Star is Born is the third remake of William A. Wellman's 1937 film, which earned seven Academy Award nominations at the time. George Cukor's 1954 adaptation, starring Judy Garland and James Mason, was nominated for six. And the 1976 version, starring Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson, earned four. Between the three films, only two Oscars were won: Best Writing (Original Story) in 1938 and Best Original Song in 1977. As producer, director, screenwriter, and star, Cooper is following in Streisand’s footsteps and, if history is any indication, his directorial debut will earn several award nominations, and deservedly so. Not only is Cooper's A Star is Born the premiere of a filmmaker with a unique voice but it solidifies Lady Gaga as the preeminent entertainer of the day. In this new take on a timeless love story, Cooper (of Silver Linings Playbook and Guardians of the Galaxy...
- 10/5/2018
- by Adam Frazier
- firstshowing.net
Hollywood’s allure, insatiable ambition, and the price of fame are at the center of one of the most oft-told stories in show-biz history: “A Star Is Born.” The latest edition, with Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga, is the fourth to be made, and the third to be music-centric. Variety has already written many articles about that one, which is released today — read Owen Gleiberman’s review here — but how do the previous renditions stack up?
1937
Producer David O. Selznick’s original rendering won Oscars for its cinematography and its original story. While the story was written by director William A. Wellman and novelist Robert Carson, many of its sharpest and most cutting lines are believed to have been penned by famed writer Dorothy Parker and husband Alan Campbell (who were nominated in a separate Oscar category but didn’t win).
Janet Gaynor played Esther Blodgett-turned-Vicki Lester, a starry-eyed...
1937
Producer David O. Selznick’s original rendering won Oscars for its cinematography and its original story. While the story was written by director William A. Wellman and novelist Robert Carson, many of its sharpest and most cutting lines are believed to have been penned by famed writer Dorothy Parker and husband Alan Campbell (who were nominated in a separate Oscar category but didn’t win).
Janet Gaynor played Esther Blodgett-turned-Vicki Lester, a starry-eyed...
- 10/5/2018
- by Jon Burlingame
- Variety Film + TV
Chris Feil's weekly look at music in the movies will be revisiting all of the musical remakes of A Star is Born in coming weeks. Here is 1954 and Judy Garland...
Musicals are known for their required suspension of disbelief, the fact that we must buy into a reality where people simply burst into song. But the legacy of A Star is Born has its own kind of suspension of disbelief: the notion that whatever legendary songstress that leads each version is some undiscovered talent. George Cukor’s 1954 version (the first to properly musicalize the story birthed in William A. Wellman’s 1937 original) requires the greatest leap. But there are few cinematic superstars in history as immediately convincing in their gifts as Judy Garland.
Casting such a powerhouse as a woefully undiscovered talent is absurd on paper, as if the film exists in some fantasy land where maybe she’s never...
Musicals are known for their required suspension of disbelief, the fact that we must buy into a reality where people simply burst into song. But the legacy of A Star is Born has its own kind of suspension of disbelief: the notion that whatever legendary songstress that leads each version is some undiscovered talent. George Cukor’s 1954 version (the first to properly musicalize the story birthed in William A. Wellman’s 1937 original) requires the greatest leap. But there are few cinematic superstars in history as immediately convincing in their gifts as Judy Garland.
Casting such a powerhouse as a woefully undiscovered talent is absurd on paper, as if the film exists in some fantasy land where maybe she’s never...
- 10/3/2018
- by Chris Feil
- FilmExperience
It has been awhile since there’s been a superhero movie, so Sony/Tencent’s Venom based on the Marvel property arrives with enough anticipation this frame to drive its opening weekend to an estimated $160 million-$175 million global start, with the domestic box office headed toward an October opening record of $60M-$65M at 4,250 theaters plus Imax. The latter would best the month’s current record-holder, Warner Bros’ Gravity, which opened to $55.7M in 2013.
Meanwhile, Warner Bros launches its awards-season darling A Star Is Born, directed by, co-produced, co-written and starring Bradley Cooper alongside Lady Gaga in her first feature-leading role. It marks the fourth version of the movie after the 1937 William A. Wellman movie, the 1954 Judy Garland-James Mason musical, and the 1976 Barbra Streisand-Kris Kristofferson film which was a huge hit in its day, racking up $80M (unadjusted for inflation), the third-highest-grossing theatrical release that year.
Meanwhile, Warner Bros launches its awards-season darling A Star Is Born, directed by, co-produced, co-written and starring Bradley Cooper alongside Lady Gaga in her first feature-leading role. It marks the fourth version of the movie after the 1937 William A. Wellman movie, the 1954 Judy Garland-James Mason musical, and the 1976 Barbra Streisand-Kris Kristofferson film which was a huge hit in its day, racking up $80M (unadjusted for inflation), the third-highest-grossing theatrical release that year.
- 10/2/2018
- by Anthony D'Alessandro and Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
The Notebook is covering Tiff with an on-going correspondence between critics Kelley Dong and Daniel Kasman.Dear Danny, The best secrets encountered in the cinema are those which are so subliminal that sometimes one does not immediately realize the preciousness of what has been given, nor recognize that any gift was offered at all— but still I leave the theatre totally changed. The meanings of these surreptitious moments can be tricky to articulate without airy hyperbole—we call this "hype." I risk this all to tell you about A Star is Born, an uneven work of startling sincerity and disarming beauty. The third remake of William A. Wellman's 1937 film, Bradley Cooper stars in his directorial debut as Jackson Maine, a rockstar hanging to life by a thread and simultaneously led closer to rock bottom by alcoholism and drug addiction. One rough night in drunken stupor, Jackson stumbles into a...
- 9/9/2018
- MUBI
It might seem like an impossible feat, but with his version of “A Star Is Born,” Bradley Cooper both puts a fresh spin on a decades-old movie staple and transcends its very place in cinema history by fixing the story, turning a classic role, finally, into a tragic figure you actually care about.
For that and many more reasons (like a field that isn’t as competitive as usual), the lead actor Oscar race might be over and done with. Cooper is that good as the kind-hearted but haunted Jackson Maine, and the screenplay — from Cooper, Will Fetters, and Oscar winner Eric Roth — finely tunes his story, serving the character far better than any previous version of the tale has for Fredric March and James Mason’s Norman Maine, or Kris Kristofferson’s John Norman Howard.
That you can get two paragraphs into spelling out the virtues of this film...
For that and many more reasons (like a field that isn’t as competitive as usual), the lead actor Oscar race might be over and done with. Cooper is that good as the kind-hearted but haunted Jackson Maine, and the screenplay — from Cooper, Will Fetters, and Oscar winner Eric Roth — finely tunes his story, serving the character far better than any previous version of the tale has for Fredric March and James Mason’s Norman Maine, or Kris Kristofferson’s John Norman Howard.
That you can get two paragraphs into spelling out the virtues of this film...
- 9/4/2018
- by Kristopher Tapley
- Variety Film + TV
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.